Let's start over

I dwell on the past. There are so many moments that I wonder if I should have done something differently, said something differently, many moments that I wish I had not done at all, or many moments I wish I had done. I tend to let these moments get the best of me. Let's all forget the former things.

Also, I am a big worrier. I worry about things like no other. I like to fix things and if something is not "right"..I worry. I know that worrying is a waste of time, but it's just a part of me that won't leave. Sometimes I worry about my future and even the past (done something/said something differently..etc.) Even though my brain knows I cannot change anything that happened! I don't worry nearly as much as I used to-that's a step.

But, why do we worry?

The dictionary defines worry as, "to feel uneasy or concerned about something; troubled".

God gives us so many reasons not to worry.

1. Worrying accomplishes nothing. Instead of wasting time worrying, we could be out doing something much more productive. Worrying gets us nowhere, so why should we waste our time? God is backing me up here.

Matthew 6:27-29
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.



2.Worrying is Not Good for You. Never has been, never will be. When I am worried I always feel anxious, my heart races, I feel sick, and I feel like there is a huge burden on me. How can all those feelings possible be good for us? God back me up on this one. :)

Proverbs 12:2 "Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up."


3. Worrying is the opposite of trusting God. So, you're telling me that ALL these hours and days I have spent worrying I have not trusted God? Yeah, that's what it means. Worry replaced by Prayer equals Trust.

Let's replace our worry with prayer. Time well spent? I think yes.

Philippians 4:6-7
"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."


4. Worrying puts your focus on the wrong direction. When we worry, we are not fully relying on God. God will take care of us. He will never let us go. Worrying takes our focus and puts it not on God, but on what we are worrying about. Not good. If we keep everything focused on God 100%, we have nothing to worry about. God focus.

Matthew 6:31-33
"So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."

Just like the picture, let's try to not worry about our past. Let's do new things and not dwell on the former things! Let's ony look ahead- living for today and excited about the future God's got for us. Fully focusing on our sweet and wonderful God, while trusting him 100%.

Shoot my muffins are burning. Love to you ALL.

Neely

The Climb

Yesterday was one of my most favorite days this year. I went hiking with four of my girlfriends and two guy friends. We headed up to "The Chimney Tops" in Gatlinburg for a day full of adventure! The trip there was priceless. We rode through the entire "strip" of Gatlinburg (all of the shops and things to do with people EVERYWHERE) singing Shania Twain, Disney songs, and Britney spears at the top of our lungs with the windows down waving to people. Highlight of my weekend.

This trip was much needed and I loved every single solitary second of it. From the falling off the side of the mountain, to all the girls singing Miley Cyrus', "The Climb" while we were "climbing", to me peeing on myself. Uncomfortable for the rest of the hike, but I wouldn't change it for anything. It brought much needed laughs accompanied by tears (me). It was such a beautiful hike and I had never really been on a "hike" before. I just looked around with pure amazement at how God could create something so beautiful, so perfect, something to take my breath away. It looked like the rocks had been placed PERFECTLY for our feet to step on, the trail was so perfect for us to walk on, and the waterfalls and streams were so perfectly placed and refreshing at just the right times.

I was thinking about it last night and one question popped into my mind while talking with a friend. I was going to ask her "Who made that trail?" Oh. my. goodness. Did I just say that out loud? Embarassing. But no, seriously that DID pop into my mind. I did stop myself and it never left my mouth. And those types of questions pop into my mind way too much. It happens to us all. Saved or not.

The problem, I think is, we don't really appreciate what we "see" everyday. I walk to class every. single. day. But I never look at a tree with beautiful flowers and say, "WOW, God! You created this. Thank you, it is beautiful, just like YOU." Much less look at an old, leafless dying tree and say the same.

Let me ask a question that may get us thinking. It is easy to thank God for such a beautiful sunny day, isn't it? Yes it is. I see way too many facebook status' that say.."Thank you God for such a beautiful SUNNY AND WARM day!"

