A Happy Wedding

      The hopes of young people are to have a happy marriage, but when I got engaged, I realized I also wanted a happy wedding. I wanted a pretty dress, and beautiful love songs, pretty flowers, and good pictures, but most of all, I wanted our wedding to be a happy wedding. My advice is to not focus on designer weddings, perfect dresses, or other's opinions. As you make decisions, keep close to your heart those things that matter most to you.

1. Your spouse (to be)
       You have opinions. Your fiancé has opinions. It is more important to learn respect, communication, and cooperation than to have your own way. When the day is over, the words you said and attitudes you displayed will linger a lot longer that the satisfaction that you got the groom and groomsmen to wear a pink shirt and suspenders. (Unless, of course, they wanted to wear a pink shirt and suspenders, in which case I want to see your wedding pictures, because that sounds kind of cute!)

2. Your family
       Your family loved you long before your knight in shining armor showed up. You know them, too. You know what makes them happy and what makes them feel loved. I felt like this was my opportunity to try to show them that even as I was leaving them and joining my life to my husband-to-be, I still cared for them. Whether it's a special night out, or a special part in the Big Day, you can let them know how important they are to you.

3. Your convictions
       It's the most important day in your life. It is going to be your "best day ever." Why ruin that memory with regrets because you gave into peer pressure, or you wanted to be a little more like the fashionable weddings everywhere on Pintrest and magazines? Whether it's modesty, stewardship, or simplicity, the God-given convictions you have do not disappear on your wedding day. Remember that you want God's blessing on your marriage, and now is not the time to let go of convictions. Personally, I also wanted to be reminded of the correlation between God and His Church and a pure marriage. I reminded myself of verses such as "as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee," "they twain shall be one flesh," "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church," and the quote from a song, "Church of God, thou spotless virgin." It's such a beautiful thought to think of God desiring me and loving me so much. Even more than I wanted to be a beautiful bride to my husband, I want my God to be pleased with me.

4. Your stewardship (while we're talking about it...)
       Weddings are expensive. I saw an article about how to have a cheap wedding and I was amazed at what people considered a cheap wedding. If I judged our wedding off of the standards I saw everywhere on the Internet, we had a cheap cheap wedding. The truth is, no matter how much other people spend on their wedding, I know deep down that I could have been a lot more thrifty and still had the happy wedding I wanted.

5. Your sanity
       Is it worth it? Don't let the little things stress you. Let things go. I was blessed with a beautiful wedding day, but I could still choose to focus on little disappointments if I wanted to. The sky was too bright in my pictures, or some decorations were missing from the guest book table. If I had chosen to, I could have focused on all those little trifles on the morning of my wedding. What was more important to me was that my husband to be was there waiting for me, that friends and family were there to celebrate, and that God had kept us, had led us together, and today we were going to be married, a union ordained and designed of God.
     I know there are huge catastrophes at some weddings, and sometimes when it seems like nothing else could go wrong, the worst happens. However, we can save a lot of our sanity by simply being a little more simple. The best way to keep an ice swan sculpture from melting during the reception is to not have an ice swan sculpture.

6. Your guests
       It's easy to blame all extravagances in the name of pleasing the guests, but it's an excuse that doesn't really hold up. I learned that instead of trying to make a good impression, it was more important to make good memories. Instead of showing off, show that you care.

       I realized now, even more, how overdone weddings are in our popular culture, and how much we are effected by that, even without realizing it. Even the simplest things can grab us and lead us to disappointment. Personally, I did have a Pintrest wedding board, and I pinned a lot of ideas to keep it organized. I remember a particular sweet, romantic idea of writing letters to one another and exchanging them on the morning of the wedding, or night before, or something like that. What's wrong with that? Nothing, unless I start to measure my husband and our relationship to other people. My husband didn't write me a letter for me to read the night before our wedding, but when I stopped looking at other relationships, and look at ours, I realized that he didn't have to, and if he had, it would not have been as romantic as it sounded. The truth was that he showed me how much he loved me, and his love is more real than a romance novel or Pintrest idea. That is a simple and somewhat harmless example, but there are many many traditions and new ideas out there that can steal your focus and your happiness on your wedding day.  I even found that I was encouraged somewhat by a subconscious pressure to live up to expectations to friends and family (who had no ill intentions). In the end, it didn't matter if everyone liked my theme or my colors, or even my wedding dress.

