LOVE :)

Just thinking about you all! How can we be praying for each other right now? What is going on in YOUR life?! Fill us in! I love each of you so much!!! :)

Hi Friends!
I'm sitting here working on a "mock" campaigner's lesson for quest, and it is making me think of ya'll and how we would all go to Laura's and spend  time just hanging out and  getting to do bible study all TOGETHER. I miss those time so much, but I'm so thankful for how well we've stayed in touch - it's definitely not easy, but we've done a great job!! I mean seriously ya'll, we graduated almost TWO years ago?! What! And we're still all so close!

Anyways... I hope everyone is doing well. Nothing has been posted on this in a while, so I felt like I should put something up!

Lately I feel my focus has been on trying to give my all to God. I honestly feel like sometimes I go through the motions, and just go to church or bible study or whatever, but I'm not giving it everything I've got. My life has been nonstop - literally - the past two weeks, and it has really made me see what my priorities are, and I have to be honest, God is not always my top priority. I constantly put school, sorority commitments, or hanging out with my friends above spending time with God very often. I really hate to say that, but it has been so true lately! I want to feel like no matter how busy I am, I always put Him first, and I give him ALL of my attention and ALL of me.

This might seem kind of scattered/random, but I just wanted to share it with you guys, and show you where I am with my life right now. AND I want hear about ya'll's lives too! I miss you all SO much and love you!!

Katie

Miss you guys...!

"I know that you are for me!"

LISTEN :) --> "You Are For Me" by Kari Jobe       
           I absolutely LOVE that Kari Jobe song, You Are for Me (I'm so glad you posted the lyrics, Mclean!) I listen to that just about every day- literally. I feel like the Lord speaks to me the most through music, and the lyrics to this song are such a sweet reminder that God IS for us. He IS fighting for YOU daily. Wow! It blows my mind to think that the Lord is fighting for me, as many times as I fail Him.

           God's love for us is so faithful, constant, patient, merciful, and true. I have been so overwhelmed by God's love for me recently- just trying to grasp how much He really does love me.. how much He fights for me.. how much potential He sees for my life. I have always wondered if I really let the Lord love me. I know that I love Him so much, but do I let Him love me? Do I truly accept His love? I feel as if my answer would have been no a year ago, but I have slowly grown to accept that love over this past year. I feel like I have been loved so well by the ones around me, and that I have seen Christ through the way others love me.

              This year has been crazy, chaotic, stressful, joyful, humbling, and such a blessing. Some mornings I wonder how I am even going to step out of bed, because I'm so exhausted (partly because I stay up too late ha!), but I have found that If I spend time with Jesus FIRST my day looks completely different. No, this does not happen every day for me. My prayer is that I would just rest at the foot of the Cross first thing each morning.. Be STILL. Soak my day in prayer. I long for that to be true of my life DAILY. So that is something you all can be praying for in my life. I was at Young life tuesday training last night, and Jim Branch said something that really encouraged me to be true of myself. He said, " I don't leave the house until I have prayed for an hour. I know that with the number of people I will talk to, truth I will speak into other people's lives, number of times I will stumble, that I WILL need to be rooted in Jesus and prayer." Now, i know that one hour isn't going to happen every day, with the crazy schedules we have as college students. The idea of not leaving the house until I have prayed for  every aspect of my day, known and unknown, is so exciting to me. So exciting, because prayer is so powerful and I am always so anxious to see what the Lord has in store.  I know that our days fly by and we look back and wonder what we have even done with our time; but I would just encourage you all to PRAY. It's just as simple as that. Rest in Jesus' arms each morning and pray, listen, weep, laugh! Jesus has more than we could ever imagine in store for each of our lives-even on the days we cant imagine making a difference in the lives of others because of our own messes.

