joy.

get joy. it's necessary. without joy, you'll die.


you'll suffocate.

"a merry heart makes a cheerful countenance,
but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken."
Proverbs 15:13


Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS.

pictures!

so mom found a blog with wedding pictures on it....and if you scroll down once you get past the wedding pictures, there are also some bridal shower ones too:)

it's one of Steve's sisters' blogs. enjoy!

http://asformeandmyhouse.blogspot.com/

amy and steve are married!!

so they're married. i can still hardly believe it's real.



the fact that i'm exhausted and slept like a baby reminds me of the long, hectic, but fun and happy day. so i know it's real.




i love you amy and steve! God bless.

sigh. of sadness, happiness, excitement, nervousness, etc.:)

it's tomorrow.






.

gulp. (of excitement and nervousness).

three more days until Amy and Steve get married.


three more days until they aren't Amy Vogel and Steve Williamson anymore.


three more days until they are:

Mr. and Mrs. Steve and Amy Williamson

yikes!!

this is sometimes how i feel.

i write clever words on paper
i sometimes think i dont belive at all
ive never felt so fake
so false
im such a liar
i couldnt even look him in the eyes
he was 25 like i was
but he was deaf and slowly going blind
he made my faith seem worthless
the things i hoped were pointless
and he fought to stay but
always dreamed that he could leave this place

the angels wings will cover you tonight
hallelujah
press your head
against the breast of christ
hallelujah

It made me feel so empty
collapsing on some dirty bathroom floor
and isn't it just like me to warn his passing breath
when he will never suffer anymore
beautiful his pictures
fading black and silver
and i sing of faith but his was true and fierce
and i will miss him

the angels wings will cover you tonight
hallelujah
press your head against the breast of christ
hallelujah

the angels wings will cover you tonight
hallelujah
press your head against the breast of christ
hallelujah

Estrella by BraveSaintSaturn

happy sigh.

it's interesting to listen to someone tune a piano. that's what i'm doing right now.


it's very satisfying to hear two notes played together go from making you cringe to sounding perfectly in tune.



i wonder if that's how God feels when He points out things in our lives and we repent of them. and strive to live righteous before Him.

it can hurt when God tries to tune us by His Word. but the result can be wonderful if we let God work.

God is good.

Happy Thanksgiving.

"Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles!
Laud Him, all you peoples!
For His merciful kindness is great toward us,
And the truth of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!"
-Psalm 117

a year.

I was just thinking about Thanksgiving this weekend.

And I realized that on Sunday, it will be one year since I started this blog. This year has been such a long year, and yet it was also so short.

It would be interesting to read all of my posts from the past year. In thinking about all the things I have to thank God for this year, reading things that I wrote about over the past year will help me in remembering all the things I've gone through. All the good times. All the bad times.

another song.

by 4HIM.

Anyone who comes to You
Anyone at all
With arms wide open
Anyone who reaches out
Anytime at all
With a heart that's broken
You will be their shelter
You will have an answer
For anyone who ever cries out
In need

I believe
There You will be

I stand on Your promise
Your love is forever
And I believe with all my heart
You are my one and only Savior
You are the calm when my world falls apart
And to the ends of the earth
And for the rest of my life
I'll carry the light

Anytime I turn to You
Anytime at all
I find You waiting
Waiting for the chance to help me
Hold me, heal me
Show me
Just how amazing life can be
When you know what it is
To be free
To be free

Over the mountains
Into the valleys
Crossing the oceans
I'll carry the light
And through the darkness
And to all the hopeless
For all the broken


Thank You Jesus!

gloria.

Gloria, in excelces deo. 

Glory, gloria. 

Too weak to wonder, 

too tired to care, 

Jesus Christ, are you really there? 

I've fallen down, 

Can't pull myself back up. 

I'm going to drown, have mercy, 

Have mercy. 

I need you now, 

Not words or a feeling. 

But Jesus Christ, 

I've hit the ceiling. 

