Winter birds continued

As I assumed, we had snow on the ground from Monday until today (Wednesday). Unfortunately, it is beginning to melt as I write due to the warmer temperatures. What does a lot of snow, plus warmth, plus a slope equal?

snow + warmth + a slope = a flood 

Despite that, we have had a constant fire in the fireplace since Sunday, and plan to have a lazy day today :) It is supposed to snow again on Friday too! Man, is this fun or what? My siblings even managed to make a 6 foot snowman today. Texas is in lockdown, and it is so adventurous!

Anyway…back to the post: here are some more photos I took this morning of the outdoors. Enjoy!

Have a great day!

He is worthy and greatly to be praised

                                                           Olivia Grace

Winter birds

We just got a snow storm here last night, and looks like it'll be sticking around for awhile! That I must say, is a huge Texas accomplishment since it usually only stays for a few hours until the sun comes out. However, this time the temperatures won't be getting higher than 40* (tomorrow), with constant cloudy skies, and more snow on Wednesday. Whoo hoo! I love snow, ice, and cold weather :) It's so pretty and adventurous.

Anyway, here are a few pictures I took this morning of the birds in the snow. They are thoroughly enjoying it!

I hope you enjoyed these! Stay warm and cozy…

He is worthy and greatly to be praised

 Olivia Grace

My Perfect Husband

As I wear this purity ring every day, I am reminded of someone Wonderful. Recently, I have been admiring it more and more, thinking about the beautiful and Perfect Husband I have.

No, I am not married to a man here on this earth, but rather am the Bride of Christ Himself. He is my Husband, and He is the most Perfect One. I have nothing to fear, because I know that He will protect me, provide for me, take care of me, shelter me, and love me. He is all I need. 

Sometimes girls wonder when they're going to get married, try and guess who they might marry, and be on the look-out for 'the one'. I must admit I've been one of those girls. Not that it's bad, but rather something that we shouldn't dwell on. It can be a very consuming thought, to say the least. Yes, you do need to prepare and talk to God about the type of man He wants for you, think about highly important qualities that are necessary in your man, prepare yourself and your heart for being a wife and servant, etc. But it can't be your only thought in life. Take these moments that you have of being single, and use it for God's glory. Think about Christ as your Husband. Dwell on Him. Pray for your future man, whoever he may be. Don't become discouraged about not being married now, but instead see it as an opportunity to do something amazing for the Kingdom before you run off in love with the one. There is a particular reason God has you in this single season…and why would any other plan be better than that? He is obviously waiting and preparing your man to deal with, and love on you. If you mess up those plans and marry someone else in your hastiness, you will most likely have a rough marriage. Who knows? Maybe your man is ready and waiting, but God has some work to do on you? 

To the men that read my blog, the same goes for you! Pray about your future wife, wait patiently for His timing, use this time of being single for His glory. God knows and you can trust Him to show you the one, to be content, and to let God be your Bride until she comes. Don't mess up His plan. Take time studying God's Word, becoming the man He wants you to be, learning what it means to lead a home, to be a father, to show pure love. Us young ladies are praying for that type of man. Learn all you can about Christ and His Son. Do things for His Kingdom that you wouldn't be able to do while married. Know that He is the One you can trust, that you can lean on, that you can learn from. He is Faithful.

God has really helped me be content in my singleness, and shown me the man He desires for me…or at least the type of man I need. It has helped to pray for him every day, asking God to prepare him to be an amazing husband and father some day. Praying that I will be ready to serve, submit, and love this man. I am now content to wait until whatever age He wants, to marry whatever man He desires, and to use this time for His glory, that all the nations may see Christ. In the meantime, He is the One, the only One I need and desire and until my wedding day, or the time I get engaged, this purity ring will remain on my left ring finger as a reminder of my Perfect Husband…and His great love for me.

He is worthy and greatly to be praised

 Olivia Grace



Photography Website!

I had the privilege of creating my own photography website, a few weeks ago. It was SO much fun...but with much trial and error. There were many changes that needed to take place over a period of about a week, quite a few emails back and forth with a credit card company, trying to purchase my own domain name, etc.

Why a photography website, you may ask?

The answer is simple. I need income. But a bonus, is that people can be blessed with God's Creation displayed throughout their home.

