Trials reveal character...

The depth and strength of a human character are defined by its moral reserves. People reveal themselves completely only when they are thrown out of the customary conditions of their life, for only then do they have to fall back on their reserves. ;)

Senior Pictures

Many Thanks to WayAnne!

Yet for the Joy that was set before Him....

This morning, I was reading Help in Daily Living. And I came upon the quote that says, "Ever before Him, Christ saw the result of His mission. His earthly life, so full of toil and self-sacrifice, was cheered by the thought that He would not have all this travail for nought. By giving His life for the life of men, He would restore in humanity the image of God. He would lift us up from the dust, reshape the character after the pattern of His own character, and make it beautiful with His own glory. Christ saw of the travail of His soul and was satisfied. He viewed the expanse of eternity and saw the happiness of those who through His humiliation should receive pardon and everlasting life. He was wounded for their transgressions, bruised for their iniquities. The chastisement of their peace was upon Him, and with His stripes they were healed. He heard the shout of the redeemed. He heard the ransomed ones singing the song of Moses and the Lamb. Although the baptism of blood must first be received, although the sins of the world were to weigh upon HIs innocent soul, although the shadow of an unspeakable woe was upon Him; yet for the joy that was set before Him He chose to endure the cross and despised the shame." p. 51-52

As I read this, I tried to understand the feelings that Christ had, but I couldn't imagine them fully. Christ loved, but he loved more then I love anyone on this earth. And that makes it so hard to imagine being separated from loved ones when you love them more. Here on this earth, my heart aches when I'm separated from the ones I love. Christ heart must have hurt so much more then mine. But then I look at what kept Him going. He had His eyes locked on the goal. That last sentence of the quote says it all. Even though He went through unspeakable woe, yet it was because of the joy set before Him that He chose to endured. Notice it says He chose to endure. I know from experience, that if I don't choose to endure, and choose to be strong, and choose to be happy, it is so much harder. Even if and when we don't feel like we can make it. It is our choosing to press on, that will enable Christ to strength us. We can't give up. When I think of Christ, He went through all of that hardship and hurt not just for the people that would accept Him, but also for the people that would reject him. That thought, would make it so much harder to endure. Yet Christ had to think of the people that would accept His gift, because it made the world for them. As we go through this life, there will be trials and obstacles in our way, but we must continue to keep our eyes on our goal. Heaven is closer then we think.

Psalm 9:10

And they that know Thy name will put their trust in thee; for Thou, Lord, has not forsaken them that seek Thee. Psalm 9:10

Have courage and seek Him. For He is ever by your side.

Music Camp....

Some pictures from Music Camp, and the Orphanage....enjoy! ;)

Smile! ;)

These are some quotes that I found and I hope they are a blessing to you!

The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up.

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.

Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...
It's about learning how to dance in the rain.

You have to accept whatever comes and the important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give.

True courage is taking another small step each day toward achieving your vision.

Blinded to God's wisdom?

This morning for my devotions, I read the story in Matthew 20 starting with verse 29. It was about two blind men that Jesus healed. When I first read this story, the first thing that I thought was, "How can I apply this to my life?" And it was interesting, cause the first thing that came to mind, was, "I'm I blind?"
Then a verse that I had read the previous day came to mind. Isaiah 5:21, "Woe to them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight." There is some connection here with eyes. Am I blind to Gods wisdom? Is there something that is blinding my eyes so that I can't hear, or understand the wisdom that God has for me, but can only hear and understand the wisdom of myself? (which is nothing...because without God, we have no true wisdom in us.) Am I living my life by wisdom of my own? The prayer of those two blind men, was, "Lord, that our eyes might be opened!" Daily, I must pray this prayer. But when I pray this prayer, I must be willing to change whatever it is in my life that is blinding me, and then follow God's wisdom. I want to be wise in God's eyes, and be able to follow His wisdom with nothing blinding me.

Random pictures....

Friends...

And I did have more pictures, but because I lost my camera, I lost those pictures... here are the ones that got saved! :) 

Praise the Lord for my wonderful friends! :)

My favorite little girl at the orphanage....

This little girl was my favorite...I know your not supposed to have favorites...but she was so sweet, and gentle, I couldn't help but fall in love with her! 

Kids at the Orphanage....

Here are some food pictures taken in the market....

Back from Honduras without my Camera....

Hi Everyone! I'm back from Honduras! It was a wonderful trip, and I was able to learn many lessons. One very bad thing that happened on the trip, was that on the second to last day, I left my camera on the bus we were traveling in. In the airport the next day when reality hit me, that I no longer had my camera, and when I realized where it was, I nearly burst into tears! I have lost several cameras...every trip I go on, I seem to leave my camera behind! So I was getting very excited, because I hadn't lost my camera yet. Anyways, it might be a little while before I get another camera! lol! But praise the Lord, I down-loaded a good portion of my pictures from the first one and a half weeks, onto one of my friends laptops. So I didn't loose all my pictures! So...as soon as I get the pictures from her, I will begin posting them! Can't wait to share what I have been doing the past 2 weeks!

A Penny

A penny? What can we learn from a penny? Something really profound and encouraging actually!This is something that my dean told me the other day when I looked down at the ground and picked up an American penny in a Spanish country! Every time she picks up a penny, this is what she thinks of; the penny has the lowest value in the USA. You can't get any lower then a penny right? Yet the USA still took the time and effort to put "In God We Trust" on the coin. In the same way, it is when we are at our lowest, that it is the most important to put our trust in God.

Powerful lessons....

Wow...God has been teaching me so many lessons while being here in Honduras! I have been having a blast with building, and working in the cafe, shopping in the market, and taking cold showers! And just hanging out with my classmates! But what I wanted to share, was the message the pastor shared with us, not this last Sabbath, but the Sabbath before. It was a powerful sermon...the pastor gave the example of the lost coin, and the lost sheep. In the story of the lost coin, the coin didn't know he was lost. He was also lost inside the house. The sheep in contrast, did know he was lost, and he was lost outside the fold. In the same way, we may be Christians, and may be weekly church goers, but we might be unknowingly lost. There are also those who are not professed Christians, who are outside the church, and who know they are lost. Which state is better? To be lost and know it? or to be lost and not know it? to be lost while the truth is right beside you? or to be lost where you have to search for the truth? When you sit and think about it....it is actually better to be lost when you know that you are lost, and when the truth is something you search for. Because if it is something you are searching for, you will treasure and prize it much more then if it is handed to you on a silver platter. This is almost better then being in the church, going to church, but just floating. I'm not saying that those who are outside the fold, are in the right. But those that are in the church need to be aware of their state. And they need to be searching for truth. Powerful eh? And to go along with being a Christian, yet not just floating, Wednesday night, one of the staff members of the school gave another powerful worship thought. He told a story about his brother, who was not a Christian. This brother was giving a stranger a ride in his car. The one consolation about this stranger, was that he was carrying a Bible. That was why the brother was not as nervous about giving this stranger a ride. A little while down the road, when they were out of town, this stranger pulled out his Bible. But it turned out to be a fake, because the stranger opened the Bible, and inside was not the treasures of scripture, but a gun. This stranger stole the brothers car, and other things. This just shows, that just because we look like Christians on the outside, doesn't make us Christians on the inside. We can't be a living lie...we need to make sure that our hearts are just as dedicated to Jesus Christ as our actions might look like. We need to be through and through Christians, not just floating. And we must also search for truth with all our hearts.