what is life? it is the flash of a firefly in the night. it is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. it is the little dhadow that runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. -crowfoot

The ABCs of God's Goodness: T

Trustworthy.

There is none other as trustworthy as our God. What we struggle with, as humans, is trusting when we are so unsure. God has created us and everything in our world and loves us always, surely we ought to give Him our trust each and every day.

Manage the situation. Don't let it manage you.

This idea found me this morning while i was sitting in RA training learning about conflict mediation. The presenters were two of my fellow RAs and they were doing a great job. They had many take home points and were very descriptive in describing different conflicts we may encounter. I was very engaged in this presentation with the RA frame of mind when all of a sudden my gears shifted.

I read on the powerpoint and heard one of the presenters say "Manage the situation. Don't let it manage you."

What came to mind was not two roommates fighting over spilt milk or a room full of drunk guys yelling at me for writing them up. Instead, many situations in my personal life surfaced. Situations where I had been managed, rather than being the manager myself.

And I am not talking about being the boss of a sitation and telling people what to do, or giving people the solutions that I would use to fix a problem they are facing. I am talking about managing myself within a situation so that I can better handle a difficult conversation, hearing bad or surprising news, or feelings after leaving a place where I felt annoyed or uncomfortable.

All too often I let myself be managed by things around me that I have absolutely no control over. I get upset and worked up about someone's actions and let it weigh me down for days.

I need to learn to manage situations.. manage myself and my feelings both while it is happening and afterwards. I think that I will find myself much less stressed if I remember this small phrase with such potential for positive change.

Do you manage situations or let them manage you? Something I had not thought much about until today.. but encourage you each to think about.

ashley marie

a new baby!
delivered 3 days before my second birthday
little did i know my world was about to change
a live in play mate, a partner in crime
the little girl i protected
the one i would cuddle with in my bed
we stayed that way until she started 2nd grade
holding hands when we walk, playing together everywhere
loving to learn together throughout the years at school
hide and seek with neighborhood friends
splashing in our pool, selling lemonade
hanging out with mom, our other best friend

a growing woman!
my goodness how beautiful
she glows when she smiles
gorgeous beyond imagination
a heart so strong and willing
my protector and encourager
she is the light of my life, my little girl
each day a blessing, to have her in my life
my guardian angel.. delivered right here beside me
ashley marie- you are my world.

The ABCs of God's Goodness: S

God is sincere.

One might think that with over 6 billion people on this earth, that God wouldn't be as sincere as He is. Don't for one second believe that.. each one of us is loved, sincerely. Our Maker knit each one of us uniquely and He is pleased with each of us, He sincerely cares for us and reaches out to our hearts and into our lives.

I am especially thankful for this attribute of God's goodness!!

Jesus ama El Callejon

Me with my class :)


Jeferny, my favorite little girl from the school where I taught.


One of dozens of murals painted by the Students International art site, pouring God's love and messages into the heart of this small community.

There are a ton of other photos on my facebook if you want to check them out there. These are just a few from the community where I taught. This is where I felt God most and wanted to be all day, everyday while I was there.

I am currently trying to raise funds to help two young boys from this school continue their schooling now that they have graduated from this small school. Please let me know if you are interested in helping to support them, no matter how big or small the countribution. I am selling glass bead bracelets for the cause to get things started, so please let me know if you would like to see them and may want to purchase one for God's little loves in the DR. :)

The ABCs of God's Goodness: R

God is in the business of revelation.

Not only did God speak His word through the book of Revalations, but He himself delivers revelations to His people and at His core, He represents this among many other things. He reveals His love to us each and everyday, both when we open our hearts to Him as well as when we least expect Him to show up. He discloses information to us about where to head in our lives. He longs for open communication with each of His children, to reveal His revelation to us.

snipits from The Shack

The Shack is an amazing book that I am thankful to have read. I had heard a lot about it from different people while I was in the DR but didn't give it much thought until I was at my aunt's house and saw it on her dining room table. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It is a heartfelt story about a man's tragedy and how God uses His great love to redeem all.

Here are a few of my favorite parts:

Nobody knows what horrors I have saved the world from cause people can’t see what never happened. All evil flows from independence and independence is your choice. If I were to simply revoke all the choices of independence, the world as you know it would cease to exist and love would have no meaning. This world is not a playground where I keep all my children free from evil. Is the chaos of this age that you brought to me, but it will not have the final say. Now it touches everyone that I love, those who follow me and those who don’t. If I take away the consequences of people’s choices, I destroy the possibility of love. Love that is forced is no love at all.

Most emotions are responses to perception—what you think is true about a given situation. If your perception is false, then your emotional response to it will be false too. So check your perceptions, and beyond that check the truthfulness of your paradigms—what you believe. The more you live in the truth, the more your emotions will help you see clearly. But even then, you don’t want to trust them more than me.

Religion must use law to empower itself and control the people who they need in order to survive. I give you an ability to respond and your response is to be free to love and serve in every situation, and therefore each moment is different and unique and wonderful. Because I am your ability to respond, I have to be present in you. If I simply gave you a responsibility, I would not have to be with you at all. It would now be a task to perform, an obligation to be met, something to fail.

Do yourself a favor and read this book!!

alive again

two months too long
away from her passion
a cold settling in
guilt along to accompany it
feelings of failure
how could she ever be so great
isn't he the savior, anyway?
tossing and turning
restless nights
leave everything behind?
what is she doing wrong?
where has he gone and why so far away?
she needs to get a grip and dust herself off
time and again, she just stumbles and falls

prayers crying out
please rescue this soul
she can't see a thing
it's so so cold
she wants to be held
to be shadowed from the world
hold her, love her, remind her
she wants you and needs you
but can't seem to find you..

a dawning, a new day
her savior in sight
words of encouragement
a complete turn around
this could be only his work
he is the light of the world
he is her savior and friend
she is filled with his love
his everlasting love
no longer blind sided
just set on a path
the one less followed
but with such reward
the gift of loving
the joy of blessing others
the absolutely delight of being filled with Jesus.
he is alive
she is alive again.