Ok, so two blogs in one day... after not blogging for a few years..
Record, right?
YEAUH!

Anyway, I just wanted to show off a couple pix from my Shorter College visit over Spring Break.
(There are only a few because I was SO caught up in the college, I never even thought to take pictures!)

Hey! Maybe I will upload the pix of Atlanta (stayed in Atlanta with my sisters boyfriend... since Shorter is only about 45 minutes away).





On the way into Rome, GA


Campus sign.


Inside the Visitors Center (I think they called it this).


All of these were taken with my cell phone.
Amazing, huh? That a cell phone could take these great pix!

Yeah, I deleted a few entries from a few years ago... but got tired of doing it. Why can't Xanga just have a delete button below each entry?

Darn, it's time consuming.

So, right now I am watching Facing The Giants, reading my Bible, and talking on AIM. Great combo, huh? I guess I should probably reading my Bible in the silence. Yeah, probably. Though this isn't really my GOD-time, devotion time... or any other name you may call it by. Just sort of learning. Thats about it.

Since I haven't updated you guys in so long, I guess I will give you a testimony of sorts.

Let's start at June 2006.

My youth group and me went to a week-long youth conference, SuperWOW, at Ft. Walton Beach, FL. Theme of the event was about having a relationship with GOD, not a religion. The entire week was full of amazing blessings from GOD, but most of the week (until that Wednesday) I had not been able to recognize the blessings from the previous 2 days... or my entire life before. That morning, we woke up, went to breakfast, then broke up into our seminars group. After that we went into the main center for worship and a short message. After that we left and did mission work (raking a park for the city). The temperature was scorching hot, and the worse part... behind the trees in the park, you could see the beach. However, I truly enoyed myself. I enjoyed working for the LORD, and helping a city who had given so much to us so we could experience a week like that. At first I didn't see it as "working for the LORD". At first, I saw it as me giving back. Thought that beach was nagging at me... I had a smile on my face, raking and cleaning the park. (The beach was fun after we were finished).

After returning to the convention center that night, worship was awe-mazing (notice the awe before amazing). The message was inspiring. Inspired me enough to ask myself a life changing question: If there were no Heaven, would I still love JESUS?... It changed my life in more than one sense. It made me realize I needed salvation (will explain), and that JESUS not only gave HIS life so I could be in Heaven, but because HE loved me more. Right now, we should live as if we are in a Heaven on Earth (true). We should live as though this place is Heaven, regardless of how imperfect we are at this time, and how sinful the world is around us. We should worship HIM during all times of the day (just as we will in Heaven), we should love our neighbors... you fill in the blanks. What would life be like if we were in Heaven? Thats how we should live.

Ok, so how did it help me realize I needed salvation? JESUS giving HIS life for me. I am a sinner. I am horrible. I am nothing without HIM. And most of all, I am selfish. For so long I "believed" in JESUS because I wanted to go to Heaven. Well, that's not going to work. That's religion. Religion doesn't get you to Heaven. I realized my GOD was calling me into a relationship with HIM.

 

Life hasn't been easy since then. As a matter-of-fact, it's gotten pretty hard. Fighting sin, praying, worshipping. I'll be honest, at first reading HIS Word, praying, and worshipping was a religious thing for me. I did it because I was a Christian. Not the right way to go about these kind of things. No way. However, GOD did give me the desire to want to increase my relationship with HIM, and with that increased relationship I've been given the desire to pray to HIM, to worship HIM, and to fight sin.

 

I still struggle with my past sins everyday: lust, the desire to get drunk, smoking, cussing. My biggest sins. My GOD helps me fight these. Sometimes, because I am weak, I fail. So many times.

 

The loudest I ever heard GOD speak to me was about my family. Late one night, during my prayer and worship time, I was in the middle of reading my Bible (not sure where, it's been about a year now)... then there it was... GOD spoke loudly. HE spoke of a revival in my family..

For so long I had been praying for my family to come to know HIM. Then, there was my confirmation. HE confirmed that my family would come to know HIM.

 

Towards the end of Summer 2007, I went through another of those phases (that you've probably read in my earlier blogs) where I was just so fed up with life... and living. I stayed in my room, I stayed depressed. Then I just realized... this is not the life I should be living!

I started examining my life (again). What put me in this rut? I have a simple answer: Satan. He will try all things to make me fall and leave my GOD. That's not a big enough answer though. What events, influenced by Satan, led me to this? I had begun to fall deeply into my old sins again. After examining that, it broke my heart. I cried. I prayed and prayed. My GOD would never let go of me. HE will never give up on me. HE loves me more than I can express.

 

Ok, so back to GOD telling me about a revival starting my family: In Febuary, my mom started going to church at Life Christian Center International. On Easter Sunday, she began her relationship with CHRIST. She is growing, and it's noticable!

At the end of March, beginning of April (our Spring Break), my dad had a heart attack. (He's fine, no worries). The Sunday befpre last, he went to church with us. Apparently, he liked it. He went back this past Sunday too.
He goes back to work this weekend (after 4 1/2 weeks off because of the heart attack), but hopefully he will still come to church when he's not working on a Sunday.

 

So far... the revelation GOD has given me about my family... coming true!

 

I am still going through changes, growing, learning, and realizing new things.

Of course, my testimony doesn't end here...
Thats just all I have at the moment.

 

Remember, keep asking, keep searching, and keep knocking.
Don't stop after the first time asking.