God is so good!

Okay, starting at the beginning. Not quite a month ago I got a call from the nursing school that I am transferring to this summer. They wanted to interview me for their "most prestigious" scholarships (2 different ones) and so we set up an interview time and I went in. Well, it turns out that one of their scholarships pays for tuition & fees, and the other pays for tuition, books & fees. To be eligible for the first one you need to have an interest in teaching at a nursing school & I do not, so that basically put me out of the running for one of the two.

I had about a 45 minute interview where I talked to the dean of administrations and she asked me about leadership qualities, honors, financial needs, etc. I was the last of seven people that were interviewed for these two scholarships (it was only a select few because one requirement to be eligible was that your GPA had to be 3.9 or higher). I was told that I would get a letter in the mail by May 1st to let me know either way if I would receive one of those scholarships. I have been praying ever since then that if it was God's will that I would receive the scholarship, but that it would go to whoever would be able to benefit His kingdom most.

Well, I have been checking my mailbox ever since and nothing has come. Yesterday (which was May 1st), there was still nothing. I wasn't worried, but just anxious to see what the response would be. I have been praying for trust that He will provide.

Today is dead day, so I was sleeping in. At about 9:30 the phone rang and it was the dean of administrations calling to inform me that I have been chosen to be a recipient for the scholarship that pays for books, tuition, and fees!

I am soooooooo excited and thankful! God is so faithful to provide for His children, and even if I hadn't received the scholarship, He would still be faithful and it would all be within His righteous and sovereign plan.

THANK YOU, LORD, FOR YOUR PROVISION!

"'Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
'Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble' " (Matthew 6:25-34, ESV).

The God of Order

Tonight I went to a refreshing women's night at church and learned not only how to decorate a home, but also how to organize one. I learned a lot of great tips for how to run a home once I have one, but I have to confess that after hearing all of that, it's so overwhelming that it makes me think I might want to live in my parents' home forever! Well, I won't take the easy way out. I'll get married to some sinful man, raise a bunch of sinful children, pray for sanctification on my sinful soul, and run a do my womanly-wifely-motherly full-time job of running a home. ;-)

"For God is not a God of disorder but of peace" (I Corinthians 14:33, NIV).

It was very good to hear encouraging words on order and the orderly God that we serve. This verse is in context of talking about the church, but I think that it can also apply to our every day lives. It is evident that God is orderly when we look at his methods for how he does everything. He had an order for creation, order for genealogy, and order for His plan of salvation.
When our lives have order, they run much more smoothly and we are better able to glorify Him.

Weddings, weddings, weddings!

There comes a time in every young woman's life when she starts to feel like every Saturday is spent at either a bridal shower, a wedding, or both... ok, well, maybe that doesn't happen to everyone, but it's how I felt from about April-October of last year and how I'm starting to feel again this year!
In the past couple of weeks, four of my friends have announced their engagements (four different weddings), and today I went to both a bridal shower and a wedding later in the day. Over the next month, I will attend at least two weddings.

These recent events have lead me to the following conclusion: my friends are growing up (notice how I won't admit that I might be part of the supposed-to-be-adultish people)!

It's a strange feeling when the kids that you've grown up with start getting married. I hear it's worse when they start having kids, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

"Let marriage be held in honor among all" (Hebrews 13:4a, ESV).

This The Power of The Cross

"This the power of the cross
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath
We stand forgiven at the cross."
-Keith & Kristyn Getty

I am weak, but He is strong

It's been a challenging past few weeks, just in my daily life. I am tired mentally, physically, and emotionally. I am completely drained from school, commitments, and relationships. I'm ready for a weekend of rest, and it's Monday.

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28, ESV).

I am so thankful that through all the chaos of my every day life, I have my God to turn to and that He is my comfort and my fortress. It is in Him that I take refuge from evil and in Him that my soul finds rest.

I love the mental picture of this next verse. His love and gentleness is so evident!

"He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young" (Isaiah 40:11, ESV).

Father, hold me in your everlasting arms and help me to rely on you alone for strength and not on myself. I am weary, but in my weakness, You are made strong, because it is in my weakness that I clearly see that I am sustained only by Your power and grace, because apart from You I cannot do anything. To You be all glory through everything I think, say, and do.

My Desperately Wicked Heart

"The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?"
(Jeremiah 17:9, ESV)

This past weekend was the "spring retreat" for my youth group. From the sessions to the food to the games, I had a wonderful time! However, I frequently found my heart wandering from where it was supposed to be. I might zone out here or there in a session, or think of myself before I thought of others, or do something with the wrong motive. The above verse came to mind more than once over the weekend as I battled with my flesh.

"Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin." (Romans 7:24, 25, ESV)

This is how I feel about 95% of the time. I just can't do anything right, but Jesus Christ has graciously paid the penalty for my sin.

"All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all."
(Isaiah 53:6, ESV)

How true of my own life just in the past few hours! I constantly go astray from what the Word says and turn to my own sinful way, and yet my God sees fit to punish His own Son for my sin.

This post is kind of "jumblely" and hard to understand, but I guess my point is that I am so very thankful for the love that God bestows on me every second of every hour of every day! I cannot sing His praises enough, nor can I do anything to remotely repay Him for what He has done for me and my wretched, wicked heart.

Lord, help my life, my thoughts, my words, and my actions be pleasing to you! May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer! Help me show your love in everything that I do, and do everything for Your glory, and Yours alone. In Your Son's holy name, Amen.

The Best of Friends

Have I ever mentioned just how much I adore these two little girls? Well, I do. God has blessed me with the most beautiful, kind, and loving little sisters! I prayed for a little sister for several years and God blessed me with a brother and then another brother. On September 27th, 1997 (three days after I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior), I was finally given my very own little sister to love and care for. Then something unexpected happened... on November 21st, 2001, I was given ANOTHER little sister! God is so good. He "overblesses."

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4:6, ESV)