Happy April!

As I wrap up my first full month of blogging my heart is filled with peace. There is no other way to describe it. The weather, with all its ups and downs, certainly parallels my April. There were times of snow... times when I didn't think I was going to be able to get up for even one more day. There were times of rain, difficulties/struggles/nagging thoughts about school and other to-dos. And of course, my saving grace, were the sunshine days. Days where nothing got me down. No word or course of action could change the joy that I had in my heart.

It's interesting that we so much desire to be joyful all the time. We are called to "rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice" (Phil 4:4) This means that no matter what trials we may be facing, no matter what mountain we are climbing, no matter what valley we are walking through, we are called to find JOY in the Lord. Do not confuse this with happiness, for happiness is a fleeting feeling, while joy should be apart of who we are. We have been given the gift of salvation, God has a plan dear sisters! He will guide us through the hardships. He would never bring us this far to leave us. So let's rejoice. Let's dance and sing for our Father. Let's run and fly. Let us be bold. Let us DO HARD THINGS. I'm learning that when I push my doubts, insecurities, troubles, etc. to the side and focus on the people around me, or at the very least focus my attention on God, it doesn't seem all that bad. Perspective is a jewel. Figuring out what's really important, that's a diamond!
I'm learning that to be a woman of God I must be modest in so many more things than just my dress. I'm learning from you, my dear sisters, about ways to prepare for my future as a wife and mother (God willing.) You all have blessed me so much, you have no idea. Thank you for an amazing April. All of your blogs, all of your insights, all of your troubles and triumphs, they have helped me. As I've began to get to know each and every one of you I feel completely blessed to have this amazing tool, the internet. For without it, I wouldn't know any of you, not one. And some of you have become an important part to my life, so I thank you for your blogging friendship :) I thank you for your acceptance to the blog world. I thank you for your wisdom and most of all, for your prayers. You are all beautiful young women of God, and I can't wait to see where May takes all of us!!

Speaking of May... tomorrow (for me) is May 1st!! A mere hour and a half from now sparks the beginning of the National Day of Prayer. I will be praying for all of you :) I encourage you all to take the time out and pray, for five minutes or for five hours. Whatever you can manage. God calls us to prayer, it may be hard and not yet quite part of your routine, but man... is it worth it :) God is amazing my dear sisters, let us devote some of our time to Him, let us speak to Him and let us hear what He has to say back. Prayer is powerful!

I love you all and pray this post finds you in good health and spirits!!
-Samantha

Joy in the face of adversity

Are you aware that no matter how happy you are, things can (and do tend) to go wrong? It's so true...

Sunday was another perfect day. Worship at church was soooo, refreshing and moving. I am not always able to focus on worship (bad Sami) but this past Sunday, I was really into it. It felt great to worship the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE. The One that should have my praise and focus at all time. Yeah, it's great when we can give Him our small offering of praise and we can rest easy knowing that He enjoys it. The sermon was about how we need to watch our words and we can either give someone life with what we say or kill them (figuratively.) It's so true and something I've been trying to work on as well, God's timing is unmatchable.

Yesterday was pretty good, fairly busy at work, but a good day all in all.

Okay, now here comes the wrong. (And my disclaimer comes now, it really isn't a bad thing at all, which is another reason why I'm bothered so much.)
So, another new thing that God has placed on my heart to work on is to stop being so selfish. Selfish of my time, selfish with my money, selfish with possessions, and selfish with people. I was sure tested today. I'm going to prom with my best friend, David. We are doubling with my other best friend, Rebecca and her best guy friend, Jeffrey. A fun group, destined to have a good time. Or so I thought.
David went to the last dance with another close friend of his, Chelsea. Apparently, she asked him if her date and she could join us for dinner. BLARG. Should this bother me? No. Does it? Yes. Why? Because it's an attack of the enemy and a test. I need to not be selfish with PEOPLE. To be honest, my flesh DOESN'T want her to intrude on our cozy little group. -Sigh- I think God is showing me I have a long way to go. And I didn't pray about it like I should have when things went down and now I kind of made a mess of the situation and stepped on toes and really made it into a bigger deal than it was. Not to mention Rebecca is upset about it too. Oh dear, we'll need God to get us out of this mess. I have prayed about it since, and will continue to do so. Why is it so hard at times?

But the good news is, I'm completely joyful :) I put my trust in God and He will give me wisdom on the situation and everything will be okay.

Hm, so yes dear friends. That's my very teenagery-sounding post. Well, I am a teenager, and I am a sinner, sometimes these things are bound to happen. It's by God's GRACE that I am saved, not by anything I did or will do. Thank the good Lord :)

With all love,
Sami