Searching

What if everyday that we lived, we searched? Searched to be closer to God, searched to bring him glory, searched for satisfaction in only Him, searched for the things that matter, searched for the things that will last forever, searched for his will. What if we gave up everything of ourselves to search. If we never stopped searching, I wonder what we would find...

Would we find His arms wrapped around us? His hand guiding us? His glory painted in the sunset? Complete satisfaction in the simplicity of life? Would we find that every task matters if we work at it with all our strength? Would our eyes only see the eternal importance? Would we learn to completely yield to His will?
If we gave of ourselves, everything- time, money, energy- to God, I can only imagine what he could do with our offerings, how he could use our lives to bring him glory.
I want to search. Search for ways to be more like him, search for ways to be closer to him, to know him more fully. I want to search and find satisfaction, knowing who I am in Christ.

A Heart Stuck in the Snow

I'm really liking this warmer weather... wearing Chacos, short sleeves, and Caprices is nice... but I'll admit: I'm already missing the cold. I know, I know. Crazy, right??
But I just can't help but love wearing sweatshirts, hats, gloves, sweaters, scarves, boots and all that fun stuff! I especially love the feeling after you come in from being outside for a while. Your nose and cheeks are winded and chilly, but they start to tingle as they warm back up. I love the hope for snow that the cold weather brings... and the satisfaction of drinking a cup of tea.
Even though my heart is stuck in the snow, I still enjoy the warmth. It's relaxing to sit out on the porch in a rocking chair and listen to my cat purr, begging for an ear scratch.
So, I'll enjoy this season and all the different opportunities it brings just as I enjoy the others!

Your will be done...

"our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done..."
"Thy will be done."... that has a whole new meaning to me now with the season of life that I am in. I am beginning to learn that "God's will" isn't just waiting on His timing. His will isn't just staying where I am and waiting before He tells me to go on with what I had planned. His will isn't just His timing... it's HIS WILL.
I didn't really get this until recently. I had my mind set that right now I am just waiting to get the ok from God to go on with what I had planned for my future. No, that's not it.
saying "Your will be done," means saying: "disregard everything that I want, Father. I yield to you all my desires. I lay down all the plans at your feet. Not my will, but Yours."
This is so hard to do. There are so many things that I dream to have, do and become one day. To give that up, I will be heartbroken.
And I would be heart broken, if I didn't have His promises to lean on. He tells me that if I give him control, if I let him hold the map, and the steering-wheel, and if I let go, I will be amazed. He has a plan for my life that is far beyond anything I could dream or imagine. He only wants best for me.
So, with His help I will learn to let go, and I will learn to trust that what He is doing is all part of a beautiful master piece.

"Delight yourself in me, and I will give you the desires of you heart." -Psalm 37:4

The Secret of Being Content

"Be happy for each day. Do the things this year that you can do, and when next year comes, enjoy new opportunities. But don't be so impatient that one day you will regret you didn't take time to enjoy each step. Remember: 'There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven' (Ecclesiastes 3:1)"

The Lord gave me this quote/ verse as conformation to be satisfied where I am in life right now. Instead of dreaming of what life will be like once I get to a certain age, I need to enjoy this step in life. And be content right where I am. I need to trust God's timing is best and that He will one day answer all my questions. But for now I just need to wait, practice patience, learn to trust Him... and see how I grow. He is using the stage of life I am in now to prepare me for what is down the road. I need to trust what He is doing in my life, because only He can see what is coming next, and He only wants what is best for me... I need to trust, and wait. patiently.

"Times of waiting take us to deeper levels of trust, strengthen our faith, remind us to abide in Christ, and teach us to delight in the Lord... This season of life provides us the ideal opportunity to learn the secret of being content in any situation." -Sarah Mally

His Strength is reviled... 2011

I've been dreading writing this post, not because I'm not excited about the new year, but I know what you want me to write... new years resolutions... what I've learned... I love reading all those things from other people, but I'm not in the mood to write my own, at least not now (and I can't tell you why, because I don't know why myself).
Don't get me wrong. I've learned and grown so much this year, and I am thrilled to have a new year and start another chapter in my long story. There is so much about me that has changed. I have new perspectives, new friends, new schooling... everything. It's hard for me to pick just a few that stick out. Except the obvious ones.

***

So let me continue this post... I'm super excited about this new year. 2011, now that's fun to type:)
I can't even imagine where I will be this time next year. But so many doors have been opened, and I can't wait to walk through them and see what's next for me. Really, I can't wait. I want to know... like, now. God has been working on me. I want answers. Where will I be next year? Will this happen? How will this effect my life?
and I want so many things that might not be His will, but He is teaching me to be patient and wait until He decides to show me, tell me, surprise me.
It's been hard, and I imagine it always will be. I don't like to wait. It's one of my weaknesses, but in my weakness His strength is reviled. And that makes waiting, beautiful.

Happy almost New Year,
Maddy

Dear Scarecrow,

Dear Scarecrow,

You will soon be taken down, put in the attic and replaced by Santas... but don't worry things will be ok. I will miss you, because as you leave, fall goes with you. Don't worry things will be alright. I'll See you next year.

