This girl is a beautiful daughter of a loving Abba! She is a princess to the utmost highest King. She sits as lovely in His sight….forgiven and whole. She is my sister. We have our struggles with her, but we love her! We wait in wonder to see the young, passionate woman of God that she is molded into! Keep her in your prayers as she battles the life of a young lady! Kayla, I love you! Stand firm and let Him guide you always!
Love Sis
Woke up this morning and got in the Word…..went to nanny and had a blast……..got a special visit and felt cared for and protected…..got a text….and…..
GOT SLAPPED IN THE FACE BY GOD!
Yes you read right. I got slapped. How you may wonder??!! A great, and kind of distant friend of mine, sent me a text with a video. She does not really know where I am in life right now, and she is not a Christian…..and this is the video I received……with a message that read,
I saw this and just knew I had to send it to you. I do not know why but please be still and listen to and wait for God! I love you.
Here’s the video: for any of you that know whats going on in my life…..you understand! Hope this video speaks to at least one of you too!
God is good all the time and all the time God is good
After a fantastic weekend of God taking me to the peaks and into the valleys, I sit here on this beautiful Monday afternoon, anticipating where God is leading me. A new week, a new month, a new season for me. God has been revealing Himself in ways I could not have ever asked for these past couple of weeks and it has been a joy to draw closer, but at the same time, those revealings have twisted my heart and mind into a jumbled mess!
Yesterday was a day of wrestling and beating and questioning. I feel as though I was in the ring with Satan losing battle after battle. I am physically, emotionally, and more importantly, spiritually weak and hurting. I would be lifted up, only to be taken down again. I know I have not lost the war, but quite honestly these battles are hard! In the past three days, on numerous occasions, I just wanted to throw my hands up and scream surrender…..I give up. Every time though, God’s still voice was there saying, “Sweet child of mine, I have you. Keep fighting. Keep your eyes on Me. I have this. Let me do this.” Surrender. I need to learn to surrender to Him, wholly!
My best and dearest friend gave me a what if question last night that broke me. In my wrestlings with God, there has been a nail just surfaced on my heart holding that very question that he asked, and last night with one sentence, with one question, that nail was finally driven in and my heart began to genuinely bleed what I know needs to be wrestled with more and ultimately conquered. Its hard. My immediate reaction was to be upset with him, to be angered, how could he possibly understand how hard this is? Who is he to hammer that nail in? How silly of me. Realizing the stream of blood flowing, I calmed and saw that there was care and concern, the true motive. I had to step aside and put myself in his position. I broke; the stream was now a rushing river that brought more fears, more questions, and more insecurity. The wrestling continues, but I am somehow freer and that much closer to following God in winning this war!
There is so much running through my heart and mind that I cannot possibly get it all into words on here but know that even through trials there are countless joys in our Savior! I cannot thank God enough for this season of life that I am in. No matter how tough, God is there and He has so graciously given me family and friends that are right here beside me fighting with and for me! I am blessed and will worship my Abba with all of my heart, all of my soul, and all of my strength.
Much love as you go into this week! Hang in there and continue to strive for the end of the race is near.
Peace and grace to each of you,
~B~
Although I love the landscape of the west, the weather of the north, and the culture of the far, far west, Georgia is home and will always be home in my heart! Today is one of those days where I can just sit in awe of such an amazing Artist! The leaves are changing, the weather is cooling, and the countryside is rolling! Gorgeous!
I love the sunrises and sunsets during this season and all the colors that are in every one. The blue skies during the day with the wind gently rustling the fallen leaves; there are no words to describe the happiness it fills me up with! It makes me fall back in the soft grass and stare lovingly upward, as if trying to keep my eyes locked with such a lovely Father! My heart pounds inside my chest, as I am here, at a loss of words to adequately praise Him and bring Him what He is due! How unfathomable His love!
It is times like these, that I miss it the most, that is the camera! A beautiful day, a 2-year-old being adorable in the field of sunshine, and a baby that could not reflect any more love among the grass and freshly fallen leaves! I hope to hold these images forever!
Images to be held forever…..tomorrow!
October 30…Rebecca Elizabeth West’s 21st birthday! I cannot thank God enough for the friend that she is to me! We have faced so many trials together but we have also celebrated many joys together! It has definitely been a friendship that we have both had to fight very hard for, but because of that, this friendship is for life! We have had so many memories made together and beginning tomorrow late afternoon, many more shall be made! We are headed downtown for dinner and swing dancing and then we are headed back to my house with everyone to bonfire it up and enjoy an evening with lovely friends! Saturday we will be heading to Rome to continue celebrating her big day and of course Halloween! I cannot wait for the details of the weekend to begin to unfold tomorrow! I know great times are ahead of us all!