         I am a firm believer in the power of prayer. I am praying for each of you. Praying that you all will be warriors in fighting your own battle! I am so thankful the Lord has placed each of you in my life. Love Love LOVE you, sweet sisters in Christ! :)

     

Sunshineee

Hi friends!
Laura, I am going through the bible in a year too! We are probably doing the same readings! I love that passage that you talked about and how important it is for us to realize that God really is fighting for us, and that we can rest in that statement alone. I feel like I have been struggling with that a lot lately. About two weeks ago, the anxiety I struggle with hit a new low and I was so miserable. I literally broke down and one of my best friends here came over to talk to me and told me some of the same things you posted, Laura, about trusting God and knowing his plan for us. Ya'll, ever since then, I have been a different person! I have really been actually putting my trust in God for the first time, and it makes a world of difference! It's like I had to hit the bottom to understand.

Also, I know some of ya'll know that there was a shooting here yesterday, and it seriously was no big deal at all! It happened because of an argument over a girl, and one guy shot the other in the hand. No big deal, but I had watched the movie To Save a Life earlier that day(if you haven't seen it go rent it, it's awesome!). But anyways, it just made me think, is his life really so deprived of God that he would shoot someone over something so little? It just makes me realize that there are so many people without God in their lives and how sad that is! It is just so apparent how many people need Him right now!!

AND, I am going through quest again to be a young life leader here, and I am sooo excited about it!!

Mclean, one of my friends here and I were just talking about how God is the only love we really need, and that we are so blessed to have great friends in our life! Her and her boyfriend just broke up and she thought she wouldn't be able to listen to "God gave me you" until she realized that that goes the same for friends! God gives us our friends and family to show His love and give someone to be there for us at all times! It is just so great!

I don't know how this ended up to be so long but I LOVE ya'll so much!! I miss you all!! I can't wait to see you soon!

Katie

LOVE

I have been struggling with love over the last few months as yall all know. Today was especially hard because it is like single awareness day everywhere!!! BUT I went to a revival tonight, and the most important thing is that GOD LOVES ME! Nothing else matters, like at all! I can not explain to yall how much I needed this message today of all days. Here are some lyrics of songs we sang tonight that I think are amazing! Love each and every one of you!

constantSo faithful, so constant and so true
So powerful in all You do
You fill me, You see me
You know my every move
You love for me to sing to You

I know that You are for me, I know that You are for me
I know that You will never forsake me in my weakness
And I know that You have come now even if to write upon my heart
To remind me who You are

So patient, so gracious, so merciful and true
So wonderful in all You do
You fill me, You see me
You know my every move
You love for me to sing to You

Lord, I know that You are for me, I know that You are for me
I know that You will never forsake me in my weakness
And I know that You have come now even if to write upon my heart
To remind me

Lord, I know that You are for me, I know that You are for me
I know that You will never forsake me in my weakness
And I know that You have come now even if to write upon my heart
To remind me who You are
To remind me

I know that You are for me, I know that You are for me
I know that You will never forsake me in my weakness
And I know that You have come now even if to write upon my heart
To remind me who You are



The more i seek you,
the more i find you.

The more i find you,
the more I love you

I wanna sit at your feet
drink from the cup in your hand.
Lay back against you and breath,
hear your heart beat

This love is so deep,
it's more than I can stand.
I melt in your peace, it's overwhelming

The more i seek you,
the more i find you.

The more i find you,
the more I love you

I wanna sit at your feet
drink from the cup in your hand.
Lay back against you and breath,
hear your heart beat

This love is so deep,
it's more than I can stand.
I melt in your peace, it's overwhelming

I wanna sit at your feet
drink from the cup in your hand.
Lay back against you and breath,
hear your heart beat

This love is so deep,
it's more than I can stand.
I melt in your peace, it's overwhelming

I wanna sit at your feet
drink from the cup in your hand.
Lay back against you and breath,
hear your heart beat

This love is so deep,
it's more than I can stand.
I melt in your peace...

My Lovely Sunshines....
You all have been on my heart... you make me smile, you keep me going, you light up my world. So, this year, I have been reading through the "One Year in a Bible" and it has been so energizing to spend so much time in the word- both the OT and the NT. I read this scripture the other day and felt such comfort...

"Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” "
Exodus 14:13-14

Find peace in these words knowing that HE WILL FIGHT FOR YOU. I know that many of you all have been struggling against what appears to be "good" on the outside. You feel challenged to stand up for yourself and what you believe. Be encouraged and DO NOT BE AFRAID. Don't "fight" for yourself but let Him enter the battle for you. Simply BE STILL and rest in Him. When you have the tendency to want to fight and push back, just stop, and sit at His trusting that the Creator of the Universe knows what is best for you.

God Stop

Hi my loves! I miss you guys! My 1st God stop happened when i was babysitting the other night and we sat down for dinner. I asked who wanted to say the blessing and had five kids saying, "Me, me, me!!" We went down the line as they each thanked God for their food, dogs, family, that day and so on. It was the sweetest thing! My second God stop was at Church on Sunday with my punkin! We sang forever reign by Hillsong. It was just a great reminder of how great our God is. Please pray for me, i'm having a rough week! Love you guys!!! Here is the song...

You are good, You are good
When there's nothing good in me
You are love, You are love
On display for all to see
You are light, You are light
When the darkness closes in
You are hope, You are hope
You have covered all my sin

You are peace, You are peace
When my fear is crippling
You are true, You are true
Even in my wandering
You are joy, You are joy
You're the reason that I sing
You are life, You are life,
In You death has lost its sting

Oh, I’m running to Your arms,
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

You are more, You are more
Than my words will ever say
You are Lord, You are Lord
All creation will proclaim
You are here, You are here
In Your presence I'm made whole
You are God, You are God
Of all else I'm letting go

Oh, I’m running to Your arms
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

My heart will sing
no other Name
Jesus, Jesus

Oh, I’m running to Your arms
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

Hey sweet girls :)

I am just now getting to read these blogs because it wont show up well on my phone but, I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!

I lost all of my contacts & i got a new number so save it & text me 865-705-9850. Along with a new number I have a new email because my school one will run out soon so it is Cabaggett1@gmail.com

Last night Caris slept with me (ugh) but I had just opened my eyes this am and i see this little girl with her head leaned up just grinning at me. I couldn't help but light up inside- such a great way to start my day!! She is growing too fast. We were sitting in the kitchen and I gave her her V-day present early since we will be in Dinsey & we were sitting at the table playing and she wanted to paint so she is sitting across from me painting as im reading these emails. With the sweetest voice ever she is singing away as she paints a picture for me. "blue & yellow make purple" even though she wasnt really right she is so smart and her blue/yellow/green/red all made a nasty purple. God has truly blessed with the most precious thing in life. Something that not everyone gets to have, being 19 with a 2.5 yr old is not what i saw for my life but God has showed me through her who I am suppose to be. So my God stop would have to be looking into the most precious face ever and thinking thinking wow- my God created her for me!

Love you all sooo much!!

Hey guys! I am so so happy we are doing this, and I am so glad to hear about ya'll's lives! Shel, This is such a great challenge to find God stops in our lives and really stop and notice Him. All of your all's stories have been so great and each show God's love and glory! My God stop is kind of similar to Shelie's, but not quite! My friends Tori, Charlsie, and I met a girl named Katie in our aerobic dance class. She is so so sweet, but I never really knew what she believed in. Her and Charlsie always got along well and they have kept us since then. Well, the church we go to has college night on Tuesdays and all my roommates and some of my other friends always go. It is one of my FAVORITE things to do here! The first week back was this week and Charlsie invited Katie to go with us. And... ya'll... something about this night was just amazing. There were SO SO many people there and everybody was is in such a great mood. The worship was amazing and so was the sermon and it was one of the best nights I have been to. Well, afterwords, Katie went straight to Lifeway to buy and bible and made a decision to turn her life around and really focus on God. It was just one of those perfect nights where I could see God and how amazing he is in everything. He knew exactly what Katie needed to hear! It was so so great to see that!

