Early Thursday morning I am leaving to go to the Student Prayer Advance. I wasn't supposed to be going, because I didn't have the money to pay for it this time. School (even high school) really breaks a person's pockets!
God is so good. I was really down about not going, and then my sister was going. I was even more down. Then when my Mom was sponsored to go I was downright depressed about it. The prayer advance has been a really big thing for me, ever since I first went in '05. I am grateful God has different plans than I have, though, because he planned for some dear people at my old church to sponsor me, and now I am going! I am so, so grateful that I am barely even excited compared to my gratefulness.
(John, Heidi, Leah, Me, Hamilton, Daniel, Derek '05)
That was the year that God really got a hold of me and started calling me to a real relationship with him. My two biggest insights that year were that 1) God created us so he could love us, not just so we could be God-glorifying robots, and 2)I can be a spiritual giant- all it requires is a strong, personal relationship with Christ, supported by much prayer and scripture reading.
That year God convicted me of not having daily devotions, and I committed to have devotions every day for a year. God was so good to me that with the exception of two days, I kept that commitment.
(Caiti, Quinn, Me, Heidi, Hamilton, Sam, John, Daniel)
In '06 God taught me to respect him more. One of the preachers preached on Isaiah 6, and that is still one of my most favorite chapters in the Bible. He is my King and I should be so humble before him. He also prepared me for the next year. Towards the end of the advance I started feeling very disconnected from him. This year was also the year that Satan was attacking me. One night during the sermon I thought, "*scoff* You're not really going to go home and change your life from all this, are you?" In horror I thought back, "Uh, YES! *blink*" It was a bit scary, but comforting once I realized that was Satan's thought, not mine.
(Me, Mandy - a friend I met for the first time. We have been online pals. and Hamilton)
Last year, '07, my Mom came with us. I was a bit nervous about how that would go, but it was really awesome having her there, and all my friends love her. I also got to meet Mandy. :) At the beginning of the week I started to feel really disconnected from God again, then he told me to trust him and be close to him. Closeness is not just a feeling, it's a way of life. Heidi got saved last year, as well.
I don't know what is in store for this year, but I am excited and waiting! I'm trying to get back into the habit of spending a lot of time in the Word. It really makes life so much better all around.
In other news, I think it's quite possible that I have a mild case of adrenal fatigue. For now my plan is to start going to bed earlier (failed that tonight), eat much less sugar, and avoid all caffeine. Next time I see my chiropractor I will talk to him about it.
We joined the choir yesterday! I am so happy. I love using my voice as an instrument to praise God, especially since I can't do that so much with the piano anymore. I still can, just not as much as before.
I was hoping to start lessons(piano) again this semester, but we will see. My hand has been aching some lately. Hopefully it will stop.
I have three friends who've broken up with a guy lately, and I was thinking, "Man. An arranged marriage would just be nice." It would be nice if there was a guy, and he and his parents prayed about me for awhile, and then talked to my parents who prayed about it for awhile, and talked to me, and we all kept praying about until God said okay, and then they arranged it all, and we got engaged and then married later! Okay, so it wouldn't be that easy, but I just can't stand the idea of breaking up with someone. I don't want to get in any kind of romantic relationship with a guy unless he's The One. I don't want that pain for me or for him!!!
I had something about arranged marriage set as my status on my Facebook profile for awhile, and that brought some interesting conversation. A few people pointed out that, "I think it's the decision of the couple in question, not the parents. They're adults, they need to make that decision for themselves." I disagree, though. That is a HUGE step in life, and that's when we should really be seeking the counsel of our parents! God gave us parents to lead us in these situations. I would be very uneasy about marrying a guy without my parents' blessing.
My goal this week is to finish Luke, Jeremiah, and the Chronicles. Pray for me as I try to accomplish this task. I am dreading all the heavy reading, but I know it will be worth it.
<3>
God is so good. I was really down about not going, and then my sister was going. I was even more down. Then when my Mom was sponsored to go I was downright depressed about it. The prayer advance has been a really big thing for me, ever since I first went in '05. I am grateful God has different plans than I have, though, because he planned for some dear people at my old church to sponsor me, and now I am going! I am so, so grateful that I am barely even excited compared to my gratefulness.
