Christmas musings.

I hope you all are having a great week! :) I've got a lot I wanna post about but I haven't gotten around to it. Partly because I've had a really bad headache for 3+ weeks and it kept getting worse everyday. On Tuesday I went to the hospital to get an infusion to relieve me of the pain. {remember last year around this time?}I really dislike hospitals. really. the end. But the IV treatment did help, it lowered my pain down to a 1 or 2 which was good because my pain was a 7 or 8. Unfortunately I still have a headache most of the time it is dull and not as painful as a 7 or 8. I'm really doing and trying everything I could be doing to help keep away the headaches. I'm doing medication, natural remedies, getting rest, eating right etc. Right now I'm just taking one day at a time and trying to keep the headache under control. I'm drinking a lot of tea(especially peppermint!) and water, using oils and such. AND I'm also practicing good habits. I'm changing my night time routine, computer use and little things like that. more on that later! Anywho....

I seriously cannot believe its almost Christmas! Like in 3 days almost! Goodness gracious time is flying! And lets not even talk about 2012!! seriously? 2011 was a blurrrr. but it was long at the same time. haha ;)
I don't know about you but I haven't really been feeling the Christmas "spirit" this year as much as past years. i mean I'm enjoying it but I'm not "into" it like I've been before. Maybe its because I've been sick for most of it. OR maybe its because we have NO SNOW. none what so ever. Last year we didn't have any snow for Christmas and then in Jan. we had tons! :3 Snow just puts me in a good mood. If you have any extra snow please send some my way! But as the end of the week draws near and Christmas Eve and Day gets closer I'm getting more excited :)
I have been thinking about the true story and meaning of Christmas. We watched the Nativity Story the other day and I was reminded just how amazing that event was. How amazing Christ is. Christmas is the time when we celebrate that very special gift of salvation and love that was given to us.

Are you enjoying your Christmas break? I am but it doesn't really feel "different" because I wasn't able to do much school anyways with my headache but I am glad that even if i feel well enough to do it I don't have to! hehe ;]

Today I'm babysitting for a bit then my mom and siblings are gonna run some errands. Tomorrow we have a boat load of extra kids (okay 3 but still...) and then weekend! We will go see my dad's family on Christmas Eve and then Sunday we are going to the Christmas service at Church then coming back home, getting in to pjs again, opening presents, and eating yummy food and relaxing. yep sounds nice to me ;) What are your plans for the rest of the week?

much love♥

Praying for the Persecuted

Our pastor gave a really good sermon this morning about persecution. here are some points that stood out to me.

*Persecution is a Sobering Reality- Indeed all those who desire to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted

*Persecuting is a Purifying Tool- don't be surprise at the fiery trial when it comes upon you.  trials will make us stronger.

 "But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." - 1 Peter 3:14

Being counted worthy to suffer for the name of the Lord.

What Shall We Do?
*Pray like the early church. stand beside those who are being tortured for Christ.
*Examine ourselves--are we ready for persecution? 


There are many things worse than dying for Christ.

¹ Hear my prayer, LORD;
   let my cry for help come to you.
² Do not hide your face from me
   when I am in distress.
Turn your ear to me;
   when I call, answer me quickly.

 ³ For my days vanish like smoke;
   my bones burn like glowing embers.
⁴ My heart is blighted and withered like grass;
   I forget to eat my food.
⁵ In my distress I groan aloud
   and am reduced to skin and bones.
⁶ I am like a desert owl,
   like an owl among the ruins.
⁷ I lie awake; I have become
   like a bird alone on a roof.
⁸ All day long my enemies taunt me;
   those who rail against me use my name as a curse.
⁹ For I eat ashes as my food
   and mingle my drink with tears
¹⁰ because of your great wrath,
   for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
¹¹ My days are like the evening shadow;
   I wither away like grass.

 ¹² But you, LORD, sit enthroned forever;
   your renown endures through all generations.
¹³ You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
   for it is time to show favor to her;
   the appointed time has come.
¹⁴ For her stones are dear to your servants;
   her very dust moves them to pity.
¹⁵ The nations will fear the name of the LORD,
   all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
¹⁶ For the LORD will rebuild Zion
   and appear in his glory.
¹⁷ He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
   he will not despise their plea.

