God Is...

I can't STAND Monday mornings. They are just the saddest days ever. The weekend ends and a new week begins. You either go to work or you go to school. It's so hard to transition from that relaxed mindset back to the focused mindset. Then I remember that it's another day God gave us, so I let it go and get ready for school. *sigh* But...my bed looks so tempting! Ahh anyway!!! Today I just want to say that GOD IS.
Last year, I asked both of my parents a question. I asked them what if they woke up tomorrow and everything was gone? What if they only had the clothes they were wearing and the money in their pocket? I mean what if EVERYTHING just disappeared? My mom was the first to answer and said, "God is." I got a little frustrated because I really wanted a better reaction, but it got me to thinking. At the end of the day, no matter what tests you go through, no matter what issues you have, God is. He just is. That can mean anything good. God is faithful, God is merciful, God is a father, God is a friend, God just is. SO remember that today if you encounter any problems. Be it anything serious like death, losing a job, failing a class; or even something not so big like an issue with a friend, a moment where you feel discouraged, or anything. Just remember God is. He himself says, "I am that I am." Remember who you're dealing with when you face problems today. You've got HIM on your side. There's a saying that goes, "Instead of telling God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big your God is!!" I'll post this song by CeCe Winans to remind you of who God is..because sometimes we really do forget who we're dealing with. Have a blessed Monday! Peace, Love, and Truth. :)

And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. - Exodus 3:14

Why Don't You Trust Him?

Everyday I'm learning that God really wants our trust. God does so much for us and asks for so little in return. He just wants our faith, trust, obedience, love, and praise. Yet, we struggle in doing all of these things for Him. He gives us life. Watch this. I want you all to do this. Take a deep breath. Now let it out. You should be praising God right now! You could take your last breath doing that one day! God breathes life into us and we still take it for granted. Another thing we need to learn, is to forget our trust issues when it comes to God. I know because I personally have an issue with this. I am a very guarded individual who can joke and talk to someone all day, but never for a moment trusting them if I feel they don't deserve my trust. But the reason for that is because of EXPERIENCE. People have done us wrong so we no longer trust that person or anyone who has similar characteristics. Our heart automatically programs itself to avoid pain and disappointment a second time around. But what we need to realize, is that GOD IS NOT SOME HUMAN WHO HURT US! True, He had a part of Himself come to earth in human form, but even then, Jesus was perfect! We have to learn to let the walls down surrounding our heart when it comes to God. He is the one person who deserves our trust. God is constantly tapping your heart, asking to be allowed inside because He loves us. But we're still stuck on what happens on a daily basis on earth. We focus too much on how hurt we are, and not enough on how those hurts are really life lessons about God being the only one to never leave or forsake us. Instead of seeing the good in this, we automatically feel pity for ourselves. I'm challenging you today to trust Him! Open your heart, let Him in. When you truly do, you'll have this really warm feeling inside of you that won't go away. If it ever feels like it's not there, you need to get on your knees quick and stay there until it comes back! Often we just aimlessly pray for God to come back and don't feel our prayers. Stay on your knees until you feel God move! Don't just recite your prayer and get up thinking it's done. NO! A relationship with God takes work. I'm learning that myself. So trust God. He is the only one who will never do you wrong. You know, this week when I was in the car with my dad leaving Bible Study [which was AWESOME!] I was thinking about some worries I had. And every time a new worry came to mind, God would quietly say, "Let me show you what I can do." I got so much peace every time I heard it! If we would just learn to trust God, and I mean REALLY trust Him, we wouldn't have a need for worries. We would fear Him, and that's it. Man, if y'all can really get this through your head like I'm trying to, you'll have such peace!! I notice that when I start slacking in my steps to strengthening my relationship with Him, my peace of mind trails away. But when I'm focused, it's the best feeling ever. No matter what, God has this rope attached to you, pulling you back to Him. He tugs harder on it by sending you reminders. This can be through feelings or experiences. He just wants you to understand that He is really in control and you are a mess by yourself. The most amazing thing about God is He gives everyone the choice to believe in Him or not. He doesn't force anyone to do it, yet continues to give them life each day, another opportunity to believe in Him. That blows me away when I think about it each time! Spend your mornings strengthening that relationship. I don't care how hectic it is, MAKE time. Often people say it doesn't matter when you do it, but I've noticed that not acknowledging God as soon as you wake up can really affect your day. So make that first step even if you have to wake up earlier. Is He not worth a few minutes off of your sleep? Get it done. That's my challenge to you this week. This is important..you really have to learn to trust God. A lot of people say that they trust God, but don't even know what they're saying. I used to say it all the time. When your faith is tested, do you still trust Him? Faith and Trust are similar, but not the same. Think about it. Peace, Love, and Truth. :)

