What does it mean to "Fix your eyes on Jesus?"

What does it mean to "Fix your eyes on Jesus, or To pick up the Cross and follow him?"

I have heard this time after time. and I was never quite sure what it meant. Until, today.
I read some things from Shelia Walsh and this is what she said,

" that every time my will crossed God's will , I dragged my will back in line with his. It means doing things that I know are good and true, whether I feel like it or not. It means setting my face and heart towards heaven just as Jesus did.
I believe that phrase means that we study how Jesus lived, how he loved , and followed hsi example. When we find ourselves in a difficult place, we do what he did: we turn to our father. Faith is not wishful thinking of theatrics. Faith is born in us as we fix our eyes on Jesus and as we recognize the fingerprints of God the Father all over our lives." (Extraodinary Faith)

I am not sure what I thought when I heard the pastor or sunday school teacher tell me to fix my eyes on Jesus or to pick up my cross and follow Him. I guess I always imiagined that it meant that everything I did of thought needed to be "cross referenced" to what I thought God wanted for my life. and I do think that this might be somewhat of what it means.

I want to live like Jesus did. I want to Love like Jesus does. and when I find myself in a difficult place I want to remember to turn to my father.

God has a dream for your life

" I will be your God through all your lifetime, yes, even when your hair is white with age." - Isaiah 46:4

Do you know in the deepest place in your heart that you are loved? I pray that you do. And I also pray that you understand that God never takes his eyes off of you, that you are not alone. I pray that you will grasp hold of the truth that because you are God's daughter/son, anything is possible!

I believe with all of my heart that God has a dream for your life that is far greater than any you could dream for yourself. When God looks at you, he sees a woman/man whom he is passionately loves. That love compelled him to give his Son to redeem you from the nightmare of life spent apart from him. No matter whether any of your smaller dreams are realized on this earth, God has an amazing dream for your life that nothing and no one can touch. God's dream for YOU outweighs every other dream in your life.

And remember, each one of us is given only one life. Your days on earth are not a dress rehearsal so that you can come back and try again. Every life counts. Your life counts. Heaven is watching to see what you will do with the life you have been given.

Sheila Walsh

Sometimes I forget that my dreams for what I want to do with my life are far less than anything I can imagine for what God has planned for my life. I will have conversations with my boyfriend or with my family, friends, whoever- & I talk about what I WANT... not what I think God has planned for me. I forget about the depth of God's love for me. I forget that I am his child who he loves. He sent his Son to die for me- to take my place.

I am praying that God will open my eyes, to see what He has planned for me. I know there is WAY more than I could dream of & I want to see what he has created me for. I want to stop "just making" it through the day. Our days are numbered, some have more than others. I want to live for the Day God has given me. I pray that these are your desires as well. Our work lives, home lives, & love lives should every day reflect the Creator & our drive should be to live in the moment and to live for Christ in every moment!

praying

my staus on FB says i'm praying... & I am.. i wish that answers came as soon as you were finsihed with the prayer =]
there are so many things that i would love and really could use an answer for RIGHT NOW! but I think about the promises that God has given us!
He promises not to give us anything that we cannot handle!

I am thanking you Lord for all the wonderful things you have given me and all the blessing you have blessed me and my family with. I will continue to call out to you, and wait for you perfect timing!

"But we have to remember that God's timing is different than our own. He sees things from a different perspective and sees the whole picture, not just what we want, but what is best for us in the grand plan for our lives. All is part of a divine order and will be done in its own right and proper time. Of course, when we are hoping, praying and waiting for something, it's easy to forget this. After all, waiting is "remaining inactive in one place while expecting something." And being inactive means feeling powerless and at the mercy of the world - nobody likes that feeling. But we must keep in mind God's greater plan and his perfect timing."

"We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

Christmas/New Years Catch- up!!

Well... I cannot believe the holidays have come and gone this fast!!

Christmas Eve my family and I went to spend time with my mom's brother and his family... we have pizza EVERY christmas.. and we did a dinner out at Pizza Hut! It was alot of fun and the kids were ready to go to sleep as soon as we got back so they could wake up for Santa the next day!!

Christmas day:

I spent Christmas with my family, and most of my dad's side of the family. Every Christmas we eat breakfast and my grandfather reads the story of Jesus birth. Its a time I look forward to every year. We open presents and then eat a HUGE lunch/dinner. There are a bunch of us here for the holidays.. so we have LOTS of food! =]

TWO DAYS LATER...... I got to see the LOVE of my life.. This was the first time in over two months! Picked Jon up in Chi-town and he got to see the city and have come Chicago Pizza! I cannot tell you how happy my heart was to see him walk out from the airport!

It is so interesting how much you can Love someone. Even now just writing, All I can think about is him. We take for granted the time we get to spend with out loved ones. Even listening to my grandfather read the Christmas story every year.. I forget that there will be a time when he will not be around to do that. The time I have with these people I have taken for granted.