 ¹⁸ Let this be written for a future generation,
   that a people not yet created may praise the LORD:
¹⁹ “The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high,
   from heaven he viewed the earth,
²⁰ to hear the groans of the prisoners
   and release those condemned to death.”
²¹ So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion
   and his praise in Jerusalem
²² when the peoples and the kingdoms
   assemble to worship the LORD.

 ²³ In the course of my life^[b] he broke my strength;
   he cut short my days.
²⁴ So I said:
“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
   your years go on through all generations.
²⁵ In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
   and the heavens are the work of your hands.
²⁶ They will perish, but you remain;
   they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
   and they will be discarded.
²⁷ But you remain the same,
   and your years will never end.
²⁸ The children of your servants will live in your presence;
   their descendants will be established before you.”

Psalm 102

pray for those who share your faith but not your freedom.

late night melodies

{love this live version}

                               {this song never gets old}

                                  {this is just awesome}

much love♥

p.s. thank you so much for your prayers for my family and I. you don't know how much that means.♥

their voice goes out into all the earth.

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God; 

   the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 

² Day after day they pour forth speech; 

   night after night they reveal knowledge. 

³ They have no speech, they use no words; 

   no sound is heard from them. 

⁴ Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, 

   their words to the ends of the world.

~Psalm 19:1-4~

I read this verse last night in one of the first sections of Crazy Love and it just blew me away. Seriously, we serve a mighty and amazing God. 


[side note--we got to our destination safely and we are having a good time :) lots of laughing and together-ness :)] 


i hope you all are having a good week! 


much love,
Samarah

Happy Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July!

We give God all the glory and thanks for all of our blessings in this country.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend and have a great day! :)

God Bless America! :)

much love♥
Samarah

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my amazing dad! You're the best! I love you so much! 


And Happy Father's Day to all the great dads out there, keep up the good work ;) 

and lets remember that our Heavenly Father always loves us so awesomely. all the time.

much love♥
Samarah

hey mama, don't want no drama

via

hey all! just a quick post to say that I've been doing much better since saturday. i was really exhausted and in a lot of pain and it took sunday to really get myself back up again. (although I am having some bad back/hip/ right leg pain. :/ arghh!) Thank you for all your prayers and sweet comments! y'all are THE best. :)
I've been having a pretty okay week over all. I'm doing good about staying on top of my game with working out and eating healthy and school. those are my main focuses right now :) I feel a lot less stressed and overwhelmed over all and I know its all God because there is no way I could do this on my own!


I have some ideas for posts and I hope to blog them soon :) I'm wanting to blog...
some confessions--I love just laying it all out there. I'm love to be real and honest. :)
about my health, working out and eating choices and changes that have been hard/awesome
some photography
my thoughts about Thor[yess!!! ;], Prince of Persia, and National Treasure
workout/healthy eating encouragement
current favorite tunes


i'm not going to say when they'll be blogged about but hopefully soon ;) *excited*

just FYI: I think I just died. like seriously. Lindsay from Aisle to Aloha started following my blog tonight. She totally made my day. more like week. She is super sweet, gorgeous and funny! she is a talented artist and has some fabulous art pieces. Her husband is currently away working in the Navy but is returning back to Lindsay VERY soon! I'm so hyped for her! I love her and her blog. Go check it out.

and a huge thanks to Lindsay for following me!

well, i'm off to workout and then either go to head to bed or watch something... haha ;)

much love♥♥

give me the faith to believe in these hard times.

