When Life (for me) Began.

I've been debating on whether to post this or not. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt like I should. Those who read this may not know me as well as others, but the point is not really to get to know me on a more personal level, but it's more to show God's absolutely amazing work and how capable He is. If you read my very first blog post, you'll see that this blog purposed to bring those who read it closer to Him. Another attempt of mine at witnessing to others using my thoughts, convictions and experiences.

For God's glory only...this is how He made His way into my life.

Finding My Dependence

Being dependent in the wrong people is how I spent the first 18 years of my life. Growing up in church I heard the stories every Sunday, but that's all they were to me...just stories. It wasn't until I was 12 that I heard and understood the gospel for the first time. Jesus died for me, to take away my sins so that I can spend eternity with Him in Heaven. That night I prayed to God asking Him to be a part of my life. Accepting Christ into my life changed how I viewed myself and later explained the conviction I felt throughout high school, but I went through a long process of living in sin and conviction before I understood what it truly meant to live a life for Christ, let alone what it looked like.

High school is when the dependence in God shifted and focused on family and friends. Sports were always an interest of mine, and around this time softball began to consume my life. It became a way for me to achieve admiration from my parents as well as a way for me to boast my talents. I became so dependent on pleasing my parents that softball became my idol. Not only was softball sculpting my identity, but fitting in with the popular crowd became a desire as well. Dating the popular guys, and partying with the "in" crowd is what I thought it took. My dependence on what others thought about me had made me into someone I didn't even recognize. By this point in my life, God is no where to be seen, in or through me. I was what people call a "Sunday Morning Christian," attending church again, as a way to please my parents. My junior year, God put someone in my life who help me realize how a Christian life should be lived. This person helped me recognize that I was depending on temporary satisfactions and ending up more lost than I started.

Coming to college, I knew 2 things could happen. 1) I could keep living in a lie and making myself believe that this comfortable lifestyle was satisfying, or 2) I could admit to myself and to God that I was living in filth and sin and have the desire to change. The summer before college, I made reading God's Word and praying a daily occurrence. And because of this, God quickly made the decision obvious. I felt God calling me to leave this comfortable "popular" bubble and learn to depend solely on Him to satisfy me.

God has grown me in some absolutely amazing ways over the last year and a half, ways that are obviously only possible by the work of His hands. He's blessed me, He's taken things away, and He has sent me numerous trials. But all of this was to dispose of any hindrances that are/were getting in the way of my knowledge and love for Him as well as to strengthen my faith in His control of my life. I see now why God allowed my past to happen -- to be able to relate to others, to realize that experience evolves knowledge into wisdom, and ultimately to see how powerful God's love and grace is to be able to transform a lost, helpless girl who was searching for satisfaction in state titles and relationships to a God-fearing college student who continues to fall more in love with Him every day.

Jesus died for us. He covered our sin with His blood. He's offering us a free ticket into eternal salvation with Him. A ticket that can be gained by asking Him to forgive us of our sin, wanting Him to be the forefront of our lives, and to believe that what He's done for us is true. So why waste such a valuable ticket on such a worthless world?

1 John 2:17 is one of the best representations of what God has shown me through His work in my life so far. "The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."

I spent so much of my time and effort trying to please the people and things of this world, and it resulted in complete unfulfillment. Giving my life over to God for Him to control has brought me so much more satisfaction in the last 2 years that I have ever experienced.

So I ask, why love and invest in something temporary when we have the option of loving and investing in something eternal?

All About Tradition

Oh how I love Christmas :) and it's less than 12 hours away.

We have quite a few traditions in my family...
Christmas Morning routine:
Dad comes and wakes me up and tells me Merry Christmas. Mom and I get up and take showers and make our coffee. Mom sits in the recliner, dad on the couch, and I still have my spot on the floor by the tree :) Presents get opened, pictures are taken, and then Grandmama comes over to see what we all got.

Christmas Afternoon:
My mom's side of the family comes over...all 22 of them. We have a wonderful lunch and open presents a family at a time.