Your love, 

Your mercy, 

Your light unending. 

Your hope, 

Your peace, 

Your strength my heart is mending.

rain.

i love rain. there is something about it that makes me feel . . . content, i guess.

maybe because it reminds me of how rain is another word to describe trials. it's cool if you think about it. rain nourishes the ground. and it promises that the sun will shine through the clouds soon. it is the same with trials. whether we realize it at the time or not, trials nourish us. God sends them our way to test and strengthen our faith and trust in Him. but He doesn't leave us in those trials. the hope of rescue, joy, peace, and safety are promised after the rain.

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: 'fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.' Isaiah 43:1-3a

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of you faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

My grace all-sufficient shall be thy supply;

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

i wasn't planning on going any further than this, but it is interesting to note what the word dross means here. waste or impure matter; worthless or dangerous material that should be removed. rain also washes away the dirt and dust. trials purge the impurities from our lives. things that shouldn't be there. God teaches us things through trials that we can't learn any other way.

don't stop...don't get distracted.

pray often; for it is
a shield to the soul,
a sacrifice to God,
and a scourge for Satan.
- John Bunyan

a listening ear.

so i've discovered something that i love, besides music. it kind of scares me to be honest. it's kind of weird, but i really do love it. a lot.

here it is: i love to listen to people. what they're going through, their struggles, things they need to sort out and talk to someone about. i love it when people come to me and talk to me about that stuff. it somehow makes me happy. even though it's not usually happy things they tell me.

what bothers me is that i never quite know what to say to comfort or encourage them. but i love being there for them. and just having someone they can tell hopefully helps them a little.

another thing that is annoying about it is that i can't just simply fix everything for them. i hate to see hurt and confussion and difficulty in the lives of people i love.

all i can think of is this:

"bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" Ephesians 6:2

devistating.

Some friends of mine wear these t-shirts that say

abort73.com


I always wanted to check it out. and then I did
it was hard to even look at the pictures and videos let alone read any info.



check it out for yourself. I have no words to describe it.

maybe I'll get my own shirts. people should, no, people NEED to know.

why.

ever wonder why it is that God chose you?



why He chose you to share His love with?

why He chose you to send His Son to be crucified for you?

why He would care about a sinful creature that doesn't give Him all the glory due Him?

why He loves you despite your continuous falling and doubting?


i do.

ponderings.

after a very different summer than all the other summers of my short life, i think i have learned some valuable lessons. hopefully i don't forget them anytime soon.


God is never going to let you go, even if you feel like He is far away. and He speaks to you through people and the Bible the most.

stress is a good excuse to pray...hard; and read the last few verses of Isaiah 40 over and over.

the Bible is the most interesting, comforting book in this entire world. and i hope i never take it for granted.

making friends is fun, especially when they are people who you didn't expect to ever become close too. or when you thought you couldn't get any closer to a close friend, you do.

the older you get, the more complicated life seems. the more problems and trials people seem to have. the more i want to help people that are close to me to get through them and pray for them.

prone to wander.

Come Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy praise
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon it
Mount of Thy unchanging love

Here I raise my Ebeneezer
Hither by Thy help I'm come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood

Oh to Grace, how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let that grace now like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, oh, take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above







If every a song expressed my thoughts, this one does now.

youth group camping.

that was an intense weekend. countless unforgetable memories.

Zephaniah 3:17

The Lord your God is with you

He is mighty to save

He will take great delight in you

He will quiet you with His love

And He will rejoice singing over you

He will quiet you with His love

Yes He will rejoice singing over you

For with you He takes great delight

He will lighten your load

Gather you

He will rescue you

He will rescue you

He will lift you up

Wipe away the pain

He will rescue you

He will rescue you

i found peace.

read Isaiah 40. I love my dad. He talked to me last night about my stress and stuff and suddenly, all stress and joylessness was gone. THANK YOU GOD!

"To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?" says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel;
"My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God?"
Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.

His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youth shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,

But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.