...and yet, I will JOY....

"Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The Lord God is my strength;

He will make my feet like the deer's feet,

and He will make me walk on my high hills."

Habakkuk 3: 18-19

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He never lets go.

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These are the cakes I did my last week at the Bakery.

Feels like I never worked there.

It is amazing how fast our lives can change in such a short time.

I will forever be taught by the Lord to make plans, but to hold onto them loosely....

......God has the final say.

I will forever be taught by the Lord to trust His will and to rest in Him.

For this I am glad, He is leading me and His way is perfect.

Black and White wedding cake

Baby Shower

Sweet Sixteen
Fondant graduation figure

My last cake I decorated!

I am so excited to see where the Lord will have me, this time next year!

L.s.R

My Weekend

This weekend was busy, stressful, and fun.

Started out with being able to see one of my dear friends get married.

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On Sunday, I helped Hannah move. I am so excited for her, and for our plans for the end of the summer.....I will miss having her next door to me though :(

On Sunday evenings I have been attending a church with a few friends. Last night the pastor spoke on Psalms 23. He gave a new, deeper perspective to the popular verses. The one that jumped out to me was in verse 3: "He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake." The Lord is my Shepherd in my immaturity and failure. He will restore my soul and lead me through the rut and into His way of righteousness. Restoration and maturity is not only for my sake, but for His. Christ's reputation is at stake. As a follower of Him, how I act, say and do represent Him.

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A few of my jumbled, random thoughts from this weekend:

1. Working for a ministry does not make you holier.....God calls people to their own unique paths. This could mean being a pastor, politician or a farmer. This is something that has always gotten under my skin, Christians who think it is a sin or look down on other Christians for having a job in a secular field. They shy away from universities, politics, or the military because they think it is unholy. I want to follow what the Lord has for me, and if that means becoming a senator, wife/mother, secretary, or teacher, I will do it. The world is our mission field, and Christians are called to be a part of it. Christ was sent to this world to save the lost and to reach them right where they are at. I believe Christ has placed me exactly were He wants me....I just need to depend on Him and be willing to be used by Him.

2. Josh Groban's concert on PBS.

3. I cannot put my trust in a person or people. They will only let me down. Jesus Christ is the only one that I can fully trust. He is always there. He is my constant. He always keeps His word and never says anything He does not mean.

4. I need to work on my posture at work.

5. Beth Moore's summer Bible study.

6. I really want to try the new Mango Limeade at Sonic.

L.s.R

Thank God It's Friday!

For the first time in my short life I can say TGIF and really mean it, because I don't have to work on Saturdays anymore!! This entire week as been full of learning legal terms, computer systems and commands, and memorizing everything and its brother....and I only set off one alarm!!

So.....needless to say, I am very ready for this weekend.

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It is Hannah's birthday today, so we started the celebration by going to lunch.

After lunch, I headed back to the office and went through more training.

At 4:30 I had nothing to do so I took pictures of myself in my cubicle..........that is how I roll!

(No, really I only did this for about a minute!)

After work Hannah and I got manis/pedis done.

I got solar nails for the first time...I love the click-clackety sound when I type! My poor little feet had gotten pretty beat up from the marathon last month and were in need of some TLC, and thankfully I didn't get any grassy decor this time either!! ***

Tomorrow I am doing my friend's make-up for her wedding...I am so happy for her.

I like the black and white dress that I bought for the wedding.

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I hate to be a broken record, but in the mornings, as a part of my quiet times, I have been reading My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, and I always love what he says. Most of his insights have been relevant to my life right now:

"There may be any number of things dark to your understanding, but they do not come in between your heart and God. "And in that day you shall ask Me no question" (John 16:23)--you do not need to, you are so certain that God will bring things out in accordance with His will. "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me." (John 14:1) This verse has become the real state of your heart, and there are no more questions to be asked. If anything is a mystery to you and it is coming in between you and God, never look for the explanation in your intellect, look for it in your disposition, it is that which is wrong. When once your disposition is willing to submit to the life of Jesus, the understanding will be perfectly clear, and you will get to the place where there is no distance between the Father and His child because the Lord has made you one, and "in that day you shall ask Me no question." "

L.s.R

Hurdles

Yesterday was my first day of my new job.

After the day was over, my head hurt from looking at computer screens and taking in all the new information.

I think I will like it though.

After work, I went to my hair appointment and was able to relax a little. My hairstylist gives killer head massages.

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Been reading a lot of Oswald Chambers this past week:

"God is the Master Engineer, He allows the difficulties to come in order to see if you can vault over them properly--"By my God have I leaped over a wall." God will never shield you from any of the requirements of a son or daughter of His."

"Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer, He had the boundless certainty that prayer is always answered. Have we by the Spirit the unspeakable certainty that Jesus had about prayer, or do we think of the times when God does not seem to have answered prayer.....God answers prayer in the best way, not sometimes, but every time, although the immediate manifestation of the answer in the domain in which we want it may not always follow."

"It is not the baptism of the Holy Ghost which changes men, but the power of the ascended Christ coming into men's lives by the Holy Ghost that changes them....The baptism of the Holy Ghost does no make you think of Time or Eternity, it is one amazing glorious NOW. "This is life eternal that they might know Thee." Begin to know Him now, and finish never."

L.s.R

Oceans and Suns

"The ability of God is beyond our prayers, beyond our largest prayers!

I have been thinking of some of the petitions that have entered into my supplication innumerable times.

What have I asked for?

I have asked for a cupful, and the ocean remains!

I have asked for a sunbeam, and the sun abides!

My best asking falls immeasurably short of my Father's giving: it is beyond that we can ask."

--J. H. Jowett

I read this on a blog today.

God is so good, I am finding that out more and more everday.

L.s.R

All Grist for the Mill

Well, it has been awhile.
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I am a college graduate.
I have a new job.
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At the start of 2009, I had this gut instinct that this year was going to be big for me and I have not been disappointed! God has been so good!

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I have gone through and am going through circumstances that I have never experienced before.

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God is my constant through it all.

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Life may be happy, I may be content, everything may fall into place, dreams may come true, and God is always there for me.

His love does not change.
Circumstances may change, people may let me down, expectations may falter, goals may not be reached, dreams may not come true, and God is always there for me.

His love does not change.

I am learning daily to always go to Christ, in the good and bad times, to surrender my will and expectations to Him. To accept His perfect will.

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I have started to memorize scripture more. Awhile back I bought a yellow, index card holder from Target and have started to write down verses that pop out at me during my quiet time. I have slowly started to memorize them. Memorizing scripture has always been hard for me, I’ll commit it to memory but then completely draw a blank a week later. It is retaining that I have issues with, but practice makes perfect.

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I am excited for summer, starting my new job, 4th of July (I really don't know why? Kind of random), a friend's wedding, coming of fall, Christmas, seeing Wicked, buying things for my cubical at work, visiting new places, meeting new people, being with my family, and having my hair grow longer (its seems to be stuck!).

L.s.R