To Kiss Or Not To Kiss?

What about the first kiss? When should it be done, and why wait for the wedding ceremony? Some people say, "Oh, why wait for that special person...one kiss won't hurt ya?" Whereas, others may have a complete different opinion, "Honor and respect each other, and save your purity, as well as the first kiss for your life mate someday!" That second statement is what I believe. I believe that the Bible teaches that all sexual activity outside of marriage is sin, and all romantically oriented physical activity is sexual activity. In my view, this includes premarital kissing. Now, I'm going to take this whole 'kissing' issue and break it down.

First of all, when I'm talking of a kiss, I mean the relation of a girl and guy emotionally and physically giving each other a kiss on the lips. A virgin is a girl who has not had any physical relationship with any young men. We as girls need to remain virgins until the day of marriage. The moment a young man and lady kiss each other before they agree to marry, is in my eyes impure and they have now broken God's promise of remaining pure and holy. Leviticus 21:13 says something which speaks the bold and bare truth, "And he shall take a wife in her virginity." It does not state that he shall take a wife who is immoral and impure. When God tells us something, He sure known what He is talking about. Guys, there may be young women who are beautiful and may act kind towards you, nevertheless, if she has been kissed already and has wrapped herself around others, what gives you the desire to know her more? A kiss is something delicate and should only be done at your wedding, and from that moment on with the man or woman you married. In the world we live in, many girls are wasting and giving up their purity at the young and tender age of 13. Many times a girl or guy will give that first kiss to someone they have perhaps been dating, and even though they know that this is not the type of person they want to live and share life with forever they still kiss, and thus the pure young virgin is now a harlot, giving her body away! Kissing will only make you want to do more than just a kiss. And why put someone you claim to care about at a spiritual risk?

Now, a little girl's dream is to get married to a prince and wear a beautiful long and white dress. Time flies and that dream still remains, however, if this little girl grew up to dress defrauding and be a flirt, and lets say that her very first kiss was with the neighbor boy, then her dream of wearing a beautiful white dress should in my opinion be changed to a black dress. This may sound harsh, however, she has messed up, and yes God will forgive if she asks, but if she continues on with this way of lifestyle, she needs a black dress! We make our own choices, and some of those decisions will give yourself away. Black and white will turn to gray, and we will eventually crumble, it's a slow fade and Satan is trying to device you in thinking that purity now a days is old school. No, it is hard to keep that heart pure and our purpose is to wait for God to work and not for us to go out on our own and look for Mr. Right, or Ms. Right. Don't you want your wife or husband to have the thought of, "Wow, my spouse waited for me, and I don't have to worry that she/he was someone elses before."

The first kiss is something done at the altar and just think of how good and romantic that will feel. You waited and respected others for their will of purity. I even believe that the kiss should have no place in the courtship or engagement. Listen to a story I once heard; a young man and woman found each other and courted for awhile until the young man knew in his heart that it was the princess he wanted and thus asked his future bride to marry him. Nonetheless, they both decided to not have any form of physical contact and especially NO kissing! As a result to this, the two remained pure by God's strength and shockingly, they discovered that they were not meant for each other. However, this young man is thankful to this very day that he kept his purity and that he didn't give his special kiss to the girl he thought was his. This story helps me to continue head strong with my purity.

Alright, to sum things all up I will leave y'all with a few more words. God says in Hebrews that the marriage bed is honorable and it should be kept until the first kiss was done at the wedding ceremony. Our number one temptation every single day is that we lean into our own understanding. We define everything with how it fits our own needs. This works just with the fact of kissing. We need to leave this up to God when the first kiss comes, and even if we don't understand why, just believe God and trust in Him because His timing is far better than yours. The first kiss is something special, and I bet it feels good because deep down you will know and you can tell your spouse that, "My very first kiss!" You also want a wife or husband that has kept their kiss and overall purity for you. You deserve their reward, and they deserve yours. Save your kiss, save it, save it, save it! This is the part of a couple, joined together, and taking each other and showing love by kissing each other. Lock it up in a box, and when the time comes, take it out, and thank God as well as your future spouse for keeping me pure. Ok, last thing that I want to share with y'all is one more short story of a young lady and man.