O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you. - Psalm 84:12

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. - Proverbs 3:5-6

I Try...But Sometimes I Fail

I've got to write this really quick then get my homework done! Yes, I am a big time nerd who believes in doing her homework on a Friday and reviewing again on Sunday. Sooo yeah. Although I have been writing pretty positive posts on here all week, my week has been really bad. Senior year is finally starting to kick me in the butt and as a result I'm starting to get more and more frustrated. It seems like I'm doing more wrong things than right and it is annoying. I'm used to getting things right on the first try. I'm somewhat of a perfectionist. So for me to fail at ANYTHING is a big slap in the face. Because of all this frustration, I haven't been as friendly or Christian like as I want to be. Honestly, I've been like a totally different person all week. It's like I knew I was being mean to people I care about and people I don't even know, but still I couldn't change it. My mind was telling me to straighten up, but I just had this angry spirit that wanted to act crazy. And I strayed away a little from God, doing my devotionals, praying all the time, reading my Bible. I thought I was going crazy. I really did. I thought it was something wrong with me. I've been beating myself up over it all week and now I realize I put too much pressure on myself to be PERFECT. I've been too busy trying to do something only God can do: control my life! I forgot to give my problems to Him. Well anyway, I wanted to write about Love and God's Love and how it's in the Bible a lot. But then out of nowhere, I started singing this song by Mary Mary called "I Try." While I was humming the tune the words came to mind and I sang out loud while I was going in the house. Then I realized "HELLO, this applies to ME!!!" So I found the song online and realized we are all like this. We all try but sometimes fail, and it's time to realize we need God's help! This song ministered to me and of course I'm attaching it with this post. I believe there is someone besides me who had a bad week and needs to remember like me, to put God first. He wants to help us, and we need to march right back to our Daddy. God loves us so much that we can't even understand it. I always say, "You are on God's mind probably way more than He is on yours." It is so awesome to have Someone that thinks the best of you, gently reprimands you when you do wrong, but always supports you. I know that if no one else loves me, God loves me! So I want to encourage any of you having a bad week to use this weekend to clear your mind, clean up your messes, and go back to God. Truly visit Him and talk to Him. Get intimate with God. Tell Him out loud that you love Him. Confess your sins and apologize for trying to do everything on your own. I hope you listen to the song and read the lyrics (I found a video with lyrics this time!). Meditate on it..let it sink into your spirit. Then go before God. I really hope you all do this. I know I will. I've been horrible this week and I need to do some serious repenting. Have a great weekend. Peace, Love, and Truth. :)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. - Proverbs 3:5-6

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. - 2 Peter 3:9

*Also, the video randomly stops around 2:30. Just hit play again, I don't know why it does that.*

I'm Blessed! Are You?

I don't feel like writing today. Today has not been my day. I let myself get so upset that even I forgot my advice from yesterday about positive thoughts (yeah, I messed up). I put on my Facebook status that I was taking suggestions for the topic today. My friend Rhi suggested that I write on things that make me blessed. And you know what? That's an awesome idea. All day I've been focusing on how frustrated I am and what I THINK I need. Once I get through writing this I'll probably feel much better because I'll realize again all that God has blessed me with. So let's go.

