Consider it Pure Joy

Last night I read James 1 for a Bible Study some friends and I have started doing.

Lots of the verses stood out to me...but especially this one.

James 1:2-3 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."

Pure Joy. Often when trials come in my life, "pure joy" is far from how I would describe the way I feel. Difficult circumstances can make things seem hopeless...they can make you feel alone...they can make you feel scared and confused.

But this verse sheds a whole new light on that for me. When trials come, we should "consider it pure joy" because "you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." As I look back on trials that have come in my life, I see first hand that it does, indeed, produce perseverance. Each trial I have gone through has drawn me closer to my family, and closer to God.

When trials come..."Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." James 1:2-3

When you're scared...remember that "God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7

When you feel alone...remember that "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5b

Emily

 

Peek Into My Week

August 5 - 11

1632 worship event at the amphitheater!

Got a haircut!

Bible club at Cross Creek Apartments on Wednesday. Love those kids :)

The youth from church came over! And we rode scooters in the dark haha :)

Lunch with my Grandma and our friends from Spain :)

You have now officially peeked into my week ;)

Emily

Word of God Speak

This morning at Church Abbie, Haley, Lauren, and Marshall led part of the worship service. They sang Word of God Speak (and did a great job, I might add:) ). I often find myself listening to songs..even singing along with them...but not really hearing the words. Not letting them sink in. This morning, though, this song really stood out to me..."Word of God speak would You pour down like rain washing my eyes to see Your majesty to be still and know that You're in this place please let me stay and rest in Your holiness"...what a wonderful song.

So, take a minute, and listen :)


And I added the lyrics for if you'd like to read along ;)

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say

Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak

I'm finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay 

Peek Into My Week

July 29 - August 4

Dairy Queen for Eva Grace's birthday :)

Playing chicken in the pool!

Haley and me at Eva Grace's birthday party

Mmm..lemonade :)

Chickfila Appreciation Day with the youth at my church!

A weird mask at a store in the mall..

We spent the weekend in Douglasville with our cousins :)

You have now officially peeked into my week ;)

Emily

Peek Into My Week

July 22-28

The Bledsoes came over for dinner :)

Mama, Daddy, Abbie, and I visited Berry College in Rome, Gerogia

Haley, Lauren, Abbie, and I had a campout...which we had been planning almost all summer! 

We were really roughing it ;)

I went to six flags with friends! It was tons of fun! :)

Shopping with a friend :)

Celebrating my cousin, Joe's, birthday at Tanners beach

You have now officially peeked into my week ;)

Emily

Me Without You

Toby Mac has always been one of my favorite singers...his music is just so...cheerful! and catchy! and fun to listen to!

He recently came out with a new song called "Me Without You". My 6 year old sister, Natalie, loves this song and I'm sure she knows all the lyrics, considering how often she listens to it and sings it ;)

Not only is it a great song, but also a great reminder of how we would be without God in our lives.

 

 

Emily

Peek Into My Week

July 15-21

    Timothy and I raided the cabinets looking for stuff to make a milkshake with ;) We ended up with ice cream, chocolate sauce, chocolate chips, milk, cookies, caramel, and coffee mix. It was surprisingly good! :D

Celebrating my friend, Caroline's, birthday!

 

A very funny game of charades at Caroline's party :)

 

Sister time at Arby's :)

You have now officially peeked into my week. ;)

Emily

Joy vs. Happiness

What is joy? What is happiness? Is there a difference? Where do they come from?

According to dictionary.com…
Joy. Noun. A feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
Happiness. Adjective. “A feeling of pleasure or contentment”, satisfaction, confidence.
 
What makes you happy? Being with your friends? Chocolate? Sleeping in? Going on vacation? Reading a good book? All of those things make me very happy! But they’re temporary.

What about joy? Does it come and go? The answer to that question is no. Joy comes from God, and joy never leaves. Unlike happiness, joy is not dependent on circumstances. It is something you have not something you simply feel.

Nehemiah 8:10 says “…do not grieve, for the Joy of the Lord is your strength.”

We can have joy in knowing that God has saved us. We can have joy in knowing that there is someone who loves us enough to die for us. We can have joy in knowing that His love will never change, that He will keep his promises, and that He will be there for us when no one else is.

Many times, in my life and in the lives of others, I’ve seen people want happiness. Besides, who doesn’t like feeling happy? But I think we need to be sure we know the difference between joy and happiness. People often place their happiness in circumstances, people, and things. Now, don’t get me wrong! I’m not saying any of that is bad in any way. But I am saying that our joy should not be dependent on our happiness. That’s something that I myself really need to work on. I want people to look at me and see joy, regardless of the circumstances I am facing. Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing with hope.” I want people to see that I am filled with Joy that comes only from God!

