Reflections of God's Grace in 2007

As I think back and reflect on all that God has done for me in this past year I am so very grateful. I'm grateful for the friends and family that have kept me accountable, for the memories that I’ve made traveling with friends, for God convicting me of sin and for answering prayers when I had no idea what to do. God faithfulness to me this past year is too great for me to put into words. He has extended much undeserving grace and has convicted me of sin when I had no idea I was sinning.

These are just some of the events that took place in 2007.....


Father/daughter dinner


Fun Times


"New Attitude"


Missions Trip to Haiti


Missions Trip to Haiti



My surprise 18th Birthday party

"The Clash"

My parents celebrated 25 years of marriage

Gator Games

I’m thankful that another year has gone by and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for 2008!!!

Merry Christmas

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem; come and behold Him, born the King of Angles, O come let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord.

“Let us be glad and rejoice today, because ‘He has come.’ And let us remember the annunciation of the angel, ‘Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”(Luke 2:10, 11) -Streams In The Desert-

Merry Christmas Eve

Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight;
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born!

Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love’s pure light;
Radiant beams from thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.

Silent night, holy night,
Wondrous star, lend thy light;
With the angels let us sing
Alleluia to our King;
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born!

I hope and pray that everyone's day tomorrow is filled with grace and peace! Merry Christmas!

Halleluiah Hope Has Come

Phew…. breath taken and moving on. As many of you know I had a big test last Tuesday that I had to take for work. I haven’t gotten my score back yet but, I feel pretty confident that I passed it. Thank you everyone who faithfully prayed for me. I most definitely wouldn’t have gotten through it without your prayers. God took away much anxiety and stress and turned all the studying and preparation for the test into a joyful time. God has definitely blessed me with a father who is quick to not allow any anxiety or worry. He is always very quick to help me point my circumstances to God and not myself. I’m grateful now that I can move on and enjoy this holiday season with my family and friends and not have to worry about a test any longer.

What a great reminder this song is of the real meaning of Christmas!

Let us join with the angel voices
Let us join their happy song
All of heaven and earth rejoices
For the Lamb of God has come
He has come to rescue sinners
Come to meet our desperate need
He was born to bring forgiveness
Born for Calvary

Let us lay our gifts before Him
Let us magnify His Name
With our thankful hearts adore Him
For the Lord has come to save
He has come to break sin’s power
He has come to set us free
Hope was born that glorious hour
Christ the mighty King

Daily Bible Verse:

Ephesians 5:13-14-“But when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, ‘awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’”

Father Daughter Dinner

Here are some photos from a formal dinner that all the singles guys in my Church and Kaleb did for all the single girls and their fathers.

Thanks guys for such a memorable evening!

Please Pray

Hello Friends!

Because of a BIG test I have to take for work coming up on the 18th there will be no time for blogging this week. If you could please keep me in your prayers as this is a very hard test and I’m going to need much grace and strength to get through it.

Thanks!
Candace

Daily Bible Verse:

Philippians 2:2-“Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and in one mind.”

What Child is This

Forget for a moment the tree, the gifts, the food, the parties, and the decorations and let’s focus on the Nativity scene. The Bible passage’s concerning the birth of Jesus Christ remind us that there was only one Christmas-all the rest are merely anniversaries.

Isaiah 9:6-“For unto to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

What child is this, who lays to rest,

on Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
while shepherds watch are keeping?

This, this is Christ the King
whom shepherds guard and angels sing.
Haste, haste to bring him praise,
the Babe, the Son of Mary.

So bring him incense, gold and myrrh;
Come, peasant king, to own him.
The King of King’s salvation brings;
Let loving hearts enthrone him.

This, this is Christ the King
whom shepherds guard and angels sing.
Haste, haste to bring him praise,
the Babe, the Son of Mary.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Daily Bible Verse:

Luke 2:14-“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Joy To The World

Lately I’ve been thinking about how busy I’m going to be in the next couple of weeks with stuff going on at work, all the Christmas shopping that needs to be done, all the Christmas parties to prepare for, and a VERY difficult and not very fun test I have to take in a couple of weeks. I was convicted of how my thoughts have been worldly thoughts and how I’ve not been giving my full attention to the time of year it is. This is to be a joyful season of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. If I remember to give priority to my time in God's Word and to pray, I will find renewed joy each morning. Joy that sticks in the midst of Christmas craziness!

Joy to the world! The Lord is come:

Let earth receive her King.

Let ev'ry heart prepare Him room,

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven and heaven and nature sing.

He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders, wonders of His love.

As things get busy, let's make sure to keep the spiritual disciplines at the top of our Christmas to do list, and experience true holiday cheer!

Daily Bible Verse:

Psalm 51:12-“Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.”

Piper on "Gift and Grit"

Faith is a gift of God. Romans: 12:3 says, “Think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned to him.” God measures to each believer a measure of faith. Ephesians 2:8 says, “By grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is a gift from God.”

His command is to “trust in him at ALL times (Psalm 62:8) and to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2Peter 3:18)

“God commands what he wills and grants in measure what he commands, but we should always pursue what he commands, He says, ‘work out your salvation… for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure’ (Philippians 2:13-13). God does not say, ‘Since I work, you shouldn’t.’ He says, ‘Because I do, you can’ God’s gift does not replace our effort; it enables and carries it. We say with Paul, ‘[God’s] grace towards me was not in vain, On the contrary I worked….’ (1 Corinthians 15:10). The gift of grace produced the grit of hard work. It is not the other ways around. He goes on, ‘I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me.’ Even Paul’s working is a gift of grace. Yes, it feels like our effort. It is an effort! But that is not all it is. That is not what it is at root. If it is virtuous, it is God’s ‘working in us to will and to do his good pleasure.’”

2 Thessalonians 1:11- "To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by is power.”

Hebrews 13:21“He equips you with everything good that we may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever Amen.”

“There is a place for grit in the Christian life (‘I worked hard’), but it is preceded by and enabled by gift (‘it was the grace of God’) Therefore all grit is living by faith in future grace.”

Daily Bible Verse:

Philippians 2:3-4-“Do nothing from rivalry of conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”