The beauty of marriage

When I first looked him in the eyes, I knew that he was a special man, like no other I had come across. It was my first day as a student librarian assistant at Alden Library, and something about him was refreshing. All the librarians seemed to adore him, and I could sense a gentleness about him. I also couldn’t help but think he was handsome, and I hoped he had similar feelings about me. As he introduced himself to me, he commented on how beautiful my name and I was flattered.I could only talk for a few minutes because we were switching shifts, but something in me hoped that we would get to spend more time together in the future. I was slightly nervous after the abusive previous relationship I had left, but after having had time to heal, I decided to take another chance. Sure enough, three weeks later we were able to work together and that is when everything worked out perfectly. I could tell that I was going to have a special relationship with Robbie and I was excited to see where it would go. When we worked together, I felt like I had known him all my life, even though we were just getting to know each other. The Holy Spirit gave me assurance that he was a good once to pursue, and now we are married. He truly is my soulmate, and we understand each other well. We both have had to endure the woes of abuse in this lifetime, so we both vow to never hurt each other the way others have hurt us. I’ve never had such a connection with anyone else in my life.

It has been a year since we said I do, and this past year has been nothing short of amazing. I have truly been blessed to have married my best friend, and I am so thankful that we can share a life together. Marriage is one of the best gifts from God, and it is a beautiful thing. It certainly isn’t all flowers and sunshine, but with God you can overcome any obstacles that life throws. Our first year of marriage had many trials, some more than other newlyweds have to endure. However, God helped us through each one and our marriage grew stronger as we loved each other through each trial. The first one came right as soon as we got back from our honeymoon. My husband had been laid off for about a month already, and was applying for jobs left and right. He was getting interviews, but no offers. I had to travel to Columbus to work a second job while also being a graduate student supervisor at Alden Library, so that we could get by. There were times we had to several days without seeing each other. I also had a struggle with depression that made it hard to even get out of the bed some days. I was so happy to be married, yet I had barely enough energy to work and take care of the pets the first few weeks. Panic attacks were really bad some days, that I would crawl to bed when one came on because my chest burned so bad. It was so strange as I never really struggled with depression before, but thankfully I overcame that phase. Also, about two months in, God provided a job for Robbie. It wasn’t a dream job, but it was a job that helped pay bills. Things were finally getting good until I got a call the last week of September that would be life changing. It was from my mom. My dad couldn’t get off the couch and she knew that something was majorly wrong.

We made our way to Columbus as soon as we could, and the next day we found out that my dad had a second stroke(he had one when I was 12). My mom saw him almost die more than once as the doctors struggled to regulate his blood pressure. He could barely talk and move half of his body. For two weeks doctors struggled daily to find a way to regulate his blood pressure. I stayed with my sister 12 hours at a time, as she can’t handle hospital atmospheres with her special needs. Robbie would come see us when he was off of work and we stayed at my parents house to support my sister and mom on and off for about a month. I still worked on my Masters while all of this was going on, and I knew God would eventually shine sunlight at the end of this massive storm. When my dad began to heal, it was apparent there would need to be someone else to help with my sister because he would no longer be able to do it. That’s when Robbie and I knew that we needed to move to Columbus. We still had several months left at our place in Athens and it was so hard to find subletters, but we trusted God. Then it happened, one weekend after watching my sister for a while, we toured places that we might live at in the upcoming summer, or if God made a way for us to move sooner..and he did make a way. That following Monday we told our landlord all that was going on, and she put out ads trying to get our place rented for us. It was a blessing in itself to have a nice landlord like her. She would talk your ears off for hours and was very pleasant. A few days later, a nice couple came who needed to move in 2 weeks or less, and  wanted our place. So we were able to move to Columbus to be closer to my family, and God blessed us with a much nicer place to rent than our first place. Robbie’s job let him transfer to a location in Columbus, so that was a blessing too. Slowly but surely my dad made progress, and he has come a long way. God is good all the time.

The next trial would be the car accident. While working, my hubby had a fender bender that totalled his car. It was very stressful and we felt as though there was no hope, but we clinged to God’s truth that he would provide all of our needs. God never lets his children down, and He didn’t let us down. About a month and a half of wondering how we were going to fix the situation. God made a way for us to get a new car. He also has alas answered our prayer about a job in Robbie’s field too. He also made a way for us to enjoy a great one year anniversary trip, allowing me to finally meet Dolphins, go the Bahamas, and experience a cruise. Our God is such a good God. We had to wait a year for God to open the doors, but he did. Sometimes he tells us to wait, and that is the hardest thing. But friends, God always has good for those who put their trust in Him and His Son Jesus. Now that I’ve spoke about some trials we’ve overcome, I’d love to share some special things about our first year together :)

