For the past few days, I have started two blogs just to quit and save them to my draft file a few minutes later; I didn't feel like they were good enough or the one I wanted to post in that moment. But that all changed this morning, when my family and I braved the forecasted weather and headed to the beach. I have never heard or felt so much wind; the waters were so rough no one could get in. The sand was blowing everywhere, and we had to pack up our tent so it didn't blow away. There was a mist blowing off the sea, and gray clouds began to gather across the sky and in that moment, God reminded me of the story in Mark 4, where Jesus and his disciples got in a boat and started traveling to the other side of the area. A great, fierce storm came about and made the waves big, and the wind strong. The disciples, with no faith, were sure the boat would sink. Jesus was resting in another part of the boat during the storm. Some disciples ran to him and said 'Lord, do you not care that we are about to drown?' Jesus went to the middle of the boat, and commanded the winds to die down, the waves to calm, the rain to cease, and the storm to blow away. And there stood the disciples in awe of what their Master had just done. He asked them why they were so afraid? Had they not seen what He had done in the past? [Read the true story for yourself - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%204:35-41&version=MSG ] Let's take one more look at that last line... Had they not seen what He had done in the past? Boy, did that hit me hard. As I stood there on the beach, playing Bache Ball with my dad, brother and uncle, I couldn't help but stare into the sea and watch as the waves crashed onto the shore, and it's background grew darker and darker. I tried to capture this beautiful and overwhelming scene in the picture below but you just had to be there. All afternoon I have been thinking about the disciples in the boat during the storm and how this wasn't the first miracle they had seen Jesus perform. My dad has reminded myself and our church of that as he's been preaching through the book of Mark in the Bible, the disciples just didn't get it..(you should check out this sermon after you finish reading my blog - http://oxfordbaptist.com/content.cfm?id=213&download_id=72 )
After thinking about what Jesus had done for the disciples and how they had witnessed many other great things before that, I started thinking about the storms in my life and how I was just like the disciples, no faith that Jesus could bring me through and that I'd make it to the other side. Let me let you in on a small storm that is present in my life. If you know me, this might sound crazy, but I am really nervous about starting college in a few weeks. New teachers, new classmates, bigger classrooms and bigger subjects. This has probably hit other college freshmen, I'm sure and if you are one of them, you may know how I feel. On top of that, I am still unsure of what God wants me to be, where he wants me to go, what he wants me to do. So taking these classes, and trying to plan for after college is kind of stressing me out. Those are the two biggest and darkest clouds in my storm. Jesus calmed the storm that day on the Sea of Galilee; Why am I not sure that He can calm my storm today? So after spending some time reflecting over my faith and trust in God, and being content sometimes in the pit of knowing God is faithful but not trusting Him to be faithful in my "storm", I have asked for forgiveness and help trusting Him more and more everyday. It's not everyday that we are physically reminded of Jesus' power and faithfulness, but I am very thankful I was today. Before you start judging or looking at me, the pastor's daughter, for not trusting God to calm my storm and bring me to the other side, please think about the storms of your life and if you are, like me and the disciples, having no faith in the Creator of the storms. In the end, none of us are perfect, and there will always be storms in our lives that will scare us, but would it not be great to walk through or 'sail' through the storms of life, with compete faith that Jesus already knows what the other side of the storm looks like, and we can rest (like Jesus did that night in the boat) knowing we can make it to the other side. So whatever your storm consists of, whether going back to school, entering college, work relationships, family or friend issues, know that your storm will never be too big for our God. Have faith...take some time to talk with God about the storms of your life, I promise He knows what you need. Abby Anyone know where my title comes from? Does the 'Sound of Music' ring a bell? Haha. That's one of my favorite movies or plays. Today's blog is nothing special or deep but just a list of some of my favorite things...so here we go. 1. I like Strawberry Lemonade frozen drinks from McDonalds or O'Charleys. 🍓🍋 2. I love SourPatch watermelons! Yum! 🍉 3. I like being organized and planned out. Like the whole nine yards- different colored pens, a notebook with a few sections, a calendar and everything. 📂🗓🖍🖋 4. I like purses, no wait, I LOVE purses 😍 (maybe I'll do a blog on my favorite purses sometime, haha) 5. I like jewelry. I just recently got like very into jewelry but it has to be simple and nothing big. 