Gatlinburg Tennessee!!

I spent this weekend in Tennesse with one of my best friends in the whole world. 

We both had been pretty stressed lately and so why not go relax and have some fun?

It is seriously gorgeous in Tennesse. 

God, you are so cool. 

Thank you for painting my life so beautifully. 

Just for fun ...

Here's my christian friendly party playlist:

1. Goin Down - Group 1 Crew

2. Hall of Fame - The Script Ft. Will I Am

3. Beamer, Benz or Bently - Bizzle ft. Sevin

4. Jesus Freak - Toby Mac (Gotta have this one right?)

5. King & Queens - Audio Adrenaline

6. Ready or Not - Britt Nicole Ft. Lecrea

7. He Said - Group 1 Crew Ft. Chris August

 8. Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) - Shakira

2 Corinthians 12:9 

⁹But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me

Ugly: Part 2

I love the story of Ugly.

It's a sad story but it rings truth in a broken world.

A world starved for love and acceptance.

Yet a world that pushes that love and acceptance away at all costs.

Those things are pushed away because they may come as something that seems "Ugly"

The world is so good at dressing everything up to look good on the outside.

But the real things in life. The meaningful things in life. Aren't dressed up. They are simple and plan and sometimes even ugly.
People are so use to unlove and rejection that they start to expect that.

Jesus came to love.

The story of Ugly reminds me of Jesus.

The whole world pushes him away, yet all he wants is our love and to give that love right back.

I have heard many people say things about the atheist community like

" I feel so sorry for those people."

" they are so confused, it's so sad."

Why? Why do you feel sorry for them? Why do you think they are "confused"? Why are you not giving them a chance? Why are you not loving them despite however they choose to live or believe?

It's not that atheists don't believe in Jesus. Most of them just don't believe that (Christians) have any idea who Jesus is, because we don't love how we say Jesus loved.

And it is not our "jobs" as Christians to force them know Jesus.They can seek him all on their own and Jesus WILL reveal himself to those who earnestly seek him.

Our job is to love. To be a friend. To encourage. To bless. To help. To inspire.

Our job is to let Jesus teach us how to LOVE.

How to love like Ugly did..

Like Jesus did.

He will handle the rest..


"God is love" (1 John 4:8)

“People are often unreasonable,
illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind,
people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful,
you will win some false friends and true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you;
Be honest anyway.

What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.”

- Mother Teresa

Ugly

Last year I read this story about a cat named Ugly
and
I really loved this story, I wanted to share it with you.

       Everyone in the apartment complex I lived in knew who Ugly was. Ugly was the resident tomcat.

Ugly loved three things in this world: fighting, eating garbage, and shall we say, love. The combination of these things combined with a life spent outside had their effect on Ugly. To start with, he had only one eye, and where the other should have been was a gaping hole. He was also missing his ear on the same side, his left foot has appeared to have been badly broken at one time, and had healed at an unnatural angle, making him look like he was always turning the corner. His tail has long since been lost, leaving only the smallest stub, which he would constantly jerk and twitch. Ugly would have been a dark gray tabby striped-type, except for the sores covering his head, neck, even his shoulders with thick, yellowing scabs.

       Every time someone saw Ugly there was the same reaction. “That’s one UGLY cat!!”

All the children were warned not to touch him, the adults threw rocks at him, hosed him down, squirted him when he tried to come in their homes, or shut his paws in the door when he would not leave. Ugly always had the same reaction. If you turned the hose on him, he would stand there, getting soaked until you gave up and quit. If you threw things at him, he would curl his lanky body around feet in forgiveness. Whenever he spied children, he would come running meowing frantically and bump his head against their hands, begging for their love. If you ever picked him up he would immediately begin suckling on your shirt, earrings, whatever he could find.

      One day Ugly shared his love with the neighbors huskies. They did not respond kindly, and Ugly was badly mauled. From my apartment I could hear his screams, and I tried to rush to his aid. By the time I got to where he was laying, it was apparent Ugly’s sad life was almost at an end.

Ugly lay in a wet circle, his back legs and lower back twisted grossly out of shape, a gaping tear in the white strip of fur that ran down his front. As I picked him up and tried to carry him home I could hear him wheezing and gasping, and could feel him struggling. I must be hurting him terribly I thought. Then I felt a familiar tugging, sucking sensation on my ear - Ugly, in so much pain, suffering and obviously dying was trying to suckle my ear. I pulled him closer to me, and he bumped the palm of my hand with his head, then he turned his one golden eye towards me, and I could hear the distinct sound of purring. Even in the greatest pain, that ugly battled-scarred cat was asking only for a little affection, perhaps some compassion.
 

