Glory to God

Wake County has been dealing with a lot of deaths recently. In the past 2-3 weeks there has been about 15-20 deaths due to car accidents in the county. 15-20?? That's insane! I mean, I know people die every day, but still. That many in just one county from the same cause? That's crazy to me.

One of those deaths was a man from my church named Flip Kissinger. A bus rammed into the front of his truck and into his wind shield. He lived for about another week or two. I honestly have no idea how he even lived for another week. He had like 47 bones or so broken. It's crazy. His funeral had many many attendants. Many people are greiving right now over this.

Another death which has recently happened is the death of Ben McNeal. Ben also went to my church. He and Flip both died within the same week. Ben was diagnosed with the ALS disease (which is a disease which causes the muscles in your body to break down and basically die.) He was diagnosed this past August and died December 9th. He left such a huge impact on so many lives inside and outside of my church. Ben knew he was dying. His death wasn't sudden at all, yet he didn't complain once. Instead, he went and told everyone about Christ. He told people the reason he wasn't worried about dying was because he had faith in the only God who concurs death. He was so excited about going and being with his Father, and now he is there.

Tonight, i was on the facebook chat and i was talking to one of the 7th grade girls in my middle school small group from church. She was telling me how Flip's death has been hard on her family because they were very close friends with him. She said Mr. Kissinger was like a dad to her, so it was like losing a dad in a way. Though she's hurting right now, I just want everyone to know how proud i am of her. As she was telling me all this, she said something along the lines of, "it's sad because he was so close to my family, but knowing he's in heaven with God helps alot. prayer has helped me alot through all this." A 7th grader told me this. She was saying many other things like, "I just need to lean on God." "I just need to trust Him with this." "I'll be okay as long as i keep praying."

When she was telling me all this, i honestly was blown away! Not very many adults even comprehend the importance of relying on God with their situations, especially when it's death! I told her that it's sooo cool to see her saying all this as she's so young. Like i've said on previous blogs, dealing with that stuff isn't easy at all if you don't lean on the only One who can truly comfort you. God's the only one who holds that peace you need to see past a death or any other situation. Honestly, when a follower of the Lord dies, it's not really necessary to call it a funeral, it's a celebration! They're done with this awful, sinful world and are with our God forever in eternity. It's awesome. And it's even more awesome that a 7th grader can grasp this concept completely!

Goodness, God is good. But do please keep in prayers the families and friends of those who have lost a love one just recently. Those who don't know Christ won't be able to see the good out of this as clear as Christians can. Pray the Lord will use this to bring them to Himself. Glory to God forever.

Patience. Continuing to be a never-ending battle.

Okay, so the next 6 paragraphs i actually wrote October 27 and never published it. i was going through my saved drafts, read it, and it convicted me alot. So here is what i wrote a little over a month ago, and below that is what i wrote today::::

Something I've been thinking alot about lately: patience, and the fact that i don't have any at all.
I've known for a long time that i don't have any patience. I'm not very good at waiting for people, taking my time, thinking before i act/speak, or being cautious of those around me. Seeing all of these flaws in myself caused me to wonder why i had such a hard time with things as simple as these. Then i discovered this--> patience truly has become my never ending battle and i'm not fully relying on God and His Word.

Patience is not something anyone can have on their own. It's not something that i can decide to have one day, then not have it at all the next. It deals with the heart. It deals with my heart.

I can recall several different situations which caused me to tell someone, "Okay, I'm not a patient person, so don't test me!" Most of the time it was in a joking manner. But a majority of it probably wasn't. Recognizing this makes me wonder, was I ever truly trusting God with all my situations? Apparently I wasn't. And this saddens me quite a bit.

