my mind in this moment

Most of these days my mind has been on...a camera. photography. What is it about a photograph that can capture our eyes, our minds, our hearts, and our imagination? There is so much in a photograph that can bring a laugh, a smile, tears and a story.

Stories. They are so unique and important. We, as human beings, are so incredibly drawn to stories. That's why we go to movies. That's why when we aren't going to the movies we are reading books. That's why 9 times out of 10 in our conversations we are telling a story: of the past, the present, or dreams of the future. The coolest part about stories I think is that God knew this very thing. That's why the Bible is the coolest story that could have ever been written, a story of redemptive history starting with the creation of Adam and Eve. That's why God revealed His word in a book for all to read. That's why Jesus himself taught in parables (stories). That's why the gospel is centered around the greatest story that was ever to be written: that God sent His Son to come and die on the cross for our sins so that He could defeat and conquer death and allow us to be covered in His righteousness, that we may be seen as holy before God.

There are so many stories. There are stories in my life that I want to remember forever: stories of redemption, stories of the lives of the people that I run into by God's grace, stories of how God is daily sanctifying me and changing my life dramatically every day. And my mind keeps going back to a photograph. Photograph's can capture a moment in time; a moment to remember, the moments in my life I don't want to forget.

This week on my week off I am really excited about a project I have thought of. I am going to develop the pictures of the girls who are on my lacrosse team and put them in a photo album. I am excited because I am going to write about them...not just facts, but the dreams I have for their lives and where I hope and pray God will lead them in the future.

And with photography, my mind goes back to a camera. I am considering buying one. And I don't mean a digital camera. But a good, nice, expensive (yikes) camera. One that I can have forever to capture the moments of happiness, joy, suffering and surprise of life. That can travel with me and my lacrosse team right now and hopefully to a mission field one day to capture the lives of others to share with the world. I am praying to see if it is a good investment of my money, so this may end up being one of my big dreams but who knows...maybe I could become quite the photographer.

Some photos that have captured my heart:

Taken by: Natalie Parkman

Taken from a blog by: Alicia Keel

Taken by: Natalie Parkman

Found online.

Found online.

Found online.

(I love this picture and I will eventually blog about it. It has so much significance and purpose-I'm excited to share about it!)

the most effective thing...

What is the most effective thing we can do in the world? I think Im starting to understand what it is. Let me tell you a story:

One day I was driving home from school and going to stop at Walmart to buy some food to take home and eat. As I was driving, on the corner of the street I saw a man standing on the side of the road with a sign that said: Single dad, two kids. So I stopped and asked him if I could get him food. I went to walmart and bought as much as I could to help this man and his family through Thanksgiving. Some people might say I am naive, that I am unwise, that that man only wants money, but my heart breaks for the homeless and the poor and I felt the Lord calling me to help him out in any way I could (who knew that that man would eventually be the one to help me). I got the food I bought and brought it to him. Before I could say anything, the first thing he said was: "Ma'am, do you know Jesus?" My heart filled with joy and I said yes sir, I do. And the next thing he said was: "I truly appreciate this, but what I really need are your prayers." I was in in awe. This man truly trusted Jesus. He trusted that the Lord would provide for his family and that by asking God for help, God would be there. We talked a little longer, and my heart continued to grow for him, but when I walked away I could not stop thinking about his first two sentences.

I thought about my heart. When I saw this man on the side of the road, I didn't even think to pray for him. When I got the milk and the bread and the fruit...I didn't even think to pray for him. How could I think that small measly me could fix all of his problems by getting a load of food for him and his family. I can't. But God can. God can provide food, God can provide Ken a job, God can provide for his 6 yr old daughter Kayla and 4 yr old son Ben. Why didn't I turn to the Lord?

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." James 5:16

Prayer is EFFECTIVE. Period. It is effective. It works. It moves. It is the most effective thing we can do. Rely on, trust in, depend on, and ask a HUGE God who can do anything and who has created all of who we are and who we will be. Prayer is POWERFUL. Period. It is powerful. It is mighty. It is strong. It is bigger than us. So what is the most effective and powerful thing we can do for our friends, family, the needy, the broken, the hungry? PRAY. I'm not saying that I am never going to give food to the needy again, but I will lift them in prayer as I do whatever I can to help them. I think prayer will lead us to action. Because we can do way more with the help of God than we ever could on our own.

my messy car

I have been convicted lately over the craziest things and one thing in particular is...my messy car. All of my friends know, I am not a neat freak. In fact I would describe my life as "organized clutter." In the midst of my mess in my car, office, room I know exactly where everything is and if anyone would come in to move things or clean up in the slightest way my "organized clutter" would no longer be organized.

Now in life we are called to be good stewards. In the words of my favorite rapper Lecrae, "If you making money hope you doing it right because the money is Gods you better steward it right." We always think of money when we think about stewardship but I am starting to think about other things. Do I steward my money well, my time well, and my car....No I dont and here's how.

