break away.

[i took this picture a while ago]

have you ever felt like you are trapped and there is no hope for you and you feel like you are stuck inside of yourself?

it doesnt have to be the feeling that you are drowned within your sin and there is no way out.

it can be the monotonous day to day life that you are living.

and there will be a point that you really want to get out of yourself, you really want to get a breath of fresh air. but somehow you cant break down the wall you are stuck behind.

the answer is God.

crying out for help is the only thing you can do when you are stuck behind that steel wall.

even though no one else can hear your cries to get out, God can. He can save you through his Son Jesus Christ and anoint you with the Holy Spirit.

but the first step is recognizing that God is the ONLY One who can save you.

and secondly openly cry out to God to help you. get on your knees and cry for Him to save you from whatever is hindering you.

this song was written by a band called Tokio Hotel and i know for a fact that they are not Christians. but they have taken the first step into figuring out what freedom is Christ Jesus is.

just read the lyrics and see if you can relate to them.

and the third and final step to getting out from behind the wall is fall on your knees and give thanks to the One who has saved you! cry out to Him and give thanks to Him for saving you!

World Behind My Wall--Tokio Hotel

It's raining today
The blinds are shut
It's always the same
I tried all the games that
They play
But they
Made me insane
Life on TV
It's random
It means nothing to me
I'm writing down
What I cannot see
Wanna wake up in a dream

Oh
They are telling me
It's beautiful
I believe them
But will I ever know
The world behind my wall
Oh
The sun will shine
Like never before
One day I will be
Ready to go
See the world behind my wall

Trains in the sky
Are travelling
Through fragments of time
They're taking me to parts
Of my mind
That no one can find

I'm ready to fall
I'm ready to crawl
On my knees to know it all
I'm ready to heal
I'm ready to feel

Take me there!

time to get real

[some apostle figurine i took at a garage sale.]

it is time to set aside any bitterness, hate, selfishness, greed, and quarrels in the church and it is time to focus on the reason we go to church the reason that we are saved the reason we will live eternally in Heaven and that is the Almighty Everlasting God who was, and is, and is to come!

if we dare think that people who go to church are perfect and nothing bad ever happens in the church, then we should be ashamed of ourselves because those who actually think that the church is perfect is blinded to see that we have made the church all about us. its all about what sunday school class we are in, its about caring what other people think if we really worship the Holy God, its about pretending we are okay when on the inside we are broken and needed Christ to fill the void but too stubborn to open up.

enough is enough.

its time for the people of the church who have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ to start talking the talk and walking the walk. its time to get real.

as you read over the lyrics meditate on them...i am not going to tell you what i think you should get out of it, i just pray that God will speak to you through these lyrics.

One Faith by Robbie Seay Band

He is the good shepherd,
Laid down his life for his sheep;
So out of many nations
He's gathered one fold in one faith;
And he has built his church
On the rock foundation of faith,
On apostles and prophets
Who shepherd his people in his place.

Chorus:
There is one faith,
One hope,
And one baptism,
One God and Father of all;
There is one church,
One body,
One life in the spirit
Now given so freely to all.

He came to Simon Peter
And to all of the Twelve,
The keys of the kingdom
So darkness would never prevail.
But some of the shepherds,
Have pastured themselves on their sheep
So He has come out against them;
And scattered His people of faith.

But there still is
one faith,
One hope,
And one baptism,
One God and Father of all;
There is one church,
One body,
One life in the spirit
Now given so freely to all.

In good pastures
He will shepherd his people,
On the mountain tops
He is reshaped;
He will lead the
Forever afflicted
To the prisoners
He brings relief

There is one faith,
One hope,
And one baptism,
One God and Father of all;
There is one church,
One body,
One life in the spirit
Now given so freely to all.

But He'll not forsake His people,
He'll claim His sheep for His own.
He'll send out His word to the nations,
Regather His people back home
For He is the good shepherd,
Laid down His life for His sheep;
So out of many nations
He's gathered one fold in one faith,
There is one faith,
One hope,
And one baptism,
One God and Father of all;
There is one church,
One body,
One life in the spirit
Now given so freely,
Given so freely,
To all.

thanksgiving.