God, being God, is perfect. He is patient. He is so patient that He knows how many times we (i) will fall away from Him, yet he loves us and keeps calling us to Him. There are so many examples in the Bible where a strong man or woman of God would fall away from Him, but it's obvious that the Lord stays by their side and returns to them as soon as they cry out to Him. Honestly, if i was God (which thankfully i'm not) i would have not waited around time and time again and moved on to a new set of people. If only i had that kind of patience, oh i'd be a totally different person.

So, to work on my patience, I've asked the Lord to a.) help me with it because i can't do this without Him. and b.) test me with it. i will honestly never leave this state of impatience until i am tested. and God, being able to answer all prayer, has been helping me so much! It's like, so many things which caused me to snap or get mad about a month ago, don't even faze me. Now, God's been testing me at least once a day or so. but i've learned to lean on him. i still have alot of work to do. i still get impatient when i drive behind a dumb car who goes 10 miles under the speed limit, i still get ticked off at myself if i forget something and have to drive almost the whole way back just to get it. But at the same time, i'm learning from all of this.

For me, it's so awesome to see how God is working with me through this. Like i can feel Him practically standing or sitting by me when i feel myself getting heated up inside with impatience. Then it's like He places his hand on mine and all the heat is calm and cool. it's just such an awesome feeling. Goodness, my Lord blows me away.
_______________________

It's crazy for me to see that i wrote that so long ago, yet the Lord is still testing me with this day in, and day out. The past few days have been so stressful! I've been working on projects at literally the last minute, I've been trying to figure out what God wants of me in a certain situation, and I've been trying to tune down my hopes for something else that may actually never happen. Now that i think about it, I haven't been giving my patience to the Lord at all. I've been telling myself, the Lord, and those around me that all i want to do is what the Lord wants me to do. And that is 100% true. Now, I just have to follow through with what i'm telling everyone.

I can easily say that i trust the Lord and what He's doing, but i have to act upon that as well.

thankfulness

This week was Thanksgiving. Actually, just yesterday was Thanksgiving. And i have realized lately how much i truly have to be thankful about. So here's a list of just some things that i'm extremely thankful for::

-my loving Savior and the grace He has towards me
-family
-amazing friends
-Richland Creek Community Church
-having the title "Dr. Reid's daughter"
-honesty
-small towns like good ole Wake Forest
-being a US citizen
-mercy
-forgiveness
-music
-freedom
-chocolate
-the smell of cologne
-encouragement from close friends
-opportunites to learn from mistakes
-things like twitter, facebook, cell phones, etc. that help keep in touch with friends from different/distant states
-ability to live and breath
-salvation
-the fact that i'll go to heaven one day for all eternity and see my Jesus face to face forever and be able to see loved ones who are there already.

all these things i'm so blessed by and so thankful to have in my life. it's crazy how i get so caught up in the current events of life and get so stressed out over little things, that i forget about all the many, many things that i can easily be thankful for. i'm such a complainer. but do know that i truly am thankful for sooo many different things in my life. i'm so blessed beyond imagination, yet i take it all for granted time and time again. anyways. i'm thankful for the life i have.

the end.

Trust, Confusion, and reoccuring lack of Patience.

The past few days have been... interesting, to say the least. So many different things have swamped my mind. Things like: what God really wants of me, how much I'm really trusting the Lord, things of my past have been brought back to memory, and my lack of patience has struck me hard across the head. It sometimes seems as if i can never ever control what I'm thinking. Like, I'll know for a fact that i need to trust God, and i really will be trusting Him, but my mind for some reason will try it's hardest to take a little bunny trail away from Him. There's a song by Barlowgirl (come to find out - they have some amazing lyrics, even if it is an all girl band.) and the song states: "Why do we think if we trust God too much He will fail us? Nothing has come when I choose that in me I’d trust. Separate me, You have called out to follow You blindly. I won’t fear Your leading me". I've been listening to this song almost all day long because that's exactly what i've been thinking. And with the latest things i've been thinking about.. I really can't afford to not trust Him. Actually I can never afford to not trust Him. But anyways.. that's a whole different kind of blog..

