Thanks to Him!!

With the Thanksgiving and Christmas Season swiftly approaching, many times we often lose sight of the real reason we celebrate. Maybe you are caught up with plays at school or shopping for family and friends or maybe spending time with those you love. None of those things are bad things at all! But sometime we get lost in the hustle and the bustle of the season and forget the true reason. Thanksgiving is a day set aside to give thanks specifically to God for all the things He has done for us. Here's a challenge: sit down and make a list of all the things you are thankful to God for. I bet that you will not be able to stop yourself from writing!! The list will keep going and going!! Just remember that in this life we do will have so much to thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! He has given us the very breath that we breath, a way to Heaven, and an eternal life to spend with him! This Thanksgiving season, stop and say a quick thanks to the ONE who gave you so much more than you could ever dream!! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

"People Get Ready"

Do you ever look up into heaven, wondering when Jesus will return? Honestly, sometimes I try to avoid thinking about heaven, and I believe it's because I love the world way too much! The more I think about it, the crazier I think I am; because why wouldn't I want to go to the only place that is completely perfect? And most importantly, where my Savior lives?!

After I thought about heaven for a while, I remembered a song I had heard a few weeks ago called, "People Get Ready." It's a song talking about the eminance of the Lord's return, and we all need to get ready by telling others and being a witness for Christ. So, as I listen to it as I write, I can't help but get extremely excited! Not just because I will be with my Jesus soon, but I can be a part of helping get others ready for Jesus' return! What an honor. God has chosen me, Riley Morgan, and every one of His children to share His love with the world!

So, will you help "get people ready" for the return of our wonderful, loving Savior?

Sunrise

Last night I (Riley) had the opportunity to talk to my pastor's wife. We talked about lots, but one thing in particular stood out in my mind. We were talking about how God lets us go through things that may lead us to believe that He is no longer concerned with our lives, but down the road it is so very clear that He put us through that for a purpose!
During the summer, I went through a very trivial time in my life. I won't elaborate, but let's just say that I was making very foolish decisions, and not heeding God's will for my life. During this time, I was trying desperately to escape something, but rather than relying on God, I took matters into my own hands. And needless to say, things got kind of scary! For example, I no longer had a desire to pay attention in church, or get involved in the ministry at my church. Although I had to go through alot before I realized I was headed down the wrong road, God finally intervened and brought me back into His loving arms!
His way of capturing my attention still sticks out in my head today, and gives me chills, and brings tears to my eyes! I was in Ohio with my parents visiting my grandparents, and we were at their church on a Sunday morning. The service started out normal enough, singing, and a special. Little did I know that God had that special picked out just for me! A girl named Hailey sang with her dad. Before they started singing, her dad explained that Hailey had a disorder and she couldn't stop moving around, and she had some mental problems. But he shared that Hailey loved singing to Jesus more than anything else! They sang her favorite song, a song about praising God even during difficult times. As I was sitting there, I watched Hailey beaming, and clapping her hands as she sang about God's goodness. It made me cry, and made me think that if Hailey could praise God through all of her problems, I could surely begin thanking Him for my life!
Apparently, I wasn't the only one touched by Hailey's song, the whole church began praising God! People began testifying to God's goodness, and telling the many things God had done for them in just the last week. The pastor saw how open people were being about praising God, and he decided to let the service turn into a full blown testimony service. I have never received such a blessing from a service in my life! It truly turned my life around.
From that point on, I began seeking God and praying like I never had. I begged God for a second chance, and for His forgiveness. Looking back, I can see how amazing God was, He indeed gave me a second chance and brought me to the exact place in life He wanted me to be at. I am convinced that had I not gone through that rough summer, I would not be writing this blog today. God is truly a compassionate God who works in mysterious ways!
After I got home last night, I was still thinking about what I had talked about to my pastor's wife as I got ready for bed. I don't know about you, but while I'm brushing my teeth I like to listen to music! So, I was listening to my iPod, and a song I hadn't heard in a while came on, called "Sunrise" by Nichole Nordeman. It was like God's way of saying, "This is exactly what you need to write about!" The lyrics explain perfectly what I wanted to express!

