Exhausted and Comforted

Sometimes life just keeps going and dragging you along.... and you get tired. And discouraged. And stressed.

That's a little bit like my life right now. Everything happening at once, and not much time to catch up. And I'm sure it's like that for everyone here and there, so I thought I share this verse the Lord gave me this morning:

"Unless the Lord had been my help, My soul would soon have settled in silence."

"If I say, 'My foot slips,' Your mercy, O Lord will hold me up."

"In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul."

~Psalm 94:17-19

In the multitude of my anxieties, Your comforts delight my soul. mmmmm, that just makes me happy =)

p.s I know my posts have been missing photos lately, mostly due to the fact that I've been busy and neglecting shooting, but soon =)

Yet Another LDPS

Another Long Distance Photo Shoot happened today!!! :D Theme: The Five Senses, only I made it the four. [ran outta time!]

{Sound/Hearing}

{Touch/Feeling}

{Sight/Seeing}

{Smell/Smelling}

For Your Nearness

"For Your nearness, Lord I hunger // For your nearness Lord I wait // Hold me ever closer, Father // such I love I can't escape.For Your nearness I am hoping // for Your nearness, Lord I long // have no need for any other, I have found where I belong // I have found where I belong."

"So draw me nearer, Lord // never let me go // closer to Your heart // draw me nearer, Lord // oh draw me nearer, Lord."

"And keep me here // keep me here // there's no where else I'd rather be."

"So draw me nearer, Lord // never let me go // closer to Your heart // draw me nearer, Lord // oh draw me nearer, Lord."

~Draw Me Nearer, Meredith Andrews

Angie's Wedding Shower

My beautiful cousin Angie is getting married in April, and we started of the celebration with her bridal shower last weekend. I posted more images here on my Facebook account.

The Bride =)

The Stewart Sisters

Angie and her sister, Emily, who just got married in October.

She was pretty excited about getting extra points for a dirty Kleenex in her purse =P

My little second cousins were enjoying this "Girl's ONLY" event. [Yep, those were their words]

This was an "heirloom". A pin from my grandma, who passed away a few years ago.

A Trail of Fruit

I found this verse on a crumpled piece of Hampton Inn "Thought Pad" paper, in one of my bags that I was cleaning out today. The fact that it was called a "Thought Pad" was appropriate =)

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you." ~John 15:16

He chose us.

We didn't choose Him. No matter how hard we try, I think it really comes down to him choosing us. And in a way, that makes me feel really special. He took the time to choose me. He cares enough to choose me.

He appointed us to bear fruit.

And not just bear fruit, but to bear fruit that will remain. Appointed to leave fruit behind. Like a trail of actions saying "I, a child of Christ, has been here." Actions that will remain, and stay around for a while.

And......

If we do that, if we bear fruit that will remain, and seek to follow Him with our whole hearts (because really, that's the only way that our seeds will bear fruit) then whatever we ask of the Father will be given to us. Isn't that an awesome promise?

A Mustard Seed?

"The power of faith rests in the reliability of the object of your faith, not in the amount of faith you have." [Part of Mr. Gillson's sermon on Sunday]

"And He said to me, 'Son of man, can these live [in reference to a valley of dry bones]?' So I answered, 'O Lord God, You know.' Again He said to me, 'Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, "O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones, 'Surely I will cause breath to enter into you , and you shall live'...... [Ezekiel 37:3-5]

"So I prophesied as I was commanded." [verse 6]

And it happened. The bones came to life, and breath entered them. 

But I don't see any bold faith statement here, he doesn't say "Yes!" when the Lord asks him if these bones can live. He said what he was commanded to say and it happened.

These things don't rely on the amount or the strength of our faith. All we need is faith like a mustard seed! I always looked at that story and thought, wow, I don't even have the faith of a mustard seed. But Jesus is saying that we don't have any use for any more! All we need is that little seed of faith, and He'll do the rest. It's a freeing thought.

For me it's easy, so easy to get focused on myself; "if only I had a little more faith, maybe if I believed a little harder", and completely miss the fact that it's all about Him. He's bigger than us! "Hello guys, don't you think *I* can work with a dot of faith, or over-ride a bit of unbelief????" It's almost as if by thinking that we need more faith, we're exhibiting less faith in God by mistakenly thinking that the outcome rides on us. 

We still need to step out in obedience and put actions to our faith, but let's try to stop focusing on the amount of our faith. All we need is a mustard seed, pretty much the size of this period. And, after that, it's all Him! :-) 

Just because

Just because I like pictures.

And fruit.