Almost There! :)

Guess what?!

My Horseshoe Bay golf tournament trip is in 3 days!!!!!

I am so ready!

The really cool thing is that this past week, I have been preparing and practicing my golf game like crazy, and it has improved so much just because I have been playing so much! I found that in 1 week, I played 60 holes of golf!!

But I was thinking, and this fact of practicing and preparing every day with a purpose relates perfectly to a close relationship with Christ! When we study the Word, pray often, and trust God in all situations, we find ourselves growing closer to Him, and relying and praying to Him much more than we used to! We also see His grace-filled blessings showering over us more and more, because we are trusting the Father and putting Him first in our lives!

Ephesians 3:16-21 says, "I pray that out of His glorious righes He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

God contains so much power that He provides  for you all you need and can bless you with more than you could ever imagine! He strengthens you and guides you every day! And if you make an effort to trust Him and spend time learning of His love and grace in His Word, you will find yourself with more joy and peace and trust in Christ than ever before! So remember to thank Him for His grace, and grow closer to Him today! :o)

A Beautiful Day!

"Oh, its a beautiful day in the neighborhood. . ."

Yes, it sure is! The weather was perfect today, so I decided to enjoy it! Mom and I had a wonderful picnic at the park which consisted of a pb and j, swinging, and getting chased by an angry goose!!! The last part was quite frightening! We just wanted to give them some bread! haha :)

After the picnic, I finished my school work and then went to the golf course. It was SO pretty outside! And I had a great time while shooting a 41 on 9 holes, which probably helped in the enjoyment. ha :) It was so nice, bad playing actually probably wouldn't have made it bad! I loved it! Nothing beats being outside on days like this! It was wonderful. :)

Isn't God so grace-filled that He would bless us with such joy and beauty to cherish?! Psalm 16:11 says, "You make known to me the path of life, you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Even though we are sinners, when we become children of God, He loves us with all of His power and grace and wants to bless us every day! I love to see all the things God is doing in my life, and all the gifts He blesses me with! They are new every day! :) Remember today to see the big and little blessings of God and give Him thanks and praise! :o)

Golf's Challenges: Physical and Spiritual

Hello everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted in a week! Today, I went to the golf course with Dad and played 15 holes! Most of it was fun, but 3 holes consisted of crying the whole time! Yeah. . . I wasn't playing as well as I wanted, and I was a liiitttlllleee upset about it. But after the tears subsided, I remembered that no matter what is going on, I need to trust God and praise Him through all of it!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Also, Isaiah 33:6 says, "He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure."

And finally, Isaiah 41:10b says, "I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

So God is totally in control of everything, including my golf, and I am making a decision to rely more on Christ and trust in His will instead of my feelings and worries. When I go play, instead of worrying the whole time, I will enjoy myself and trust God that He is making good come out of everything! If you play golf, remember this too, but if you don't, definitely use this in all other parts of your life. God's will is perfect and wonderful, so trust it in all you do! :)

Some Encouragement from Zechariah

Today I was reading in Zechariah, and there are SO many wonderful scriptures in it! They make me have such comfort and strength in God!! So I thought I would share some (or a lot!) hehe :)

1:17 "This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.' "

2:10 " 'Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,' declares the Lord."

2:13 "Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling."

3:4 "See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put righ garments on you."

4:6 " 'Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty."

7:9 "Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another."

8:7-8 " 'I will save my people from the countries of the est and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.' "

8:12-13 "The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people. . .so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong."

9:10 "He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth."

9:12 "Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you." :)

9:16-17 "The Lord their God will save them on that day as the flock of His people. They will sparkle in His land like jewels in a crown. How attractice and beautiful they will be!

10:3 "for the Lord Almighty will care for His flock, the house of Judah, and make them like a proud horse in battle."

10:6 "I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them."

10:12 "I will strengthen them in the Lord and in His name they will walk, declares the Lord."

12:10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication."

Wow! Aren't these amazing?? I recommend checking out the book of Zechariah for yourself too! There is so much grace and encouragement from God in it! :)

Today, if you are facing a struggle of any kind, or even if you aren't, keep God's Word in your heart and meditate on it constantly! God gave it to you for a reason, and He is truly alive in it! God's Word really helps me, and I know it will help you too! :o)

A Picture of Variety

Well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm sort of tired of the snow!

I'm ready for some warm, sunny weather so I can play golf and ride Cinco! Well, I guess I could do those things in the snow, but in golf, it would be pretty hard to find the ball! :)

Needless to say, I had a wonderful time in the snow! Ross and I went on a sledding adventure, and I made a snowman too! I also made a beautiful snow princess! But as I was making the last touch on her face, her head fell totally off!!! All my work was ruined! :P But it was still tons of fun! :)

There is a lake front lot by our house that our whole neighborhood shares, and I like to go down there and enjoy the view, relax, and take pictures! So I was looking at some pictures of the lake I took a few weeks ago on a sunny day, and I compared them with the ones I took in the snow, and well, just take a look. . .

In the snow. . .

 And in the sun!

The lake a few weeks ago. . 

 And the snowy lake!



Pretty different, huh?

I was thinking, and I realized how much of a blessing from God the different seasons of His creation are to us! Each season is beautiful in its own way, and God designed it all just for our pleasure and His praise! Pretty cool, right? :)

I love admiring God's Creation and everything in it, and I think it is so amazing that He blesses with us with the variety of seasons! Each season has so much beauty and so much to enjoy within it! God has truly blessed us with so much, including the majesty of His creation!

And look here at these ice "crystals" that formed on the shore of the lake!!

Who could ever say that there was not a divine Creator in charge of all of this?? :o) All of God's creation shows every part of His love and grace, and they shout praises to Him for all to hear! Do you hear it? Listen for it today, and don't forget to praise Him for all His blessings! :o)

Psalm 148:1-5

"Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the heights above. Praise Him, all His angels, praise Him all His heavenly hosts. Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him, all you shining stars. Praise Him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created."

A Beautiful Blanket of Snow!

Well, guess what???

IT SNOWED last night!!!!

And it is still snowing.

And I have been enjoying every bit of it.

I love snow!

My snow angel! :o)

I was thinking, and a lot of spiritual things compare well with snow!

First of all, I know we hear this all the time, but it is truly amazing! God loves us so much that He saved us from our sins and made us His children forever! All our sins He forgave and He makes us as white as snow!

Isaiah 1:18 says "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."

Isn't that wonderful! As I see the sunshine sparkle off the snow and make the snow super bright, I realize that that is what we look like in God's eyes! Absolutely marvelous, isn't it? :)

Secondly, no two snowflakes are alike. And I was thinking, snowflakes our like blessings from the Father. They are beautiful and perfect, and no two are alike! He prepares blessings for each one of us for each of our circumstances and each of our needs! Just like each, tiny snowflake with its own unique shape!

It is awesome to know that the Lord loves us so much that He is SO involved in our lives, with us every second, and creating each blessing just for us! Our God is truly majestic!

I love the frozen water droplets on the trees! 

If you have snow today, or if not, when you have snow, enjoy it to the fullest! To me, it also is a wonderful blessing from our Savior! And as you enjoy the snow, remember to see the comparisons snow has with God's saving love and wonderful favor He gives to us! :o)