Until then, Maddy

Thank You

Thank You for Your Word

Thank You for Your promises

Thank You for Your sacrifice, Your blood shed

Thank You for Your blessing

Thank you for Your guidence

Thank You for Your love

Your protection, Your power, Your might

Thank You for Your silence

Thank You for Your patience, Your persistence

Thank You for Your people

my family and friends

Thank You for a second chance.

-Amen

Happy Thanksgiving!! We have so much to be thankful for:)

5 things...

5 things... 5 things i like, enjoy, or things that just plain make me happy:)

 

 

Shadow pictures. Any kind of shadow. I love them, they are so unique. I especially like shadows on a building from trees. The best shadows make an appearance around 3-4 o'clock.

Bare feet. Their the best. None can compete, except maybe Chacos, but that is for a later post. Bottom line... i love bare feet, they make me feel free :)

Mirror pictures always turn out so neat. I love taking mirror pictures and looking at other people's mirror pictures. Mirror pics can tell a lot about a person from small details that you have to pay close attention to.

 

 

 

Fall leaves. Who doesn't like fall leaves?  They are gorgeous, unique, and make the world so colorful. Fall leaves is one of the reasons that I am almost completely against leaf blowers... just let the leaves fall where they may...

Apples, refreshing, sweet, satisfying, enjoyable crunch... bliss. I cut my apples a special way that makes them even more enjoyable... i wouldn't say I am the only one that cuts my apples that way, but I like to think so sometimes ;)

Psalm 139:13

"you knit me together in my mother’s womb."

-Psalm 139:13

I have recently gotten into knitting, I actually knit an entire scarf, and let me be the one to tell you that it took a l.o.n.g time! A lot of endurance and diligence, not to mention time go into knitting a scarf or anything for that matter. The cool thing about knitting is that you can do it anyway you want, it's your creation.

For me to think about being knit together in my mother's womb is pretty incredible. Not only did He knit my body, but He knit together my spirit, my character, my mind, my soul. He knit me together in a way that no one else is knit together. That's pretty special... no, that's really special!

The scarf that I knit is really special to me, because it is something I spent a lot of my time on. If my purple scarf is that special to me, I can only imagine how special I am to the Maker.

It's November??

Ok, am I the only one that is trying to grasp the fact that is is already November 1st?

Not July, not September... NOVEMBER!? 

I was just counting down the days until Summer break... hyper-speed studying for my last exam and... I did what I told myself not to do... what I tell myself not to do every January 1st... I blinked. Why do I keep doing that?

I'm not sure why... but I did, and now, here I sit, dumbfounded, flabbergasted at the fact Christmas is less than 2 months away. It's crazy to look back and see all the ways that I have grown this year. Not only have I gained a few inches length wise (yeah that's right I used to be a shrimp-o), but I have also grown spiritually. I've dug deeper into the word, searched harder for His will, my eyes have been opened, my ears have heard. 

Now I can only think... a year from now... where will I be? If so much had changed this year, what about next year. What else will I learn? Where else will this road lead me?

My mind can't even grasp the thought of where I will be next year, but what's great is... I don't have to worry about it, I just get to sit back, relax and watch the Maker do His thing :)

100% YOU

We grow up learning to 'just be yourself''. All through elementary and middle school we try and try to 'be ourselves'...whatever that may be. The one thing we don't know while trying to 'just be ourselves' is who we are. After years of  trying to 'be yourself', you wake up one day and realize that you have been yourself. You can stop 'trying' and it just comes naturally. It falls into place, because you know that you are a child of the King. And on His shoulders you can see- that you are free to be you... 100% YOU, and nothing less.

Slow down

The world tells us lies. Lies that we have to have a packed schedule in order to have a full life. We live by seasons, and holidays instead of living day by day. By Spring break we look back and realize how fast the year has gone by, and we start getting excited for summer. Once the end of summer roles around we are ready to get back into a school schedule again. Why is it that we are all looking forward to the next best thing while we are still enjoying an exciting part of our lives? We're gonna miss it. We're gonna forget to smell the flowers, run out of time take a picture and waste our time waiting rather than making memories now. So, let's enjoy it, let's enjoy every bump in the road, each wrinkle in our bed sheets, every color of the sky, every minute, every moment, everyday. Enjoy it, remember it, embrace it. Live in the now, be the best you, now. Why wait. Slow down, before today becomes our yesterday.

Color

I want to live my life to the fullest, I want to live like there's no tomorrow. I want to breath every breath with passion, and take every step with soul. I want to make the most of every moment, give my all in everything I do. I want to forgive, forget and move forward, live with no turning back, take the road less traveled by, create something new, dance like no one is watching. Taste, feel, fly, explore, enhance, discover. I want to fulfill the task the Lord has set before me, but I want to do it with passion, soul and color.

I am me, and you are you

I feel that as teenagers, we spend the majority of our time creating ourselves, our identity, our image and how we want others to view us. There is the jock, the actor, the artist, the rebel, the smart one, the 'good christian', the vegetarian, the bully, the popular kid, the musician... some of us may try several or all to develop our image. And you know what I have found out over the years of trying new things?? You can't put a label on who you are. There isn't a formula to being you. I, for instance am not any 'one' of those things. There is no one word that can sum up who you are. We are all different, so why waste out time trying to label and identify who/what you are... I am me, and you are you.
Let's made a deal not to label ourselves... let's let our identity be found Christ.