I'm a sucker for this too, I will admit. BUT yesterday lead me to start thinking differently. God makes everyday the way He wants it. Which is PERFECT. He makes rain, snow, sleet, hail, sun, clouds, cold and hot. Yes, He even makes the days where it is so cold my nose goes numb AND on top of that it's pouring rain AND I am walking to class. He makes them because that's the way He wanted that day. And He don't make no mistake! :) Whatever the weather brings we should PRAISE him no differently than the day before.

Why can't our facebook status' say, "Thank you Lord for today because YOU are in it. YOU are seen through these trees, the grass, the clouds, and all of this beautiful, COLD rain." He made the cold rain, and we should PRAISE Him for it. We don't because we are selfish and want COMFORTABLE sunny, warm weather. Most of the time.

It's funny how it takes something like a simple hike that takes my breath away to notice all of my flaws and how I can start praising Him more. I thank God for that hike and the pictures and memories I can cherish forever.

Another one of the favorite memories of the day that I will leave you with is my friend asking us a simple question. She asked, "What if Jesus was waiting for us on top of this Mountain?" It through us all for a loop BUT I am so so glad she asked something like this. We all looked at each other and I know what I would do. I would start sprinting up the mountain. I would not stop for "water breaks". I would not wash my feet in the creek. I would not take pictures. I would not talk. I would barely be breathing. That just gets me excited.

So, this week, let's do this together. We are all in this together, ya know. Let's start praising Jesus for what each day brings. Look around at everything and think about how God is seen through it. Think about how beautiful all of God's creation is.

I love every one of you and will be praying for a week filled of fun, fellowship, and God praisin'!

If you fill yourselves with Word, it will overflow and fill others.

I love to think about this. If you keep yourself "filled to the top" with God's Word, you can overflow and fill other's lives. If you do not keep yourself filled with the Word and are trying to "fill" others you will get eaten alive. It speaks the truth.

I found a verse in Job the other day that really spoke to my heart.

"Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water? While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass. Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless. What he trusts in is fragile; what he relies on is a spider's web. He leans on his web, but it gives way;he clings to it, but it does not hold.He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden; it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks and looks for a place among the stones. But when it is torn from its spot, that place disowns it and says, 'I never saw you. Surely its life withers away, and from the soil other plants grow."

I love this verse. As Christians, I know it can get hard. We are human. But what is said here is true. Papyrus cannot grow tall where there is no marsh. Reed cannot thrive without water. WE cannot live without God. He is our "marsh" where we can grow. He is our water so we can survive. He is the food and breath of life!

Think about a garden and all the many things it grows. In order for the garden to grow beautifully it must follow some steps. Let's go through the steps.

1. The "garden" must be sowed to get ready for the plants.

2. The seeds must be bought.

3. The seeds must be planted.

4. The seeds must be covered back up with the rich, moist soil.

5. The seeds must be watered.

6. The plants grow.

7. The plants must be watered.

8. The plants continue to grow.

9. The plants must be watered.

10. The plants still continue to grow.

11. The plans must be watered.

Notice a pattern? Yeah, these seeds can represent the followers of Christ!

1. We were "sowed" by God, He prepared us and made a special place for us.

2. We were "bought" by the blood of Jesus Christ.

3. We were "planted" in our faith and stand firm knowing Jesus' love for us.

4. We were "covered" back up after we were planted. I take this as meaning Jesus is protecting us from what may "harm" our roots.

5. We must be "watered".

6. We "grow" in our sweet relationship with Jesus.

7. We must continued to be "watered".

8. We continue to "grow" and "learn" in our faith.

9. We must still continued to be "watered."

........on and on and on. Pattern: We MUST be watered to grow. We MUST attend Church to grow in our faith. We MUST be fed spirituality. We MUST surround ourselves with other believers who will hold us accountable and do nothing but encourage and support us in our Walk. We MUST spend time with Jesus alone.

These are all things that I think we can do to "water" our faith so that it will grow and grow and grow. :)

This was just something I was thinking about. :)

I don't know how but there's power when I'm on my knees.

Bible Verse of the Day:

"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.

