One of the coolest things that can happen in your life is when God leads you down that path that is different than the one you thought you were taking. It is like when you look at a map and you think you are on a particular highway and you realize that you are on some totally different one. But being on that different road is just fine because it has way better scenery anyway and you still get somewhere great! Those life detours are such awesome ways to see God’s sovereignty really shine and to see how He really does know us better than we know ourselves.

It is so funny how we almost always experience those kinds of moments when it comes to jobs. We think we should go one career direction and God thinks we should go some other, and we end up where God wants us. But God is so awesome that where we end up is precisely where we need to be! I am happy I am getting to experience that kind of thing right now. As I am preparing for a job that is different than the one I originally thought I wanted, it is so neat to think about how God knew exactly what I needed, even more so than I did.

I had no idea what I wanted to do or where I would go to college when my senior year of high school came around. My grades were so terrible that I did not even think I could go to college. I picked going to Corban University because of a guy, yes a guy. I knew NOTHING about the school except what he had told me about it. He had gone a year before me and so when it came time to apply for schools and I realized I would never get into the state schools I was looking at I decided well hey, I am a Christian, maybe this Christian school will take me. So they did. And how I decided what I was going to major in? You guessed it, that same boy! I had thought about teaching way back in elementary school when they would always ask what we wanted to be when we grow up and I’d say “teacher!” but as a senior in high school I think I was going through a phase where I wanted to be a doctor. But I chose teacher, because that boy always raved about how great of a teaching school Corban was, and how he was going to become a teacher. So I thought well if he is going to do it, I am too. I picked teaching biology because I love, love, LOVE science! I am such a science nerd! If there is a science documentary on, I will be watching it, I guarantee that. So I figured biology would be great. I did not think very much about how that would mean that I would have to teach high schoolers thought. In fact, I did not think about any of this very much. Like I said, I was just following some guy. 

The funny thing is, I turned out to love Corban, and to love teaching, even long after that boy I followed there dropped out early. With each passing year I was getting more and more excited about being a Biology teacher. When it came for student teaching and I had the choice of teaching high school and middle, I chose not to do the middle school practicum. I decided from a previous observation I did at a middle school that I hated middle schoolers. That was also probably fueled by everyone else around me who constantly pointed out how terrible they are and how they would not even touch the thought of teaching them with a 35 foot pole. So I graduated with a search for high school biology jobs on my mind.

I did not get a high school biology job when I graduated, even though I looked and tried for several months. Instead, this past school year I have been substitute teaching. But God has a way of giving us exactly what we need, so looking back, I am thankful for how things turned out for this school year. Was I really ready for my first full time teaching job? Now that I think about it, I do not think I was. Substitute teaching has taught me that I needed some extra experience. It also taught me which grade levels I actually do want to work with. In college I chose high school because I was following that subject Biology, not because I had a heart for that age group. But through substitute teaching I realized I really do have a heart for middle schoolers and working with that age group fits more with my teaching philosophy. Not only did I learn a lot about myself as a teacher through substitute teaching, I gained confidence. The rapport that I established at the schools that I worked at assured me that I can be an excellent teacher and that I am on the right track. So God knew that I needed to be a substitute teacher, not a full time one this year.

And God knows what kind of teacher I am supposed to be next school year as well. The beginning of this year I solidified the decision that I was going to move to Colorado this summer, so I began the process of putting together job application stuff and looking out for jobs in Colorado. The months passed by and I did not see anything in the area that I was moving to, and that made me stressed. Then May came around and with it came a job that peaked my interest but I did not apply for it right away because I figured I would not get it. It was a middle school math and science job, which sounded great to me, except I am not math certified yet. I have been wanting to be math certified, but I have not made the move towards it yet. So I pushed that job opportunity aside, thinking it was not for me.

A little nudge from a very supportive and caring friend gave me the courage to just go ahead and apply for that job. And well let’s just say I am very glad I did, because God placed that job in my hands in a very simple, almost easy way. Shortly after applying for that job I received a very early morning call to schedule an interview. The interview was done over skype which was super awkward! Also I was very nervous so I was stumbling over all of my words. On top of that, I was asked to teach them a math problem, one I thankfully knew, as if they were a middle schooler. Let’s just say that was probably the most awkward moment of my life!! I thought that interview went horribly, but the next day I received a call saying that they wanted to offer me the job!

