God knows the plans He has for me

                             

 

" 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD."

" 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you."

" 'Plans to give you a hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11

 

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you."

"Before you were born I set you apart." ~Jeremiah 1:5

"In his heart a man plans his course."

"But the LORD determines his steps." ~Proverbs 16:9

 

*Sigh*. Those are such wonderful promises. God knows the plans He has for me.

He has set me apart.

And while I may make plans for myself, He determines where I'm going to step.

Hmm.

He knew what kind of family I needed.

  He knew that I would need two older brothers in my life.

He knew what friends I would need.

What churches I needed to be in.

What youthgroup I would need to be a part of.

  He knew that I needed to be homeschooled.

That I wouldn't graduate when I thought I would.

 

Oh goodness.  He knew.

And yet, even though many things have not gone how I wanted them to.

Or that certain things haven't happened at all or might not happen for a time.

He didn't plan it that way to harm me, to make my life miserable.

In fact, He planned it that way for the oppisite reason.

For my good.

For His glory.

He knew what I needed when I needed it, even when I didn't.

He knew.

And even now He's writing my story.

 

I'm looking forward to what He has planned for me.

I know, even though there may be days of frustration, pain that there will also be days of joy.

And whatever He does have planned, it's going to be good.

It's going to be an adventure.

I really can't wait.

And yet,

I need to be patient. I need to wait on His timing.

He's never late or early.

He's always right on time.

 

Hmm.

I just have to wait.

"Wait on the Lord."

 

It may be hard,

but it will be worth it in the end.

I just have to trust.

"Trust in the Lord will all your heart."

 

Simply trust and wait.

 

 

Life is beautiful

"Every life is beautiful."

Those words of truth were pounding into my head as I watched the movie, and afterwards as I listened to the testimonies.

A woman speaking to me, the audience, as she told her story of how she survived an abortion. And how since then she has lived with Cerebral Palsy.

There were so many things she could complain about. So many things she could get mad at God for.
And maybe at one point in her life she had.

But she was positive. Determined. Joyful. Content.

She was beautiful.

I watched another testimony, and finally I lost all control over my emotions.

Tears streamed down my face, but I smiled. God was telling me something.

"My daughter, your life is beautiful."  And I knew (even though He tells me that I'm beautiful on the outside) that in this case He meant on the inside. "I put you on this earth for a reason. I did not put you on this earth for you to live for yourself or to waste your life. I put you on this earth for my purpose." I wiped my eyes and let the truth sink in.

My life is beautiful.

Those days of depression, when I'm letting satan's lies bombard me, when I feel like giving up.
I can choose to live differently. I can choose to believe the truth, to act on the truth. To believe that God put me on this earth for a reason. He wants me to live my life for Him and to glorify Him.
He doesn't want me to waste my life because I think I'm not good enough, that I don't have anything to offer. Because I do. Before I was even born He had my story written out. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. " ~Jeremiah 1:5.

And when I get depressed, when I feel like giving up because I've let myself believe satan's lies, I break His heart. I don't want to do that.

I am His.

He knows what's going to happen in my life tomorrow, the day after and a year from now.
He has plans for me. My life is His.

So today I am choosing to believe the truth, to act on the truth, to live out the truth.
My life is beautiful. And you know what? So is yours.

Choose life.Because life is a gift.  Because life is beautiful.

       On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand,
                                       Josie

Fly Away to Neverland?

     Sometimes I wish that Neverland truly existed. That I could simply fly away to that place and stay for a time. A place where little boys and girls of my aquaintance would never be too old to sit on my lap, hold my hand, or wrap their little arms around my neck and place their head on my shoulder. A place where little ones who are soon to be starting school would just stay that way forever. A place where sweet junior high girls wouldn't worry about makeup and boys. A place where I wouldn't have to worry about college decisions or adult-hood. Or where friends wouldn't grow up and move on.
     Sadly, no nuch place exists. People grow up and change. Little ones grow big and junior highers start highschool. Friends graduate and attend college. Change is a part of life. Oh, sometimes it hurts, other times it's bothersome, victorious, and exciting. There are so many seasons of life. I haven't seen 20 years and already I've experienced so much change. But God brings change along for a reason. He can use it to fashion us and grow us to be more like Him. Even when we go through bad change.
     So yes, there are many days where I wish I could fly away to Neverland. To simply never grow up. You know what, though? Change and growing up is all a part of the story God is writing. I wouldn't miss this adventure for anything.

                  In Christ,
                               Josie
    

A photoshoot and a "jam" session

 Last week, I spent the night with my friend Tiffany. Yes, you've probably seen her name come up alot on this blog. She's one of my best friends and we do almost everything together. We go the same church, we see each other for 6 hours every Wednesday, and we talk on the phone a lot. And lately we've been able to have several sleepovers, slumber parties, whatever you want to call them. This particular day we were just planning on spending a few hours together, but it was getting close to supper time so when she came to pick me up, she asked me if I wanted to spend the night. After talking with my mom, I said sure. So, in the morning, I would just ride to church with her family.

