Friday, November 21, 2008

Odds and ends







These are just random pictures. The group of girls i am with in the second picture is my life group. We get together every week and those girls are amazing and are growing so much! 

This first picture represents how much coffee i drink...too much but not enough. 

The 3rd picture represents that i take soooo many pictures. 

I wanted to add liz and kirsten because they haven't been in my memories as much as i would like them to be.  

The picture above is of me and rachi and lizzy, nerd night at church. A visit home for me, that picture just makes me laaaauuuuuugh!!!

The last two pictures is of me and my bethany:) I am so blessed to have found her, she is an amazing friend, ive never had a friendship like hers:) Thank you Jesus!


Thursday, November 20, 2008

Holy Spirit Rush through My Veins


OOOOOh MY goodness was tonight amazing? YES...can i get an amen?

OK so, here at PLBC we had a night of prayer/worship. I was asked to paint as a form of worship to the Lord while the band played and while people prayed. I have always wanted to do this. And i had my chance...lets just say i was SO nervous about it. Everyone was going to see me painting and my end result. So ultimately i was afraid of being judged. But i God totally set me free of that and I'm pretty sure that was the best worship i have ever given him! the painting ended up blessing so many people. A lot of people had different interpretations to what the meaning meant and i was totally fine with that! Because i didn't want this painting to be about me, It was for the Lord and His people, i was merely a tool. The Holy Spirit guided me through the whole thing. I feel like i dont even have good enough words to describe the feeling i got tonight. God answered my prayer when i asked to be stretched, to experience Him in a new way. I have never felt the Holy Spirit rush through my veins as He has done in my the last few months.
I want to encourage you to ask for the same thing. Step out of your comfort zone with the way you worship God. Maybe that new way can be: cleaning your moms house, dancing while you worship, smiling at the people passing you by all day, painting, fasting, lifting your hands as a symbol of surrendering while you sing praises....there are so many things the list goes on and on. The point is, God wants you to know Him, to touch Him, to hear Him. You cant know every aspect of God if you only sing praises, or if you only pray. Find new ways to worship Him and I  promise you will be filled :) Let Him fill you up!


OH and OOOOOH my goodness this morning was an amazing morning can i get an AMEN?!

Ok so my Spiritual Formation 1 class (my favorite class) went to malls today just to bless people. Me and my friend Emily teamed up and set out to make someone's day worth it. So we went down aisles "pretending" we were looking for something and just asked people how they were doing, about 60% of them were so shocked and excited, one lady said "Its so nice to see smiling face" My heart just warmed!!! Near the end i got to have a conversation with an older woman named Dora. She was the cutest thing i have ever scene. So we got talking and i asked her if she was excited for Christmas. My heart broke because she wasn't excited at all. She said that she doesn't have much of anyone to be with during the Holidays. She had 9 children! 9 children and not one of them has there mother for a meal on Christmas day? I felt as though someone put my heart in a blender. BUt then she continued to talk so highly of her children and all the fun memories they have had in there lifetime. It humbled me so much that she still had a kind heart towards them and wouldn't say one harmful word against them. I ran out of time and my teacher called me over i quickly told her my name and she told me hers and i told i would be thinking of her on Christmas, and God Bless. OH how i wish i had more time with that sweet Lady. She blessed my heart so much.
After all of this i thought to myself...WOW when we go shopping for food, clothes etc. we are only thinking about ourselves, and what we need and we assume everyone around us is just another person in this world. And felt like i have missed out on so much. We went into the mall fully for others and not ourselves and we left so much better than when we came in...if we would have thought about ourselves the whole time we wouldn't have changed a bit. So why not everyday smile at the people going by you, or saying a simple hello, or ask them how they are doing. Try it sometime,  promise you will be blessed!



Can you all please come to bible college to you can do this with me? PLEASE!!!

Monday, November 17, 2008

























Here are some fun photos to share if you don't look at my face book! Oh! and my wedding cake...

