1 Corinthians 1:25

I LOVE this verse!!!!

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the WEAKNESS of God is STRONGER than man's strength. 1 Corinthians 1:25

Suffering Happens, But God Knows Best

I just found the coolest poem I've read in a long time...I wanted to share it with you!

Our Father knows what's best for us, so why should we complain?
We always want the sunshine, but he knows there must be rain.
We love the sound of laughter and the merriment of cheer,
But our hearts would lose their tenderness if we never shed a tear.
For growing trees are strengthened when they withstand the storm,
And the sharp cut of the chisel gives the diamond grace and form.
God never hurts us needlessly, and he never wastes our pain,
For every loss he sends to us is followed by rich gain.
And when we count the blessings that God so freely sent,
We'll find no cause for murmuring, and no time to lament.
For our Father loves his children, and to him all things are plain,
So he never sends us pleasure when the soul's deep need is pain.
So whenever we are troubled, and when everything goes wrong,
We know God's working in our hearts, to make our spirit strong.

-Amy Carmichael

Sometimes bad things happen to good people so that God's work would be known in our lives. In times of suffering, we often want to turn away from God or blame Him for our suffering. But God has bigger plans. I speak from experience when I say that, and things have always turned out better on the other side. I'm so grateful for my times of suffering, because God uses that time to make my heart stronger, to yearn for Him even more, and so that His work might be done in my life.

As he went along, he saw a blind man from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." -John 9:1-3

Sweet, Sweet Girl

Jada Marie Curry just might be the cutest little bundle of joy that ever walked the planet! Okay...so she doesn't quite walk yet, but she's still the sweetest! :) I love spending time with her, she's such a happy little girl, beautiful inside and out! Jada is so blessed to have DC and Brooke as parents - they are AMAZING, and I have nothing but wonderful things to say about them! What a beautiful family! I'm SO blessed to call them friends :)

Flashback to Mexico: Eager to Learn

I was just reading Mark 2:2, which says, "So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them." This gave me a flashback of our trip to Mexico in the summer of 2009 with the youth group. On Sunday morning, we went to gather with a crowd of people at a small church in Monterrey. There were literally SO MANY people there, gathered all around the inside (some of us even sitting on the floor), yet there were even more people outside the church, peering in through every window just to hear the good news! Instant chills!

Can you imagine what it would be like, if the next time you went to church, and there were so many people there that you had to sit on the floor, or stand outside and listen in through the windows? What would that be like? What would it take for that many people to gather from all around just to hear the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ?!

"Get Behind Me, Satan!"

Tonight, as I'm reading in the book of Matthew, I'm reminded how awesome God is and how powerful He is!

Jesus said, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of man." Matthew 16:23.

I LOVE that!!! Jesus just told it like it is! Next time you're feeling tempted, I encourage you to tell Satan like it is and be reminded that God is ALL-POWERFUL!

Inspiration for the day

Knowing that you are loved makes it so much easier to love others, doesn't it? I think that I sometimes forget that I am loved by the greatest lover OF ALL!

"We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

"Do everything in love." 1 Corinthians 16:14

I choose to love because He first loved me. I want to love others unconditionally out of His unconditional love for me.

What's your motivation to love?

Hand-Crafted and "Whole-made"

When my sister was little, she thought that everything was "whole-made," not homemade, but "whole-made." Well, she was right about one thing...each and every one of us were whole-made by our Creator. He crafted us with His very own hands, making each and every one of us something so special. When I think about God creating us and making us whole and in His image, I imagine it was pretty similar to the Build-A-Bear process. If you've ever had any kind of relationship with any ten-year-old or younger, you've probably been to Build-A-Bear, and experienced the wonder and awe of every child's excitement as they put together their furry friends! I can't help but think that God was just as excited, probably even more so, as He hand-crafted us together!


If you're not already familiar with how to put together a Build-A-Bear, it goes something like this: choose me, hear me, stuff me, stitch me, fluff me, name me, dress me, take me home.

Choose me: God chose each of us for His Kingdom. He picked you and me.
"As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and
precious to him" 1 Peter 2:4


"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of
darkness into his wonderful light." 1 Peter 2:9

Hear me: God Himself spoke life into us when He created us, in His image so that His Holy Spirit would live inside of us.
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created
him; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27

Stuff me: Here, we were filled with everything we would ever need. When you make a Build-A-Bear, at this stage, you're asked to pick out a heart and kiss it before you put it in your bear. Can you imagine how many times Our Father kissed our hearts as He created them, and all the love He poured out on us?!! God filled us with Himself; He is our bread of life; everything we will ever need.
"Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.'" John 6:35

Stitch me: God stitched each and every one of us together.
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13

Fluff me: God gives us the "spa treatment" and treats us like righteousness, because that is what He created us to be.
"This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." Romans 3:22

Name me: He calls us by name.
"But now, this is what the LORD says - he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed
you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you
are mine.'" Isaiah 43:1

Dress me: He clothed us with deliverance, love, and His goodness.
"I delight greatly in the LORD...For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and
arrayed me in a robe of righteousness." Isaiah 61:10

Take me home: He is our everlasting and He will forever be our everything. He will carry us home.
"Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have
made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." Isaiah 46:4

So here we are, hand-crafted and whole-made by the Lord of All. God's own masterpiece.