Christmas Night:
We walk across the yard to my grandmama's house and enjoy a delicious dinner and more present opening.

The day is full of love, family, gifts, pictures, and laughs. But I'm adding one more thing to the schedule this year....reading the Christmas story.

I want the true reason for the season to be fresh on my own mind along with my family's. The Child of Light, Love, and Eternal life was given to us as the ultimate Gift, and our joy and thanks should be centered around that.

Crazy Stuff.

I got a B in Chemistry. My only thought -- God is unbelievable.

Only passing one test all year and having a C quiz average, and I end up with a B. God is unbelievable.And yes, this is what my computer saw when I discovered my B.

Christmas Eve X3

Being home has been quite lovely :) It may have something to do with Christmas being just a week away, but regardless...lovely.

Knowing that this semester ended up being my worst semester (grade-wise) but my best semester God-wise has been so awesome. Taking grades and lowering them slightly on my priority list and raising God up to #1 has been an incredible experience. The stress that usually seen throughout the semester barely showed itself at all this semester. There's a lot more I could say, but to sum it up...I was joyful, regardless of what a letter on a piece of paper read.

Big things are going to be happening in the next month. So for me, the feeling you get in your stomach when laying in bed on Christmas Eve (yes, I do still get those butterflies) aren't just going to come and go on December 24th. I have Radiate to look forward to on December 28th -- one of the best experiences of my year last year. January 20th...let's just say it'll be the deciding factor of how I'll be spending my summer...so that's a pretty big one as well. And then next semester in general. Being a part of the new Leadership team for CRU is going to be incredible! God is going to stretch me in ways that I never thought I could stretch....time, priority, responsibility, fellowship. Can't. wait.

But until then, I'm going to pour out love on my family, enjoy each day God has blessed me with, and make the most out of them :)

Wearing Thin

After a straight week of this...tomorrow is the end.

Acronyms. Picasso. Epidemiology. alopetia. National Institute of Mental Health. Solubility. Primitive Art. Magical Realism. Prefixes/Suffixes. The Road.

All of the following has somehow been crammed into this very exhausted, very tired brain of mine. Despite the outcome...it's all gonna burn. Thanks for the reality check Caleb Knighten.

Cracked Like An Egg

Tonight is the Sunday before finals. Me, along with 4 of my suitemates/best friends are spread out between rooms and the common room...studying. It's been a long day, that's for sure. But unfortunately, I can't use that as an excuse. When dinner time rolled around so did a little attitude. I became super short-tempered with the girls and was really rude. Dinner was eaten in almost silence. After dinner, I sat with Amy in the common room and I just felt it bubbling up inside of me, I couldn't stand it. I was getting mad at them...for a reason I don't even know. I set my books down. Went into my room. Closed the door. And cried. Cried because I saw how selfish I was being. How I didn't feel like loving them, so I got angry instead. I got my bible and flipped to the first verses about love and friendship I could think of. The first was Proverbs 17. "A friend loves at all times". Crack. Then on to 1 John 3 and 4. Long story short, I was told that I was committing murder. Cracked.

I'm sorry. I let Satan get the best of me. I asked for forgiveness. I prayed asking God to take this awful feeling out of my heart and restore me with peace and joy. This is a prime example of me taking advantage of the amazing sisters God has blessed me with. One of my main prayers a year ago was for God to surround me with some amazing women who would encourage and love me. I got what I asked for, and now I'm complaining again.

I'm greedy. I'm selfish. I'm sorry.


These girls are amazing, and I thank God for them everyday. Satan is such a liar.

Always isn't Sometimes

Some things are going on in my life that are sending questions through my head. Questions that I'm not sure I know the answer to. It has convicted to me to check my heart and prepare it accordingly.

Am I prepared to rejoice regardless of what God has me do?

Will my faith sustain me when He decides a test is in order?

