That's My King!

I saw this powerful video at a youth camp years ago. I came across it again this past Sunday evening when I was studying for finals. It is so encouraging and I just wanted to share it with you too! Enjoy!

Your Faith is your Freedom.

I am someone who constantly is assaulted with lies from my enemy. It is a daily pursuit to defeat these lies and remind myself what is God's Truth.

Last night I started reading in 2 Peter 2. I had first read 2 Peter 2:19 which reads, "They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption..." I started to read around in the rest of chapter 2 and came across in verse 3 about how they will come up with clever lies. Clever lies. What a great way to put it. Because they definitely have to be clever to come up with something for us God-fearers to actually believe. And let me tell you what...they are pros at coming up with these lies. They play with our minds as they twist God's Truth and make us believe that His Truth isn't actually true. What a pathetic LIE!

Verses 18 through 22 are a little sad to read too as I think of so many examples of people that I know where this has happened. It is talking about how much worse off newer believers are when they taste the Lord's freedom and then start listening to these twists of God's Truth and fall back into their old habits. So sad.

We can choose to be slaves of these lies, or we can find FREEDOM in our Faith of knowing Jesus Christ and believing His Truth. I choose freedom.

Psalm 91

Why do I feel so antsy? It is a feeling of restlessness. It is a feeling of overwhelm-ness, without being too overwhelmed.

I can definitely tell that it is nearing the final push to the end of the semester. So many presentations, papers, etc going on in my life right now. And not just one of those things listed, but more like all of them, and then multiples of each on top of that. My life feels so FULL. I feel so distant from not only other people, but also my own self. I just look around at my desk in my room and can tell that my life is so...packed?..right now.

I spoke up in class about a week ago sharing how even when we feel overwhelmed and that we have no time for God, it is in those moments that when I am faithful to give God my time --even when I feel like I have no spare time to give-- He always seems to bless the rest of my time. I understand that...I practice it. But why do I feel so...it's almost like a panicked feeling. I just can't sit still. My heart feels like it is pumping about 20 million beats per millisecond.

I am being so vulnerable with you right now, but I know that it is when I humble myself and admit my weaknesses that I can find the encouragement to press on.

I have been studying about the topics of silence & solitude lately and it has been so rejuvenating. Maybe that is why I feel so frustrated at the moment, because no matter what I do, I feel like I can't get out of this antsy state of being and enter into a time of rest.

Psalm 91~

¹ Those who live in the shelter of the Most High

will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

² This I declare about the Lord:

He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;

he is my God, and I trust him.

³ For he will rescue you from every trap

and protect you from deadly disease.

⁴ He will cover you with his feathers.

He will shelter you with his wings.

His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

⁵ Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,

nor the arrow that flies in the day.

⁶ Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,

nor the disaster that strikes at midday.

⁷ Though a thousand fall at your side,

though ten thousand are dying around you,

these evils will not touch you.

⁸ Just open your eyes,

and see how the wicked are punished.

⁹ If you make the Lord your refuge,

if you make the Most High your shelter,

¹⁰ no evil will conquer you;

no plague will come near your home.

¹¹ For he will order his angels

to protect you wherever you go.

¹² They will hold you up with their hands

so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.

¹³ You will trample upon lions and cobras;

you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

¹⁴ The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.

I will protect those who trust in my name.

¹⁵ When they call on me, I will answer;

I will be with them in trouble.

I will rescue and honor them.

¹⁶ I will reward them with a long life

and give them my salvation.”

Psalm 138:8

Sorry everyone that it has taken me a month since my last post!...I definitely wasn’t planning on that. Every time I sit down to do it, I just feel like I have SO much to talk to you about. And then my posts get into extra personal type things that I don’t necessarily want to share with the entire world. But I am going to try to tell you a little bit about what is/has been going on in my life since we last chatted. J

Some people from my church back home in NC came up to visit the school last weekend. It was so much fun hanging out with them and seeing them. I have yet to be home since the end of August and I will not go home ‘til Christmas break in December. Which I do need to add that I will be able to see my family over Thanksgiving, I will just be driving to Tennessee for that instead of “home home”. But it will be fun!

Another neat opportunity that has come into my life is the possibility of going to Thailand next summer! I am not sure if it will actually work out or not, but I am really hoping that it does. I have to complete an “Observation & Participation” this May for my Education major. With relatives in Thailand, I thought it would be such a neat adventure for me to be able to do it over at an international school in Thailand.

