The Glory of God

Day 4 - Favorite Quote.

I debated what to say for this one.  I have so many!  But in the end, Psalm 19:1 is my favorite.  

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."

This is one of the reasons I love living in Amish country.  Everyday I walk outside and simply cannot deny God.  It's clear everywhere I look.  His beauty, His majesty, His artistry, His love is E V E R Y W H E R E!

He paints beautiful masterpieces in the sky every hour of every day and I simply love being able to enjoy it.  And this verse just reminds me of his glory in the heavens and the work of his hands.

At first, I just wanted to grab a picture from Pinterest that had the verse, but I have so many amazing pictures of His handiwork.  All these pictures were taken by me on many of my various travels and back road adventures [correction: the fourth image was taken by a fellow camp counselor, Jenna ].  Each one has a story that I could tell you about, but I'm going to let you simply enjoy Psalm 19:1-6.  I think of His glory every time I step outside.  Such a blessing to see and be a part of His handiwork.

North Carolina with family

Disney with Jasmine

Back roads in Amish Country

Marmon Valley over the Hen House

Storm clouds over the house

Clouds on the way to Cali

Rainbow on the way to Alamere Falls

Jamaica Sun

Clouds at Marmon Valley while berry picking

Marmon Valley - catching horses in the morning fog

Sunrise while leaving Findlay's barn training for Semi Finals

Jamaican sunset

Field by where I used to ride

Disney sunset at Epcot

30 day challenge

Remember that verse about whatever is noble whatever is pure... that is what you should be thinking about? That verse has been on my mind lately, most specifically in music.

Source: mapofmyheart.tumblr.com via Katy on Pinterest

I never realized how much music affected me until this year.  I remember going to Marmon having to take an iPod with only Christian music on it and wondering what's it matter if I don't just listen to Christian music.  I mean our entire lives at the Farm were about Christ.  Sun up to sun down, eating to swimming, God had a part in it all.  So I really don't think the music meant much to me then.

However, this past summer and fall, I really noticed a difference in my attitude and thoughts when I listened to certain music.

I'm currently a 22 year old girl who really struggles in life when it comes to guys.  I dream about my future life, my future family, my future husband.  Dreaming isn't a bad thing, but when your way of life is interrupted by it, it can be bad. I wonder if I will be alone forever.  I wonder if I will ever have a family. I struggle with the insecurities of if someone will ever love me like Christ loves the Church;  the way that God designed love, the way that God IS love?

Seeing everyone around me get engaged, get married, have kids, all of that stuff, really gets to me.  It puts me in dark places.  This fall had to be the worst it ever got.  I was literally thinking about guys all the time!  It was so bad that I couldn't even see what it was doing to me.   It didn't hit me what I was doing until one day in church, I was literally standing in line to take communion and heard the guy in front of me singing, and I thought to myself, wonder what he'd be like to date?  And then that's when God gave me a wake up call.  I mean, I was in line for communion!  It was definitely the lowest point for me.

Source: ilovehoneylace.tumblr.com via Tiffani on Pinterest

After I realized just how bad I was, I started to confide in the people I trusted.  I know that some of them were praying for me. That's when I started to notice the differences that occurred when I listened to certain music.

Anyone that knows me knows that I am a country girl. I love country music!  It's absolutely amazing and a lot of it I can totally relate to.  But so much of it is about heartache and love and guys.  One song can trigger so many emotions.  One song would literally take me back to all the insecurities, all the thoughts, all the feelings. I never noticed that before.

Luckily, back in BG, there's a Christian radio station called K-Love.  I'm pretty sure it's nation wide, but I'd never heard it until I came to BG.  Back home it's always been the FISH :)  Most recently I discovered Moody Radio.  Any way, it's what I started to listen to in my car, on my iPod, on my computer.  It's truly amazing the power that music has.

  Source: klove.com via Tiffani on Pinterest

K-Love is currently hosting a 30 day challenge to listen to only Christian music to see how it changes your life. [click here for the link] I signed up for the challenge on Saturday, so that means until February 13, I will only be listening to Christian music.  The only exception to this will be the soundtrack of the Pajama Game, because I kinda can't get out of that one :) haha.

I still love country music.  There are some wonderful artists out there and some amazing songs.  But so many of them do not help my way of thinking.  My struggle with the subject of guys is totally not over.  It's a daily battle that I've got to constantly give to Christ.  It's not something I can do alone, and it's definitely one that I don't win all the time.  But I do know that God's got it.  He understands, and His love will always be enough.  So for now, I pray for my husband, for my future family.  I pray that God prepares my heart for my husband. I trust in Him, in His love, in His timing.  Someday.