This story has God written all over it from the very beginning. The tools that He uses to shape us and get us where we need to be, tools that spring out of weird situations, and trials, and moments where we think we should be going some totally different way, just show how amazingly sovereign and creative He is! I am so excited for this job because I feel confident that even though it is not what I would have originally chosen, it is where I need to be. :) 

Thank God that He has control of my life, that He sees the big picture of things, and that He knows me more intimately than I even know myself. If it was not for all of those things, we would never be where we really needed to be.

Moving Out

Moving out on your own is the dream of every 18+ year old. People hit that age and then want nothing to do with good ol' mom and dad's house anymore. Or maybe mom and dad are the ones doing the shoving out the door. Whatever the case, becoming an adult means getting out on your own, for most people. Except for me, turning 18 meant nothing for me as it would take a lot more than age to get me out of my parent's house.

When I turned 18, I was still pretty content with staying at home. In fact I picked a college that was not too far away. I was perfectly fine with coming home each break and relying on my parents to take care of me. Actually I came home probably once a month, just because I wanted just that, to be taken care of. It did not occur to me to get out on my own while being at college until junior year when all of my friends were doing that.

The summer before junior year I thought about finding an apartment near my college campus, like most of my friends were doing. Living in the dorms becomes not as exciting after a while, and you just want to have your own space. Getting my own place though required a lot of work for me, like getting my license and getting a job. I did not work very hard at those things, so getting my own place did not happen. Dorm life continued my senior year as well, even when I had only 2 classes on campus and would have been better off living off campus near the school I was student teaching at. But that required work too, work I for whatever reason was not interested in doing.

Graduation held the same story, I just was not interested in getting out on my own. Not that I wanted to be the type of person who lives in their parents’ basement forever, I just did not think moving out was the best option for me. So I stayed home, and was productive somewhat, but being home with not many responsibilities really does a number on how old and mature you feel.

Maybe I liked not having responsibility. Or maybe I was just lazy or even scared. Maybe it had to do with my parents not really encouraging me to get out. Or maybe it was my student loans. Whatever it was, moving out just was not on my mind. And neither was really acting like an adult.

It was not until my boyfriend moved out of his parents’ house that I realized it is time for me to get out too. A tough conversation we had one night before he left made me realize I was not doing anything with myself, and that I needed to grow up and get going, somehow, some way. I had gotten way too content with my life of hanging out in front of the TV in my room, letting my parents take care of everything. The only bill I paid was my student loans, which I did with my parents’ money. I got driven everywhere and did not have to pay for much of anything. I shoved things in mom’s shopping cart at the store, got away with not doing any chores, and did not have a job. Pretty good sounding life huh? Like I said, I was not really living like an adult or living very maturely.

That tough conversation made me think about finally getting a license and working hard at getting a job, and eventually moving out. I could not move out when he was doing it, but I knew I could soon. It was the long distance relationship thing though that really sealed the deal of where and when I was moving.

So here I am today, budgeting, staring at moving boxes, and pinning apartment decoration ideas because it is time for me to move. My parents have been wonderful in taking care of me all of these years, but I know that staying with them another year is not the right thing for me. I am becoming stagnant water as I am sitting here. I am not growing very much in my relationship with God, or growing towards becoming a productive adult member of society, or growing in the effort I put in my relationship because this home breeds contentment, not growth.

So I am ready and excited to move out, to have my own place, to live the way that I think God is asking me to live. I know it will be a challenge, but I am ready to take that leap, and leap I will in one month!

 Maybe I was a little bit of a late bloomer with this growing up thing, but hey, better late than never right?

Our Response to the Trouble in this World

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;”

Psalm 23:4

This week I have really felt like God is telling me something, so I want to share what that is.

If you have tuned into the news at all the past couple of weeks, things seem pretty dismal. There have been several huge earthquakes around the world, threats of nuclear war, terrorist attacks even on our home soil, political craziness, deaths, tragedy, and evil everywhere. Though the news always seems pretty bad, it almost feels like things have cranked it up a notch these days.

I don’t know for sure if the world is getting worse and worse each day. I don't know if these are the end times. What I do know is that over the last few weeks God has showed me that there are some wrong responses to have to the evil and tragedy in the world and there are right responses to have as well.

Wrong Ways

I am the type of person who is afraid of their own shadow. I sleep with my TV on at night because I get scared, all the time. If I hear a sound outside that is sudden and loud, I freak out to the point of having to text my boyfriend to tell him to pray for me. You could ask him, I text him for prayer all the time out of fear of something. I am just a very fearful person.