[i took this last Christmas]

tomorrow is thanksgiving.

a time to reflect and give thanks for those you love and for what God has blessed you with.

so many of us are blessed to have a loving family, a roof over our heads, and our lives. but we take for granted all the things that God has given to us. we dont even take time to actually thank Christ for all He did for us. He saved us from the torment of hell by dying on the cross and resurrecting three days later. He did the impossible . and we dont even take the time of day to thank Him for that.

here is the sad truth.

those who have nothing, literally little or nothing, are more thankful to be alive than those who have everything they ever wanted.

think about it: homeless people, orphans, third world countries, refugees, nursing home patient have something we will NEVER be able to get in a short time, and that is thankfulness.

its time to stop wanting more and more things and its time to start thanking Christ our Lord and Savior for what He has blessed us with.

think about it.

GOD is in CONTROL!

[taken june 9 2008 on vacation.]

are we blinded by the world and our own selfish desires? and block out who God is and what God has and is going to do?

I am in summer school and taking Christian Doctrine and something just hit me when i was reading "know the truth" by bruce milne.

God is in control.

yes. i know its simple and slightly "cliche" but God totally opened my mind about the presidential race right now.

God already knows who is going to be president. voting is important dont get me wrong. but i hear people say all the time that if a certain candidate become president they are leaving the country.

well if God already knows who is going to be in office next what gives us the right to complain?

we may not like who will be in office but GOD IS IN CONTROL.

God has a plan.

God appointed whomever is going to be office to do what HE wants.

NOTHING is a surprise to HIM NOTHING!

not even 9/11 caught HIM off guard. or lets go back further, the titanic.

God's hand is in all of this.

GOD is a SOVEREIGN GOD.

get on your knees and pray about who God wants you to vote for.

DONT go with your feelings.

GO to GOD about it.

GOD IS IN CONTROL.

if you say you love God and you say that you are a Christian then get in the Word and find out what it is that God is trying to tell you. if those who actually do go out of the country to get away from the next president, that is telling God that HE messed up and that HE made a mistake.

GOD IS PERFECT!

and again GOD IS IN CONTROL!

your not alone...

[this was taken a while back at my house.]

have you ever felt like you couldnt move on in life?

have you ever felt like no one could ever understand what you were going through?

have you ever tried to find answers on your own?

have you ever gone through a time when you thought there is no way out?

have you ever felt as though God turned away on you?

well i have...

i am coming to you taking off the mask i hide behind and tell you that i am not perfect and that i have had plenty of moments where i didnt even think God cared about me...

but thats not true....

i found that out the hard way that after all was said and done then i realized God was right with me...

he NEVER left me...

nor will he ever leave you...

here is one of my favorite songs by point of grace...

you will never walk alone by point of grace

Along life's road
There will be sunshine and rain
Roses and thorns, laughter and pain
And 'cross the miles
You will face mountains so steep
Deserts so long and valleys so deep
Sometimes the Journey's gentle
Sometimes the cold winds blow
But I want you to remember
I want you to know

(Chorus)
(Chorus)
You will never walk alone
As long as you have faith
Jesus will be right beside you all the way
And you may feel you're far from home
But home is where He is
And He'll be there down every road
You will never walk alone

never, no never

The path will wind
And you will find wonders and fears
Labors of love and a few falling tears
Across the years
There will be some twists and turns
Mistakes to make and lessons to learn
Sometimes the journey's gentle
Sometimes the cold winds blow
But I want you to remember wherever you may go


(Repeat Chorus)

Jesus knows your joy, Jesus knows your need
He will go the distance with you faithfully

(Repeat Chorus)

cant go back.