Source: tayirl.blogspot.com via Tiffani on Pinterest

I'm excited to do this challenge with K-Love and hope that you might consider joining me in the effort.  It's only 30 days.  Rest assured that it will most definitely be worth it.  God does funny things and you'll never know until you try.  If you want to click here to sign up.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8

Bumpy Ride

I had a riding lesson the other day.  It was freezing.  It was the day after the first real snow in BG (we had at least an inch there until the sun came up), so everyone was a little crazy.  Horses act like humans when the temperature changes; they kinda freak out like we do, as if we didn't know it was supposed to snow in December... anyway, the horse lesson...

I got to ride a new horse this past time (the horse isn't new, I just haven't ridden him before).  He's an arabian, and I knew that I previously hadn't enjoyed riding arabians, so already, before even getting on, I pretty much knew it would be a long lesson.  Great frame of mind right?

I get on, and he takes off.  Not like a bullet or anything, but a super fast walk.  The kind where you feel like you are being thrown around because the horse is moving so much.  Dang nab, it was uncomfortable!  I was trying to get him to relax and what not, but he was having none of it.

So we started to trot a bit.  For you non-horse people, it's a bouncy 2 beat gait that's kind of like a jog for us, up and down, which translates to you going up and down in a saddle, which already doesn't sound very pleasant to the rear end, right?  Well, like I said, he was already moving a lot, and the trot wasn't an exception.  He just didn't want to slow down.  Add a few quick turns, half canters, a few walks, plus the horse acting like it was a pretzel, folding itself basically in half, and it was quite the comedic show!

There is a point to all this, so bear with me.

The trot was going fast enough to be what is considered a "posting trot," which translates to the rider going in and out of the saddle in sync with the horse, which in turn makes it a bit more comfortable.  However, in the kind of showing I do, you aren't supposed to do that.  We get to stay uncomfortable with the hope that it becomes more comfortable with time (yes, we know that doesn't make sense...)

Thus, I sat the trot through the roughness.  Eventually, he calmed down and the trot got a bit better.  We went on to canter a bit, and it was fun.  We got to a pattern and he did amazing!  Flying lead change and everything! [fancy horse term you don't need to know].

The point of the whole thing is that God teaches things through everything that you do. Looking back on the lesson, it totally relates to my life.  That trot was mighty uncomfortable.  I knew that it would eventually become more comfortable, but at that given moment, it would have been much easier, and nicer on my derriere if I had started posting.  But, as I said, that's not what I was supposed to do.

Things in my life can be rough.  Plans go astray, details get left out, new things come up, things don't go how I want them to, the unexpected happen, other things like a friend bailing on you, someone walking out of your life, or people making you really mad. There are times where it would be so easy to just let go of my values and my beliefs and act in a way that is totally not how a child of God should act.  I mean, He is always right beside us, shouldn't we act with that knowledge in the foreground of our thoughts?  It's easy to choose the route that is less difficult even if it requires we lose our morals along the way, our beliefs.

But it's not what we should do.  Sometimes you just have to "cowboy up" (I apologize for the terms here, you'll just have to deal with it) and sit through the bumpy ride.  Jesus never said that following Him and His example would be easy.  He actually said it would be terribly difficult...

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.  If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."

John 15:18-19

It's kind of a harsh statement.  We aren't home in this life.  Which, personally, I'm okay with.  The world's kind of crazy!  We have such an awesome thing waiting for us... an eternal gift.  But living for Christ isn't easy.  I cringe when I hear someone say that by accepting Christ, all your troubles will be over and life will be smooth sailing! Why would the devil ever make your life easy if you are not on his side?!?!  Anyway, things are going to get rough, and the enemy wants you to slip up and live a life that doesn't glorify Christ, but through His strength, and through the blessings that He gives us, we can make it through without losing sight of our beliefs.  And the cool thing is that He's right there to help us through it. 

Wow, so it's kind of preachy, but it's what God taught me this week, through a super bumpy trot.  

Just thought I'd share.

"Brandy, my bed just ate my homework"

Ahh! I'm sitting here writing a paper when the sheet of notebook paper with my notes on it slips between the bed and the wall (meaning I can't find it as it is now in the abyss of my room).  This bed doesn't move, courtesy of having no bed frame, so getting this sheet of paper seems to be impossible.  Which leads to my newest thought: Procrastination will be the death of me (or maybe it will prolong my life, I'd be late to my own my own funeral...)

I will be up late tonight to finish my paper, in which all the research has been done for 3 weeks, that will be extremely easy to write,  that is due tomorrow.  This will cause a lack of sleep, a long Thursday, a grumpy demeanor, as well as the fact that I had to be distracted during conversations tonight so that I could finish this paper.

