Quotes of Life

I've been trying to write for a while now, but I am having problems deciding what to write about. So, I have decided to just compilee some of the quotes/phrases that mean a lot to me. Hope some of them speak to you like they do to me.

"Today is the first day of the rest of your life." --this one doesn't really need much explanation...don't waste time, cause it's the one thing you can't ever get back..

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." --also self explanatory..

"Go hard or go home." -- I am learning how intense this phrase actually is as I continue with physical training...talk about some serious gut checks..

"Turn up the music.." --For me, this is the story of my life. Without music I'm not sure how I would function, it speaks so much to me, and it brings out my happy :)

"To love a person is to learn the song that is in their heart, and sing it to them when they have forgotten." -- Whether it's a romantic relationship, or just a deep friendship, knowing someone enough to be able to remind them who they are is probably the greatest gift you can give...pay attention to the people you care about...learn about them, and love them enough to help them discover themselves when they get lost...

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." --From experience I can say that sometimes life is...icky, but there is always some good in all the not so good, you just have to choose to see it..

"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple." --You know those really rough questions you don't really want to ask because you're almost positive the answer isn't going to make things any easier to comprehend? Ask anyways, life may just surprise you.

"Only you can control your future." --Now, this could be debatable. I don't meant that you are your own God...however God gave us free will, and the choices you make determine your future...think twice..

Forgive and...Forget?

There are days when it seems that although the sun is shining, it is raining in our hearts. A broken heart is very much like a violent- personal storm. It seems that the only person feeling the thunder is ourselves. When a heart is broken, it is so much more than an emotional ache. It is like having a knife in your chest 24/7, and after you've worn out your tear ducts.. the closest you can get to crying is a constant nausea. Then comes the waking up from your first decent night's sleep in weeks... only to have reality hit you like a freight train. Following the 20 seconds or so it takes you to compose yourself, you plaster a smile on your face, and prepare to face a world that has run out of sympathy.  It isn't that they don't care, it's just that they have run out of the "right" things to say, not that it really made you feel any better anyways. Next comes facing the hundreds of reminders that bombard you throughout the day. A passing scent, a voice in a crowd so similar to the voice you loved that then broke your heart, a glimpse of a picture, someone in the distance who for a split second is not who they really are. Throughout all of this you make feeble attempts to cry out to the ultimate healer, but are so unsure of what to say, that after a while you just say nothing and ask for God to just hear your heart. What does he hear? Pain. Sorrow. Longing. Regret. Confusion. But beneath all of that hurt, he will hear the deepest and probably least admitted emotion of all... realization, and then slight relief. No one enjoys heartbreak, but it is true that sometimes a broken heart is God's way of rescuing you before you gave it all away to the wrong one. Why it is expected to eventually suck up all the pain and move on with life, a broken heart is never quickly healed. Forgiveness is key.. forgetting is a part that is should be analyzed. We should never forget the happy, or the things we learned. We should forget that anger and the deep gut-wrenching, makes you sick pain... but never forget what took you to that point.. or what pulls you out of it. Love is not ending, God never will break you heart. Healing is sometimes as painful, or more so than being hurt in the first place, but this is only so because of the transition that takes place. Finding love is a beautiful thing, and losing it is monstrous... but the rebuilding is a combination of the two. Alone, it would be an impossible task... but with God?  Oh, darling, it is so beautiful. It offers the chance to become new, to change yourself... to take a new step. the process is often agonizing, and takes much time, but in the gentle guiding hand of our precious savior, the ride is all worth the while. Don't give up.... and you don't need to forget... just grow.

Beautiful Family of Mine

Good morning! Today I woke up on the floor of my younger cousin's room, slighty confused about where I was. Then, after reality struck.... my parents and I traveled 8.5 hours to Charlotte, NC to stay with my uncle and his family. Today my uncle's family, and my little trio will depart again and it's off to Florida we go for the week! This "family" vacation doesn't quite feel right only because it's not really the whole family. A majority of "the Weekly's" live in Virginia, but they won't be joining us on our trip. I have found myself keeping them updated on our whearabouts throughout the drive to here, and  I will most likely do the same on the way to Florida. I'm hoping that my awesome daddy will submit to my "pleading" (I only really asked once, and gave my reasoning) that on our way home we should stop in Virginia, then the word family can truly be used to describe this week. I often feel as if the distance doesn't exsist at all between my family and I, but then I realize that as much as I know, I know very little about them at all. Well, with teh exception of one of my gorgeous cousins that is. Hahaha I have beeen tossing an idea around in my head lately, though I haven't made it totally public yet. I want to do some praying and definietly some more peparation, but I think it'll work out as the time draws closer. Well.... I guess that's enough rammbling for the day, I'll keep ya'll updated on our fabulous trip! The whole point of this blog, in case it isn't totally clear because I tend to get sidetracked, is that I absolutely love my family, and wish that I could be so much closer to them! I also wish that we could all get together more than the once or twice a year that we do, but who knows if that'll ever work. Haha All that matters is that we all love eachother, and honestly...someone told me once "no matter how far apart we find eachother, we'll always be close in our hearts." Have a great day ya'll, may God bless you and your beaustiful family!

