& The Blind Girl Saw.

When I went to Brazil in summer of 2009 I was blinded by my own problems, I was debating weather or not to break up with my boyfriend, I was worried about friendships, I was homesick, and I was scared out of my mind of talking to people who couldn't understand a word that was coming out of my mouth. I remember talking to my friend Elisa on one of the first nights that we were there and asking her how in the world God could use someone like me. I was so blinded by my own issues I was questioning God's awesome power to use a crazy, hormonal, and confused teenage to share HIS good news!!

While in Brazil I was helping in a children's church/nursery, this little girl was telling a story about how she was going to get on the bus and she fell, being blind, the little girl struggled to get up, no one helped her, not even her own mother. She said that people were laughing at her, and mocking her. This broke my heart, but I started to think, how often are we blind? How often do we stumble in the world and no one helps us up? All the time, WE CAN'T RELY ON HUMANS TO CATCH US WHEN WE FALL!! We have a Daddy who is SO much bigger than us who scoops us up and holds us when we fall. And not only that, he opens our eyes so that we can see again! This little girl has NO idea how she has impacted my life, she never will know until she stands before her Father in heaven and receives her jewels at his thrown. This little princess, has taught me to see clearly how AWESOME God truly is.

I had actually forgotten about this story, it's been over a year now and there has been a lot that I have forgotten about Brazil. But this week God brought this to the front of my mind to share with all of you. I know it's the Christmas season (yes CHRISTmas, not Holiday) and we so often get blinded by the sparkly lights, trees, Santa, Elves, funny movies, and gifts. This year let me encourage you to stop for just a moment and think what this holiday is celebrated for, Christ's birthday. For me, personally, to remember that I have decided that I will not receive any gifts this year because, well, I don't NEED anything else. Instead of gifts I'm asking for money so I can give a donation to St. Jude's Children Hospital. So many commercials say to "give the gift that keeps on giving" Do they truly know what that is? To me thats Salvation from my Jesus, the fruits of the spirit, the spiritual gifts God gave to each and every one of us, and the JOY from serving Him. I have my Salvation, I'm praying for God to continue to work on my heart so I can get the fruits of the spirit down, and my spiritual gifts are mercy, giving, and evangelism. I have received the gift that keeps on giving, and I want to bring joy and hope to someone who might not have had joy and hope this Christmas.
God Bless You.
Brittany Lauren<3

Thankfulness

I'm sitting here typing this blog entry from my Aunt and Uncle's home in Jackson, Mississippi. Let me set the scene for you, I'm in the downstairs den/play room, spongebob is on, and my four year old cousin Kenzie is asleep in the recliner. I've spent the past couple of days playing with her and her little brother, and what a JOY they are to be around! I love them to peices! Yesterday was Thanksgiving and we had over 30 people at the house. Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Kids, Grandparents, you name it, they were here. I was SO thankful to meet, see, and get to know my family more and more!

My aunt Jewel got married a few months ago, she's in her 80's, and I finally got to meet my new Uncle Kurtis, he was a missionary in Japan for 25 years right after the war! Not only was he a wonderful person to talk to, but he was precious. He gave me (and everyone else) a copy of his testimony. Another person I was blessed to meet was my sweet cousin, Mary Kathryn. She is so sweet! We have been facebook friends for a while now, but this was the first time we had ever met and I just LOVE her! I'm so thankful for my sweet family!

My uncle Kurtis said that "Thanksgiving is the most Christian holiday" He's right, its true meaning hasn't been blured like Chrismas or Easter's have. He said "We don't worship Santa Claus" to which my little three year old cousin Joseph screamed "YEAH WE DO!" (we had a good laugh at that). But really, Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to reflect on all the good things that God has blessed us with! I wanna list what I'm thankful for on my blog.
1. My parents, they've raised me to be strong, to believe in myself, and to believe in the good in others.
2. My grandparents, they are so wonderful!
3. My extended family.
4. My friends, idk what I would do with out them
5. My pets, they bring so much joy into my life.
6. My mentor, Elizabeth!
7. The bad times in my life that have helped me to grow
8. My future husband, even though I don't know him yet, I'm still thankful for all the things he will do for me and with me.
9. The roof over my head
10. Finantial stability
11. my school
12. My church home and family.
13. freedom
14. and last but not least Christ, his love, and his saving Grace.

Dreams

"A Dream is a wish your heart makes,

 when your fast asleep.

 In dreams you will lose your heartache, 

whatever you wish for you keep.

 Have faith in your dreams and someday 

your rainbow will come smiling through. 

No matter how your heart is grieving 

if you keep on believing 

the dream that you wish will come true"- Cinderella <3

I believe that your dreams reflect the desires of your heart. No lie, most of my dreams at night are about meeting Taylor Swift, because right now that is the top goal in my life. My dreams used to be about the boy I liked. I dream about my friends, my family, my dog. I dream about spiritual things too. I have nightmares that wake me up. Recently I had a serious of nightmares about demon possession and they were the SCARIEST things I have ever experienced I had to call my sweet mommy into my room to comfort me, I actually cried over these nightmares and was fearful to sleep again that night. It felt real, and that was scary. I had to pray for God to protect my heart and mind while I slept so that those nightmares wouldn't haunt me again. God was faithful in doing so, that night I had dreams about my passions, church, special needs children, and the elderly. It was precious to see everything I loved in front of me in a dream. The next night I stayed at my friend's dorm, but still prayed for that protection again. I didn't dream, or if I did I don't remember it. And again the next night, I had a dream about Taylor Swift coming to my home for a big party my mom was throwing, she then invited me to attend one of her concerts front row, I got to hang out with my celebrity hero backstage at her own concert in my dream. That is cool to me, that I can accomplish whatever I want in one of my dreams. I could hug her whenever I wanted and she didn't care. I could make her laugh and I could be her friend. In my dream about the children, church, and elderly I was able to minister to all these precious people in my dream. That is the true desire of my heart to minister and love on people and worship God. My dreams never concern my future, its always my present day life and I think that is because I have accepted that my future is unknown, and I don't care to know it until it gets here. I used to have dreams about my wedding, but those would just frustrate me because I could never see the man's face. But we would get married and dance the night away. That was the desire of my heart then, to find "the one" but now, I could honestly care less. I know I'm supposed to be single for this season and I don't want anything to do with dating or boyfriends or anything like that. Right now I'm fully content with being single and not liking anyone. I'm curious to see what I dream about tonight, if it will be one of my repetitive Taylor Swift meeting dreams or something new. I never know.

What are YOUR dreams? What do you desire most?

Peace.Love.Blessings,

Brittany Lauren