change

as this school year comes to a close and summer is just around the corner people begin to realize that things are changing. not only are the seasons changing but lives are changing. people are moving away and some might not even be coming back. people are graduating and are starting a whole new chapter of life. people are getting married which is an adventure in itself. people are getting summer jobs. the world around us is changing and in an instant you are going to look back and wonder where the time went.
"there comes a point in your life when you realize who matters, who never did, who wont anymore and who always will. don't worry about the people from your past there is a reason they didn't make it to your future."

morning

these song lyrics have been stuck in my head all morning, "though the sorrow my last for the night HIS joy comes in the morning! im trading my sorrows, im trading my pain, im laying them down for the joy of the LORD!" lately things have been tough and hard and not going how i want them to go. the nights can seem so long and i feel alone but when i wake up i have this new found joy that just comes out of no where. i wake up singing worship songs that are stuck in my head and i think that you GOD for everything that you are. thank you GOD for everything you are doing in my life and are going to continue to do.

why

why is it that when something seems to be going wrong, everything seems to be going wrong? you feel like you can not do anything right, everyone is mad or upset with you, when you think that you have finally resolved one problem something else comes up and you feel like no matter what you do or say the situation always gets worse.
right now i feel that way. finals are coming up so i am stressing out about final projects and papers, working five days a week is killer, juggling a crazy schedule is a job in itself and dealing with people mad at you just is the icing on the cake. it is in these times when i have to really think that GOD has a perfect plan for me and my life. it is in these times when i have to remember that i am here for HIM and for HIS kingdom and this life on earth is nothing and does not matter to what life is going to be like in heaven. there will be no more crying and no more tears and i can not wait to be there.

marriage

you know how when you are a little girl and you watch all the disney movies about the princesses falling in love with their prince charming and living happily ever after? i was thinking about it the other day, do you think that GOD put one person on earth for everyone so you have to find them or is there many different people HE put on earth for you and any of them would be a perfect match for you? because if you think about it, if there is only one person GOD would have to bring you together which i have no doubt in my mind that HE would not but what if there are many? i do not know the answer to that question but it is neat to think about. personally i believe that there is one person for everyone and in GOD'S timing HE will bring them together. i heard this quote once, "i have to believe in fairy tales and i have to believe in love!"

trust

have you ever asked anyone if they trusted easily and they say no i have trust issues? well if you have asked me six months ago i would have said the same thing. "i have trust issues, i do not let people in easily, and i put up a front to make everything seem fine." why do we do that? why do we as humans have trust issues? because we have been hurt by people or they have let us down? we should not think about how other people can and will hurt us but think about how our HEAVENLY FATHER will never leave us or forsake us. HE is always with us no matter what we have done or what we are going to do. learn to put your trust in HIM and not of things or people of this world. "trust in the LORD with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. in all your ways acknowledge HIM and HE will make your path straight."

books

lately i have found myself infatuated with reading. the books by Danielle Steel come alive every time i flip the page. she writes stories of young people who have loved and lost, women with miscarriages, young girls being abused and all the while tying a in a love story somehow. her words and descriptions make me feel like i am there with the characters as they go through their life. in the good times and the bad. i sit on my bed and cry sometimes as i am reading at what is happening to the characters i have come to love. books have been my escape and my go to when i need a break from things. Danielle Steel is an amazing author and i encourage everyone to read one of her books.

surrender

surrender: to give up.
as CHRIST followers we are all called to surrender everything to GOD. everything we are, everything we have and everything that we hope to be. we are to give it all up to JESUS. we are to live like HE lived, love like HE loves and be an example to the darkened world. recently i have learned that surrender might be easy to say but not easy to do. but when you do finally surrender everything and truly mean it with your whole heart, GOD will bless you. there has been so many things in my life that when i reflect on things that happen and things that just worked out so perfectly it could not have been anything else but GOD. chance and fate could not have made things in my life happen the way that they did and when i ponder them it is mind blowing that GOD cares so much to make sure that the things in my life run perfectly. HE is the ultimate and when you finally decide to completely surrender, your life will never be the same.

