Good Friday

As I reflect on everything Christ has done for me, all I can say is that I owe Him my life…everything I am, everything I have belongs to Him.  Whatever you are believing Him for today, whether it be healing, finances, a spouse, your kids, I urge you to pray, to call out His name.  He is our Healer, our Protector, our Provider, our Savior…He is the King of Kings!  He offers life to those who are hurting and hope to those that are hopeless.  So in honor of the One who died for us, I want to share this video of the “Jesus painting.” It’s incredible! 

Overwhelmed but not Defeated

This past week was pretty much the roughest week of my life – emotionally and mentally. I have never ever been robbed – until this past Tuesday. Around 4:30 on Tuesday, my roommate called me at work to tell me someone had broken into our condo that day! She arrived home from school to find our door busted open and of course some of our valuables missing. They stole my ipod, ihome, Dell pda, fake diamond earrings, a fake diamond ring, a knock off Prada purse (my favorite!) and my roommate’s CD/DVD player, duffle bags, knock-off Coach purse and spare car key.

We were all shocked and quite mad that someone came into OUR house and took OUR things. I will never understand how people can do things like this. The worst part was walking into my bedroom and seeing that they had gone through every drawer in my room, every little storage box I have looking for hidden cash – which none of us have thank God! It’s creepy knowing that someone has seen all of your private things. So I’ve been pretty upset and frustrated about the whole situation. I feel my home is the safest place, a place where I can store my most valuable things and not have to worry…until last week.  I guess in the world we are living in today, no place is safe anymore, not even your home.

I had so many questions, like, how could strangers walk into someone’s own private space, and while unplugging their electronics, look into the homeowner’s face in the pictures in front of them and not think twice about what they were doing? What if someone busted into their home and robbed them? Or how could they just walk into someone’s home in the middle of the day not knowing when the homeowners were coming home? The policeman answered my questions with, “They have no fear.” And most shocking of all, he said they were probably little kids and teenagers! I have really been asking God to take this anger away…it’s not like me to be angry for this long, but I have been so upset that hundreds of dollars worth of stuff was taken from us. I have felt incredibly overwhelmed and exhausted the past few weeks, with my sister’s situation, and now this. But I AM NOT DEFEATED. God is still my Comfort, my Peace, my Providor! Genesis 50:20a says, “Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good…” 

Well, on Sunday, Pastor Dino preached on forgiveness. It was exactly what I needed to hear! He asked us to write down what/who we needed to forgive…yeah, pretty tough for me! I realized it is much harder for me to forgive someone I don’t know, someone I’ve never met, than my friends or family (someone I have a relationship with). But I wrote down on that paper – even though I don’t know their names – that I needed to forgive the people who robbed us. And you know what? I feel so much better! I truly feel like I have forgiven them…I’m still upset that my valuable things were taken, but I feel a sense of relief. And as Pastor Dino said, God has forgiven us so many times for things we’ve done, and we are commanded to forive others, as He has forgiven us.  Not easy, but required!

I’ll probably never know the people who violated our home but I only pray for them and that God will tug their hearts so much that they can never rob someone again because they will actually see there are real people with feelings just like them that lives there. And I am comforted by and standing on the scripture in Proverbs 6 that states what the enemy has stolen from me will be returned sevenfold!

Oh, and if you happen to see someone around Baton Rouge carrying a gorgeous cream and gold stiped Prada bag…it’s mine! I’m pretty sure I’m the only one that has that EXACT bag!! Haha!  

Evolution of Dance

Yeah this video made me laugh so hard…you gotta watch the whole thing!