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"God has given gifts to each of you...manage them well so God's generosity can flow through you." (1 Peter 4:10) As we all open presents from friends and family that we find under the tree and in our stockings, may we take time to remember the gifts that God has so graciously and generosly poured out on us. For every good and perfect gift is from Him (James 1:17) . He is the source of all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3) , and He has given each of us unique spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 1:7). God has given us grace through faith, and it is this grace alone that saves us. It is not from ourselves but from God. (Ephesians 2:8) God has given us eternal life through Christ Jesus when we deserve death because of our sins. This eternal life is His Son. (Romans 6:23,1 John 5:11) God has given us spiritual gifts and though all our gifts are different, together we form one body. (Romans 12:5-7) God has given us  blessings . From the fullness of His gra...

As our family gathered around this year to watch our favorite Christmas movie, Christmas with the Kranks , we laughed a little harder than we normally would on any other given year. That is because this Christmas we are following in the footsteps of the Kranks and boarding a cruise ship in Hawaii...on Christmas day! Unlike the Kranks, we have not boycotted Christmas. We are not skipping the decorations or avoiding Christmas cheer in any way at all. And we certainly aren't bothering with the tanning and botox! Although this Christmas may not be exactly like all the others, it has still held all the traditions that are most important to our family. We still gathered out entire family together and celebrated Christmas with a feast, gifts, and games. We still took pictures for a cute, creative Christmas card. Our tree this year is more beautiful than ever, and my sister and I love to sleep beside it on a pallet that we made from every pillow in the house. And just last night,...

It began as a tiny thought in the back of my mind, but the more I entertained it, the more inclined I actually became to saying it aloud. "I think I want to do a sprint triathlon." There. I had admitted it out loud in the presence of my own ears and the ears of a friend. It shocked me enough that I had actually given words to my crazy idea, but what shocked me even more was my friend's response. "No way! I'll do it with you!" I stared speechlessly at her with an amazed expression that quickly turned into pure delight. "You will?!" I couldn't believe that my idea hadn't been shot down as absolutely insane from the moment I uttered the words. "You bet," was her reply. "I even have books that we can use to train. We can read up on it, train hard, and do it!" Now I couldn't get the idea out of my head, so I went right back to my room and started researching sprint triathlons in 2011. When my roommate entered th...

All of my papers have been turned in and all my finals have been completed. Now, even that endless pile of laundry that has been sitting in my closet for three weeks has been washed, folded, and put away. I have this strange feeling that I have nothing to do because everything is actually finished. (Could it be true?!) Another semester has come and gone. And once again I feel like a new person. The girl who just finished unpacking for Christmas break cannot be the same girl who got on a plane headed to Nicaragua six months ago. God has done so much in and around me these past few months that I cannot help but be changed in His presence. He has taught me so much and shown me so much that I feel an extra measure of joy and celebration this holiday season. I am not the same, but the change inside of me is a result of God's tender molding in my life. I am reminded of Joshua and the Israelites when they crossed the Jordan River and entered the promised land (Joshua 4). What a climac...

Deck the Halls with boughs of holly! Fa la la la la la la la la! Cheerful carols resounded in the hallways of the nursing home. All decorated in green and red, some friends and I strolled up and down the halls, sticking our heads in doorways, singing and wishing everyone a merry Christmas. I love meeting the different people at the nursing home, hearing their stories, and interacting with them. One woman in particular cracked me up with her talkativeness and story-telling. As soon as we finished our first song, we did not have time to take a breath before she started talking. "Well I was in a home economics class once, and all we had to do for the final exam was identify this white powder. Well we smelled that powder, and we tasted that powder, and it turned out that it was sugar all along." As abruptly as she began her story, she concluded it, so we broke into another chorus of "Angels We Have Heard On High." Then, as soon as we finished the last line, she sta...

I planned my afternoon and evening with precision. After helping a friend at 4:00, I would return to campus at 6:00 for dinner, work out at 7:00, go to a meeting at 8:30, attend one of my favorite weekly devotionals at 9:00, then happily go to bed at 10:00. It was a perfect schedule...except that it didn't exactly happen. Every Thursday afternoon, I volunteer to help a friend here in Searcy by driving her to run errands because she is legally blind. Over time, it has become more than just that. We have shopped, cooked, sewn, read, and taken walks in the park together. Now my Thursday afternoons are not volunteer hours, but special times that I get to spend with a dear friend that I have made. On this particluar Thursday afternoon, we ran our errands and got back to the house, only to find that we had left the keys inside. We were locked out until her husband came home at 7:00. Well, that kind of threw off my perfect schedule, but that is when God reminded me of a bold prayer th...

"But I don't know what I'm doing!" I frantically said as my sister handed me the wii remote. The music was already going and the game was already beginning. "Just do it! Just dance!" That was an appropriate response, considering that the name of this new and bizarre game was "Just Dance." When the music begins, you watch the dancer on the screen and mimic his or her moves. The wii in your hand recognizes your motions and grades you on your performance. The problem is that I have no idea how to dance. At all. To put a remote in my hand and tell me to "just dance" is begging for hilarious disaster...which is exactly what happened. Putting all pride and confidence aside, I tried my best to watch the dancer and follow her steps. With hoots and hollers of laughter echoing in the living room, my family cheered me on (while secretly making fun of me behind my back, I'm sure). The amazing thing was what came out of my mouth at the end...

The following psalm is a psalm of praise that my friends and I wrote during our Bible study time together this week. Based on Psalm 136, this poem might look somewhat familiar! How great is our God! His love endures forever. He turns ashes into beauty. His love endures forever. He has freed me from worry. His love endures forever. He is our first love and all we need. His love endures forever. He leads me to friends who are faithful and trustworthy. His love endures forever. He suffered greater pain than I could ever imagine. His love endures forever. He fulfills all His promises in the perfect season. His love endures forever. He always provides. His love endures forever. His mighty hand formed us in love. His love endures forever. He makes plans for me that are far greater and more perfect than I could ever plan. His love endures forever. His love is higher than the mountains and deeper than the seas. His love endures forever. His g...