Appreciating the opportunity,...

Today has been such a fulfilling day for me and it is not even Noon.  I have had the opportunity to appreciate a couple people that have been important to my life in some form.  One is an amazing woman who is doing huge things in the lives of students daily.  I meet this woman my freshman year of college and have just seen her move and shake and work things out for people who need help.  She was my campus liaison as part of a scholarship I received.  I honestly believe the connection to her has helped me through college in many ways.  So today, I presented her with a dozen chocolate dipped strawberries and a card to express my appreciation for her.  As always, she immediately said, well lets have lunch sometime and discuss what your next step in life is!  That is why I appreciate her so!

Secondly, I was able to give flowers to someone to let them know that they are appreciated for all they do and who they are.  It is a friend and sister from church who is always encouraging both myself and my niece and that truly means so much to me. It is a blessing to us.

So today, I encourage you to appreciate the opportunity to appreciate someone else!

More than just a dream...

While I can recall many of the details from my minds unconscious activity last night, there are many more that escape me.  I feel compelled to share this dream. I don't know exactly what God was communicating to me,but I want to have as accurate a reflection as possible when the revelation is complete.

I must first mention that I did not eat right before bed! 

While sleeping last night I began to dream.  This is what I saw, in order with no added color or pretty words.

People were gathering under a bridge as we were being bombed by Lybia.  People thought they would be safe under this bridge even those missile like bombs pierced the bridge and still killed and harmed people.  The next thing I remember is the earth separating in some form.  People were hanging on tightly to the edges of the separating earth, the only way to be save is to be able to quote Romans 10:8-10.  "⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”^[a] that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: ⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."
It was a painful thing to experience, you could see people struggling to find the word, but they were loosing hope because it was not there, and there. 

I remember feeling the pain and fear at the moments, praying that God would keep me, I myself could not find all the words without stumbling.

As I continue to think of this dream, it convicts and encourages my heart.  I have much work to do.

Ouch...

So today was an awesome day, many great things happened.  To me for something to be great it simply means something was enjoyed.  I took pictures with my nieces which was amazingly fun.  These ladies love the cameras, and I must admit the cameras were fond of them as well.  We had a blast, posing, choosing props, picking our favorites.  After we were done taking pictures, we went to pick out frames.  This was another great moment in the day.  When we went to shop for frames, there was a 40% off sale on frames!!! YAY us!!!  The frames we needed were actually cheaper than that!  AWESOME!!!  After frames, we picked up my mom and a friend, did a little accessories shopping, where the girls spent their hard earned babysitting money, (that's a story for a different day), on bracelets.  We went to lunch, and came home to enjoy the evening. It was a good day.

As I was framing a few of the million pictures we took today, I was rearranging some artwork and pictures we already had on the walls.  As I have always done I called my roommate, also known as my TSINW to help me decided what we could do to make everything fit and our home still look awesome.  We shot around a few things, and came up with nothing.  After a few more minutes of pondering I called her back in I had an awesome idea.  For some reason we have always both "asked permission" whenever we decided to purchase something for the house.  So I pitched my sale "I was thinking I could by something of no use for this house, a super cute something, and place it in the middle with these two things (inspirational wall art) on either side."  "Oh a clock, lol," there was a little conversation, smart comments and the like.  My next statement was so what do you think?  To which a reply came, not with words but with a look, a look that I instantly recognized, but wish I hadn't.  It stopped me in my tracks, and pierced my heart like a new cut-co knife (local joke).  The look said "You can do whatever you want to do, i don't care, this really isn't my home anymore".  I tried with everything in me to pretend it didn't matter, but my heart overtook my lips.  I knew what the look meant, I asked to make sure I was right.  "I know the look I just saw, did it say what I thought it did? " To which the response was a smug smile, so my heart once again took control "I know the look I just saw, and what it meant and It hurt my feelings"  Much to her surprise, I was serious.  She tried to come and talk, but my ears couldn't hear, my feet moved faster and faster, closing the door to my room, and at the moment, my heart.  There was nothing more to be said, it was official.  Things are going to be different now and forever.  Oh my gosh, it hurts.  My heart and feelings are screaming ouch, but my mind is saying I have to understand and be okay with it.  I was given a note to try and explain, and it was a sweet gesture, but it doesn't really change anything. 
I stayed and sulked for less than three minutes, and came back out with my game face on ready to pretend that it was all a joke, and I was never really upset.  We have interacted as though that were the case.  I know life is going to cause changes, but its the one thing I never like, change.  It is often uncomfortable, and OUCH sometimes painful.

Missing my sister...

I always wanted a sister.  Not a biological sister, but a friend I felt so close to that I would never be able to tell the difference.  Well God was awesome in his working, he gave me a sister, who I will refer to as my TSINW (The Sister I Never Wanted).  This is actually what we refer to each other as for a few reasons. 1. She is my sister by selection of God, so even I didn't want her as a sister, there is nothing I can do about it. 2. We torture each other, something sisters never do, right?!?! 3. Because we share families, her parents are mine and vise versa, and they always side with the wrong sister.  All these things combined create TSINW.

I met my TSINW at work about five or so years ago, an  I really thought she was odd.  Well that has proven true, but she is an amazing person.  One of the things we soon discovered about each other is that we were not someone the other person could ever live with.  We vowed never to be room mates with each other. 

