Great Is Your Faithfulness

I think I know what God was speaking to me this week. I need to learn to give things over to Him. Big or small, He can solve all my problems. He's in control of all things and I need to remember that when I start to get stressed and freak out about things. I tend to want to take matters into my own hands and fix the situation myself. Even though every time I do, nothing ever works out the way I want it to. But when I stop and say " God, You're in control. Please help me in the situation", He never fails to show up. Whether it's little things like my being stressed about being late to something, or something huge like my Italy stuff; when I stop and give it to God, everything works out right. He really showed me His faithfulness this week. And I praise Him for it!

Psalm 117:2
For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD
endures forever. Praise the LORD.

The Lord Is The One Who Sustains Me

So today at 6 pm I began my first fast. For this week I am restricting myself to fruits, vegetables, and water. I am also giving up myspace and facebook for the week because I want to spend as much time with God as possible this week and those websites tend to take up ridiculous amounts of my time. This week is about me and God.
I'm kind of nervous about how this week will go. Even though we're allowed certain foods, I'm going to try to limit myself as much as possible, only eating maybe twice a day. I want to be forced to fully rely on God. I want to prove to myself and to God that I don't need earthly things to get by. All I need is my Savior.
I'm going to use the feelings of hunger as a sign that I need to stop and pray and seek after God for strength. I want to spend the majority of this week with Him. I don't have any big plans this week or anything due for school which will allow me to do so. I need to learn to discipline myself when it comes to my quiet times. I tend to be really diligent in my quiet time for awhile, and then I start to slack off. I don't want to be like that anymore. Hopefully this week the hunger I feel for food will turn into a hunger for God. I want to know Him better, I want to seek after Him harder, and I want to trust Him more than ever. I want to draw closer to Him this week like never before. I want to show God that I am completely in love with Him and that I yearn for Him above all things.
I'm also really excited to see how our church as whole is transformed by this week. To see what a church full of people who's eyes are fixed on God can do. He's going to do great things this week. I know it.

I Want To Do My Part

Starting back at school hasn't been too tough. Don't have anything major coming up so i have a lot of free time. I've tried to spend most of it catching up on my Bible reading. I let myself get waaay too far behind in that. And I'm trying to get myself into the pattern of reading inbetween my criminology and math class. I sat out on Landis today and did that. It was gorgeous outside.

While I was out there I was approached by two girls who said they were doing a survey on where people were at in their spiritual lives. I said "of course" and they sat down. They asked if I attended church, what religion, how often, if i believed that if i were to die today that i would go to heaven, etc. They were from a church in gainesville and were doing the surveys because they were looking to plant a church here in tallahassee. They were also using the surveys as a way to share the gospel to those where weren't Christians. We talked a little bit about campus life and the difficulties of being a Christian in college, and there not being enough done to reach out to the campus. they were awesome girls. one of the girls was saved because of people approached her the same way they did me a year ago. They prayed for me and then continued on with their work...

A few minutes later another group of girls approached me also saying they had questions about my spiritual life. The first question they asked was if i thought i would go to heaven and why. I answered and they were surprised at first.. then they realized the Bible that was open on my lap. (ha) We talked a little bit also and they told me they were a group from USF on their spring break.

All of this really got me thinking. These people are coming from other cities, giving up their break, to share the gospel on my campus. When I'm doing nothing. I'm not sharing the gospel like i should be. I'm not inviting people to church or chi alpha like i should be. And i really want to. I just don't know where to begin or what to say. I've never really shared the gospel with anyone and i have no idea how i would begin to explain God and what Jesus did. I'm so scared that I'll say the wrong thing or say something the wrong way.

I want to make God proud. My greatest fear is letting Him down, not being all He created me to be. I feel like there is so much more I should be doing. But like I said before.. i just don't know where to begin...

Spring Break

Not as bad as I thought.
Caught up on sleep.
(which was desperately needed)
Got to hang out with a friend I've known since kindergarten but hadn't seen in forever.
(she's still so much fun)
Went on a date with tm♥.
(no one compares)
Spent lots of time with my mother.
(she's awesome)
Was reminded of this torture called "chores".
(which in turn reminded me how awesome being away at college is)
Got to spend more time with my amazing youth group.
Got to hear my friend, Josh, tell us about his 5 months in Africa.
(was reminded of how desperately I desire to go on a missions trip)
Looked up flights to Italy.
(Got really excited!)
Went shopping with my grandmother.
(yay for new clothes)
Saw The Rocket Summer and The Early November with tara marie and jny davis<3.
(officially addicted to concerts)

all in all not too bad. however i miss everyone in tally sooo much. i'm definitely ready to go back.

My Genres

1. best song to rock out to in the car and scream at the top of your lungs: Becoming a Monster- Self Against City

2. best song to hate because they played it at every 8th grade dance while you stood in the corner: I Knew I Loved You- Savage Garden
(yes... I have Savage Garden on my Itunes)

3. best song to jump around to: Touchdown Turnaround - Hellogoodbye

4. song that best decribes crushes: The Tension and The Terror- Straylight Run

5. the best song to have played for you in person: Great American Classic- Taking Back Sunday

Priorities

Went home this weekend. My mom is doing really well. I can't begin to tell everyone how much I appreciate your prayers. They really worked. She's limited to what she can do, but she can get up and move around and such. I'm so happy. I was so scared. Plus, the doctor's think that they removed what was hurting her all the time so she should feel a lot better once she's healed. God really does answer prayers...
Speaking of prayers, I've been feeling really selfish when it has come to my relationship with God recently. I've been asking Him for all kinds of things, and I'm not really giving back to Him the way that I should. I have been spending little or no quiet time with Him. I am so far behind on reading my Bible it's ridiculous.
I always say I'm going to put a certain amount of time aside to spend with God, and then something comes up; sleep, food, t.v., the Internet. Stupid things of this world that consume my world way too much. I need to learn more self discipline. I need to reprioritize my life.
At Chi Alpha last week Mario was talking about how if we really want to see a revolution on campus then we have to start making sacrifices. One of the sacrifices he mentioned was time. Sacrificing 30 min or an hour every morning, instead of sleep, to spend in prayer and in His presence. Time with God should be the most important thing to me. Instead, I pray when it is convenient and I read my Bible when I "can find the time". It's pathetic and it's not how I want to live my life.
I want my life to reflect Christ. And that can't happen unless I know Him, His word, and His will for my life. I'm done putting petty things before my God.

Arms High and Heart Abandoned

So today I came to discover that Hillsong United is coming to Jacksonville in April.
There are no words to express how excited I am. It's going to be a night like no other. I know it.
Just thinking about it makes me long for the day that I will finally be able to worship my God in heaven, face to face, with all of my Christian brothers and sisters for all eternity. I can't even imagine. It blows my mind.... I can't wait!

Psalm 84:2
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God

Isaiah 26:8-9
8 Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws,
we wait for you;
your name and renown
are the desire of our hearts.
9 My soul yearns for you in the night;
in the morning my spirit longs for you.

Psalm 42: 1-2
1 As the deer longs for streams of water,
so I long for you, O God.
2 I thirst for God, the living God.
When can I go and stand before him?

Psalm 63:1
1 O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.