When we are weak we are strong. I don't know about you, but it is when I am the weakest (on my knees) that I feel God is the most powerful. It is when I don't think I can get UP from my knees that God really puts His power on my heart to pick me up. I don't like the feeling of "feeling" like you are so weak that you can't imagine what the next day will be like, but I absolutely love the feeling of no matter what happens-rain or shine, no matter who I have beside me-every single person could leave me, God will ALWAYS be right there holding my hand. That's so comforting, isn't it? We will never be alone. We will never walk alone. One of my favorite songs is by the group Point of Grace, "You Will Never Walk Alone." Download it-it's worth the 99 cents.

"You will never walk alone, as long as you have faith, Jesus will be right beside you all the way and you may feel you're far from home, but home is where He is, He'll be there down every road, you will never walk alone."

This also reminds me of the poem, "Footprints"
"You promised me Lord that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there have only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?" The Lord replied, " The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand, that is when I carried you."

I feel like the most trying periods of my life have happened to me recently. My faith and values have been tested and when I needed God the most, He was there. Always will be. I also feel like that when I am at my lowest point, it is then and only then, that I can get up from my knees because God carries me.

Lord, what do you want to teach US to make US a better people? What are your plans for us to make us more effective? Lead us and guide us through this process. Be our teacher and show us your ways. And don't let us miss any lesson you have prepared for us.

That was on my mind today. Not that I am weak on my knees today. Tomorrow or the next day could be a different story. But I'm not worried. Neither should you. God's got us. :)

Today is a good day! Thank you for reading. Today, please pray for me. I have an interview to be a Young Life leader today at 4:30 and I am getting kind of nervous. Please pray for the Lord to direct me and may I speak my heart to these people who are interviewing me. Please pray also that the Lord lead me to the school in Knoxville who needs Neely the most. I know that wherever I am placed will be for His glory. Thanks for your prayers, they are loved.

Have a great Wednesday friends! May the Lord bless all of your sweet hearts.

Blessings, Neely

The driver gets to pick the music?

Back from Spring Break. Back to reality. Back to LIFE. That should be illegal to say. Just kidding. When I was on my way to Destin, I was driving. DUH. BUT, there were sooo many times that I wish I had had someone with me to "take over the wheel" because I was so tired. This led me to think....."Do I let God take over my life so freely, like I let people so freely drive my car?" If you know me you know that if you want to drive my car, go for it. I am not the best driver. I am WILLING to let you drive. I am so HAPPY that you want to "take over." I am RELIEVED that I can sit in the passenger's seat and not have to worry about where I am going.



1. Willing
2. Happy
3. Relieved

I have those emotions JUST when someone wants to "drive" my car? Yep. I do. It means I can sit back, relax and not worry.

I can't believe that just came out of my mouth because it is what WE NEED God totally to do. And he has done in some of us. But do we let him as often as I should? Probably not. And it's hard sometimes.

Sisters and Brothers in Christ, hear me out for just a second.

Jesus wants to be "the driver" in your life when you are TIRED, WORRIED, and STRESSED. Jesus wants to "take control" of our lives and lead us to our "destination" safely. When someone is driving..don't you go where THEY want to go? Not all the time, but most times.

My mom always said, "The driver gets to pick the music." Maybe not always right :), but in this situation it holds truth.

Let's think about it. God LONGS and NEEDS to be "our driver." 1. We need to be WILLING to let him drive. 2. We will be HAPPIER once we "get our sinful selves" out of that DADGUM drivers seat and let him take over! GEEZ! I wanted to scream that. But I can't scream on posts. Just pretend I was screaming, okay? 3. We will be RELIEVED once we finally humble ourselves enough to get in the passenger's seat and not have to WORRY about where He will take us. Wherever He decides to "drive" us is HIS WILL. That is kind of encouraging to know that I am not in charge! Whew! (Wipes sweat off forehead).

On another note, "The driver gets to pick the music." Whaaaaaaaaaat the heck does that mean? Well, sweet friends, in my opinion (you may have different opinions) it means that God gets to pick our music. Music is what we listen to throughout the drive, right? Music in our life represents our day to day struggles, accomplishments, choices, etc. Anything and everything that we deal with. Now, before I gave God my driver's seat I CHOSE the music. I chose what I wanted to do with my life and thought I just had it all perfectly planned out. Then I wrecked. I think this is what we ALL will end up doing if we don't let HIM drive.

