what it do darling friends? :)
life has come to a whirlwind of "hurry! move! let's get this show on the road" for the past few weeks, so i haven't been loyal to my writing. i know no one really reads this, so it's like i'm apologizing to myself, but it's all good. :)
so, finals have arrived. my freshman year of classes will officially end on Monday and i find that to be absolutely ridiculous. it only feels like yesterday was August 21 & i didn't know which way was up or down. i'm not gonna lie.. this year has been the most legit thing i've ever been through.. spiritually & physically!
God has really been working on me this year. i prayed allllll summer long last year that He would turn my world upside down.. & He did like i asked. it's a blessing to know the people who are now in my life & for my life to be the way it is now.
"hey Nicole, what are your summer plans?!" well, i'm so glad you asked! ;) i will be returning to my home of Crossett where i will be doing whatever God asks me to. right now, i'm just excited to go back home to be with my beautiful church & hang out with the youth & hear about what's going on in their lives since i haven't been around this year.
it's definitely not what i had planned, but God seems to have a better view of my life :) this semester has been a struggle in itself & i'm definitely ready for some away time with the quietness of my small town & the love of everyone there. visits will be made to some amazing people, but for the most part, i'll be within the southeastern part of the 870 :)
oh! so, back to my life.. uhm, this past Monday (the 18th), i was thrown a surprise party. it definitely wasn't my birthday or anything special. it was just a "we love Nicole" party. the people that thew the party for me will never understand my love and heart after that day. it's amazing to know that answered prayers are inside us all. i prayed for MONTHS to find people at ASU who love me and will be walking in the Lord with me.. & i can honestly say that i've found some amazing people to do that with me. i'm even more excited for what is to come next semester with THE NEWBIES! :D
while dealing with all that love, God is also showing me the true meaning of worship. He has allowed me to be a part of the worship band that leads worship on Thursday nights at the BCM here on campus. it's an exciting time, with a learning experience included. He is showing me how to worship Him, not stress about the sound coming from the keyboard under my fingertips, not the sounds of harmony out of my voice, but the words coming from my lips offering praise to HIM.
::I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.:: --Romans 12:1
::Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering and come before Him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.:: --1 Chronicles 16:29
if we live our lives like those two verses, our hearts will be pure in motive and we will worship our Father the way we need/should for all of eternity. isn't that freaking amazing?!
so, with what God's laid on my heart & with the disease of ASA [awaiting summer anxiety], it's all up in the air of where i will be when i write again. i do plan to blog during the summer, but i'm ready for God to show me a light of what i should be doing in my life this summer. once i know, you all will be one of the first to know :)
until next time.. because we are all a [work.in.progress]
love&prayers:)
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
i do not need comfort
hiya friends :)
i didn't plan on posting today, but something in my class this morning made my heart hurt, so i decided to share with you. it's a definite "in your face" moment of how lazy we are and how we take the easy way out.
in a class of mine this morning, we discussed how college kids rarely go to church on Sunday mornings. i heard so many different excuses. i'll list my "favorites".
"i work so much that i don't have for church on Sundays."
-do you work on Sunday morning?
"well, no. but, it's my time to sleep & catch up on me time."
"i know all the Bible stories. why do i need to hear the same thing again?"
"i had too much fun Saturday night that Sunday just didn't work out."
"i hate going to church because it makes me feel crappy. i want a church that makes me feel good about myself."
needless to say, when i heard that last one, my heart broke. when did church become about making people feel good about themselves? we are filthy, disgusting sinners that don't deserve a thing. we don't deserve the grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness that we receive on a daily basis. so, what makes you want to "feel good about yourself" when you have nothing to feel good about?
i'm not ranting. i'm saying this to myself. so many times, i go to church and learn something that convicts me of something i'm wrong about, and wish that conviction never came. i take for granted that Jesus went through so many awful things when He was blameless that i have no right to want the easy way out. it's a beautiful blessing to grow from where you began. if you aren't convicted, you won't change. if you don't change, you're stuck for the rest of your life. i'd hate to have the same relationship with Christ that i did when i was first saved. i wouldn't know His beautiful love and mercy as well as i do. that would be a tragedy in itself.
i'm praying for the people who have excuses, including myself, to step up and not complain. going to church is a fellowship experience that tons of people would kill for around the world that don't get that opportunity. it's a beautiful thing to come together, worship our Almighty, share each others burdens, and pray together for each other. it's not a torture session. it's a lesson of discipline.
until next time.. because we all are a [work.in.progress]
love&prayers :)
i didn't plan on posting today, but something in my class this morning made my heart hurt, so i decided to share with you. it's a definite "in your face" moment of how lazy we are and how we take the easy way out.
in a class of mine this morning, we discussed how college kids rarely go to church on Sunday mornings. i heard so many different excuses. i'll list my "favorites".
"i work so much that i don't have for church on Sundays."
-do you work on Sunday morning?
"well, no. but, it's my time to sleep & catch up on me time."
"i know all the Bible stories. why do i need to hear the same thing again?"
"i had too much fun Saturday night that Sunday just didn't work out."