A young lady and man went through the courtship and it came to the point of engagement and they committed to be pure always until the wedding ceremony with each other. After many months of waiting and the long hours of patience, the special day arrived. The young lady put her beautiful white dress on, and walked down the aisle with her father seeing her soon to be husband waiting for that perfect and special gift. In conclusion, the moment the pastor said, "You may kiss the bride!", she whispered in the groom's ear saying, "Thank you for keeping me pure and respecting our decision!" Amen and hallelujah, save that kiss!

Waiting to express your love physically lays a strong foundation of trust for your marriage!

Back Home...

Hello y'all! Well, I'm back home!

Yes, my family and I returned back home yesterday night very, very, late. It feels good to be in your own house again, nevertheless, I miss SO many people! Texas was literally the highlight of my summer, I consider it also my birthday gift. It was so wonderful and being able to go back to my hometown and seeing people that care and love us. It was lovely to see God dwell within that land. Churches among every street, billboards of scripture verses or statements of Christ, and it was amazing to run into people and hear them say, "Y'all take care and God bless!" I don't hear that very often where I live. I'm so thankful and feel so blessed that I was able of seeing good old friends, and some new friends. It is of course sad to leave those who care for you, and where you know you have a place in their heart, however, God has placed my family and I over here for a complete reason, and oftentimes I do not see the perfect reason and plan. Although, I will not lean upon my own understanding, but look towards God for direction and timing. Nonetheless, we praise GOD for bringing my family and I back home, it was such a long trip, back and forth 3800 miles, and yet God was close to our car, guiding it day by day. I also look forward to see what God can do in the near future with my family and where He will lead us.

As I now look back upon those 2 weeks, memories of laughter, happiness, talking, and joy remain, and far back in my mind the thought of sadness has crept itself in. I see faces before me, the ones who have been there for my family when times were hard or when moments of rejoicing. God moved my family, He did it before and He can do it again, we just allow Him to work! A prayer for my family would be, let God work, and not us! Be blessed y'all and one thing that I look forward is that I can be back on the blogging world. God bless!

Flirty Girls! Flirty Guys!

I will mention one of the discussions I had with my friend last night, thus, that will be something concerning the topic and broad aspect of purity.

Yesterday night my friend and I had a conversation addressing the fact of guys and girls and the way they interact with each other. I also had the talk of how many of us have the inside desire to get married, and if God wills it then it will occur. It also does sadden me at how many girls/guys will be careless about their actions. Now, I know, that I have had talked about this many, many times and really do not need to constantly shove it down y'all's throat, however, it is something that I could talk about ALL the time. Basing it upon God's laws, and I really love to get in either a debate about this or a discussion with others and learn their perspective on things such as this. It's a bothersome to me when girls and guys are flirting with each other, and how many of them treat each other with disrespect, and to be honest and true with y'all, many don't realize that they are being disrespectful! To be blunt and bold, a guy and girl who are acting immoral, and with impurity, that is no sign of respect, if they would hold the plate of respect, then they would not be flirting and playing around with each other because they are concerned and want to hold their purity for the right one.

I have had situations in the past that I will unintentionally act or talk with a guy, and nevertheless, they will begin to have the thought and the impression that Vanessa is flirting around with them. Not too long ago I actually did something quite out of the ordinary. I personally went up to a young man and asked him if I was treating him alright, and if my joking and kidding around was fine with him. Now girls, we may do this with our 'girlfriends' and they will take it fine, nevertheless, a guy has a different mind. He might be thinking thoughts of how this girl likes him, and is just acting to get his attention. Thus, I felt and had the inner voice within me from God saying, "Go up to this young man and ask him if what I'm doing is fine." I sure did that, and it was hard because I had to get over my comfort zone and take the step of addressing him bluntly and saying, "Is it ok that I'm kidding around with you? Because I do know that some guys take this in the wrong side of the throat."