 [i'm not writing this to get sympathy or "its gonna be ok"'s. this is my blog, my life journal, a place to share my real life and real life feelings and so i am.]

via

im struggling. we had a long stressful week and that has taken a toll on me[the reason why i haven't been blogging]. physically, emotionally and mentally, i have no energy. even sleep isn't cutting it. it feels like there's nothing left in me. i'm shot. its going to take me a few days of rest and no stress to get back to "normal" but i'm not sure what normal is anymore.

these songs have been on repeat today:








hope ya'll are having a good weekend :)

much love♥♥

Happy Memorial Day!

via

thank you to all those who have, are and will sacrifice their lives and so much for this country. for our freedom. And the lets not forget those people's families.they sacrifice a lot also.You all are loved, respected and appreciated. so much. Your service to God and us is often taken for granted. and sometimes only thought of on Memorial Day and so my prayer is that I will never take for granted what many amazing men and women are doing for this country. for the people. for God. for me.
thank you from the bottom of our hearts.



I'm off to watch an episode of Lark Rise to Candleford and do laundry :) Then I'm gonna workout and then {hopefully}work on some school. Then hang out for the rest of the day and spend time with my family and eat some yummy food! :)

Happy Memorial day! 

I hope you have a great day!

much love♥♥

Sunday Sayings

thank you all for your sweet comments on my last post! ♥♥ I too am so glad we are safe! :] We haven't had anymore storms since then, Praise the LORD!! :) Its been overcast and then yesterday and today have been hot and sunny :)

*this photo is not from today*

This morning I was so darn sleepy. I went to bed late[around 1:30 or so] because I watched a movie with my mom and dad and got up around 8 or so and it took me forever to get out of bed and eat breakfast. i seriously could not keep my eyes open. and then at church i almost fell asleep. I had to keep moving my legs or arms or keep writing notes to keep me awake. The sermon was really good and I didn't want people to think that I was bored because I wasn't! I was just so tired. haha! I really need to learn not to stay up late on Saturday nights buuuttt being the person I am, a rebel I'll probably never learn. hehe ;]

Speaking of church, 2 of my friends got baptized and it was so amazing. Their testimonies, songs we sang, the sermon and everything was amazing. {despite the fact that i was so tired ;] I came home just in awe of Christ's love for us. and this beautiful life we have the privilege of giving to Him and living to the fullest. Here is a song we sang and I've had it in my head all day :)

Hallelujah
You have won the victory
Hallelujah
You have won it all for me

Sarahlynn [who has a pretty new blog design and you really should check it out here!] asked if this is my temporary or permanent design. This is my new temporary one. ;) The last one got really old and blah and I needed something fresh, clean and springy so I changed it :) Sky is still working on one for me and it will be coming =)

I've watched these 3 movies recently and I love them. posts about them with my thoughts, favorite quotes, scenes and photos are coming :)

Ok, well that's it for now! i'm off to clean up the house and enjoy the rest of the day :) 

oh, one more thing:

I'm in love with this picture. and that little girl. L.O.V.E.

much love♥

Samarah

how do you like my picture size? is it too big?? please let me know :)

Rap TOUR or Rapture??

I predict that later today some religious nut-job will utter the phrase: "No I said a Rap Tour... A Rap Tour starts today." -Wil Anderson


I saw this tweet re-tweeted by someone I follow and couldn't resist posting it ;]


*I just saw this tweet and thought it was funny and would share it with ya'll but I have no idea who this person is or what he beliefs are, etc. so don't get offended if you search him and come up with some bad or something! thanks ;)*

much love♥♥

♥my sin weighed upon Your shoulders♥

It just blows my mind of what Christ did for us. He loved us SO much that He DIED for us to save us from our 

sins. He endured great pain and agony for us. A crown of thorns on His head and nails in His hands. That should of

been my thorns and nails. But He loved us so much He took carried the cross for us. To redeem us. 

To make us new creations in Him. He gives us eternal life when we confess that we are sinners and that He is the 

King of Kings and He is the only way to way, truth and life. He endured great pain and agony for us. A crown of

thorns on His head and nails in His hands. All for us. Another thing that blows my mind is that He wants a

relationship with us. with YOU and ME. Sinners, dirty and unholy. Christ desires to be the Lord of our lives. 

We are called to live and strive to become more like Him even through the hard trials of this world. He will never 

leave us or forsake us.  Jesus Christ has overcome the world. I pray that everyday I would continue to give 

my life to Christ  and let Him mold me into the person HE wants me to be. His hope brings me joy. He showers me 

with  grace and mercy and loves me unconditionally.  that is amazing.  