Our first few months of marriage were a learning curve, but it was a fun one. Learning how to live together and make decisions together is a cool experience. We also enjoyed many summer evening walks together with Luke, and some of the other dogs we fostered. We had a border collie for a bit, and we would have kept her had she not had some resource guarding issues when it came to Robbie. She knew better than to growl at me, but she wouldn’t let any other person near him besides me, and she bossed Luke and Chloe around too much lol. She has a great home at a farm though, so she still lucked out. It was cool to have a border collie for a few days. Our next foster was a dachshund mix that looked a lot like Luke. Lady was really sweet, but she was so scared of everything that she would hold her bladder for days at a time. We knew a busy apartment with dogs everywhere wouldn’t be an environment she would thrive in, so she found another foster. Then we had a pomeranian for awhile, named Leia. Leia was really cute, but she didn’t like Luke. No matter what we tried. She lives with a friend now and I get updates, which I love. One day we would love another dog, but for now we are content with our dog and the kitties. But hey, it was a learning experience and fun too. Another fun thing was learning meals we loved together and decorating our place together. Being able to shop together and explore town together has also been lovely. Oh, and my favorite is simply being able to share a life story with a great person. Someone who gets me, who loves me completely, who treats me well, who is my best friend. Cuddling together giggling and having life conversations has to be one of my favorite activities. I am so thankful God gave me a lovely man to call my husband. Here’s to one year of marriage and a lifetime of more :).

How God used a hurt finger to reveal more brokenness in need of healing

About a month and a half ago, I hurt my middle finger while at work. I could not bend it at all for several days, and it made doing the most mundane tasks difficult. Luckily, it was only a sprain, but it was still badly torn to the point that I had to wear a splint for several weeks. I can remember feeling deeply saddened over the fact that I couldn’t use my left hand much, the day after the incident. I wasn’t just sad about the pain, I was upset at my body for getting hurt. I felt as though this injury was getting in the way of me helping others, and doing my job effectively, so I began to feel worthless. I began having thoughts that I wasn’t good enough, and how awful it was that I was disappointing people by not being able to do things as fast I was able to with a normal finger. That Friday night I didn’t want to do anything but lie down in bed, thinking about how awful this situation was, because it limited my ability to do things for others. It was that night and the days to follow that I began to see that was working on fixing more than a sprained finger; He was working on fixing my people pleasing heart.

About four or five days after my injury, God showed me that the reason I was so upset about my finger was because I was upset about not pleasing those around me, and he was right(He always is). I have always been a people pleaser all of my life, but it didn’t really occur to me how detrimental this can be. You see, God loves it when we help others, but not when we put people pleasing above pleasing God. I have a hard time dealing with upsetting those I care about, but sometimes God may ask me to do something that not everyone agrees with, and I have to be okay with that. I assumed that by pleasing others I was making God happy, but I can look back on my life and see many times where that has led to sin because I enabled bad behaviors, or indulged in a sin just to make someone else happy.

Another aspect with people pleasing that has harmed me and my walk with God at times is how I view myself. I try to live my life very in tune to the Holy Spirit, seeking it for guidance on every decision I make. I am human, so there are a few times where I fail to do this, but for the most part it’s how I live my life as a Christ follower. It seems that when I am seeking God the most and living my life for Him, I have a few people in my life who are extremely critical of me. There are some people in my life who try to make me second guess every decision I make, and they even go as far as calling me things such as “stupid” or “too young”. There are some who say spread untrue slander and rumors about me, and dismiss everything about me. They accuse me of lying about my mental health for attention, or they simply say that I am not qualified to be used by God. I know I shouldn’t let these type of people influence me, but if I’m being honest they have influenced how I’ve thought about myself, and at times have made me take a step back from seeking God’s big plan for my life. I believed the mean things they told me and began to internalize it over the years. I began seeing myself as inferior to others, and began believing that God really couldn’t use a “failure” like me. Some of these individuals are people that I could cut out of my life, such as an emotionally abusive ex, while others are relatives that I cannot get away from.

This past month and a half has had it’s own trials outside of a hurt finger. My husband and I had our car totalled, and I had a family member that has been hanging on to life due to a medical condition. I’ve also had a someone specifically attacking me every chance they get, trying to hurt my feelings and my marriage, even though I have never done anything to them.  However, through these trials God has been calling me to cling to him and to  give up wanting to please others so much. He has revealed to me through his Spirit that he does have big plans for me, plans to prosper me and for a bright future. (Jeremiah 29:11.)

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).

He has blessed my husband and I with the chance to get our own car together and he continues to pour out blessings. He also has revealed a few spiritual gifts that I weren’t aware that I had.  He continually reminds me that His opinion of me alone matters, and through this I am finally beginning to  see myself surrender the people pleaser in me. I wish I could say that I am completely immune to the people pleasing trap, but I can say that I am on the right path and that I am one step closer than I was yesterday. I will keep running the race and one day people’s opinions of me will not cause self-harm thoughts. I also know that with God and Jesus on my side, their opinions will not stop his plan to use me for His glory. God has also recently brought some people in my life who edify me and point out the good they see. I’ve had some believing friends not too long ago share that they could see God using the gifts of wisdom and discernment in me. My pastor told a week ago when I got baptized that God revealed to him that I have been gifted with a gentle spirit, and that many will want to attack me for it, but to remain gentle and not stoop to their levels. He assured me that I had a personality that contained the fruits of God’s Spirit, and that I will be blessed. I am thankful God has put people in my life to remind me that I am more than Satan's lies.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV)

I hope that through my experiences with people pleasing you can find hope that God can help you too if you struggle with it. God has more for you than what others think of you, and the only opinion that matters is His. If you struggle with Depression or Anxiety disorder and ever want to talk, I’m here. I have both. God’s goodness and love is what keeps me going. If you’ve never accepted Christ as you personal Savior, you can accept him now as you are. Simply ask him to come into your heart and ask him to forgive you for all of your sins. Then ask him to guide your life and be your personal savior, and he will bring healing in your life too. God bless my friends <3

I've been hurt by other Christians and I want you to know God can heal you too if you've ever been hurt!

