I miss you, God. I know You never left me, but I miss You.
I pushed you aside for days, for my own destructive thoughts. Thoughts I was too embarrassed to share with you, even though you already hear them all.
It’s so hard to focus on You sometimes, God.
I want to be so consumed by You that every action, spoken word, letter written on a page, and every single thought in my head is only for YOUR honor and glory!
God, give me the strength to give EVERYTHING up to You. I know I may be persecuted for giving all I am to You, but I love You far too much not to.
In turn, I finally recognize that You love me far too much to not be persecuted for me! ME! This little microscopic piece of this world that YOU created… I will never understand the pain Your Son underwent, all for me.
Forgive me, Lord, again, and again and again and again, for all of my words, actions, and thoughts that do nothing but try to pull me further from You.
Deep in my heart, I only want to love You. So today, God, I’m givingeverything to You. I know that through You, beauty WILL come from ashes, and my soul shall be delivered, for it is YOURS.
Amen.
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John and I knew for several, several months that we wanted to get married, and I knew that he was going to propose eventually. He told me it would be before December, but I wasn’t certain of the exact date. I thought I had it all worked out though. There were less than 8 days left in November, and I figured that the 4 days that landed on the weekend were the only possibilities, because of how much we work during the week. So when I texted him saying that I wanted to visit him after a long day of working on a Thursday, I definitely did not think he would propose that night.
I texted him to let him know I was coming to his house soon, and he responded by telling me he’d be there in 2 minutes. When I got to his house, he was sitting in his car. He got out and we said our hellos and hugged for a while in his driveway. I commented on how his car was still on as we stood there, but he didn’t say anything. I thought we were just going to go inside and watch a movie or talk about our days, but he started walking to his car and told me to get in. I asked where we were going and he told me it was somewhere I know really well. So we drove for ten minutes and ended up at the church I grew up in. There was a white vehicle in the parking lot, which confused me. John got out and pulled a key out from his pocket, which confused me even more because I didn’t understand how he had a key. He opened the door and we walked upstairs to the foyer. Up to this point, I had no idea what was going on, and all of the unanswered questions I had clouded my head, but as soon as I saw the doors leading to the sanctuary held open, and the soft light coming from the room, I knew.
I walked past the doors with J walking behind me, and smiled immediately. There were several strings of white lights set up on the pews on either side of the aisle in front of us (18 strings of lights, to be exact). On the floor, J set up about ten or so photo frames holding pictures of us from the past nineteen months. We walked down the aisle and I recall repeating the following phrases: “What is happening?”, “What the beast”, “Ohhhh my goodness”, and “What is this?” I also heard and saw John’s friend Cody at the side taking photos. We got to the end of the aisle where two stools wrapped in lights were standing. I immediately knew which one is mine, because of what is tied to it.
At this point, a little backstory is required. Around 4 years ago, at our high school prom, John and I really liked each other. We held hands for the first time that night, and even had our first kiss then. Everyone in our grad class received a carboard star with their name and ‘Class of 08’ on it. John and I traded stars. So after four years, three of which were spent entirely apart with no contact at all between the two of us, John kept the star with my name on it. He actually told me that even when an ex-girlfriend got him to throw the star away, he went back to the garbage and got it out as soon as she left. When I asked why, he said it was because he was still in love with me.
Anyway, I sat on the stool with my star on it, and he sat on the stool across from me. He reached over and grabbed his guitar, smiled as me, and started to play what has now become my favourite song that he has ever written for me. It was very, very sweet - filled with the kinds of chords he knows I adore. I remember thinking how much things had changed. How when we first started dating, J would rarely look up at me while he sang, because he would get too nervous. But that night, he looked at me during the entire song with the sweetest grin on his face and with eyes that said just as much as the lyrics he sang. Plus the glow from the lights made him look even more handsome than normal. When he finished singing, I clapped. I don’t know why I did, because I never do.. I guess I was nervous, and wanted to pretend that my hands weren’t shaking. He stood up, and took my hand. I stood up (almost got my foot tangled up in the lights) and started shaking some more. He reached over to the pew next to us and got the box, got down on his knee, and said “Felicia, will you marry me”. I can still remember the look on his face when he said it. He looked so nervous, but so sure. I said yes, he said “you will?”, I said of course. He put the ring on, stood up, and we held each other for a long, long time. He was shaking, I couldn’t feel my heart, but could feel him smiling. As we stood there, we found it necessary to give God a high-five, so we stretched our arms, palms facing the sky, and did. Cody took a few more pictures of us and then left. I needed to scream and run around, so I did. A lot. After I was able to sit still for more than a couple seconds, we sat down in the middle of the aisle with the strings of lights and photos on either side of us and prayed. I think out of all the things that happened that night, from the drive to the church, to realizing what was happening, to him singing to me, to him sliding the ring down the fourth finger on my left hand, sitting there on the floor with him praying forehead to forehead was my absolute favourite. Afterwards, I had to run around some more, shrieking and jumping and dancing and smiling the biggest smiles I’ve ever smiled before. Then we played a couple worship songs, me on the grand piano and him on his guitar, and finished the night by cleaning up the lights and referring to each other as fiancé and fiancée whenever possible, and as much as possible.