Back to what I've been thinking about::
As a 16 year old, high school, junior girl.. i've been through alot. I'm not saying that so that someone can maybe have sympathy on my or anything like that. I honestly hate it when someone feels bad for me..so please don't. I'm just stating a fact. I really have been through alot. Now, those things I'm not going to post on the internet for just anyone to see, but I will just say that the majority of my high school has been filled with heart break after heart break. And i'm not talking about just the sappy break up kind of heart break crap.. that stuff doesn't bother me as much anymore. The heart break I talk of is a spiritual heart break that occurs in me time and time again when i stray farrrrrr far away from Him. I became a Christian at the age of 5 1/2. So, I've always known how to live my life for Christ and definitely had those up's and down's in my walk, but it didn't become real until high school. I didn't actually care about God with all that i am until the last year or so. My main realization of how real Christ is all goes back to the blog i wrote titled "Love Happens". But it also has to do with the four things i said in the beginning: "what God really wants of me, how much I'm really trusting the Lord, things of my past have been brought back to memory, and my lack of patience has struck me hard across the head". Good grief I struggle with those four things more than anything and it just kills me! It makes me sick that i always go back to the same struggles.

Right now i'm having to be patient with a specific thing and having to really seek what God wants.. and try not to have too much confusion in the midst of it all. But currently, confusion is attacking me like a swarm of killer bees. I kinda see what God is wanting, but at the same time it seems like the door has been totally shut, but the door isn't suppose to be shut, or at least not forever. This i've been dealing with alot lately. This is what has taken over most of my thoughts, and the only thing God has told me is the main one of many things I'm horrible with.. "Be patient." So, I'm going to try and try hard. Very, very hard. I want what God wants. So, if He isn't clear at the very beginning, then I'll just take what He gives me and just keep praying about it. It's just hard for me. It's my own personal problem that i've just gota give 100% to the Lord. So, this has taken up about i don't know, say 70% of my thoughts.

The other 30% has gone to my past mainly. Last night I was able to talk to a close friend about alot of things that has changed my life drastically in the past 2-3 years. I haven't honestly thought about it as much as i did last night. What was it? My best friend who died 1-1 1/2 years ago. Last night I remembered how close me and him actually were, I remembered alot of the great memories we shared, I even thought of the first time we met:wednesday night of camp and he wanted to pierce his ear.. so, i gave him my earring stud to use. He was quite the character and loved the Lord. You know, I look back on that.. and yes, I do miss his friendship. He was always one to encourage me in all that i did, whether it was stupid or not. But even though he is missed, I don't dwell on what was once here on earth. If i dwelt on that and dwelt on me missing him, I'd be dwelling on something that a.)isn't even here anymore and b.)he isn't God. God put him in my life for that short amount of time for a reason, and took him away for the same reasaon:: so that God would-in the long run-be glorified. And that's what I always must remind myself.

No matter how much stress I'm under, no matter how much i miss someone, no matter how confused i may be, and no matter how impatient i can be at times. It all boils down to one thing:: through all this, I must glorify God in all that i do and through all circumstances. God puts these different struggles in my life so that i will focus on Him leading me through those. Goodness, I can't even begin to imagine how confused and dreadful my life would be without my God. This week is a good week to be Thanksgiving. Though I should be thanking Him day in and day out, having a week to really just think hard and long of how He's blessed me and my life causes me to be to humble and at peace. I love my Jesus so incredibly much and surrender all this confusion to Him.