What mattered is that my fiancé knew/knows I love and respect him.

That my family felt loved and cared for.

That I stayed true to my convictions.

That God remained the center of our relationship.

That I didn't give into excess that I would latter regret.

That I didn't stress out over things of no importance.

And that our guests had a good experience.

Blessings,

Alyssa

Peace

I just have a simple, yet powerful message from the Bible today. Isaiah 32:17.

Peace

Quietness

Assurance

If you are looking for any of these, look no further. The Bible has all the answers.

Blessings,

Alyssa

Do You See Beauty?

Do you see beauty in the small things?

The hard things?

The uncomfortable things?

Water drops are small,

And frozen hard.

The limbs creak and bend

Under the unwanted weight.

But the sun still shines.

Can we see the beauty in it?

Each frozen water drop

Reflects a small image

Of the sun that warms the Earth.

Blessings,

Alyssa

Looking for Perfection

Any pretty road has hills and curves.

(in my opinion)

Our life may also have

high points and low points

or a curve we can't see around.

Thank God for such a beautiful life.

Walk it with your hand in His.

And know that His way is perfect.

His Purpose

Hallelujah! hallelujah! my soul is now free!

For the precious blood of Jesus cleanseth even me.

I have been very blessed! I started this post sometime earlier this week because I was so blessed with these songs and passages in Proverbs. My previous post said that I had had a tough week, but God was still blessing me through it. These words were the perfect encouragement for me.

O sweet will of God! thou hast girded me ’round,

Like the deep, moving currents that girdle the sea;

With omnipotent love is my poor nature bound,

And this bondage to love sets me perfectly free.

Hallelujah! hallelujah! my soul is now free!

For the precious blood of Jesus cleanseth even me.

For years my soul wrestled with vague discontent

That like a sad angel o’ershadowed my way;

God’s light in my soul with the darkness was blent,

And my heart ever longed for an unclouded day.

And now I have flung myself recklessly out,

Like a chip on the stream of the Infinite Will;

I pass the rough rocks with a smile and a shout,

And I just let my God His dear purpose fulfill.

Hallelujah! hallelujah! my soul is now free!

For the precious blood of Jesus cleanseth even me.

Forever I choose the good will of my God,

Its holy, deep riches to love and to know;

The serfdom of love to so sweeten the rod,

That its touch maketh rivers of honey to flow.

Roll on, checkered seasons, bring smiles or bring tears,

My soul sweetly sails on an infinite tide;

I shall soon touch the shores of eternity’s years,

And near the white throne of my Savior abide.

Hallelujah! hallelujah! my soul is now free!

For the precious blood of Jesus cleanseth even me.

I think that song just might be my favorite. I don't know. It's hard to choose, but I do find myself singing it quite often. This next one I sing quite a bit, too.

Walking in sunlight all of my journey,

Over the mountains, through the deep vale;

Jesus has said, I’ll never forsake thee—

Promise divine that never can fail.

Heavenly sunlight! Heavenly sunlight!

Flooding my soul with glory divine;

Hallelujah! I am rejoicing,

Singing His praises, Jesus is mine!

Shadows around me, shadows above me

Never conceal my Savior and Guide;

He is the light, in Him is no darkness,

Ever I’m walking close to His side.

In the bright sunlight, ever rejoicing,

Pressing my way to mansions above;

Singing His praises, gladly I’m walking,

Walking in sunlight, sunlight of love.

Heavenly sunlight! Heavenly sunlight!

Flooding my soul with glory divine;

Hallelujah! I am rejoicing,

Singing His praises, Jesus is mine!

Lastly, these bits of wisdom from Proverbs was just what I needed for some situations in my life right now.  They are so fitting.  The first one: who doesn't want wisdom? Try being humble first.

Selections from Proverbs 11:

With the lowly is wisdom.

The integrity of the upright shall guide them.

The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way.

The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them.

In the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

A gracious woman retaineth honour.

There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth.

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

So, God has a purpose in his will for our lives even when things seem to be going wrong. Remember that which he has promised, and praise him for who he is.  Whether life is bringing you joy or sorrow, God's love can outshine that.

Blessings,

Alyssa

Thanksgiving

To be honest,

This has been a tough week.

We all pass through swollen rivers

At some time in our journey.

What do you do when you feel

The force of such a flood?

I say, praise God.

He deserves our praise

At every time,

In every situation,

And in every emotion.

So, to take my own advice,

I think I'll start praising him.

His ways are always perfect,

And I think him

And praise him

For his righteous judgments.

He leads me like a shepherd,

And I do not fear,

Because he has proved faithful,

And loving to me.

His mercy is everlasting!

He sees me in my weakness,

And loves me,

And in his strength,

I can rise above.

I praise him for his,

Abounding, unconditional love.

I feel it so strong in my heart,

And it is perfect in every situation.

He is great and mighty,

Yet, in love, he came to earth,

To live and die here,

That we might live forever

With him.

His greatness is unsearchable.

A human could not imagine

The height and the width

and the breadth thereof.

I thank him to the Bible,

His holy word,

That he gave us to

Bless

Encourage

Guide

Comfort

and

Strengthen

His little children.

I thank him for the days

Of cheer and happiness.

So many little blessings

Just because he love us.

I thank him for each day

Overshadowed with discouragement.

A time of strengthening

Just because he loves us.

I thank him

And praise him

For the life he gave me.

It is perfect.

All he does is perfect.

Bless his Holy name.

Amen.

Youth

Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. I Timothy 4:12

Though we might not hold a position as Timothy did, our lives should still be an example to those looking on.

I am challenged to reflect faithfully what a Christian should be in 

Doctrine

Conduct

Love

Spirit

Faithfulness

and Purity

The flower just ready to bloom may not look anything like the mature flower, yet it is still--in this case--an iris. Though young Christians are not at the same stage of growth as elders, the young are still a representation and should be an true example in holiness.

Blessings,

Alyssa

The Prayers That He Answers

“He hears every word we say, when we pray.”

I have lots of thoughts about prayers swirling around out there and showing up here and there in my journal.  Remember my post about praying continually?  Recently, I went back through the list that I made back then and added some more prayers we are told to pray.  This list helps me many times when I don’t know how to pray or what to say.

1.       That the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified (II Th 3:1)
2.       That the Lord of the harvest will send laborers into his field (Matt 9:38)
3.       That my faith fail not (Luke 22:32)
4.       For one another (James 5:16)
5.       That we be one as God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one (John 17:11)
6.       That I may have my joy fulfilled (John 17:13)
7.       That he keep us from evil (Matthew 6:13)
8.       That he help my unbelief (Mark 9:24)
9.       Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34)
10.   Thy will be done (Luke 11:2, Matthew 26:42)
11.   That my love abound more and more in knowledge and wisdom (Philippians 1:9)
12.   To be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (Colossians 1:9)
13.   For them that despitefully use you (Matthew 5:44)

I am challenged to make prayer a bigger part of my life.  I have actually had this blog post sitting around for quite a while unfinished.  I'm glad now that I haven't posted it yet, because I knew so little about prayer.  I have learned a little more through experience, but mostly, I have learned how much I don't know.  In a way, however, it is simple.  I sometimes try to over-think it.  Prayer is just communion with God--a holy God who wants to hear us pray.  

Many things should cause us to lift our hearts and voice in prayer to God.  Reading God's word should inspire prayer.  A trial, a need, a desire, a care, a worry, a burden, a thanksgiving, a question--all should be taken to God in prayer.  I think He especially delights in answering our prayers when we pray for a spiritual need.  Pray for a trial to teach you something, and just see how quickly God works.  If you are in a trial, pray that he will not take you out of it until you learn what he wants to teach you.  Try it.  It is harder than it sounds.  I tried it this summer with two circumstances.  It took me a while to get to the place that I could pray that way, but as soon as God showed me what I could learn through staying in the trial, I could say from the heart, "Don't take this trial away until I have learned your way."  It was amazing how quickly the trial began to disappear after I prayed that way. I even had to pray again that he would let me stay in it a little longer because I didn't feel like I had fully learned my lesson yet.  Those are the prayers he answers.

Then there are also the little prayers.  Are you at work and things get a little stressful?  Is there someone at school who is making life hard?  Do you ever get in a bad mood at home and know you need to "snap out of it"?  Say a prayer, and don't forget to thank Him later when he calms the waves.  He cares about our day.

The scariest thing, however, is always the unknown--our future.  Have you prayed about your future?  Do you know that God has a plan?  It pleases Him when we look to Him as we make plans and dreams.  Sometimes, it is harder to see him answer these prayers, but be assured that he has heard them.  Look back on your life and see how God has guided you in the past.  It is amazing, isn't it?  He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  He will continue to guide you.  It is you that must continue to follow.

Do you see how important prayer is and how much it should be a part of our daily life?  I will close with a quote that always challenges me (especially when talking about prayer):

"Let us remember that talking and writing about prayer is not praying. The devil does not care how much we discuss and applaud the subject, so long as we do not pray. A book on how to pray is good, but the best and only way to learn to pray is to do it." --How to Resist the Devil

Blessings,

Alyssa 

What's Right?

"He shall judge the world with righteousness."

Who's righteousness?  His righteousness.

Folks, we are going to be judged by His righteousness.

Anything less than His holiness and righteousness in us will be as wickedness.  Our ideas of right and wrong, if not aligned with the Word of God and His Spirit, will not save us when we are judged by the One who is pure and holy altogether.  I am so thankful for the sacrifice Jesus gave and the gift of the Holy spirit that we might obtain His righteousness.  When such a wonderful gift is ours, why settle for less?

Blessings,

Alyssa

(note: I have decided it is more interesting to post shorter, more frequent post rather than a weekly Photography Friday.  Therefore, I have said goodbye to Photography Friday, unless, of course, I ever want to bring it back.  Have a wonderful weekend!)

Fix Your Eyes

Time moves on.

Do you have a goal?

At the end of life,

You will arrive where you have fixed your eyes.

Let your affections be centered on the things above,

Not on the things of earth.

Where your treasure is,

There you will find your heart.

Seek those things which are above,

The graces of the Heavenly kingdom.

Seek,

And you will find.

Blessings,

Alyssa

Fighting Fears with a Spatula

My aunt gave me a spatula and asked if I wanted to keep track of a skillet of pancakes.  Of course I wanted to, but I almost held back.  I was at a young people's pancake feast, and all my friends and peers were around. What if I kept on burning them?  What if I under-cooked them?  Ah, the Fear of Failure is such a common face.  Does it keep me from doing other things a little more important that flipping pancakes?
Sadly, it often has hindered me from stepping out of my comfort zone.  What do I do about it?  How can I change?  Maybe I should just take the spatula and just give it a try--or like I did today, step on the skateboard and let it fly away without me (but that's another story).

Blessings,

Alyssa

Wise Words

Wise words come from wise women.  A sister at church, whom I almost think of as a grandma since my own Nanna passed away, shared this phrase with the congregation.

(Naomi speaking to Ruth) "Sit still, my daughter."

It blessed her, but I knew it was for me, too.

Blessings,

Alyssa

Salvation in Song

There are a couple of songs that seem to express the essence of salvation, and I have gotten a lot of good out of them this week.

#77 It Satisfies My Soul

For me the blessed Savior came,

His great salvation to proclaim;

Oh, glory to His precious name!

It satisfies my soul.

Salvation is unmeasured grace,

It fits us for the Christian race,

Unveils the Father's smiling face,

It satisfies my soul.

Salvation brings supreme delight,

It changes darkness into light,

And makes the Christian pathway bright,

It satisfies my soul.

Salvation brings abiding peace,

Its shining glories e'er increase;

Its flowing rivers never cease,

It satisfies my soul.

Salvation makes us happy here,

Surpassing all the earth holds dear,

And fills the drooping heart with cheer,

It satisfies my soul.

Salvation richer far than gold,

Than glit'tring gems that turn to mold;

Its wealth no language e'er has told,

It satisfies my soul.

This song lays a lot of claims about how salvation changes a life:  it satisfies, fills with cheer, gives unmeasured grace, etc.  When I was looking over all the words I felt really blessed to have a salvation that did all that.  I also thought that there are times that I feel these thing less than other times.  There are days when I am less than happy or my peace is less.  In these times, it is not a reflection on God's salvation, rather it is a indicator that I am not seeking and obtaining all that God has for me.  I remembered the time I discovered my mistake I had been making in Photoshop.  I got a lesson out of that experience that I still remember.  I recall coming very close to blaming a bad quality image on Ps.  However, I realized that I had too much confidence in the Adobe programs and too many great artists had proven it to be good to doubt it's quality, so I began looking for what I had done wrong.  Many people have proven Christ's blood as able to save from sin and satisfy completely.  Therefor, if our Christian experience does not satisfy us, we should look into what we are doing wrong and not blame it on salvation.  Salvation is great and able to do all this song says and more.  It is our pride, rebelliousness, slothfulness, and disbelief that keep us from experiencing full salvation.

#221 Following Jesus

Following Jesus, following Jesus,

Gently He leads me in the heavenly way;

Watching and praying, trusting obeying;

He will restrain me from going astray.

Ch.

Following Jesus, following Jesus,

Following Jesus by day and by night.

Watching and praying, trusting, obeying,

He is my helper in doing the right.

Following Jesus, following Jesus,

He who has suffered to redeem me form sin;

Oh, what a blessing, while I'm confessing,

He in His fullness is reigning within.

Following Jesus, following Jesus,

I am delighted with His wonderful love;

While I'm confiding, in Him I'm hiding,

Soon I shall meet Him in heaven above.

Following Jesus, following Jesus,

This is my duty for His goodness to me;

Joyful in glory, telling the story,

How in His favor I'm happy and free.

Ch.

Following Jesus, following Jesus,

Following Jesus by day and by night'

Watching and praying, trusting, obeying,

He is my helper in doing the right.

This song really encouraged me one morning before school.  I love thinking about how blessed it is to follow Jesus.  He has so many wonderful promises to those to obey and trust him.  I desire to enter more into this "watching and praying, trusting obeying."

Blessings,

Alyssa

Cast Thy Bread

May I attempt to share the great challenge I received from studying the 11th chapter of Ecclesiastes?  I remember one night, while singing #343 “Cast Thy Bread upon the Water”, I got very curious about the verse quoted.  Now, months later, it has opened a little to me.

Ecc 11:1-10

(1)  Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.  This challenges me to be generous with charity and, more importantly, sharing the gospel.  God has promised that—according to him—nothing will be wasted.

(2)  Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.   Temporally: The number seven indicates completeness, and eight is going beyond the normal.  There may also be a connection with the number eight and the last part of the verse.  Perhaps in normal times, you are required and able to give “seven”, but harder times may come and you may be called upon to give more than normal.  I think of the African missions.  They need reliable support throughout the year to have food for the orphans and to run the orphanage, but occasionally there are times when they are faced with a huge difficulty (such as a need for a well), and we are called upon to give “eight”.  Spiritually: Most of our life is spent living everyday life.  Of those days, God expects us to live holy and do what we know to do.  We must be ready, however, when he calls us to do more.  If we are faithful in giving God our “seven”, He counts on us to be faithful when he leads us to a greater work.

(3)  If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.  Temporally: All excuses are shallow.  We should be like the clouds who, when they are full, they give, and their giving is unbiased.  Spiritually: God has blessed me so much! If I am full the joy of salvation, I should share it with those God has put in my path.  Like the first verse says, I don’t know what good it will do, and I may think that it doesn’t change many people, but God says it will have return.

(4)  He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.  Temporally: Too much “observing” and trying to understand everything and attempts to calculate whether our gift will be profitable, will keep us from giving.  Spiritually: It is so easy to begin analyzing whether this person or that person is capable of accepting the gospel. It is not our place to decide, and it will hinder us in many circumstances from being a witness.

(5)  As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.  This is the argument against any protest: we do not know everything God knows.

(6)  In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

The last part of the chapter is good too, as it prompts young and old alike to remember eternity.

(7)  Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:

(8)  But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.

(9)  Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.

(10)  Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

 Blessings,

Alyssa

Sweet Savour

Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.  (Ecc 10:1)

What if I walked into a bakery and was met with the smell of a pig pen?  What if Bath and Body Works reeked of dirty laundry?  These two places have a reputation, therefore, it would be beyond disappointing if aroma of the place was less than desirable.  It would be offensive.  I have been near a pig pen and have endured it; however, if I stepped into a bakery shop that smell like that, I would step right back out.

Christians, people expect certain things of us.  The life we live give us a reputation.  How do we keep from spoiling that expectation of a sweet savour? (side note: the archaic definition of savour is similar to repute.)

I tried to look up verses about a sweet savour, and I found that the phrase is in the Old Testament a lot, and it is always in reference to a sacrifice.  Incense was also used in worship to God in the Old Testament.  I believe the analogy of these is the key to having a sweet savour.

The answer is to have a close personal relationship with God.  When we nurture a relationship with God through willing sacrifice (sweet savour) and prayerful communication (incense Rev 8:4), then our life will smell sweet to Him.  Furthermore, it is only important what God thinks of us.  Trying to always please people will put us under a bondage (I know this), but the bondage of love to Christ is blessed (I know this, too).  Most of the time, a life lived well before God will be pleasing to those around us too, but we cannot always depend on that.  Our focus must always be on God and how we can serve and please him.  May we strive to keep the dead flies (I think of that as selfish motives or desires) out of the ointment.

Blessings,

Alyssa

Of Great Price

...more than your dreams.

more than your appearances.

more than your opinions.

more than your time.

more than your money.

more than your life.

Isn't it somewhat liberating to realize nothing is worth as much as salvation and the knowledge of Jesus Chist?  Every time you give something up, you are breaking a band that is tethering you to this earth.  I have been thinking recently of what I can give up in order to have a closer relationship with my Savior.

Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.  (Php 3:8)

Blessings,

Alyssa

Beautiful

My theme the last two years has been that everything is beautiful.  Even during difficult times or times that I did not understand, I learned to look forward to the end when God would reveal the beauty of his works.  In some circumstances, it took only moments to understand and see the beauty, but often it took weeks or months before I could see any good come out of the situation.  We can be assured, however, that everything God does is beautiful.
As to the second part of this verse, this thought of eternity has also been on my heart at least a year or more. I remember one night, while in prayer, I received such a deep impression of eternity that I realized nothing in this life really mattered much compared to eternity.  The only things in this life that has any lasting value are those things done toward eternity.  Clarke's Commentary also has a good explanation: "God has deeply rooted the idea of eternity in every human heart; and every considerate man sees, that all the operations of God refer to that endless duration. See Ecc 3:14. And it is only in eternity that man will be able to discover what God has designed by the various works he has formed."

Just keep in mind: He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

Blessings,

Alyssa

My Fault

  Like I mentioned earlier in my post about rain, I recently learned what I had done to get such terrible resolution on my blog header. Here's the story, with a little lesson attached.
  I used a combination of Illustrator and Photoshop to create my design (Illustrator to create the graphics and Photoshop to assemble everything). I kept on noticing that the graphics looked very pixelated once I put them in Ps. In the past, I had not used Ps for much more than editing photos, so I didn't really know what to do. I finally concluded that it was because I had tried to copy and paste the graphics from Ai. I almost discredited the programs and accused them of not working together as seamlessly as claimed, but I have faith in the Adobe software (Adobe is my hero) and so I accepted the blame.
  I think sometimes we are tempted the same way in our spiritual experience. It is so easy to discredit God or his salvation and sanctification when we don't have the victory we want or we don't understand life. However, faith in God says that He is not the problem, but it is self that messes things up. A little more humility--a little more submission to his will--and victory can be ours. Any time the thought comes that there must be nothing to salvation, that is an indicator that self is becoming too involved in the situation.  God's plan is perfect.  Furthermore, I had to admit that there are amazing artists out there that do great things with Adobe programs.  There are also a "great cloud of witnesses" that can tell us that they were able by the blood of Jesus.  Therefore, let us stay encouraged and never give up our faith in God.

Blessings,

Alyssa

Perfect Timing

  This seems to have been the best year of my life, and this week was the cherry on top.  God has been so good in so many little and big ways.  For example, I suddenly decided I wanted to buy a camera NOW. :)  That’s kind of out of character for me, but I'm so glad I did this time.  I had been praying about going to a meeting this summer, and it seemed like it wouldn't be working out for me to go.  Then Friday (the day I was to get my camera by FedEx) daddy woke me up saying that I had a ride to the WV meeting if I want to go.  My sister and I left 4-5 hours later, the camera still in the box.  I had worried about it all morning, and it came moments before we left.  In the meantime our ride to WV--my mom’s cousin and his wife—were waiting around at the house for their daughter-in-law to get back so she could tell them bye.  At least that was the story they told—I choose to believe that they were waiting for FedEx to arrive (though they knew nothing of me getting a camera).  Isn’t that amazing?  I feel so blessed and humbled by the goodness of God.

   Well, I came back from the meeting with a soul full of encouragement and challenge and a 4GB memory card full of memories and mountains.  I couldn’t wait to look at the pictures on my computer.  Last night, I finally got to look at them, but was given a rude reminder that my Adobe trials (what I use for editing) had run out.  I had no idea when they would be arriving in the mail—well guess what FedEx brought this morning?  Could a girl be any happier over such little blessings?

   Again, I want to thank the Lord for the gifts he seems to be showering on me.  I think he’s trying to tell me to trust his timing.  I know that no matter how long I wait for something, God really does have the perfect timing.

Blessings,

Alyssa

Thoughts on Creation

     I find such pleasure in observing the world around me. I watch the changes of God’s wonderful creation.  The sun sets and rises; the earth circles round the sun; and the moon around the earth—what beautiful variations the movements bring! He did so much to make us happy, gave us everything we would need, and made it to fit us so perfectly. I wouldn’t change it if I could.

     Is it possible to even imagine a better texture for the expanse of sky above us. Perhaps a rougher appearance would suite it better than the gradients of color and soft accents and billowing contours of cloud. I think not! It is so perfect—a perfection that only God could create.

     The Oceans are majestic, but suppose a designer decided that it would be more pleasing to the eye—more awe-inspiring—if the waves were more opaque and did not catch and reflect the light as it does. What a sad change that would be to have the earth full of such dull masses!

     What of the flower—that flimsy creation! It should be a bit sturdier so that thousands of treading feet could not crush its beauty. In the sands of the dessert, so many colors are not needed. It would be more unified if each grain were the exact same hue. Now take the butterfly and get rid of it’s boring symmetry.

     While we are doing so well at changing the view, why not try our hand at changing the world too. Change the way we interact. Change the things we care about. Change what’s right, and change what’s wrong. Change the path that leads to Christ. Change what’s love, and change what’s hate. Change the laws of common kindness. Change the hard times—just get rid of those altogether. Don’t you think if we were God, this world would be so much better? I shudder, and I cringe. Never could a man make something as beautiful as God’s church, and his creations.

Blessings,

Alyssa