I have a job in which I am always around people. I love hanging out with my friends in Rome, and my co-workers but especially my team. I love the girls I coach and we are frequently going out to meals together and if anyone wants to ride with me...they can't. It's too full...with junk. Recently a girl broke her thumb during practice and I had to rush her to the ER. I had to stop carrying her for second and run to my car and push everything from the front the the back. It took 1 minute that we could have used getting her to the hospital. Next, the team left the ball bag (very heavy for one person) at the gym and one girl who stayed behind had to carry it to the field. And..she didn't have a car. I stopped to give her a ride but there was no where for her to sit. Wow.

My car is from the Lord because "to him and through him and from him are all things" (Rom 11:36). I am called to be a good steward of all things. My car is a vehicle for helping girls who dont have cars, being able to handle emergencies efficiently, and just hanging out with friends to share fun experiences. I am going to clean my car and keep it clean. So I challenge you, what are the things that you are overlooking that you could steward well for the Lord? Mine is my car (and alot of other things) but I will focus on one small thing at a time!

when i have wrinkles

Im not married, and not even dating someone but if God brings me a husband I really hope that we are like this couple. Haha I would love to have some kind of choreographed fun routine to be able to do even in our 90s! This video is so amazing! There is joy and fun in the years to come, wrinkles and all! Please watch:

my sister

Today is September 23, my sister's birthday so I decided to dedicate this blogpost to our last 21 years together. These things I remember the most from the years we lived together.

She was my very first sister.
She was my very first friend.
She was the first person to physically abuse me(haha).
She was the first person to run me into a column in our house busting my lip and giving me a black eye (example of the physical abuse haha).
She was the first person I pushed off the slide and accidently broke her collarbone (oops!).
She was the first person I hugged and cried to after we almost got into a car accident together.
She's my sister.

Every year for about 8 years in a row from age 4-11 we sang this song at every single church talent show...EVERY YEAR.



We dressed alike almost everyday from ages 3-12 (embarassing) but we dealt with it. And to this day I am still the cute one and she's just my sister.

Lauren and I grew so close since we went to college. Through high school we argued all the time and never got along. We still have tifts but she and I have both grown phenomenally in learning to read each other and understand each other in a way only sisters can. I love her so much! She means the world to me! God has grown or relationship so much and I am so thankful!

Here are some flashbacks from our past:



This is Lauren holding our little sister Anna Kate.



This is Lauren and I have no idea what she is doing...I think she stole the noodle from me!



This is Lauren and I modeling our boogey boards-alittle blurry but this pic is priceless!



I am Jasmine and she is a Cat!! (WHISKERS)



I think this is the first day of school one year. I feel like I can say with confidence that we have both grown in our fashion sense! Thank goodness!!



Lauren and I in high school!



And all of us now!! Happy Birthday Lauren!! Love ya!

more

"Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, "Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." Luke 21:1-4

This is the verse we went over in a small group I lead that is made of of 11th grade girls. We talked alot about giving sacrificially- do we give our heart, time, and money to the Lord to "just get by"? Or do we give further in order to allow us to rely more on Him.

The two copper coins that this woman gave which would have been equivalent to about $1.50 is about the amount of what her next meal would have cost. This woman, destitute, and poor, gave the amount of money that I am sure was a stretch for her but she did it cheerfully and with a faith-filled heart. Do we stretch ourselves daily to give more to God in our time, heart, and money?

I think about my walk with Christ. Do I do just enough or do I do more? Sometimes I look at people and think that they look complacent (me comparing) and I think: I read my Bible daily, I pray, I memorize scripture, I live my life for God. But here's the real question: Can I be complacent in my "living my life for God"? I think so. We can get into a daily routine and get used to the good things we are doing. Instead I should be saying: How can I learn more of God, how can I love others more, how can I preach more of the gospel to myself, how can I glorify God in my daily life more, and how can I fight and see more of my sin? Notice the word: more. I don't want to get to a certain point in my life and stop growing or stop knowing more of God than I could. So we give sacrificially more.

This week in small group, we challenged ourselves to really guard our time with Jesus. And sacrificially spend more time than we normally would with him. We challenged each other to when we wake up before showering, putting on makeup, changing clothes, etc we would pull out our Bible and spend time with Christ. So even if we are running late, we spend time with Jesus first!! I can't wait to see how this plays out for me and for the girls!

come to me

"Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food." Isaiah 55:2

We talked about this in Bible study last night and thought about what we spend our money and labor on which does not satisfy. Our list included: phones, Facebook, school(sometimes), guys,etc. The next question was how do you know if you are putting those things before Jesus? As a group we came up with these questions to ask yourself:

Do you text more than you read your Bible?
When you go to bed and wake up in the morning do you run straight to Jesus or you makeup?
Do you study the word of God before the word of man(school)?
Would you say no to hang out with a guy if you hadn't spent time with Jesus yet?
Do you curse more Than you pray?

These are just some of the questions we asked ourselves. Then we each picked one that we knew applied to us- told a friend to help keep each other accountable and were going to think about this all during the week. So join us if you want! Pick a question and instead of looking to something to satisfy you- Instead Isaiah 53 say to "Incline your ear, and come to me ; hear, that your soul may live." So we come to Jesus and pray that Jesus would change our heart and help us fight our sins. Our only instruction is "come to me;hear"- we need to go to Jesus and listen;he will satisfy. And in the end we are grateful because he has already done all the work so that we may live.