(John, Heidi, Leah, Me, Hamilton, Daniel, Derek '05)
That was the year that God really got a hold of me and started calling me to a real relationship with him. My two biggest insights that year were that 1) God created us so he could love us, not just so we could be God-glorifying robots, and 2)I can be a spiritual giant- all it requires is a strong, personal relationship with Christ, supported by much prayer and scripture reading.
That year God convicted me of not having daily devotions, and I committed to have devotions every day for a year. God was so good to me that with the exception of two days, I kept that commitment.
(Caiti, Quinn, Me, Heidi, Hamilton, Sam, John, Daniel)
In '06 God taught me to respect him more. One of the preachers preached on Isaiah 6, and that is still one of my most favorite chapters in the Bible. He is my King and I should be so humble before him. He also prepared me for the next year. Towards the end of the advance I started feeling very disconnected from him. This year was also the year that Satan was attacking me. One night during the sermon I thought, "*scoff* You're not really going to go home and change your life from all this, are you?" In horror I thought back, "Uh, YES! *blink*" It was a bit scary, but comforting once I realized that was Satan's thought, not mine.
(Me, Mandy - a friend I met for the first time. We have been online pals. and Hamilton)
Last year, '07, my Mom came with us. I was a bit nervous about how that would go, but it was really awesome having her there, and all my friends love her. I also got to meet Mandy. :) At the beginning of the week I started to feel really disconnected from God again, then he told me to trust him and be close to him. Closeness is not just a feeling, it's a way of life. Heidi got saved last year, as well.
I don't know what is in store for this year, but I am excited and waiting! I'm trying to get back into the habit of spending a lot of time in the Word. It really makes life so much better all around.
In other news, I think it's quite possible that I have a mild case of adrenal fatigue. For now my plan is to start going to bed earlier (failed that tonight), eat much less sugar, and avoid all caffeine. Next time I see my chiropractor I will talk to him about it.
We joined the choir yesterday! I am so happy. I love using my voice as an instrument to praise God, especially since I can't do that so much with the piano anymore. I still can, just not as much as before.
I was hoping to start lessons(piano) again this semester, but we will see. My hand has been aching some lately. Hopefully it will stop.
I have three friends who've broken up with a guy lately, and I was thinking, "Man. An arranged marriage would just be nice." It would be nice if there was a guy, and he and his parents prayed about me for awhile, and then talked to my parents who prayed about it for awhile, and talked to me, and we all kept praying about until God said okay, and then they arranged it all, and we got engaged and then married later! Okay, so it wouldn't be that easy, but I just can't stand the idea of breaking up with someone. I don't want to get in any kind of romantic relationship with a guy unless he's The One. I don't want that pain for me or for him!!!
I had something about arranged marriage set as my status on my Facebook profile for awhile, and that brought some interesting conversation. A few people pointed out that, "I think it's the decision of the couple in question, not the parents. They're adults, they need to make that decision for themselves." I disagree, though. That is a HUGE step in life, and that's when we should really be seeking the counsel of our parents! God gave us parents to lead us in these situations. I would be very uneasy about marrying a guy without my parents' blessing.
My goal this week is to finish Luke, Jeremiah, and the Chronicles. Pray for me as I try to accomplish this task. I am dreading all the heavy reading, but I know it will be worth it.
<3>
2 comments:
This was a really great post, Laura! I greatly enjoyed the pictures, esp the second one... it was so cute. (my goodness, Caiti had pretty hair there! :D )
I'm very happy for you dear girl.
Okay, not that my opionion is anything great, but I would like to put my two cents in about the 'arranged marriages' thing. While I totally understand where you're coming from, and agree that one shouldn't marry without their parents blessing, I also think that it can be very bad if you didn't really know/like the person, or you already loved someone else... I've heard not-very-great stories about arranged marriages, and in the end many would blame their parents for setting it up. But if you're the one who loves the person and decides to marry them, then if there is problems you have no one to blame but yourself.
Does that make any sense?
Sorry about my long ramble! :P :D
Yeah. I would only consent to an arranged marriage with _tons_ of prayer on my parents side, the guys side, and his parents side. And of course I would have to have peace about it, too.
Post a Comment