I pray that I will never ever take for granted what Christ did for me. 

[This song is my absolute FAVORITE worship song and a top favorite of all songs]

You stood before creation
Eternity within Your hand
You spoke the earth into motion
My soul now to stand

You stood before my failure
Carried the Cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon Your shoulders
My soul now to stand

So what can I say
What can I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You

So I'll walk upon salvation
Your Spirit alive in me
This life to declare Your promise
My soul now to stand

So what can I say
What can I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You

So I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all

So I'll stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is Yours

 The Stand by Hillsong United 

 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 

Have a wonderful Easter thanking and praising Christ for the ultimate sacrifice He made. 

Much love,

Samarah♥

random{funk,♥bible verse♥, and music}

At the moment I'm not doing so hot. I feel sick and I'm in pain, not too terrible but its there. I'm trying to have hope and faith. I'm behind on school and other things and I'm feeling like I'm not getting anywhere. I'm sure its just a funk and it will pass but I'm feeling sorry for myself so I'm going to post about some random awesome things ;)

this Bible verse. love.

James 1

  ² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.  ⁹ Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. ¹⁰ But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
 ¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
 ¹³ When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
 ¹⁶ Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.

here's where my music lovin' soul comes in. here's an amazing song that speaks to my heart and encourages my soul.

uhh.. LOVE. FM Static's NEW single.Their brand spankin' new album "My Brain says Stop but my Heart says Go" released today! I'm so going on iTunes and checking it out after I'm done here :) {oh also, Mandisa's "What If We Were Real" album came out yesterday, I think! so check it out :) its good)
I dare you NOT to have it stuck in your head after you hear it just once.



this might one of THE most beautiful songs ever. I've been listening to The Lord of the Rings soundtracks. they are spectacular.




I hope you are having a good week. I'm trying to.

much love,
Samarah♥

friday highlights :]

so I totally meant to post this on Friday but its 12:40 am Saturday morning so obviously that didn't get done ;) but who's keeping track of time?? ha ;P

I had a pretty good friday. I had a Dr. appointment this morning about 45 minutes away and we have friends who live around there so after the app. we went shopping and then out to lunch with our friend Mrs. K :) My camera( which had been glued to my hand ever since mom came home ;) tagged along with me for the day and so here's my friday morning and afternoon in pictures :-)

 I don't have a picture for this but my headaches have gotten MUCH better in the past few months! I've only gotten 1, over 3 days but I have that under control. they've gotten so much better that I might be able to get off the headache medication around the end of May!! :] I'm really praying I can. I need to keep working out, eating gluten free and takin' all those vitamins and such! Some days(like today, for a few hours) it doesn't even feel like I'm getting any better or can do anything about it. Then God uses a song on Air1 or a person's tweet or something to remind me that I can't do this on my own. I need to rely on HIM for my strength and perseverance. Its hard but I can do all things through Christ who strengths me! my God is a mighty fortress. I know some of you have shared with me that you have some rough health problems and are going through similar things, please know that I am praying for you( and even if you haven't shared I still pray for you) and keep taking those small steps, striving for better days! I'm right there with ya♥♥

1. Whole Foods!! really like that store :)

2. found some yummy gluten free bread! it was so exciting because I'd had such a hard time finding good GF bread. very thankful :]

3. GF snacks

4. beautiful tulips inside the store

1. off to hopefully find some goodies for a great price! Everything was 40-50% off and then take another 10% off your whole purchase.

2. I did!! I headed to the History section {I'm a history lover if ya haven't caught that}and found 2 books about 2 of my favorite time periods!  first one, Nelson's Trafalgar: The Battle That Changed the World by Roy Adkins[ about a battle in the1800s] for about $10. I read about Napoleon i history for school and he intrigued me, looking forward to reading it. 

3. Cranford!! That had a decent batch of DVDs (and Blu-Ray) for good deals! I was so happy to find this :) I love that show! They had Return to Cranford but I just stuck with the first one. I love that time period. okay, I just love history. ;] Anywho, altogether I got it for $21 #imahappygirl

4.The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan [Dust Bowl 1935] for about $9. I'm absolutely fascinated with that time period. The WWs, Great Depression and Dust Bowl. I've just read about 3 pages of the introduction and I'm already enthralled!