I was fortunate to spend a few days with Jon, and every moment was amazing!
We got to have our christmas a few days late and we got to spend New Years together. This was my first New Years kiss.!!!

I never imagined almost 3 years ago that I would have met my future husband! I am awe of the blessings God has given me. What a great God we serve.

There have been some tough times, I am sure for everyone this past year, but I have grown and learned many things that i never knew. I am looking forward to 2010! The other night jon and i were talking and he said, "Whitney, This is the decade we will be married in, become a family. " It's amazing the man God brought into my life. He is a sweet, loving man. He has a passion for life and his music and even a passion for me.

I will say this again, in january of 2007 I never imagained in my wildest dreams that I would meet the man I will spend the rest of my life with. I am looking forward to 2010 and seeing what God has in store myself, Jon & all my loved ones.

I want to share the pictures of the Christmas presents I recieve from my love<3

&& here is Jon's best Christmas present!!

It's Almost Christmas!

I cannot believe that its already December. In fact, I cannot believe that we are only 8 days away from CHRISTMAS! I feel like this year as flown by. It't hard to even believe that in January this year I was student teaching, and SO ready to graduate! That was a a major goal that I final accomplished this past May.
Life has really changed. I have loved these first months at my School and with my kids. They are great!! It's so fun to watch them grow and change and even from August to now - I have seen some great progress! It makes you heart melt when they tell you how they look forward to seeing you everyday and when they bring you gifts. I have some great kiddos! The picture below is my gift from a little girl named Victoria- its a stepping stone with her hand print! LOVE HER!

As we approch this holiday season, I am sure that we all cannot stop thinking about what Christmas is really all about. It's so easy to get caught up in the gifts and decorations that we forget that OUR savior came into the world many Christmas' ago. I encourage you to take sometime this christmas and remember why we celebrate and remember WHO we should celebrate. Also, remember your family. God brought you into the familes that you are in for a reason. Things might be hard and there are plenty of times that even I am not sure what's going on in my family, but remember to show grace and never forget to love them. I leave you with some verses from Luke.

Gabriel appeared to her & said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

For nothing is impossible with God”
Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

The Book of Luke

praise you in this storm ....

I was sure by now,God, that You would have reached down and wiped our tears away, stepped in and saved the day. But once again, I say amen and it's still raining as the thunder rolls I barely hear You whisper through the rain, "I'm with you"and as Your mercy falls I raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away.......



I can't help but replay these words over & over in my head.
Things have been crazy lately... & I am trying to get my mind to run back to the same thing... but when the storm comes its so hard to see past it. Its hard to see sun.. & even though "i know" that God won't let me walk through anything that I can't make it through.. it just does not feel that way. I am overly blessed... God has done a great and mighty thing in mine and my familes lives. I just wish that I could see the light at the end of the tunnel here.

Happy Halloween =]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

I hope the everyone had a wonderful Halloween. I just love to dress up! I didn't do much dressing up... just one day.

I got to spend a wonderful weekend with some of my best friends & My Love. Although I was not feelings super great last week... I had a good time.
I cannot remember the last time that I laughed that much.. smiled so much & was feeling SO loved.

I also can't say how excited I was for this weekend to come.. & I cannot believe that it is already over. It went SO fast. I can't help but think about the next time i get to be with all four of these amazing people!

I also sit here and remember that It was only a few weeks ago that I was in Florida. I waited almost a year for that trip.. and I cannot believe that its over as well.

Man..I am sitting here now thinking ... "When can I get back to Florida && BRING MY BOYFRIEND!" .... & "When will i see all my ladies and lover again?" I don't have the answers ... well exact answers for when I will be doing both of these things. BUT it will HAPPEN... soon I hope .

While I was living in florida and at school I never thought that I would be where I am today. you know that I have found friends in these place.. and not alot.. but a few that have changed my life. There are people in florida like Danielle, Jeni, Rachel, Morgan & the girls who I met at school... Brit, Bri, and Lindsay.... who have completly changed everything in my life. I love those girls for that. I am thankful for them.

I cannot believe that It's already november... thanksgiving is just around the corner and then CHRISTMAS! I can't believe its that close ! I love this time of year. I have so much to be thankful for. The Lord has blessed my life more than I can even type in this blog. I would encourage you to think about all the things the Lord has blessed you with. This is a perfect time for reflection and praise to the Lord for all the great things he has done.

To end... a list of things I am Thankful for:

My Savior- For without him life would be nothing

My family- althought I may not always say it.

MyBoyfriend - Who love me with all his heart... I am forever his <3

My sister... who I love no matter what she thinks =]

My Best friends - you mean the world to me.

My health

My Job - being a teacher is so encouraging

My (current) home =] & the new ones to come

My Freedom.... Never Forget