Something that the Holy Spirit has put on my heart lately is the topic of dealing with some deep rooted hurt that I have experienced by Christian organizations, other Christians, and even Christian leaders. He has been working  on restoration for a lot of hurt I've experienced and false teachings that were detrimental to my walk with God rather than edifying. My hope is that by sharing my struggles of where I've been, the truth God has revealed to me in my heart, and where I am at now, I can help you too if any of you have ever been hurt by Christians or if you have been bullied by other Christians simply because they didn't like you. I want you to know that no matter who you are, you are valued by God and Jesus. If you have accepted Jesus into your heart, then other believers are brothers and sisters to you, and they should never EVER treat you as though you are inferior. If you don't know Jesus as your savior, we as Christians are still called to show you love and compassion, and to share the gospel with you. However, if someone treated you as if you were less than human or inferior because they were Christian and you were not, then they were wrong as well. If anyone treats you as less than what your worth is, please RUN. I wish I would have ran sooner from certain situations, but I believe that God is a good God and that he will use it as a way to help others. Here's my story:

    

 Many of you may or may not know that ever since middle school, I have had someone always trying to belittle me and make me feel as though I am less than others. It started with several girls constantly making fun of me because I used to be shy and timid. They would call me fat, ugly, they would make fun of my light skin color(for someone biracial), they would call me a poodle because of my hair. A few of them even told me that they wished I were dead, and that no man would ever want me(not that I cared at that time, I wasn't interested in a dating relationship). Anyway, I would internalize those things even though I knew that I had worth in Christ because it seemed so true. The devil was so good at tricking me into believing I was less than others. My friends would even say that I was weird and stupid, so for a while I assumed it was true. I never shared it with my mom until high school because I was too embarrassed. In high school I learned more of who I was as a person and who I was in Christ, but at times that inferiority complex would still nag at me. I tried my best to ignore it though as I went to church more and had better friends. However, high school had some events that made me question my worth once more, despite knowing I had a relationship with God and that I was righteousness in his eyes thanks to accepting the gift of salvation from his son Jesus. You see, just because we accept Christ doesn't mean we are always in tune with him and it doesn't exempt us from sin and the devil's schemes to try and wreck our lives. He can't steal our salvation, but he does a good job of making us miserable if we don't recognize his attacks.

  Sexual assault from a stranger at a random store and having a leader from my home church humiliate me because of my top were two high school events that hurt me the most. I was already terrified of men I didn't know after my experience, and it just made me more distrusting of men and even church leaders after someone said such mean things to me. It was the way I was spoken to and what was said that hurt. I was told that I should be ashamed of myself for wearing a top that was slightly low cut because it was causing her husband and the pastor to sin, and that I was awful for causing others to sin. I had no idea my top was slightly revealing quite honestly, and I would never purposely cause any man to fall into sin, especially married men and a pastor. The words stung and they made me feel as though I was a mere object. God only cared about men and not women, that is what I got from that kind of statement. That isn't true and it took me quite a while to realize that.

A few months later it didn't make it better that my first boyfriend, who was a "Christian" from my friend's church, would always manipulate me and try to get me to sleep with him, even though I kept telling him no because I knew that God would want me to remain pure until marriage. I thought that because he went to Church and said he was a Christian, that he loved Jesus and that he would treat me right. The way he treated me made me think that all Christian men were like that, and it made me a little sad. I eventually left him after he cheated on me. However, after the hurt I went through with him and even how some more "fake" friends treated me, I thought that my purpose in life was perhaps to be abused by others. I had people who hated me for no reason even though I tried to be friendly with them. I had an ex that was Christian but treated me like an object. I had a Christian leader basically tell me that I am the reason men sin and that they aren't accountable for their actions. I thought that maybe God wanted me to get hurt by others instead of other people getting hurt because I would still be able to share the gospel with them, and since I was "inferior" it didn't matter if I got hurt. One day I told my mother this, convinced it was true, and she was heartbroken. My mother assured me that God would never want me to be hurt, and that I couldn't let others define me. She prayed over me and we read scripture on my worth. After that moment I began to seek how God really viewed me, and to believe that.

In college I joined Campus Crusade for Christ(Cru) hoping that it could connect me with other Christians so that we could grow together in our walks with God and edify each other..and it did..at first. I met a few new friends and I felt God was moving in my life. Through Cru I went on my first mission trip and learned the importance of being able to share the gospel with complete strangers, and I learned the importance of spending time with God everyday. A lot of my peers became bible study leaders the next year, and I wanted to become one too because I wanted to lead other younger girls to God and I had a firm understanding of the word. Yet, many of my friends became leaders and I didn't because I apparently wasn't ready. I accepted that and went on continuing to grow in my walk with God. Fast forward to my junior year, I met my now husband and he became interested in knowing Jesus personally, so we both went on the spring break mission trip together. It was a great trip and I saw my husband grow so much spiritually in that week. (Little did I know that was the time he actually accepted Jesus into his heart. My spirit noticed how on fire he was for the Lord and now I know why ;)). The only problem I had with the trip, is people kept saying that we were too committed and serious to each other, and that we should only see each other once a week. We were just like any other Christian couple, and we had boundaries in our relationship. We noticed that no one else was treated the way we were by leaders, and it felt strange. I knew of other people on the trip who were living openly in sexual sin with their significant other, and they were not treated the way we were. We were trying our best to live a Godly life and lead a Godly relationship. Why was there opposition? I could understand if we were crossing boundaries we shouldn’t and they knew us both well, but the leaders barely knew us and our relationship. Nothing they told us about our relationship was biblical and I felt awkward, as if I didn’t fit in with the organization. There was even one leader who said very negative things(that weren't true) about me to my now husband. Why? How was this Godly, and what was the point? Now we get the final laugh because we knew we were meant to be together and the devil didn't get his way of splitting us apart. Our experience goes to show that satan can even use Christians to sin and try and destroy.

