Just Simply Amazing

When I left for Journey to the Heart on July 10th, I was convinced that I had God figured out. Not literally, but I thought I knew enough about God to know what He was going to convict me about. I figured I had heard it all before and that this trip was going to be fun and that I was prepared for anything God was going to throw my way. Well… I was wrong. I do NOT have God figured out. *grin* But He taught me so many deep lessons while in the Northwoods of Michigan.

While on the Journey, it is “highly suggested” that everyone participates in a day of fasting. We did this on Thursday and the things God shared with each one of us were incredible! I started out just studying the names of God and I was amazed at just how completely God lives out each of His names. Then I felt Him ask me, “Brianna, what about your name? Will you choose to live up to your name?” Well, right then, I couldn’t remember what my name meant and so I told God I would go home and look it up later. God didn’t buy my excuse because all of a sudden “Brianna – Strong in Virtue” popped into my head. After that, the only thing that ran through my head after that was… “Oh, great.” Again I tried to tell God that I was busy and that I would do a word study on virtue as soon as I got home and again He said, “Huh uh. We are doing this now.” And He meant it because after that everywhere I turned in the Bible the words virtue, pure heart, true, excellent, and strong kept popping up everywhere!!!

My definition of virtue is… “Having a heart that is so pure, true, and steadfast that one cannot help but serve and love with pure motives and a moral excellence that is evident to all.”

1 Peter 1:22 ~ “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart.”

Colossians 3:12-14 ~ “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humilty, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievences you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues, put on love, which bind them all together in perfect unity.”

Philippians 4:8 ~ “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

After reading on for a bit, well, I was getting kinda discouraged. I mean how in the world was I going to live up to this?! But then I read Psalm 51:10 ~ “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” And I remember that Jesus said in John 15:16 ~ “”You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”

I am so blessed to have a great God who loves me enough to chastise me about having a prideful and murmuring heart, so that I may become holy as He is holy and so that I may live my life in a way that honors and glorifies Him. So, be praying for me as I embark on this grand adventure to become “strong in virtue”. I won’t lie… I have already failed and it is hard, but with God’s grace all things are possible!

In Him,

Bri

My family got me a Bible for my birthday a few months ago. In some of the chapters it has stories about your focus in God and stuff like that and I was reading in Genesis 27. This is the story that came with it:

Have you ever felt like you can’t be yourself around your friends? Have you pretended to be like somebody who you know everybody likes? Have you tried to act or look a certain way to make your friends like you? Have you been acting like somebody else for so long that you’re afraid that if you act like yourself, your friends won’t like you anymore? Well true friends want you to be the real you, besides it doesn’t matter what other people think of the real you, but what God thinks of you. God loves you for who you are, not as somebody else. Psalm 139: 14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well”

In Christ,

Jocelyn

Louisiana is amazing!!! Alicia and I are having so much fun doing anything and everything! Beignets are incredible, swamp lands are green, and Besties make the world so much bigger, better, and beautiful!!! Life is good!

The middle of Nowhere makes the perfect photo spot.

Sarah and I in front of the house.

Finally! A dream come true! Alicia and I shopping in the Mall of Louisiana!

Party in Alicia’s room! (Notice who’s in the background. LOL.)

Waiting on a tire change.

Alicia, Nicole, and I at the Beignet place.

You love friend’s right? Well of course EVERYBODY loves friends. But you know what? Sometimes well most of the time friends let you down. They can’t always be there for you, even though they may try as hard as they can, they can’t be there all the time.

Most of you guys had a friend who let you down or hurt you or had a friend not be there for you one time, or a friend who said something that made you not trust them anymore.

 Well there is ONE man who will ALWAYS be there for you. He will NEVER let you down. He CAN always be walking along your side holding your hand and leading you the right way. He is the ONLY one who can. He is Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ is the ONE and ONLY one who CAN be there for you all the time, NEVER let you down, will be a GOOD influence on you, and WILL be walking by your side holding your hand and NEVER letting you go. He is the ONLY one who will NEVER leave you, and NEVER tell you ANYTHING mean. He is somebody you can trust.  

In Christ,

Jocelyn

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed He was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from His life. For each scene He noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonging to Him and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of His life flashed before Him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of His life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of His life.

This really bothered Him and He questioned the LORD about it. LORD you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.