When I hear about tragedies or wars or destruction going on in the world, I get scared. Scared of what exactly, I am not sure, I just get so scared that I lose sleep and I lose my appetite. That’s why I can’t watch all of the disaster movies that have been coming out that people are fascinated with, I can’t handle that. I fear disasters happening close to home. It’s crippling sometimes, but this crippling fear is not the response that God wants us to have as Christians.

Christians don’t need to be crippled with fear. In fact being crippled with fear keeps us from being effectively used for God's purpose. God tells us constantly in His word to “fear not!” The first part of Isaiah 41:10 says “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;” Philippians 4:6-7 says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Psalm 23:4 says “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;” We don’t need to fear because God is with us, always, and everywhere. The worst that can happen to us as a Christian is that we die, and we get to meet our Savior, and that is the best thing that can happen! We also don’t need to fear because God has control. God is the Alpha and Omega, He created all things. He knows all the days of man before they are even thought of being conceived  He has planned out everything. Everything that happens is part of God’s ultimate plan and He has control of it all. 

The Bible says that things are just going to get bad in this world as the return of Jesus approaches. Christians are going to be heavily persecuted, evil is going to be all over the place, and things are just going to get worse and worse as the end draws near. Some Christians will tell you that we are in the end times. Maybe we are, we really have no idea. But another wrong response to have to this is to be apathetic and sit back as the end approaches.

The past few weeks I have been guilty of just brushing off the evil in this world as a product of the end drawing near. I have developed the belief that we should just stop trying to shoot for a Christian society because it just won’t happen. Gay marriage is just going to happen, why fight it? Mass killing will happen, no matter what, it is just a sign of it being evil times. Muslim presence is growing stronger and stronger, that's part of the end too right? Why fight it, right, right? Wrong! The past few church sermons that I have listened to and a documentary that my boyfriend showed me really convicted me and showed me that sitting back, doing nothing, and waiting for Jesus to return is also the wrong response to have. Tolerating sin because the world is just going to get worse does not help God's purpose!

God is an awesome and powerful God capable of doing even the impossible. Though it seems impossible that our country will get better, or that the world will get better, that does not mean that we should doubt God's power. How will things get better if we aren't out there fighting for it? And what does getting better even mean? We should be out there fighting for the salvation of others, for bringing hope and light to others, not necessarily bringing the end to pain and trials. There will always be trials and troubles in the world. And even if these are the end times, shouldn't that encourage us even more so to fight sin and spread the Gospel so that as many people as possible can be saved?

So What Are We Supposed To Do?

God convicted me of what I was doing wrong and he also showed me what I should and what other Christians should be doing in these crazy times in our world.

1.) Pray

Right now our world needs a whole lot of prayer.

We need to pray for the world. We need to pray for our leaders. We need to pray for each other. We need to pray for missionaries and churches. We need to pray for the victims of tragedies that might strike. We need to pray for ourselves. We need to pray for God’s will to be done. We need to pray for strength. We need to pray for conviction. We need to just get down on our knees and start doing a whole lot of praying.

2.) Spread the Good News

There’s a lot of evil and despair in the world so now is a great time to get out there and spread the Good News, spread that hope, that light to people who are in the dark. Tragedies are a great time for God to work, they create powerful testimonies, they create powerful opportunities to get out there and bring in some light to others. We need to get out there and share with others that this world that is going downhill is not our home. We need to share with others that there is hope, that there is redemption, that there is no reason to worry and fear if you have Jesus as your Savior. What better time to share this than at a time where people are hurting, are in darkness, and are struggling? There are so many people out there in need. We need to reach out to them, minister to them! Matthew 9:37 says "the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few" We need to get out there!

3.) Hate Sin

Now is not a time to tolerate sin just because it's there and will continue. Yes there will always be some form of evil in the world until Jesus returns, but that doesn't mean that our response should be to sit back and let it happen. We need to hate sin as God hates sin. Psalm 5:4 says "For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with You." James 4:4 strongly says "You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." It is obvious that God wants us to be strongly against sin, as He is, not to sit around and watch it happens!

There’s so much more to say on this matter but I will leave it here for now. Whether these are the end times or not, whether there is hope for some revival in this country and other parts of the world, whatever is happening or is going to happen, we just need to look to God and be used for His purpose. Don’t get caught up in the news stories, don’t be crippled with fear, don't be apathetic! Start praying, start reading God’s word, start changing your ways and being a light in the world, start hating sin and evil. And get out there into the missions field! The time to do that is right now!