permission

remember when you were a little kid and you had to ask your mom and dad for permission for every little thing?? ask to go outside and play, ask to go swimming, and ask to eat. well, i think this is the coolest thing, the devil has to ask permission from JESUS to do any little thing to us! ANY LITTLE THING, he has to go ask JESUS if he can. if he wants to give us a mean thought, ask JESUS, if he wants to commit a sin, ask JESUS and if he wants you to hurt someone, ask JESUS. he does not have the power on his own to mess with us, he has to go ask permission like a little kid from our ALMIGHTY GOD the FATHER. i think this is absolutely rad. i love JESUS!
"be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 1 peter 5:8

GOD'S perfect plan

it took me a long time to realize that GOD has a perfect and precise plan for my life. HE knows what i will do for HIM and HE knows what i will do to go astray. but what blows my mind is that HE has already planned my life for me before i was even born. HE knew when i was going to take my first steps, HE knew where i would go to college and HE knows who i am going to marry. i know that i try to go my own way and do things that i think are good for me and my life but i am usually wrong. in the last year, i have realized and grown so much and now i know that GOD has a plan for me. it may not be what i want it to be right now but sooner or later i will realize what GOD has in store for me and why HE has called me to do, go, and be who, what and where i am today.
"for we are HIS workmanship, created in CHRIST JESUS for good works, which GOD prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." ephesians 2:10

how we see JESUS

today in chapel we did a really cool thing. we gave everyone that came in a plain white tee shirt and proceeded to tell them that today chapel was going to different. it was going to be an ichapel but none like we have ever had. everyone is going to put on the white tee shirts because this symbolizes the body of CHRIST and how we are all one. we then told them to write on there people's shirts how they see GOD in them. so everyone was to go write on other people's shirts and encourage them by writing how they say GOD in their lives. the turn out was amazing and i feel truly blessed to have been apart of what GOD is doing here on campus.

dear JESUS,

"JESUS lover of my soul, JESUS ill never let you go. you've taken me from the might place. set my feet upon a rock and now i know. i love you, i need you. though my world my fall, ill never let you go. my SAVIOR, my closest friend, i will worship you until the very end." this song has been stuck in my head for days. my hope is that i am living out this song for CHRIST and not just going through the motions. i want to be a doer of the word and not a hearer only.

HIS princess

i have this devotion book that i have just started going through this year. the way that this devotional is set up, it is like love letter writ en from GOD to me, HIS princess. they all talk about different things each day and are all signed differently by GOD. my favorite recently is this one. "you never need to doubt if I am in the midst of your circumstances. remember, I did not put you in the fire to burn you out. trust in ME with your troubled heart, and watch ME do wonders for you in the midst of the hottest flames.
love,
YOUR KING and YOUR REFINER"

my everything

GOD is my everything. GOD is amazing and awesome covered in His glory. GOD is able, capable and almighty to do whatever HE may please. GOD is glorious and exalted in HIS greatness. GOD is alive and living in everything and every one of HIS people. GOD is alpha and omega, being at the beginning and the end. GOD is beautiful and incredible in HIS creation. GOD is bright and shining brighter than any light in this darkened world. GOD is busy and at work in HIS people. GOD is clean and pure being without any form of sin. GOD is complete, holy and divine in nature. GOD is consistent and faithful in that HE never fails us. GOD is greater than death and is not bound by that. GOD is our deliverer. GOD is eternal and will be everlasting. GOD is our heavenly FATHER and will never leave as some earthly fathers do. GOD is forgiving and full of grace. GOD is our rock and foundation. GOD is freedom from sin. GOD is healing through our pain. GOD is Lord and King of our lives. GOD is omniscient lacking no knowledge at all. GOD is living water and life for our souls. GOD is love, a lot of it. GOD is merciful and kind. GOD is peace from war and pain. GOD is praised at the top of our lungs. GOD is present and sitting right next to us, every moment of the day. GOD is promises that continue to be fulfilled. GOD is protector and defender over us. GOD is purposeful and has great plans for us. GOD is a rebel to the world, in that HE is different from what society says is normal. GOD is our redeemer. GOD is resurrected and cannot be held down. GOD is righteous. GOD is the shepherd of our life, guiding us along every step of the path. GOD is the lion and the lamb being stronger than anything yet gentle to us in every way possible. GOD is my everything.