We went to the mall for a bit, then back at her house we decided to do a photoshoot. I love taking pictures and Tiffany is a fantastic model. She's also patient with me when I get into "photographer" mood. Tiffany likes taking pictures as well, and is getting better and better at it. I'll post a few that she took of me.

                                  

                                                          

                                                       

                                                        

                                                         

                                                       

                                                           

                                                           

                                                    
           After about twenty minutes, we were freezing. We both voted on going back
  inside. Later that night, Tiffany pulled out her guitar and we just started singing. We did that for a about an hour. There were some laughs and jokes. So I call it a "jam" session. But really, we were singing about God and everytime we started laughing and became less serious, I had to remind myself who we were singing for, even if I was just for "fun".

I love days with Tiffany. I'm blessed to have her as a friend. I was blessed to be able to go shopping with her, take pictures, fix and eat a yummy supper, watch a movie, laugh, talk and most of all worship the same God together. It was a good night. :)

                         That's all for now, everyone. God bless!

                              ~Josie

 

                           

A Day In Chicago With My Two Besties

          On a cloudy, chilly, "looks like rain" kind of day six days before Christmas, me, my friends Katie and Tiffany and their moms took a trip to Chicago for Tiffany's birthday. We left before 9:00 in the morning and got home after 11:00 at night. First, we took a tour of Moody Bible Institute, then we headed over to Macy's for some shopping and lunch. Then, we went to the Water Tower Place.

     Have you ever spent the whole day in a big city with two of your closest friends? Well, it is a blast, let me tell you.



The three of us with our awesome fedoras. Except, I think Katie and I should have switched.
 

                                             Macy's was huge. I think it had 7-8 levels.


Tiffany stylin' her sparkly fedora

L-R Tiffany's mom, Katie's mom, Me, Tiffany, and Katie at the amazing restaurant

                                        
             Lunch was amazing.
The restaurant itself was beautiful and spectactular, but the food

was beyond delicious. Out of all the fancy and different things to choose from, Katie and

I chose burgers. Not everyday "McDonalds" burgers. No, they were amazing and gourmet and delicious. Katie put her fist out for a fist bump. "Burger buddies," she said.

I love these girlies.

        After lunch, we walked around the city for a bit. Even though it was in the 40s, we were walking towards the lake for part of the time. So of course, it felt colder. We saw some cool sites as we walked along, and took some pictures. Debated where to go next.

                                                          

                                   

                        We decided on the Water Tower Place. Although it wasn't as big
as Macy's, it had so many stores! The first store we went to was the American Girl Doll store.
I had wanted to go there since I was little, so I was really excited that we did. We also went to the Lego store (I have never seen so many legos in one place), Claire's, Forever21 and a couple of other stores.        

                                            
                      My day in Chicago was slightly exhausting and cold. Yet, it's one of my favorite
memories from 2012. I am so glad I got to spend close to fourteen hours with those two girlies
you see there. They are my best friends and spending the whole day in the city with them
was an adventure. I hope we get go there again soon. :)

                              Blessings,
                                         Josie

This was my day

 

            
                                   See that face? That's how I've been feeling all day.

   I have no make-up on. My hair was quickly done with curling gel, with my bangs pulled back with a headband. I'm tired. Homework has made me that way. I have an essay due on Wednesday. I miss my bestie who is currently on a mission trip. I want to see Les Mis again if I can find someone to go see it with me. Maybe. Or maybe I'll go see the Hobbit. Again. I really can't think straight today so I'm just going to continue rambling until I feel like stopping. I blame it on my tiredness and odd mood. I was in the same mood yesterday. You know you are when you walk out of church with determination in your step, singing, "Do you hear the people sing, singing the songs of angry men...".
Or maybe that just makes me a Les Mis nerd? :) What has your week been like? Anything like mine?
Days like this just make things more interesting, right?

                  In Christ,
                          Josie

To Look Like Love

Somewhere there's a man who once had everything.
 But one day, his wife left and took their children
with her. He has no job, no money. He's homeless.

There's a girl who's boyfriend left her with child and now she has no one but the life inside of her. She's tired and emotionally drained.She's scared and she trusts no one.

There's a boy who is left without a mother and father.
He can't see any kind of future and he doesn't
know what's to become of him. He's alone and unsure.

There are teenagers who are judged because they look different. They dress different, they act different. No one really understands them.

They are children, teenagers, and adults who have different needs than us. Some of them are called down syndrome, others known by austistic. Some deaf, some blind.

And there and children overseas who just need to be loved and looked after all.

As God's children, it's up to us to look like love. It's up to us to show His love to others. If we
believe in the Savior, then we need to be evidence of that.

To simply, love.