Now, I will give y'all three reason why flirting is wrong.

1. Ok, flirting may feel good and fun, with lots of excitement and it leads to destruction without notice, and thus that is wrong.

2. Flirting allows us to often take a relationship and perhaps grow into it, and then realizing it was never meant to be.

3. Flirting creates thoughts within us that cause sinful emotions, wrongful actions, and not noticing that you are actually using your mind and actions without caution and creating a pocketful of hurtful feelings.

In addition, flirting is the onset of impurity, and causing the opposite gender to fall. Everyone tends to flirt in a different way. Altogether, it's biblical wrong, and to play around with the other gender in an impure way, is causing him/her to have the wrong thoughts and emotions. I try hard to stay away from things that will make me fall, and something like this is where I still stumble upon often. God works in us, and we need to be willing to give our heart to Him, and let Him use it for His purpose. Flirtatious actions are fitfully wrong and are not to be done in our single years, being married is a different story, but while being a single person in the Lord Jesus Christ, we need to glorify and give Him our attention only!

Update On My Trip!

Hey y'all! I'm not home yet, but using the internet at my uncle's house!!

Well, Texas has been great. I'll give y'all just a slight update. I was going to post up something, nevertheless, I'm pretty sure y'all are interested in hearing all about my trip! :) Visiting new people and seeing new faces has been a blast. Saying bye to some very good "new" friends was quite hard for me, and yet the Lord has to move us on. I have enjoyed myself very much, and really loved the discussions I've had with a few of the youngsters I met. I also gained some ideas for a blog post, however, those will have to wait until my return home. It was very neat to meet the people that have visited my blog for some time, and also hear them talk about my posts, even though some of them talked of the posts in a fun way! :) Throughout this time, I have seen things which have sparked my interest and I look forward to sharing it all with y'all. Since I'm in the hot climate, I have also seen some people dress not the very best, and also joke around with, "They need to read my blog!" Anyways, this trip has been overall great, and an enjoyment. Spending time with my family, away from the usual things, and having fellowship with great friends! Alright, y'all stay well and till another post...

Leaving-again

What a wonderful discussion we had in the previous post! It was wonderful to see comments from everyone, guys and girls! It would be great to have comments and discussions like that every time, one of y'all just got to bring a question up! :)

Anyways, this post will be about me leaving-yes again! I'm going on a vacation with my whole family this time, and will once again be gone for 2 weeks. Nevertheless, this trip will not be to another country, instead another state, a state I long to live again, the state where I grew up in, where I was born in, the lone star state-TEXAS! I'm going to see some very good friends, as well as meet new friends, people I have been conversing with for sometime already. I'm so excited to meet the people who have also been visiting my blog, and even those who left comments on my blog today. It's going to be a wonderful visit, a time for fellowship, and perhaps even a time of discussions such as the one I had over my blog today! As of now, I will leave y'all with this, and will post all about my wonderful trip on my return home. I will be leaving this evening, and all I ask is for y'all to pray for the safety of my family and the vehicle! May God bless y'all and I'll be back if the Lord wills so (meaning I want to move!:).

What Are You Doing With Your Body?

The other day while I was in Chicago with my family, I noticed how insane our nation of teenagers and young adults are! It happened to be a very hot day, and I did know and was already prepared to a certain extent of how some of the girls were going to dress. Nevertheless, to make me even more shocked, there were guys where I just thought, "How can you be so bold?" Thus, the topic of this post will be all about, "What are you doing with your body?"