Emily

Song of the Week! - Beautiful You

A friend of mine suggested that I start making a weekly post about a song. Considering my love for music, I thought it was a brilliant idea ;) I love talking about my favorite songs and artists. So what better place to do that than on here?!

Not too long ago someone told me about a song they had heard on the radio that morning. The only things they remembered were that it was cheerful sounding, and had the word beautiful in it a lot. :) We racked our brains for a little while trying to figure out what the song was called. Beautiful One by Tim Hughes? No. Beautiful, beautiful by Francesca Battistelli? Nope. Beautiful You by Johnny Diaz? Nada.


 A few days later I remembered that conversation and decided to figure out what song it was. Turns out it was called "Beautiful You" and is by Trent Monk. And since that day I've probably listened to the song 50 times.Haha :)

Soo...I would highly recommend that you sit back, relax, and listen to this song! :)

Emily

Something new

Just wanted to pop in and let you know that my blog is under construction! As you've may have noticed, I've made several changes to the appearance of my blog. I'm still working on a few things, but will hopefully be finished soon. :)

Happy Monday!
Emily

Peek Into My Week

July 8-14 :)

Abbie and I took Timothy and Natalie swimming. :)

We went to tanners beach with our cousins!

After literally like 50 tries we finally got a cool pic of Andrew catching the frisbee...haha

Cow Appreciation Day at Chickfila! Dress like a cow = free food! :D

You have now officially peeked into my week ;)

Emily

Peek Into My Week

So my friend Haley had a fun idea of a way to share those great, random, cute, feel-the-need-to-share pictures you get throughout the week. It's called "Peek Into My Week" and is very perfectly described on Haley's blog...you can check it out here! Or just read below :)

You know all those "oh-so-great" pictures you take during the week? But they are also "oh-so-too-random" to post on your blog?

Yes, I've had several of those ;).

Well, I've decided to start "Peek Into My Week."

Every Saturday I will be trying making a post of pictures from my week to give you a little peek into my week.

So feel free to join in with me! I'd love to hop on over to your blog and take a peek into your week ;).

You're my Everything.

Hello blog friends! :)

It's been a while since I've posted...and that's mainly because I honestly think I have just survived one of the busiest weeks of my life. ever. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little...but I've definitely been super busy! Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I did a local youth missions project called Splash. Those days consisted of organizing school books, washing windows, painting bathrooms, pressure washing windows, cleaning closets, scrubbing walls, putting out mulch, among other things! Thursday I went to six flags with my family. Friday I babysat all morning, cleaned someone's house all afternoon, and cleaned our church that evening. Saturday I helped my softball team do a car wash, then cleaned at my great grandmothers house. And next week I'm helping with music camp at my church all week!
Busy busy busy! But definitely fun fun fun :)

But, believe it or not, the point if this post is actually not to ramble about what I've been doing all week!  Yep, I've got something to tell you :) Well, tell you and show you.

To begin with...listen to this. Please :)

It's a pretty amazing song, huh? I certainly think so. A few minutes ago when I listened to it, it kind of reached out and grabbed me. I had heard it before, but I hadn't listened to it then the same way I did this time.

This morning in Sunday school we studied Malachi chapter 1. Israel questioned Jesus asking "How have you loved us?". So many times in our own lives we look past all that Christ has done for us. We are given a difficult situation and begin to question God.

I think this song is a great answer to the question that Israel asked.

You are the light that's leading me to the place
Where I find peace again
You are the strength that keeps me walking
You are the hope that keeps me trusting
You are the life to my soul
You are my purpose
You're everything
And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

You calm the storms and you give me rest
You hold me in your hands
You won't let me fall
You steal my heart and you take my breath away
Would you take me in, take me deeper now
And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this
And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this

You're ALL I want!

You're ALL I need!

You're EVERYTHING.

Emily

The Proof of Your Love

 I heard this song on the radio today...it has such a great message.

Lord, let my life be the proof of your love.

For King and Country - The Proof of Your Love

 If I sing but don't have love
I waste my breath with every song
I bring an empty voice, a hollow noise
If I speak with a silver tongue
Convince a crowd but don't have love
I leave a bitter taste with every word I say

So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love

If I give
To a needy soul but don't have love then who is poor?
It seems all the poverty is found in me

So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
Oh, let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love

When it's all said and done
When we sing our final song
Only love remains
Only love remains

Let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love

Picture Challenge! - Day 15

Wow, I can't believe this thing is already over! It was quite fun :)

Day 15 - A picture that can always make you smile

This. hehe

Yep, those people up there. The one to the left, and the two to the right, of me awkwardly stretching my arms up to the sky :P - those three girls are three of the craziest, funniest, bestest friends I could ever ask for! :) They're pretty amazing. Actually...they're pretty and amazing. Haha :) Sooo...yeah! This picture makes me smile! And it captures each of our personalities quite nicely, I might add. :)