The following year was my senior year of college and I had been given a leadership position in Cru, but not a bible study leader. I was a missional leader, which meant that I planned get togethers for the bible study that I was assisting with in order to get to know the girls better and to develop lasting relationships. I felt very excited because I love people and I love planning get togethers, so I thought I would finally be able to serve God and others at my full potential. I noticed only one other girl was a missional leader in our group of leaders, and that the rest were bible study leaders, but that didn’t concern me. Things went great at first, and during fall retreat I felt like  I had bonded very closely with each of my bible study girls. I was trying my best to be a Godly example to them. I wanted them to feel that they could trust me with anything and I wanted to gently teach them God’s truth in his word and lead by example. In fact, three of those girls are close friends to this day. One was in my wedding this past summer and is one of my best friends. It has been a pleasure to see her grow in Christ and to have such a lovely sister in Christ. So yes, there were many blessings that did come out of me being a part of Cru because God is good and has nothing but the best for his people. Yet, along with the good came very much hurt and isolation.

Weekly we would have a bible study for just leaders and it was great at first...until I noticed that I didn’t fit in. I could tell that I was an outcast and that there were more “popular” leaders. There were a few genuine girls who did say that they appreciated me and that they liked it when I spoke up, but I could tell that I wasn’t wanted by most. One of the leaders of our leadership bible study made it very clear she didn’t like me and that she didn’t believe I should exist. Let me explain; she believed that white and black people really didn’t belong together and that they shouldn’t marry. She may have not blatantly said she hated biracial people, but that statement and her actions spoke louder than words. She was supposed to disciple me weekly and she only met up with me once or twice, while she made sure to disciple all of her other girls regularly. She seemed bothered by my presence and annoyed by me. Others even noticed how she treated me differently. My bible study girls even pointed it out to me. I tried so hard to be the best leader I could be and to show everyone love, even her. Eventually I felt as though I wanted to disappear and that everyone would be happier if I weren’t alive. I began wishing that God would just take me to Heaven already because I had been failing him since I clearly wasn’t as good of a leader as the others. If even Christians didn’t like me, then I guess I had failed as one and that I didn’t have a good purpose. For the first time in my life I wanted to hurt myself, and if it weren’t for God making sure I had a caring roommate Kristin, my dog Luke, and my now husband Robbie in my life to notice something was wrong and to act, I don’t know what would have happened. You see, I was at a very low time in my life not just because of them, but because of a dangerous situation I had been put in thanks to a backstabbing frienemy and the ex I dated in college before Robbie. It goes to show that isolation can devastating for the believer. We need real Christian companionship or we will fall.

So that ex. Well he was once again a “Christian” and he did a better job of putting on a front than my first ex did, at first. I won’t go into the details of our relationship because that is neither here nor there, but when he broke up with me my sophomore year of college, he showed his real colors. He became very controlling and manipulative. It took a lot of strength to cut ties with him because he preyed on my sympathies and always apologized for his sinful behavior. We had been broken up for several years when he apologized over Facebook for the way he had treated me. I accepted it and talked to him a bit and then blocked him because I felt it wouldn’t be appropriate to be friends with him. A few months later he thought it was ok to begin stalking me and threatening me. He would show up at Cru events and try to get physically close to me and follow me into the hallway. Luckily a good friend of mine saw his behavior and wouldn’t leave my side. She said she could see the “crazy” in his eyes and she wasn’t a fearful person. I was literally afraid for my life as this man owned guns and wasn’t mentally stable(which I didn’t know when I dated him, else I never would have). One of my former friends thought it would be cute to tell him places I would be at and to hang out with him, knowing he was stalking me, because she always had to have drama in her life. It got to the point where if I had to tell Cru about it and their response was to meet up with him in public and tell him to leave me alone. I felt as though they didn’t really care about how serious or dangerous my situation was, and that was once again another stab to my wound.  At that point, my common sense told me to go to law enforcement authorities and now I am safe thankfully. I still felt so low and meaningless, so I began to distance myself from Cru.