prayer

if the power of prayer is so great, then why do so many christians today go about their day without it? by definition prayer is a spiritual communion with GOD, as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession. prayer is so powerful and i am still coming to understand how great and astounding prayer is. to be able to come before our almighty GOD in direct communication with HIM is a blessing in itself. to not only talk to our heavenly FATHER when ever we want to but to see HIM answer prayers and totally come through is breath taking for me. i can not explain how ecstatic and passionate about how i feel about the power of prayer but believe me when i say that prayer is powerful!

GOD'S creation

ever since i was little i loved sunsets. i remember my mom telling me that sunsets were GOD'S paintings in the sky. i loved watching them change colors from red, pink, orange, yellow and purple until the sun fully vanished behind the sea. i remember thinking that sunsets were the coolest thing that GOD created but now i see other wise. GOD is so amazing and i can not say it enough. how can one not say it with everything that is in creation? creation screams GOD'S name everyday. the trees that sway in the breeze, the clouds that roll by, the flowers that bloom the most beautiful colors, the purple mountains. i mean i am speechless when i think about creation and what GOD has done to show us HIS love. my hope, is that no one takes creation for granted but they will see the one true CREATOR of the heavens and of earth. GOD. pslams 148 says "the beauty of creation praises GOD'S name."

GOD'S love

did you know that the bible uses the word love 333 times? i am in awe of how much GOD loves me. i feel like i do not deserve it. i am at a loss for words when i think about the KING of the universe who created everything and who knows all things still loves me more then anything. like who am i? when i think about it i get butterfly in my stomach and all excited to even thing about GOD'S love for me. it is mind blowing. i thank GOD everyday for loving me so much despite all the wrong things i do. HE is still there with HIS arms wide open. i love how HE loves!

i can only imagine

"surrounded by YOUR glory. what will my heart feel? will i dance for YOU JESUS? or in awe of YOU be still? will i stand in YOUR presence? or to my knees will i fall? will i sing hallelujah? will i be able to speak it all? i can only imagine. i can only imagine."
this song nearly brings me to tears every time i hear it. i absolutely love the words of this song because they are so real. i really do wonder what i will do for my LORD when i get to heaven. i am so moved when i listen to this song because we can only imagine what heaven will be like. JESUS said that it is unfathomable what heaven will be like when we get there. that HE has gone to prepare a place for us. i dont know about you but i can not wait to get there because once i get there, i wont have to imagine anymore.

crawling back to you

i was listening to my ipod the other day and a song from the backstreet boys came on. i was listening to the lyrics and even though it was not a christian song, the lyrics made me think about the LORD and how when we are finally pushed to our limits we come crawling back to HIM. how we can make the stupidest decisions and HE still wants us to come crawling back into HIS arms. HE is waiting for us to hear HIS still small voice and turn from our wrong doings. i know that i will and have back slide away from the LORD and HIS love but i know that HE will never leave me. no matter what i have done or will do HE in my heavenly FATHER. i can not wait to get to heaven and hear HIM say, "well done, good and faithful servant. enter into the kingdom of heaven."

apologize

remember back to when you were little and when you did something wrong. remember how your mom or dad would always tell you to say your sorry and you would. you would say you were sorry and move along with your day because everything was okay now that you apologized. then how come as you get older apologizing gets harder and harder to do? the words im sorry or i was wrong are the words that people never want to come out of their mouths. i know apologizing can be difficult but i challenge you to be the bigger person, admit that you were wrong and apologize for your mistake and move on. do not dwell on the past because that will only leave you more upset. just forget about it and keep living your life because the time you spend doing work to further HIS kingdom is more valuable then not apologizing to spare your pride.

who am i...