I wonder these things because I honestly don't know. Will I be just as happy at home this summer as I would be in Australia?
-my answer: idk
-the right answer: yes. The action of reaching out and witnessing is what should bring this joy, not the place where it is being done.

So getting from point A (my answer) to point B (God's answer) is my current transition. Preparing my heart regardless of what happens and where I go. And assuring myself that wherever I end up is where God sees I can be the most beneficial. It's easy to write/type, but applying it is a tricky one.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" - Phil 4:4

Always means all the time; no matter what.
Not...sometimes; if it fits my schedule; if I'm having a good day; if I feel blessed or rewarded.

Always means Always

Which leads me to yet another dilemma I'm currently working through...

CHEMISTRY.

I will admit, I've never done this bad in any class in my life. Having a failing grade at the moment is doing a good job at allowing me to be full of joy. I study. I try. I fail. That's the pattern I've seen this semester. But then I read Philippians 4:4....REJOICE. Hard stuff.

So this is my new motto: It's school. So what? Nbd. Life goes on.

To end things on an uplifting note...yesterday I spent 4 hours with Amy studying/eating at Panera :) Great fun. Good conversations. A lot of work was accomplished. Ran into some friends. Was distracted by others conversations. All in all, a good night.

Always Ready for Battle?

Tonight was the last bible study of the semester and it was probably the best one as well. Finishing up Ephesians, our last topic tonight was the armor of God. We discussed each piece of the suit of armor we are, as Christian, given to wear while engaging in the never-ending battles here on earth.

Truth lies in the belt - the foundation that holds everything together.
Righteousness is found in the breastplate - what protects are heart.

Peace found in our sandals - the willingness to spread to gospel.

Faith seen in the shield - the way we repel what Satan is forever trying to pierce us with. Salvation in the helmet - protects our thoughts and helps in our decision making.
The Spirit works as a sword - we are called to retaliate against Satan, and only the Spirit provides us with that strength.

Such a powerful passage of scripture. Some amazing points were made tonight, some that were really convicting and others that were truly inspiring.
-Notice how there is no armor protecting the back side of a person. The armor isn't meant to protect our backs because we are not called to run away from Satan. We are called to stand firm in our our faith, wearing our armor and let the Spirit work through us to defend the Truth.
-Satan all too often tries to fill us with lies, persuading us that we are inadequate or not good enough to do what God is calling us to do. We can't believe these whispered lies. God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called.
-Our strength will never withstand that of Satan's, only God is fully capable of that act.

That last point is seen in my favorite verse; one that always reassures me of God's almighty power, regardless of the situation I'm in. I have found so much comfort and peace from this verse and tonight, it fit perfectly when talking about our strength in comparison to God's.

"For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." -1 Corinthians 1:25

You never know when you'll need it. So you might as well always be wearing it.

Slap in the face.

I often find myself underestimating what God can do. I doubt His ability to answer my prayers, especially those that I tend to doubt myself. I guess that why's He's awesome and I'm not.

My cousin, who I consider my brother, has a roller coaster ride of medical problems in the last 2 years. His back has been bothering in an extremely painful way. He's spent his sophomore year of college in doctor's offices, therapy, and sitting in bed because of the pain. I pray for Him daily. Not just for healing of his back, but for him to see that God can heal more than his physical pain. He can transform his live into something he's never experienced.

This Tuesday, my cousin is going into surgery. 4 screws, 2 metal rods, and a fake disk are all going to be put in his spine. For a 19 year old, that's evasive...and scary. He asked me yesterday that if I had time to send some encouraging verses his way. BAMM.

That was God slapping me in the face for giving up hope in him (him being my cousin and in God). It was a slap much needed.

So anyone reading this, pray for my cousin. For a successful, painless surgery. For a complete recovery. And for his love and faith for God to increase and sustain him.

A Parent at 19

Being 19, I would never think I would be saying, "I'm a proud parent."

