This Is Me

Where to begin. These past couple of months. I have officially felt like a member of the working class. Most weeks I’m lucky if I get a weekend off. Hence my blog taking the backseat. But this morning I decided to dedicate all to myself and Jesus—who honestly has taken a backseat to. So here’s my thoughts I’m sharing with Him and you…   “US Budget Deficit Expected to Rise in October”  “Ebola Outbreak in the United States” “Chaos in Ferguson” “ US War Against ISIS Steadily Escalates” Almost every time I pick up a newspaper or glance at my news app flashing on my phone, it seems like there is one common factor in almost every story that makes the headlines— FEAR . Society is constantly reminded of the threats from other nations---with the terror of a repeat September 11 th always in the back of our minds. We hear of incurable diseases spreading like wildfire, a government stuck in deadlock, and racial tension still haunting our nation. Living in the heart of St. Lo

         Today is the official end of summer, so it only seems fitting I close it out with a new post. As I sit here looking back at all that has happened these past few months, I am amazed by the faithfulness of our Savior. The triumphs, the heartbreaks, the broken roads—all led me to where I am today.          If you keep up with my blog, you’ll know that back in March I went through a very hard time in my life. I was hurt. And I couldn’t see why God would allow me to go through such pain, let alone how anything positive could come out of it. But amidst the situation, I decided to trust Him. Trust that this was all part of His plan for my life. Trust that somehow this could be used for His glory. And guess what. It was.         For a while now, I have heard God calling me to go on a mission trip. I knew it was something He wanted me to do, but I ignored it---telling myself that God was obviously picking the wrong person for that role. I kept coming up with excuse after exc

A couple of weeks ago, I boarded an eight hour flight to the place I called home four years ago—Hawaii. I know, I know---lucky me! While I was there, I stayed with one of my good friends from high school. We spent the week sharing college stories, increasing our chances of skin cancer, indulging in Froyo, and most importantly, rekindling a friendship that began junior year of high school. The night before I flew back home, we both decided my trip needed a finale, something that we would remember forever, something like climbing Stairway to Heaven. The Stairway to Heaven, or Haiku Stairs, is a 4,000 step ladder that basically scales the side of a mountain. It has been named one of the most beautiful hikes in America, yet for the past 26 years the hike has been illegal. So the night before, we set our alarms for 2am to get to the trail before the security guard showed up, packed our bags, and tried to get a couple hours of sleep in before the big hike. Around 2:30am we found our

These past couple of days, I have been wanting to write, but couldn’t decide on a topic. So I put it off and waited for God to give me some inspiration. That inspiration came one day while scrolling through Twitter. The same day the Beyoncé/Jay Z cheating scandal erupted, I came across several tweets like,  “There is no hope for relationships anymore," and  “I’ll never be able to trust a guy.” F or obvious reasons, this bothered me. A lot. It seems like every day a new cheating scandal or divorce rumor is making headlines in the latest tabloid and looks something like this: And the sad part is, that is what we are influenced by. We see Jay-Z and Beyoncé and think that’s “true love.” Then when it fails, we assume true love  doesn't  exist anymore. Society has trained us, from movies to TV shows, to songs on what love is. Today, love is shallow, hollow, ridiculous, and empty. Love is purely emotive. Love can be fallen into and out of, depending on how happy the person

Honestly, I have no idea where to begin this post. In the past month, I have graduated from THE Texas A&M University, said goodbye to some of my closest friends, moved my life back to St. Louis, and started working. Life has been a whirlwind. It has been such a blessing to be home with my family. On the good days, they’re right next to me thanking God, and on the bad days, they remind me that He isn’t finished with me and to never stop trusting our Savior's plans… even in the waiting. Which is where I want to focus today. Waiting. This past year, I was in an airport atleast twice a month (ridiculous, I know). If you have ever flown before, you already know how frustrating the process can be. While we should be grateful that such a quick and easy form of transportation exists, we get to the terminal and immediately start complaining that security is too long, a flight too delayed, or an attendant too slow. We HATE waiting. I am probably the worst at waiting. I’m the girl

Happy Resurrection Day! It is crazy to think how fast time is flying. It feels like it was just yesterday I was sitting in freshman orientation, and now here I am, three weeks away from calling myself a Texas A&M GRADUATE . To start off, I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to read my blog. I was overwhelmed last month by the amount of support I received from family, friends, and even strangers. Your messages and comments have meant more to me than you’ll ever know. To top it off, my blog reached 4,000 views and the numbers keep climbing! This past month I have seen God work in ways I never thought possible. During one of the hardest times of my life, I chose to let God get between me and my storm. I chose to keep holding His hand through each day and trusting His plan. As much as I would like to say He took the storm away, He didn’t. But He did use the storm to change me. And He used the storm for my testimony. Today is Easter. The cross is a symbol o

When I started this blog almost two years ago, I wanted tell my story in hopes of touching someone’s life. I wanted people to relate. And most importantly, I wanted to share Christ.  This will probably be the hardest to post, but if what I write or what happens to me has the ability to influence someone who might be going through the same situation—I’ll take that opportunity. This past week my heart was broken. I was let down. I was crushed. I was stabbed in the back. I was at a point in my life where nothing made sense. How could someone be so heartless? What did I do wrong? In one hour, everything I had planned for my life was shot to pieces. Everything I thought God wanted for me was gone. Point blank—I was devastated. At this point, there were two roads I could have taken. I could choose to be mad at God—after all how could a God that claims to be love allow this happen? How could He watch me hurt? Or I could take the rocky road. I could trust. Trust that this was part

        I know Father’s Day is a few months away, but for today’s post I wanted to write about the man we grow up calling, “Dad.”         For some, a father is a man that walked out. For others, it’s a person busy making a living for his family. Yet for others, a father is one of the most influential people in their lives. My dad.           After high school, I decided to go to college about 800 miles away from home. Texas A&M University. While my dad was adamant about me going to Mizzou (which was only two hours from home), he supported my decision and on August 22, 2010 he dropped his first-born daughter, daddy’s little girl, off at her dorm and said goodbye. In the midst of his busy schedule, my dad always managed to find time to send me a, “Goodnight, I love you,” text right before bed. Not just once a week. Or every so often. But EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT .   When I didn’t make good grades. When I disappointed him. When I forgot to tell him happy birthday.   I still mana

Looks like we’ve made it to 2014! As a new year begins, I wanted to write about something that I believe we could all add to our New Year’s resolution list. The focus today – prayer. As most of you are aware by the below-freezing temperatures outside, the other day the Midwest was hit with a snow storm. My brother was scheduled to fly back to Connecticut the day the storm hit. Naturally, the night before he flew out, I prayed my best prayer for the storm to be so bad that my brother’s flight would get cancelled and he would get to stay another day. The next morning---flight cancelled. In all honesty, I felt pretty proud of myself after that prayer. God answered that one fast, I must be getting good at this! Then I started thinking about my prayer life. Lately I’ve been hearing my prayers go a lot like this, “B less me. Be with me. Watch over and protect me. Forgive me.” What’s wrong with prayers like that? They all end with ME .            The Bible says in Ephesians 1:3: