February Joy Project

February – The shortest month of the year.

Even though this month was short, it was sweet. My calendar wasn’t quite as busy as January, so it was nice to have a bit more of a set schedule. Catch up on my January Joy’s here.

The past few weeks have been bone-chillingly cold, and I’m looking forward to warmer weather and spring time in March!

Here are my daily joys in February!

“If I could tell ladies one thing…” Words from your brothers

Dear Sisters,

Personally, I’m single and will be spending my Valentine’s Day wearing a red dress, gong to dinner and a movie with my fantastic girlfriends, and enjoying an excuse to wear red lipstick. While I don’t have a man in my life in a romantic way, I am blessed beyond belief to have a dad and brothers who treat me better than I deserve, love me unconditionally and are the best valentines a girl could ask for.

Instead of sharing my words today, I thought it would be encouraging to let you in on what your Christian brothers have to say to you. I received input from over 30 incredibly Godly men, ranging from older married men, engaged, dating and single. To say that I was blown away by these men is an understatement. I am truly honored to know these men and have them share their hearts. I presented the following question to the…

 

“If I could tell ladies one thing…”

 

Now I know that’s a general question, but I meant for it to be open-ended to allow the guys to have freedom in answering with whatever they felt most passionate about sharing with you.

Ladies are in for a treat! My prayer is that this serves as an encouragement to you. Remember, above all else, today and every day to meditate on the great love the Father has displayed by choosing you, sending His son to atone for your sins, and loving you with a steadfast love!

Deep calls to deep – The God of your pain!

This week was rough.

It all started last Sunday, when the sermon at church opened up a wound in my heart. As I fought to hold back the tears, the hurt in my heart lead to the tears spilling down my cheeks. In my embarrassment, I timidly wiped the tears off my face, trying not to draw attention to myself. A friend put her arm around me as I fought with everything in me to control the emotion spilling over my heart in the form of tears.

 

January Joy Project

January has come and gone – with it, many great memories! Unfortunately, I didn’t get around to writing my December Joys, by the time I carved out time to sit down and write, January was half over. If you’d like to read November’s Joys, you can check them out here.

* This month was exceptionally busy, so be prepared for loads of pictures! *

Here are my daily joys in January!

Tonight I fell in love…

with a handsome guy named Aaron. He had the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen and kept staring at me all evening! My heart couldn’t help but fall in love with him the moment I saw him. He captured my attention all evening and I was sad to see him leave.

Honest thoughts on birthdays….

Fun Fact: I love birthdays!

My birthday is two weeks from yesterday! Yes, I am already counting – 13 days! I personally think birthday’s should be a national celebration.

The day you entered the world.

The day you gasped your first breath on planet earth.

The day you cried as little ones do.

Birthdays are important because we celebrate someone’s life, we pause and acknowledge their innate value because they are a part of the human race that God sovereignty ordained.

As much as I adore birthdays – the party, the gifts, the cake, the balloons, the excitement, etc. a part of my heart dreads them.

I Will Be Their God!

 

Christian, here is all you require. To make you happy you want something that shall satisfy you; and is not this enough? If you can pour this promise into you cup, will you not say, with David, “My cup overflows.” (Psalm 23:5) When this is fulfilled, “I am your God“, are you not possessor of all things? Desire is insatiable as death, but He who fills all in all can fill it. The capacity of our wishes who can measure? But the immeasurable wealth of God can more than overflow it. I ask you if you are not complete when God is yours? Do you want anything but God? Is not His all-sufficiency enough to satisfy you if all else should fail? But you want more than quiet satisfaction; you desire rapturous delight. Come, soul, here is music fit for heaven in this you portion, for God is the Maker of Heaven. Not all the music blown from sweet instruments, or drawn from living strings, can yield such melody as this sweet promise, “I will be their God.” Here is a deep sea of bliss, a shoreless ocean of delight; come, bathe your spirit in it; swim an age, and you shall find no shore; dive throughout eternity, and you shall find no bottom. “I will be their God.” If this does not make your eyes sparkle, and your heart beat fast with bliss, then assuredly your soul is not in a healthy state. But you want more than present delights—you crave something concerning which you may exercise hope; and what more can you hope for than the fulfillment of this great promise, “I will be their God“? This is the masterpiece of all the promises; its enjoyment makes a heaven below, and will make a heaven above. Dwell in the light of your Lord, and let your soul be always ravished with His love. Get out the marrow and fatness which this portion yields thee. Live up to your privileges, and rejoice with unspeakable joy. 

 

* Taken from Charles Spurgeon’s Morning by Morning Devotional

Empty Shelf Challenge

As 2013 draws to a close, I’ve been planning out my goals for 2014. I’m writing a more extensive post on this which will be up soon.

As you know, I’m a huge nerd and absolutely adore reading. The majority of my Christmas presents were books. While I definitely don’t have a problem reading, or getting books completed, I figured it would be fun to track the books I’m planning on reading in 2014. This idea is not original at all, Jon Acuff is the one that created the Empty Shelf Challenge.

Here’s the premise of the challenge:

November Joy Project!

Ah, I know it’s taken me forever to post this, but better late than never right?! I hope you enjoyed my October installment of my Joy Project! In case you missed it, you can catch up here!

Here are my daily “joys” in November!

Hope Deferred…

This week, millions of Americans will gather around the table, fill their bellies with way too much turkey and pie, then settle into an afternoon of enjoying one anther’s company, watching football and sneaking in a nap. I’ll be headed home to North Carolina the tomorrow and am fully planning on enjoying every moment with my family. As much as I treasure the holiday season, this specific week stings my heart. You see, it was this week almost four years ago that a major event happened in my life that changed my life. I remember every detail as if it were yesterday.