Last night I made the decision of sponsoring a young girl currently living in Uganda. Lydia is 5 years old, has 7 other siblings and is currently not in school. She stays home and helps her mom with housework. It was a blessing to hear she was in good health, but because her family is living in such poverty that could very quickly change. She is a beautiful little girl and I am so thankful God gave me the heart to sponsor her. She has so little, and I have so much. I want to make that scale as equal as I can with God being in the center. My best friend Emma and I are doing this together, and it's just another reason I can add to my list as to why she is such a blessing in my life :) She is eager to help me support Lydia, to love her and to show her the light of the gospel.

This is Lydia, Emma and I's beautiful little love child :)

Giving Thanks Where It's Due

Being thankful is truly an understatement.

I take for granted the things God has blessed me with on a regular basis. I don't think I'll ever fully comprehend how blessed I am. A New Year's resolution is starting early for me...giving thanks on a daily basis. Throughout the day today, I made a list of the things I take for granted.

God's grace. Family. My best friend. The support I'm surrounded with. Love. Trials. God's blessings. The little things. A house. Food.

The list does continue, I have it written in my journal...but hopefully the point was made. I read the book "The Hole in Our Gospel" this past summer and today I read some again...realizing how much I have in comparison to the majority of the world. So many live in poverty and starvation and here I am worrying that I'm eating TOO much. Something's wrong with that picture.

Realizing how thankful you are makes you see how little others have.

Divine Appointments are Irreplaceable

I was overly excited about coming home this week, but I didn't know why. It was just another visit home, nothing special. But through my quiet times and talks with God, I've seen that He put the urgency in my heart to really reach out to my family this week, showing them the light of the gospel in everything I do and say. I haven't noticed my actions being different, but I sure have had a lot of comments about them -- which could be taken as a compliment or as an insult of how I used to act.

My mom hit my car yesterday. Backed straight into it. Her excuse...I was looking at how cute Sandy was laying on her pillow (Sandy is my dog). Was I angry? Oh yeah. I mean, come on, she just seriously injured Misty (Yes, my car has a name). So that was situation #1. Thankfully, God put me in an awesome mood during my quiet time that morning and my best friend gave me some solid advice to calm me down. It wasn't until that night that I saw how my reaction impacted my mom.

Today was a pretty eventful one. I spent the day with my grandma visiting residents at the nursing home. My grandma goes every Tuesday and volunteers, so I asked if I could join her this week. Hearing nothing but compliments about my grandma and how they love her visits made me realize how lucky I am to have this amazing woman as my grandmother. She is one of the best role models a woman could ask for -- selfless, humble, caring, forgiving. The last room we went in, we visited a lady who was reading her Bible. Seeing that immediately brought a smile to my face. She was a wonderful woman and I got the priviledge of talking to her for almost an hour. She was telling me how she had wished she had "gotten into the Bible" (the phrase she used very frequently) earlier in life and how much it had changed her perspective. The whole time I listened to how God had put peace in her heart, all I could think about was how I haven't been setting aside time to acknowledge the peace I've gotten from Him. There she sits, all day every day, in a nursing home....and she's joyful. That joy can only be from God alone. It was so humbling to hear all she had learned and we ended up reading a passage out of John together before I left. I was able to tell her about my interest in going to Australia this summer on a missions trip and I have never experienced the kind of encouragement I got from her in just the few minutes we had together. Women like her are who I admire. Divine appointment indeed, thanks God.

We sang this song together before I left her room...with tears rolling down our cheeks.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;

whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul. 

It is well with my soul, 
it is well, it is well with my soul. 

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, 
let this blest assurance control, 
that Christ has regarded my helpless estate, 
and hath shed his own blood for my soul. 

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole, 
is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, 
praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!  

And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, 
the clouds be rolled back as a scroll; 
the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, 
even so, it is well with my soul. 

Being Saved Daily

God used Cameron like no other tonight at Aletheia. Repentance and Faith shouldn't occur once, they should occur daily.

Purify me daily. Make me white as snow.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Restore me to the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit." -Psalm 51:10,12

We have to approach God as David did...knowing that we did wrong, knowing that we are sorry, and knowing that God has the power to sustain us.