[taken around christmas time...one of the shut-ins my dad and i visit every year.]

lately i have been struggling with growing up. i do not want to grow up, it is very scary to me.

i also dont like change. which probably has to do a lot with not wanting to grow up because everything and everyone will change.

but i was surfing on itunes a few days ago and came across a band called "the weepies" i heard a demo and they sounded great. so i bought their cd.

yesterday i was listening to the first song on the cd and its called "cant go back now".

although the tune was catchy, my mind caught onto the lyrics.

i dont know if it was Gods timing for me to hear that song or if it was just pure luck.

i am going for God on this one.

the title says it all "cant go back now", its true...i cant go back to being a young teen i cant go back to being a child...i have to "walk on".

although life may get hard...we cant stop...we have to keep moving on...and i will be right there with you in troubled times.


"cant go back now"...the weepies

Yesterday, when you were young,
Everything you needed done was done for you.
Now you do it on your own
But you find you're all alone,
What can you do?

You and me walk on
Cause you can't go back now.

You know there will be days when you're so tired that you can't take another step,
The night will have no stars and you'll think you've gone as far as you will ever get

But you and me walk on
Cause you can't go back now
And yeah, yeah, go where you want to go
Be what you want to be,
If you ever turn around, you'll see me.

I can't really say why everybody wishes they were somewhere else
But in the end, the only steps that matter are the ones you take all by yourself

And you and me walk on
Yeah you and me walk on
Cause you can't go back now
Walk on, walk on, walk on
You can't go back now

concrete angels.

[taken december 31 2007 of my niece at my house.]

for some reason God is putting on my heart to write about child abuse and the severity of it.

as christians, no, actually as human beings we need to watch for signs of abuse. when you suspect that someone is being abused you need to say something. if you dont no one will and that person whether boy girl, gay straight, child or adult they all have the right to live. they all are special and they all need to know God. they do not need to die from abuse.

its going to be hard but i urge you to watch carefully for those human beings being treated badly.

open your eyes.

do something about it.

help them.

love them.

show Christ to them.

they need you.


Concrete Angel
by Martina McBride

She walks to school with the lunch she packed
Nobody knows what she's holdin' back
Wearin' the same dress she wore yesterday
She hides the bruises with linen and lace

The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask
It's hard to see the pain behind the mask
Bearing the burden of a secret storm
Sometimes she wishes she was never born

Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel

Somebody cries in the middle of the night
The neighbors hear, but they turn out the lights
A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate
When morning comes it'll be too late

[Repeat Chorus]

A statue stands in a shaded place
An angel girl with an upturned face
A name is written on a polished rock
A broken heart that the world forgot

[Repeat Chorus]

back the basics of GOD.

[taken at january 1,2008 at my house.]

i am tired of this generation.

you want to know why?

i will tell you why.

because when i was a child things were so simple. go outside and play only go in to eat then go right back outside.

the children of today stay inside play their "wii" go outside to get something out of the car then back inside to play video games that do nothing for them.

same with the christian life.

i am sick and tired of this generations view on christianity.

oh wait, the reason why i dont like it is because no one cares about other peoples salvation. they would rather watch church on television than get off their behinds and go to church and get involved.

when i was a child i went to church i was involved i was striving to know God.

but i dont see that much anymore. i dont see people striving to be like Christ.

what happened?

is it because of the "wii" games? internet? cellphones? money? movies? music?

whatever the reason is, God has been put second in your life.

why dont we go back to the times when life was simple and witnessing was so easy?

as the world keeps moving forward and changing God is the same as yesterday today tomorrow and forever.

what will it be?

getting back to the basics of life?

or moving forward with this world?

back to the basics of love.

[this was taken a while back.]

"therefore women please stop obsessive dysfunctional wicked love"

i made that out of those word blocks that you can make sentences out of.

if you think about it, what it says is true.

a lot of women and men do not know how to love. they think love is about having sex.

well thats NOT true.

love is when a mother and father have their first child.

love is watching a parent hold on to their mentally/physically challenged child when they know that the child does not have much longer to live.

love is taking care of the homeless and broken.

love is adopting a child.

love is giving someone a hug when he or she is crying.

love is more than words can say.

love is more than just a feeling.

love is more than you and i could ever imagine.

love is God sending his son Jesus to die on the cross to save our sins so that we may not die but have eternal life.

love is the nail pierced hands.

love is the blood stained cross.

love is the empty tomb.

love is what people long for.

so will you stop this wicked nasty sexual love?

and get back to the REAL meaning of love?