I may actually end up being a few times quite bold and blunt, however, it will be the plain truth. I have prayed about this certain issue a few times, and asked God how I could post it up on my blog, with what type of words, and how to bring my message I have in my mind across. Thus, this morning, as I was praying, God pointed out to me that I should just get on my blog, and begin writing, and the words will just pour out!
Almost everyday I come across people that dress to impress or those who will put clothes on with the attitude of "This will get so and so, or maybe I will have many guys look at me!" I don't have to go very far, just in my neighborhood I see young girls dressing impure, and the way they walk is very disturbing. Ok, this whole post will not be on us girls, I will squeeze in guys as well. I have three brothers, and also know other guys. I have heard a Christian guy's perspective on this many times as well, "Why make it harder for us?" When I hear this, my heart just screams, and I want to go to every girl and tell them how much it's killing the guys! They are the ones suffering from this impurity, and from the actions and dress of a girl. I have been to churches in the past, thinking that this is a time of fellowship and moments to encourage your friends in God's way. Nonetheless, to my shock I was seeing girls and guys flirting with each other. Seeing that they were at church just for the opposite gender. Why take your body out and give it away? For what purpose? When we dress with little on us we are giving away ourselves to whoever. The moment we see a pretty girl walk across the room, or a stunning guy, some of us may experience sweaty palms, beating hearts, or impure thoughts. This is the one that struck me, having thoughts of this person which is so hurtful and not pleasing to God at all!
We have control of what we think, our thoughts are like a taxi, we can tell the driver where we want to go, and that is just like our thoughts. We can say and determine enough thinking of that, but do we choose to? Teenagers of this day and age are blinded, they don't see the danger and don't see the harm they are doing to others. Girls will wear their skimpy tops, and guys will perhaps go topless, and why do they do this, just to get the attention of others. A normal guy's reaction when he sees a girl who knocks him of his feet will think sinful thoughts, and will have a difficult time of blocking those. Now, when a girl sees a guy who is shockingly good looking she will often think of wrong thoughts, but it is a little bit easier to block off those thoughts. I sometimes think, why can't they just put more clothes on? It bothers me because it is going against God's standards and just imagine how much He is hurting?
Honestly, you are giving your body away when you just hang it all out. You are purposely taking either a girl's or guy's thoughts, and capturing him/her with your ways and dress. It may be hot outside, and yet why dress with the least possible? Your body is for yourself at the moment while being single and then someday when you marry, that is for your husband or wife alone. Not for 100 guys looking straight at you with their mouth hanging open!
When a guy looks at a girl, and if he allows his thoughts to go farther, then he has committed adultery with her in his heart! Although, who caused him to stare with lustful eyes? A half naked girl did, one who didn't care about anyone, but herself and just wanting all the attention on her. Of course, we all have feelings, and emotions and even a guy or girl modestly dressed will often cause us to fall off our feet. It happens, but the majority of teenagers in this country are foolishly dressed with little care!
Why do you want your body to be looked at? Don't you just want one husband or one wife? We are causing someone elses spouse to fall down and are making a big mistake here. If we happen to think of so and so, evaluate and think, you are actually thinking of someone elses spouse! That right there really hit me and made me think. Please don't put clothes on just to catch an eye or two. Dress to glorify your Father in heaven. Even you guys out there can dress quite disturbing, and going around shirtless in the park, is not honoring your Father in heaven! He gave us our bodies to treat with dignity, and also for one special person someday. Low cut shirts girls are a big stronghold to guys, and those tiny, tiny shorts will damage his thoughts. And guys, your thoughts can be controlled, and I have no clue how hard it must be, although, when you do see a pretty girl please call unto God to take away all impurity and sinful thoughts! Girls, don't have the thoughts of, "Oh, I want to dress the way I want! He can control his eyes from looking at me!" This is wrong, why hurt your brother in Christ, why cause him to fall into a deep sin? We know that he has a problem with this, and please don't irritate it.
The next time you dress for an occasion, ask your Father in heaven, is this appropriate? Will this make my brother or sister in Christ stumble? Or are my actions immodest? How can I be an encouragement to them, and just show that I do care how I treat my body, because I want to keep it for the marriage bed! "Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." Hebrews 13:4
Save your body, and that kiss for that special person someday. God will honor your self-control as well as your purity. There is nothing better than talking with brothers and sisters in Christ who act blameless and with a pure heart!