I began attending church with Robbie and I went to a Sunday bible study there. I felt myself growing again spiritually and I began to realize that I did have worth once more. The more I attended church on a regular basis outside of Cru, the more I realized that God does have a purpose for me and that he had great plans for me. I began to see how Christians really treat each other and I had a pastor that was actively involved in both mine and Robbie’s life. All the leaders at the church praised us for deciding to make God such an important part of our lives and loved that we were following Jesus together. They knew that we were meant to marry, just like we knew. We just waited for the proper time, as God’s timing is always best. They never told us unbiblical things or made us feel like an outcast. They showed us there were real authentic Christians who actually loved us and wanted to get to know us. They wanted to edify us and help us be all we could be. That was refreshing and amazing. I will always cherish my time at Albany Baptist Church in Athens, Ohio. Oh and go figure, it was also the church that my crazy ex went to. They knew this and they knew that it didn’t matter because everyone is welcome in God’s house. However, they wouldn’t tolerate it if he tried to harm me. He and his family quit going eventually because they didn’t want to be around us, and that is ok with me. I pray that they find the truth and a church that suits them.

I have continued to grow ever since I broke free from the burden of Cru controlling my life. I am still healing and growing though, which brings me to the main reason I felt led to write this post. One thing Cru and other Christians drilled in my head that I thought was true was the fact that I need to be the light in the lives of others, even if it means that I am uncomfortable or taken advantage of. I knew that my ex had no right to treat me the way he did, but I didn’t see that in other situations. I have a few friends that I are non-believers that I have shared the truth with many times, and they still choose not to accept Christ. I thought that if I stayed in their lives trying to lead by example and telling them what Christ has done and continues to do for me, that one day I would see them accept him. I had planted the seed many times, and I thought it was necessary to continue planting the seed in hopes that one day it would get watered. Well along the way one of them has began to try and manipulate and control me any chance that she gets. She always has something negative to say about every aspect of my life. She insults my looks and always mentions how annoying it must be to have my hair. She tells me that I am stupid and that I am wasting my time getting my Master’s degree because it is a waste of money and that I won’t get a good job. She tells me that I shouldn’t live in a nice area because it is too much money and that I need to buy a house already. She tells me what type of dog to like and what type of dog not to like because the breed of dog she likes is superior. She tells me not to buy something because surely I can’t have the money for that. She makes recommendations for what clothes I should wear. She thinks I should make decisions without my husband knowing. They have mocked my beliefs before by saying something else is their rock and savior like Jesus is mine. What sucks is I have known these people so long and I felt as though I am obligated to stay a part of their life because the one who was my best friend growing up doesn’t have any other friends. I felt as though I was betraying her if I cut ties. However, since they want me to dishonor my husband and they don’t respect my religion/faith, I have made the decision to finally cut them out of my life after knowing them for so long.

Cru would tell me to still be a part of their life because they need the light, but God is telling me that I’ve done all I can do. He calls us to plant the seed and then leave the rest to him. 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 says : I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. I planted the seed, now is time for someone else to water it and God will grow it. I am not God so my part is done. The best thing I can do for them is to walk away and let God keep working.  If I remain friends with them, it could harm my marriage and my walk with God eventually. Plus I hate how they make me feel as if I am worthless. God has revealed to me that he doesn’t desire that I remain with people who want to harm me and his plan for me, and he doesn’t want us to be around mockers. Let me be clear, we are certainly called to be friends with non-believers so that we can show them his truth and share the gospel. However, if that friendship causes you to fall into sin or they begin mocking your faith, then it is time to forgive and move on. This is a huge thing for me as I hate cutting ties with people, but I know that it is the right thing to do. I will continue to pray for them and God will take care of it from there. It is so freeing now that I understand that it is okay to let people go if necessary. These friends are just one example of how I’ve struggled with staying around people who hurt me because I thought I would upset God if I left the relationships behind. I know many of you have probably felt the same, and this is why I wanted to share this with you.

Friends I want you to know that it is okay to leave a situation if you are being hurt over and over again, and if you have planted the seed by sharing the gospel. I also want you to know that you are loved and cherished, and that no human determines your worth whether they are other believers or not. We all fall short of the glory of God and people will hurt us. The important thing is to forgive and move forward. Forgiveness doesn’t mean we have to go back to the way things were before or that we even have to have contact for those who have hurt us. What it does mean is that we give it to God and we don’t harbor any bitterness toward them. We then pray for their salvation and healing and move on. If you are reading this and you aren’t saved, I pray that you take a moment to ask Jesus into your heart as Lord and Savior of your life, and that you ask him to forgive you of your sins. He accepts you where you are, all you have to do is accept his gift and he will reveal himself to you. I hope for any of you that are reading this that you have been encouraged to serve the Lord more, to give any hurt to him, to forgive and to remove anyone that hinders your walk with God and your well-being. I also want to say that I don’t hate Cru or think that the entire organization of Cru is bad, there are just some major flaws I have seen and it, and actually every since Christian college organization I have been a part of. There are many benefits to them, but you have to know when truth is being spoken to you, or when someone is trying to make their opinions fact instead of Biblical truth. God bless <3.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[a] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Who knows, my doggie may actually be a great fit for the job. :)

Hello all, I hope you are having a lovely Sunday. I wanted to update you on what I have decided to do thus far regarding the panic attacks. Since it costs so much to acquire one through a program, I have decided to train my own. As some of you may already know, my papillon/ pomerinian mix Luke Bryan is very friendly and full of energy(did I mention full of energy lol), so I thought he would automatically be disqualified right off the block. However, I decided to give it a shot as it doesn't hurt to try things, and so far  I have been amazed by what has happened in just a little over a week. In just a little over a week, Luke has been real receptive to learning to sit and stay for periods of time even with distractions. He also has learned to give deep pressure therapy, to walk at my side(he still pulls at time, but the head halter has been helping him so much), to stop when I stop, and to focus on me even when someone else he knows is screaming his name. Today was the turning point when I realized that he might actually make it.