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT)

"4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."

what will you do?

actually its more like "what would Jesus do?"

untitled.

[taken december 26 2007 at lupe tortilla of my niece.]

have you ever felt like you cant see whats going on around you and you feel like everything is backwards?

(if you say no, then something is wrong with you.) =]

as i was standing there with my camera i see my niece sitting backwards on that cow. so i walked up to her and she asked me if i could help her down and so i did. then the question came to mind "who put her on there backwards?"

the point i am trying to make is life can get too hectic to realize where you are and how you got there.

it even happens to me too, like i will get caught up in the world and ending up having a moment where reality will sink in and i would be left with the question "how did i get here?"

i found that when i spend time with God and focus on him and let him guide me where i should go, then i know how i got to where i would be.

so if i am not focusing on God everything goes wrong and everything is backwards and confusing.

so what is it like for you?

if you are confused and lost, try going to God and focusing on him.

he will pick you up and help you if you ask him to.

everything is so much clearer when i let God be God and guide me where i should go.

i just pray that you would do the same thing.

getting caught up in the world is a dangerous thing.

i dont want you to lose your way in the world.

just think about it.

i will pray about it.

sweet serenity.

[taken december 25, 2007 at my house, its my moms piano.]

this is my moms favorite instrument, a baby grand piano.

every time i see and hear my mom playing the piano i feel like everything is right with the world because i can tell she is totally worshiping God with all that she has when she is playing and beautiful music comes from this simple yet complex instrument.

but most of us think that singing is the only way possible to worship.

why is that?

is it because we are able to tell that person is truly worshiping by the way they express their emotions when they sing?

worshiping is not just about singing.

it is about doing what God placed in you to be passionate about.

God wants us to worship him with the gift that he placed in us.

God gave some people the gift of musical ability, some the gift of teaching, some with the gift of acting, and there are so many other talents that are out there that God gave to us.

God wants to be glorified by them.

but we have to be careful.

we can sometimes get caught up in knowing that we are good at what we do and end up glorifying ourselves instead of giving the glory to God.

when we are giving the glory to God nothing else matters, we become unaware of our selfish desires and actually praise God for all he has done for us.

i get goosebumps when i am truly worshiping and i know that i am because i can not fake the goosebumps and i can not deny the presence of God surrounding me.

do not be afraid to truly worship.

allow the holy spirit to fill you up.

praise the one who as made you.

God made us to worship him with the talents he placed in us.

what will you do?

will you give yourself all the glory?

or

will you praise God with your whole heart like my mom does when playing the piano?

i can not decide for you.

only you can.

God is so awesome!

[taken october 8, 2006]

look how beautiful and amazing the sunset is!

God is just totally awesome like it blows my mind!

God forgives sin and loves and cares deeply for his children and grants news mercies every single day!

how can someone not believe in God when this photo shows the awesomeness of God!?

who else can take the sun and as it sets to change it different colors and reflect it off of the lake? NO ONE!

God is just so awesome! not only did he send his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross to save us from our sins and give us eternal life in heaven with him for all who believe, he also gave us another day to live. another chance at redemption. another day to glorify him. another day to accept and listen to his awesome and mighty word. another day to grow closer to him. another day to see what he has created. another day to realize how awesome and powerful he is.

God is so awesome i cannot even begin to explain.

God is my Heavenly Father and i love him with all my heart mind and soul.

do you?

do you even believe?

if not, why not?

if you would like to know more read the book or rent the video called "The Case for Christ" by lee strobel, you will not regret it!

shadows of light.

