Hey Hey!

It has been forever since I've blogged. Hope all is well with everybody. Can't believe it's already November. Let the holiday craziness begin. With working two jobs and going to school, sometimes I don't know if I'm coming or going. And with the holidays coming upon us, I'm really going to be loosing my mind, ha! I love this time of year though. Everyone's mood seems to be a little lighter, people actually take time to say hello and happy holidays, music is in the air, and not only all that, but it's about being with family and friends, with the one's you love, and can't forget about the great food :)

I will say though, I love what Christmas is about and everything it stands for, but I have to admit, what I truly love is Thanksgiving. We take that one day out of the year (which we should do everyday) to recognize everything and everyone we're thankful for. It's just simply about being with family and friends, and sitting around a table with a bunch of great food, and nothing more. We can just be, it's not a holiday where you get caught up in all the gift buying and all the hussle and bussle and lose sight of the real meaning of it all. Especially now in a time where we live in a world of such uncertainly, but one thing we can be certain of, we all have a BUNCH to be thankful for.

I want to leave you with this. It's something I posted on my Facebook page and wanted to share here. Just something to think about :)

In all that we say and do:
Every single day of our lives we are constantly doing and saying….. But in all that we do and say, are we glorifying God? Are we living our lives in such a way that brings a smile to his face? Are we edifying and lifting others up by our words and actions or are we just letting our words and actions come out without even thinking twice? I was just thinking about this today. I hope that at the end of each day I can look back and say I loved well in my words and actions and I represented him well.
I always want to keep in the forefront of my mind that we are God’s representative here on earth. That we will be accountable for how we spent this life he has given us. I constantly want to keep that smile on God’s face and in those moments of my weakness, I rest in knowing that the smile will never fade but by his grace his strength is made known in our weakness.
And just know that there’s nothing you can do to take his smile away because you’re the one that put it there and his love in unconditional, made perfect in your weakness!!

A little perspective

My child,
Walking in the unseen realm of faith and maintaining a sense of peace and trust in Me is hard, but My grace makes up the difference in the places where you fall short. You know I love you so much and would do anything to shield you from pain and sorrow if at all possible. But pain and sorrow are often the only way for you to see your need for Me in order to grasp that you are unable to change things on your own. I love you enough to cause you to depend on Me and cry out so that you get to the place to give Me permission to intervene in the circumstances where you fail. I am compassionate, merciful and steadfast and would tell you that you belong to a heavenly Papa who is faithful and loves you perfectly, completely and unconditionally. My plan does not always line up with what your human reasoning can fathom as I develop eternal values in you that cannot be shaken. Unlike you, I understand that your own superficial, short term priorities are not going to benefit you in the long run, because you are being fashioned by Me into a beautiful vessel of honor that I want to use for My purposes in the days to come. Often this fashioning is not pleasant, but I would ask you to see it as an adventure and a glorious refining process! I challenge you to trust Me to lead you to a place of peace and maturity, where you can say with confidence, Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

With Love,
Your loving Heavenly Father

Update on my life :)

Okay, so it’s been awhile since I’ve written a post about me and what’s going on in my world! I just recently got back from a trip to St. Louis. Went to a Joyce Meyer conference. I truly left feeling like a Relentless Woman. Which was the theme of the whole conference. About being relentless in our faith walk with God, about being relentless in letting our baggage (fear, rejection, anger, etc.) go and going and walking in a life of peace, and there were some great guest speakers that tied everything together that Joyce was speaking about. It was a great weekend and didn’t want to leave. It was also pretty exciting because the Vice-Presidential debates were going on at the same time we were in St. Louis. It’s a pretty neat city to explore and experience. I’ll share some pictures with you.

So back to the good ole’ grind when I got back, and plugging away at school, and taking on a second job at Bath and Body Works. Wish I didn’t have to do it, but you have to do what you have to do, and it will only be for a season. I just hope I can balance it all, so prayers are very much needed.

I think people will agree that this election season has been pretty much consuming everyone, including myself. It’s all you hear about anywhere and everywhere. As exciting as it is, I’ll be ready for it to be over come Nov. 4th.

