God's Blessings.

I know my posts can get pretty repetitive about how blessed I've been feeling lately. But I can't help but be blessed! There are so many things happening in the world today that are reasons why some lose hope and stray away from God but I know that God will always be there for us no matter what.

My walk with the Lord is still in progress but everyday I know I'm in safe hands. I know that He is doing great things in my life as long as I put my trust in Him. He has put people in my life that really help me grow as an individual. They are people who motivate and inspire me to never stop this journey with God. People who I can always talk to and people who will always be there for me. Being around people with the same beliefs as I is motivating because we can all learn from one another and keep each other on track when one feels lost. That is what's so amazing. Every youth night is such a big blessing to me because I believe that God has placed me within an amazing family that will stand in unity. The things that God has guided me through, what he has put in my life, and what he is taken out just proves that he knows what is best for us. He'll take things away to give us something better.

The fire that I had from camp is still lit. There was something about this years camp that was my push to become better. The love for God that I saw in the campers eyes was so beautiful. Everyone was so happy, so blessed, so moved. I became close to a lot of people this year. It is so important to surround yourself with people you know will help you grow. When you surround yourself with people who will stray you from your religion, people who will bring you down, people who will neglect you--that's where you start to feel discouraged and lonely. I remember being so upset for the longest time over something and just had everything else become negative and that started to pile up. I wasn't happy for the longest time and had to put on a fake smile to let everyone know I was "okay". But now that I'm putting my trust in the Lord, I can put on a genuine smile.

We need to remember that trusting the Lord is key. We need to trust that everything that is happening has a purpose. My family and I do weekly devotionals together but I honestly didn't read my bible everyday on my own but ever since a friend of mine emailed me one of his daily devotionals, I signed up for devotionals to be emailed to me everyday and that has helped me a lot. I now do devotionals everyday (almost everyday, but at least I read more consistently than I ever have!) I'll miss a devotional like once a week but I read it the next day as well as the devotional of the day to catch up. But overall, God is doing great things in my life and I'm so blessed.

He is guiding me through my studies, my relationships, my struggles, my pain--everything. There are some things at the moment with no answer, but in progress, that I really want answers to. Sometimes I get so impatient that I need to know what's going to happen with certain situations in my life. I pray for it everyday and I'm waiting and waiting for an answer but I have to remember that things will fall into place, not in my time, but in God's time. I need to discipline my impatience! But I know that's going to take a while because I'm so needy with answers because I don't like surprises. That's the thing with God's blessings though because there are so many blessings in disguise and it will obviously surprise us eventually.

I always want to bring my friends to youth nights, to bible studies, to my church concerts because I want them to feel what I feel about the Lord. I want to share the experience that I have received with the Lord in my life. But I know I cannot force people into something that they are not interested in. I try to motivate some people but it's so hard because sometimes they aren't even willing to make time for it. I've seen some people so close to me start to drift from the Lord but I know it shouldn't be a reason why I stop talking to them. I need to always be there for them and slowly introduce the Lord in their life. I'll admit sometimes I get discouraged with certain individuals because they always say they'll come to an event but end up not going and instead do something else that night like go to a party, a club, etc. It makes me really sad. I want to spend time with them but sometimes I feel like they just push me out of their lives because they have other friends who matter more, they have better things to do, etc. I think that's why I've kind of gotten a lot closer to the youths in church because they never make me feel neglected. I can't really explain it. I've gotten closer to the youth in church because I feel more secure and accepted there than around some people. I know they'll always be there for me and they know I'll always be there for them. But I can't help but pray and ask Him what I should do, how I should handle situations with certain people, etc.

Other than that, last night was youth night and it was a fun night like always! Can't wait to see them all again soon!

Charlene