Grace International School is the school that I am in connection with at the moment. They seem to be all for it and are excited for me to come. Cool side note---This past summer when I was heading to Guatemala, I sat near my old middle school principal on the plane to Miami & we ended up talking about my life, etc. One thing I do remember us talking about was Thailand. He had actually just gotten back from there & told me all about Grace International School & was going to get me connections there, etc. It is just so crazy that I have the possibility to actually follow through with this in less than a years timing of talking with my middle school principal about it. Just so crazy how life works…I mean, how GOD works!! Ahh J

Psalm 138:8~

“The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever …”

what's been going on..

Hmm..I was on a great schedule of getting to bed "early", but it is 1am & I am still awake doing Modern Geometry homework. Oh the joys of being a math major, gotta love all of the proofs.

Anyways, just wanted to give you a heads up on what has been going on in my life over the past few weeks..

Backpacking last weekend was wonderful. It rained the whole day that Saturday so we were soaked for the whole hike that day but I loved it--once you were soaked it was so much fun just letting the rain fall and just experiencing God in that kind of way. I can't really explain what it felt like to me. :) Kentucky is beautiful (yes dad, I agree, but still not enough for me to be at Asbury right now ;) ) !

Last Monday was my first day in a middle school classroom during my time here at IWU. I have a practicum this semester working once a week with middle school students. The place is so chaotic. I had a little run in with the librarian and some other people which really discouraged me. I was so frustrated I just wanted to run away and get out of the place. Yes, I agree the students were really disrespectful to the authority figures in the school, but the teachers weren't much better. After I stepped away by myself I just took some deep breaths and reminded myself that I was there for the students and that even though I might disagree with how some of the faculty were handling things, I couldn't let it bother me. At that point, I was sent to the library with a student named Marissa. She is an 8th grader at the school and a very respectful young lady. As I helped her with some vocabulary, she quickly opened up to me about some personal things going on in her life. I am really excited to begin building these relationships with these students that I will see every Monday. I pray for them that I can make an impact on their lives--even if it is such a small one. Today when I walked in to the classroom, I called Marissa by name and she seemed so intrigued that I remembered her name even when she didn't remember mine. It made my heart smile. :)

Speaking of schools, did I tell you about my high school experience a few weeks ago? I had to go pick up a high school text book at Marion High School, which is a high school close to the IWU campus. It was the end of their school day, so when I pulled up there were herds of students standing around outside waiting for their rides to come pick them up. But it was such an awesome feeling for me to be walking past these young students and hearing their conversations, etc. I can't even explain it but it just felt so right. I remember calling my mom as I was leaving the school grounds just so excited about it all.

I am so excited for my future in teaching, no matter how that looks like for me. I just know that I am called to build relationships with people and to be a positive example and encourager.

How could you pray for me this week?

Continue to pray for my heart and the impact of Satan's attacks. Pray that I clearly see what are the enemies lies in my life everyday. Pray for a contagious joy in my life--one that would be of an encouragement to my friends rather than a discouragement.

"Of course He isn't safe, but He is good. He's the king, I tell you." ~C.S. Lewis

Well I wasn't planning on starting this post like that, but I looked up above my computer and on the board behind my desk in my room is that quote. I recently found a lot of quotes that Brittany Sievers and I had on our door freshman year, so I decided I would make those known again here at school. So encouraging. :)

I am going backpacking this weekend! We are going to Red River Gorge in Kentucky--I hear it is beautiful! I am so excited to just get away from campus and enjoy the fresh air and just gaze upon God's creation! :) I just hope that the rain doesn't continue to pour.

Lord, use me. Do not let me live in my safe little bubble, but take me out on new adventures. Take me to places I have never been before with You. You are my God and I trust You! Even when I am scared out of my mind about where you are leading me, remind me that You are God and I am not. I want to set the world on fire. I want to be different. I'm not a normal everyday girl. I am Your daughter, Your Princess. Keep me and my friends safe on our journey this weekend. And keep our bodies healthy. In Jesus' powerful name I pray, Amen.

FREEDOM!

"For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is FREEDOM." ~2 Corinthians 3:17

Freedom. Wow, what a word! I can't even begin to describe what freedom means to me right now. And not just freedom in America or whatever, but freedom in CHRIST!