Reasons For Not Hugging a Girl/Guy

My previous post was giving my general opinion and point about why I believe hugging girls/guys is wrong and inappropriate. Now, I will point a few facts of exactly why it is all wrong.

1. Hugging the opposite gender is first and foremost inappropriate because it brings the message across as, impure and it is far from being blameless.

2. Girls, when we put guys in that moment, we are causing them to stumble mentally and physically, and it will put them into an awkward situation.

3. Guys, now, I'm not a guy, although since I am a girl, I know what it does to me when you hug a girl from the front. I often will get the impression, "He likes me!" It also works with our mind and it will at moments distract me from what I should be thinking.

4. Giving a hug to the other gender can often implant sinful thoughts, and what if we are hugging a guy/girl who is trying to stay physically and mentally pure, we have just caused them to fall down.

5. Girls and guys, when we are hugging a guy/girl from the front, and when he/she is putting his/her arms around you, just think of all the impurity and immorality taken place at perhaps those 2 seconds.

6. A side hug can be fine, and yet, just a little bit here and there can lead into a total disaster. Why place yourself into a iffy situation and feeling?

7. Hugging a guy/girl is also showing the wrong impression. Perhaps we don't plan at all to come across as sensual or impure, nevertheless, people cannot read our mind and thoughts, thus, even if we don't mean it to be wrong, it can come across as that.

8. When approaching a guy/girl, instead of taking the arm out, stretch out your right hand for a shake, if that would make you feel better, and still not trying to come across as rude. Our bodies are not meant to be touched by every person.

9. Now, this is for girls...when you are hugging a guy, what is he feeling? Yes, this is bold and yet the bare truth, his mind is racing at different emotions, when for us it might not even bother us. We are sending feelings, and 'messages' to him, and are causing some one's future husband to fall!

10. Thus, I'm not saying that hugging is a total sin, it is NOT! Just be careful with how you are giving, or how you are posing your body. Come to a point that you will discern and do all things with purity, and being blameless. Do not come up to a guy/girl with the thought or idea to intentionally cause him/her to fall. A guy's emotions and feelings in an area like this, are ten times stronger than a girls. He struggles with this, and we as girls need to be alert and not purposely trip him.

"Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman." 1 Corinthians 7:1
This verse is for those unmarried, and it also qualifies for you girls as well!

Yearn for a Heart of Gold!

Girls, how many of you like it when you see other girls hugging every single guy they come across? And guys, how does that make you feel when you see girls hugging a guy with a full body contact? For me to see that, I get the thought and impression that a girl is just out there selling herself away because she wants all the attention, and she will get it from anyone. I have seen girls, and known girls who are always doing this. Now, when I see a guy do this as well, I get another thought and think secondly about him. What if his 'future' wife was standing in a corner, or walked by him? This goes for girls as well. Does the thought ever come across that perhaps your 'future' husband is maybe walking right by you? Messing up as being young does happen, but please, prevent it from getting there when you know the right from the wrong. It could easily be that you have messed up, or are messing up as being young and a change in your life will come from God and you turn around. However, as being young, you may be known as the girl or guy who gave their body away out of foolishness and temptation!

I'm a girl who is striving for purity, and many times I am ashamed of my own actions, that I often hope my future husband is not seeing me. Nevertheless, I do not know this, and we should at all times act if our future spouse is right there, and that God is ALWAYS looking. I don't want to see my future husband falling into a filthy temptation, or having other girls falling all over him. The thought and scene of that makes my heart fall, and my stomach turn. In my perspective, guys just need to be guys. Strong, hard working, pure, blameless, and staying away from the all hugging gushy things, until the day of marriage. And girls, please, do not cause a guy to stumble whether it be in your actions, dress, or speech! We are all workers of iniquity, however, the Lord wants our hearts, as well as our parents. Do not give your heart to a guy or girl out of curiosity or foolishness, keep it strong and safe.