Let's let God choose our "music"..he knows whats best for us and what's even more thrilling....He already KNOWS the music. From now until we die. He knows what we will face and have to endure, BUT with Him in the driver's seat, He will be our comforter, provider, and keep us safe. :)

When God is in control of your life, you will experience tremendous changes. In Romans 8:5, it reads, “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God."

Please RE-READ that. Please. It has so so SO much meaning.

As long as you are "driving" you will not please God. For your safety, let Him take control. He already knows the roads, bumps, tunnels, U-turns...etc. Pray about it.

Oh, and one last thing...Who is in your backseat? Are you letting friends who have the same beliefs as you, encourage and lift you up YOUR backseat? Or do you have quite the opposite? I'm not saying if you have the opposite-KICK EM TO THE CURB. Not at all. Honestly, just pray about it. Ask God to lead and guide you and place friends in your backseat who are good for your mind, body, and spirit and help your relationship with Him "go past the speed limit". :) Just something to think about.

Love to you ALL. Have a wonderful week and hang in there!

Neely

If I can make it just one more day!

This is has been one of those weeks. Little sleep, lots of studying, headaches, body aches, I could really go on and on. But I think that's good enough. I don't think I have ever been THIS ready for a break in my life. I am so ready to escape away to the beach and rest for NINE DAYS. All with the ones that mean the most to me. I never plan what I am going to write in my blogs, I just kind of write while I am going. So bare with me.

I am so exhausted but cannot take a nap because I have other things to be at. (Lord knows I won't wake up if my head hit that marshmellow of a pillow) so I decide to write about how THANKFUL I am that God is "okay" with our tiredness. I flew out of bed this morning faster than a roadrunner in the Arizona desert, therefore I did not have any kind of quiet time. I am thankful for a God who accepts that I was in a hurry this morning and did not have time for him. Wow. Did not have time for Him. Him as in the ONE who loves us the most. Yeah, I know we all get busy and forget, we're human. But once you write it out and put it like that, it is heart-breaking.

I often think of my grandparents when I think of "forgetting God". Sometimes it will be weeks or even months before I call to check up with them. When I do call, you would have thought I had called the day before. They are so happy and thankful for that moment, right in that second, that they are talking to you. I think God is a lot like this, too. Every time we remember to "call" Him, he has already forgotten that we haven't called him in days, weeks, maybe months. Personally, if a friend didn't returned my call for months I think I would kind of just give up and honestly, I would be angry and feel like I am not important. I need a heart like Jesus and a thankful nature like my grandparents!

So, today, I am thankful for:

A God who sees -He searches for us, giving us strength when we surrender every aspect of our lives to Him. "For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His" (2 Chronicles 16:9).

A God who is "okay" with my best for that day- Even when I can't give much to Him, he still is satisfied with me.

A God who listens- I love the feeling how I can go to God for anything. He knows everything about me. He knows everything about you. He knows the hairs on our heads. He knows our "secrets" we keep hidden from others. He knows what we are going to do before we even do it. He knows our past, present, and future. Sometimes I feel bad for just sitting and spilling all my problems on my friends "to do" list. It is so refreshing to know that God is ready and willing to add to his "to do" list. I am envisioning a huge refrigerator with post it notes from me. He is our father, our biggest fan and encourager. I think "refrigerator" is fitting because you can put up things you are "proud of" -whether it be pictures, a good grade, or a sweet note. God is proud of us, even if we forget to write him a post-it note and stick it to the fridge.

Today, my body may be so tired, but my heart is so thankful for his grace and patience with me. I WILL fail Him, but he WILL NOT fail me.

This song by David Crowder Band is so beautiful and it goes along with being the "drained theme."
"And this is all that I can say right now, I know its not much.
But this is all that I can give, yeah that's my everything.
This is all that I can say right now I know its not much.
But this is all that I can give, yeah thats my everything."