So I've got some great summer reads :]

 It feels like my birthday blessings have just kept coming and coming ;] God knew I needed those goodies today. 

 1. & 2. Went to an Irish Pub for lunch with Mrs. K. It was such an enchanting and beautiful place. It kinda reminded me of How To Train Your Dragon...that type of "culture". There were gorgeous stained glass windows all over the place and one room had a cozy fire. I took lots of pictures and will share more later :) *promise* ;]

3. I had some stew and it was delicious to say the least. So rich, hearty and yummy. *licks lips* it was so good

4. one of the stained glass windows. they were so vivid and bold.

Well that was my morning and afternoon in pictures and some captions :) When we got home we just relaxed, my mom took a nap(still trying to catch up on sleep!) and ate dinner. I've been spending the night(9:30-now, 12:20) editing pictures, tweeting, chatting, listening to music, and writing this blog post. no it didn't take me like 3 hours to write this... I was multitasking- editing a picture, blog, tweet, blog, chat with my friend, and blog, you get the picture ;)

speaking of music, here's some sweet tunes I've been listening to and loving :)

I'm such a Lord of the Rings girl at heart...{*lotr post coming in the near future*}



 Fell in love with this song all over again...




Thank you so much for all the sweet comments you've been leaving for me! Sorry I haven't replied to them yet! I'll try to do that this weekend, along with posting about my mom's trip to India! I cannot wait to show you guys! the pictures are amazing!

I'll leave you with two pictures from today...

here's my favorite stained glass window. hmm..unique and capturing isn't it??

signs of spring!!

What were some of your friday highlights??

much love,
Samarah

♥this beautiful life♥

Life is beautiful. because Christ is beautiful and mighty and I'm so thankful that He gave me this life to live and glorify Him and love others. Ah, the gift of love is beautiful and fulfilling. I'm SO blessed to to have many people I can love and who love me.

Today I am celebrating life and beauty that God gives us :) 

Day 28: Hopes, Dreams and plans you have for the next 365 days-

I pray in the next year I would draw closer to Christ and serve and glorify Him in everything I do and say. That I would live my life out loud and love like crazy. To reach out to those who God puts in my life who are in need and that I would show mercy and compassion. 

I would be healthy and fit and would feel confident about myself. Continue to be gluten free {almost, just staying away from flours, breads, pasta etc.} and working out regularly. Find joy and strength through the pain. Do my school work will diligence and perseverance. 

And that I would take time and enjoy the everyday blessings and pleasures :) 

 

 thank you so much for all the happy birthday notes :) they made me smile♥  y'all are awesome :) 

much love, 

Samarah

forever 21, eyes, sick and birthday :)

Ah I just got back from an fabulous afternoon with my lovely and amazing friend! She took me out to lunch for my birthday and then we walked around and shopped :) ok, I'd been hearing so much about Forever 21 (great things!) and I'd never been there but I was curious to see why it was popular. well... I found out today! And now I know why everyone loves it. it has super cute and stylish stuff for really reasonable prices! :) 

I got this lovely necklace!  

My friend and I both got the same cardigan :] its long and has pockets, its so cute! I'll post a picture of it later :) I'm need of spring/summer clothes so I'm always excited when I find clothes that are reasonably priced, I like and that look good on me ;] I had such a great time with my friend! love her♥

Onto the 28 day challenge which is ending tomorrow! I think its kinda cool because its also my bday ;) I have had lots of fun with this :) 

Day 27: A physical feature you love-

A lot of people are picking the same feature but its such a good one! so I couldn't resist ;) 

eyes. 

   its usually the first thing that I recognize about a person

they convey a lot about what a person is feeling  
happiness
sadness
nervous 
relaxed 
etc...