I will be dressing up tomorrow and Sunday! First real-time dressing up since I have never really celebrated Halloween. Tomorrow night I will be a leopard (sassy??!!) and Brett will have some sort of leopard print on! How very handsome 
Becs and Tay will be Wheres Waldo/Wanda….very cute. Cant wait to see what others come as! Sunday I will be an orange crayon..haha..how so very exciting! Pictures will be posted asap from the events of this weekend!
I hope you all have a wonderful and safe weekend with lots of marvelous memories! Cant wait to see the pictures of many of you and the stories!
With lots of love and many laughs,
~~B~~
WOW! That’s all my brain can think of right now! WOW!
I must have lost my mind when I decided that 17 hours would be fine in an 8 week period! It is only Tuesday of the first week and I am already streesed beyond repair (well at least until the 8 weeks are over)! As much as I have been ready for school to get started, I am now ready for it to be over! I cannot wait to see what I learn this semester though! I actually have interesting classes….that’s definitely a plus. I know school keeps many of you stressed as well! We are all going to make it
Sitting before the throne on many of your behalf’s this week! Keep persevering. Grace and peace to you, His beloved!
~~B~~
Rach
You know that feeling, that feeling of eager anticipation?? Like, Christmas Eve or waiting on something from FedEx to arrive at your door?? You know, that ants in the pants sensation! Well, that has been me this week…..
I have not been waiting on anything necessarily but I have been longing without realizing it! I have been so hungry, and not feeding myself. I have been being fed (much like a baby) but not actually picking up the food and eating for myself these past few months. Now obviously I am not talking about food food, but rather Christ. Church and/or fellowship with other believers is a daily thing for me, but I never seemed to be satisfied in that here recently. Why? Well, I have been in the Word, but I will have to admit I have not been soaking in the Word. More times than not I have picked up something so precious to me and read it like it was a chore rather than a joy. Sunday, Ben began a new series on Ephesians and my spark was ignited again! That longing, that antsy pantsy feeling, it was there. I began right then to crave His glorious Word. I want more all day! This longing after Him has been hidden within me for too long and it makes my heart so happy to come back and delight in Him and worship Him through the reading of the Word! How gracious our God is!
Another longing was discovered today as well, although I do not know if it is a longing or a just a deep hurting desire. Without going into too much detail here, a thing needs to be said but cannot be said, or rather is afraid to be said, but someone else has said this something to another, and now it hurts me that I have not said what I need to say. I left today from watching 2 wonderful and dear children, and got about 5 minutes down the road before losing it out of nowhere. It hit me, this said said nonsense! Should I say? Should I hold the battle down longer? How? When? Where? Why??? Its a toughy, laying heavy on my heart and the hearts of a few others. God has it though, for sure, and I trust He will lead the way, I only pray that I will obediently following His leading! I ask for your prayers as I and many loved ones around me pray this say say gets handled properly.
Cold? YES!! I have been antsy pantsy about the cold getting here for quite some time now, and alas, it is here! Yay sweaters, big coats, and most importantly, scarfs!! Oh how so very exciting! Things to do, people to see, and new things to discover this season!
What I am I most Antsy Pantsy about??…. Weddings!! Congrats to all of my wonderful friends who have gotten engaged in the past month or so or that have weddings coming up really soon! I cannot wait to take part in many of your bigs days! I know you are all so eager about the days ahead, yet antsy to know what God really has in store! Oh the excitement of such a season! Congrats again to each of you! Cannot wait for the BIG DAYS!
Love God friends and in return you cant help but love His people!
Love and Laughs,
Brittany
(picture from this morning coming soon)
Today my mom and I got up nice and early and began doing a clean sweep of the house! We cranked up the music all around the house, put on our “cleaning clothes”, and started attacking the dirt, dust, and grime. Why am I blogging about this you may ask? Well, oddly enough, cleaning is something that my mom and I love doing together. Strange, yeah I know! But again, why? Since I was little, my mom and I would get on silly outfits, crank up the music, and clean together. It has always been something we have done as a stress reliever, a time to talk and bond, or even to make a boring day fun. Many moms and daughters hit up the mall or other girly things, but not us, we pull out the cleaning supplies and get dirty. Now of course we make it fun with dancing contests with the broom, super shirt soaker when cleaning the bathrooms, and vaccuum races around the house. Are we a little loony? Yeah, I would have to say so, but do we care, not a bit!
What made today special? It was planned. Yesterday was one of those emotional for very little reason days (all you girls know what I am talking about) and after my mom and I had some talks and did some baking, I actually felt better but I could tell last night after another breakdown that it was just going to be one of those weekends! So, it being my mom’s birthday weekend and me being an emotional wreck, she declared that this morning would be a morning that I would never forget of forging the house of ickiness! OH WHAT FUN! I actually went to bed anticipating the morning with my mom! I think that my mom got the present she has really been wanting….time spent with me, something I have been neglecting and need to work harder at. I love her so much and love the time we spend together. We are so so much alike, so as expected, we bang heads regularly, but it only brings us that much closer! I cannot thank God enough for giving me such an amazing family, but especially a mother that loves me so very much! I cannot wait to be at the Perry Fair tomorrow with her and the family! Oh the memories to be made!