Over the past summer, last semester, year, whatever you want to call it...probably even starting years ago I know, God has been slowing picking out things in my life that I am holding onto. The things that my hands just won't seem to lose a grip of. The things that I just thought I always had to have around because it "couldn't get any better than this." What a LIE! I can tell you right now that I am experiencing so much freedom which is resulting in a continuous joy.

With God's help, I have been releasing my death grip on the bondage in my life!

What does bondage look like in my life? I have just been in consistent bondage listening to lies from the enemy. He never gives up on me. Satan does anything and everything to steal my joy. So much spiritual warfare going on.

Bondage in my life has also been in the form of relationships. Do not get me wrong, I am totally thankful for the friendships that have been placed in my life, and definitely this specific one that I am talking about right now, but there are times when you just know that something isn't right, and that it's not healthy. But Praise the Father, even though it was and is completely painful, I finally let go of a relationship in my life this past weekend. But I experience freedom from that knowing that I am still in the Lord's hands and that He is taking care of me... He's my Papa God!

I am so excited to see where God is taking me this semester, and throughout this next year. Lately I have really been studying what Truth is and what Joy is, and it has been such a fun journey for me. :)

But right now I just want to proclaim that I AM FREE!!!

whew, I'm growing up

Well I have about 1 hour & 40 minutes 'til I am officially out of my teenage years. Crazy, I know. "I'm growing up so fast." Hah. ;)

Of course many of my friends have been through their 20th birthday so it's nothing too too special, but for me it kinda almost feels like a big deal. Or maybe there are just so many changes happening in my life right now that it is just making me feel older. This is the first birthday I actually feel like I grew older...

Maybe it's because I am packing up my last "childhood" room to move. It is my last because I'm sure I won't be decorating my new room in the new house all "little girly" etc since I probably won't be living in it full-time again like I did back before my college years & such.

Or maybe I feel older because many people my age have been getting married this past summer or engaged, or even having children of their own. Whew, definitely don't feel like we're old enough for all of that.

And with all of these changes, it just feels like my mindset on things are changing as well. I'm not even really sure how to explain this either. I guess I'm realizing what is really important to me and what I want my life to look like and be like.

But even as I think how much older I am weirdly feeling, I know I am still young and have hopefully another 100 years to serve my Papa God ;)

Yay for another birthday to celebrate!! I am so thankful :):)

IWU Profs :)

If there is one thing I LOVE about Indiana Wesleyan University, it would be the professors! They are amazing!! I have been so impressed with them over the past few years that I have been a student at IWU. They are alwayyyys willing to help you out. Let me give you a few examples... :)

I remember my dilemma with trying to figure out what I should study in undergrad if I wanted to continue my education studying Meteorology (the weather fyi) in grad school. My wonderful chemistry prof, Dr. Brinkman, printed out a ton of information from some research he did about studying meteorology and gave it to me one day in class. It was the coolest thing I had experienced that far.
Then you have Dr. Greene, an amazing math professor that I adore. Many people are a little scared by her because yes she is a really tough professor, but I looooove her so much. She's pretty much the reason I want to stay with the math department too hehe. When I was having a really hard time this past spring semester, she would be printing off Bible verses for me & putting them on my desk when I walk into class and was just pouring so much Truth & encouragement into me. I would walk into her office crying my eyes out & she would just hug me. Now tell me what's so scary about that? ;)
Then you have Dr. Elsberry, who I have not yet formally met, but is one of the professors in the Education department. As I am considering going back to my original major of Mathematics Education, he has been such a help. He brought up my degree audit and went through all of it to see how many more classes I need for my major and is trying to help me graduate in the next 2 years. He is also willing to go to the Record's office at school to turn in an add/drop form for me to switch out all of my classes before I even step foot on campus. That saves me a ToN of time!

I have a BILLION other stories that I could share with you, but I'll just leave you with that for now. Indiana Wesleyan has amazing professors, what more can I say? :)

Waiting Room

Ok I have to make a little side note for this post to clarify some things...
I was sitting at the dinner table tonight when my dad didn't hesitate to ask me why I had some poem about a waiting room on my blog. He did not totally understand it & being a doctor, thought that I was really sitting in a waiting room & was completely confused at it all.

