the simple things in life or not so simple

So, I love simple things. Yes, cookies, COLD water, smiles, hugs, naps, rainbows, butteflies, shoes, a clear face, and people opening the door for me. Included in the small things are amazing people placed in my life. If you are reading this then that means you! But most of all today I am so excited about one of my Christmas presents. Todd happens to have an amazing office manager, Traci, who found me an orange peeler. Yep, you read it correctly. I have been looking for one of these for forever, literally. They are hard to find. According to a phone call I received yesterday or the day before she has located me one and I am getting it for Christmas! ha ha! I am SO excited about this little addition to my fruit fetish! Along with this amazing invention, we recieved a few engagement pictures through our photogs blog. They are turning out amazing and of course my sweetheart is so cute!

Look at them here: http://www.snaptacularphotos.com/blog/?p=231

On another note.....

I have a question for you. I want to know if what you are living for is worth dying for? Read that s l o w l y. So I guess you have to answer the question, what are you living for? Better yet, WHO are you living for? If you are living for yourself and have bought into the notion of "its all about you" or "just make yourself happy".....then your answer is you are living for yourself. So are you willing to die for the things that you find SO important? Jesus dies for you. Could you die for what you are living for? I can tell you right now, I would say no. I would not choose to die for the things I spend most of my time on. School, internet, facebook, myspace, work....etc. SO that should tell me that I need to spend A LOT more time with my Father, my Savior, my comfort, my friend. He is my beloved and I am His. I would die for Him, to know Him more, to show his love more, to stand for what I believe. I want to be able to say...yes I will die for what I am living for because what I am living for is for Christ, not me, not you, not anything other than Christ. There is another part to this thought process. How do you get to the point where you are able to say you will die for what you are living for? First, you must die to yourself. Die to society's dumb crap that you are believing when you think all that matters is your happiness. That's not true. You weren't created for your own pleasure. We are created in the image of Christ. WE ARE ROYALTY. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. God looks at you as a piece of Him and that is majestic. Surrender your plans to Christ and let Him guide you and lead you in the direction that He has set before you. Put your wants and plans aside. Die to your ways of thinking and let God change them. Die to your sinful ways and let God replace those thoughts and actions with love. His love. Through that love you can serve others. You are most like Christ when you serve others.

I am learning to die to myself, my selfish ways, my wants. This is a great journey. I have peace, I am gaining more joy. This is all God's work. I am His workmanship and so are you!

so much to think about...

Have you ever had one of those slap in the face moments? Like you have been wondering about things but didn't realize you were until the answer came to you? I had one of those moments recently. I was listening to a speaker in CBL (an organization that I am in at A&M) and He was telling his testimony of how he had graduated with a finance degree from A&M and was making really good money when he felt called to leave his nice "successful" job and go run a kids camp in the area. Of course being obedient, he obeyed God and was completely happy with the road God was leading him on. He made the statement that has had me thinking for a while now....he said "I only have roughly 60 years left on this earth, how will I spend that time?" "Will I make a difference?" He made the choice to leave that "successful" job in society's eyes to do something that may or may not be something that others would deem as worthy, or glamourous,but he was obeying God and through that obedience he was fulfilled with joy and overflowed with happiness. I have been thinking about that very question. "What will I do for the next 60 years?" I want to know what God wants me to do.....how will I spend it? What will I be doing? Will I be trying to please myself, husband, kids, society, family, (in all the wrong ways) or will I be focusing on God and what He has in store for me and for others through me? Through that focus I will be able to balance my relationship with my husband and family and still do what God has called me to do. I want to make a difference no matter if it is cleaning toilets for the rest of my life or being a stay at home mom, or managing Todd's practice. How will I allow myself to be used by God? Will I obey Him and do what He asks of me? I want to please God in ALL areas of my life. I want Him to take this empty vessell and fill it up an then pour it out like water. I pray that God cleans me, molds me, shapes me, and uses me for His glory and His glory only. Oh how I have dreams of having like 7 or so kids through natural and adoption processes. How I dream of bringing foster kids into a loving home and being able to love them and let them sleep in a safe place. How I dream of letting God pour His love into me just so I can pour it out on others. God use me! Take Me! This is my dream. I want to help the homeless and of course have every stray animal at my house. I want to be the one to tuck that precious baby in bed and let them know that they are okay in their new families arms. I want to visit the old people in the nursing home that get no visitors. I want to love. Do you hear me?..... I want to love. I want to love. I want to love. I want to love.

This is how I want to spend the next 60 years of my life.

Career? who cares...loving people in the name of Jesus is all I want to do. I long for the opportunities. Society tells you have to have money, or do things in a certain order and I am hear to say that it is all crap. God's plan isn't society's plan for you. Seek God. Seek Him first, and seek Him alone. He will be faithful to hear your cries and to answer them also. Don't be afraid of His answers they will bring you joy unspeakable. I know that Joy, I know Jesus, and I am coming to know His plan for my life.

Oh man, oh man!

First let me just say, I am not one to blog. I don't have time, or I type it all and somehow it gets deleted. What a bummer?! However, I feel compelled to blog. Why, you ask? Oh because I feel like my lessons learned, or words from our Father are not just for me. So join with me as you continue to read (if anyone is out there....lol) and help to guide me, lead me, and follow me along on my journey in life. Life includes love, happiness, tears, joy, and anything else that falls in my path. God will lead and I will follow. Therefore, I shall not wonder away from the path He has set in front of me. Who knows maybe my lovely fiance will feel compelled to write along beside me too. He is full of knowledge and I cherish it!
Thats all for now...

-AL