So that pretty much sums it up. Pretty exciting stuff, huh? LOL! I just figure they’ll be time for excitement when I get out of school, right? Ha!!

Enjoy the pics! Lauren

Till there was more of me than there was of you…

Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded the many holes, creating an image, the face of Christ. Then our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes. He said, 'Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles.

Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you.'

I don’t know who all reads this blog. Rather a lot of people or few people come here, that’s beside the point, but it’s my hope that lives will be changed and people will be inspired.
These are pretty scary times we’re living in. And on Nov. 4th we’ll have a chance to cast our vote as to who we want to run this country, and as I cast my vote, my prayer for this country will be less of us and more of him.
No matter our circumstance or what might be going on in our life right now and in this country, there is a HUGE God out there, who loves us and loves this country! We as individuals and as a country have faced many hardships and struggles, but within those hardships and struggles remains a forever and constant triumph God.
So, through the many holes of our life and in the holes of this country…. May we see the face of Christ!

A Kiss is just a Kiss...

I don't know if any of you have ever heard of the phrase "Being Kissed by the King." If so, look for those moments when you're being kissed by God. Those moments when you received an answered prayer, when he touches your heart and blesses your life. It's called being Kissed by the King. I was just looking through my journal and this is something I wrote when God placed the words on my heart.

A Kiss is just a Kiss-

A kiss is just a kiss, until you've been kissed by the king. It comes with a love that changes everything. It's firmly planted and lets you know it will never ever let you go.

A kiss is just a kiss until you learn to receive one of the very best kisses from the king of kings. It comes through his word and through knowing his heart, and from these two we should never part.

A kiss is just a kiss until we let him lavish his love and get a sweet and tender kiss from up above. They're kisses from a father, kisses from a friend letting us know he'll be with us to the very end.

So have you been kissed today?

Sarah Palin Campaign Rally

This post surely isn't to sway anyone's political views. No matter what your views and beliefs are, it's pretty amazing to take part in this historic election. I was able to attend the campaign rally held by Sarah Palin in The Villages. It was quite the experience and just wanted to show you some highlights. Please pray for our country and it's leaders and that God's will be done. We as Americans need to unite now more than ever.

Why?

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are almost dead?

________________________________________



Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they already know there is not enough money?
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Why does someone
believe you when you say there are four billion stars; but have to check when you say the paint is still wet?
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Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?


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Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?
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Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
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Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?
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If people evolved from apes,
why are there still apes?
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Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?
________________________________________



Is there ever a day that mattresses
are not on sale?
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Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?
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Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?
________________________________________



Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?
________________________________________



How do those dead bugs get into those en closed light fixtures?
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When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, 'It's all right?' Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, 'That really hurt, why don't you watch where you're going?'
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Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?
________________________________________



In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?
________________________________________



How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?
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And my FAVORITE......
The statistics on sanity is that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you

On a more serious note. May we never forget today and may it forever live in our hearts. 9-11-01.

Love,
Lauren

Randomness

Where does the time go? It's true when they say time stops for no one. I can't believe it's already September. Fall is probably one of my most favorite times of the year.

I just this week started back to school after the labor day holiday and having a week off, more like 2 weeks off due to the storms. I see it as one semester down and fewer to go, lol. Now it's back to the good ole' grind.

At the beginning of next month I am looking forward to going to St. Louis, Missouri, for Joyce Meyer's Annual Women's Convention. I went back in 2005 and haven't been since. Had an amazing time and absolutely love the city, and of course can't forget about spending the whole weekend in God's Word with thousands of women from around the world. Praying in advance that I will get what I need out of this trip and that God will show up. Also, will be looking forward to celebrating my niece's
3rd birthday next month.

Okay, this is a change of subject. But I have totally been into this election this year unlike any other. I kept up with both conventions for both parties and listened to what each one had to say, and really have come to realize the significance and importance of this election. There is so much at stake and I feel truly honored to be able to have some say by casting my vote. Putting the title of Republican and Democrat aside, we're all united under one nation, and ultimately it's God's decision who will end up in the White House next. It will be interesting to see where my sudden interest in politics will take me. Being that I'm going to school for court reporting I've been introduced to a glimpse of how the legal system works and really interested to learn about government and politics which I will be surrounded by in this line of work. So I just ask whoever reads this, go out and vote, get informed, and let your voice be heard, there's too much at stake! Okay, I'll get off my soap box now.