While I find myself in this position tonight with this paper, this happens all the time!!! It's always one thing or the other, with the excuse "I'll do it tomorrow, I'll have time later, I've got more important things to do with my life right now," etc. etc. So yes, I see it in my school work, but I see it in so many aspects of life.  From family, friends, school, my house, and most definitely my spiritual life.  Ahh!

If you take a look at Jesus' life, the most important thing to Jesus at any given time was the person right in front of Him.  Not to diminish the fact that He was definitely here for a purpose other than that, but honestly, the person right in front of Him was the most important person right then and there.  I fail at this. Someday time will not run my life. [Side note, someday I hope to live on a farm and live a simple life, but that's a topic for another day].  Someday I will not rush from one thing to another, losing myself in my schedule.  How does this relate to procrastination you may ask?  Well I procrastinate with people.  I have a list of so many people I need to catch up with, have coffee/tea with, to write thank you cards to, etc.  I have a list, literally.  It will eventually get all done, but I put people on a list.  A list that has been ongoing for 8 weeks!

School work and house work I feel is self explanatory.  Homework is always done the night before (more like hours before), or in all honesty, not done at all.  My room = piles of stuff to be put away [speaking of which, I need to move my laundry to the dryer...] The kitchen, well I think I said enough about that in my last post.

But I think what I'm bothered by the most is my procrastination in my spiritual life.  I love reading the Bible, especially the Old Testament.  I'm currently in Joshua, so there is all kinds of action going on, big huge battle scenes, tens of thousands of soldiers going at it in old fashioned warfare.  Kinda cool (and people think the Bible is boring...) I get into the Word, and I can't get enough of it.  But it's a matter of actually getting into the Word.  I try to read when I wake up, but then I oversleep because I was up so late.  So then I try to read before I go to bed, but then I justify that I'll just read in the morning because I'm too tired now.  <=Procrastination at it's finest.  To combat this, I now have a Bible in my bookbag so if I have time, I pull it out.  It's definitely helped.  Prayers are much appreciated as I struggle with this battle.  I pray that I can combat this just like Joshua :)

Leaving the topic of procrastination, I haven't updated you on life for a while.  What a fun two or three weeks it has been!  It's been a busy few weeks, but a lot of fun.

I finally made a decent meal, even if it was hamburger helper

Riding at BG started up.  We are now at a new barn and have another coach, so it's been a learning curve trying to get used to one another.  I'm enjoying it!  I love having something in my life that is truly, honestly just for fun.  I've never really had that before.  Kinda sweet!

The sunset on the way home from the barn

Speaking of horses, I spent a weekend at Marmon for their Fall Festival.  It was cold and rainy, but God is so very good and has blessed me with amazing people, which I got to see that weekend.  Lizzie 'kidnapped' me and took me to a very wet football game.  Then I got to see Natalie, Meredith, Laura, Courtney, and some of the full time staff!  So refreshing! We had a blast together.  I can't wait to get everyone together this spring to see one another!

Mad game of round robin ping pong

Laura and Lizzie in the hot spot on the farm (figuratively and literally!)

We got a little muddy

Fall break was nice.  Josh and I had a fun trip home.  We stopped off in Mansfield to see Todd and Kelley, friends from church at school.  On the way back onto 30, we turned just in time to see Joe S. driving right beside us on his way home!  So weird!

I spent Friday with the family, watching movies (The Killers, a funny 'action' movie).  Saturday, I spent the day at Algonquin Mill, enjoying some fresh made cookies, some steam engines, and some time with great friends.

After that though, my handsome godson Bryon got to spend the night at my house!  He will be 2 in a few weeks and I can't make it to the birthday party, so I had him for the weekend.  It was his first time away from home without his mom or dad, so it was a big event for him!! He did so well, I'm so proud.  We got to play in the leaves, go on a moonlit walk (only because it gets dark now at 7:45), climb all over things, play with cars, all sorts of stuff. 

Cheese! He's got some wild hair.  Mom combed out the curls, so it's a bit frizzy

Playing with the plastic pumpkins

Chillen'

Sunday, I got to enjoy going to church and then coming home to see Bryon before he headed home with his mom.  I then got to head to see some of the kids at youth group.  So exciting and so hilarious.  After driving around with Miss Hannah for about a half hour, we ended up at the Lau's.  First order of business what YouTube videos, followed by a dose of whip cream to the face.  Oh and some cheerios too!  Check out some of these pictures:

 

Oh how I miss these guys!!