I often have God stops here as well by recognizing how incredibly blessed I am. Something about being here has just really opened by heart to God and helped me to see how amazing all my friends and family are. My relationship with God has really grown within the last several months! I just want ya'll to know how much I love you and how much I miss you! I hope everything is going well and I am so sorry this is so long! I hope to see you all soon!

Katie

My Sweet Sweet Sunshines!

I love you sweet things. God is truly good and it is a joy to see him at work in your own life AND in the lives of your friends (thank you SUNSHINE BLOG). Michelle, the one thing I love is that your friend recognized "the mystery of Christ in you." I feel like I preach this a lot but it is true. Your life should speak of Christ in way that words wouldn't even do it justice. Michelle, my dear- you must be doing just that. My question to us ALL is...

ARE YOU LIVING A LIFE FOR CHRIST THAT CONTINUALLY POINTS TO HIM AND GLORIES HIM? AND, ARE YOU LIVING THE LIFE YOU ARE INVITING OTHERS TO?

As far as a "God Stop," I had two in the past two days. Yesterday, I was flying back from Knoxville to Charlotte at 7am. (I was in KnoxvilLe because my grandfather died Saturday- sorry I didn't call you all.) As our plane broke through the clouds, I was immediately captivated by the sky- the clouds were so fluffy, soft, and enticing. My first thought was... "I can't wait to run forever on those one day." I can't wait to bounce in the heavens on those fluffy endless things. Just looking into the vast sea of soft blues clouds I felt a peace, comfort, & security that can only be the presence of Christ. Then, I began to stare at the horizon and was drawn to the golden rim that was being to form. Within seconds, the sun burst through the clouds and the bright light engulfed the sky. How amazing- the contrast of the soft (in color & texture) clouds to the bright vibrant piercing sun. Our creator truly is the best artist.

My second "God Stop" was this morning as I was driving back from the gym. I glanced up in the dark sky and noticed the FULL MOON. (Yes, I was up way too early). I have ALWAYS loved full moons. I think the moon is such a great reminder of who God is. Although we can not always see the moon in its fullness, it is always there. Just like the Lord... always full & present though we don't "see" that in our lives. Also, I love the idea that we (you and I) look at the SAME MOON. Though we may be hundreds of miles apart, we can look and see the same thing. Again, a reminder of God's consistent, never failing, always present love- no matter the time or place. For some reason, the Lord has captivated me with His creation in the past two days.

Lastly, I see Christ in YOU all- all the time. He radiates from you all- in the good & the bad times. I am so grateful for you all.

Much Love,
YL MOMMA

God Stop

Michelle this is so awesome! It is so uplifting to hear stories like this!!! I had a moment this morning kinda... but it was not necessarily like michelle's haha. This week has been one of my hardest weeks alive i think. My school work is piling up and the homework never stops! Being back here makes me miss adam even more and its been really tough. Last night I had a slight panic attack because of all of this stress. I am trying so hard to give it all to God but it is so difficult to lose control of my life. Anyways I woke up this morning with the HUGEST swollen lips hahaha. Like literally i dont even look like myself. I am having some sort of allergic reaction and am now forced to stay in bed all day. God saw my need for alone time with him and some time to gather myself and catch up. Today has been such a blessing in disguise. I have been able to take a step back and realize that the future is not in my hands. God is really trying to teach me some incredible lessons, and I am praying that my heart fully receives. I guess this really is not a God Stop but to me it feels like it! God is not here to make me suffer and be in pain, but he is here to be my rock and light when I am suffering. Thanks girls for being such amazing friends. I am truly blessed :)