Have an awesome day and weekend!

lovelovelove,
Lauren

You Are God's Masterpiece!

God longs for us to be like a well watered garden, flourishing, full of joy, always in blossom. Yet many times, due to situations that are happening in our lives, we don’t necessarily feel like we are in full blossom, rather we feel like we’re in a dry spell.

When this happens, instead of giving up and accepting your present circumstance as your lot in life, decide to praise God more than you ever have. In the Bible, the psalmist said, “I will keep on hoping for You to help me. I will praise You more and more.” When we decide to give God praise, something powerful and supernatural happens. Peace, joy and divine favor begin to rain down over our lives.

By praising God at all times, what happens in the natural with rain, will be the same spiritually over your lives; a cloud can only hold so much condensation, so many vapors, before it releases. In the same way, when you keep sending up praise, you keep singing, “God is good all the time,” that cloud can only hold so much before the blessings come bursting back down. When you stay full of praise, God’s blessing will begin raining down, making sure that you are always in blossom; causing you to bloom where you’re currently planted, even if you’re in a dry spell!



Wanted to share this devotional with you in hopes that it might be of encouragement to someone. I hope everyone has had a good week as it's coming to an end. I have had a whole week off from school and the next semester starts next week. It's been like heaven on earth and the break has been so nice. I don't realize how much I need it until the time comes. It allows me to get rejuvenated, slow down a little (even if it's for a week), spend time with my family and for myself. I hope everyone's week has been a peaceful one :)

xoxo,
Lauren

Beth Moore Experience

***For anyone who has not read this before, it will bless your socks off. May we all be aware of those moments where the Lord is calling us to be obedient***

Enjoy,
Lauren

'Seeking the best in others, We find the best in Ourselves'.

For those of you who do not know Beth Moore, she's an outstanding Bible teacher, writer of Bible studies, and is a married mother of two daughters. This is one of her experiences:

April 20, 2005, at the Airport in Knoxville, waiting to board the plane, I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing. I'd had a marvelous morning with the Lord. I say this because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you. You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise.

Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons not the least of which is your ego.

I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier. His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones. The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy, gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long, clean but strangely out of place on an old man.

I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face. As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I'd just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then, I remembered that he was dead. So this man in the airport...an impersonator maybe? Was a camera on us somewhere? There I sat; trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while, my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him. Let's admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man. I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen. And it may be embarrassing.

I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. 'Oh, no, God, please, no.' I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare stare through it into heaven and said, 'Don't make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. I'll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience . Please, Lord!'

There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, 'Please don't make me witness to this man. Not now. I'll do it on the plane.' Then I heard it... 'I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair.' The words were so clear, my heart leapt into my throat, and mythoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair?No-brainer. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, 'God, asI live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man. I'm on this Lord. I'm your girl! You've never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if he is not redeemed? I am going to witness to this man.'

Again as clearly as I've ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind....... 'That is not what I said, Beth. I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair.' I looked up at God and quipped, 'I don't have a hairbrush. It's in my suitcase on the plane. How am I supposed to brush his hair without a hairbrush?' God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God's word:

'I will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works.' (2 Timothy 3:17)

I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself. Even as I retell this story, my pulse quickens and I feel those same butterflies. I knelt down in front of the man and asked as demurely as possible, 'Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?' He looked back at me and said, 'What did you say?' 'May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?' To which he responded in volume ten, 'Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you're going to have to talk louder than that.' At this point, I took a deep breath and blurted out, 'SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?'

At which point every eye in the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Longlocks. Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his face, and say, 'If you really want to.' Are you kidding? Of course I didn't want to. But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, 'Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush.' 'I have one in my bag,' he responded.

I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger's old carry-on, hardly believing what I was doing. I stood up and started brushing the old man's hair. It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted. I don't do many things well, but must admit I've had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I'd done with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull.