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:18

Just Recently

So, it's currently 12:45am. I'm tired and probably won't make very much sense in this blog because of lack of mind and lack of sleep, but i choose to blog before bed anyways. So deal with it (:

Recently i've realized how great a life i have. i've realized how much i have to be thankful for. First off for my amazing, awesome, godly, and loving family I have. It seems that more and more families of this generation are choosing to fall into the pattern of divorce and heartbreak, but mine hasn't and I know for a fact that it never will. We all love each other. Though we do get on each other's nerves at times, in the end we all know how much we truly care for one another. Second for my loving Jesus who blessed me with this family. Actually, Jesus should have come first, but i'm too tired/lazy to retype all this. Just know that I do value Jesus more than anything else, even family. Anyways.. I can't even describe how thankful I am toward God and toward His Son. Without Him, we would all a) be nothing and of no worth, and b) not have life. We sin day after day, yet He chooses to love us anyways. I look at my dirty and filthy self only knowing how awful I am, but God looks at me and sees perfection because of Christ's blood. This realization is amazing and so uplifting. Oh my I love Jesus! And thirdly, my awesome friends. I absolutely love my friends. They're all so crazy. They all love Jesus and are like family to me. So they can kind of in a way fit into the first two categories. I honestly don't know what I'd do without my friends, they mean so much to me. (:

Recently I've really been thinking about what I said just above about God seeing me as perfection because of Christ. Who would have ever thought that God, the One who created ALL things, would ever in a million years send His Son to this awful, sinful world just for the people who may hate Him. The almighty God gives us the choice to choose Him, I can't even begin to fathom depth of love He has for me. I'm so rotten and worthless, but He sees me as beautiful and says He needs me to fulfill His perfect promise. When He looks down on me He doesn't see all the sins I commit, but He sees the cross and the blood of Jesus instead. All the sins I have done, am doing now, and will do in the future.. He's already seen those sins. He saw them before He said, "It is finished." Ah, I love Him so much! All of this allows me to have so much peace in my life.

Recently I've realized that God definitely wants to use me in some form or way. He wants me to do what I enjoy doing, but do it all to glorify Him. I absolutely love talking to people. I find myself talking way too much, way too loud, and way too fast day after day. I love meeting knew people. I just love people period. Being around anyone-whether I actually know them very well or not-just excites me all together. I love talking and people, but I always have to watch myself and see if I'm putting my love for people and love for Christ together. Honestly, I do not talk about God or Christ as often as I should. This i realize, and I've confessed to God that I haven't been doing what He wants me to do. But confessing this to Him will mean nothing unless I do something about it. So, as I strive to do what God wants me to do, I shall try hard to speak of His name more. I want the people I love to have a clear understanding of who God really is. How will they know it if I'm silent?

But anyways, that is my conclusion of the night. You now know what has been in the front of my mind in the past week. Not sure if it makes sense or not because it is 1am now. But whatever, God knows what I mean.. (:

Love Happens

Today I saw a really good movie. It's not just one of those movies that make me super excited about, or makes me laugh hysterically, or just infatuates me like Edward off of Twilight does. (Yes, I'm a Twilight nerd/dork/loser or whatever other names you may want to call me because of my love for that movie.) But the movie I saw tonight was one that had a really good message. It had a really good point that made me cry because it was just so good. The movie made me think of my life and of an event which happened in my life.

The movie I'm speaking of is titled "Love Happens". It's about this man whose wife died 3 years before and he now is a huge author over a book that talks about how to cope your sadness with other things and to overcome your grief. I won't give the entire movie away just because I seriously think you should watch it for yourself. But the main gist is that he actually never got over his own tragic event because he was so consumed with trying to please everyone else.

This kind of thing happens in other people's lives today. People have a tragic event happen, and instead of actually facing reality, they try to shy away from what really happen. They think they're making themselves feel better by not worrying so much about it at first, or at least putting on the appearance of not worrying over it. But in reality, when no one is looking, they then think over the tragedy. I did this myself around this time last year. My best friend who knew everything about me died along with his mom. It was such a hard event to get through. This happened July of 2008, and everyone was asking if I was alright. And what would I say to everyone? "Oh yea! I'm perfectly okay! It's God's plan, not mine." Which now I totally believe to be true, but at the time.. that was just the phrase I used so I wouldn't actually have to face the fact that he died or have to talk to anyone about it on a serious level.

