Time to Brag a Bit.

On Saturday, I was feeling well enough to go to Breezewood to support my little brother.

Well,  He's not really my brother but he's such a good family friend! His name is Brandon and hes in the same grade as my brother and sister. So hes 13.

My mom is bestfriends with his mom and he's an only child. So we are always at their house, or they are always here.

This weekend was the first time I got to see him race! And man was I like a nervous big sister!

This is Peytie(my sister) Brandon(my brother from another mother) and I, wating for the big race.


Some pictures when he was racing!

 

 

 

 

Brandon did so well! He came in 4th place out of 12! And he didnt wreck! Which was really nerve racking, because 3 other people did and the ambulance was even there. Im so proud of Brandon!

 

We have alot of good times together, including this weekend!

 

 

And here is a picture with us and my second mamma, Susie, which is Brandons mom. I love her sooooooo much!

 

 

See, I have another reason for this post. Brandon has been one of my 'mini projects'. He doesnt have Jesus in his heart. This past summer, I invited him to Bible school and he showed up 3 nights, which I was so pleased. Im working on him, I just need alot of prayer for oppurtunity. Hes seriously like a blood brother to me. I love him and his family so much.

Heres another picture of me and my sister with our second daddy( Brandons father). He took us for a ride, that was sort of scary but not as scary as this.....

I know I was smiling, but riding was much scarier than I was willing to show! lol. No. It was scary but fun!


So, Im asking for special prayer, because Brandon means so much to me. Hes my brother and bestfriend. And I wouldnt want more than anything to see him become my brother in Christ.

Sick of Being Tired & Tired of Being Sick!

Since last Thursday, I've come down with the flu pretty hard. I have a terrible headcold, sneezing, obnoxious coughing, a body that is aching, a migraine or two, and an upset stomach.

If you knew me, you'd probably say I have the weakest immune system out of anyone in the entire world.

Last year I ended up missing 17 days of school because of sickness. I had mono and also my spleen was so large they thought it was going to explode! But, hey, It got me out of gym for a long time, so I wasn't complaining.

Being in bed for about 3 days can really take a toll on you. I get depressed, exhausted, and unbelievably bored.

So, I was thinking I would look up some verses to help me get through this yucky sickness.

Can you believe how many times sickness is mentioned? I found soooo many:

Deuteronomy 7:15 And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you.

Exodus 23:25 You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.

Psalms 107:20 He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction

Jeremiah 30:17 For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord, because they have called you an outcast.

Matthew 14:14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick

Of course, there are many more, but I just wanted to share these.

I've been in the 'stuck inside, in bed, sad' mood all day. So, I have been listening to music. But for some reason I keep letting the song 'You carried me by Building429' play over and over and over again.

Here are the lyrics:

I’ve been so busy, I missed the reasons. I missed Your love and I nearly missed it all. Still You’ve held me and You’ve healed me. You’ve given all and it brought me to Your cross.
And I stand only because You’ve given me grace to walk. Only because

You carried me, You carried me. You carried me through it all. And I believe, yes, I believe, You’ll carry me all the way home. 'Cause mercy covers all, mercy covers all.

I know the scripture, I’ve known the songs. I sang the words from my hollowed heart. But You’ve spoken softly, through the storm, I heard Your voice and I felt the calm
I stand only because You’ve given me faith to walk. Only because

You carried me, You carried me. You carried me through it all. And I believe, yes, I believe, You’ll carry me all the way home.

Lord, I know that You love me. I’ll never doubt it, I can’t live without it. Your mercy has found me, I am astounded. I can’t live without it, oh.

You carried me, You carried me. You carried me through it all.
You carried me, You carried me. And I believe, yeah, I believe, You’ll carry me all the way home. 'Cause mercy covers all, mercy covers all. Yeah, yeah, and I believe.

This song is my absolute favorite song. Just to stop and realize that, He is the one that carried me through ALL of it. Not only sickness, but all the heartbreak, disappointments, hurting, ....everything. Its seriously so breathtaking. Even though I'm so discouraged with this sickness, I know He is carrying me through it.And I will get over it only because of Him.




Lord,
I cant even imagine how people with a permanent sickness handle it. Lord, I  pray for those people. I pray for the people around here, the kids in school, that are just sick and need healed. Lord, I pray that their eyes would be opened that Youre the only true Healer, physically and mentally. I pray for everyone who is in school right now, that they are learning to their best ability and that they dont come down with the sickness that the devil is providing. Thank You Lord for being the Healer and Carrying us through anything and everything.
In Your Name,
Amen.

 

beau.ti.ful

Sometimes, people need a little motivation push or encouragement, especially us girls. Since school has started, its been really hard to stick out and be that one that is different than anyone else. I decided to start a new devotion series. Its called Redefining Beautiful. Its by Jenna Lucado, of course, the amazing Max Lucado's daughter!

Girls,
Alot of times in school we like to compare ourselves to other girls. Our weight, hair, clothes, beauty, makeup, different styles, shoes...the list goes on and on right? Sometimes we get in the mood where we literally beat ourselves up emotionally. We think we arent good enough, pretty enough, popular enough. Trust me, I know the feeling. Going into this further, I realized that we are all made beautifully. No matter what we think about ourselves, God is looking at us saying you are sooooo beautiful.

A note from Jenna Lucado:

"Some days I like him. Most days I hate him. But I do have to admit, he's honest. He'll always tell me if I have food in my teeth or a booger in my nose. He isn't afraid to let me know if a certain shirt is too tight or if a color doesn't complement my skin. I appreciate the honesty, but he is deceiving all the same. Deceiving because anytime he tells me, "Just get this cute shirt and feel better about yourself" or "Just lose five pounds and be forever happy," it doesn't work. Im never good enough for him. I try not to hang out with him too much, or else I can easily fall into his trap of discouragement--"Jenna, I see that cellulite back there. Your skin is looking pretty oily these days. Those teeth need some whitening!" I try to block out his lies that tell me Im not good enough, that Im not beautiful, but its hard. Im sure youve met him. He tends to pop up in all sorts of places: bathrooms, cars, department stores, gyms. And Im sure youve felt some of these same insecurities when standing in front of him. His name? Mirror."

So I really never thought about this until I read this. And I happen to feel the same way. So the question is....what really is beautiful?

Beautiful: 1. Having attractive qualities that give great delight or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc. 2. Excellent of its kind. 3. Particularly graceful, lovely, or pretty....

Alright. Even though thats the definition of beautiful, I think we always let popular people, tv, magazines, and mirror decide what beautiful is. Let me tell you what beautiful really is....

Beautiful: What God sees when God sees you.

So when you are having one of those days and you are so down, remember God made you beautiful. Dont go off of what guys say, what tv tells us, or what we read in magazines. God has made us unique and soooo beautiful and he does not want us any other way.

Im sure Ill have a lot more to add as I go further in this devotion, but I just wanted to throw this out there tonight.

Sometimes we all need reminded and encouraged. Remeber when God sees you he only sees beautiful. Thats what you are, beautiful.