"i hate going to church because it makes me feel crappy. i want a church that makes me feel good about myself."
needless to say, when i heard that last one, my heart broke. when did church become about making people feel good about themselves? we are filthy, disgusting sinners that don't deserve a thing. we don't deserve the grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness that we receive on a daily basis. so, what makes you want to "feel good about yourself" when you have nothing to feel good about?
i'm not ranting. i'm saying this to myself. so many times, i go to church and learn something that convicts me of something i'm wrong about, and wish that conviction never came. i take for granted that Jesus went through so many awful things when He was blameless that i have no right to want the easy way out. it's a beautiful blessing to grow from where you began. if you aren't convicted, you won't change. if you don't change, you're stuck for the rest of your life. i'd hate to have the same relationship with Christ that i did when i was first saved. i wouldn't know His beautiful love and mercy as well as i do. that would be a tragedy in itself.
i'm praying for the people who have excuses, including myself, to step up and not complain. going to church is a fellowship experience that tons of people would kill for around the world that don't get that opportunity. it's a beautiful thing to come together, worship our Almighty, share each others burdens, and pray together for each other. it's not a torture session. it's a lesson of discipline.
until next time.. because we all are a [work.in.progress]
love&prayers :)
Monday, April 4, 2011
a new creation
hey guys :)
well, blogs seem to be an important part of my major here lately, especially since i'm taking news writing this semester, so it only seemed fit to actually put up a blog. i'm excited to be able to encourage, learn, teach, and listen to what's going down in the rest of the world.. as messed up as it is.
while i attempted to figure this mess out, for about the one hundredth time, there were a few people running through my mind. specifically, some people who are making major decisions in their life. while making the decision for a college or the major that God led me to, i could only think of the one decision that changed my life completely (that and i read Miss Haley White's blog before i started working on mine.. Happy 2nd RE-BiRTH, Ma'am.) so, here's a little info on what you don't know about me.
i grew up in a Christian home with the most amazing family in the world. i'm not gonna lie, we're not normal in any sense, but it was definitely apparent that we weren't crazy :) i went to church every Sunday, AWANA every Wednesday, and all the crazy kid trips & church camps possible. needless to say, i knew who Jesus was. around the second grade, all these kids were "getting saved" and i didn't understand. all i was told was that if you prayed this prayer & were a good kid, you'd get to be in heaven one day. it wasn't really until the year before 9th grade where i got it.
Siloam Springs Church Camp, the best place in the entire universe, is where i surrendered my life to Christ. Elliott Andrews and a bunch of guys with him were leading worship & he said something that kinda struck me. "you being saved doesn't mean that you pray some prayer & life is peachy. loving Christ is a full time thing. i hope you guys understand that." i kept thinking about that all through service. i, honestly, had no idea what the speaker said. i just know that my heart was broken. i didn't love Jesus. i knew the exterior of Him. i knew He loved me, but i didn't understand that sacrifice. later, after talking to some amazing people, Jesus had my heart.
& Elliott wasn't lying, friends. loving Christ is a full time thing. being a Christian is more than just saying "hey! i love Jesus. you should too," and thinking that everything you do and say is great. you have to strive to live for Him. there's a change. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come!" (2 Cor. 5:17) it's a heart change, not just a outer appearance change.
if ever you need encouragement or hope, look toward Christ. if you don't know how to do that, i'd love to be there for you & help out. it's a continuous blessing to help out other brothers & sisters.
until next time.. because we all are a [work.in.progress]
love&prayers :)
well, blogs seem to be an important part of my major here lately, especially since i'm taking news writing this semester, so it only seemed fit to actually put up a blog. i'm excited to be able to encourage, learn, teach, and listen to what's going down in the rest of the world.. as messed up as it is.
while i attempted to figure this mess out, for about the one hundredth time, there were a few people running through my mind. specifically, some people who are making major decisions in their life. while making the decision for a college or the major that God led me to, i could only think of the one decision that changed my life completely (that and i read Miss Haley White's blog before i started working on mine.. Happy 2nd RE-BiRTH, Ma'am.) so, here's a little info on what you don't know about me.
i grew up in a Christian home with the most amazing family in the world. i'm not gonna lie, we're not normal in any sense, but it was definitely apparent that we weren't crazy :) i went to church every Sunday, AWANA every Wednesday, and all the crazy kid trips & church camps possible. needless to say, i knew who Jesus was. around the second grade, all these kids were "getting saved" and i didn't understand. all i was told was that if you prayed this prayer & were a good kid, you'd get to be in heaven one day. it wasn't really until the year before 9th grade where i got it.
Siloam Springs Church Camp, the best place in the entire universe, is where i surrendered my life to Christ. Elliott Andrews and a bunch of guys with him were leading worship & he said something that kinda struck me. "you being saved doesn't mean that you pray some prayer & life is peachy. loving Christ is a full time thing. i hope you guys understand that." i kept thinking about that all through service. i, honestly, had no idea what the speaker said. i just know that my heart was broken. i didn't love Jesus. i knew the exterior of Him. i knew He loved me, but i didn't understand that sacrifice. later, after talking to some amazing people, Jesus had my heart.
& Elliott wasn't lying, friends. loving Christ is a full time thing. being a Christian is more than just saying "hey! i love Jesus. you should too," and thinking that everything you do and say is great. you have to strive to live for Him. there's a change. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come!" (2 Cor. 5:17) it's a heart change, not just a outer appearance change.
if ever you need encouragement or hope, look toward Christ. if you don't know how to do that, i'd love to be there for you & help out. it's a continuous blessing to help out other brothers & sisters.
until next time.. because we all are a [work.in.progress]
love&prayers :)
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