The thoughts within our mind determine what is taking place in our heart, and will eventually spread out to our actions. That's pretty powerful! Sinful thoughts, and sinful actions occur when we are playing foolishly with the other gender. Talking and acting in a pure conversation with the opposite gender is God's way of fellowship .Why mess around? Why lose your heart and purity? We need to act blamelessly, and when coming in interaction with a guy or girl, treat him or her with respect. Do not flirt or use flattery within your words, but treat them as brothers and sisters in Christ, which will honor our Lord Jesus Christ! A girl's emotions are full of drama, and many times if her parents or God does not have her heart, she will pour it out to a guy she considers as her best friend, I've seen this occur many times. That is danger! Our deepest thoughts belong with God, mom and dad. I personally believe that having a guy or girl as a best friend is not the greatest idea. Naturally, guys and girls are different, and best friends in my perspective should be of the same gender. In addition, having a few godly young men or ladies around for fellowship within a group is beautiful and talking with pure conversations. Titus 2:12 says, "Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world."

As my conclusion, yearn for perfection and strive for purity. Take no false ways, and do not give your way to those of sinful acts. Our actions will someday be judged, and if we live our lives while being in our youth foolishly, then our acts will pass on to our generation. I most certainly do not want my children to go around and try every guy or girl out. This thought encourages me to be pure and wait for my beloved, and my prince charming!

"I am my beloved's and my beloved in mine!" Song of Solomon 6:3

Tears, Hurt, Sadness, Pain!

Last night, I noticed and came to the conclusion that I do not like crying! Y'all might be like, what?! There are many, many different types of tears as well. Tears of joy, pain, shame, fear, anxiety, love, death, birth, healing, and so much more titles. I had to let go of one of my best friends, because she moved. I was hurt, sad, and had a stitch of pain within my heart, questioning myself and actually God as well, "Why?" No, it was not the last thing in the world, however, I have been living here in this state for almost 3 years, and this friend was sent from God. It was hard to break it apart. Tears hurt, they hurt the inside of the heart, as well as they kick up the past emotions and thoughts. I have told myself many times before, do not cry, hold it all in. It was not until recently that I heard something which brought me to think otherwise. Holding it all inside will not bring you anywhere, it just causes more bitterness, anger, wounds, or hurt. The best remedy is to let it all out, allowing the tears to flow straight from the eyes rolling down the cheeks. Crying is a natural human motion and act, it washes the eyes, and clears away all hurt, letting it all out. Whenever I feel like crying, I'll go to God and just cry in his arms, telling him to catch my tears, and to heal my wounds and hurt.
I often think how unfair a situation is, although, God is a fair and just God. He has everything planned and searched out for a reason, and many times I think, this trial is never ending God! Nevertheless He gives me a hope and a promise, a place with no more suffering, with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears! Isn't this just so beautiful?! Knowing that I won't have to cry because of hurtful incidences, death, fear, sadness, and pain. The place God has for me is in His house, heaven. A place where my heart yearns to be, that is after I have a family! :) Tears are good for washing away the misery, however, God also gives us tears to wipe away the suffering. All of us may think how it is a little embarrassing to cry, and I know for guys it may be more than girls with that kind of feeling, but just remember, God gave us tears, emotions, and feelings all for a purpose, and letting them out every now and then is totally normal. It cleanses the heart, and washes away the dirt and hurt within!

My 11th Yr. of School is All Over!

Wow...you might be wondering why I'm saying wow, but once I explain my "WOW" you might be saying "WOW" too (or maybe not?!).

