Who Are You?

Too often lately I have found myself questioning who I have become. I look ate my life and see only the bad things - the failures, the decisions poorly made, the opportunities lost - when I should be looking at the good things - the promises, the triumphs, the good choices, the lessons learned. The past few days I have stood in front of the mirror to look myself in the eyes and tell myself who I am, what my life is about, that everything will be ok because I am a child of God. I just need to trust Him; His timing is perfect. But the conscious decisions I make will also affect my outcome.

I want to share with you some of the things that I can remember saying through the Spirit one night. These were things that were reassurances of who I am and will be and are based off the question "Who Are You?"

Nothing is about you, it's all about God. You are a piece to His puzzle, a very important, unique and individual piece that is beyond compare. You are: Child of God, Heir to the throne of Grace, Athlete, Daughter, Friend, Counselor, Teacher, Follower, Leader, Servant, Passionate, Intelligent, Beautiful beyond compare, Gracious, Gifted, Humble, Honorable, Respectful, Loved by the most high God, Confident - Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. Not your friends, not your enemies, and most importantly, not yourself.

Confidence and respect were the hardest for me to write down because I fail to see them as I look at even the good parts of my life. Many say I am respectful, but I know all to well that that is not true in all cases across my life. And some would venture far enough to say that I am confident in who I am, but I see a little girl cowering in the corner. But God is doing so much more in my life than I can see on the outside.

I want to encourage you next time you look in the mirror to look yourself in the eyes and declare God's blessings upon your life!

We won't accomplish anything in life if we say "God do with me as You will," then don't listen to anything He says! When we tell God that we are willing, we must truly be willing to do whatever He calls us to do. We need to trust Him with every choice that we make.

Music - Healing Begins

Bible Study - Acts 17

Read Acts 17

Often we see that the Jews were jealous, and sought to destroy the disciples. As we preach God's word, we need to make everyone aware that God's love is for them too, so long as they accept it. I have heard it said many times that when someone offers you a gift, you must accept it in order for it to become yours. The gift of the Spirit is no different; God has offered it to everyone, but only few choose to accept His perfect and honorable gift.
As Paul saw the destruction and idolatry of the Athenian people, so I see the destruction and idolatry of the people in the world today. Instead of statues and shrines made of precious metals, I see posters and screen savers, and shirts, and pencils, and backpacks, and thousands of other things with the pictures and names of the celebrities who have become the focus of this world. Even in the Christian home! It sickens me how much we have let this world shape our lives! When something goes wrong in your life, and you go to your favorite actor/actress, singer, athlete, or performer, they will do NOTHING for you! But when something goes wrong and you go to God, He will free you of your troubles, and let you rest in His peace! When will we realize the corruption that this world has given us? When will we start doing something about it!? When will we start giving God His rightful praise? Why not now? Why not start with you?

The Olympic Dream

Two years ago, during the 2012 London Summer Olympics, God told me that I would be there one day. Many a tear was shed as I watched records be broken, and metals being placed around the neck of U.S. athletes. I mostly watched swimming and gymnastics, neither of which are my sport. I really didn't ever watch any of my events, but that doesn't matter. 

At this point in my recovery from my concussion I feel as if I will never get back to my normal self. That I will never really be able to compete again at a high level. On Friday night I was reminded of God's promise as my family and I watched the opening ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. It was a very emotional evening for me, and there were some tears. But I now have hope, a bigger reason to believe that I will again be who I once was.

I know that God has huge things for me in the future, and that gives me something to look forward to as I am training both physically and spiritually.


Jeremiah 29:11
 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 hope and a future.

It is so good to know that this not only applies to my sports life, but also to my life in general. Every season of my life, God will bring me through, and I will be stronger each time.

Worship - Healer

"Random" Post - Building Relationships

It’s amazing what spending time with people who don’t point out faults, or dwell on them, can do for a person. This past weekend, I spent time with people that I had only met once or twice in my life and, by the end of the week, you would have thought we had always known each other. I was reminded of who I am, of what I want to accomplish in life, how I need to live life, and how to live life to the fullest. I was reminded that I don’t have to be afraid of what others think of me, I can just be myself, and the right people will love me.

It’s amazing what can come of a relationship built through the love of Christ. There are not words to describe what it feels like to talk with someone who invites you to laugh with them, not just listen to them laughing at you. To stop what you are doing to go have worship and prayer time before heading into a new year. To be able to speak truthfully, and not be making fun of people, to be able to have fun, and also be serious. I can not describe the kind of relationships that I built this weekend, I can only tell you that as you spend time with God, and Godly people, you will build relationships that can be broken by nothing.

Worship - Come To Me

True Story - Healing Happens

I recently got to attend a service lead by a member of Bethel, and even just the presence of God that was expected, really goes to show that God truly is the same everywhere. Even though they were miles from California, from their home-base, they still expected God to be the same, the same mentality that my friend from Ecuador was saying “God is the same everywhere” and he was really trying to get us to understand that. Now I can say that I do. (Although, I still think I'll flip when I go to Ecuador and God uses me)

It’s just crazy awesome what faith can do, at this service I witnessed two people’s legs grow out, my head, arm and knees were healed, and a friend of mine had her kneecaps re-aligned. These things, among many, are only possible through the grace of Jesus Christ our LORD and Savior.