I dont know if any of yall have ever done Beth Moore bible studies but she uses this thing called "God Stops." Basically, a God Stop is a moment during the day when you literally stop and say, "Wow, God is so good! Look at this (whatever it is) that He is doing today!" It is like an ah-ha moment where we get a glimpse of our Maker. Well, last night I had an incredible God Stop moment! One of my favorite girls here at TCU ( Steffi ) lives across the hall from me in the Pi Phi house. She isnt sure whether or not she believes in God, but her boyfriend loves Jesus more than most guys I have ever seen. He is truly a warrior in search of the Lord's heart, BUT as much as he has tries, he tends to push Steffi away from the idea of Christ instead of pulling her in. Last night we were all at a worship service on campus. Steffi, being a good girlfriend, comes to support what her bf believes in. It was a great service, but nothing that left me speechless... at least thats what i thought. As soon as i got back to the house, Steffi came into my room with a little peice of paper covered in writing. She said, "I took some notes during Rob's sermon, and I wanted to ask you some questions before i talked to Will ( Will is her bf ) about them because i usually just feel stupid when i ask him questions about the Bible." I was shocked! She came to ME to talk about Christ! I thought that my job as a Christian was to seek out the lost, but this time, the lost was seeking me! In about an hour, we had talked about everything, literally everything! She asked me questions like, "What is the old testament?" and "Who is the 'we' that made man? (referring the to trinity)" and "So why is this Jesus guy so important?" We talked about everything from the covenant God made with Abraham, to Christ's death on the Cross, to having a Godly marriage! Yall, i cannot explain to you how exhilarating it was to talk with this girl about Christ! Steffi is someone who i already loved and knew, but somehow i never thought is was the "right timing" to talk with her about Christ. Now she is confiding and asking me questions about it! God is so good! He is just SO good! When the conversation was ending, she said something that im sure ill never forget. She said "Ya know Shel, Im not sure exactly what i believe. Im not sure if im buying this whole God thing. But i can see something inside you and inside my boyfriend that ive never seen before. I can see this light inside yall, and i can see this intimate relationship that you and my boyfriend have with this God you believe in. Shel, im not sure if i believe in the Lord or if i even really understand what it means to believe in Him, but i know that i want whatever it is that you and my boyfriend have! Whatever relationship and light it is that yall have, i want it!" OMG!!!! God is So Good!!!!!!!! Steffi just told me that she doesnt know if she believes in the Lord, but because of God shinning through me, she DOES know that she wants a relationship with Him! Yall, i cant even describe in words how this made me feel, but i have never felt so privileged to be a daughter of the King! Last night i got to share the gospel with one of my future sisters in Christ, and i know she will be my sister in Christ one day because she has heard her heart cry out to her maker and it desires for the relationship only He can provide!

So if your still reading this, sorry its so long haha but also, here is my challenge to you! Write on here a God Stop that you notice! Tell us about a time when you literally stepped back and thought, "God is SO good!" Love you girls, and I love that i have yall to fill me up, even if it is through a blog haha

This is gonna be great!

I absolutely love this idea! It is so hard for me to read the Sunshine emails during the week because i probably get between 100-200 emails a day from school and sorority... so i love this! Sarah, i hate that i didnt see you at all over break, but i love that our friendship never fails because of it! For the rest of you girls, i am missing home so much more this semester than i ever have before because the break was so fun! Ok so one thing that I am going to do on here is keep yall posted on my bible readings because frankly no one else cares, and I just need to tell someone hahaha so as of today, I am officially done with Genesis and headed into Exodus! Here's to a great new semester, cant wait!

I cannot wait to jump in with you all and dig deep into God's words and each other! I am so happy I got to spend some quality time with most of you (except Sarah unfortunately) over the break! I am so blessed to have sisters in Christ like yall. Thank you for helping me through this difficult time in life right now! LOVE you all!

Miss you!!

I am so excited about this! My first blog ever!! wahooo! i miss you guys! i feel like i didn't see any of you over break!...oh wait i really didn't! :-( but i love you all! Hope you all have a great rest of your week!!! :-)

Here we go!

Once upon a time there were thirteen high school girls searching for who they each wanted to be. The Lord called upon a fearless leader to guide them in their journey. Little did they know, six years later and into college, these girls and their leader would be stronger than ever! Becoming vulnerable, asking hard questions, and having intentional relationships with one another glued these girls together. This blog is a place to get real with one another and build each other up toward our maker! Lets rejoice in our friendships and write the final chapters to our life stories... Here we go!