It has been a very frustrating last couple of weeks, trying to have faith that God will provide my needs, and yet not seeing it come in. I am only 19 years old, and on the verge of bankruptcy. I have two darling little children that I sponsor over in South Asia, that I love, and I know God loves. But how can I keep affording it? I have a cell phone bill that I have to keep paying every month. But how can I keep affording it? I have a few friends who I'd love to give a gift too, either crocheting, or something else. But how can I keep affording it?  I have a dear friend who is cold all the time, and suffers with some unknown health issues like me. I want to make a blanket for her, a thick double crocheted one with two colors of yarn. But how can I keep affording it? The answer is I can't. Not without the help of Jesus Christ Himself. I can't do this on my own. I can't keep giving back to Him what I don't have. So I've been desperately praying, asking God for help, for income, and for a content heart to wait. This website I saw as a God-given opportunity to earn some money, and allow others to be blessed by the photographs of His Creation.

I have yet to receive any orders, and am hoping and praying it wasn't in vain. If you have anyone that you think might be interested, please send them the link. If you would like to help by purchasing a few yourself, please do. If you have any yarn you'd like to donate, please feel free. If you have an at home job that I can do, please let me know. If you know Jesus, and have a chance to ask Him about my situation, please pray. Anything and everything is appreciated!

I will be posting this website link on the side of my blog, so you can always find it.

Thank you so much!

http://www.reflectionsofhim.com/

He is worthy and greatly to be praised

 Olivia Grace



Rain photos

The past few days, I have been aching to take pictures of something. So, I decided to use my somewhat creative side this morning, to do a photoshoot of my brother Levi…in the rain :) 

Enjoy!

"The earth quaked; the heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;

Sini itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel."

~Psalm 68:8

He is worthy and greatly to be praised

 Olivia Grace

Spiritual starvation

On Tuesday the 9th of December, I was really struggling with depression and having major emotional breakdowns because of health problems and anger. I went to Prayer night at Gospel for Asia, and there was a guest speaker: Pastor E.Z. (Emeal Zwayne). The message God had prepared for him to speak, was exactly what I needed to hear.

He began his sermon with the statistics of true starvation. How there are many people around the world and the U.S. who are truly starving…

…poor nutrition causes nearly half (45%) of deaths in children 

under the age of five--3.1 million children each year

….some 805 million people in the world do not have enough food to

lead a healthy active life; that's 1 in 9 people on earth

…1/3 of the world population is well fed, 1/3 is undernourished,

and 1/3 is starved

E.Z. then referred to our spiritual life, and how we can easily get undernourished and eventually starving. And it all starts with our silent 'skipping' of reading the Bible. It only takes one day of not being in God's Word, to start a downward spiral to depression, grief, guilt, and anger. Because one day leads to another day, then to a week, and finally a month of not reading the Word. You will then began trying to fill the void in your heart, soul, and mind with other materialistic and worldly pleasures.

And that my friends, was happening to me. I decided it would be okay to skip a day of having my devotions, and then a second day came and went until I had spent a whole month out of the Bible, and in the world. I wondered why I was so emotional and depressed all the time? The answer was right in front of me, all I needed to do was dig in His Word and find it. I knew in my heart that I was spiritually starving...in fact, I was almost dead. The problem was I didn't want to admit it. But that cold night in December, was one that would change the weeks to come.

I started reading the Word of God, and my heart was sucking it in as fast as it could. Every word was beautiful. Every verse meaningful. I all of a sudden realized how hungry I was...the spiritual food from Jesus was, and still is incredibly satisfying, totally delicious, and amazingly cleansing. My attitude started to change. My emotions started becoming more stable. I was filled with more of a peace about the situations around me. I could actually be happy again!

So I made a resolution at the beginning of this year, to read through the entire Bible on my own with no reading plans. Sadly, I've never actually read through the whole Bible in my 19 years of life. But this year is going to be different! I am going to find out everything there is to know about the Beginning, about the Middle, and about the End. I have also decided to get a piece of paper and write all the names of God on it. On another piece of paper, write who we are in God's eyes, such as: a royal priesthood; a chosen people; precious cornerstone. So far, I have already found 13 different Names for God just in the beginning 26 chapters of Genesis! I had no idea there would be so many in the first book of the Bible. It just makes it all the more exciting, to see how many names He has for Himself in His Word!

 Staying faithful to Jesus, by reading His Word every day can be challenging but totally worth it. He loves you so much, and wants you to get to know Him better. Why not? What is holding you back from knowing Jesus more intimately and fully?

He is worthy and greatly to be praised

 Olivia Grace