[ps, Everyone go tell Cody how awesome he is for taking such beautiful photos]I’M CRYING. THIS IS PERFECT. <3
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But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
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Too many Christians study the Word of God as if gaining knowledge is the sum total of our mission on this earth. But according to Paul, knowledge can be completely worthless and even harmful: knowledge puffs up, but love builds up (1 Cor. 8:1).
If we believe that statement, then why do we have so much admiration for people who know lots of facts? Have we forgotten that knowledge is a means to a greater end? Knowledge enables us to love God and love our neighbors more fully. If we’re not putting what we know to work in our lives, then our knowledge will simply make us more arrogant.
There’s a terrifying irony here: your study of the Bible could actually lead you further away from the Lord.
"Francis Chan (via hislivingpoetry) -
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https://www.facebook.com/ReagansJourneyInc
Reagan’s Journey is a non profit organization founded for the purpose of helping special needs children pay for medical expenses and treatments not covered by medical insurance.
If we get 1000 likes by the end of this week (Friday at midnight) someone will donate $1000.00 to help pay for a new website!! It’s all about these beautiful children!! Thank you!!
WE ONLY NEED 44 MORE LIKES!!
Just click on the link and like the page, please!!
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https://www.facebook.com/ReagansJourneyInc
Reagan’s Journey is a non profit organization founded for the purpose of helping special needs children pay for medical expenses and treatments not covered by medical insurance.
If we get 1000 likes by the end of this week (Friday at midnight) someone will donate $1000.00 to help pay for a new website!! It’s all about these beautiful children!! Thank you!!
Just click on the link and like the page, please!!
MissionReagan’s Journey Inc. was established to address the need for finances, information, and research with respect to special need’s children. In addition, we strive to support and encourage the children and their families as they struggle to endure, adjust, and cope with the demands of these special children. Our Mission is three-fold:
* To broaden public awareness of special need’s children
* To gather and provide current, functional information and service linkages to families of children with individual requirements.
* To establish and alliance of hope that will nourish, affirm, and confront the urgent need for medical, financial, and emotional support of family members and those afflicted with extraordinary requirements.
Among the essential goals, founders Pastor Fred Neal III and Scott Davis seek to inspire an appreciation of all children and to express thankful hearts towards God for these precious gifts of life. These bedrock values are categorically and vigilantly expressed throughout all of the Regan’s Journey programs and activities.
“But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth”. 1 John 3: 17-18Company OverviewReagan’s Journey is a non profit organization founded for the purpose of helping special needs children pay for medical expenses and treatments not covered by medical insurance. We feel that all children should have the opportunity to receive the medical treatments needed for their condition.DescriptionOur inspiration: Reagan Marie Neal was born on April 3rd, 2008 and suffered a hypoxic brain injury and a brain bleed at birth. As a result, Reagan faces significant developmental challenges. Without significant intervention, the gap between her chronological and neurological age will continue to grow wider. Reagan as fought with tenacity to overcome these struggles. God has been faithful in allowing us to help Reagan reach her full potential.General InformationYour contributions to Reagan’s journey will support the child of your choice. Our purpose is to have 100% of your donations go to your sponsored child. If you do not have a child to sponsor, we can choose one for you. Now is the time to act in order to give these precious children the best opportunity to overcome their challenges. Please join us on this extraordinary journey to help these children live happy, healthy lives. -
Christians: WHERE DO YOU FIND MODEST CLOTHS AT?!
Even the Christian stores and sites aren’t up to the Bible’s standards… Please, guys, tell me how to fix this? Dx
What I usually do is buy a lot of plain t-shirts or long sleeved thermals and put them under things. Like, under dresses or sleeveless shirts! I layer a lot using cardigans, too. I hope that helps, love. I had this problem for a while… ;)
LOL that’s ok, we’re not up to the Bible’s standards either.
If I want a little more coverage, I usually just wear scarves, tights, leggings, camis, etc… Layers, accessories. You have the grace to express yourself through your clothes and dress the way you like, because you have already been justified. You can dress to HONOR God, His word, and other people. (Like how people get dressed up for weddings, to honor the bride and groom). You are NOT under the law, but you can dress in love to God, your neighbor, and yourself.
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» Drowning in His Grace: Can Yall please pray for Coastal Carolina students??
So from what I’ve gathered they have lost two students, and possibly a third, all within a 12 hour time range. I have two close friends that go there and this is what I’ve learned.
Late Thursday night a girl was walking back to her apartment, where she was hit by a drunk…
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"Too often in our churches the resurrection of Christ is a doctrine of secondary importance. It is neglected and forgotten until Easter comes around each year. The same disregard for the resurrection is seen in how we share the gospel. Christians tend to share the gospel as if Jesus died on the cross and that is the end of the story. We make a zip line from the crucifixion to ‘repent and believe,’ contrary to the example Peter sets for us in Acts 2:22-24 and 4:26. The cross is central to our salvation, but what God accomplished there is incomplete unless the tomb is empty on Sunday morning."Matthew Barrett
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Im an athiest and even i think this is amazing. we need more christians like this.
no, they’re not all awful people.
this is brilliant
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I GOT WATER IN MY GOSPEL?!? -Alan Adorno
So much truth. Preach, brother.