A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me . I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair. I know this sounds so strange, but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I - for that few minutes - felt a portion of the very love of God. ....That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and was making Himself at home for a short while......The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's. His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's. I slipped the brush back in the bag and went around the chair to face him...... I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knees and said, 'Sir, do you know my Jesus?' He said, 'Yes, I do.' Well, that figures, I thought. He explained, 'I've known Him since I married my bride. She wouldn't marry me until I got to know the Savior.' He said, 'You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery, and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself, what a mess I must be for my bride.'

Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we're completely unaware of the significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I'll never forget it. Our time came to board,and we were not on the same plane. I was deeply ashamed of how I'd acted earlier and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft. I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears reaming down her cheeks. She said, 'That old man's sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that?' I said, 'Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing!' And we got to share.

I learned something about God that day. He knows if you're exhausted, you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you're hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning under a wave of temptation. Or, He knows if you just need your hair brushed. He sees you as an individual. Tell Him your need! I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way. . . all because I didn't want people to think I was strange. God didn't send me to that old man. He sent that old man to me.

John 1:14 'The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We Have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

'Life shouldn't be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving; safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather, to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly shouting, 'Wow! What a ride! Thank You, Lord!'

Be Blessed! If HE brings you to it, HE will see you through it. In certain places, at certain times, whether you've got a voice or not, the only thing to do is take the stage and sing your heart out.

When I die, I shall then have my greatest grief and my greatest joy -my greatest grief that I have done so little for Jesus, and my greatest joy that Jesus has done so much for me
....William Grimshaw

Lessons to be learned through the aches and pains

Okay… I’m going to give you a funny visual. Before I left for my Maine trip my cousin Melissa and I had the bright idea that we were going to join the local wellness center and this week we started working out three days a week at the ungodly hour of 5:30am and now at the age of 24 I’m hobbling around like a 90 year old. The first day we worked on legs and so it took about a day for that to start hurting and then Wednesday we worked out the arms, and so now today, those are hurting. So now the whole body is hurting, from the head, straight down to the ankles, lol… and we’re suppose to go tomorrow morning and work out again, lol. I have no excuse to be this sore, and goes to show that I need to keep this up because the body was seriously lacking exercise, and now it’s screaming at me saying “see”, I told you so!! LOL!!

I’m really hoping I can stick this out because I know how important exercise is and it’s something I don’t get enough of. The problem with me is I’ve always needed accountability when it comes to this and it’s so nice to be able to have somebody to work out with, especially, Mel, who is like my best friend, so now we get to see each other a lot more, even if it’s us being together glued to our IPODS, lol, just us simply being together is nice.

I tell you all this because it’s amazing to me how you can relate anything to God. Sometimes what God may have us walking through causes us some aches and pains, discomfort, and you wish you could take a pain pill to make it all go away, but he has us walk it out, press through, and the longer we’re in the circumstance the stronger he is making us to get to the other side. Make sense?

There’s always pain to go through and lessons to be learned…

~Back from Maine~

One last picture before we leave...


All the kids and Mom, plus a niece who doesn't want to look at the camera, ha...


Lexi and I playing in the water...


The sand queen...


My brother and his cute little family...


The lake again...


Mar Mar (Lexi's name for her) and Lexi...


Lake...


The Sis and I


Lexi and her Momma...


My beautiful Mom and I...


I love her...


All the girls...


Me...


The beach babes...


And off we go...


I thought this was a precious picture of my niece...


We found Snow White at the airport...


The two most important ladies in my life...my Mom and Sister...


Off to the airport...



It's late in the evening and I can't sleep, so I thought I would share my trip with you. Sorry sooooo many pictures, I just had so many I wanted to share. We had a wonderful time in Maine, despite the weather. It was nice to spend a whole week with the family. Unfortunately we had more rain then sunshine. It has been a very long time since the whole family has been together on vacation, so I felt incredibly blessed that we were all together. Maine is a beautiful state, and the resort we stayed at was so nice, when it wasn't raining, ha! Enjoy the pics and hope this finds everyone well. Enjoy the rest of your weekend :)

Love,
Lauren

"The Shack"

Hi Everyone!!