We were taking  nice afternoon walk down the busy sidewalk near my apartment, when something told me to drop the leash and tell him to stay in place. I know what you are thinking, that I am out of my mind. I would have thought the same myself, but I prayed and then I told him to sit and stay, while casually dropping the leash and walking a few steps away. To my amazement, he stayed despite cars going buy and people biking on the sidewalk. He didn't move until I gave him the correct command and he made sure that I was ready to walk before walking. If that is not God working I don't know what it is. :) So we decided to take it a step further and try it again on the bike path. Again he stayed despite people walking and children, and I was able to walk 10 feet away.  It was incredible! The last thing we tried was him heeling next to me without me holding the leash, and again he actually walked several feet next to me. I didn't want to overwhelm him, so I only did that for a few min. However, I never in a thousand years would have dreamed of him being off leash. Just a few months ago and even a few weeks ago, I would have thought he would have ran off.

I am very impressed with his progress this week and a half, and I hope he continues to do well. If for some reason he does wash out, as that is common with trying to find the ideal service dog, then I will adopt another young adult dog that will make it. I know no matter what God is in control and his will will be done. At the same time, it is so exciting to see my hyper dog learn to focus only on me and be so good! I am including the video links so you all can see for yourself ;). So ya, I am very excited for the future either way, and I will update you all again soon. Have a blessed night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG2tr2SY02Y

Luke

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmH7IzA4eTc

When life decide's to throw you lemons, you make lemonade with your service dog right by your side

Hello everyone,

I hope you enjoyed reading my testimony blog post, and that it was able to feel encouraged and love by it. I love helping people out, and encouraging others makes me very happy. The Lord has blessed me a lot, and I love being able to use my life as a way to point people to Christ. I often enjoy helping others, but don't like asking others for help. However, this time it is out of my control. I have been battling with an illness for a while now, and have recently made the decision to get help for it. The illness is not life and death, thankfully, but it has been impacting my life more than I would like to admit. It is genetic, and it can be debilitating at times to the point where I cannot focus on a task I am doing and I began to feel disoriented. Sometimes it can take 30 minutes or longer before I am able to regain focus and recover. It has gotten worse this past year, so my doctor has recommended a service dog.

The dog can be trained to be able to detect when my body is about to have an episode, and to do tasks to make me recover quicker. As a dog lover, I was excited to find that a dog could literally be my best friend and help  me not be set back by the sudden, unexpected attacks that happen to my body. However, the costs of obtaining one is quite expensive and range from 7,000 to around 25,000. I am unable to afford that currently, so I am hoping to be able to fund raise and get the amount needed. I found a place that can train a dog  for 8,000, if I can get the funds within the next two months. It would be such a blessing if I could receive the money to get a service dog. I know some of you may be thinking "just train Luke". Well, I would have loved to make him my service dog, but he is not the correct temperament for one. He is just too hyper and submissive. So, I will need to have another dog trained for me. As for Luke, he will always be my baby and my pet :).

It would be a huge blessing if you could pray for me and that I get enough money to get the service dog I need. If you would like to donate the link is below. Every little bit counts and can make a difference. Also, even if you can't donate right now, please share my fundraiser link on Facebook and encourage your friends and family to do the same. I appreciate prayer and any donations received. Thank you all and God bless


https://www.youcaring.com/angelica-sweetness-517993

My testimony...where I've been and where I am now

    It's been a  little over a year since I have written a post; since that time I have graduated OU with my undergraduate  degree in Journalism and am currently working on my second semester of grad school. I am also engaged and will be getting married this summer, so the next few months will be quite exciting. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Angelica and I am a young woman who is trying her hardest to live a life pleasing to God. I love to travel and beaches are my favorite place in the world. I also am ambitious, always striving to better myself and the world around me. My favorite animal is a dog, and I have a cute Pomeranian- Papillon mix, named Luke Bryan. I also love to talk, explore, hangout with people and encourage them. I also love learning and research, which is why I may continue on to get my Doctorate degree after my Masters, and become a college professor. Now that I am finally back at blogging, I have decided that it would be a good idea to share my testimony about what Jesus has done in my life and how I have healed and grown over the years. My hope is that you guys will be moved by it, not because of what has happened to me, but rather because of what God has done in my life. My hope is that this testimony can help those who are struggling with certain things that I have in the past and help demonstrate that God exists and that he is a loving God who wants the best for you. I hope you enjoy it and if not, that is fine too. My only rule is that if you don't like my testimony or what I say about God, then please keep going on with your life instead of commenting anything negative. Negative comments are pointless anyway as they won't change what I believe. Thanks in advance and here is my testimony:

    I was blessed to be raised in a Christian home, and I accepted Christ into my heart at 9 years of age. At the time, I thought that was it and that life would perfect from there one. However, my young mind was wrong. I spent the next several years trying to learn where I fit in the world, and my middle school years in particular where some of the worst of my life. From the start of 6th grade, I was greeted with girls that hated every fiber in me, simply because of my innocence and my race. I was also the prime target for both guy and girl bullies because of my shyness and the awkward stage we all go through during puberty. As a result, I began to hate myself and wished that I didn't exist. I would try to avoid the girls who told me that I was ugly,  fat, too light skinned to be biracial, that they wanted to kill me, and that I was annoying. Sadly despite trying to avoid them,their remarks sank in, and I began to internalize it to the point that I decided it would be best if I barely ate and exercised for at least two hours every evening after homework. I would spend countless hours crying wishing that I could just be one race or the other, or that I could have prettier, straighter hair, because then I would be accepted. This continued until I began high school. Had I not had my best friend Dianna and a few other people in my life, I'm not sure I would have made it. 

