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.

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.

"Random" Post - Relationships

Ultimately, I believe that God's planning is perfect, and that He already has the perfect person for us, also that He will show us who they are at the right time. I believe that everything we do, every relationship that we have, makes us stronger. I believe that it is good to pursue people we love, and to make mistakes, and to learn from them. I also believe that it is good to wait. Yes, everyone at one time or another during grade school has crushes, and relationships that we find painful, and yes, I am included in everyone. My experiences with these kinds of relationships has been rough, and when my sixth grade crush went on and found the love of his life, it was hard, but in the end, I know that  he would not have been right for me, and I just want him to be happy. My plan now is to find my best friend, God will do the rest.

When pursuing a dating relationship with someone, ask yourself a few questions:

Can I hold a casual conversation with this person? If you can't hold a conversation together with someone, how do you expect to hold a relationship together with them?

Is this person my best friend?When you enter into a dating relationship, you are spending time with someone who is a candidate to be your spouse, do you really think you can be one with someone who is not your best friend. If you are a female and in a relationship with a male, but talk about your relationship problems with a different male, you should reconsider who you go on your dates with.

How do I act when I am around this person? Am I comfortable, or does being with that person make me feel awkward? If you do not feel comfortable or safe around your date, that's not a good thing, you should feel free to be yourself around your significant other.

Do I trust this person enough to give them my life? Trust, if you can not trust someone, don't date them.

What are their interests vs. mine? What do I see in my future? Does this person have a similar vision?If your vision for the future is not anything similar to that of your date's, you may not want to pursue that person as a spouse.

Am I ready to date?

Personally, I don't think that people should date until they are mentally, and emotionally ready to do so. Also, you need to evaluate your motives. What do I mean? If you are dating because everyone else does, or because you feel bad for someone, you need to stop. The only thing you are going to accomplish with either of those motives, is breaking someone's heart. If you feel left out, know that God has someone waiting for you, and make that knowledge your motivation to save yourself for them.  If you are only dating someone to make them feel accepted, you are only going to make them feel more rejected. Hang out with them, have coffee with them, be their friend, but do not form a dating relationship with someone if you are only trying to be kind to them. Maybe you will end up having an honest dating relationship with them one day but, to start out, just be kind.
It is also important to know who you are before you start dating. If you don't know who you are, how are you going to know who is right for you?

Some of these are questions you need to ask yourself before you agree to go on a date with someone, others, are ones that you should ask while on your first date.

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.