I'm a firm believer that God speaks to us in all different ways. I just got done reading "The Shack" by William Young. GO OUT and get it. You won't regret it. Your life will be forever changed. Buy out all the bookstores and give a copy to everyone you know, lol. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll sit and be amazed at this story that will penetrate the very core of you're heart and will leave you wanting the presence of God like you've never known it to be. You'll view God in a whole new way, different then what you have perceived him to be in your mind. SERIOUSLY, go out and get it, and if you happen to get it, share with me your thoughts on it!!!

And some exciting news. One of my best friends from high school is getting married and asked me to be in her wedding, so I get to be in my very first wedding. I'm so excited and so excited for her during this wonderful time in her life and pray God will bless her and be with her during the whole planning process and on her big day!!! :)

Be blessed!!

Lauren

"ARK" (Act of Random Kindness)

It’s my hope that through this blog I can inspire someone to take the focus off themselves and put it on to others. And one way of doing that is through an Act of Random Kindness. Every day we go through stuff, the good and the bad, but it’s in those tough times that when we reach out to someone else in time of need, or just do a simple deed for someone else, it makes our own personal struggles a little more bearable.

Every day we have the opportunity to pass by someone in the grocery store, in a restaurant, in the line at the bank, to simply put it, in our everyday tasks we always have the opportunity to pass by strangers. Everyone has deadlines to meet, people to see, and places to go, and in the midst of all that, we seldom take the time to listen to the stories of others, because we’re so busy in the doing, we never take the time to stop. People will take the time to share, if they realize that you are lending a listening ear.

Kindness can go a long way. It can put a smile on a face that hasn’t smiled in a long time. It can bring hope to a person when all they’ve known is hopelessness. It can bring peace to a heart, where peace has never resided. You get the jist :)

So, I encourage you today, in some way, big or small, to offer some kindness to somebody today and just see what God can do…. You’ll be just as equally blessed!!


Act- The process of doing.

Random- Having no specific pattern, purpose or objective.

Kindness- Benignity, benevolence, humanity, generosity, charity, sympathy, compassion, tenderness.

His,
Lauren

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

Hi, Happy Tuesday! I hope this finds everyone well! This week is slowly creeping by, lol. If, and when I become president, I will make it mandatory that we work two days, and have five days off. Anyone in favor of five day weekends?

Well, my family just got back from the beach in which I was not able to participate the full week, but was able to get over there for one night. I’ll take what I can get, lol. I think the beach is one of my favorite places in the world. There’s nothing more peaceful, and all your worries and cares for that brief moment seem to wash away with the waves. And then you just want to hold on to that moment as long as you can. And then you’re slapped back into reality.

I will be taking a trip to Maine the first week in August with the family, so it made not being able to spend the whole time at the beach a little more bearable, because I have something to look forward to. I love traveling and spending time with the family while experiencing some place different. It should be beautiful and I hope to take lots of pictures to share.

I really hope you all are getting some enjoyment and inspiration out of this blog page. That’s what it’s here for.

Another then this, it’s a pretty uneventful week, ha! Have a GREAT week!!! xoxo

Love,
Lauren

Just a little Food for Thought

'Happiness keeps You Sweet, Trials keep You Strong, Sorrows keep You Human, Failures keeps You Humble, Success keeps you Glowing, BUT ONLY GOD KEEPS YOU GOING'.



I received this little, but wonderful, food for thought in an e-mail recently and wanted to share, and thought I would break it down because this is my take on it and what I got out of it, and hopefully it will be what someone needs to hear at the exact moment they needed to hear it.

Happiness keeps you sweet: Happiness always keeps the joy in our lives. It makes people want to be around us and it makes us just a little bit sweeter. It’s when people see us, they want just a little part of what’s inside of us, the sweetness of God that radiates off of us, and people can’t help but be drawn to us. So strive for happiness in every area of your life, so God can use you in the way that he intends.