God has blessed me with:
-life. So many times we think we just deserve to be here and still alive. I know that with some of the stuff I've pulled in life, I should be gone. But God saw fit to let me change my life and get closer to Him. Not to say it's not a struggle as a teenager, but I do realize that I owe myself to Him.
-family. Man, living in a house with six other people and another on the way IS NOT EASY. But, without my family I would be so messed up! My little sisters [ages 6,5, and almost 2] drive me crazy some days. Well actually they drive me up a wall most days. But what siblings don't? That's part of living together. I love my family and no matter what I'll always be thankful for them.
-school. School is a mess. You've got homework, classwork, tests, drama, little females who are trying to find themselves and as a result they down others based off of their insecurities, and then you have guys who mainly focus on sex. So where do you find the blessing in that, you ask? Well..think about it. School can be so awesome! I have met some of the best friends through school! In Elementary School I met my best BEST friend, Erin. We're still close. In Middle School, I met a couple of more really close friends. In High School, I've met some really awesome people who have kept me sane through all my transitions in my life. Not to mention, school helps you learn more. School is so awesome, that I'm going to do homework as soon as I finish writing this.
-friends. I probably should have used the other paragraph for this, but friends are amazing! My daddy always says that if you have two or three REAL friends in life, you're blessed. And I believe God has blessed me with some of the greatest friends ever. They allow me to be myself and don't judge me, still taking the responsibility of telling me when I'm in the wrong.
-everything else. We always say God has done more than enough in our lives, so much we can't tell it all! And I really can't. My mind can't even begin to think about it all. But, that's okay. God knows. And what is so amazing is that He has blessed me beyond measure, and is STILL blessing me, and will CONTINUE to bless me. If that doesn't blow your mind, you need to go do some more thinking! He blesses us even when we treat Him SO wrong. He pays back rejection, disobedience, and intentional hurting with kindness. Who does that?! Not us!! That's amazing!

What has God blessed you with? You can reply..post your comments. The only way to remember the marvelous things God has done in our lives is by remembering and sharing! That keeps us in line and makes us want to praise Him even more! So feel free to comment.

Peace, Love, and Truth. :)

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! - Psalm 107:1

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. - James 1:17

Positive Thoughts Bring Positive Results

I was thinking about writing today, but after hanging with my friends and realizing I have more homework than I care to THINK about, I decided not to write anything. But then I remembered that earlier this morning on my Facebook page I said I was planning to write on Betrayal. I had it planned and everything. Then I read one of my tweets I put on Twitter this morning and realized I'd rather write on this instead because so many people forget about its importance. "Positive thoughts bring positive results." If you read this, apply it to your life and remember yesterday's post about eliminating fear, you will definitely be on your way somewhere! I have a story and a lesson that goes with this subject, so read on.

Like many others, I decided that this year I would lose weight. I will be going to college in the fall and wanted to get a good start. So far I've been keeping up with my gym habits (don't ask about the eating habits though!). Anyway, I've always been afraid to run on the treadmill. (afraid...FEAR..ring a bell yet?) I thought people would look at me funny and I would look a mess. Well one day while I was walking on the treadmill, I started watching Joel Osteen. I just LOVE him! He is the best motivator around! On this particular sermon, he was teaching about how the mind will make sure the body carries out whatever you think. So if you think something negative, your mind will make sure it happens through your body. If you wake up in the morning saying negative things such as "I look horrible," or "I'm so fat," or "I'm so tired," your body will carry it out! You will feel ugly and not want to look at mirrors. You will make bad eating decisions through the day because you already feel fat. You will remain sluggish all day. It is all because of your mindset. Yet our spirits know that we are fearfully and wonderfully made! Well while I was listening, I realized my fear was running on the treadmill. I wanted to, but my body wouldn't let me because my mind had already programmed that I was too clumsy to do such a thing. Once I heard Joel Osteen say these words, I released negative thoughts from my mind. I told myself that I would indeed run on the treadmill next time. Nothing would hold me back any longer. I would do what I wanted to. I also started saying positive things to myself in the mirror every morning when I woke up. Silly as it may sound, you best believe it worked! Since that day at the gym, I have been running every time I get on the treadmill. I may not run the whole time and at a very fast speed, but I am working my way up. Every time I run a little longer, run a little faster. Your mind is something very powerful and you should always use it for the best. Now, your current issue may not be losing weight or running on a treadmill, but I'm sure there is something you want to do that you're not thinking the most positive thoughts on. Choose to use this very moment to change that. Start thinking positively of yourself. Repent to God for ever underestimating yourself. He created a wonderful person in you. When you underestimate yourself, you insult God. It's like saying, "Hey thanks for creating me God, but you missed a spot. Yeah, you forgot to put confidence right here." Do you know that when God created us and it was your time, even HE had to step back in awe of His wonderful work? So dig inside of yourself. Take what you have and use it to its full potential! Peace, Love, and Truth. :)

Positive thoughts bring positive results.


Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. - Philippians 4:8

Elimination of Fear: Letting Go and Living!