lately i have been in awe about how the LORD is so mighty and powerful. i think about how much HE has created and how everything cries out to HIM in wonder. how there is so much GOD has done and yet still HE knows who i am. HE knows my name, HE knows my thoughts. HE knows when i am feeling sad, angry and upset but HE also knows when i am happy, giddy and full of life. i am so amazed and excited that the GOD of the universe still cares about me and still love me even after everything that i have done. HE is just so magnificent, astounding and marvelous as the song says that who am i that HE still loves me. i am so thankful that no matter what i do that my heavenly FATHER still after everything still calls me HIS precious child.

you deserve more

has anyone ever told you that you deserve more? that you deserve to be treated better then the way you are being treated? that you deserve the best? that you deserve all this because your worth it? just recently i have been hearing some version of these questions and i am not used to it. people are telling me i deserve what i am getting, that i deserve to be here, that i deserve the best and to me i find it odd that someone would think that of me. to think that i am worth all the time and effort. to think that i deserve to be treated the way that i am being treated because i am worth it. i have never thought of myself as the kind of girl that deserves to be treated like a princess or deserves being treated like i am worth something great or am valued by someone so much. so as this is all happening i am trying to put the pieces together in my head that i do deserve more.

a pictures worth a thousand words

maybe it is a girl thing but i love taking pictures. i take pictures all the time. i think it has something to do with wanting to remember the moment. being able to look at the pictures and to see a time in my life that i was having fun and was really happy. pictures to me are more then just people on a piece of paper; it is my family from italy i have only seen twice, it is my friends from high school that i never see anymore and my friends from college when after its over i do not know where they will be, its moments with my boyfriend that i just want to remember forever. pictures are memories in my life that i can not get back but i can remember. i love that i can have a photo album of things that have happened im my life full of pictures that are worth a thousand words.

the power of worship

let me start first by saying that worship to me is so much more then just singing songs in the beginning of church. no worship is this intimate time of praising GOD for HIS many blessing that HE has given us. worship is about recognizing the GOD that we serve and what HE has done in your life. i am absolutely in love with worshiping the LORD, it is by far my favorite thing because it constantly reminds me of how insignificant i am and how much of a sinner that i am and still my GOD loves me. still my GOD cares about me and my life. we were singing a song today in chapel and the lyrics are;
"holy, holy, holy, is the LORD GOD almighty, who was and is and is to come. with all creation i sing, praise to the KING of KINGS. YOU are my everything, and i will adore YOU."
this song embodies what JESUS is and i can not help but sing my heart out to the LORD with everything that i have. there are so many amazing worship songs that i never want the worship sets to end. i constantly have worship music stuck in my head but i can not help it, i am in love with the GOD i serve.

trust

trust is a small word. anyone can say it but when it comes to actually trusting whole heartily and believing that the trust you put into it will not let you down in the end is the hardest thing for some people. i struggle with trust issues as well. in some way or another a situation will come up and you will have to make a decision to either trust that GOD has a plan, purpose and will for your life, or you can just run the other way. in provers 3:5 it says "trust in the LORD with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding." GOD is the almighty, the one that we should not be scared of trusting because what HE has started HE will complete. let GOD take over your life today, let HIM take care of you, let HIM guide you, let HIM lay out HIS plan for your life, and most importantly trust HIM with everything because that is the only way to be at peace.

disappointments and let downs. . .

has anyone every disappointed you or let down?? ever say they are going to do something and then does not follow through? i know that that has happened to me before and it has happened often. i will admit that i do not trust very easily and i am working out those issues but when people tell me they are going to do something and then do not get it done on time when i was counting on them or do not do what they said they would do at all; that lets me down. it does not help my progress with trusting someone whole heartily when even the simplest things like, i will be there for you at a certain time, does not even get done at that time. i do not know about anyone else but i know for me this is something that bothers me and really, really disappoints me when it happens. my hope is that disappointments and let downs will never come your way.

arguments

some people would say that confrontation is not their forte; they absolutely dislike arguing with people. and thats okay i know plenty of people like that and some are my good friends. other people just bottle arguments up inside of them and instead of talking them out with people they just keep it and let it well up inside of them until they finally cant take it anymore and they blow up on someone. other people prefer to talk the situation out and just deal with it right away and get it over with. i am a mixture of not liking confrontation and keep things inside and not wanting to talk about it right away and i know that and am working on it. i have come to realize that it is better to just talk through arguments rather then just keep it inside especially with people that are close to you. i know that its going to suck at the time and there might be some raising of voices and some tears but in the end it is worth all the heartache to just resolve the problem and be happy with the people close to you.