Trials Keep You Strong: Wow, I think we all know about trials; the little ones and the gigantic ones. All I can say is thank God for trials. They strengthen our relationship with God and it puts himself in the position to remain our anchor to sustain us. There’s always the good that comes from every trial, and we don’t always see it in the midst of the trial, but it makes the trial worth going through. It gives us the opportunity to always be aware of his faithfulness and mercy, and to always give him the honor and the glory for getting us through to the other side of that trial.

Sorrows Keep You Human: Sorrow, everybody faces sorrow at one time or another. And it’s at that time when we might be facing our biggest trial yet, that God will show us or brings somebody into our life that is going through the same trial, or has gone through the same trial, and it’s then that you realize you are not alone in your circumstance. And then there’s somebody that can lift you up, be your prayer warrior, because they have been where you’ve been, they’ve called out to God with the same exact prayer and need, and have simply just cried out “help”, because that’s all the strength they had to muster out, and it’s then we realize we’re only human.

Failures keep you humble: We don’t like the word failure, but yet it’s inevitable that at some point in our life we’re going to fail. We’re going to let people down; we’re going to not treat people always the way they deserved to be treated. We’ll start out to do something, and in the end we might fail. But failure is what’s needed in our life and most importantly in our relationship with God. It keeps us dependent on God, to know that at those times when we might fail, mess up, feel like we’re beyond forgiveness and redemption, God will let us know that our forgiveness was given to us at the cross, because he knows we’re human and we’re going to sin, so he already took care of it. So forgive others, but most of all, forgive yourselves.

Success keeps you Glowing: Success keeps you in a state of continuous praise and giving thanks to God. Because without him, you couldn’t be successful in the things you set out to do. Your success can, believe it or not, motive others to be dependent on God for their success and not of the things of this world. Yes, it’s great to have the people in our lives who cheer us on and encourage us along the way, but let God be your motivator and ultimately, he is your BIGGEST cheerleader.

But only God keeps you going: This is what it all boils down to, enough said. Just say YES, and AMEN :)


May your day be filled with tender moments and sweet surprises along the way :)

Love,
Lauren

A Sister's Love!

My sister is the one on the left of both pictures, obviously :) This blog is for her! We're seven years apart! Two different worlds but connected as sisters! She'll be a senior in high school next year! So hard to believe. If there's one thing you need to know about her, she has an amazing zest for life that everybody needs to have. She makes something so incredibly boring, so much fun. It's hard because come next year, she'll be off to college, and I'll hopefully be out of school, and no telling where that's going to take me. I at the moment live with my mom and sister, and so we've always been together. Yes, we have our differences at times, but at the end of the day, we love each other incredibly and we'd do anything for each other. So as the song goes, come next year, I'm going to miss this!

Spruce it up....

Hope everyone is having a great start to the week. I don’t know if anyone else feels like this, but do you ever get caught up in the mundane things of life? Where you feel like each day is the same as the day before? I’m trying to enjoy even the mundane things, the simple things of life, because even the simple things are from God, and even those he says to enjoy.

I’ve traveled the same path to school for the path two years, three nights a week; I could probably drive the ride to Orlando blindfolded now. I travel the same path to work each day, and I try to make it different every now and then by taking a different route. Don’t get so caught up in the mundane, spruce up your life a little bit, try to make each day different then the next. It keeps life exciting :)

At work this is especially difficult, because I’m a receptionist at a law office, so it’s easy to get caught in the trap of the mundane. I answer the phone.. Sellar, Sewell, Russ, Saylor, & Johnson. Yes, I say it in my sleep, and I even have to catch myself at home when answering the phone, ha. I do the same tasks day in and day out, but our life isn’t mean to be mundane, so starting now I’m going to consciously try to make the job different from day to day.

When I get into my career of being a Court Reporter, the thing I’m most excited about is the everyday variety of the job and of each and every day in and of itself. Each day will bring something new to the table. I’ll be able to look back on all my hard work to get to where I want to be with pride and a sense of accomplishment.