This "Waiting Room" is actually a new song that I came across the other day & it was really describing my life at the time. It's symbolically (if that's the correct word to use) talking about a waiting room--the waiting room that I am waiting for God to answer my requests. It's a song about faith & believing that God knows what He is doing, even if His answer is a 'no'.
I hope that was a better description for this blog post. I should have done this in the first place anyways. Sorry about that..love you all! :))

Also, here is a video of the song so you could hear it as well. :) I tried to get the video on here but I kept having troubles with it, so here is the link...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8Gxv9CRRVM

JONNY DIAZ~~WAITING ROOM

Here in this waiting room yearning for You to say go
And though I’m convinced that a yes would be best
This time You’re telling me no

It’s not that I don’t have an answer
It’s just not the one that I’d like
But through this time Lord I must keep in mind
You’re always wiser than I

You have a much better purpose
And You have a far greater plan
And You have a bigger perspective
Cause You hold this world in your hands

The things that I seek are from You
Like the strong healing touch of your hand
But when You say no help me trust even though
There’s a reason I can’t understand

When that miracle comes cause Your answer is yes
I will praise you for all of my days
But when Your wisdom declares that a no is best
I will praise You just the same

Psalm 19:1

"The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship." ~Psalm 19:1

I was walking past the front door this evening and something caught my eye. The color from the sky was creeping through the glass on the door. Of course it made me go take a peek myself. My poor neighbors probably thought I was a weirdo for walking out of my house bundled up in sweats and thick socks when it's 90 degrees outside (but hey, it's like 30 in my house! haha).

Anyways, the awesome colors of the sunset reminded me of one of my favorite Bible references. Psalm 19:1.

I remember coming across this Scripture when I was in Guatemala. I remember sitting in the hammock and shouting silently to myself, "No wonder this is why I love the sky so much!!!"

So so soooo true though! I LOVE the sky and anything that has to do with the sky!.... sunsets, sunrises, lightning storms, clouds, stars, you name it I'm there! :)

AdVeNtuRe

Adventure. Ah my heart pounds just hearing that word.

As if you had no idea, I LOVE adventure.
I always call it the metaphor of my entire life story. I life for adventure. It's exciting. Yes, sometimes it's annoying and even painful but that's what makes the journey thrilling. There is just something about not knowing where you are going but knowing that the Lord has it all in His hands and under His control. There is just something about doing things you never thought you could complete. There is just something about going places you never dreamed you would go. There is just something about living an adventurous life and stepping out of the comforts of home.

Adventure...what more could I ask for? :)

Mosquitos, Mosquitos, Mosquitos

I am getting eaten alive by mosquitos, but other than that I am doing wonderful and enjoying my time here in Guatemala. Staying healthy and happy as well. :)

God has been speaking to me so much just within these past 2 weeks. Nothing really dealing with things that have happened while I have been here but more through God's own little unique ways of speaking personally to me. I will try to share about each of those in posts following this one. Some of them I am still processing through. God is just so good and I am SO thrilled that He has allowed me this summer of adventure and serving and sharing with His people!

*sorry...a spider just ran across my computer haha. Yes mom, I killed it with my own bare finger too ;) *

Anyways, random thought... I bought some banana bread from an older woman that came by the restaurant we were eating at tonight. I just tried a piece of it just now and it is so wonderful. Mmm I just love banana bread :) ..especially made by a sweet little Guatemalan woman.

I am getting really sad as I only have 2 more full days here. I wish I could stay longer and continue to serve and be a part of the Guatemalan culture and the beauty of the country and to just love on and embrace the people...and even get bitten by more mosquitos (kidding on that last one). All in all, this has been an amazing trip of course. This past week there were 2 teams down here. I was able to help build a house with one of the teams. This was the first mission trip for almost eveyone on the team except the team leader. It was really cool to share in that experience with them and to see them grow with one another and learn what serving is all about. I was even able to be a part of "Happy Feet" this past week, which is where you get to fit children and adults for new shoes. It was a chaotic but wonderful experience as the people were so excited to own a new pair of shoes! If you could only see the smiles on their faces. :)

I have even been able to work on my spanish speaking skills. I have even been picking up on a lot more than I originally thought. I have even been able to carry on a few small conversations with people. Still a little frustrating talking to some people and realizing I do not know the word to respond back to them. Language barriers are always frustrating. Atleast there is always next year ;)

A team of nursing students from IWU are here this week which is really neat. I wish I was able to stay the entire week with them and get to know some more of my fellow IWUers. This week will involve a lot more medical clinic type things and of that sort which will be different and pretty fun I think.
Tomorrow we are waking up early and going to a far off village up in the mountains about 2 hours away. They say it is a really poor and sad village. Language is also a problem there as the people do not speak spanish and only speak mayan. I am really excited about this journey tomorrow and seeing how God uses us to reach out and love these people even if it is only by our actions.