Finally this past spring I was able to truly lean on God. Last fall I was leaning on God up to a point. It's like my mind knew and accepted that God took him from me, but my heart would not dare accept it. And that was a hhuuuggeeee problem. Considering that Jesus lives in my heart, yet my heart wasn't agreeing with Jesus.. yea, that's kinda a problem. But thankfully last spring I stopped being so stubborn and I gave everything up to God and trusted Him that He knew what was best when he called my friend to His kingdom that Monday afternoon.

"Love Happens" got me thinking about this tragedy that occurred. This tragedy affected me, as well as over 100 people. But one of the actors in this movie said something along the lines of: "Son, it was never your fault. We never blamed you; we just wanted to grieve with you. Accidents happen, and having a family along to be by your side is the only thing that can ease the pain." This is so true. My family and close friends helped me so much with this tragedy, but one thing the movie did leave out, is that your family will never, ever ease the pain you go through like our Lord can. God is THE only One who will ever fully understand everything that happens in your life. When I finally recognized this last spring was when I was able to easily think of my best friend dying, and seeing how I can use that for Christ. It made Heaven real to me, so much more real than it ever has been, because I know my best friend and mom are there--they will never face death again, and knowing that I won't ever face death either and will be with God forever once I'm in heaven excites me so much! So this movie brought up alot of old feelings and emotions, but it also brought back my thankfulness I have toward my Jesus. I'm so unbelievably thankful for a God who truly cares and who never wants to see us hurting, but wants us seeking after Him instead.

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will exist no longer; greif, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away." Revelation 21:4

God's got my attention

Today I've been pretty quiet. Not a "i'm sad about something so i'm not going to speak" quiet or a "i'm too tired to talk" quiet. It was a "God's trying to tell me something, but I just can't figure it out" kind of quiet.

I've been thinking about this all day. Even through all the craziness of school today.. being loaded down with homework assignments for the week, getting prepared to go to Tennessee for Nationals tomorrow until Friday/Saturday, reaching for Mrs. Salinas's hand and missing and hitting a personal area (haha, that was hilarious and soo embarrassing).. even through all of this, God still had my full attention.

Last night I prayed for about an hour or two just about different things that's happening in my life. I was just thanking Him for so many things i'm not worthy of receiving, praying for my close friends who still don't grasp the full concept of His great love, and asking Him to show me something new this week. Then this morning I woke up and didn't feel as complete as i normally do. It was like the feeling you get when you hang up the phone with someone without really telling them all that you had to say. I felt like even though i spent almost two whole hours talking to God about so many things, i felt like i "hung up" on Him.

So now i've been going throughout today praying and seeking what He was wanting to tell me. The only conclusion i've come to is He's just wanting to let me know that i'm going to learn something this week. I have no idea what that something is. I just know it's a God thing. So, i'm pretty excited about the week. I'm excited to spend the week with my volleyball team, but i'm even more excited to be in the beautiful mountains and spend some awesome time with my Father. I'm excited about what He has to show me this week. He's got my full attention.

Why is Your name so offensive?

Jesus. A beautiful name, a holy name, a glorious, honorable, praiseworthy name. Taken for granted in sentence after sentence in this sin-filled world.

God. Our Creator, our Maker, our Lord, our Father. The One who gives life, yet can take it away with just a thought. The One who all will confess to as Almighty One and God over all. Hardly ever seen as the One, true God over each living thing, and always used in vein when angry.

Holy Spirit. One who lives in those who believe, One who gives us life. Part of the Godhead. Not even recognized over half of the time.