The LORD replied, my precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you. ~Carolyn Carty

I figured out what it means to live in the “fast lane.” Life I now say goes by way too fast. I’m going to be sixteen in a couple of months, and I’ve been in Oklahoma for nearly two years! It’s too crazy to be real. Every time I think about it I realize how fast life comes and goes. And if you don’t take the chances and opportunities when they come your way their gone too soon. Sometimes I wish I could just go back to the ‘slow’ life of a kid. But… life and time don’t stop to let us relive the past. It just keeps right on going. And pretty soon, another day has passed, and another, and another. And before you know it a year has passed in your life and you pause to think about that year that passed by in a blink of your eye. You sit back and wonder what happened that year. How you impacted someone, how you changed, learned lessons (whether hard or easy :P), and grew spiritually. You see how far you’ve come from where you were, how God has come through again and again.  That year was probably fast, challenging, and definitely a life changing experience that’s already over (though you may wish it wasn’t). But just remember, that year may be over but your life isn’t over. Don’t waste the rest of your life looking back and wishing you could go back and change what has already happened. Keep making an impact on the people around you. Take the oppurtunities God gives you. Share His love and light with the whole world. One light can make a big difference in a dark room. You can be that one light. Let it shine for Jesus.

Living for Christ,

Camille

“Only one life will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Food, clothes, money, and friends. Those are the usual things (plus more) that people take for granted (including me) I’ve always asked myself: Why do we take those things for granted? I mean come on! We all know that we can’t have those things all the time whenever we want and wherever you want.

We can’t have the food that we want all the time because things happen and you just can’t.

Clothes we know that we can’t be getting knew clothes all the time, I mean that would take up a lot of space and money.

Money is another thing that we take for granted. Some people think that they will NEVER run out of money. You know what…you do! (Imagine that! ;P)

Friends are a BIG BIG one! Everybody takes friends for granted. I do it a lot and I wish I don’t. I just don’t know when I can learn NOT to take people for granted. Everybody does it and everybody regrets it! After I get close to friends and I think/wish that they are always going to be here, then after they leave and are not coming back, it hurts a lot worse!

So try not take things or people for granted! It’s really not fun. (I’m still learning to)

So next time you start taking ANYTHING for granted, then pray and ask God not to take ANYTHING for granted.

In Christ,

Jocelyn

If you say you’re bored than you’re a boring person.
Instead of saying that your bored all the time, try saying that you don’t know what to do, and ask God to bring you something to do, ask him to bring you some excitement. Believe me it works I’ve tried it and got some pretty exiting stuff. 

In Christ
Addison

God has a special calling for you and me. Maybe you don’t know what it is yet, or maybe you do know what it is, either one you still have a special calling from God.

If you don’t know what your calling is then be willing to hear God’s voice telling you what it is. Wouldn’t it be awful if God gave you your calling but you weren’t open or willing to accept that calling and you miss out on your special calling! That’s why I say to you: Be open at all times to God’s voice telling you where to go and which path to take.

If you do know you’re calling then go and do it now! And don’t be afraid of getting hurt. Because you are invincible until God calls you home!

He is holding your hand and walking by your side at all times!

Do your calling until God calls you home!

In Christ,

Jocelyn

If you’re tired, you had a rough day, and everything just seems to be going wrong.  Everybody has those days, we can’t avoid them. When we do have those days, then bring it to God. We are supposed to bring everything to Him. Some people say that we don’t have to bring everything or anything, to Him, because He already knows everything. But God wants to hear us say it from our own heart.  So it doesn’t matter how we are feeling that day, talking to God always helps your bad days. God cares so much for us and he wants to do anything to help us in all of our hard trials and everything that we go through in life. Because life comes with hard trials, good memories, goodbyes, and times where we feel like God doesn’t care about us. But God always cares for us and He only gives us those times to help us grow closer to Him. There’s this saying I’ve been saying it’s: “No pain, no gain” if we don’t have hard times in life then we don’t grow spiritually, and emotionally. God doesn’t give us hard times to hurt us, He cares for us and wants the best for us at all times. So remember bring anything and everything to Him, because most times when we bring everything to friends then it usually makes it worse! God knows what’s best and He knows everything that’s going to happen.  

In Christ,

Jocelyn