Break us down so You can build us up stronger.

New Opportunities and New Albums

Does God think I'm ready? Do I think I'm ready?

Those two questions have been on repeat in my mind the last 2 days. I was offered a position that requires responsibility, leadership, and faith. Was I happy that I was asked? Of course. But after the initial excitement, those two questions suddenly surfaced.

Responsibility isn't my main concern. I'm an overall pretty responsible person, or least I tell myself I am. And the faith part is for the most part solid. I have learned from experience and continue to see that one's faith can cause the unthinkable to happen. The word leadership, that's what gets me.

"A Christian leader is first and foremost a servant, a slave. They don't lead with words, they lead by example."

Do I meet this criteria? Only God knows, and only He will decide. Praying and seeking is pretty much what I can do.

Two more "news" occurred today...
1) NEW Chris Tomlin album came out - it is absolutely amazing!!!!
2) NEW Glee Christmas album came out - also amazing :)

Chris Tomlin is a "I love God so much" type of amazing and Glee is a "book in one hand, chai tea latte in the other, sitting in front of a fireplace" type of amazing.

One more new that can be added to the list...a NEW read. Radical by David Platt. I'm starting it tonight. Pretty stoked. I've heard some wonderful things about it :)

Inspiration From A Stranger

Do You Love More More than this Hurts

I was having a rough time
My problems were weighing heavily on my mind

I felt crowded, I wanted a place to run away and hide
I felt like I was choking from swallowing my pride

I didn't do as Ephesians 6:14, "Stand having your Loins About Your Girt"
When a Loving Voice asked me, "Do you Love Me More than this Hurts?"

I thought about it and thought about it for awhile
Again the Voice spoke and said, "Answer Me, My Child"

I said, "Yes Lord, yes I really do."
He said, "Trust Me, Praise Me, and this I'll bring you through."

"I know how much you're suffering; I know how much you've lost"
"Even though it hurt Me, I still went to the Cross."

Then I stood back and took a good look at myself
I should have been doing for others, but now I needed help

By looking at me you'd never know, that a Mighty God we serve
I had really gotten out of His Will, really gotten out of His Word

By looking at me and talking to me
You would have never known we have the Victory

So right then and there I got myself together and with the Word I make my attack.
All satan took from me in the Name of Jesus I took it back.

For all the things he had taken I didn't put up a real fight
I was looking at the problem, didn't use my Faith but my sight

If you have a problem, it sometimes will bring pain to the heart and flesh
Don't give up! Continue in Jesus to do your best

Stand on His Word and Trust Him for in Him we still have much work.
For you alone can answer the question:
Do you Love Me More than this Hurts?


This beautiful poem is from the pen of one of His children, Miss. Hatton. I was blessed to meet her last night at the banquet I attended. She introduced herself, and not long after, handed me this poem and told me she wanted me to have this.

This poem shares the gospel in such a unique way. It brings to light the ultimate power God has over us, what He can do, and what He can mold us into. We can't live without Jesus and His unending grace. It's impossible. Accepting that is the first step...realizing that we, as humans, are completely incapable of doing "life" on our own. We have sinned. We are broken. We are filthy. We have nothing. We realize we are worthless and we ask for His forgiveness -- we repent. The second part...believing what Jesus Christ did for us on that cross, is where faith comes into play. Those nails were nailed through his hands and feet for a reason. Just like all of those slanderous comments, a beating that most can't even imagine, betrayal from his closest friends, and loneliness. It was planned for a reason. That reason was us. Saving us from what we deserve...death. He took our place, and He did it flawlessly.

If you can accept, repent, and believe and are willing to spend the rest of your life doing so...then God is standing with arms outstretched saying, "Welcome home."

Glorification comes through Satisfaction

Tonight was the PRM Banquet, a night truly revealing God's glory and all that He has done in the lives of those at the mission as well as those who serve or have served. Tonight, a fellow counselor from camp and I had the privilege of sharing our testimonies of how camp this summer impacted our lives. If you have followed this blog at all, you will know that this camp did wonders in my life (if you have no idea what I'm talking about, read my blogs from late August).