[taken january 1,2008 at my house]

notice the shadow from the ball it is there because of the way that the sun hit the ball.

i know that everyone knows that and it is simple first grade stuff but please stay with me here.

if the sun had not been shining on the ball then there would have been no shadow and of course no photo either.

lets compare the shadow of the ball to our walk with God.

if we do not get into God's word and do not spend time with him then how can people tell that we believe in the Son of God?

they cant.

but if we stay in God's word and dig deeper into it and allow God to use it in our lives; people can tell that we have something so amazing that they would want to know more.

we do not actually cast a shadow so that people can tell that we are christians. its through our attitudes and actions.

i love being able to allow God to shine through me and use me for his glory.

God does not want us to sit around and wait. he wants us to get into his word and go out and make disciples of all nations! and the only way that we can do that is by learning and having a close relationship with God. if we do not have that then no one can tell that you believe in the one who came to save us by sending his only son Jesus to die upon a cross and raise to life again so that we may live eternally in heaven.

would you rather be like a basketball with no light shining on it?

or

would you rather be like the basketball and give off the shadow showing the world that you are in love with the one and only Savior Jesus Christ.

you choose.

heavenly father.

[this was taken in mexico on a mission trip in june]

there is something very special about this picture that i took. as you can tell theres a dad and his daughter standing together.

it seems like a normal picture right?

wrong.

this little girl is mentally challenged and does not have that much longer to live.

as i looked up and towards the father when taking the pic he had so much pride and joy in his eyes that it just broke my heart. even though his daughter is special needs, he doesnt have any money to help her, and they live in poverty that still doesnt stop his love for his daughter.

God is like that.

God doesnt care if you are special needs, black, white, red, brown, yellow, fat, skinny, tall, short, smart, stupid, ugly, even beautiful. God has so much joy for you as His child.

just like that father has that pride and joy with his daughter, God is so proud of you that He only made one of you that is unique and beautiful.

God is like a father who just saw his son or daughter for the first time and is too happy for words.

God loves you and wants to be close to you and be your father.

will you let Him be your heavenly father?

God is waiting for you, his child, to come running back into His loving and caring arms.

pro-life.

[this was taken 10-23-07 for the national pro-life silence day]

pro-life silence day is a day where people choose to give up their voices for all of the 4,000 babies that die each day from abortion.

i chose to be silent because i believe that abortion is murder.

for 24 hours my mouth was duct taped shut and my heart and mind were open to listen to what God was telling me. during the 24 hours there were emotions that i have not felt in a very long time. at first i felt persecuted and mocked by the strangers who did not know what was going on. i began having doubts about this whole thing and wondered if it was the right thing to do. i prayed and meditated on Gods word to regain affirmation that this was Gods will and not mine.

that was only the morning.

as the morning turned into afternoon, God began revealing His plan to me little by little. people came up to me and encouraged me by telling me that they support the cause. i felt in touch with God then satan came and started bringing me down again. there was so much frustration in me that i just wanted to yell and just talk. for a split moment i almost gave up. then i remembered that God is on my side and so are the people that i love. i kept praying and meditating.

that was only the afternoon.

as the sun started going down my heart and mind started relaxing. because i knew that there were only a few more hours left until the day was done. i went to go worship with a group of people and i knew it was alright for me to sing praises to the one who had created me. when i started singing my heart filled with joy and peace allowing me to fully worship God thanking Him for laying on my heart this issue. people knew that i was passionate about life and they began saying to others how i spoke to them by being silent. i felt satisfied that i fulfilled Gods plan for me that day. right as midnight hit the first thing i said was "that was intense". because i wrestled all day long with my emotions and physical wants and desires but God in the end won.

that was the end of the day.

God gives hope, courage, healing, peace, forgiveness, and life to those who seek Him and want a change.

babies are a gift from God.

abortion is murder and murder is a sin and against the law.

do you agree or not?

worry.