Our world has taken these three powerful and almighty names, and have given each one a way of using it for their own ways and desires, and not to glorify Him. It so saddens me to hear the misconception people have for the Lord over all things. But what saddens me the most, is most Christians won't even stand up for our God when they hear people using God's name like this. Christians will just go along and laugh and act like nothing is wrong, when something is most definitely wrong. I can say this about Christians, because I do it as well. These people don't know Jesus! They need to know His name. They don't need to know His name as a way to vent their anger in vain when they slam their finger with a hammer. They need to know His name so they can have eternal life with Christ! My heart yearns for the people who know His name as one way, but not as the true and holy way. My heart yearns, yet I don't even try to make a difference anywhere near as much as i need to.

A song by BarlowGirl states, "Jesus, Jesus. Why is Your name offensive? Why are we so scared to tell this world You've saved us? When all of the hope of the world's in Your name, why are we so scared to say: Jesus?" This is such a true lyric. So many of us Christians, including myself, are too wrapped up into what people may say or think when/if we stand up for God. If we're not willing to stand up here around friends we know, then how would we ever stand up in front of people who may hold a gun up to your head asking if you know Jesus?

God has called us to go out and be a witness for him. Telling every tribe and every tongue of His name. So we need to fulfill this calling. We need to tell people the true meaning of His name. God/Jesus/the Holy Spirit. Three in One. Worthy of all power, honor, and glory.

Let's all try and stand up for our God. Let's all try to stand up for His true name. Let's glorify Him for who He is and tell them the only hope of the world is in His name.

"What is impossible with men is possible with God."

Last night at TwoFour Dr. Bruce Ashford spoke on the passage of Luke 18 about the Rich Young Ruler. I've heard this story in numerous sermons, but i've never thought of it from the perspective he portrayed last night.

The rich young ruler is known for his love for his money being greater than the love he had for Christ. Christ asked him to simply give all his possessions away for the sake of Jesus, but he couldn't because his priorities and thoughts were completely off balanced. He loved Jesus, but not enough to destroy what had now become his idol, money.

Dr. Ashford last night brought up a few other areas in our own lives where we put Jesus aside just for our own personal pleasure, just for our idols. Dr. Ashford listed money, sex, approval, and success. Something hit me last night, I realized that i've had a problem sometime throughout my life with each one of these. Even now i still struggle with some of them.

Money. People in this world have always treasured money. Wealthy people- their life is surrounded by money. Poor people- their desire is to have money, to have what the wealthy people have. Adults work for their money day in and day out. College students don't have much money, yet they still want more and more of it. High school students like myself want the money to fit in. They want to have the latest thing and not be known as the lame one who can't afford the newest pair of shoes. Money isn't a bad thing when you carry it correctly. If you let it rule your life then you are worshipping it. Your own bank account has become your security when Christ needs to be your One and only security. I easily struggle with this. I'm a girl.. I like clothes and shoes. But this is something that i need to let my God rule over, it's His money. Not mine.

Sex. Okay so i'm not addicted to sex. I don't look at porn sites or anything close to that. But I know people who have. I know very strong Christians who I look up to like crazy who have struggled with keeping their eyes away from the 15 minute pleasure of scrolling through all of Google being pleased by the things they see. As a high schooler I don't crave any desire to have sex, if i'm honest. I know the importance of waiting until after marriage, and accepting that is perfectly fine with me. That's how God intends on sex to be carried out. So, I don't have a struggle with literal sexual interaction, but I have had a problem with accepting being single. Being single isn't bad at all. And it's taken me a while to figure this out. Yes, I do like boys. I'm interested in one at the moment. But following God's way with that is what I intend to do. I'm finally able to be patient with that. By saying this doesn't mean I don't ever struggle with it, but it does mean that i'm trying my hardest to do what's right and what the Lord wants.

Approval. I'm a high school girl. It's a given that I struggle with this at times. Everyone struggles with this at some point in their life. Everyone wants to be accepted. Being an outcast isn't so fun. But worrying about the approval and attention from others rather than craving the attention of the Most High God is wrong. We need to glorify God in all that we do. If that means people won't accept you from time to time.. then you need to decide if you truly love the Lord and will be able to give up the acceptance of just a few people for the sake of Jesus Christ.