 

they are all kinds of beautiful colors. I'm partial to blue :]

 

really partial ;)

The creator of eyes had to be someone so great and powerful. No man could ever create something so beautiful and lovely. Only God :) 

but I do have some sad news... my whole family is sick. We've been healthy all winter and then yesterday we got sore throats and today all 5 of us have headaches, sore throats and stopped up sinuses :( Needless to say its gonna be an interesting week... praying we all get better soon! 

Can tomorrow really be my birthday?? seriously, time is just flying by! Wow, well be looking for a post tomorrow answering these question; Day 28: Hopes, Dreams and plans you have for the next 365 days which is a great question for a birthday :) 
oh and real quick I want to explain my birthday just a bit, its a lil' confusing! 

• I was born on February 29 
• the 29th comes once every 4 years 
• so I celebrate on the 28th and March 1st 
• fun fact: my "real" birthday lands in the year of the Election AND the summer Olympics :] 
• I'm not saying my age but I'm between 14-18 ;)  
• I love being a leap year baby :] its so fun and unique! 

  
till tomorrow! :)

much love,
Samarah

Day 25: A recipe, workout fail and friday anthem!!

day 25- a recipe-

to be honest, I don't cook/bake very often. It requires me to follow directions and because I'm head strong, I don't really like that. sometimes it just takes so much time and energy that I don't really have.But when I do, its usually enjoyable and the food usually comes out pretty good and now that I'm gluten free I usually have to actually make my meals. So I'm trying  to embrace the idea of being in the kitchen and creating yummy food ;) but I'm having a hard time thinking of a recipe that I've tried and I've liked *think think think* I still don't have anything...oh I know! I'm gonna post a recipe of a gluten free treat that I want to try :] very soon! ;)

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Brownies from Celiac Teen

*please note that this image from celiacteen.com I do not own it.  I'm only using it for the purpose of showing you what the brownies look like*

don't they just look delicious I cannot wait to try them! and when I do I will definitely let you know what I think of them :] Lauren has a bunch more lovely recipes for gluten free goodies that I can't wait to try out!

I haven't worked out all week :/ I was doing so well but then I don't know what happened, I just stopped! and I'm regretting it. Why do I do this??!! I am going to workout today and get back on the every other day routine :] I'm praying God gives me strength, consistency and diligence in this :)

My birthday is in 3 days! 3 days!! wow, time has flown by! :)

hope you are having a great friday! I shall leave you with my friday anthem :]

much love,

Samarah

Day 14- vacation I would like to take & Day 15- a person I admire

Day 14: A vacation you would like to take. 

This one is easy. I've wanted to go here for a long time. I have a dream to travel the world and photography the beauty of those places. I'm not sure why but I love mountains. I love the majestic way they stand high about the ground, kind of like a fortress. it reminds me of how mighty is our God. He is our fortress :) anyway, I've always thought this place is just down right gorgeous. I would LOVE to go to New Zealand. 

love those mountains :]

oh be still my heart

ahhhh!! one of the most beautiful places on earth for sure 

paradise 

pure bliss

seriously, is that lovely or what??

Christchurch cathedral

God outdid himself on New Zealand

I think this is kinda cool because my blogger friend,  Jordan wants to go NZ too! and she wants to work for a travel magazine and go around the world and photograph it. read about it here. I see a vacation with her in the future ;)

Day 15: A person you admire. 

This one is pretty easy. I have so much admiration and respect for Mike Donehey. 

An incredible man of God, husband, father, friend and lead singer of one of my favorite bands, Tenth Avenue North. His insight on faith and life is amazing and inspiring and... *insert another good word* and he is funny. really funny. I've been so encouraged by TAN's songs countless times. I'm really at a loss of words to describe Mike and Tenth Avenue North, so go listen to their cds, watch their music videos, watch the behind the songs videos (click here to watch the video behind "You are More"), read some of his quotes and follow him on twitter ;] 
I LOVE quotes are here and some wonderful thought provoking quotes: 

"You can't live for God until you learn how to live because of God. And you can't go and make good choices for God until you understand the gospel that says the choices you make don't make you who are, what Christ has done for you makes you who you are."

