My heart hurts..

You know...I've been at work today and I am just in complete shock of what is going on in Haiti right now.  This is a country where the majority of the citizens live off of $2 a day (sometimes that's per family).  And my heart is just hurting for them.  My heart is especially hurting for those who don't know the Lord or for those who are searching for Him.  It's times during tragedy that people begin to doubt our Heavenly Father and I have to rest in the fact that all things, good and bad, work out for the glory of the Lord.  Sometimes it's hard to remember that God is close by when tragedy strikes, but what does the word say?  Look back to Psalms where David talks about how no matter where he goes the Lord is also there.  The Lord is also with us even in our darkest days and He is waiting and hoping that we turn and run into His arms.

So what are you deciding to do?  My advice...run to our Heavenly Father for love and comfort especially times of darkness.  There is no darkness to our Father. 

It's days like today that I remember to count my blessings.  I will sit and pray tonight for those who are hurting and for those who are far from the Lord.

 

Wise Child

Wow, is all I can say to this video. God really spoke so clearly to this child, and it makes me wonder...are we listening when God is speaking directly to us? What is He telling you right now?

I love that my God gave His Son so I could be with Him forever. For that I am eternally grateful! :)

Summer time

Wow, so the first week of July is already over..it's unbelievable how quickly time flies by.

I'm moving out in less than five weeks; it's weird. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm really excited to move to campus and be a RA, but at the same time I enjoy so much being able to be around my family all the time. Not to mention I only live seven minutes away from my church! I'll still be home every Sunday for church, and I'm sure I'll be hope at least once more than that (I hope!), but it's definitely going to be an adjustment. I've started getting miscellaneous things together (bedding, boxes, etc) this weekend. I spend five hours organizing things yesterday, and for those of you who know me well it was a rather pleasing afternoon!!

I've really taken the time this summer to spend as much time with my family as humanly possible, and I've enjoyed it so much. I mean, I work downtown every day and I get home around 6/6:30 every day so the only time I get to spend with my family is after that or on the weekends. I've made the most of it. But I've also tried to remember that I need some me time too!

This summer I did one thing that I've been promising myself for the past year : play more tennis!!!! I've taken lessons for the past 4 weeks, and have another three weeks to go! I'm really excited. I feel like my strokes/serves have improved, and I"m rather pleased. I really thank God for giving me the patience to practice hard and be committed to learning more about the sport. I love it!

I'm finally making my trip to visit Rach in about two weeks! I'm really excited about this trip. I believe we are spending a day in Galveston (the beach!!!!), and going to an outdoor concert. I'm excited to have some "away-from-Plano" time with my best friend!

However, the same day I leave for Houston my dad has surgery. Please pray that everything goes smoothly. Please pray that the doctors don't find anything wrong with his arm as they take the cyst out. I'm not worried; more so just concerned. I know God will protect him, as He is our Protector!

My sister (Caryn) moved back home this past month. I'm really glad she and Austin decided to move back home, I just really hope I get to see more of her. I've really missed her these past couple of years, and there is so much I want to share with her!! She's the one that took the picture above!

Here comes yet another week..

I pray that we all cherish the time God gives us with the people we love. Make the most of every moment.


KMF

God is incredible.

You know...sometimes I sit here, and wonder about life. How do we know what we are really called to do? How do we know if we are living the dream that God planned for us? There is so much in my life that I wanted to do differently, and when I look back now and see where I have been and where I am now it's amazing. TO be able to stand here and express the love to others I have for Christ, and yet be a new person aside from who I was when I was 18 is amazing. It's amazing to begin to understand how much love God has for me, and for all of us. I mean, for those of you who knew me in high school and my first semester of college, I wasn't the best person. I was selfish, shallow, rude, and so much more. I was such a person of this world. And then, I remeber who I've become and it's incredible. To know that God changed my life so much brings me to tears. It leaves me hope to know that if He can turn someone into something so much stronger, and so much more full of pure joy then He truly can do anything.

God is incredible. God is love. God is everything we could never imagine and more. God is the beginning and the end.

You never know how short your time is..

We had to put my dog down today. He suffered over 12 seizures in less than 24 hours. The vets thought he had a brain tumor, and there really wasn't much they could do. As the 24 hours went by he got progressively worse. You know something is wrong when your amazingly-strong pitbull becomes....not so strong over night.

