Once upon a time....

...there lived a young woman of God and she wanted to change the world. She knew that she was going to... because God told her that she would. She also knew that it would be amazing, because He had told her that too. But what she really didn't know specifics of how... or even exactly when for that matter. She wanted to know... and she wanted to get started!

She had just finished something that was amazing, and she knew that something else amazing was coming up, but right now she was inbetween. There was silence and stillness... not blinding flashes of the obvious. To be quite honest it was quite dull...

However, this young maiden knew one thing for absolute certain... it was that her God was big enough to work in the stillness, as well as in the raging storm. She knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt that she was right where her King wanted her for today, and therefore, it was meaningful. Even though it didn't look like she was changing the world.

You see, changing the world is not something that you wake up and decide to do one day... it's streched out over a lifetime. It is not an activity, it is a way of life. Sometimes, changing the world isn't doing something huge and obvious... sometimes, changing the world means reading to my little sister, or cleaning my room like my mom asked, or respecting my dad's decision... You see, changing the world is about heart movites and attitude, and being totally 100% where God has you for today!

You decisions of today are your destiny of tomorrow...

...how's your future shaping up?

"Watch your thoughts, they become your words.

Watch your words, they become your actions.

Watch your actions, they become your habits.

Watch your habits, they become your character.

Watch your character, it becomes your destiny."

This young girl is going Impact, Inspire, and Influence the world... not tomorrow, but TODAY. Not because of who she is or what she has done... but because of WHO HER GOD IS!

Non Nobis Domine!

Non Nobis Domine!

Sometimes, it just seems like yesterday that I was walking into the DMC on February the 8th for Advanced Excel 17. Other times, it seems like a lifetime ago. The journey has been long, and if I had known exactly what it was going to be, I am not at all sure that I would have even started it.

As I sit here and write my very last blog post for an assignment, I think about how far I have come. The things that I have lost, and the things that have been won. I can honestly say, that the final outcome of these five months has been worth it. Worth the hard moments; the moments when I didn’t want to go on; and the moments when all I could do was cry.

Because, you see, these have not only been the hardest five months of my entire life, they have also been the most amazing. I have seen God work, not just in the blinding flashes of the obvious, but also in the moments of silence. I have seen victories won, in the lives of those around me, and in my own. I have traded a religion of God, for a relationship with Him.
I would not go back, not even if I could. I know that the days ahead will be hard. That the hopeless moments will come again and that the lies and fears are not going to relinquish me this easily. But I also know this: it will be worth it, and He will be there, and therefore, it will be good, and I cannot wait to see what is next.

“Non nobis, Domine, Domine, non nobis, Domine
Sed nomini tuo da gloriam.”

“Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
But to your Name give glory."

Know He is there…

Know He will never let you go…

Know you are loved…

~Alaina Christine… soon to be graduate of Advanced Excel 17, not because of who she is or what she has done, but because of Who her God is… Non Nobis, Domine!

The quote post...

Quotes make me very happy, therefore it was pretty inevidable that they would be on my blog. However, I decided that they were brilliant and special enought to warrent their own post. So, because of that fact and that they make me so happy, here are a few that I particularly like...

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

"Nothing but heaven itself is better than a friend who is really a friend."

~Plautus

"Friends, books, a cheerful heart, and conscience clear are the most choice companions we have here."

~William Hather

"God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees, and flowers, and clouds and stars."

~Martin Luther

"The real magic of the world is to be found in the pages of books."

~Douglas Gresham

"Never ask more or less of yourself than your best."

"Life is my college. May I graduate well, and earn some honors."

~Louisa May Alcott

"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."

~CS Lewis

And of course, it would be incomplete and totally un-me without an Audrey Hepburn quote! This is one of my favorites that I take as a motto often...

"Pick the day. Enjoy it- to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come... The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present- and I don't want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future."

~Audrey Hepburn

KNOW THAT YOU ARE LOVED!

ACBAE06 ~ Photography Scavenger Hunt

Stapler: They go together, because sometimes, what goes in must come out.

Refections: On the past and present; what we have lost, and what we have won.

Leap: The landing is pretty important.

Fears: Rejected... Abandoned... Alone...

Coffee: "Nothin' like coffee in the mornin'!"

Time: Because life is not lived in years, but rather in moments. The moments should always be treasured.

Squirrel: The encyclopedia talks about everything...

White Trash: Because I can't imagine anything more fitting to the trash than lies.

Date: My date spot, and the things that almost always accompany me.

Police: TPD: "Serving with Honor"

Self Portrait: "When Irish eyes are smiling... they're usually up to something!" I figure I'm Irish enough for it to count.

Making a Statement: Becuase Life is good. It's hard, it's challenging, sometimes it hurts, but

LIFE IS GOOD!

A Memory: MBG & Starshine...

Green: My favorite color... and my hug from God...

Music: My music on my favorite piano... it's over a hundred years old with ivory keys.

A Favorite Thing: Anything that lets me talk to YOU! :)

A Tool: My eighteenth birthday gift from my siblings... and my life-saver, more than once! :D

That's all folks! I hope that you enjoyed them, because I sure had fun taking them! :D Have a totally amazing day!

KNOW YOU ARE LOVED!