As time passed, we became better and better friends.  Well my TSINW went overseas to teach missionary children.  She came back to the states for the summer of 2009 and needed a short term place to stay, so me being the very kind person I am (ha ha ha) offered her to bunk with me for the summer at my dads house.  She accepted.  It was awesome, it was like a summer long slumber party. She was suprisingly easy to live with if you excuse the seaweed and dried squid she tried to feed us. 

Well, before the end of the summer we decided that we would become roommates when she permanently retuned to the US the following spring, and we did just that.

After a million emails and skype calls, we found a place and began the transition.  When we moved in we stayed up all night for weeks sharing the Gospel, talking about life, and just being sisters. 

Our lives were those of blood sisters, even though she is my sister from a different mister.  (LOL)

We attend each others churchs for various events (its really awesome to have more than one church family).
We even celebrated Thanksgiving dinner with both her family and mine at our house and it was amazing.  Our slumber party just continued to get more and more awesome.

Well recently, this has changed with my TSINW, and believe me I am super happy for her.  She is happier than she has even been, for an awesome reason.  Romans 12:15 "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." has helped me a lot as I miss my sister. 

She has not changed her physical location, but emotionally, she is in another universe.  I am genuinely happy for her, but geez, I totally miss her.  We used to do so many more things together, and the happier she gets, and the more progress things make for her, the less of my sister I get to see. 

I am trying not to sound to selfish, but I can see this slumber party coming to an end soon, and quite frankely, its bitter sweet.  My party is ending, but her will just be beginning, and then that opens a whole new chapter...and for that I rejoice with her!  I really love my TSINW, and I know I am not losing her, but goodness, I really do miss her!

Bev's Bucket List...

So often we plan our lives, what we must do this week, what we will do for summer break, and of course what we want to accomplish in life.  Well, I want to make a bucket list, things I want to do before "kick the bucket"!

There are a few things that I have already done, that I will include just so I can feel like I have accomplished something...lol

1. TAKE A CRUISE
2. HAVE CHILDREN BY NATURAL BIRTH
3. ADOPT A KID
4. BUY A HOUSE
5. RIDE JET SKIS
6. MAKE A WEDDING CAKE
7. PLAN A WEDDING FOR A FRIEND
8. TEACH SOMEONE HOW TO COOK
9. MAKE AN ENTIRE MEAL FROM SCRATCH
10. PREACH A SERMON
11. TEACH A COLLEGE LEVEL COURSE
12. SELL SOMETHING I MAKE IN A STORE
13. TRAVEL TO ANOTHER COUNTRY
14. WRITE AND PUBLISH A BOOK
15. EXPERIENCE A ROMANTIC PURSUIT LIKE IN THE MOVIES
16. BECOME A DR IN SOME FORM
17. HAVE AN AMAZING FAMILY

I am sure the list will grow, but this is good for now...

Lord if it's you...

On Sunday, March 13, 2011 our Pastors son, Minister W. Lott, preached an amazing service on Miracles, Signs, and Wonders.  One scripture that is resonating with my spirit is Matthew 14:25 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

While many of us would love to experience such a miraculous thing, we often walk in too much fear.  Either and sometimes both, the fear of looking foolish, of fear created by doubt.  As Minister W. Lott preached he began to explain how our fear keep us in the boat.  Instead of trusting the Lord and stepping out of the boat, we would rather sit back and feel "safe".  Additionally, we are often so caught up in what we look like to others that we miss the miracle.  One thing Minister Lott said was, that our miracles come at the point of looking foolish.  This I know and believe to be true, it is with radical praise, that we cause the heavens to open and God begins/continues to show himself to us.

 He continued on to teach on the supernatural:  1.) Something that has no natural explanation2.) Natural laws are stopped so God can act on your behalf.   Understanding that God is supernatural.  We as mere humans want to put and keep God in a box, when the truth is, that to know God is to know that He cannot be boxed.  Isaiah 55:8-9 teaches us “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,  neither are your ways my ways,”  declares the LORD.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
No matter how many degrees we have, how many places we have experienced, no matter how elite the institutions in which we have studied, we will not be able to "figure" our God nor apply logic to him because He is supernatural!

(Photo found at http://www.culturefeast.com/wp-content/uploads/walking_on_water.jpg)

Apologies...

So what I feared has already happened, I said I would blog everyday, but time has gotten away from me.  I have not forgotten my goal and will post this week a weeks worth of study notes.  I am excited to post about worship services yesterday, the message was truly amazing.  It left me wanted to be like Peter, saying, "Lord, if it is you, bid me to come!"  Well I have to go for now, but my promise is to post by Thursday.

New Inspiration

A few amazing things have happened to me this week, but  there is one thing that really sticks out and is touching my heart greatly.  I was talking with a friend a couple days ago, Tuesday to be exact, and our conversation left me uneasy.  She was sharing with me about her disciplining  a young lady, and that left me wanting to do something new.  I have been in a stagnant place in my spiritual walk, so I decided to begin with myself.  I am going to do better at being in my word.  In youth group, when a teen tells me "I need to be in my word more" or "I am going to study my word more"  I refer to this response as a story book answer.  I say this because, it is them telling me what I want to hear, but often does not carry and real weight.  Well, to make sure I have not made a storybook commitment to myself, I am going to blog about what I have been studying.  My goal is to blog each day, so I will be back today with what I have read and studied! 

Special thanks to Tylena Martin for being my New Inspiration!