GOD is bigger

the weather this week has been so crazy and stormy but it just reminds me about how big my God is. He can make things so pretty and sunny where everyone is happy and loves the whether and then He can make it like this and be totally cloudy, rainy, and stormy all day. i woke up this morning to the roaring of the wind and rain against my window and when i peeked my head out of the blinds i could see all the trees just swaying back and forth and the rain just pouring down from the sky and i could not help but just think about how big my God is and the power He holds and the things that He can do with just a blink of His eye. our God is so real and He holds the universe in the palm of His hands. God says there is enough evidence in creation that no one may have excuse and by the weather has been lately i pray that people will chose to follow the God that controls the world.

its because im italian

for those of you that do not know me i am a very loud, outgoing, energetic, bubbly, talk with my hands kind of girl. when my family gets together everyone has to talk over each other and everyone gets louder and louder as the night goes on. now coming from this kind of a family, it has become only natural for me that i do not think twice about it any more.
my boyfriend always makes fun of me because i do not know how to not talk with my hands. everything i say has to have some kind of hand gesture to it but im okay with that and i have accepted that fact. i have also come up with a simple answer to why i always talk loud and with my hands and that is, "its because im italian."

what do flowers mean

receiving different kinds of flowers can have very different meanings. for example yellow roses say im sorry for your sick grandmother in the hospital. my favorite flowers are gerber daisies and anyone that is close to me knows that i am a sucker for them and if you really want to get to me you bring me pink, yellow, or orange ones. yes some might say that gerber daisies are not romantic and do not say "i love you" but that is what red roses say. a red rose is the flower that is coveted by women that are supposedly in love or it is valentin's day. there are many different kinds of flowers and they all say many different things. a good friend of mine once said this about love and flowers she said, "flowers say im sorry, chocolate says i love you."

good friends

a good friend: "a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard." some might say that they make friends easily, others might not be very good at making friends at all. either way when you know that you have friends that you know will always have your back no matter what you do is unbelievable.
i have always been that little girl that has made friends with everyone but in this past year i have made four extremely great girl friends that i know will always be there for me no matter what. friends are very important to me in my life and i could not imagine college without them this year. they have made my sophomore year amazing, especially this volleyball season. we have laughed so hard and have had so many inside jokes that i could not begin to explain. :) i love you guys!

i cant stop smiling

for the past couple months i have not been able to wipe the star struck, little girl, giddy smile off my face. my mind is constantly in the clouds and every time my phone vibrates i get all excited. my smile just continues to grow with every passing day and if someone were to ask me to stop smiling, even for a second, i would not be able to. just for the simple fact that i can not stop smiling.

growing up

why is it that when we are young we want to be older but when we do get older we wish we were young again?? well i do not really know the answer to that question but i do remember when i was younger i wanted to be older because i thought that all older kids got to be anything they wanted and that they just had so much fun. now that i am nineteen i have come to realize that by being older comes more responsibilities. everything i do now falls on my shoulders and i am held to higher standards then what i used to. but no matter what, young or old, "life is not measured by the number of breathes you take, but the moments that take your breathe away." anonymous

moms

moms are the best people in the world. they are always there for you no matter what, they know what is best for you, they always know where everything is when you need it, and they are always there for you to call in the middle of the night, for a shoulder to cry on and long hugs when you have been away even if for just a couple days. my mom and i are very close even though i do not live at home anymore and we talk almost everyday. i do not know what i would do without my mother. she means everything to me and i owe her the world for what she has done for me. we have this saying that we tell each other all the time, i love you for ever, ill like you for always, as long as im living my baby youll be. i love you mom.