The Right to Lead: A Study in Character and Courage by John Maxwell

In the book, The Right to Lead: A Study in Character and Courage, Mr. Maxwell uses inspirational stories and quotes to illustrate seven things that a truly good leader must do. These things are: take action, have a vision, self-sacrifice, take risks, have determination, service to others, and possess integrity. Without these aspects of character, a leader would be far less effective in his mission.

Aspect one: take action. You will never become a leader by sitting on the sidelines. A truly great leader is out there, with his or her followers, encouraging, supporting, and going through everything that they have asked those under them to go through. Leadership is about walking the road with your people, not about handing them a map and saying ‘Have fun!’

Aspect two: have a vision. Proverbs 29:18a says “Where there is no vision, the people perish:” A leader, taking into account what they are passionate about, what they have learned, what the needs of those around them are, what the bigger picture is, what God has planned for them, and what their resources are, then can have a life-altering message to share with the world. Once they have the perspective of who they are and what God has brought them through, they can go out and influence the lives of those around them. Once they have a vision that is bigger than them, they can be a leader worth following.

Aspect three: self-sacrifice. Once you surrender your own security, your own comfort, or your own desires, and place the needs and safety of those under you before your own, then you can be a great leader. Leadership is not about what you can gain, but about what you have to give.

Aspect four: take risks. The important thing in this quality is the difference between risk and recklessness. Recklessness is carelessness and lack of responsibility; risk is to lay out your life or your safety for the benefit and protection of others. Value others more than you value your own comfort and security. A wise leader will take only calculated risks that have been thoroughly evaluated.

Aspect five: have determination. Again, leadership is about being in the thick of what you have asked your people to do, so why on earth should they keep going if you have a history of quitting when the road gets rough? Nothing great was ever done by someone that did not possess the fortitude and resolve to keep on when the odds were stacked against them and it looked like a lost cause. Take the story of the Shackleton expedition for instance; the situation was literally hopeless, they should have all been lost to the sea or the brutal elements. Yet, through the courage and tenacious determination of their captain, not a single man was lost.

Aspect six: service to others. Humility, an indispensible quality for a great leader, is simply realizing that you are where you are today because of the investment of others in your life. Leadership is serving others with this humility, empowering them to go on and become great leaders as well. It is necessary to lay down your own desires, comfort, and time in order to best equip those under you.

Aspect seven: possess integrity. President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.” A leader is nothing without their character honorable and intact. No one will follow someone whom cannot be trusted to make decisions or looked to in times of struggle.

Leadership is not a job; it is a way of life. It is not something that you do when others are there; it is what you do when you know that you are alone. Leadership is not something that comes in moments of glory, but in moments of struggle and heartache. The road of leadership is not an easy one to travel, but it is a worthwhile road. You possess the influence to change your world. Are you willing to give what it takes to be a great and noble leader?

Look to the Healer...

The dreary desolation and distruction that surround me mirror how my heart is feeling....

The feelings of being abandoned and alone return in the isolation...

the Fears become stronger...

and I do not want to face them...

I do not want to remember how much it hurt.

I am tired of the scars....

Tired of the painful reminders of having been left so many times before...

Tired of feeling worthless again and again...

Why God? I ask...

Why does it still hurt?

Why am I still afraid of what could happen?

Why cannot I be strong?

Why does it have to matter so very much?

Then, instead of looking around....

Instead of looking within...

I look up....

Up toward the vast sky and the new leaves after a long and barren winter.

I listen in the calm, and find that birds are singing...

it really was not as desolate as it first seemed.

You see, because even in the fear and alone...

He was there.

In the pain...

He was there.

Never once, was I out of His sight, or out of His hand.

He wants to heal your wounds...

to trade His peace for your fear...

Stop looking within, and start looking to Him.

The only purpose of pain is to receive comfort; and the only purpose of receiving comfort is to comfort others. But you cannot receive the comfort, until you acknowledge the pain.

"O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to thee; I trace the rainbow through the rain, and feel the promise is not in vain that morn shall tearless be."

~ O Love that Wilt not let me Go ~

"The day is yours...."

“Are you going to believe what you feel, or what I tell you? Are you going to believe what you see, or what I say is the truth about you? Are you going to dare to believe that I love you as you are, and that I see you as perfect, and you are precious to Me?” -God

The foe before you is unrelenting. It simply will not give up. You have been fighting it for so long, and your strength is about to give out, yet it seems to be as strong as when you started. It is hard, so hard to keep waging the war.

The biggest problem with your foe is this… Your foe is yourself. You have been fighting her for years and you are worn out with the war. Now, when you cannot fight any longer, you stop, you lay down your weapon, and you listen. That is when you hear Him…

“The day is yours.” He says in a quiet voice. “The victory has been won for you. You need not have fought so long; all that you had to do was to accept the triumph.”

God has chosen you to play this role. He has created you for this unique destiny. No one else in history or eternity can or could ever do what He has placed in you to do. But you cannot do what He has for you as long as you are still operating under the bondage of hopelessness in your own inadequacy.

Will you this day, forsake the lies? Forsake the fight that you do not have to be fighting? Once you do, He can show you what He sees. He can show you that you are now perfect, complete and entire, wanting nothing.

The gauntlet has been thrown. The challenge has been read. The victory won! The invitation is open; will you choose to believe that you are already perfect? Will you choose to believe that God has created you as you are and that He adores what He has made?