Oh, and yesterday, a quick change of subject here, I was in Starbucks heaven, I was able to get a Cinnamon Dolce Frappucino. I hadn’t had one in so long. As many of you know, Starbucks can be a very expensive habit. So yesterday I decided to treat myself, and enjoyed every sip of it. Sometimes it gets me through my nights of classes. Sometimes I just have to pretend it’s not even there on my way to school, or I’d be in serious debt, lol :)

So here we are at Tuesday and yet another night of class to tackle tonight. I just think of it as one more day closer to being done and one step closer to the goal. It’s been quite a sacrifice for the past couple of years. I’ve completely surrendered my weeks to school, but I will say I have come to have a new appreciation for my Wednesdays, the only day out of the week I don’t have class, besides Friday of course. I’ve really come to enjoy the car rides though. I think that’s one of the things I’m going to miss when school is all said and done, but not the gas, lol…. It really allows me the time to quiet my spirit, and spend that time with him, whether it’s turning the radio off and driving in silence or cranking my praise and worship music up and jamming out, or just simply taking that time to talk with him. It’s that time for Lauren, where in the craziness of life, I often forget that I need that time, but I’ve really come to appreciate it.

So if you get a chance, spruce up your day and be still long enough to see what God has to say to you :)

Be blessed! xoxo

Love,
Lauren

The start of a blogging journey!

Hi- Welcome to my little corner of the world! Thanks for taking the interest! I know quite a few people who have blogs of their own and think it's a great concept and a good alternative to Myspace and less time consuming and still a great way for family and friends to keep up with me and what's going on in my life.

So I'm sitting here on a Saturday afternoon still in my PJ's. Yes, I would say that we are all allowed PJ kind of days! Although I do know that I need to get my butt in gear because I have school work to do, trying to delay the enivitable, ha :)

Yes, hopefully, only one more year left of school to go, LORD WILLING, and then the wonderful world of Court Reporting awaits. I'm so ready to get out from behind a desk and be out in the career field. I'm just right now trying to keep my motivation at an all time high when it comes to school. It's hard, it really is, when the end seems so near but yet still feels like forever away. It's been a journey that only the grace of God has been able to carry me through. I never would have thought I would be traveling down the road to becoming a Court Reporter, but I am so glad I have chosen this path, and there have been many tears along the way, and doubt and fear of wondering if I can really do this, if I can really succeed, and in many ways, I think I've been afraid of success, as strange as that sounds. The fear of the unknown when I get out of school. And two years into school, I still have feelings of self-doubt, but I daily have to wake up and chose to press past those doubts, and realize that I owe it to myself to succeed and be the best Court Reporter I can be.

The fear of wanting to relocate to Nashville, TN, from this little town of Leesburg, FL, but not knowing how I'm going to get past that hurdle, in making that dream a reality. Nashville has been on my heart for as long as I can remember now. Every license plate, every mention of the world TN, makes my heart skip a beep. I know it's God talking to me, and I don't want to ignore the voice. People might think I'm crazy, leaving everything and everyone I've ever known and my checkbook might say I'm crazy, but I truly feel like if this is God, then he will pave the way. I feel like there's something bigger out there that's way beyond this little bubble that I'm in. So many dreams and aspirations in the heart of this smalltown girl that's meant for something so much more. I'm at the point where I completely want to be in the center of God's Will, whether that's in Nashville, or somewhere else. He knows what my desires are and I've made them known to him, but it's all in his timing, because it's perfect. So I'm at the place of complete surrenderance to him, and waiting on his direction, whatever that might be. Just taking it one day at a time. In the meantime, it's all about being content with where I'm at, and it's daily that I have to get up at of bed and strive to do that. I'm excited about the possibilities and what God has in store.

In the meantime, while in the midst of all this, trying to remain a strong relationship with the Lord. I admit, I'm one of those people that have a tendency to get so busy in the "doing", that I forget to simply just "be". So my prayer is that I can just have those sweet moments of sitting in his presence and just soak him in when daily my mind becomes so clouded on the tomorrows, and the future, that I miss out on the today. It's not for me to figure it all out, I just want to be here in the present, focusing on today, and what all today has to bring! God knows me through and through, and he knows the beginning from the end. So here's to living for today :)

More to come :) xoxo

Best of my heart,
Lauren