I'M DONE WITH SCHOOL! Today was my last day as a Junior in high school, I turned in all my tests, reports, and final exam, and finished it all with a great score! I have only one year left, and then my graduation of class 2010!

I'm so thrilled to finally have this school year behind me, it was the hardest and longest one ever, with all the homework, and not to forget, chemistry! God and I pulled it all the way through, we did it together and I also give credit to my mom and my oldest brother Marc who helped me with my chemical equations and algebraic equations! It was a tough nine months, and I know that the next 10 weeks of this summer will go by fast too before I start up again...senior year! Yikes! However, God pulled me through this one, and He won't let me down on the next one either! Praise God for this great report of completion and I also want to give congrats to all of you who graduated from this great task in this year of class 2009! Praise GOD for wise minds, and instilling within us a task of determination and diligence!

Pictures of Germany

Alright, I finally got some pictures up from my brother Marc and my trip to Germany. Marc mostly made pictures of the scenery, and I would rather have pictures of the people. It just shows that I'm more of a people person to begin with! :)

A village like the one above is very small and the streets are often over crowded with people and cars. When driving through there, it was often a speed of no more than 5 mph.

Take a look at the lush from those trees. I always thought that where I live in America was very green, boy was I wrong!

Literally, the forest is in walking distance from my grandparent's house. If you're running, maybe 5 minutes, and walking about 10 minutes. It's amazing. The back with all the trees is the dark, cold, and yet beautiful forest.

A picture of the entire front side of the town I was nearby.

Just to give y'all a quick glimpse of how the houses are different over there as well. The whole style and layout is different, and yet very homey and cute.

This is another German castle standing in the middle of water, utterly amazing! A German family is actually still living in there, and maintain is daily. There have been many royal families dwelling therein in the past. A family once who had 22 children!

This town is where my brother Marc was born. If you look closely, there is a castle in the back of the picture. The villages and towns in Germany, especially where I was at, are so cute and beautiful!

I just love horses, and have grown to love them even more....these two beautiful horses live right in my grandparent's back yard. No, they don't own them, but they do share the property.

It's a very beautiful country! So green and lush, and the air is totally different than over here. God sure does leave his perfection in creation everywhere around the world.

I'M HOME!

Hello once again!!

I'm back....back from my trip to Europe. It was a great time, good moments with my grandparents and great grandma. I saw and realized the great need for this visit and knew that I had to be there. The flight on over was just fine, I was praying the entire time and just reflecting upon God, and it was amazing, by the time that flight was over, my faith grew a little bit more. I felt it for sure. When I took the return flight on home, I was not even a tad scared, I knew without a shadow of doubt that God was sitting right next to me in the spare seat! The time was indeed limited, and I tried to spent each and every second with them. I made many pictures and will keep them as a dear keepsake.

My brother fell in love with the German culture and life. He was born in Germany and thus felt a tad of connection. I was having a great time, and nevertheless, wanted to come home already this past Monday. I was homesick because the house was so quiet. I did not have my loving siblings to keep me company and to make me laugh and smile. I had the laughter, but still I missed their faces. To have all of their arms around me when I returned was great. However, while I was in this foreign land I felt the emptiness of Christ within this country. I was saddened and especially missed my Christian radio station. There was no sign of God, and all the young people were smoking and just living an awful life. This occurs within America as well, but at least there are Christians here!! I would often lie down in my bed and look at the stars and moon and just think and wonder. I prayed over the country as well when I was in the airplane. My heart is in America, and especially in Texas!!

It was a great trip, and I will be sharing some pictures of the scenery in the next couple of days. I've been awake for almost 24 hours now, and need to rest some before the busy week starts up again! I'm glad to be home and missed many things. I also felt amazed at how awesome God is and how omnipresent He is. I can talk to him in Illinois, and 4,000 and plus miles across the ocean! How awesome is that! Thanks for the prayers y'all and God BLESS!