BETTER THAN I DESERVE

i need to trust God more. this right now, is not really going according to plan, or what i had in mind but this is God's plan.

why is life sometimes so uuuggghhh

http://pacificcrossroads.org/blog/ten-maxims-toward-contentment/

When we confess those sins, we receive forgiveness and cleansing from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Because of that, you, if you are a Christian, have freedom from the fear, shame, and condemnation of sin. Your sins and the sins done against you do not define you. Your identity is as a redeemed, reconciled, justified, cleansed son or daughter of our loving Father. You can be bold in confessing and confronting real sin because the grace God gives is real.

return to your first love.

the joy of your heart.

Jesus Christ.

surrender. and commit all your ways to him.

1 peter 3:4

Let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

A true beauty clings to God’s promises for her life and believes them as the most important thing about her.

peace. i pray for peace.

mercies in disguise

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the achings of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy

satan is really trying to attack me right now

hrmm i wonder what he finds so appeasing in

tempting and tormenting me.

why are you so afraid of me doing well and growing

and letting go of the past?

Spirit now living
And dwelling within me
Keep my eyes fixed
Ever on Jesus' face
Let not the things of this world
Ever sway me
I'll run 'til I finish the race

2 eCount it all joy, my brothers,2 when you meet trials fof various kinds, 3 for you know that gthe testing of your faith hproduces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be iperfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

7 Be patient, therefore, brothers,1 until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives kthe early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. lEstablish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord mis at hand.

James.

wedding dresses

ok not to freak anyone out cause i really dont want to get married anytime soon at all...but i freaking loooooooove wedding fashion. so fab.

i am all about the spanish veils. looove em.

i love the back of this dress. oh.em.gee.

i like their feel

i want to have all these outfits...

Isaiah 30:18

The Lord Will Be Gracious

18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,

and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.

For the Lord is a God of justice;

blessed are all those who wait for him.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WAIT FOR HIM???

self-focused

i forget that i disobeyed. that i wronged God.

i keep only thinking of myself.

what a fool.

i really hope what goes around, comes back around.

i really hope those words are true.

the truth of it is, you're seriously just trash. you are a sad sad person. i hope you learn one day how to become a real man. you freaking idiot.

our deal

i wish you would tell me

how you really feel

but you'll never tell me

cause that's not our deal

hurricane irene

after countless friends kept posting links about the hurricane on my facebook telling me to "stay away from new york", asking me "are you gonna own up the east coast or wuh" and saying "girl, you crazy"....i got to thinking....

and i guess i am kind of like a hurricane. or i mean my personality. i am kind of scary, violent, windy, and stormy.but the hurricane has an eye, a small area of calm and peace, cloud-free that is surrounded by a wall of crazy thunderstorms. i like to believe i have an eye too, that not many people realize or see.

hrmm i am totally connecting with this hurricane for sure.

couldnt have described me better

She had reluctantly accepted suffering as an inevitable component of deep passion, and was resigned to putting her feelings at risk. If you asked her what it was she was gambling her emotions on to win, she would not have been able to say.

--Vicky Cristina Barcelona

in need of healing

its been a hard time these past few months. even with india being an amazing blessing. but thank goodness for the Lord.

honestly, i feel like such a phony when i write entries about God and how good he is because i think it makes me seem like im all holy and whatnot. but im seriously not and i know im not. i struggle every single second of the day and i am so full of sin and im not anywhere near holy. i love the world so much still and the things it offers. i even long for the world sometimes and i choose the world over God all the time.

but despite my sin and shortcomings...God is so good and i want to share of his glorious love. He knew exactly how much i was hurting and he offered me peace, grace, and comfort. dang it God. thank you for answering my prayers, loving me, and knowing me.

LAMENTATIONS 3:20-26, 31-33

"My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."

"The Lord is good to those who wait for him TO THE SOUL WHO SEEKS HIM. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."

"For the Lord will not cast off forever, but though he cause grief, he will have compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love..."

--

i was seriously feeling so hopeless, vacant, and empty and God graciously spoke to me. i know there will be so many times that i forget the hope i have in him. i know that maybe even tomorrow i will feel sad or hopeless or angry or like everything is lost. but God is faithful and i know he will never fail to remind me.

<3

spanish films that have changed my life (exaggeration)

seriously, people, you really need to watch these movies. they are seriously the BEST movies in the world. and i can guarantee you will be blown away. i never recommend bad movies.

i have no other motive for you to watch these films other than the fact that i want you to share in the amazingness of them. i want for us to talk about them and enjoy them together! i want to share the goodness with you.

so please believe me and watch these. i really believe spanish language films are the best in the world.

regeneration

Because sin is not merely doing bad things but an even deeper problem of building our identity on someone or something other than God alone, the solution to idolatry is not to change our behavior but to have a complete reorientation of our nature at the deepest level of our being, or what Jesus called being born again.

regeneration: the deep work in the heart, our total inner self, so that a new life flows from a new heart empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Practically, this means that as we enjoy and delight in who God is, what he has done, and what he will do for us, our regenerated hearts share in the same desires of God. Subsequently, unlike religion, which is based on fear that forces people to do what they do not want to do, regeneration is based on love and God inviting new people to live new lives of worship, which is exactly what their new hearts want to do at the deepest level. The result is ever-growing, never-ending, ever-worshiping, passionate joy!

penelope

im so obsessed with her. i think she is the most beautiful woman in the entire world. penelope...

if you dont share my obsession, its because you havent seen:

1. vanilla sky

2. broken embraces

3. vicky christina barcelona

vanilla sky made me fall in <3 with her. its the best movie...ever...

the gospel

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures . . .” -1 Corinthians 15:1–4

What is the Gospel? The word gospel simply means “good news.” The central message of the Bible is the gospel, or good news, about the person and work of Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 15:1–4, Paul provides the most succinct summary of the gospel: the man Jesus is also God, or Christ, and died on a cross in our place, paying the penalty for our sins; three days later He rose to conquer sin and death and give the gift of salvation to all who believe in Him alone for eternal life.

Religion says that if we obey God He will love us. The gospel says that it is because God has loved us through Jesus that we can obey.

Religion says that the world is filled with good people and bad people. The gospel says that the world is filled with bad people who are either repentant or unrepentant.

Religion says that you should trust in what you do as a good moral person. The gospel says that you should trust in the perfectly sinless life of Jesus because He alone is the only good and truly moral person who will ever live.

The goal of religion is to get from God such things as health, wealth, insight, power, and control. The goal of the gospel is not the gifts God gives, but rather God as the gift given to us by grace.

Religion is about what I have to do. The gospel is about what I get to do. Religion sees hardship in life as punishment from God. The gospel sees hardship in life as sanctifying affliction that reminds us of Jesus’ sufferings and is used by God in love to make us more like Jesus. Religion is about me. The gospel is about Jesus.

Religion leads to an uncertainty about my standing before God because I never know if I have done enough to please God. The gospel leads to a certainty about my standing before God because of the finished work of Jesus on my behalf on the cross.

Religion ends in either pride (because I think I am better than other people) or despair (because I continually fall short of God’s commands). The gospel ends in humble and confident joy because of the power of Jesus at work for me, in me, through me, and sometimes in spite of me.