victoriously freed

Well hey there!  I know that it has been a while since my last post, but school and life in general got kinda crazy all at once.  But I am back for another post and just in time for Thanksgiving!  Can you believe that Thanksgiving is TODAY?  It's truly crazy to think about how fast this year has truly flown by.  With Thanksgiving today, that means that Christmas is literally almost here!  And in my opinion, Christmas is truly the most wonderful time of the year!  From celebrating the birth of The Savior to waiting for the snow that [normally] doesn't fall.  This is the time for the family traditions, pictures with Santa, cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, opening Christmas presents together, family gatherings, reading the Christmas story and The Night Before Christmas, and so many more!

The best part though, in my honest opinion, is being able to spend time with these crazy, strange, awesome, amazing people I get to call my family.  This doesn't just stop with my mom, dad and siblings though.  You see, not only do I have the best mom, dad, and siblings ever, I also have the best aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents ever.  Whenever the holidays come around, I get to spend time with these amazing people and it truly makes me so happy.

Now, let me tell you just a little about my family.  Over the past three years, the Lord has revealed to me how truly amazing my whole family is.  This conformation all started when my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer.  Since then, we as a family (not alone) have been through many journeys that people really don't want to have to go through.  And though the journeys may have been difficult sometimes, there has been One Person who has remained the same the whole time: God.  Through every single road that we have walked on together as a family, our Savior has been walking beside us holding our hands and guiding us through the difficult times.  He [God] has been the provider of peace, understanding, answers, comfort, and even joy in the times when we have needed it the most.  

But you know what, His care isn't just there in the tough times, God always provides and never will stop!  If that's not completely comforting, I don't know what is.

As this Thanksgiving and Christmas season continues to come around, just remember how blessed you are to have your family to be spending this time with.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Is it strange that I actually enjoy my speech class?  It's not that I really like speaking in front of people, but for 3-10 minutes at a time, I get to share what is on my heart and people have to listen!  That's the part that makes me happy; sharing my opinion and having fun doing it!

So far, I have given a speech about me, my [awesome] volleyball coaches, how-to win a guys heart (in three easy steps), and the latest one, Lecrae Speaks to Us. This one is by far my favorite!  For 8 minutes and 20 seconds, I got to share about this guy, Lecrae, and a speech (sermon) that he had given that spoke to me.  I decided to share who he is, how he relates to us and what we can learn from him.  All of this had to come from the 31 minute speech he delivered at Liberty University back in March of this year.

Basically in this post today, I just want to briefly talk about this speech and a couple key points that really spoke to me.

First of all, in case you don't know who Lecrae is, I'll help ya out.  Lecrae is a Christian rapper.  But don't get thrown off by that, let me tell you, this guy is amazing!  If you don't believe me, just click here.

(This is one of his less-intense songs, but they are all so great.  The words in this song are awesome, too.)

Anyway, in the speech at Liberty University, there were many things that really spoke to me.  The main thing is the "Sacred/Secular Divide".  He goes on to explain what this means by saying that we, as humans, look at this world with two separate views.  But as a child of God's we must get rid of the split, combine the two sides, and look at the world by putting on our "spiritual glasses."  We have to be able to look at the world with a "Biblical Worldview!"

It gets even better though, because then, Lecrae talks about three steps we must take to get rid of the sacred/secular split.

 In order to combine the two sides, as a child of The Lord, we must engage, love, then rehabilitate the people around us who are not saved.

An example of this that my mama reminded me of is the woman at the well.  Jesus first engaged the woman before He began to teach her.

This is just one of the many things that I learned from this speech,  but I found this very important.  After all, the Bible tells us that it is our job to share His Word with everyone!

Romans 10:14-15 says: How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

This is just one of the examples where the Scriptures tell us that we are supposed to share His love with people who may not have a chance to hear about God otherwise.

So take this as a challenge, instead of turning away from the lost, engage, love, and rehabilitate them!

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In case you decide you would like to listen to this speech given by Lecrae, just click here.  I promise it will be worth your time!

 

Hey there y'all, happy Monday!

 

It is so hard to be happy on a Monday sometimes.  They're first day of the work week, school week and busy week.  Remember though, it's okay to just take time and chill, even on a Monday.

 

Enjoy this song as you go about your day!

 

 

We Are by Kari Jobe

 

Have a blessed day, y'all!

 

Sorry y'all, but now that y'all know my major, I will probably be using examples from my classes often.  So, let's just look at the first-of probably many-from my Psychology class.  Also, let me say that for me, Psychology and Sociology are not just analyzing behavior from a scientific viewpoint, but I want to be able to relate everything from a biblical viewpoint as well.  So with that being said, I will now continue.

 

Wednesday in class we were discussing feelings and emotions.  Let me start by saying that I personally am no expert  when it comes to emotion.  Ask most anyone and they will agree.  It's not that I think that showing emotion is a bad thing, just not something that I am good at.  Thankfully though, I will just be talking about the lecture, not giving personal examples.

 

After several minutes of my teacher lecturing he turned on a video that we would watch the rest of the class.  The man in the video was a priest and did a fine job talking about emotion and feelings.

 

He started by telling us how the are two main emotions that all other emotions derive from.  There is LOVE and there is HATE.  These are the two starting points for all other emotions. 

 

Around the word LOVE, he wrote other words that come from love: peace, joy, forgiveness, tolerance, satisfaction, etc. .

Around the word HATE, he wrote the words that come from hate:  self-pity, jealousy, depression, defeat, guilt, grief, etc. .

 

LOVE leads to HAPPINESS - HATE leads to UNHAPPINESS

 

Then, he did the unthinkable.  He showed how the two ultimate emotions/feelings can actually work together by reminding us all of the well-known question: What is LOVE if there is no JEALOUSY?

 

Think about it, it's kind of healthy and helpful to be jealous when you are in love.  Jealousy can show how much you truly care and that you don't want to lose that person.  (However, be careful though, trust is very, very important as well.)

 

But why am I mentioning this?  Because immediately I began thinking of the lyrics from the song How He Loves:

 

 He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

 

Y'all, GOD IS JEALOUS FOR US!  The One who created us all in His image is jealous for us!  For us unworthy sinners!  He wants us to be His.  He is jealous for us and doesn't want to lose us to the worldly things that Satan shows us.

 

Isn't it kind of amazing knowing that Someone so incredibly important is jealous for you?

 

I know it makes me feel special, but I'm not alone.

 

So, the next time that you are feeling down and gloomy, don't let your emotions get in the way, instead, smile because you know that He is jealous for you!