-Sisi

Ezekiel

He said to me, "Son of man, stand up on
 your feet and I will speak to you."      
                                  Ezekiel 2:1               

'Go now to your countrymen in exile and speak to them, "This is what  the Sovereign Lord syas; whether they listen or fail to listen."                          
           Esekiel 3:11

Wow! What an awesome God we serve!! Last my mom and I were talking about how to talk to people about God in their lives without being so preachy we actually drive them further away. So this morning my prayer to God was of guidance in a way to talk about Him to others, In the stillness (or at least the attempt at stillness) I read Ezekiel 2. My Bilble has subject titles, and the subject title for Ezekiel 2 is "Ezekiel's Call." The whole chapter is God telling Ezekiel that He will speak to him, and then God sending Ezekiel to rebellious Israel to speak to them on what the LORD says. This is the command many christians know wme ell- witness! Any person we surround ourselves with who is rebellious from the Lord, we are called to speak to them of what the Lord says. Then, the command is continued on into chapter 3. God tells Ezeki el to tell the people what the Lord says. What totally floors me is that God specifically tells Ezekiel to tell the people regardless of if they listen or not. We are the Ezekiels of the day. God calls us to spread the word whether they listen or not. Oh, boy!

Lord you are awesome! Have all of me Lord, and use me for your glory. Keep me up God, and let me/ teach me to spread the light. Thank you Jesus for yoru ultimate sacrfice.
                                                                                                Amen

Luke 7:50

Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
              Luke 7:50

This morning before beginning to journal I prayed to God about what I call the "bad feeling." It's a sickly feeling I get in my stomach when something of moderate to severe badness is going to happen. It also seems that this feeling comes more strongly when I am trying to dive into my faith. The last time I had this feeling, I prayed to the Lord to take it from me if it was not of Him. And in time, the feeling faded as I began to trust in the Lord. This morning I again prayed that prayer, but my humanly mind is so consumed with thoughts that I can't seem to release it to Him. God has brought me out of so many pits in my life, and I know that Satan is trying to attack me to block my path to the Almighty. So I asked the Lord to show me His love, mercy, and understanding, I felt a small voice lead me to Luke 7. Not knowing the exact verse in Luke 7, I read the chapter, Out of all the verses, one stuck out to me. The very last one. I felt like God tapped me on the shoulder and whispered in my ear "Faith sets you free, have peace." I trust the Lord and will follow Him steadfast all of my days.

Father God, you're so awesome, thank you for all the ways you daily show me your love and grace. I love you, Lord. Please take each and everyone of my thoughts, I surrender them all to you. May your light shine through me to those in need, but let not their darkness consume me. I go in peace for I know that you are my rock and comforter. Thank you Lord, I love you my precious heavenly father. May your grace follow me through my day.
                                                                           Amen

Colossians 4: 5-6

Be wise is the way you act toward outsiders;

make the most of every opportunity.

 Let your conversation be always full of grace,

seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

   Colossians 4: 5-6

Well, that's pretty direct. To me, this says that every single time I get that chance, I need to be wise and graceful... showing others that way of Christ. I haven't journaled in a while, simply for being lazy. but I feel as if spending this time with God will help me build my faith. I know that I serve a great and Mighty God, but I also know that I have been leukwarm in my faith. so let's crank up the heat! This morning I was reading from a devotional book by the women of faith, and the passage was entitled "People need people." The verse that went with the passage was "...Put on a heart of compassion..." which is part of Colossians 3:12 (NASB). Last month on first wednesday (a once a month mid-week service at my church New Ponte Community Church), Blake Wood talked about splagchnizomai, and Colossians 3:12-13 was a frequent point of reference in his message. Then when I read it again, it truly struck a cord in my spirit. As a prayed to God before beginning to journal, I felt the need to journal from Colossians, but I couldn't remember the compassion verse. I read Colossians, and when I read 4:5-6, I knew god was saying "Sierra- focus on this." These two verses so perfectly fit into the current state of my mind, and I am just so thrilled that by being obedient to Him just through rising earlier than I would've liked, and to spend this special time with Him, I have found an answer, Knowing that God, through Paul, commands us to take every chance we get to share His grace is so powerful. Nowhere does He asks us politely to do this, it is expected. How great is that?! It makes our choices so simple... follow God, or run away. The verse never promises that choosing to take very opportunity will be easy, but the end of the verse clearly states that we can "know how to answer everyone." To me, that speaks volumes because I tend to get all excited thinking I know just what I need to say, but then in the midst of the conversation i go blank. So, I thank the Lord for His word that tells me that in Him I will always know what to say.

Father, thank you for your word, for the power and encouragement that can be found there. God, this whole day I dedicate and give over to you. I am here to follow youm and I can know that through you I can take every chance to show others your mercy and grace. I the name of Christ who lives,

                                                                                                                                                Amen

Hebrews 11:1

Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.
                Hebrews 11:1

Wow. This verse touched my heart the firsst time I read it, and it awes me still. Everyday in the world, Christians and non-Christians alike all speak of hope. Hope is like an energy to people, we need it to live and life worth living. To think that faith is the basis of hope is so amazing. Believing in God and trusting Him is all the hope I need or could ever ask for. The second part of the verse about faith being the evidence of things not seen brings one word to mind. Miracles. When that loved one in critical condition in a coma suddenly wakes up and begins to heal... that's the power of faith. There's a song by Kutless called "What faith can do." The title of that song alone carries a huge message. All of those things people can only think of wishing for all have a chance to come true when instead of wishing; we pray and have faith in a God who is greater than any dream the human mind can imagine.


Prayer of the day:
 Precious God, thank you for your awesome power and grace that excepts us and can change even the hardest of hearts. You are the hope the world is searching for, open our eyes Lord, that we may lose the blinders and be gloriously redeemed. Today, give peace to those who come hunting God, and we dedicate our day to you, that you alone are rewarded with the praise, and that our works would please you. You are the ultimate healer and miracle worker, praise your holy name! I love you Lord, thank you for saving me through you son. In His precious name I pray...
                                                            Amen