    The early part of high school I met some friends who began to treat me the way friends should. I met a few Christian friends, who helped put some things into perspective for me. It was a fresh start, and I began to realize that God viewed me as a beautiful being, regardless of what others thought. I began to eat normal again and began the process of loving me. I also began to spend more time in prayer with God and would read his word more often. I felt as though my life was finally perfect... yet I was wrong again. 

    A few months into my sophomore year of high school, I had something awful happen to me, something that no young girl should have to deal with. Once when I was at the grocery store, I had a very odd guy approach me and ask what type of cat food as the best, as I was putting some into my cart. I got a weird vibe from him, but I decided to ignore because I thought I was wrong. I wish I would have just ran. After answering his question, the man pestered me asking if I was Hispanic and wouldn't take no for an answer. Before long he cornered me in a section of a store where no one else was and proceeded to fondle me. I felt terrible and I was too terrified to scream, so I just ran as fast I could to tell someone what had happened. After that incident, I lost trust in men for quite some time, and was too afraid to go anywhere by myself. It took months to finally not have dreams of being kidnapped and raped, and to regain my independence. Throughout this hard time though, I drew near to God and I could feel him healing me slowly but surely-- and while it was awful, I was so blessed and thankful that the guy didn't have a gun and that he didn't take me away-- else I wouldn't be here today writing this. 

   The remainder of high school I focused on what  young girls typically focus on: boys and trying to be popular. Despite knowing God was there and that he is where my satisfaction comes from, I bought into the lies of society. I thought listening to the latest pop artists and trying to get every single crush I had to notice me was how I would be satisfied-- and again I was wrong. While the rest of my high school experience was nothing less than a typical one, and while I went to my friend's church's youth group almost every week, my relationship with God was stagnant. I didn't trust him with my dating life and I didn't think he needed to be a very important part of my life, sadly. I thought the most important things were my first boyfriend, whom I began dating halfway through my senior year of high school, and my friends. It wasn't until college that I would finally begin to grow. 

    I was very excited to begin college because I have always been a very independent person, and one of my old best friends, Vikki, was going to be one of my roommates. My freshman year of college started off great. I made new friends, had dance parties with my girls almost every night of the week, and met a friend that I was crazy about. She and I were like glue and we were almost too close of friends haha. Not to mention, I was still dating that first boyfriend and I was so excited to see him graduate from army bootcamp. Oh and I joined an organization called Cru, that was recommended by a friend from my church back at home. I enjoyed going to Cru's bible study each week and I started to spend time with God almost every day, rather than just once a week or so. I felt as though my life was perfect once more, and once more, I was wrong.

    I was very excited to see my bf at the time graduate from basic and thought that the entire trip was going to be a blast. Yet, I learned something about him that I wish I would have never learned. On one of his free days, we went to the park to enjoy a lovely sunny September day, just the two of us. I thought it was just going to be a nice romantic walk and a picnic. However, when we were just hanging out near a pond, he tried to sexually assault me. Just as I was freaking out and hoping that anything would happen to get him to stop, an army sergeant happened to be walking down a path nearby. Unfortunately, the sergeant did not see what was happening, but I was grateful that the sergeant walked by because that is what saved me. I was devastated and felt so unworthy. Yet I didn't know how to breakup with him, and the only way that I was able to be freed from the horrible relationship was him cheating on me. It wasn't fun being cheated on, but today I am grateful because it meant I would have a chance to be in a true Godly relationship. God also used the hurt as an opportunity to show his love for me and how he could heal me from the hurt.

   One evening after the breakup, I remember crying my eyes out and just asking God to comfort me--and he did. As I was sobbing, I suddenly felt an intense warm feeling as if someone had hugged both my body and my heart, and suddenly I quit crying. I felt content all of the sudden and I realized that God was actually reaching down to hug and comfort me. It was amazing, and I have never felt anything quite like it. He continued to reveal himself to me the following week, when I came face to face with an angel. You see, I was on my way to get envelopes when a cute old lady ,with a sparkle to her eye, approached me. Something about her felt different and I was amazed that she knew who I was, because I didn't know her. She told me that she knew I was a Christian and that God wanted me to know everything was going to be ok. I was shocked and wanted to talk to her some more after she began to walk away, but when I turned around, she had vanished. It was amazing. 