"Sunrise" ~Nichole Nordeman

If I had the chance
To go back again
Take a different road, bear a lighter load
Tell an easy story
I would walk away
With my yesterdays
And I would not trade what is broken for beauty only
Every valley
Every bitter chill
Made me ready to climb back up the hill
And find that . . .


You are sunrise
You are blue skies
How would I know the morning
If I knew not midnight?
You're my horizon
You're the light of a new dawn
So thank You, thank You
That after the long night, You are sunrise


There's a moment when
Faith caves in
There's a time when every soul is certain God is gone
But every shadow is evidence of sun
Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com
And every tomorrow holds out hope for us
For every one of us

You are sunrise
You are blue skies
How would I know the morning
If I knew not midnight?
You're my horizon
You're the light of a new dawn
So thank You, thank You
That after the long night, You are sunrise


You alone will shine
You alone can resurrect this heart of mine


You are sunrise
You are blue skies
How would I know the morning
If I knew not midnight?
You're my horizon
You're the light of a new dawn
So thank You, thank You
That after the long night, You are sunrise
You are sunrise


That first verse just reminds me that even though I may have made many mistakes, they brought me to where I am and I should never want to go back and change them because I might not be where I am today! And the chorus paints such a beautiful picture, of what it's like when we get to the top of our "mountain". When we "see" God for the first time after we have been running from Him, it's like seeing a gorgeous sunrise. It also makes an astonishing point, if we didn't go through hard times, how would we know God's goodness? The second verse really spoke to me. It says that for every Christian there is a moment when faith disappears. It might be because of a lack of faith, or because we think God has left us, or in my case rebelling. But even during those time, we can see evidences of Christ in our lives, and He is revealing Himself to us, trying to bring us back to Him!
Although I had heard this song a dozen times before, this time it's like it finally "clicked," and God was saying, "See I had you go through that to bring you even closer to Me!" How marvelous our God is!
So the next time you think you can't go on, and your faith is on the brink of disappearing, look for the "Sunrise!"

If you want to hear the song "Sunrise" by Nichole Nordeman click on this link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev9LRiTxgfA&feature=related

Family

I (Kristin) have the most amazing family in the entire world. If I did not have my family, I would not be who I am today. My dad is a preacher and my mom is the most Godly woman I know. I thank God everyday for family like mine. Both of my parents are involved in church and set Godly examples for me to follow. God has blessed me with so much. I have a brother and a sister-in-law who are awesome examples for me!! I have a two nieces and a nephew who I love with my whole heart. God has blessed me so much and I could not ask for anything more! This blog is kinda out of the ordinary, but I just feel completely overwhelmed and decided to express it through the blog! Thanks for listening! And if you ever feel discouraged with your family, just remember that God gave you your family for a reason! Do not ever forget it!

Please Pray!

Please be in prayer for the Howeth Family. The youngest son Ethan was involved in an hunting accident and was shot in the shin area of his leg. The doctors say it is not life threatening, but there maybe a chance he could lose the lower half of his leg. Please keep this family and this very strong young man in your prayers!

Love Like There's No Tomorrow

Most of the time, I (Kristin) do not like the phrase "Live like there's no tomorrow." But recently, I heard the phrase "Love like there's no tomorrow." I think Christians would do what we were supposed to do if we loved like there were no tomorrow. The Bible says to boast not about tomorrow because we do not know what tomorrow will bring forth. The Bible also says to go out and preach the gospel to every creature. So if we love Christ the way we should, then we would tell others about him like we should. Since we do not know what tomorrow holds, we should share our love for Christ to every creature as if there were no tomorrow!! The next time you feel like you should witness to someone, remember that you do not know what tomorrow holds, so love Christ and love that lost soul like there is no tomorrow!