Tonight was the first time I've ever spoken in front of a room of about 800 people. If you know me at all, you know that public speaking isn't something I will necessarily volunteer for. But this was something different, something that I wanted to share. God's impact in my life over these last 2 years has changed me -- a change I can't quite describe in words. He has taken the fear of talking about Him out of my heart and replaced it with an urgency to tell people what He's all about and show them living proof of His work (me).

Tonight I shared a testimony -- 5 minutes of how God is constantly showing Himself in my life. And you know what is crazy? I hardly prepared (speaking wise), but when I stood on the stage with lights focused solely on me, 800 pairs of eyes watching...all I felt was peace. Fear had fled and in it's place God left serenity.

Tonight I knew that God put me on that stage for a reason, a reason I may never know. But I do know this much, that it's only by His grace and His presence in my heart that I successfully shared my experience of camp in front of those people.

Tonight I felt God. He filled me. He encouraged me. He held my hand. He was there...working in my heart as well as those in the audience.

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." -John Piper

Tonight's mission: Glorifying God.
Mission Complete.

The Little Things

It's that time of the year. red cup time :)

...I'll refrain from listening/singing to Christmas music. But only for 2 more weeks. Once that turkey is gone, it's all garland, cinnamon, and gingerbread lattes from then on.

Willing.

God provides. And if He hasn't yet, He will.

I was talking to my best friend, Emma Dollings, today and I said something I would've never thought I would hear myself saying. "If God provided a way, I would drop this college business and go wherever He lead me."

Those words haven't left my head all day. And the more I think about, the more true they become. I thought maybe at first it was just "something God would want me to say" but now, the more I read, the more I pray, and the more I ponder, I realize how happy I would be if that were the case. If I could literally pick up, and move to another country where no one knew who I was, and just full-out live for God. Just thinking about it gives me chills.

This probably won't happen anytime soon, but nothing's impossible with God. It's so comforting to know though, that God has put this willingness on my heart :)

This was a song I sang during a missions camp I went to during high school. They didn't hit me like they do now. The words of this song is so powerful. Completely giving up yourself to God as a tool for furthering His Kingdom, with His hand having complete control over the work of His tool.

We Will Run
By: Arisen

Send us to the nations to the broken
lead us to surrender, we will go
Your voice is calling, You’re drawing near
we are Your servants, Lord take our fears
And if our God is for us how can we fail?
in the power of Jesus we stand
Send us to the nations, to the broken
lead us to surrender, we will go
We’ll feed the hungry, We’ll clothe the poor
We’ll lay our lives down to shine for You
And if our God is for us how can we fail?
in the power of Jesus we stand
Send us to the nations, to the broken
lead us to surrender, we will go
We will run and we will go to the world to let them know
Jesus is the risen King, He is God eternally

arisenband.com <-- check them out.

Convicting Dialogue

Friday bible studies with Brittany Tacoronte are nothing less than awesome. Every single week I walk away convicted, joyous, or both. This week was conviction. We're working through the book of Hebrews - just me, Brit, God, my Zondervan Life Application, Brit's John MacArthur, and of course BlueLetterBible.


Even though Chapter 3 was written to all believers (of course), it does emphasize and correct the common thought of that time of the Jews about Moses. The first 6 verses makes it clear to that Moses was in fact an awesome guy, but he wasn't God. He was merely a servant. Through this, the author uses the metaphor of a house and its builder. Verse 3 lays down and summarizes what is meant to be made known here..."Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself."


This is great scripture, don't get me wrong. But this next part is what hit me and left me feeling like I had a huge plank in my eye...

"Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, and saw My works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with this generation, and said, 'they always go astray in their heart, and they did not know My ways"
-Heb 3:7-10

After reading this, I paused for a few seconds in thought, and then looked at Brit and said, "How stupid could they have been not to believe God was protecting them?" (Referring the the Israelites in the desert)

Give or take a few words, this was the gist of our dialogue:

Me - "I mean seriously, God rained manna from the sky, and manna isn't gross stale bread either...apparently it was like honey-flavored."
Brit - "Yeah dude"
Me - "And the entire journey He led them with a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud by day, telling them exactly where to go so they wouldn't be aimlessly wandering through the desert. And along with the manna, God made water come from a rock. In the desert. Water in the desert is a miracle in itself, and then to make it come from a rock...come on."
Brit - "Mhm"
Me - "And then if that wasn't enough, manna wasn't good enough for them so God was like 'Okay, here are all the quail you can eat.' Satisfied now? Nope. They lost hope in God so much that they took all of their jewelry, melted it together and made a statue of a golden calf to worship instead. A gold cow. Really? That's the best they could think of? That has to be the DUMBEST thing to worship."
Brit - "So true dude. But if you think about it, don't we do the same thing? Maybe it's not exactly a gold cow, but it could be other people, celebrities, sports, clothes, talent."
Me - Silent and feeling just as dumb as the Israelites. "True story Brit. I never thought of it like that before. I guess I better take the plank out of my eye before I condemn their actions."

Since this was so convicting for me, I want it to make an impact on all those who read this as well. Are you worshiping a "gold cow" because it's more tangible, more feasible, easier, or even more comforting? Knowing that you can see it and feel it, does that make it easier to trust it? God says no.

"and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory."

-1 Peter 1:8

Love Him. Even though you may have to wait a little while to see His results, don't lose
faith like the Israelites did. They were impatient, therefore they turned away and their hearts became hardened. God can't used hardened hearts. My Life Application bible said hardened hearts are like stale bread - God sees it as useless and worthless.

The lack of trust in God always prevents us from receiving His best.

We "are not"

"Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God."
-R.C. Sproul

I had to read this a few times for the meaning to entirely sink in. The most basic summary of this would be... God is great, we are not. But in order to figure this whole "we are not" part of this equation, we have to contrast ourselves with our Creator, and until we do that, we will never grasp the true perfection of God and His character.

Over the summer I was blessed to be in a bible study with 3 amazing women. The first time we met, the question was asked, "What word would you use to describe God?" Tough question...um, yeah. In fact, I really don't think there is one word to encompass to vast greatness of God. These are just a few that stand out to me:

1) Holy. Being holy literally means "sacred" in Greek. From the book Crazy Love, Francis Chan describes this saying, "To say that God is holy is to say that He is set apart, distinct from us. And because of His set apart-ness, there is no way we can ever fathom all of who He is."
-This alone assures us that our words don't even come close to describing who He is and what He is capable of. Isn't it a comfort knowing that we worship a God that can't be exaggerated?

2) Eternal. Referring again to the Greek meaning, eternal means "without beginning and end, everlasting, never to cease." The best part about this awesome eternal quality that our God has is that it is changeless. He is the Alpha and Omega. The beginning and end. But yet, through it all, He stays the same.
-"But you remain the same, and your years will never end." - Psalm 102:27
Comforting? I would say so.

3) Omniscient. Not being able to find omniscient on BlueLetterBible.org, I looked up "to know" instead and it means "to understand fully, being certain of." So if we add all- to the front of that, well it just makes it like 10000x better. Understanding, and comprehending for that matter, that God knows everything is taking a big step into trusting His timing, His plan, and His reasons. It also gives such a sense of protection and eliminates such a huge amount of worry and stress from the lives of those who truly believe that He is capable of completely providing for and protecting them.

4)All-powerful. Powerful in Greek means "strong, mighty; firm, sure." With that, I think to myself, "If God is firm and sure in all that He does, who am I to question Him?"
-God doesn't owe us an explanation for what He does and why He does it. Who are we to ask Him what's He's doing. I think He has it under control...

So with this said, God is great. He is Perfect.

We are but just a mist. We "are not."