   A few weeks after that, I went on my first mission trip  to Panama City Beach, Florida, during my spring break. During that week, I met a few of my now best friends, such as Brandy :), and also began to learn the importance of sharing my faith with others. Throughout the entire week I learned different ways to share my faith and how if we don't share our faith, then some people may never hear about Jesus. I also learned the importance of spending time with God daily in prayer and through reading the bible.  I couldn't imagine my life without Jesus, as he where my joy comes from and he is who guides me through this brutal world. The first day of sharing the gospel on the beach, the speaker mentioned how when we pray God will put the right people in our path who need to hear the gospel and who will be able to connect with us. Long and behold the first spiritual conversation I had on the beach was with a young woman who had a sibling with Autism, just like me. God was at work and through our conversation I was able to connect with her and she said that she could see how God had worked in my life, so she was considering following Jesus as well. I felt great because God had used me and I got to see God work on someone's heart before my eyes.  The trip was so great, that I went on it every spring break of my undergraduate career.

    After that trip, I felt like I had grown so much in my walk with God, and I began to put him first. Everyday after I would give him thanks and would spend time outside under the trees reading his word. I also did my first devotional book that summer and began to feel satisfied by God rather than other things. I also was content in being single. Life was finally going to be perfect I thought...but I was wrong again. It would take one more serious time of being wrong before I began to realize that my life will never be perfect and that is exactly why I need to always lean on God and his guidance rather than my own selfish desires.

    Toward the end of my first summer in college, I met the ideal Christian man. At least it seemed that way. We began dating and everything felt amazing. I was on such an emotional high for months that I began to put that boyfriend on a pedestal above God, which was very dangerous. As a result, I thought that we would eventually get married and that he was what satisfied me. How soon had I forgotten what God had just taught me that summer, and I learned the hard way that only by putting God first would I ever have the best life possible. The relationship was short lived and after he graduated from air force bootcamp, he broke my heart.  Both breakups I have experienced were hard, but this was was definitely the worst of the two. I felt as if God was punishing me unfairly and as a result, I turned my back on him for a while. I didn't pray for a few weeks and I couldn't even get the energy to read the bible. Everyday felt as thought I was being stabbed in the lungs. I didn't want to do anything besides go to class because I had too. Luckily, God put a friend in my life ,who will always be one of my best friends, that would make sure that I did fun things and try her hardest to get my mind off of it. We both were going through hard breakups and together we helped each other grow closer to God and get over the hurt. 

   A few months after the breakup, I realized that God was actually protecting me all along and that he was preparing me to one day meet the right guy. I realized this after my ex became very abusive whenever we would communicate and began to manipulate me. He would treat me worse than a spider on the wall, and for the longest I couldn't get the strength to ignore him. However, despite it all, God helped me get the strength to move forward and to learn how to put him first again. I gave up trying to find the perfect guy and finally surrendered my dating life to God, and something very powerful began to happen. I began to not care about being single and I began to learn more about who I was. I began to also learn more about God's love for me and it was the most freeing experience. It took time, but God healed me from that hurt and helped me learn how to be complete without another human being. God taught me that I need to find satisfaction in him alone and that one day I would meet a nice guy to share my life with me. But even then I would need to always remember that that guy was a compliment to my life, not the center of my life.

   Throughout my junior and senior years of college, I slowly began surrendering every aspect of my life to God, from finances to what I did in my free time. I can now say without  a doubt that no matter what struggle I go through, God will help me through and there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. God has also placed so many blessings in my life as a result of living a life fully surrendered to him. Some of those blessings include meeting a truly Godly man that knows how to love me as Christ loves us, getting a good paying summer job and getting a nice library job at OU, getting an adorable dog that I couldn't imagine life without, and becoming best friends with one of my roommates last year, to name a few. He also blessed me with the opportunity to be a leader to younger girls who were just beginning their walks with God. 

   So what does living a life surrendered to God look like? Well no one's walk with God is identical, but there are a few things that are true for every Christ follower. The first is that in order to live the best life possible now and to know without a doubt that you will live eternity in paradise with God when you die, you must accept that you are broken and in need of a savior. Then you pray to ask Jesus into you heart and from there he will begin working on you. You don't have to change first, because God loves you as you are now and he will work on your heart. The other part of it is spending time with God daily and praying that he will lead you to the best life that he has planned for you. What do I mean by this? Well we can choose to live our lives without acknowledging God and without ever trusting him. But that means a life full of stress, sorrow and then eternal hell. It is hard to choose God's will for our lives because it often means trusting the unseen and sometimes it isn't easy. I'll admit I still struggle with it, and  I always will because I am only human. Yet when I do choose God's will for my life, I always end up joyful no matter what the circumstance and I am given a special kind of peace that I can get from no where else. Truly there is no better peace. At times I lose my focus still and accidentally put things above him for a few days-- but whenever this happens I feel a void in my heart that is only filled once I focus on God once more.  

   My life will never be perfect because we as humans aren't perfect. But because of Jesus I will live a fulfilling life and will endure all things. Just this time last year I had to deal with an ex that had begun stalking me and it was terrifying, but God helped me through it. This summer, I almost died from a potential car accident. I was heading home from moving out of my apartment the day after graduation and was in a stuffed rental car with my dog on my lap. When my mom got the green arrow to turn, we began to turn when suddenly a large car going over 70 mph ran the light. I screamed because it looked as though we were going to get smacked. All I could say was JEEEESUUUSSSSSSS because I was so frightened and I prepped myself to die. There appeared to be no space between that car and ours, but by the grace of God we weren't hit. God made a miracle happen because my mom and I were still meant to be alive-- and I am so grateful. So my hope is that from my story you see that God is real. Thank you for taking the time to hear my story and I love you all <3.