God Bless,

Gabby

What's Up With Me? Big plans, job opportunities, and lessons from God!

Sometimes I get so absorbed in my day to day life that I forget to come here and type up what is going on. I think it is about time for an update. I don't have a ton of super deep things to share at this moment, I just want to open up the window into my life for my friends who I am so bad at communicating with. :P Life is good, I have no complaints. :) There's just lots of exciting things that are falling into place and lots of things that God is working on in my life. I'll share just a few of them. :)

New Big and Exciting Plans!

Probably the biggest and coolest thing that God is doing in my life, is unfolding a plan for the next year and a half. Big, big things are coming, some I won't discuss in great detail quite yet, but there are some life changing things approaching and I am very very excited! :) 

One of the things that will happen will require to get out of my comfort zone and go to a new place that I never thought I would go. You know how you say you don't want to ever go to a certain place, like maybe there's a city you'd never want to visit, or a place you'd never want to live in, or a job place you'd never want to work, and then God decides that He has a fabulous sense of humor and takes you there? Yeah, that's happening to me. There's a certain place that I told myself that I don't really ever want to go to. I'm not particularly fond of this place and there are better places that I would rather go. But naturally that is the place that God is drawing me to. In all sorts of little ways, the opportunities to go there are springing up everywhere, and so is the encouragement. And as time goes on and I am beginning to really trust in God, I am falling more and more in love with that place. :) I am going somewhere that I never thought I would, but I know that God has got my back, and that this will be for the good, and besides, it will be the beginning of a new exciting chapter in my life so that's pretty awesome. :)

God has an awesome sense of humor, He really does. :) 

Job Situation!

Part of my big and exciting plans is where I am going to teach and whether it will be part time or full time. Right now I am beginning the process of getting certified to teach in Washington. :) It is a long process full of so much paper work, but it is on it's way. :) Maybe I will get my teaching certificate in oh, the next 2 months or so. :P :)

One of the big things that I have been dealing with is where to apply and whether or not I want to teach full time my first year. Before today, my plan was to substitute teach for this upcoming school year. The school districts close to me are hiring substitute teachers. There weren't any science teacher positions that were within reasonable distance. I figured that the best thing for me to do this next year is to work somewhere close so that I can stay home. If I stay home, I don't have to pay for anything, except for gas for my car and maybe car insurance. What that means that the majority of my paycheck can go towards getting a significant amount of my student loans paid off! Now that's what's up! Paying off loans instead of paying bills is the best thing for me at this time, so moving out is being postponed. :) For now though I am looking into a job at the children's museum that I currently volunteer at for now until school starts back up in the fall. Unless I find a better option. 

Today, however, my plans got shifted a little bit. I found out that my high school is hiring a science teacher! I can't turn down that opportunity! So I applied. :) So it's all in God's hands now, whether or not I will be a full time teacher or a sub. :) 

So praying for me as I find a teaching job, whether full or part time, would be great! :) 

New Hobby :)

Another neat thing going on in my life is my new hobby, gardening! Last week I bought some seeds and decided that I was going to try to garden. I have been very successful so far! Since then I have bought three more types of seeds, and two mature plants and I am starting my little garden for this year. :) I am excited for this new hobby! It is really awesome and rewarding to watch your hard work be turned into something wonderful to see. 

Right now I am growing Zinnias, Aster, Snap Peas, and Daisies. I can't wait until the summer when I will get to enjoy beautiful blooms and yummy veggies! :) 

Gardening is not only fun, it teaches me to be diligent. :) I think that will go a long way and will help me even in my spiritual life. :) 

What God is Teaching Me

God is teaching me a lot of things right now, as usual. :) God is teaching me particularly about love and about relationships. :) 

Of course my relationship with Noah is a huge medium that God uses to teach me so much. In our relationship we are learning together the importance of growing together spiritually  :) That has led us to making great changes in our relationship. :) God is also teaching us both about how we need to grow and change in our hearts in order to become the right person for each other. :)

God is also teaching me about how I need to put into practice what I am learning. I am learning a lot about being loving towards others, but it isn't really being used, especially when it really needs to be used in my home. God definitely convicted me about that strongly this week. I am also learning about how important it is to think critically about your entertainment choices and what they are teaching. There is so much bad entertainment out there and we really need to be very careful. 