Success. Success is a problem for all people. Each and every person wants to be successful. Each person doesn't want to have the big "L" for loser posted on their forehead. No one wants to hear some one say "Epic Fail" each time they try to do something. "The amount of success that you will ever have will never bring you the salvation you think it will." Dr. Ashford stated last night. This is so very true. We need to believe that statement to be true and seek the true way to salvation which is through God the Father and Jesus His Son.

As you see, each one of these has it's own way of becoming an idol. Each one has taken the spot in my life where Jesus is. The only way to keep Jesus above anything else is for you to do business with God. To let Him destroy those idols. You can't do that on your own. "If you want your idol to be smashed then it must be God who does it." Dr. Ashford also stated. Idols are false saviors and terrible lords. They will never, ever satisfy you like the love of Christ will. That's what I learned last night. That's what i was broken over last night. I've got some work to do on myself and how I prioritize my Jesus, and allow Him to be the number One priority in my life. Without Him i wouldn't even have life, so the least I could do is give back to Him what He was so gracious to give to me.

Oh how i love my Jesus! (:

First blog? Check. Incredibly long? Check.

Alright, so i've been debating for a while on whether i should get a blog or not and the more i think about it, the more i want one just so people can see what our awesome God is doing specially in my life. So, as you can see, i got one. I love talking about my Lord. It's my favorite topic to talk about so i thought i could just write down for all to see my thoughts of Him.

First off, i want everyone who reads this to know the basic facts about me. Lets see, I'm currently a junior in high school at Crossroads Christian school (soon to be a junior at Wake Forest), i attend Richland Creek Community Church (best church ever! - just saying), and i'm in the Reid family (best family ever!). yes, i am the daughter of the famous Dr. Alvin Reid, Professor of Evangelism and Student Ministry at SEBTS and a widely known author and evangelist in the US -- and i'm super proud to be his daughter. He and my mom have both taught me so much about how to truly live my life for Christ. Being a little bit more like Jesus each day is what my heart desires. Striving to be more like Him is what I think of day in and day out. Though I am far from being anything like my Savior, I am trying my best.

Secondly, I want everyone to know my testimony. Some may have heard it before or have read it on my facebook before. But I don't care. You can suck it up and just read it again. (:

When I was about 5 1/2 years old my brother, Josh, and i were at home after a Sunday morning of church. I started asking him questions of Jesus and he answered each one. he then asked me if i would like to have Jesus in my heart and i said yes! So he prayed with me and i accepted Christ then and there.

Right now you may be expecting me to say --> "But then when i was 13 i realized i never truly understood what i was saying when i was only 5 years old so i accepted Christ into my life at 13 <-- Well, if you were thinking this, then you are wrong. Sorry, but you are. Yes, i was very young when i accepted Christ, but i meant it 100%. I have no doubt in my mind about my salvation. I remember when i was just 7 years old I would be the annoying little girl who asked all the other 1st graders if they knew Jesus. I have always loved my jesus.

Now, I could stop there and say "well that's my testimony. Have a good day!" but that wouldn't be right. That's not where my testimony stops. My testimony is still growing. that's just the very beginning of my testimony and my life with Christ. Anything that has brought me closer to Christ is a part of my testimony. Hard ships are a part of it as well. I grow a little more each day. My daily actions and decisions are a part of my testimony. Whether it's school, family, friends, boys or whatever; each has it's own place. Each has a part of my daily decision to follow my jesus. Each has it's own way of somehow glorifying the One who is worthy of all praise.

So for those who had never heard or read my testimony before.. you can now say that you have. There's far more different things that have pushed me away from the Lord and have brought me down on my hands face down embracing the love of my Savior. But that will come in later blogs. For now I think this book that i have just written is far too much as it is. Sorry it's so long. (: But I hope you enjoyed it (: