Still Living a Life with Meaning...No matter the Circumstances

This is again not for a pity party but just to get some things off my chest that I have been dealing with a lot lately. Crohn's/Enteritis which is very similar has been giving me a run for my money so to speak for the last month and a half or so. With two flares which is a lot for me since starting the new medicine that had helped to at least put it in remission somewhat. GOD has blessed me with an amazing gastroenterologist who has also stuck with me through all of this which is more of a blessing than a lot of people know. Its amazing what GOD can use us here on earth to do whether we are a doctor, lawyer or just an ordinary business person. However sometimes we just have to continue to hold GOD's hand through it as He uses those people and believe that one day we will see His face and everything will be so much more than worth it. That doesnt change the fact though that its very frustrating when you are in college trying to accomplish GOD's will for your life, but I am determined to not give up because if the devil had it his way I would not be here at school doing GOD's will for my life. GOD has still been so amazing during this time. Through everything He has stuck right by me which has helped me through each day. WOW! what would we do without GOD with us through everything...Thank you GOD for everything you still continue to amaze me!!!
Also they are now looking into the possibility of me having something wrong with my heart. Which is also very frustrating and causing a lot of issues but GOD is still so much more than faithful and whether there is something wrong with my heart or not I will still trust GOD through all of this. However, I would like for the doctors to figure it out and not writing it off as something so that they dont have to deal with it. I cant wait to see who I am going to be able to reach out to now as a result of this. If its just one person it will so be worth every minute of it.

Being with my Bubba

When you are a kid normally you dislike your siblings very much because of sibling rivalry and other things like that. But let someone else do something to your siblings and it would be on. However, as time goes on a love grows between siblings that nothing and no one could ever come between. I had the amazing opportunity this past weekend to visit with my brother who lives in Germany and whom I hardly ever get to see. It was absolutely amazing to see him since I hadnt seen him since February and him getting saved in March just put icing on the cake. WOW!! My brother is absolutely amazing. In February about every other word almost literally was a cuss word. This past weekend however he never even slipped up and said a cuss word. GOD is so indescribably awesome. GOD has so transformed his life and that is what I have prayed for years would happen. He is raising the two most amazing little boys in the world and couldnt be happier. Bubba I love you and am so thankful for what GOD has done in your life and what He continues to do. Thanks for giving me the three most amazing nephews(Isaac, Caaleb, and Noah) and sister in law. I love you lots.

Back At School

I am so glad to be back at CBC. It seems like it took forever to get back but it was so worth the wait. GOD is so amazing and has already started doing stuff this year. I had the opportunity to spend sometime with my adoptive family tuesday night which is always amazing to be able to spend time with them and just talk about different things...GOD has blessed me with an absolutely amazing adoptive family at college. Being back with my best friend has also been amazing. We have so much fun together. She is my suitemate this year and we are so excited to see what the year is going to bring. Bro. and Sis. Baker are still on campus for this year as he is serving as our campus pastor which is exciting cause he is such an awesome man of GOD.
I am so excited about classes this year and to see what GOD is going to teach me through the classes...We serve an indescribably amazing GOD...WOW! what would we do without Him???... we wouldnt be here if it wasnt for Him... As for my church family back home I love you guys and thanks so much for your continued prayers as I pursue the call of GOD on my life!

Missing My Nephews

My nephew Isaac is starting 3rd grade which makes me miss him even more because that is something you want to be there with him for but I do know that is one of the sacrifices you have to make in the ministry and military. He is an absolutely amazing kid who I love and is one of the two best nephews that have ever walked the face of the planet. I cant wait to see him in December at CHRISTmas time. Wow! Isaac I hope and pray you have a great year in 3rd grade and I want you to know that your Aunt Cristy loves you very much and misses you and is very proud of you and who you are becoming and how you love JESUS so much. I love you buddy!
My baby nephew Noah is almost a year old. Oh my how time flies. He is standing up by himself and looks just like his daddy. It seems like just yesterday I was holding him when he was 4 days old. Wow! Noah I love you buddy and cant wait to see what GOD has in store for you.
I will see you guys soon.

Saying Goodbye for now to James Collins

Growing up in church has been and always will be one of the best things that my parents have ever done for me. As in any church family though you have certain people that you grow up with and at the time never really imagine you will have to say goodbye until we meet again in heaven. But this week I had to experience this for the first time with someone that I was pretty close to growing up and that was extremely hard. James Collins was killed last Friday, June 26, 2009, in a hit and run accident.
James Collins was a person that never met a stranger. He could enter a room and the atmosphere would change. He would light up a room with his smile. That was just him. He was a person that many people say they are very glad to be able to call him friend and I am absolutely the same way he was someone that I am sure no one is ashamed to call their friend. James was a United States Marine and very proud of it. James loved to dance before the LORD with his mom and by himself. Now he is just dancing before the throne. Just like Bro. Danner said at the funeral GOD just needed another soldier guarding His throne. He had a little boy named Dustyn James who has his daddy's hair and eyes. This has helped Ms. Cheryl (James' Mom) get through this difficult time knowing that there is someone to carry on James' name. His mom has been such an encouragement through all of this, she is a true blessing to know and may GOD bless her and her family and continue to be with them as they go through coping with the death of an amazing young man. It just goes to show that GOD knows what you have need of before you even need it.
GOD knew and still knows what He is doing through James' death because at his funeral 10 people raised their hands for first time salvation or to rededicate their lives to Christ. So yes we are saying goodbye to James for now, but we are also saying See you soon buddy...Cant wait to see you in Heaven.

My Nephews Visit

Over the last 9 days I got the awesome opportunity to spend time with the two most adorable boys that ever walked the face of the earth. They are my two nephews and they are absolutely amazing. I love them so much and miss them already, but very much appreciated the time I had with them knowing that it could be anywhere from 6 or 7 months til a year before I see them again. The baby is almost 10 months and has got to the point that he will give you a kiss and give you little love taps when he gets excited which just would make any aunt absolutely crazy about their little nephew. The 8 year old is a ball of energy that loves to play and rough house but knows how to get quiet when its time to get quiet. I miss them like crazy and wish they were here. Because even though I know with GOD's help that I will see them again its still hard to tell them "see you later"...until next time. Also I realized how amazing of a dad my brother has become. Growing up you never picture your sibling being an absolutely amazing dad who loves his kids unconditionally and cares about their feelings and what they do. Also seeing my parents as grandparents is amazing they are so in love with their two grandsons. I am so proud of my brother and hope he knows exactly how proud of him I really am. GOD has really blessed me with the two most amazing nephews in the world and I am so thankful for them.

Trusting GOD...No Matter the Circumstances

Talking to my best friend today made me realize just how much I appreciate my parents and an absolutely amazing best friend. How much I am truly thankful for my parents as well as my adoptive family at college. Also the friends that I have that are actually true friends and dont just act like it to my face and then act a totally different way everywhere else. God has been dealing with me to let go of some of those friends who arent truly being my friends but are just using me. He has shown me over the last couple of weeks that it is okay to be mere acquaintances instead of everyone being friends and what it looks like or how people act when they are just acting like they are your friend for various reasons. Now this doesnt mean that you arent friendly to everyone it just means that you cut off the trust you had for the people you thought were your true friends. Not to complain in anyway but just stating that when you go through everything that I have been through the last two years you see who truly are your friends at church and elsewhere. Just trust GOD in every situation like this and He will see you through...No matter the circumstances.

Missing my Best Friend

Wow! being away from people you love and enjoy being around makes you appreciate them a lot more. It gives a whole new meaning to the saying "you dont know what you've got til its gone." I am so blessed to have an amazing best friend that is there through everything no matter what. She is so fun to be with and around. Now that we have been best friends for going on nine months it seems like I have known her forever. We talk about everything. We encourage each other through every situation that arises and are just a phone call away when we are having a bad day or need to talk about anything. Having a best friend to me as a kid especially after I gave my life to Christ has always been something that I felt like God needed to send your way and choose for you cause He knows exactly what you need to help you through all of life's battles and to be there throughout thick and thin. I cannot wait for August to get here because I will get to hang out with her again and talk to her in person and do all the fun stuff that friends do. I miss her so much and cant wait to see her...Brittany I miss you and love you and I am so thankful God has blessed me with you as my best friend and know we will always be there for each other and stay best friends through everything no matter how far away from one another we live.

Missing My Brother and His family

Having a talk with one of my grandmothers last night made me realize how blessed I am to still have my brother living even though he is so far away and see through some pictures from this past year that God could call us home at anytime. You dont truly appreciate your family until you cant see them for weeks on end. With my brother in the military and me being called into ministry being away from one another is certainly something we are going to have to get used to. Having two absolutely amazing nephews and a wonderful sister-in-law makes it a lot harder. Especially when your nephews call you and tell you they miss you and love you which of course melts you. It also makes it harder when you only have one sibling and you are extremely close to him/her. During this time of being apart though you learn to appreciate the time you are together a lot more and then in turn you cherish that time and it holds you over to the next time you see them. It teaches you not to take the time together for granted as so many families do now days. Also it makes you pray harder that God keeps them safe and brings them back home safely.

Sharing Jesus with People

God gives us opportunities to share Jesus with people each and every day. Although for many Christians including myself this is not a strong point, however we are still asked by God to heed each opportunity that comes our way cause we never know when the opportunity that is opened to us is going to be that person's last chance to receive Christ before they are ushered into eternity. God always stands right by you in those times, but in the end it is always worth it to see someone give their life over to a loving and caring Savior who sticks closer than a brother. So remember next time you have the opportunity to share Christ with someone just pray and trust God to open doors and give you the right words so God can tug at the person's heart through the words that He says through you and remember He is there with you the whole time.

Blessings

I was thinking today just how truly blessed we are...We have our sight, we can touch, taste, smell and hear. These are just a few things that we take so for granted everyday unless we have a problem with one of these. As anyone with any kind of illness will tell you it brings these things and many others into a whole new light. It helps you to understand more of how quickly your life can be taken away from you, but as a Christian our lives are not really taken away because we go from this life into the marvelous glories of our heavenly Father whom we have waited so long to see.
I have also realized how blessed I am to have two absolutely amazing and handsome nephews that are both extremely healthy...Praise God!!! As well as a brother, sister-in-law, mom and dad and many other family members that are very healthy. God has blessed us in more ways than we can count and a lot of these we take for granted on a daily basis.
Being away from CBC has also made me realize how truly blessed I am to have an awesome best friend and lots of other great friends at CBC...As well as many amazing professors who are there every step of the way to help you if you need it, they have so much concern for each of the students and it is so evident. Also just how blessed I am to have an amazing adoptive family at college who loves me. All of these things we take for granted all to often and sometimes God has to bring us down to build us up so He can show us just how blessed we truly are.

Going Back to Bible School

Although God gave me a peace about leaving school...To leave Central Bible College on January 25th was hard, but its so exciting to know that I will be able to go back to on campus learning in August. I am so excited to start back learning in the classroom and with one on one contact from the professors who are absolutely amazing God fearing people. God is so good. I am so excited also to be able to spend time with my adoptive family and best friend as well as other friends there on campus that God has blessed me with and that I am so thankful for. God has even blessed me with more friends at the school since I left...What an undescribably awesome God we serve.

Illustrated Sermons at our Church

We had an illustrated sermon this weekend at Phenix City First. More than 50 people raised their hand to receive Christ for the first time or to rededicate their life to Christ. Which is just one of the many things that I have gotten to experience since I came home from college this semester for health reasons. Also three weeks ago we had another illustrated sermon which was called "heaven or hell." About 100 people gave their life to Christ or rededicated their lives in this one, including my Aunt Judy whom we have been praying for gave her life to Christ and my cousin and I got the awesome opportunity of helping lead her in the sinner's prayer along with my pastor as well as praying that God would sustain her in her Christian walk. Leading anyone to Christ is an absolutely amazing thing and feeling and leading one of your family members to Christ that you have been praying for builds your faith so much and gives you that same great feeling along with praising God for another soul that has been saved by the amazing power of Christ.

A Life with Meaning...No matter the Circumstances

This is not for a pity party or for anyone who reads this to feel sorry for me in anyway, however it is to get some stuff off my chest that I have been dealing with. I have thought many times how to live a life with meaning even while dealing with having a chronic illness. Being diagnosed with about seven different illnesses since the age of 15 doesn't make it any easier either. The best way to describe how to live a life with meaning no matter whether you have a chronic illness or not is having Jesus Christ as your heavenly father. He always brings peace to you in the midst of the storm and no matter the circumstances you may face. Having a chronic illness, however, can many times put questions in your mind like Why me, God? or Why now? or Why at this age? or Could I have done anything differently to keep from getting this? or What did I do to deserve this? and all of these are logical questions and should be expected to be asked by anyone living with a chronic illness or any illness for that matter.
Just to give you a little bit of history...I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease on December 13, 2007 after about six months of being sick and not knowing what was going on and many doctors visits. Now after almost two years of dealing with this they still haven't been able to find a medicine that takes all of the symptoms away, which anyone that has been through a situation like this can tell you it gets very frustrating after a while. However God is and has been still there and He is and certainly has still been faithful. For those of you who are reading this and don't know much about Crohn's disease in short it is an Inflammatory Bowel Disease characterized mainly by abdominal pain and diarrhea, but normally has many other symptoms and you can read more about it at ccfa.org. Not realizing it at the time, but God was going to use this not to break me, but to make me into what He had in His plan for me to be which I now know is a hospital chaplain and without going through this and God helping me to develop the desire to help others who are facing similar trials and tests I still would not know that. So thank God for the trial even in the midst of it.
No matter the circumstance you are facing just know that God is more than able to help you and get you through this time...No circumstance is to big for my God.