Until next time, pray that I will be able to sleep the entire night through without waking up each hour to the feeling of 100 itching mosquito bites. It is very painful and annoying.
With lots of love,
Carmen

I'm here :)

For those of you who haven't talked to my mom yet, I just wanted to let you all know that I am safely in the beautiful country of Guatemala. :)
Safe and pleasant travels down here. Shout out to the WCA soccer team and others who I was able to see on the plane to Miami! yay

We have just been hanging out in Antigua and such for the past few days. We have now met up with the teams who are down here this week. We will be heading to the lake tomorrow!
I'll talk with yall soon!
~Carmen

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?!

Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego. Yep, that is definitely a phrase I have heard all of my life. What else are you going to get when you are introduced as "Carmen"?

Anyways, I am off to travel the world again! I am leaving my house at 4am tomorrow morning (or should I just say "tonight" hah) for the wonderful country of Guatemala! I will be there for two weeks (July 1-15). You might wonder what all I will be doing while I am there, and I am going to say that I am not really sure of the specifics. :) I am going to stay with the Martinez family...more specifically Ana Martinez, who is my roommate at IWU and is also the daughter of Luis Martinez of Impacto Ministries. I will be serving alongside of them and the mission teams that are down in Guatemala during the two weeks that I am there.
I am very excited about this trip and anxious to see how God is going to use me!! However, I haven't started packing yet so I need to go do that hehe...

Love to you all!
~Carmen

Just so you know, I will try to update this blog while I am in Guatemala as well so you can keep up with all that I am doing and how God is working in my life and the people in Guatemala. :)

How can I keep from singing?!

I love music. I may not be musically talented but I definitely love listening to music. And of course belting out some tunes in my car from the bottom of my soul. hehe, glad you aren't riding with me right? ;)

Anyways, I was riding home from the beach today and "How Can I Keep From Singing" by Chris Tomlin came on my iPod. Honestly, I've never been a huge fan of this song (no clue why!..maybe it was satan making me think I didn't like it so I woudn't listen to it all of the time like I will now hehe..) until I really started listening to the lyrics. It is definitely one of those songs that I will dance around to in my room and belt out as loud as I can when I wake up each morning!

God has done SOO much for me and it makes me just want to shout for JOY! Each day I am amazed at how much He cares for me and looks out for me in ways that I never knew anyone could.

Let me leave you with the lyrics of my new life song.. :)


"How Can I Keep From Singing" by Chris Tomlin

There is an endless song, echoes in my soul
I hear the music ring
And though the storms may come, I am holding on
To The Rock I cling

How can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your name
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing

I will lift my eyes in the darkest night for I know my Savior lives
And I will walk with You knowing You'll see me through
And sing the songs You give

I can sing in the troubled times, sing when I win
I can sing when I lose my step, and I fall down again
I can sing 'cause You pick me up
Sing 'cause You're there
I can sing 'cause You hear me, Lord, when I call to You in prayer
I can sing with my last breath
Sing for I know that I'll sing with the angels and the saints around the throne !!

Happy Father's Day!!

I know that it is the day after Father's Day, but because of the scarce internet service I experience with my computer, it was a little hard to post this yesterday, but I still really wanted to, so here ya go!....

Happy Father’s Day to all fathers…but a special one to my dear daddy!! :)The man that I look up to and cherish each day. The man that is pursuing all of his dreams and teaching me to do the same. The man that is highly respected. The man who taught me what authentic love looks like. The man that has honored me as his daughter. The man that reminds me of what I can (and can’t) do. Sometimes it can be frustrating to have a realistic father when you are as far from a realist as you can get (hah). But hey, it does keep me in check…and brings me back from sleeping on the moon. And sometimes I take offense to it but that only makes me work harder to prove that I can achieve the things that I say I can.