     At that moment I thought Ugly was the most beautiful, loving creature I had ever seen. Never once did he try to bite or scratch me, or even try to get away from me, or struggle in any way. Ugly just looked up at me completely trusting in me to relieve his pain. Ugly died in my arms before I could get inside, but I sat and held him for a long time afterwards, thinking about how one scarred, deformed little stray could so alter my opinion about what it means to have true pureness of spirit, to love so totally and truly. Ugly taught me more about giving and compassion than a thousand books, lectures, or talk show specials ever could, and for that I will always be thankful. He had been scarred on the outside, but I was scarred on the inside, and it was time for me to move on and learn to love truly and deeply. To give my total to those I cared for.

Many people want to be richer, more successful, well liked, beautiful, but for me, I will always try to be Ugly.

The Climb

Let me share a mountain top experience with you. literally.

3 weeks before I left Uganda, God was revealing himself to me more than I had ever experienced in my entire life.

Why was God doing this?

Because I prayed a prayer. A extremely hard and emotional prayer.
I surrender all.
I surrender my home, my family, my friends.. My boyfriend who I love to death and want to have a life with.. I surrender and I want to be obedient to you and stop being bitter and ignoring you. I want to follow your call and live in Uganda.

That same day after praying that prayer, and still feeling bitter and upset because I knew what I was losing...
But I didn't know what I was gaining..

A friend from my church came to me and told me he wanted to take me somewhere, that God wants to show me something.

We climbed to the top of a very steep hill it was a beautiful climb but it was also steep and tiring and it took effort and good physical ability to get to the top. Not everyone would have been fit to make that specific climb to the top of that hill.

Sometimes life is a climb.. Not to steal Miley Cyrus's lyrics...

Sometimes life is tiring and we can't see how far we have until we get to the top and we are living in the unknown. That's when we learn to trust on God to take care of everything.

Sometimes it takes effort and hard work to get to the top. But sometimes. When you are physically fit with the strength of Jesus Christ. It takes hardly any effort at all because he prepared you with everything that you need. He constructed every muscle in your body perfectly for that climb.

When you let Jesus take over and do all the work, then all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the climb and appreciate the view as you work to the top... I'm sorry... As GOD works you to the top.

Because why exhaust yourself by doing it all in your own strength? After all even Miley Cyrus knows "there's always gonna be another mountain" and "you're always gonna want to make it move."

Let go and let God.

This is what he has taught me. What he is still teaching me.

But let me tell you what God told me when I reached the top of that hill.

In school growing up I always struggled with body image and not being good enough or pretty enough or skinny enough and it really took a beating on my confidence and self esteem.

Only Jesus knows how much I struggled with that.

As the years go one I realize more and more that I wasn't alone in feeling that way.

When we reached the top of the hill I looked out over the whole view of Kampala and I literally gasped at its beauty. I could see from the lake all the way across Kampala. All the rolling hills and glorious clouds covering the city.

And then he said, " God wanted me to take you here and show you this, because God wants you to know this is how beautiful you are to him."

Wow. The God who created the universe and all it's glory wanted me to know that I am also his creation and I am just as beautiful. Words can't describe what this meant to me.

And God thinks that about YOU too.

Then God revealed something else to me as I was looking out over Kampala. I actually said out loud. Wow it really is beautiful. I struggled before this with seeing the beauty in Uganda. I was bitter and I didn't want to fall in love with a country that would take me away from everything I have ever known.

I'm not like most missionaries that fell in love with the country as soon as they got off the plane. It was dirty and poverty stricken and painful and smelled bad... And I had to be on guard at all times (or so I thought) ..

It wasn't home.

It wasn't comfortable or relaxed.

Looking out over Kampala that day, God said this is your new home, and my heart sank and as soon as it did. God broke my fall and I landed in his arms and my whole body was covered with peace and all I saw was beauty.

For the first time in my life. I saw beauty in Kampala. In uganda. The same beauty I saw in the children and people that I loved. But now God was showing me the beauty of the entirety of Uganda.

And I let go and allowed myself to fall in love and Jesus gifted me with Peace and Grace to endure.

I'm still learning and growing but when I let God have full control and domain over my everyday life that's where true Joy comes from. Even when times get tough and my heart starts to drift. Jesus never fails to pull me back in and lovingly shows me truth and reminds me how beautiful and important I am to him.