Monday and Tuesday I got to spend time with Corey as Mom went on a mini vacation (she totally got to fly an airplane!!!).  We had some fun.  I got to enjoy the fall weather.  OH WAIT!  The Dariette closed on Sunday, so I definitely went there for milkshakes.  You all are definitely missing out if you haven't checked out the Dariette :)  Anyways, I enjoyed a wonderful lunch with the Hoovers as well as with Pastor Dale and Matt.  Good times.  

Lastly, here are some other pics just because I love the fall and all it's beauty!!!

Lovin' the Dariette!

        Did I mention that I Love the fall!!!!




 I will have to put up another entry on life as a college student trying to get a job, as that is quite the ordeal, but know that I've been doing that these past few weeks too and will update you all soon! Prayers for guidance and wisdom for the job search are much appreciated!

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth. -Psalm 19:1-6

Taking out the garbage

Yesterday, my roommate and I cleaned our kitchen.  It shouldn't have been a big deal, but it very much was.  I think I took 2 or 3 garbage bags full of gross food and containers out to the dumpster.

I mean, there was food from the fridge (you know, the unknowns, what is growing in there stuff), expired food from the cupboards, cardboard containers taking up space, and random stuff that no one took claim to.

All in all, it was a pretty gross experience involving many gags, oh my's, eww's, and turning of the heads. But on the other hand, it was nice that the stuff didn't have to stay in our house.  It could easily be removed.  Easily is probably the wrong word.  I mean, it took effort to go through everything, opening the containers of unknown monster like food, deciding what was good and what was bad, then we had to put the bad stuff into garbage bags, pray that the bag didn't break (at one point in time, we literally just took the entire garbage can outside to avoid breakage), and then we had to transport it outside.  Quite the process.

At the end of it all, it still looks like we have way too much food for three people.  There is still no room in the fridge, freezer, or cupboards.  And I still feel the need to drive somewhere to get food that I can eat.  [I have however sworn off of getting anything besides meat, seeing as we lack chicken, beef, or any other kind of protein]

Why am I going on about how we cleaned our kitchen... During one of my trips outside, carrying a bag that I know my mom would never have alllowed me to put into our garbage can [filled with liquids because I was too lazy to throw them down the sink], I literally had a sigh of relief when it left my hands, knowing that the smell would not be in our kitchen or our fridge.  The food would not be there attracting bugs and who knows what else, and I could start afresh with a nice, clean fridge.

And then my mind thought, how nice is it that I have a Savior that can do the same exact thing for me.  To be completely cleansed of all stinking, rotting grossness that is within me.  Within my heart, withing my mind, within my life.  Easy may be the wrong word here too, but it is a free gift.

I struggle with the flesh daily. I would be a liar if I said any differently.  But lately, I have just been bogged down by things I know my Heavenly Father would not approve of.  The first step is just acknowledging it, right? Then the more difficult step of taking the time to sort it all out, the good from the bad.  But luckily, we don't have to do it all alone.  And we shouldn't (along with our kitchen, I'm really grateful for my roommate, that kitchen was kinda gross).  And all I have to do is ask.  So cool!

I love analogies, and use them all the time. I hope you are enjoying keeping up with what's going on in my life, and hope you maybe get a smile out of my fun life analogies of a 21 year old college student :)  Life is never  dull, and I would get worried if it became so.  [guess I learned well, as there is never a dull moment at home... haha]

I don't have any fun pictures to show you from the weekend, but I did get to enjoy dinner with Ashley and Jorge, two fellow retired RAs from Offenhauer.  We went to a nice little bistro downtown.  The food was a little pricey for me, but it was good.  It was nice to reminisce.

Afterwards, I went to see the musical Hairspray, which was put on by 3B Productions (the theatre company I did Seussical with).  Oh my, I don't think I've laughed that hard since I can't remember when.  Everyone did a fabulous job and it was so nice to see everyone again.  I miss my theatre friends, but that starts up in just a little over a month.  Cool stuff.

Sunday I enjoyed church here in BG (but I missed being home for the church picnic.  I heard it was a blast, as far as Corey says... haha.  So happy that he is enjoying himself.  I miss him terribly!) Afterwards, I went and saw my roommate in Jane Eyre, a play that was put on by Black Swamp, the other theatre group I'm in.  It was good, I had never heard of it to be honest, but they did a great job.  It was also nice to see some familiar faces.

Today signaled the real start to my big semester project.  I'm working with 8 other developers to create software for our client.  We are creating a computerized test software to help speech therapists when they are initially testing for speech therapy.  There is no existing software in this field and they have commissioned our class to create something for them.  It's super exciting, and so cool that God keeps placing me in positions to help where I am passionate about.  So grateful!

Any prayers that can be lifted up for Kenny as he has finally went back overseas as well as for a friend of mine, Natalie and her family would be greatly appreciated.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."  Hebrews 12:1-3