As Time Passes...

It's been a long time since I last posted. A lot has happened. I've been proposed to (said yes!); I've been planning a wedding, and I attended one (I was the maid of honor for my best friend); I've been searching for work, and finally landed a job (maybe two!); I've hunted down apartments, opened bank accounts, searched for accessories, taken pictures, cried, talked decorations, baked like crazy, prayed, discussed some of the more delicate details, attended pre-marital counseling, started packing my things, prayed some more, participated in church activities, spent some money I shouldn't have, cried even more, and tried my best to thank God for it all.

You know what I haven't been doing? Paying attention. Time is something I have a hard time budgeting. I'm far more stingy with my time than I am my money. Right now I have a little free time and a laptop with internet capabilities, so I'm blogging. I glanced over some of my previous posts before I began. I found this picture:


This picture is so sad. My eyes tear up, and I feel like a huge failure. You know that feeling, like you're at the bottom of a pit, and it's dark and cold and lonely, and all you can do is cry? I'm there, in the mud, dirty, weeping.
I made this card for a lady I had met at a nursing home my church family visited. She was so sweet and loving. Was. I never gave her this card. I kept telling myself, "I need to visit that nursing home again." "Oh, I have to make time for this because I need to see her again, and she'll just love this card." By the time I finally made time, it was too late.

I took my card with me along with a picture of the two of us, and I was so excited! I remember looking through all the rooms for my dear friend, and getting to the end of the hall, and doubling back, tears already starting to get the best of me. I made my way to the desk, asked... no? Are you sure? Could you check again, maybe I spelled it wrong...

Time doesn't wait for you. It surely didn't wait for me, and why should it? What have I got going on that's more important than a "Hi, I'm so glad you're a part of my life! Let me spend some time with you! Let me shine Jesus into your life!" Nothing.

God doesn't waste a single painful experience. I'm not going to waste this painful experience either. I need to be aware of what's going on as time passes me by.

Philip & Wal-Mart

Isn't it cool when God shows you stories in the Bible and shows you stories in present-day that relate? Isn't it even cooler when God shows you stories in the Bible and makes you a part of stories that relate?

Today I read Acts 2-11. Acts 8:26-39 tells of Philip being directed by the angel of the Lord. Philip was told to go to Jerusalem, so he went. There in Jerusalem was a man from Ethiopia who had come up to worship. He was sitting in his chariot reading about the prophet Esaias and not really understanding what he was reading. The Holy Spirit spoke to Philip and told him to "go near, and join [him]self to this chariot."

Philip went to the chariot and heard the Ethiopian man reading, so he asked him if he understood it. The Ethiopian man said, "How can I, except some man should guide me?" Philip explained all about what the man was reading, telling him about Jesus, and His gift of salvation. When the chariot came to water, the man wanted to be baptized, and, after confirming that he understood, Philip baptized the man.

How cool is that? The Holy Spirit led Philip to a place that he wouldn't have otherwise been to meet someone who wanted to know more about God. That happened to Mrs.Kristy and I today.

We were mosying around Wal-Mart, not looking at anything in particular, and actually spending more time than we really needed to in the clearance aisle, when we were approached by a lady who wanted to know what church we went to. Our skirts gave us away. Apparently our clothing really does speak wonders about us! :)

This woman shared with us that her daughter needed to find another church and that she was worried about not finding a "holy, Bible-preaching church". After talking with the lady for about 10 minutes, we exchanged information with her. Then she shared with me how I should stay with God and submit to Him and I will be blessed beyond my wildest dreams. I know she's right. :)

Isn't that the coolest?! This lady was searching for something, and God guided us together to get answers for her. AWESOME!

Growth & Parallels

On April 26th, my pastor shared with the Sunday evening group a challenge that a friend of his had given to his youth group: read the New Testament in 30 days. The challenge is called "30 Days of Light", and you read nine chapters a day out of the New Testament. By the end of the thirty days, you'll have read the whole NT and grown into a more mature Christian.

I took up this challenge, as did the rest of the group, and I'm happier than I've been in a long while. I have problems keeping up a daily reading schedule, and an even harder time praying regularly. Since I've been reading, I've learned lots and started praying tons.

The one thing that has hit me over and over again in my reading is personal sacrifice and the willingness to drop all and follow Jesus. Matthew 4:19-22 tells of Jesus calling to the disciples, "Follow me," and the dropped everything and followed Him. Everything. Could I be expected to drop everything and follow Jesus? These men didn't even go back and explain to their families they were leaving; they just left.

Also, Mark 12:41-44 tells of people giving money to the church. The rich cast in lots of money, and there was a poor woman who gave two mites (a very small amount of money). Jesus said the poor woman gave most because she gave all she had, while the others gave of their abundance. Would it really be a sacrifice for a millionaire to give $300 to a charity? Or would it be a sacrifice for a single mother of three working for minimum wage to give $300 to charity? This woman put her faith in God to provide for her and gave all she had. I need to give until it hurts. I need to put my faith in God.

This also made me think of today's government. Lots of people are up in arms about the spending the government's doing. Apparently the president was trying to make people proud of the government's efforts to cut back by announcing that they were going to cut $100k out of the national budget. If a U.S. family that made $120k/year cut $100k out of their spending, that would be something to applaud. But the U.S. spent $2979 BILLION last year. Where's the sacrifice?

It's awesome to see how God's Word applies to our world today. It's awesome to experience God working in my heart and shaping me to be more like Jesus. Thank you God, for loving me.

I HAVE PICTURES! Oh, yeah, and updates...

Yay, update! I haven't been doing this regularly, and I'm not entirely sure why. Nonetheless, I'm doing it now. There's not a whole lot to post about, but I do have a few pictures and an update or two, so here we go.