Bring on Spring Break 2010! Bless and be blessed along the way! :)

I need a Diet Coke.

Our TRIP with Jesus! Start packing!

So, as I sit here cramming for a test and thinking about what all I am going to pack for Spring Break, I realize, "WOW, Do we get spend this much time "getting ready" for Christ? For me, the answer is "not like I should". All week I wonder what I am going to be doing that upcoming weekend. I "prepare" for the weekend by getting all of my "week" work out of the way in order to ensure myself a good weekend. I "prepare" myself for a trip to the beach by packing my swimsuits and all the necessary items I need to go to the beach. I "prepare" for a test by studying notes and quizzes. I "prepare" myself for an interview by dressing nicely and going over a resume.

"WHAT?!?!?! WE HAVE TO PREPARE OURSELVES FOR WHEN JESUS COMES BACK, JUST LIKE WE PREPARE OURSELVES FOR DAILY HAPPENINGS IN OUR LIFE?"

Absolutely. Maybe not in the "study notes, pack swimsuits" kind of way. But in the spiritual way. :) Heck, you might could throw in a swimsuit or two-I'm sure there will be swimming pools with gold circling around them in Heaven! :)

"If, as Jesus said, we cannot know the hour or the day of His return, yet we also see the signs, how are we to be both ready to go and resigned to wait?

According to the apostle Peter, the scoffers say: "Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation. … Where is this 'coming' he promised?" (2 Peter 3:4) But he reminds us that the Lord's tarrying means salvation for more. Still, Peter poses the question: "What kind of people ought you to be … as you look forward to the day of God?" (3:11-12).

His answer: "You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God … looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth" (3:12-13).

How do we live Holy and Godly lives?

I think that God wants us to prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming of Christ. He wants us to live like Christ did, act like Christ did, and teach like Christ did.

Back to preparing. I think that the best way to "prepare" or "pack" for Christ is probably what some of us already do in our daily routines. BUT the coming of Christ is so much more special and life changing than a spring break trip, or a test, or ANYTHING. I get so excited about a big trip that I just want to pack and pack and pack. IF ONLY I could feel this way about "packing and packing and packing" for JESUS' RETURN!

I think the best way to "pack" for Heaven is this:

1. Read God's written word-The Bible. It is our "instruction book." It WILL tell us all the necessary items we will need to inherit His Kingdom and enter it. Pack it.

2.Pray. God wants to listen to us. He longs to talk to us. He ALWAYS has time for his followers. When you are heading on a trip with someone don't you communicate with them? What time are we leaving? What do I bring? Take all of your heavenly "packing" to God! Ask Him to show you what you need to do to bring Glory to Him until he returns! Prepare it.

3. Accept Jesus as your Savior and ask for forgiveness. You HAVE to understand and accept that Jesus came to this earth once, and He IS coming again. Pack for Jesus KNOWING that he still loves you even though you break His heart daily! HE STILL WANTS YOU! I think if we broke someone else's heart like we do Christ's, I don't think they would want to "take us" to the beach anymore. Jesus does. He WILL NOT leave you. Ever. Come! Sin and all.

4. Help others find Jesus. It is heartbreaking to comprehend that some people you deeply love may not inherit the Kingdom of God when Christ returns. If we pray for their hearts and offer what we have to them, maybe they will see Christ in us. We have too. We want them to spend forever with us.


SO, this is what we will need for our trip with Jesus. T minus ______ days! Get pumped!
1. Bible-pack it. It's our MAP for our great big trip!
2. Prayer-prepare your mind. This is our "GARMIN GPS" for our big trip!
3.Accept Jesus and ask for forgiveness-prepare your heart. This is our "we are lost", and "good thing we can turn around" button.
4. Spread His word-prepare their hearts. This is a sign for as many friends as WE witness to, to jump in and come on our big trip with us! The more the merrier!

OH I CANNOT WAIT. :)

This is what was on my mind tonight. I'm not sure how much sense it will make, but it is just something that came to my mind. I wish I "packed" more for my trip with Jesus. We better start. We may not have long! :)



Night Night!