Living Inside A Snowglobe

Maybe you're wondering why the title "Living Inside A Snowglobe"?  Well, that's actually what has been going through my head right now. You see, my mom and I were getting ready to head to Cincinnati this afternoon when, what do you know, she tells me that my brother Jeff is coming along. As if that's not bad enough, he is currently working on getting his 40 hours for his driver's license. Why such a bad thing? Because he is driving on the highway FOR THE FIRST TIME! Oh yeah, and I have no choice but to be his little backseat puppy. We're about an hour into the trip and thankfully I'm still alive. I spent the last hour being a 'backseat driver' and double checking his every move to make sure my life wasn't at stake. So now, after an hour, I'm finally comfortable removing my eyes from the road.

You see, this whole 'road trip' experience has actually taught me a lot. But I'll first explain the title and how it applies to what I learned. I began to look out the window and watched as trees, crazy houses, and clouds flew by. I was trying the whole look-at-the-clouds-and-make-a-picture-out-of-them thing. The only thing I could picture was that the clouds looked like waves crashing on the shore....that's the most creative I could be. Then I started thinking about how every time I'm at the beach I'm in awe of God and his entire creation. So then my mind starts going crazy thinking about God. As I looked out into the sky, it made me think of a snow globe. It's too hard for me to think of the earth as being round, so I started imagining it like a flat snow globe bottom with an arched top....it made perfect sense! Then I imagined God holding his little "snow globe earth", having total control over everything...like the song "He's got the whole world in his hands." Sooo comforting!

Another thing I've been learning, especially from a friend last night, is that I have to let go of the reigns. God needs to have total control over my life. Right now, as I'm riding in the car, I have no control. We could crash at any moment and my life would be over. But if I'm constantly worrying, that does me no good. In this car situation and with my whole life, God has control and I simply have to trust---bottom line.

Even as I wrote this post, we had a couple close encounters with on/off-ramp traffic. Please pray for our safety as we travel, and for my relationship with Christ. I'm beginning to realize that if my relationship is at a stand still, it can effect others. I need to be growing in my faith so I can spur others on. Holding each other accountable is sooo crucial, especially among leaders. If you have leaders that are struggling in their walk with the Lord, the group will be a reflection of those leaders. So pray about that, it's been on my heart for the last week or so. I  appreciate any prayers.

Back to cloud watching/sun set gazing!

Positive....ness

Lately I've been thinking...I haven't had much to blog about, let alone anything positive to blog about. I seem to have lost my joy. So here I am pursuing Christ and seeking to find that joy again. I hope that I'm able to continue encouraging you through this blog. But this is an 'honest' blog so you'll definitely know when I'm feeling a little down (if you haven't noticed already).

Know that I'm praying for my followers and any who may simply stumble across my page. Don't let trials or struggles pull you away from Christ. Know that the testing of your faith is to develop perseverence. God will never give us more than we can handle. I hope that encourages each of you like it's encouraged me. Feel free to leave any prayer requests! Night guys

Prayer

Today I'm simply asking for prayer. This week has been more than rough. It's been emotional. It's been overwhelming. Girls, call it PMSing, but that's the only excuse I've got. I've blown up at people this week, and I've shut down. I'm seeking Christ and coming up short.

Tonight, my sister dyed my hair and it's far from the color I had wanted...not something I tend to freak out about, but for some reason that put me over. I held back tears at my friend's house and then got home around nine. I got ready for bed and then noticed that all my brownies had been eaten. (So typical of my family and extremely frustrating) One more thing to put me over. Then I proceeded to get screamed at by my mom after making a little scene about the brownies and walked up to my room to ignore her. Of course that only made things worse and I was lectured about my attitude. So here I am laying in bed, complaining to the world through my blog. I've finally pulled myself together after crying for twenty minutes. Being the girl that I am, I try to make my crying audible. It works nearly 90% of the time, and my dad creeps into my room and lays down next to me. He gives me about five minutes of crying while he rubs my back, and then asks me what's wrong. I deny giving him answers and cry some more. After giving me five more minutes he asks again, going on until I finally empty all my thoughts. Sometimes he'll even pick me up and rock me if I'm really upset. He's such a great dad! He's not one to lecture, but rather he likes to give me my voice and then simply agree with me to make me feel better. But tonight, that didn't work. No one heard me, no one came to comfort me.

I guess I would really just appreciate prayer. I think I've been in a rut for a long time, and I'm scrambling to find my way out. I've turned everywhere but the Lord. (Not the best thing to do.) Friends. Family. My own cleaning and music therapy. Nothing seems to be working this time. Pray that I would push past tonight and this emotional week and start tomorrow off fresh. Pray for a humble heart and lots of patience.

Dear Heavenly Father,   My prayer tonight is that you would wrap your loving arms around me. Lord comfort me and be the heavenly father that I'm searching for. I pray that you would reveal yourself to me and restore the joy in me that seems to have been lost. You are an awesome God. May you become greater, as I become less. Humble me Lord, and use me for your glory. In Jesus name, Amen.