Today I want to direct this to the people in my age group. My main focus today is to say: DO SOMETHING POSITIVE WITH YOUR LIFE!!! Often we get lazy and ungrateful. School becomes too much to handle. We are in high school and ready to graduate. Or we're in college and the pressure of all the new surroundings and all the work to get done becomes too much. Now of course we know that God will never put more on us than we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), but at the same time God didn't create us to be completely dumb. We have minds and common sense as well. I don't care what ANYONE says, everyone has common sense. The problem is that not everyone pays attention to their common sense. Some people choose to ignore it. I mean, if we didn't have common sense, why would people have so much fun doing what's wrong? Why would teenagers purposely do the opposite of what their parents say? Never underestimate people..they know the difference between right and wrong. Another thing I want us to learn is to not be afraid. Don't let fear take over your life. Although things are going to happen that are out of your control, don't let it ruin your life. You have the choice to determine your future. Don't let fear hold you back from doing what you really want to do. Strive to do what's right. At my home church in Memphis, my pastor there used to say all the time, "Do the right thing in all relationships." This can pertain to any relationship. Be it with a significant other, family, friends, it doesn't matter! Do what is right, and don't let fear hold you back. Fear can take over and destroy your life. I'm not speaking on what I've heard, I'm speaking on what I've seen. Trust me, I know! I know of older people now who let fear change the whole course of their lives. It held them back from every dream they ever had. Now, they second-guess themselves on even the most trivial things because they listened to a little voice telling them they were dumb, or could never accomplish anything. Today, I challenge you to CHANGE YOUR LIFE. If you are scared to speak up, try out for something, or do something new, just go do it! Don't let fear hold you back!! God is doing too much in the lives of His children to let them mess it up by being scared and not answering His call. Learn to stand up for what is right, and you will find favor on your life. I hope this helps you make a positive change and let go of any fear that is holding you back from a dream. This was one of my more serious posts today, because I feel so strongly about people making positive changes. Maybe tomorrow or whenever I write again will be more on the humorous side. Peace, Love, and Truth. :)

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. - 2 Timothy 1:7

Valentine's Day: He Loves YOU, more than you love YOURSELF!

Honestly ask yourself this: besides God, who can love you best? There's this song by Lisa McClendon called "Who Can Love You More?" I just love it! Even though I am considered "too young" for a serious relationship, I still have my days where I wish I could have a boyfriend. But then, I remember what I could miss out on by getting in a relationship right now. I could miss out on truly discovering who I am, what I like and don't like, and what God has in store for me! In that song mentioned earlier, Lisa says, "stop looking for a man, and let the man find you; get in God's word and let Him show you, you!" See?? You'e got to love yourself before loving anyone else! So, if you're single today, and feeling a little down about not having a Valentine, remember: God IS your Valentine! He loves you more than anyone ever could. In case you didn't know, single is in right now. ;) So cheer up! I've attached the song below so you can listen to it. Listen carefully to the words, read along with some lyrics online if you must; truly grasp the meaning of the song! And even if you're a guy, just rearrange the lyrics so that it applies to you as well. Peace, Love, and Truth. :)

About "Peace, Love, and Truth!"

For quite sometime, I've wanted to create my own blog! I've been thinking about it (secretly of course) and I have seen others creating them. However, I was too scared! Recently, I stopped using Facebook 80 hours a day (lol..more like 10 hours a day!), and switched to Twitter (yes, it's just as addictive as FB). But the 140 characters wasn't enough! My dad started following me on Twitter and said, "Carmen, you tweet too much. Why don't you start blogging?" Can we say confirmation?? So here I am, starting my blog! Here, you'll find me talking about a lot of different topics. I will write about everything from love to school to serious issues in the world! Almost everything I write about will be funny, because I love making people laugh..laughter is very important in this world we live in. And there will also be life lessons to learn. I loooove God so much so I have to give Him props on any website I speak on! That's why I titled this "Peace, Love, and Truth," because it will be a peaceful (no drama!) blog site, it will all be in love, and it will all be the truth. No time for lies..lying is unhealthy! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this blog and invite others to check it out. I've decided to not make a commitment in how often I'll write on here, BUT I will write on any topic you people throw out at me if I can ever get enough people to view this thing. So please, be patient because I am new to this, but know that I do plan to write often!