😉 6. I like to play games. If there is a couple of minutes where nothing's going on, either with family or friends, I'm trying to find or think of a game that we can play. 🤔😌 7. I like music, a lot! I love to have my headphones in, and the radio up, and if there isn't music in my ears or on the radio, chance is, I'm making my own. 🎧🎵 8. Speaking of music, I have a variety of favorite songs, genres and artist, so here's a little taste of my library: Contemporary Christian(K-Love artists), Country (not all, but some), Southern Gospel (Gaither Vocal Band😍, Wes Hampton, Marshall Hall, The Nelons, anything Crabb family related, 11th Hour), One Direction (I know that may be totally four years ago but still😊) Bruno Mars-Just The Way You Are, Miley Cyrus-The Climb, The McRaes-He Knows My Name, Rascal Flatts-Changed...there are a few more😉 9. Just because these next two favorites are towards the bottom of the list, doesn't mean they aren't my top favorites; They just deserve a lot of time & I knew I'd lose you if I started with two long paragraphs. I love to worship. And it's hard for me even to describe my love for standing with other Christians, raising my hands before an Almighty God and singing my praise in efforts to show Him just how worthy He is and how much I love Him. 🙌🏻 10. I love kids- babysitting, nursery, Kid's Church, Kidz Khoir, pre-K-5th grade. I just like being with kids and hearing their comments and conversations, and seeing them getting super excited over the little things. I love walking into church and school, and getting stopped by five or six kids, receiving hugs, and drawings, or a piece of gum, and just seeing the smile on their face when a "big kid" stops to take time and hear about there week. 😃 11. I love spending time with my friends and family! 12. I love my job. And yes, it has its up and downs and it hasn't been a piece of cake but I love it, and the people I get to interact with. What are your favorite things?? 😊 till next time, Abby I'M SINGLE & I'VE NEVER HAD A BOYFRIEND - I'M PERFECTLY OKAY.Let me start out by saying I have wanted to share about this topic for a long time but haven't had the confidence or words to do so until now.
I am eighteen years old, yes, eighteen, and have never, I repeat, never had a boyfriend. Majority of girls my age have had at least 1-2 boyfriends over their high school career. And when I refer to a 'boyfriend', I mean someone around your age that you can actually go out on a date with, and actually talk about stuff, and confide in each other with...not a boyfriend from 5th or 6th grade that you only saw at school... I have recently become more and more satisfied or content with being single. [Don't get me wrong, I want a boyfriend- someone I can take cute pictures with, someone that wants to hang out with me, or my friends and family, someone who can put up with me making a mess while I demolish a few teriyaki wings at BWW, a man that can hang with my dad, brother, uncles and grandfathers in the topics of fishing, sports, and politics, someone who loves God and enjoys serving and worshipping Him just as much as I do. Is that too much to ask for? Maybe, but I don't thinks it's too much to pray for. ] There was a short period of time during high school where I was jealous and maybe bitter of girls who had a boyfriend, or who were "talking" to someone...I was quite honestly ready to unfollow them, or cut our conversations in half, but I didn't. I was reminded by my Heavenly Father, and other close friends and relatives that a "significant other" does not define you, and these pivotal years in my life are and have been easier and selfishly better without having a 'boyfriend'. So I've been taking time to pray for my future husband, and asking God to polish me up and make me the woman he wants me to be-I don't want to dive into a relationship of "us" and "we" without knowing "me" or "I". I don't even like to use the term [boyfriend], because I feel like in today's world, a boyfriend isn't someone you date with the intention of marrying or a man with whom you do life with seriously looking to the future, but someone who girls only have for a short period of time because that's what peer pressure, Hollywood and social media has told us the standard is... I hope you get what I'm trying to say. Something came to my attention the other day about chasing a man who is chasing God before he starts chasing me & dancing with God until he lets the right man cut in. Those sentences may sound cheesy or irrevelant to you, but to me and some other young ladies around the world, those are important words! So that has been my personal challenge, to be so intuned and inlove with God that I only see the one guy God has created for me. So as I try to wrap up all these thoughts, I want to challenge you, whether you're single or whether you've dated a few guys, that you ask God to show you who and what he has designated for this certain time in your life, and if you need to take some time and find more of God before you find another guy, do so. And if you have a special someone in your life, that you cherish them, and pray for them daily- congrats! Until next time... |
Author20 year-old experiencing the ups & downs of life with the Creator & Sustainer of the World Archives
October 2017
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