[i took this three weeks ago]

how angelic she looks sleeping.

she doesnt have to worry about tomorrow.

she knows that someone is going to be there when she wakes up.

as adults we dont look very angelic when we are sleeping.

we always worry about tomorrow and the future.

sometimes we have that fear that no one is going to be there when we wake up, but for some of us its true.

how cool would it be to just give everything up to God and not have to have a care in the world? that would be so amazing! but its hard to give everything up and rely on God fully. its like i would give something up to Him but later on take it back as though i cant live without it.

the truth is that God is bigger than any of us and our problems. He can take care of whatever worries that we have. but as humans we think we can handle things on our own. and that God doesnt need to worry about us when there are starving people out there.

i want to be like that baby sleeping safe and sound without worries. but i know that i have to spiritually work on that to even get close to being like a baby.

Matthew 6:25-34 NIV

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

this is the verse we all should take in and run with it.

will you read the verse and not understand it or will you read it and live it?

your choice.

storms of life.

[taken like a month ago]

have you ever witnessed a huge storm ahead of you when you are driving and you can see the pouring down of the rain?

it kind of scares me to know that in less than 5 minutes i would be driving through the storm. so i start planning precautions and i know exactly what to do when something like that happens. but what happens when a spiritual storm hits? what do i do? do i know exactly what to do as if i were driving in the rain? the answers are i have no clue and i dont know what to do.

although spiritual storms are not physically seen but is emotionally damaging. this is the time when you wrestle with God and end up in a valley of desperation.

i have heard ways to get through the storm over and over again i hear what they say but i dont act upon it.

here are some of the things that i have been told to do:

1. pray.
-excuse: "sometimes i just dont feel like praying because it takes to long and i just dont want to wait."
-the truth: prayer works even though it may take a while. and patience is a virtue.

2. get in the word of God.
-excuse: "im to lazy and just dont want to because i happen to find something better to do."
-the truth: God can reveal himself by digging in to the word of God. it may not be the first thing on your mind to do but He will show the way to living a pure life.

if we get into a habit of doing this it should be easier to get through the storm. it will become a routine when we see that a storm is approaching we can automatically switch into the gear of prayer and quiet time.

i am learning this as well.

so what will you do when a storm comes your way? will you take this advice and run with it or just be stuck in a rut till the storm passes?

baby steps.

[taken monday of last week]

seeing a beautiful baby boy being born reminded me of how much we as christians are still like babies.

as we accept Jesus into our hearts for the first time we become baby christians. once your a baby christian you grow spiritually within your relationship with Christ. but for some of us we dont want to grow. we still want to be spoon fed and are not willing to take that giant step from baby christian to an adult christian. the baby's foot represents our walk with Christ. we have to take baby steps to learn how to walk then from there you learn how to run. thats just like walking with Christ, you just cant get up and run you have to learn to walk and getting into that habbit of wanting to walk faster and then even running with God.

this is my best friends baby. and it took me until he was born to realize that i still have not grown much from a baby christian.

you choose whether you want to grow or still stay a baby christian.

beautiful.

[this was taken on the way back from new york when i went in may/june]

can you even imagine how heaven is going to look like when the clouds look so beautiful?

it is hard to think that God made us more beautiful than these clouds. i mean come on, how many of us, meaning girls, think that we could be more beautiful than the clouds better yet even slightly beautiful.

this is a reminder of how beautiful Gods creation is, including us.

never forget that we are beautiful because God made us in His liking and in His image.

something to ponder on:

do you know that you are beautiful?

dependency.

[taken in tennessee last week]

how many times in your life have you ever seen such an amazing example of how we as "children" are dependent on our parents.

as a child you would depend on adult to take care of you because you cant do it on your own. then you get older and there is no one that can take care of you anymore. you take care of others.

but as "children" of God we can always depend on Him taking care of us. we dont need to go looking for that someone to take care of us and nurture us. because God is there to take care of us. He is our father, meaning He will not let anything harm us.

would you rather be the person who always takes care of people and has no one to take care of you, or would you want to be the person that God is watching over and is taking care of you while giving you strenghth to take care of others?