It was more sad to see him go than I could have ever imagined. I never thought it would hurt this bad.

With this I have taken one thing away from it all. We take so much for granted, and we don't even realize it. All the days he greeted me with love and kisses, and I was too busy to notice. Why is it that we have to always be so busy to not notice the little things? Today it was nice, I got home and laid on the floor with him until it was time to go. I think that is one of the best memories I can have, other than the time he bulldozed me in the hallway when I was ten!

He was such a blessing to my family and I. He was definitely a Godsend. This experience has given me the opportunity to grow to understand that life is too short. Say I love you as often as you can. Mend your old friendships, and be there for the ones you love. Spend as much time as you can with your family and your friends. Because when it all boils down, all life is about is having intimate friendships. We are called to have a wonderfully fulfilling relationship with our Lord and Savior, as we are to have these amazing relationships with our neighbors.

Love everyone.

I would appreciate prayers for my family and this difficult time. I know letting him go was best for him, at least he isn't in pain any more.

I hope that, for those of you, who think pitbulls are terrible dogs realize that this was an AMAZING pitbull. He was full of more love than ANYONE I have ever know, other than Jesus. He was the first one to greet me when I walked in the door, and always there to say goodbye. All he ever wanted to do was get a little love and snuggle as often as he could. I just wish I would have snuggled with him more often.


I hope you walk away having learned something.

Why Tuesdays?

I just finished reading Tuesdays with Morrie and can I go ahead and say that was one of the best short stories I have read. In a long time.

If there is anyone that I really wished I would have met is this guy; Morrie seemed to be a guy so full of love and joy it's amazing.

This book pulled me into the study that most of it took place. I felt that while I was reading it I was actually taking part in the events that were going on and the conversations that were voiced.

I am going to go back through the book and pull quotes that I really liked. Morrie was a genious. I wish there were more people like him in this world.

But then again, there are more people like him, but it's a matter of letting yourself be like him. He was real, he was natural. Why are we all so afraid of being who we are?

Just food for thought.

What is your legacy?

I was thinking back to a conversation I had with my dad about a sermon we had heard on line a while back. The pastor was talking about life and he asked everyone, "what is your legacy going to be? how are you going to be remembered?"

I really wish I took at least a few minutes every day to think about my impact. Not only my impact on my family, my friends, but the community as well.

When looking back to the trip I went on over spring break I can't help but go back to the thought, "WHY AREN'T THERE MORE PEOPLE DOING THIS?" Why aren't there hundreds and hundreds of students taking their time to volunteer to help others. Not even just students, but ANYONE?

I hope that whenever my time comes to leave the earth I have a legacy of love, friendships and encouragement. I am very much an intrapersonal type of person and I always try to be there for many people. I hope that not only through the love of service that I have, but from the wonderful fiendships I have that people see that.

The most important thing is the realization that we cannot MAKE a legacy. We have to be a legacy. Life your life to be remembered by your family, friends, peers and colleages.


Life your life with love.

Encouraging Moment..

LAUGHTER is the key.



I happened to come by this movie looking for a picture of laughter.

Once a month I volunteer with my family to go to CityHouse to hang out and eat dinner with the kids there. CityHouse is an inbetween home (homeless shelter) for teens to get away from rough family situations and get the help they need.

Tonight was awesome. There was a young girl there that really opened my heart. She was full of laughter and you could see the joy in her eyes. For me, it was as if God was telling me that I didn't need to worry. Why do I get afraid or worried about little things when I have everything I need? I have the comfort of a home and a loving family, most of these children there may not. It was just inspiring to see these group of girls laughing (we were laughing so hard I couldn't stop crying!) and puttig their worries aside.

Why do we worry about the small things? Why is it that we take a lot of what we have for granted? Tonight really helped me to see that we are all truly blessed to be where we are. The young girl really helped me find a new love for life. I am so glad that CityHouse is a part of my life.

Many blessings.

What hurts the most...

This one is a really sad one. Why do we get so close to people that we could lose? Why is it as humans we strive for loving, personal relationships with others when there is always a chance of being hurt?

And why is it that we take the pain out on others? I think the whole concept of falling in love is amazing. I definitely believe it's an experience that we are meant to go through it, but why is it such a hard, painful path?

This is one of those songs that makes you realize never wait to say I love you, never wait to show how much you care. Never regret.