Hello good people!
First off, can I please say... I hate spelling 'February"! I can never spell it right. I just hate it so much. And hate is a strong word. I feel like it should be spelled Febyouwherey. That would make my life a whole lot easier. I am not sure why the person who made up the names of the months felt they needed to make the second month difficult to spell.
Anyways, enough rambling about the spelling of Febuary. oops there I go spelling it wrong again. I am going to leave it that way. I like it.
My life has been super busy the past few days. But, I like when my life is busy. I have been getting ready for my yard sale. As you know, I am having a yard sale to raise money for my mission trip to Haiti. At first I thought that I would not have enough stuff to make a good yard sale. But, God has provided me so much. I have so many wonderful friends and family that have donated stuff. They have taken the time to search through their stuff and get it to me. That takes a lot and I am so grateful. I feel so loved. I am still getting a lot of stuff. This is going to be a huge yard sale. I hope I can make a good chunk of the money I need. Everything that does not sell is going to be donated to a homeless shelter or other type of shelter. Not only is the money from this yard sale going to a good cause, but we will be donating to the homeless after. What a great cause!
My other project that I have been working on is "Bows for Haiti". My beautiful friend Deanna Perlman makes the most beautiful hair bows. She has been kind enough to donate all of her profits during the month of march to me for my trip! I could not believe it when she told me she was doing that. Not only is she doing that, we are doing a 'one for one' project. Meaning, for every bow sold, she is making one to send with me to Haiti. I will be giving out these bows to the young ladies of Haiti. I am also making bows to take. I am hoping to have a good many to take with me! It is such a beautiful idea. The country is in such despair, and they need so much. It is overwhelming. But, besides the urgent need for things such as medical aid, food and water, the people would also love little gifts. All women, no matter what region of the world, want to feel beautiful. I am hoping these bows will bring a smile to their faces, and remind them that they are loved and beautiful. We make all different styles and have many different fabrics. Deanna and I are also working on planning a 'Bow Party'. This will work kind of like a Mary Kay party or Southern Living party. We are thinking about having two, one in Athens and one in Madison. We will invite everyone one afternoon to the house. We will have snacks, coffee and other such things. We will have different styles of bows on display for people to look at and try on. We will have samples of the fabrics that we have to choose from. People can custom design the bow that they want by picking the style and fabric colors. We will record their order and once we have them made we will mail it to them. :) But, the most exciting part is... you will have a chance to design a bow for a little girl in Haiti!! You can design a bow that you want to be given to a little girl in Haiti. We will also let you write a note to go with the hair bow. I am super excited about this! I am so grateful to have such great friends like Deanna. She did not have to help me, but she has went above and beyond to do this. She is super excited about this whole idea of taking bows out into the world and giving them to young women.
When I found out about this trip to Haiti, I automatically said I was 100% going. I did not think one minute about the money. I knew I was supposed to go, it was such a strong emotion, I cannot really explain it. But, when you know God is pushing you to do something, do not delay! Do it! Do not think about how you will do it, God will direct you the whole way. A few days after I committed, I began worrying about how I was going to pay for it. It is a lot of money, especially when I am running low at the moment! But, God has provided so many opportunities for me. He is making sure that I have the money. It really has not been a struggle at all. So many people have been willing to go above and beyond to help me. It shows me that if you just trust in God, things will turn out wonderfully.
I have learned not to worry so much. I have prayed that God will take away my awful anxiety problem. I am currently no longer on blood pressure medicine and my anxiety has went down tremendously. When I start getting overwhelmed with a situation, I give it to God. I have realized that all of my many plans do not always go according to plan. Actually, plans that I make rarely go accordingly. I used to get so upset when things went a different way then I planned, now I am learning to embrace it. I give it to God and I just go with the flow. I trust that God will help me get through any problem. You see, that has been one of my major problems the past few years. I used to not put my trust in God. I would try to get everything done myself. I would pretty much put God on hold and say 'God I know you say to put my burdens on you, but I just have so many and I cannot help but worry about them'. Never doubt the power of God. Never question whether he can do anything. I still struggle with this. But, it takes time.
Well, here is a little follow up on my last blog. I know I ranted and raved about the whole materialistic problem in America. Well, God has shown me a lot of things to go along with that. I have been studying the book of Matthew. Especially Matthew 6 and 7. Jesus tells us not to stress over the clothes we where or the food we eat. One thing that was so beautiful to me was when He said 'are not the flowers in the field beautiful, and do they worry about what they wear? If the best dressed person in the world stood next to one, they would not even compare". That is just so wonderful to hear. I also watch a video of a preachers sermon at a youth conference. This man was outraged, it reminded me of how I feel about this issue. It is a great video. This man got a lot of criticism, but all he did was tell the truth. A lot of people did not want to hear the truth. People like to hear things that make them excited, and make them feel good about themselves. But, the people of America need a wake up call. He talked about how America gives people the idea that just because they did an alter call once, they are saved. Americans take this too lightly. They get saved, and usually what happens next? Nothing. Going up to an alter call is just the beginning of a very long journey. Like he said, 70% of Americans are 'saved'. But, how many of them actually live like it? I know the past few years I thought I was saved and I did not live like it at all. It was all because I had this mentality that whatever I did, I was saved. That, my friend, is so wrong. I have finally come to realize it, and I want to spread this message to make others realize. Americans really do take this too lightly. In other countries, you know people truly believe because they could loose their life over it. So how do we know if we truly believe in America? By our acts. Now that does not mean going to church one or two days a week and doing a few good deeds. We need to be submerged in the Word. We need to live every aspect of our lives through Jesus. So many people in America are lukewarm. They may do a few things right, but they make up for it in other ways. There are so many things we need to change. If we are followers of the Almighty God, we should not be watching shows such as 'Jersey Shore', 'Keeping up with the Kardashians' and, especially, 'Skins'. We should not be dressing like the rest of the world. All of the promiscuity is ridiculous. And, not to mention all of the money spent on fashion. We should not be involved in certain activities. How do you think Jesus feels to hear you profess His name then go later that night go drink at a party? Relationships are no longer holy. There are so many things wrong in today's world. We worship celebrities and make them idols. God must be so saddened.
So, it is a time to get back to how it is supposed to be. We need to get the word out and show people how it is supposed to be done. That is the only way people will change. We are taught a certain way in America, and it is only getting worse.
I have been working on my life tremendously. I have been cleaning out my closet. It has about half of the stuff in it today than it had in it two weeks ago. I am taking down things in my room that add clutter. I am trying to make my life more God centered. It is so refreshing. I am not caught up on pleasing the world or trying to be like everyone else. It is something everyone should try. Clean out your stuff! Give to people who are in need!
Another exciting thing.. I am in my friend Danielle's wedding! I am so excited! The wedding is in June in Savannah. It is going to be beautiful. Not to mention the Danielle and Phil are so in love. I know it is true love. There is no doubt in my mind that God brought these two together for a reason. They deserve the best. I wish more relationships where like theirs. They better each other, and both are overflowing with God's love. You can look at them and see pure joy. Ahh, I love it! It makes me excited to find the guy God has made for me. I know he is out there somewhere.. just not sure where yet!
Until we meet again..
love--
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