The second photo is of me and bethany and Katie, those are my 2 bestest friends here:)

Saturday, November 15, 2008

I Couldn't Stop Laughing and I Couldn't Start Breathing.




So its funny story time.

I can't say there hasn't been a night gone by where i haven't almost peed my pants. These girls are amazing and so hilarious that i live with. Yeah most the time there laughing AT me but i don't really have a problem with that. God has truly blessed me with Godly women :)

So one night me and Emily were making our way from the rec. room to our dorm rooms. This requires going up 3 flights of stairs. Me and emily we particularly in a silly mood, and it didn't take much for us to laugh our brains out. As we were leaving the rec. room to the outdoors i started to run up these cement stairs, i got up the 2 flights of them just fine, and i was about to leap over the single step full force ahead! I underestimated the height and  my toe caught the edge of it and my flopping body smacked right into the office doors about 15 feet away. I immediately heard emily whaling in laughter, and i just started screaming so loud as if i was in labor. BUT I COULDN'T STOP LAUGHING! It was one of those hurts that made me laugh. Looking down and seeing the blood i knew this was serious, while screaming and laughing i hobbled up the next flight of stairs. Oh yeah, at this point i am also hyperventilating. The image of my uncontrollable body going through the air, slamming into the office doors was replaying over and over in my mind. At this point i say to Emily, "I can't stop laughing and i can't start breathing!" So i was left with a broken toe and top of my toe gone. Lets just say i limped around the campus for about a week and a half.

So i decided that the theme of the girl's dorm this year is "I couldn't stop laughing and i couldn't start breathing!"

There are many for memories to tell but i probably shouldn't share half of them. LOL
Good good good times:)

Friday, November 14, 2008

What are you living for?

So for as long as i have been here God is truly teaching me the exciting things about how to be a true follower of Christ. Since I've been here i feel as though i have broken through the big problems in my walk and now I'm on to tackling that small things, and i am finding it's harder. Because the big things acted like a brick wall, blinding me from a light the would guide me down a completely different path. And i just took a really big hammer and knocked it down. Those big problems made the small problems seem like no problem at all. But really the small things in life define who you really are, ive found it doesnt matter if you've killed a man, woken up drunk, slapped your girlfriend, or slit your wrist, what matters is how you treat others, and how strong your personal relationship with God is, most people will love you for who you are not what you have done.

But then that leads to the comment. No leah people wont always love you for the good things you've done, most the time people hold onto the bad things.

And that leads to forgiveness. To be honest i have had people do some pretty crappy things to me in my life, people who i loved and put my whole heart into. And here comes the honest part...I never found it hard to forgive them. I never found it hard to forgive them because I have the love of God in me, and the Holy Spirit to guide me. I hope im not sounding self righteous but its the truth i have never found it hard to forgive anyone in my life, even after i had been cheated, backstabbed, deceived, and bruised. And i find that if people wont forgive you for what you've done, pray for them because Jesus has already forgotten. Go to a church where people love you and respect you, a place called home for a lot of people. There will always be people who will accept you for who you truly are, you may have to seek them out though and get out of that zone you have been sitting in all your life.

Now back to what God has been teaching me.
HUMBLENESS 
All my life people have scene me as innocent leah. The pastors kid who doesn't normally do anything wrong! HA! they obviously haven't done enough research. But thats not the point the point is selfishness, back at home i didn't realize how much i liked those stereotypical thoughts of me. But i was convicted, God revealed to me that i needed to work a little more on the inside, i may look good on the outside but he said "I want more of you" :) I always want more of Jesus. I learn more and more everyday that Jesus will rewarded you for the person He knows not the person everyone else knows. I find comfort in that and also struggle. So i dont have to take every chance for people to see what a Godly women i am. Sometimes speaking your NOBLE opinion in class or calling every person out on there sin is not the right thing to do. A lot of us do these things. It disgusts me sometimes to see people competing for the HOLIEST CHRISTIAN award.
The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom,
and humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 15:33