What did you say?

The power of words - it affects how we live each day. Whether you realize it or not, what you say either makes someone feel good or bad - so the question is:  what did you say today? Were you encouraging, selfish, hurtful, affirming....???  Our sphere of influence is perhaps much bigger than we ever anticipate. 

As I sit back and think about all the social media that is used today, we are all so quick to throw out our thoughts before we actually process them.  We are quick to say judgmental statements as a status or a reply on Facebook, we quickly tweet our latest passion or frustration, or we may even make some sort of youtube video that expresses our thoughts.  All of these forms of social media are great tools for communication in our world that we live in, but my fear is that we have simply lost the filters we need to make positive influences in this world. 

Perhaps our prayer each morning should consist of Psalm 19:14 - "May the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."

What will you say today?  Or what will you not say?  How will it influence those around you? 

Free to be me

TODAY HAS BEEN CRAZY!!! Working at a bank on a Friday can certainly become quite interesting. I have seen so many people today that I think it is enough to last me for a week or two....haha...just kidding! But I realize that EVERY single person I saw is so unique...every one of them created with a purpose in life....how lucky I am to cross paths with so many people....

We are all different...aren't you glad!?!? :) As I think about who I am, two things have encouraged me today. First, Psalm 139:14..."I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made..." How awesome that God carefully creates us into who we are....seriously, He didn't just throw us together like some crazy salad where we just throw the ingredients in! He is not one of the crazy television chefs that throws in random stuff just to see if something will taste better....He CAREFULLY crafted us into beautiful people!!

Second, a song I listened to helped me remember we are free to be who God created us to be...we are not regulated by what other people tell us to be! So...here are the lyrics...

At twenty years of age I'm still looking for a dream
A war's already waged for my destiny
But You've already won the battle
And You've got great plans for me
Though I can’t always see

Cause I got a couple dents in my fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
On my own I'm so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I'm free to be me

When I was just a girl
I thought I had it figured out
My life would turn out right, and I'd make it here somehow
But things don't always come that easy
And sometimes I would doubt

Cause I got a couple dents in my fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
On my own I'm so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I'm free to be me

And you’re free to be you

Sometimes I believe that I can do anything
Yet other times I think I've got nothing good to bring
But You look at my heart and You tell me
That I've got all You seek
And it’s easy to believe
Even though

Cause I got a couple dents in my fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
On my own I'm so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I'm free to be me

"Free to be Me" by Francesca Battistelli

God is good....ALL the time!

Amy :)

Choices

As I was driving down the road today, I thought "where are all these people going??" I mean seriously, why do people drive so crazy...or why do so many people feel the need to go the same direction you do?? When we all think about it, everyone is always going somewhere...and I mean that figuratively. At the end of the day, we can look back and think of all the choices we made...and how it affected the directions we go. The decisions we make each moment affect the next moment, the moment after that, and the moments after that...it's like dominos. At a redlight, we can choose to go any direction, but once you decide, you face the consequences of that decision...perhaps you run into heavy traffic....or maybe you get lucky and all the lights are green and you get somewhere much quicker than you thought. So, the question is...how did your choices today determine your direction??

My life has been full of decisions/choices and consequences...good and bad. My hope is that my choice to share my thoughts on here with all of you will be a blessing for me and for you. I hope that the things God is teaching me, will also teach you something....and my prayer is that we can all learn that God is the ultimate GPS man....He knows our every steps....He knows the best directions....and He knows which directions will put us in some serious traffic jams....so perhaps we should listen to Him for our next choice....

God is good....ALL the time....

Amy :)