Oh, What A Beautiful Day

Today was a beautiful day... The sun was shining, a day when you want to frolick outside. (If you knew me you would know that I don't like to run), but today I wanted to run and walk and play and just enjoy God's creation! It's days like these that just make me happy, and remind me of how amazing my God is.


 John 1:3- "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made."

Genesis 1:1-"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

Genesis 1:31-"And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."


All things were made by God, and God saw that everything He made was good. Days like today remind me of how marvelous my God truly is, and that I don't give Him the credit He alone deserves.


Walking In Grace,
Abby

Heaven

Last week I had family in town, and it was so much fun! I love hanging out with family! We enjoyed lots of laughter, talks, and pics! I began to think about what it will be like when we get to heaven, and we are surrounded by our heaven family! Just imagine... Everyone laughing and singing praises! No one crying, or hurting... Just happiness with family all around!

There is a passage that talks about this," Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, 'Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure.' for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints."

We will be praising God with all our brothers and sisters in Christ! Imagine the choir music we will make! I can't wait to see my Jesus! Also this is a song that just encourages me in my daily life when things get hard, and helps me to look to the future of heaven.

Walking In Grace,
Abby

Preparing for His Return

Some family is coming in this weekend to hang with us a little while. Now... I am that person that cleans everything in the house, organizes it, and cleans again before company comes over. So naturally... I started cleaning today. So far I've swept, Windexed,  made my bed,  and organized my closet.  I've even gotten my homework out of the way for the weekend.  I swung into high gear and got busy!  In thinking about how I am getting prepared to see my family,  I thought about how I'm doing at getting prepared to see my Savior.  How much time am I spending preparing for the day I will see Him?  I want to hear "Well done, my good and faithful servant."  What if I swung into high gear and got busy telling others about Jesus?  What if I got busy with trying to be a better big sis?  A better lil sis?  What if I spent more time in His Word? 

He could come at any time and I want to be ready.  I am really glad that in preparing for company today made me think about preparing for when I see Him.... I have a lot to do!


Walking in Grace,
Abby

Proverbs 31:25

My life verse,  a verse that encourages me and helps me day to day, is Proverbs 31:25.  It says, " She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future."  The reason I love this verse so much is because: #1- She is strong...  #2- She laughs, and I love to laugh!... #3- She has NO fear of the future!  This is my goal as a young teenager...that I will be strong in Christ, laugh at my mistakes,  and be fearless at what may lie ahead.  I have a HUGE problem with worrying about what just happened,  what could happen,  and what will probably never happen... and I usually lose laughs over it!  Silly I know!  I also want to be clothed with strength and dignity. I want that to be my character. These verses are like this: strength and dignity + a woman who can trust God enough not fear the future = a woman that fears God.  I'm going to work hard at this... I have a long way to go, but the goal is clear.

Walking in grace,
Abby

The Middle Child

I am a big sister, and a little sister... That's right, I'm the middle child. It has it's downs, but it also has its rewards. I am 10 years younger that my big sister, and five years older than my little sister... not to mention that I have a older brother that is 13 years older than me. Anyway, it's fun... sometimes. Us big sisters know how annoying little sisters can be, but us little sisters also know how annoying big sisters can be. It's funny too... I see my little sister doing the same things that I used to do. (I never knew how I used to be until I had to live with a little me!  : )   There is a verse in Titus 2 that talks about this:  The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women...
This verse applies to me in two ways.  I have been the young woman being taught by my mother and my older sister, and they are awesome.  I am also the aged woman teaching my little sister the things that my mom and big sister taught me!  So... even though little sis might get on my nerves sometimes... and even though I struggle as the dreaded middle child,  I pray that I can bring Him glory through obedience to Titus 2.

So where do you fit in? Are you the aged woman or the young woman? Who can you mentor? Who can mentor you?

Walking in Grace,
Abby

Selfish

Me and my family have moved several times in the past six years, and it was hard. We just got moved into our new home, and I hope it is the last time we move for a long time.  I'm not going to lie, there were many nights that I cried because I was selfish and was only thinking about me and where we were staying at the time.  I never stopped to think about Jesus and how he went through the same thing. Yet, He never complained. In Matthew 8:20 it reads," And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."
Jesus Himself didn't have a place to lay His head. I picture Him staying at friend's homes,  maybe with the family of some of the disciples.  Jesus wasn't concerned about not having a home, and He wasn't upset that He lived in lots of different places.  He knew that God was going to provide for Him.  God provided everything I needed, not everything I wanted necessarily, but He took care of me.  I learned how selfish I am, and how unselfish I should be considering everything He has given me.


Walking in Grace,
Abby

King of Dreams

I recently watched the movie, Joseph: King of Dreams, and also read the story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50.  The story amazed me!  Watching everything that Joseph went through was so eye-opening. He was the special child, the miracle child.  He could interpret dreams, and his brothers were very jealous. They got so jealous that they sold him into slavery, and told their father that he was attacked by wolves! He went through so much suffering, but even though he went through all this... he trusted God, and God blessed Joseph with the 2nd highest power in all of Egypt! The day came during a famine that his brothers came to Egypt for food, and he was so surprised! When his brothers found out that he was alive, they were astounded. It all ended by all of Joseph's family coming to live in Egypt. Joseph went through a lot of suffering, but God never left his side.  God allowed the suffering, but He had a plan for the outcome the whole time. This story teaches me so many things.  It shows me that I might go through trials, but God is still good and He is still God! I love how I can look to God for anything, and that even though I will go through trials, blessings are going to come from it.

Walking in Grace,
Abby


P.S. If your going through a hard time right now... Don't get down in the dumps. Just remember that He has a plan in the trials He allows, just like He did in Joseph's life!

Making a good grade

Today I had to take a test in Pre-Algebra... and we all know how difficult math can be!  I studied like crazy for this test that I knew was coming, and today was the day to make it or break it.  I sat down and took the 3 page test... and then came the time for the dreaded grading.  I sat down with my mom and we graded the test.  I got a 97%!  It was like a breath of fresh air to know that by studying for my test,  in my hardest subject,  I made a good grade!  It reminds me of a Bible verse in Colossians 3:23-24. It reads:
 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.  This verse encourages me to work hard at whatever is given to me, and not for personal gain, but for Christ. What else can we do for Christ today? I can think of a few things that I can do better.



P.S.
This is my first blog post, and I promise they will get better!

Walking in Grace,
Abby