-- Applebee's didn't work out. It's a little scary since the economy is so sad-looking, but I have to trust that God will provide me with another job.

-- Joshua has been working at Kroger for a few weeks now, and it's been quite an adjustment to me. Granted, he works the night shift when I'm sleeping, but he's sleeping when I'm awake. Not having many friends to hang out with, this has become an issue. I've felt lonely and bored recently, leading to a slight depression. God was gracious enough to provide me with an old friend I thought I'd lost. I spoke to her a couple days ago on the phone and laughed like I haven't laughed in a long time. God is good. :)

-- Joshua got me flowers! I don't think anyone's ever bought me flowers. Aren't they pretty? I guess that job's not so bad after all... :)

-- I crafted without paper yesterday! Anyone who knows me knows this isn't an everyday occurrence. I make cards with paper (and occasionally with fabric, but mostly paper). If I do craft without paper, I don't usually commit to finishing the project. I have several half-completed creations lying around my room at this very instant. Yesterday, however, I made my dad a Cubs win flag. NO PAPER INCLUDED!

When the Chicago Cubs win a game, they fly the Cubs win flag so that people in the city know the Cubs won. Brilliant! Well, my dad, a huge Cubs fan, is asked several thousand times a day how the baseball game ended. Mum came up with the idea of making Dad the flag for Father's Day, but I didn't think he could wait. Besides, I had all the supplies. So, here's the completed(!) flag:

I'd never hemmed anything other than culottes, and I'd never appliqued anything before yesterday, so I made quite a mess in trying to figure everything out. I had to take a picture because I couldn't describe to you the mess that usually occurs in my room when I craft. My workspace? My bed.


My projects are usually paper-based, so there are usually 100 times more paper scraps, a variety of different types of glue, rolls of tape, ribbons, scissors... it's scary. I usually wake up with paper scraps stuck to me. It's great. :)

Well, that's all I have. Hopefully I'll have more posts later. I like the picture thing, so I think I'll add them more often. 'Til next post (which is hopefully sooner than a month away...)!

Working for the LORD

For quite some time now, I've been looking for a job. There are lots of things I would love to do with a little extra cash - give to the church, help out my parents, save for my future, maybe buy some more craft supplies... :) However, I've been applying and interviewing to no avail.

About a week and a half ago a lady from my church called me with a tip that Applebee's is hiring and that I should try there. I'm not going to lie, I honestly didn't see the point. I'd tried so many times at so many places! What's the use? But I went in and applied, meeting one of the managers, and got an interview! Yay! One step closer!

This past Thursday, I went to my interview, and it went really, really well. Extraordinarily well, actually. I'm supposed to call Applebee's back if I haven't heard from them by 10:30 Saturday morning. Manager's orders.

I'm posting about this, not because I'm guaranteed I have a job, but because I learned something really important. I believe God waited as long as He did to get me this far because I didn't love Him like I should have. You see, had I gotten an interview before, I may have been tempted to say I'd work Wednesday evening, or even Sunday, which I know isn't something God wants for me. God shaped my heart before He gave me such an opportunity.

Thankfully, Applebee's seems really cool with me not working Wednesday evening or Sundays. Like I said, I haven't gotten the job or anything, but it's cool to see how far God will allow the doors to open when you do what pleases Him.

Crafty Cards!!

A couple of my cards:

I made this card for my cousin who was born on St. Patrick's Day. I got the idea for the card out of a book I got from the library. They used red as the main color, and had a pair of high heels where my clover is, but that didn't work for my 9-year-old recipient, so I changed it. Obviously her favorite color is green! LOL

This is the card I made for Katherine, my friend from the nursing home our church visits. The ribbon ties the card and picture frame I made for her together into a gift-like package. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get it to her. I hope and pray God will give me the opportunity to do so soon!

Those are just a couple I've made. I plan on making lots more. I love to make cards. Absolutely LOVE it. My pastor's wife tells me that God will use my passion for paper to bring glory to Him, and I pray she's right. How cool would that be?! Doing something I love to bring glory to the One I love most! Awesome! I hope to have more cards to post soon.^^

I'M ALIVE!!!

I was scolded by my mother for not updating in a while, so I figured that a month is long enough to wait. ^^

I haven't updated in a while for a few reasons, but the main reason is I was misusing it. You see, I was filling the needs of others, not because it was something Jesus wanted me to do, but because I didn't want to look bad on my blog. I know, lame. And stupid. So, I took a break and worked on getting my priorities straight. Which I think has been going quite well. :)

I've been enjoying my Bible reading rather than treating it like a chore, and I've been talking to God with the utmost of honesty about absolutely everything. Turns out, God knows how much I want my own house to clean and decorate and take care of. He knows how much I want to start my own family. He understands that I don't really know what I'm supposed to be doing, and He's been helping me get through it all. He's finally becoming my best friend. ^_^

Something else I noticed is I've been making more cards. I love to make cards, and, ironically enough, after I stopped blogging about filling needs, I actually started filling more of them. After I put God in the number one slot where He belongs, He started showing me how I could reach out with my passsion for paper. I made a card for a lady who's come to our church a couple times, but, being busy as a foster mom, she hasn't come in a while. I aslo made a card for Mary Katherine, a wonderful lady I met on our trips to a local nursing home. I plan on taking it to her Tuesday. I was going to mail it, but I don't know her last name, and I don't know if it would get to her or not. >.<

Sssooo, that's that. My updated blog post. LOL I'll post again SOON!

'Til next time!

*This post is dedicated to me mumsy, who apparently likes my blog :) *