A Year in Photos

Our first year of marriage in photos!

Are You Happy With Now?

What if you were completely satisfied with this moment right now?

I started thinking last night how much of our time and energy is spent in anticipation of:

the weekend
next month
November 3 (Oh wait, I think that's just me...)
a different season
freshman year
senior year
another year
another time
another place.

There is nothing inherently wrong with this kind of thinking; anticipation can be good. Planning is necessary.

But are you able to set all that aside as needed and be genuinely satisfied with the present?

If yes, great. You don't have to finish reading this post.
If not, let's chat a bit more.

Truthfully, I'm preaching to myself right now. Truthfully, I am living in GREAT anticipation for that November 3 date when my fiance and I will finally be man and wife, and there is nothing wrong with that. Truthfully, I did not expect it to be so hard to be satisfied with my here and now, and that struggle is refining me.

So I go back to God's Word. Psalm 118:24 says, "THIS is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

I cannot dismiss the utter gift that right now is, because it will never happen again. There is much to do, much to say, much to listen to, much to be each day. Jim Elliot once said, "Wherever you are, be all there." Be all here. In this day. THIS day. Not 2 weeks from now. Not next month. Not 2 months from now. Not 5 years from now.


 I encourage you all, as I am firmly encouraging myself, to finish drinking all now has to offer before moving on to...

...whatever's next.

"Let not our longing slay our appetite for living."

--- Jim Elliot



5 Worship Songs that Never Leave My iPod

In my quiet time this morning, I started thinking about some of my favorite worship songs and I realized that there are only a handful that have stayed on my iPod (and now iPhone) since I got my first Apple product on my 16th birthday.

Here are the 5 songs that never leave my iPod and my favorite lines/scriptures that match up with them.

5) Take My Life (And Let it Be)

 Take my intellect, and use every power as you choose.
Take my will, and make it Thine, it shall be no longer mine;
Take my heart, it is Thine own, it shall be Thy royal throne.
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart

and with all your soul and with all your mind."

Matthew 22:37

4) Praise to the Lord the Almighty

 Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath
Come now with praises before Him.

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!"

Psalm 103:1

                                            3) It is Well With My Soul

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, it is well, it is well, with my soul.

"Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you."

2) Lord, You're Holy

Wonderful, glorious, holy and righteous, victorious conqueror, triumphant and mighty.
Healer, deliverer, shield and defense, strong tower and my best friend.
Omnipotent, Omnipresent, soon coming King, Alpha, Omega, Lord of everything;
holy, holy, holy is Your name.

"For I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me."

Isaiah 46:9

1) Medley: In Christ Alone/Solid Rock
No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me,
From life's first cry, to final breath. Jesus commands my destiny.

This is another thought that has occured to me: In a way, this technology has enhanced my relationship with God. Here's why: sometimes you have to have church by yourself.

There have been many late nights or other random times where I have needed to put on some worship music and put myself before the throne of God. And having my music in this format allows me to have a worship service ready to go in my pocket, and it won't disturb anyone else! Haha!

Happy Sunday everyone :)

7-19-11

One year ago today, I asked God for something rather specific.

This request is written on a piece of wood and is from a sermon that our church does every year. It represents "staking your claim" in God's promises and is a visual representation of what you have asked God for in faith. (Another story behind this...ask me some other time!)

So here I was. I was getting ready to start my senior year. I was going back to teaching. I was in a very good place in my relationship with the Lord. I was really happy with where I was in life. But I wanted to ask God this one thing...

There was no one I was interested in at the time and I was looking at finishing school in just nine short months. In my mind, it was a reasonable request that I at least meet the man who I would marry and begin to build a friendship that would eventually turn into something more. If that still wasn't in God's timing for this year, then ok. At least I'd asked. And of course I had been praying about who I would marry for years, thinking about qualities that I desired, and actually praying FOR whoever that man would be.

But this time, it just felt different.

Anyway, back to 7-19-11....

About two weeks from that day, my friend Claire Myers told me about "this guy" from her church. (Also another crazy story in and of itself!)

Then on 8-18-11, I met Kurtis Hanni for the first time at the Starbucks by dance.

Then one month from that first meeting, we were dating.

Then nine months later, we got engaged.

So here I am a year later, planning a wedding and preparing to become a wife to the most loving, intelligent, God-fearing, funny, handsome man I have EVER met.  

I am thrilled beyond words.

Yet I managed to find a few for this post :)

I share this because I am always encouraged when I hear or read about God answering prayers and working in the lives of fellow believers. My story...our story!... isn't a formula or a blueprint, but yet another piece of unique evidence of a faithful God.

And He is so very faithful...goodness...I can hardly articulate it.

"...no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him."

1 Cor. 2:9

A Prayer

This is a prayer I jotted down in my journal 3-4 years ago. I posted it on my blog last April, but never posted a link to it. I felt like I wanted to share it again on this fine Saturday.