- Mike Donehey  

"Only when we try to love God will we see our utter inability to do so. And only when we understand that inability, will we begin to be in awe of His great love toward us."
-Mike Donehey

"Christianity was never meant to be a belief system, it’s meant to be an encounter with a person." -Mike Donehey

"Never be discontent with the life you've been dealt, be discontent with the way you're living it."
-Mike Donehey

well I woke up this morning feeling and sounding sick. I think I'm getting a cold :( nooo, I haven't been really sick all winter! :/ taking cold medicine and going to try to do knock out some serious school work!!

with love,

Samarah

CrAzY lOvE

 (it was a bit hard to get all my thoughts together, so I apologize if the post it a little jumbled :/ )

I'm challenging myself to show some Crazy Love and I wanted to share it with y'all and Valentine's Day is a perfect time :]

So... Hawk Nelson came out with this awesome song called Crazy Love. I. love.it. I bought it the day it released. And its so thought provoking and has a special message to me. take a listen to it if you haven't heard it and then move on ;) its a funky unique music video, I laughed out loud when I first watched it!




How neat are those lyrics??

They say it sounds insane
We say that we've been changed
By the power of
Crazy Love
This world, it looks at us
Like we're ridiculous
Baby, it's all because
Of Crazy Love

 I've been convicted about this topic- crazy love. I feel God is using this song and movement to get me out of my comfort zone a bit and serve and glorify HIM by showing crazy love.
We, as Christians are called to love others (especially non Christians). with a special crazy love. To show mercy and grace to others. As a church and individually. God loves us unconditionally, why can't we show some crazy love to others?! I know, personally, I have a particular person that I have a hard to time loving. Because they are have a completely different personality and honestly I really don't have a desire to show them love. let's be honest.... there are some people in our lives that aggravate us so bad and annoy us, we don't like those people and don't want to get to know them. We can think of hundreds of reasons why they don't deserve love. Sometimes I just think "oh someone else can show them love" or "I don't have time". but I don't have any excuses for not showing that person love. I need to love them and show them grace.  This is world may look at us like we're out of our minds when we love our enemies but we know we are glorifying a mighty God :)

Love one another with brotherly affection. outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Romans 12:10 & 11

So I thought that around Valentine's Day is a great time to start the challenge! to show crazy love and grace to that particular person and others. and when people ask why we are doing it, we can say because of God's great love and mercy to us :)  I want to be so in love with Christ that I can show this world crazy love! will you join me?? :]
 

Happy Valentine's Day! :) 

with love,

Samarah

Superbowl and day 5- a moment I wish I could relive

ahhh.... the day is here! Superbowl!! as you know I'm rooting for the Packs *wink* I can't say for sure how this game will turn out. both the Packers and Steelers are great and talented teams. If the Packs win, I'll will be ecstatic and if they lose I'll still love 'em :) I will be happy either way it ends :) 

I'm a bit bummed though because (1) my dad is working today :( but he will be home for the Superbowl. (2) on the way home I got a headache. which is really sad because i have been feeling so good! ugh... :( last night i felt so bad. i ate chocolate and watched little house on the prairie with my mom. yeah it was sad. I tweeted  last night "chocolate is a girl's best friend on nights like these". I was so blah, i don't even know why. but last night is over and I'm focusing on now. ;D and I'm excited because we are having some good friends over tonight and also the superbowl ;]

Ok here's day 5 of the 28 day challenge...
day 5- A moment you wish you could relive-
 wow, this is a hard one. *think think think* well i had an amazing experience at the Make A Difference Tour. Gathering with hundreds of other people and lifting up our burdens to God and crying out our need for Him. Praising and singing songs of love and thankfulness. that is an amazing thing people. I felt such a change in my heart realizing that worshiping is so much than just songs or something you do at church. worship is a prayer and praise. acknowledging that He is Lord and praising Him for loving us SO much and giving us unending love, grace and mercy. Music is a beautiful way to express those thoughts and prayers. Music is truly the words of my soul ♥

Alrighty, well I'm outta here. gonna go help clean the house, make yummy food and put on my game face!

happy Superbowl Sunday everyone ♥

with love,

Samarah