My daddy is a man who is SUCH a leader!! Just ask anyone in Kernersville (or NC for that matter hehe) ;) My daddy is the man who supports my family. He’s the man who genuinely loves my mom. He is such a romantic man! There is no doubt in the world that he cherishes my mom sooo much! Just watching them almost disgusts me :P hehe kidding, but seriously, they are soo cute together. I can't wait to have a love just like them!My daddy is the man who is a huge role model to me and to others!
As people saw me when I was 5 and watching open heart surgery tapes, many thought I would grow up to be like my daddy, and in some ways I have…
I can blame my dad on my organizational skills…yes, it is called organization thank you very much, it just might be a little different from your kind of organization. ;)Watching my daddy around young children is so amazing! You would think the tiny children would be so scared of my “intimidating” dad but yeah right, he is the first one they run to!!
There are so many more reasons I can think of about what makes my daddy such a great man, but then you would get really bored reading so much and I would still be sitting here at the computer. If you haven’t met my daddy yet, you definitely need to make that one of your life goals!..TOTALLY worth it!! :)
I love my daddy so much and treasure him so dearly! I know I am awful sometimes at reminding my dad how much I love him, but I really really do cherish this wonderful man in my life! I LOVE YOU DADDY!!!

Jealousy...why?

As I was sitting in Starbucks Sunday morning… Actually, let me give you a little background to this story….

I haven’t really had many problems since I have been home from New Zealand/Australia. Minus a little sickness on the way home. Yes, everyone on the plane was sleeping while I was up the entire night coughing my lungs out. No worries though, I had the privilege of seeing some cool lightning storms over the US and of course the beautiful sunrise while everyone else had their eyes closed and missed God’s beauty displayed in the sky that morning. :) I also had no voice for a few days after my return but I found that a blessing as well as I had that time to reflect by myself…it also gave me an excuse to just shut up.
I was also doing pretty well with the whole jet lag thing until Saturday night. I was awakened at 3am…WIDE awake! To make a long story short, I ended up at Starbucks and that is where I will continue my story.. :)

As I was sitting in Starbucks Sunday morning, I was accompanied by my journal (& purple pen :) ), my Bible and a grande raspberry white chocolate mocha, my fav. It was a delightful morning to spend those few hours with my Lord before heading to church.
As I was sitting there listening to numerous people ordering their really complicated drinks for themselves, I also heard the Lord’s still small voice. Jealousy was just something that kept playing over and over in my head. One of my fellow team members has just graduated from college. While we were in New Zealand, a lot of people have been giving her information about getting a job and teaching in New Zealand. What an amazing opportunity! But I have sadly found myself becoming really jealous of her and the attention she was getting for this. I wanted to be the one that everyone was trying to get to come over. I wanted to be the one with the amazing opportunity laying out in front of me. I found this really getting in the way of me and supporting her and encouraging her the way that I really needed to.
But I have to ask myself, why am I getting jealous of the plans of other people when the Lord has promised that He has those special plans for me as well?!
I am getting jealous of the awesome plans God has for other people when He is just laughing at my lack of patience. In His own time, His plans for my own life will be revealed. Besides, Amy’s plans (whether it is this job in NZ or wherever) are designed for her specifically. Yes they might fit me, but they won’t be that exact and perfect fit.
Ladies, you might can relate to this one haha…quoted directly from my journal…”For instance, you might find a dress that “works”, but you definitely realize a difference when you put on “The Dress”.” Haha hopefully that was understandable.
It is just frustrating to realize that I still have 2 years of school left...and she even has the opportunity to go teach in another country. Patience, Carmen, Patience.

Psalm 37:23~
“The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.”

Back to Blogging :)

Hello friends!
So I decided that I would start this back up again. I find it really exhausting trying to keep up with everyone and tell everyone the same thing about what is going on in my life (please do not take offense to that). Anyways, I thought this would be a valuable opportunity to take a hold of since most of you have internet access and can follow me and my journeys through blogging.

It took me a while to decide on the title of this blog. But as I sat in my home church this morning listening to Pastor Phil preach on Luke 4:18-19 and how he went on to talking about fighting the devil with joy, I knew what my blog would be based on. --Joy! The devil has realized that he can keep the Christian weak by stealing their joy, but I am going to stand up and proclaim that the joy of the Lord is my strength! :)
Please be encouraged through my words in this blog. Feel free to leave comments and suggestions and encouragement and whatever other wonderful things you would like to share with me.

I know there might be times when I get so far behind that there will be a large gap in between posts, so I am sorry about that. But please do not stop reading just because of that. :)

I have a feeling this blog will be very random. I am sure a lot of it will be on things that God is doing in my life and through my life.
I hope you all enjoy!

In Christ,
Carmen