Blessings to you all! Have a wonderful day :)

I have learned much, lost much, and gained much. And I by no means feel that I have reached a plateau. I cannot afford that luxury. Such is the ebb and flow of life.

Oh Father, I am so humbled by you. You have made us in your image; yet we are eternally-bound beings in mortally-bound bodies. You have called us to share the Good News, but there is not a more leaky bunch of jars to carry that Water of Life than us.

Yet you so patiently hold us, patch us, reshape us, and pour us out and fill us up at the right time, your time.

Your love permeates every cell of my body. It wraps around me, soothes me, whispers in my ear as I lay exhausted in my bed and directs me as I hurry to class.

I look for you everywhere, God. I find you in so many places throughout the day. You gift me with breath in my lungs, the dawn, and unending mercies every day. A second chance. I see your glory in the skies.

I see and rejoice in your unfailing beauty in the flowers- in the trees.

I listen for you in other peoples’ voices. I earnestly seek for evidence of you in their lives to see if I have found a brother or sister.

I rejoice in your safety. Who knows how many times you have shielded me from harm, the unsavory eye, my own self?

God, I feel your love when I am with those who I love. What sweet fellowship!

I savor, I store up, I rejoice in those quiet moments with you when your peace steals over my soul. Peace I don’t deserve. Peace that I should not be having- but it’s there.

I am further humbled when, though I am your child, you reveal areas in my life that have previously hid from your light. Areas I would have said were fine. Areas I jealously guard. Let it all come under your jurisdiction.

One thing I ask of-this is what I seek: to do for others, to live beyond myself. I do not wish to be an ending place, but a starting point for you to reach peoples’ lives. This world needs you God.

Hear my heart, know my thoughts. Keep me in the shadow of your wings.

Self-Check

One of my Mom's friends on Facebook shared this link to a post on Pastor Perry Noble's blog. Noble is the pastor of a church in South Carolina.

Read through it and see what you think.

As I read through the blog post, one of the several thoughts that occurred to me was that these are some of the most frequent "complaints" others have against Christians. If this is what they see exhibited in a Christian's life, why would anyone find that appealing? I sure wouldn't.

If I've learned anything, it's that for the one person you know is watching you and observing the choices you make, there are about five more people watching that you don't know about.

A life filled to the brim, saturated with joy, peace, purpose, passion and trust in God is so attractive. It is one of the greatest testimonies a person can have.

What would someone who didn't know the Lord find attractive or "different in a good way" about your life?

Food for thought...

Joy

There is joy in:

The Son.
Sunshine.
Breath in your lungs.
Rest.
Restoration.
Family.
Speaking truth.
Little kids crawling up in your lap.
Hope.
Trust.
Opportunities.
Succeeding.
Succeeding despite failure.
The Future.
The Present.

Being loved.

Just in case someone needed a reminder.

Love,

Samantha

In Review, Part 1

New Year's is one of my favorite holidays because it combines looking back and looking forward, two of my favorite activities. I love the chance to reflect on the 365 days that have passed and then make goals, dream and pray about the next 365 days, or in the case of 2012, 366 days. :-)

2011 has been a very eventful year for my family, as I am sure it has been for other families as well. What I'd like to share is a countdown of the top quotes/scriptures/songs/journal entries that have had the greatest influence on me this year.

8. "The greatest enemy of the life of faith in God is not sin, but good choices which are not quite good enough. The good is always the enemy of the best." ---Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (May 25)

Subconsciously, this has long been a driving force in my life, but it came to the forefront of my mind time and again this year. I was faced with several decisions and this thought, this holding out for the best, was the main factor that influenced those decisions. I pray that I continue to have courage to focus on this truth!

7. Mary Englebreit's artwork just flat out brings a smile to your face! I came across this poster on Pinterest this fall and it is the quote on my blog profile. Just to be is a blessing...with Christ, this is the absolute truth! And it simplifies your day to focus on that truth.


6. "Sorrows come to stretch out spaces in the heart for joy." & "Where grows the golden grain? Where faith? Where sympathy? In a furrow, cut by pain." ---Streams in the Desert (Jan. 18 & 20)

Truthfully, I discovered this line about two years ago, but it was made even more real in my life this year. This school of thought will begin to make more sense as you see more of what happened in our family in Part 2 of my post. It is such a beautiful and hopeful image!


5. The final entry for Part 1 is a song by Selah called "All My Tears." A group from my studio danced to this song about three years ago. It was beautiful and haunting...definitely one of my favorite dances. Little did I know that when we performed this in May 2008, it would be the last time that many of us would ever dance together for various reasons.
   Fast forward to October 2011. I received word that a friend of mine had been killed in a car accident. She was 20, and had been one of the dancers in "All My Tears."  The morning of her funeral, I had been thinking of that very song, and as it turns out, they showed the dance at her service. That's when it hit me. It is our passion as Christians who are dancers to dance for an audience of One.  Now she truly was in the presence of our Savior, dancing for Him.... Listen to the song below and just imagine...