The most dangerous thing I could do...

It has been a blessing to be a part of a small group (we call it a gospel centered group) on Tuesday nights. This past week was only my second week but God has already begun to work in my heart through the scripture we have been studying.

This week, we discussed the judgment of God in Zephaniah 1 & 2. I'll be honest and tell you that #1, I have never studied Zephaniah and #2 it is hard for me to grasp the judgment of God. However, you cannot understand God's love and grace without God's law. By God giving us His law, He is gracious and loving.

In Zephaniah 1 God says,
 ⁴" And I will stretch out my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarim with the priests;    ⁵ and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship, that swear to Jehovah and swear by Malcam;
   ⁶ and them that are turned back from following Jehovah; and those that have not sought Jehovah, nor inquired after him."
 Phew! Those are some pretty hard words to swallow. When we read this passage, our group talked about the saying that "God hates the sin but loves the sinner". However, after studying this passage can we say that is true? It seems to me that God hates the sin and the sinner. God is righteous and glorious. The fact is that a person won't understand grace until they understand their need for grace. 

Zephaniah 1:10-13 was what really struck me though. It says,

"On that day," declares the LORD,
   "a cry will be heard from^(T) the Fish Gate,
^(U) a wail from^(V) the Second Quarter,
   a loud crash from the hills.
^11(W) Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
   For all the traders^[c] are no more;
   all who weigh out silver are cut off.
¹²At that time^(X) I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
   and I will punish the men
^(Y) who are complacent,^{[d]
   (Z)} those who say in their hearts,
'The LORD will not do good,
   nor will he do ill.'
¹³Their goods shall be^(AA) plundered,
   and their houses laid waste.
^(AB) Though they build houses,
   they shall not inhabit them;
^(AC) though they plant vineyards,
   they shall not drink wine from them."

He will punish people who are complacent  and those who say in their hearts, The LORD will not do good nor will he do ill. As a believer, we should continually be striving to conform more into the image of Christ. This does not mean we will reach perfection. At the end of Paul's life, he still claimed to be the "chief of all sinners". However, each day we should continually strive to be more like Christ (with His grace and help), refusing to be complacent.


The most dangerous thing that I could do is fall into complacency and rob God of the glory He deserves. It is a daily battle but should be one that I continually fight with God's help. At the end of our GCG, we were left with the statement, "If I didn't have __________ I wouldn't be content". What would fill that blank in your life? Can you be content in Christ alone or have idols formed in your heart that have caused you to fall into complacency?

Fav Friday

I thought I would branch out of my blog box and share a few of my fav things as of lately...


10. My new IPhone. Yes, I caved and got one. I'm not gonna lie...it is the bomb and was well worth the money spent!

9. Instagram. This Iphone app will rock your world if you are into taking pics on the digi. Actually, forget the digi...after discovering this app on my phone I hardly ever use my other camera. 


8. The Voice. This show aired in the Spring and its now one of my favs! The talent for the first season was remarkable. 

7. Pinterst. Thanks to my dear friend, Kels, I was introduced to pinterest. If you don't know about it, you need to. It is basically like a series of virtual corkboards of cool pictures, do yourself crafts and much more. I've already used several ideas on here. If you want to join this awesome site, let me know and I'll send you an invite!


6. Real Simple Magazine. I was introduced to Real Simple a couple years ago thanks to my friend, Hannah Swanson. I just love when the new one comes out! I believe my dream job would be to work for them. :)

5. St. Augustine. I rediscovered my love for St. Auggie when Jordan came in town. The history, shops and seafood are all wonderful! 

4. Sending packages/ letters and cards. I know one of my fav things is receiving packages and letters. However, even more than receiving...I love sending them! :)

3. Having all my friends back in J-ville! Brit and Kels are back from LU, Han just came back from Africa, Towny graduated and all of my other j-ville friends are here too. It was been such a blessing spending time with them! I'm so thankful for each one of them and the impact they have made on me over the years. ( Just wish Rach Dee and Rachel Stimler would move back!) 

2. Family coming to visit. Chad, Tina, Aunt Sassy and Hannah came down last weekend. It was so fun to catch up and of course to see sweet Hannah!

1. Ocean Isle Beach. It wasn't until recent years that I realized how rare and precious it is to be able to go to OIB every year with my family. I haven't missed a year since I was born! My grandparents always rent out a house for all of us and we have a blast. The highlights every year are relaxing, going out to eat at night, putt-putt (boys vs. girls) and Calabash Creamery (the best ice cream ever). I'm so thankful for Mema and D-daddy renting a house every summer for us!

Timing is everything

A Kansas boy. Never in a million years did I see myself dating a Kansas boy. As a matter of fact, I never saw myself dating an Air Force boy. God always has an unique way of bringing two people together and for Jordan and me, it was no different.

As many of you already know, Jordan and I met in Colorado Springs when I was out there attending Focus Leadership Institute. Ironically, he was not attending FLI but was at the Air Force Academy that happened to be 5 minutes away from our apartment. Jordan's best friend, Caleb started coming over to my neighbors/friends apartment because his roommates (Dan) girlfriend (Aimee...a dear friend) invited him over. After coming over a couple of times, Caleb went back and told Jordan, " you have to come over to Aimee's apartment...there are 8 beautiful Christian girls there and I have never seen anything like it...and they actually listen to me when I go on and on about space".  Naturally, it didn't take long for Jordan to come over.:)

So that is how we met. Jordan, Caleb, Dan and a couple other AFA guys would come over just about every weekend. We would make dinner, play games and look at nerdy space stuff. We always had such a great time hanging out.

Then, it came time to start asking girls to the AFA Ring Dance. Little did I know that being able to attend Ring Dance was a pretty big deal. I also didn't realize that Jordan had been waiting to ask me for a few weeks. He says I was intimidating which I think is crazy!

Finally, he called me before he left for Spring Break. After an hour long conversation, he asked me.:)  I came back at the end of May for the Ring Dance and along with some of my other friends who went as well. We all had a BLAST! Prior to Ring Dance, I began to pray that God would make it clear in my heart and in Jordan's as to if we should date. For the first time, I was more concerned about hurting the guys heart than anything else. The minute I saw him in the airport, I knew and had a complete peace that Jordan would lead me towards Christ and that I could trust him and allow him to pursue me.

That weekend it was evident that we both wanted more than a friendship. Although we knew long distance would be difficult, we knew it would be worth it. Jordan has far exceeded my expectations. His love for the Lord, faithfulness, hard work ethic and deep country roots are just a few things that I love about him. :)

Through my relationship with Jordan, God has reminded me that His timing is perfect. Jordan and I both know that our meeting was not luck or coincidence but rather the grace of God and His perfect sovereignty. I believe Solomon's words in Ecclesiastes 3:11 have been displayed in our lives in the past few months, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end". 

Here are some pictures of Jordan's first visit to FL in July.:)

In St. Augustine at the Fort

Jordan, my mom and me

 Jordan and me at the Shuttle Launch