In my devotional time I am going through all of the books of the Bible. Right now I am at the very end of Numbers. Even though the Old Testament books are kind of dry at times, they are becoming fast favorites of mine! I am enjoying reading through Numbers and seeing God's provision and how all of those laws that God put into place had good meaning and were for the best. I am also being reminded of how God can do anything, even those things that may seem impossible. :) 

So that's all I have for now. :) I will certainly come back to share some more, going deeper into what God is teaching me, and as my big plans unfold, I will be back to share more and more. Keep me in your prayers as I am continuing on in this crazy journey where so many things are changes around me. :) And keep encouraging me when you can. One of the blessings of the last few weeks is how I have had so many friends praying for me and encouraging me with sweet texts or messages here and there. They really make an impact in my life so keep them up!

Expect another post really soon! Until then God bless and keep praying! :) 

Gabby :)

Releasing the burden of bitterness

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:31-32

Bitterness can cause all sorts of trouble. When you have bitterness in your heart because you have not truly forgiven someone, it creates a stronghold for Satan in your life. When you have that stronghold, it makes it even more difficult to do the right things and makes it difficult to truly love each other. Holding a grudge against someone holds you back from what you can do for God.

Sometimes bitterness can come up in relationships, even the ones where you think everything is all put together. When someone gets hurts, it can sometimes be hard to truly forgive that person, especially if they have not taken the time to come before you and sincerely confess and apologize. And when you do not forgive, bitterness begins to take root. Forgiveness is an important thing.

“Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” Colossians 3:13

God says we MUST forgive, not we should, or we do not have to, but we MUST!

A few times in our relationship Noah and I have hurt each other. Not intentionally or because we do not belong together, but because relationships are a growing and learning process, and when you put two sinful human beings together who work in different ways, conflict will arise. A mark of a good healthy relationship is not having no conflicts, but knowing how to handle conflicts, and that is something that has to be learned. It does not magically happen because you two were “meant to be together”. It happens because you learned through hard work how to work together. There were times early on when Noah and I did not know how to handle our differences and did not know how to handle conflicts and that led to us hurting each other. Though we apologized after it happened, we did not truly forgive each other and we moved forward with bitterness growing in our hearts.

It was not until a few weeks ago that we addressed the issue of bitterness. Praise God for the godly counsel that He places in our lives!! God placed a very wise person in Noah’s life who encouraged him to sit down with me and to talk about our bitterness that we had towards one another and to release that to God and to truly forgive one another. We then decided to take the time to go through this hard, but incredible process

Noah and I explained to each other what we had been bitter about and asked each other for forgiveness for having that bitterness. We then prayed and asked God to release that bitterness and anger from us and to help us to truly forgive each other. After that we asked each other and God for forgiveness for doing the things that caused the bitterness in the other. It was the most amazing, healing experience I have ever had in my life! When you let go of bitterness in your heart, it is such a freeing experience! It is like a weight is lifted off of your shoulders! That stronghold for Satan is gone and you can now do more easily the things that God wants you to do. That means that you will be much more willing to take the effort each day to be loving.

Since me and Noah have had that experience, things have not been perfect, but God has been able to do so much more with us and through us. It is so much easier to get up in the morning and to choose to love Noah without that bitterness blocking me. It is much easier to forgive him for the little things that may bother me. And it much easier to respond to his loving actions.

If you are harboring feelings of bitterness then I urge you to spend time with the person you are bitter towards and confess those feelings of bitterness, to them, and to God, and spend time seeking forgiveness and the ability to truly forgive. The person does not have to be someone you are in a romantic relationship with. Maybe it is a sister or brother, mother or father, step parent, or someone else who has hurt you in the past. Whoever it is, let go of your bitterness towards them! Do not let the bitterness continue to grow!! Do not let Satan have that stronghold in you!

I hope that this will touch your heart and that if you are experiencing the burden of bitterness that you will get to experience the healing that comes from releasing it.

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14-15

I love you all and God bless!

Gabby J

We all need to be humbled sometime

"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

This week God has been teaching me a lot about humility. He opened my eyes to problems I did not even know existed and I just found myself being humbled this week. Sometimes God has to open our eyes like this because we do not even know what is going on. 