Life is lovely!! Do not hold grudges and do not let bitterness control your life! It is much too precious!
Love and laughs,
Brittany
I cannot get enough of this beautiful season; the looks, the smells, the tastes! Oh how wonderful everything is! You may get sick of me talking about autumn, but I can’t help how bubbly it makes me feel! I actually giggle a little when I think about how happy this lovely time of year is. Being able to wake up to a crisp morning and sit on the porch in shorts and an over-sized sweatshirt and love God and allow myself to feel His love, is beyond WONDERFUL! Those without a porch are missing out I do believe! I crave my daily time on the porch, well I suppose sitting under a great shade tree is pretty nice too, so I do hope you have one or the other! My time with my Abba is truly blessed in my moments alone in the rocking chair on the porch, with only the sounds of the singing birds and buzzing bees to accompany me! Oh the splendor!
I took my time this morning to reflect over Acts 4! What would it look like to have the boldness of the early church? Why do we so often limit ourselves, or rather limit God? This morning I was convicted to really begin to pray for boldness to declare and preach the Word. How can I say I believe what it says and then not share such a glorious message with people I say that I love and care about? I want to be like Stephen, like Paul, like the early apostles; zealous for our King and what He has done! My prayer is for boldness!
I got the chance to just hang out with my mother this afternoon, and let me tell you, she is one of a kind. A marvelous woman that I look up to dearly! There is never a moment that I feel ashamed of who I am or what is going on in my life with her. She is mother, she is sister in Christ, she is always there! I thank God for the family He has blessed me with; I cannot imagine life without such an amazing support system that is always here and never unfairly judgmental of what is going on. Gotta love the family ;-p
Well guys, as pointless as this post was, you made it through it and I enjoyed just writing on this beautiful day! You are all so very special and God loves you each very much! Stay in prayer this week and in the Word!
As always, in the throne room on your behalf….
Love and laughs
~Brittany
Oh Autumn….how we have been waiting for your cool arrival! So glad you finally made it!
This is probably my favorite, most anticipated, time of year! I love the weather, the baking, the drinks, the fires, the holidays, and the time to come….winter!! Waking up to the crisp mornings with the Word, a journal, and fall in a cup makes me squirm with excitement. Porch weather has arrived! Not sweating all fluids out of my body and not freezing the tips of my toes, fingers, and nose off :-d I cannot wait to see how God uses the porch time this year to teach and grow me more into the woman of God He will have me to be. This is where I think I have grown the most over the past couple of years! God is so gracious to allow me another day to wake up to His splendor on this porch!!
Sitting on this porch makes me reflect on where I have been, where I am at, and where I want to be in the future! It is so humbling to see where God’s hand has been painting my beautiful picture called life. I cannot help but laugh at some of the moments, get choked up over others, and smile still at the thought of what He is getting ready to paint! I may have a tendency to get frustrated, get ahead, or get impatient (I think they all kind of tie in to one another), but overall I know He remains in control and I will never understand His sense of humor! Oh but how marvelous that is! Makes for an intersting life that must be based on trust or rather blind faith! I love my God…..but oh how my God loves me!!
It’s a new season (literally, spiritually, and just in life in general)! A revolution of the heart has started and I eagerly await to see how God is going to use me, those around me, and those around the world to reveal His glory in the moments to come! Yes, the moments, I want to live for the moments, not the season, the month, the week, or even the day, I want to live for the moment! In only a moment God can work beyond anything we can fathom! I pray that I will allow Him to be the center of each and every moment! Father be the center of my life! Everything! You deserve to have our eyes soley fixed on You!! My moments are Yours!! Take them and use them to bring your Kingdom here!
My study this morning consisted some of Colossians 4! What a lovely book to be in and what a great chapter to start my morning off in! Just some of my thoughts on the reading and study….
Of course these are just where I based my reflection time this morning…I took these questions and thought and rethought a lot of things in my walk! My journal is a colorful, life-changing showing, mess!! I love it! God knows what I need to hear and when I need to hear it! He never fails at being in my face and honest! Love my Abba! I would love for you guys to read over it and share what you may learn or take away from it, and I would love to share more of you where God took my heart through these 5 verses! Just amazes me!! He never ceases to leave me wanting more and He never fails at giving more!! Thirst and hunger after Him friends! Oh how I take delight in the Lord! His love is like nothing I can put words to! Just experience it and fall in love with Him in a whole new way!
I leave you with this…..Falling in Love…… Yes, overplayed maybe, but I love to listen to it with my cup of fall in my hand and my journal in the other! Makes me smile! That’s what is important right~~
love and laughs,
Brittany