Maybe you are like this: It's finals week and you have put off studying until now. The only thing on your mind right now is figuring out how you are going to survive the 3 finals you have in 2 days.  You are consumed with the huge problem in front of you at the moment, but as you are distracted, your dirty laundry is pilling up and becoming a mountain in the corner. Or maybe you are like this: your email is just pilling and pilling up full of things you need to delete, but you do not notice that this needs to be taken care of. In both of these cases there are things going on that you do not realize you need to deal with. 

Sometimes we get stagnant about issues in our lives, maybe because we are so busy dealing with something else or we just do not see that anything is wrong. Being stagnant, which is not growing in Christ, not taking care of the sin in our lives and growing in our walk with God is, dangerous. Why do people say to stay away from stagnant water? Because as it sits it becomes a breeding ground for disease which could make us terribly ill. Well if we become like stagnant water, not doing anything to grow, not taking care of the sin in our life, we are going to become sick spiritually!

In my life I was not growing, I was not taking care of some sin in my heart, for two reasons: first I was focused on something else, and then once that became taken care of, I did not see any other issues. But God prompted me a week ago to ask Him to open my eyes. As I was reading in a book about conquering sexual sins, a phrase stood out to me. The author was talking about how he needed to ask God if there was anything in his life that he needed to change and work on. That convicted me and I realized I needed to do the same thing. And God answered that prayer. He opened my eyes to show me that there were a lot of other things going on in my heart that I was not dealing with. There were a lot of things that were hindering my walk with God. My dirty laundry was pilling and I was to busy to see that. My inbox had 5000 messages that I did not realize I needed to clean out. This week God showed me that I needed to take care of the bitterness and anger in my heart, my immodesty, and my selfishness. 

Opening my eyes was hard to do. It hurt like crazy seeing problems in areas that I thought I had mastered. I thought I was the queen of modesty. Bitterness? No! I am the sweetest, most loving girl in the world! That is not true though. We must be careful not to exalt ourselves. In  Matthew 23:12 it is written: 

"Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted"

When you think you are alright, God will come in and shake things up and show you that you have got some work to do. And when you are humbled, God gives you the tools to grow and the best thing is that He has so much grace to give as well. 

Humility is a hard thing, but it is a good thing and a necessary thing. I encourage you to take some time every once and a while to sit down with God and ask Him to open you eyes and show you what you need to work on in your life and what areas you need to grow in. 

 "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." James 4:10

Love you all! Have a great week! 

Gabby

New journey

I do this every year around this time, start blogging because God has been so good to me and I want to share all that He has taught me and blessed me with. Unfortunately life happens and I stop posting regularly a few weeks later. Well I am back again with fresh new determination to actually use this as a ministry! Story telling can be such a powerful tool for teaching, for ministry. How often to we learn valuable bits of knowledge and wisdom from the stories that those around us share about what is going on in their lives? This is why I am starting this up again. As I am making this huge transition in my life, God is showing me tons of things! I'm not a pastor, I do not have a degree in ministry, but I hope that God will speak through me and  that this can be encouraging to you and show you God's immense glory!

Each year when I do a blog, it kind of has a theme. This year my theme is the journey into adulthood. Technically I have been an adult for 4 years, but I have not felt like it until now. When you are all done with school and you are trying to find a place to live and an actual job in your career field, that is when adulthood really hits you. So as I am growing up and becoming an adult, God is teaching me a ton of things and I want to share them with you. This year I will face college graduation, getting my drivers license, getting my teaching license, moving out, becoming a teacher, and really getting involved in a church, along with some other big milestones. So there will be tons of adventures and growth!

This year I have a theme verse as well that I will be following along with. As I am jumping into this vast sea and having so many things thrown at me, it will be important to remember to follow God's ways. God knows what's best for us and has already planned it out, we just need to get in tune with Him and follow in His direction. So my theme verse is Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

    and do not lean on your own understanding.

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In all your ways acknowledge him,

    and he will make straight your paths."

As I face each day this year I will need to remember to keep my eyes focused on God and to follow in His ways. For that is the only way that I will make it and survive through this year.

So this is the beginning of a new blogging journey! Keep checking in to see what is going on in my life and to know where I need prayer as well. And check into older posts because they are pretty awesome as well! Also leave some feedback, let me know if God has spoken to you, or leave me some encouraging words if I am going through some struggles as that really blesses me.

I pray that this will really turn out to be an awesome outlet to praise and give glory to God!

Blessings on you all!!

Gabby :)