Study....Study....STUDY!!

It's been quite a while since I updated the few folks who read my blog on what has been happening in my life lately. SO much has happened this year, it's overwhelming sometimes to look back at it and see how much time has already flown by! Here we are in the middle of July already! Can someone please tell me where the time went?

So quick update: What has this year held so far? Hmm...studying, oh and more studying, and a little more studying! I faced some of my most challenging courses this year with taking Form & Analysis 1-3 in the early semester (Really, who needs to analyze Debussy's quartet? Why?). Then I had my HUGE Liberal Arts Capstone project. What does this involve? Glad you asked. It involved a LOT of researching, LOTS of writing, late nights (stayed up until 4 a couple times...:-/). Yes, and even some tears. But I finally finished, and received an "A" in the class (made up for all the late nights and tears!).

I officially finished all 33 hours of my music courses at the end of May, and had all those hours accredited and on my transcript. Whew! Then came the "easy" part. Finishing the testing out of the rest of my basics and free electives.

Fast forward to the first week in June, and I took a trip to North Carolina for a week to take some of the most AMAZING and life changing training I've ever experienced! I took a week of Creation Apologetics teaching, and learned how to teach it to others. If you want to find out more about my week, clink this link, which will take you to their website. I strongly believe that this training is essential for every Christian who wants to be ready to defend their faith! While there, I met some of the most amazing people! And an extra blessing was meeting a dentist who gave me some unbiased opinions about my TMJ disorder, and also meeting an amazing biochem teacher who gave me some terrific help on my Natural Science CLEP test. I plan on writing more in depth about my experience in this training, but for now, check out that link!

July 3rd, I had my 21st birthday! And no...I did not go out and "party" as some may describe it. Instead, I spent the morning with my family, going swimming with my sister and a friend and their combined five kiddos, as well as my "at home" family and cousin. Then I spent the afternoon helping with little kids (everyone wants to do that on their birthday, right?), had great friends over in the evening, spent some "just girl" time with my sisters and friends, and my day ended with a dear friend spending the night and us staying up late watching one of those "girly" movies.

So, it's July 16th, and where do I find myself now? Studying away! Withing the last 7 days, I have taken three exams for college credit. Yes, you read that right. THREE college exams, giving me a total of 12 hours of additional credit. I took one last Thursday, giving me an additional 6 hours, and took two tests today after only 5 days of studying. I'm looking ahead at the next five weeks (my projected FINISHING date), and I'm realizing that the crazy schedule I gave myself of finishing SEVEN more tests in the next FIVE weeks is actually completely feasible!

So, what has the first (almost) seven months of this year taught me? One main thing.

God's grace is ALWAYS enough!!

I cannot stress that enough. In fact it's so important that I will say it again. God's grace is ALWAYS sufficient for my needs! Folks, I have literally seen Him work miracles this last seven months! How, you might ask? Because I have made it this far in school! It is only by His grace that I am where I am today, and have made it this far! I could NOT have finished those classes on my own. Believe me. I was in TEARS over Debussy (Debussy and I don't get along very well). I was in tears over my massive thesis-type paper. I have no idea how I managed to keep such late hours for such a long period of time, except that I know that God gave me all the strength that I needed! And God definitely gave me all the inspiration I needed for such a challenging subject (why did I pick to do a BA thesis on the aesthetics of music again?).

So all this to say, even in the smallest minute things, God cares, He is faithful, and He will be your strength, if you only ask! I'm not stupid, but I know that I could not have come this far in my schooling without God's continued grace and strength pouring through me. I have learned to ask God on a daily basis to empty me completely of myself, and to pour Himself completely into me. One of the verses I am claiming for this next year of my life is from Ephesians 3, where Paul prays that God will fill the Ephesians with "all the fullness of God." My dad explained that in his sermon this is like throwing a coke bottle into the ocean and watching the bottle become completely filled with the fullness of the ocean, yet there is still so much ocean. But in order for that coke bottle to be filled, it has to empty itself of its contents. 

So my prayer for each of you that reads this article is that you would humble yourself and empty yourself completely of anything inside, and ask God to fill you with all His fullness! His grace and strength are ALL we could ever need, and way more than we could ever hope for! I hope that this has been at least a little encouragement to you. 

Until next time....

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, and may you be filled with ALL the fullness of God! Blessings!

Because of Jesus' Blood,

Faith Christine

Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

My Father Makes Me Smile

I know it has been FOREVER since I have posted on my blog, and can't believe it's almost the end of April already! This year has gone by crazy fast, especially with my Taiwan trip at the beginning of this year. I'm praying that I'll be able to sit down soon and write some blog posts to document my Taiwan trip, so I don't forget, and so others can hear of God's goodness to us in Taiwan. But, I wanted to write a quick post to praise the name of my Father in Heaven. He is so good to me, and has shown Himself so faithful in every single way, and even in small things.

I want to share with you right now something that made me smile. Something I knew God did just to make me smile, and thank Him, and praise His holy name. God is our Father, and what Daddy does not just love to make his children smile, and see them happy? I know that my earthly father definitely does, so why not our Father in Heaven, who is the absolute Perfect Father? God has made me smile in so many ways today, but I will share the extra special blessing with you.

As you may know from reading my description page, I am a photographer. Recently, a family in our church asked me to take some family photos of them in the beautiful Texas blue bonnets. Of course, I was delighted! They had asked if we could meet at the church before Sunday school services, and go to a field nearby with blue bonnets. Now if you live in Texas, then you understand how crazy our weather has been. So not as many wild flowers popped up this year. I arrived at the church early today so that I could drive around and find the best spot for pictures. I drove around close to the church, the whole time praying "God, could you please give me some blue bonnets? Like lots and lots of blue bonnets. You created them, so I know you can give them to me." I drove around...and could not find a single good thick patch. I prayed again, "God, I just need lots of blue bonnets. I know you can give them to me." Then, I remembered! Last year, as I was driving to the college that I test at, which is near our church, I saw a huge patch of blue bonnets right next to the college. It was only a 4 minute drive from the church, so I headed that direction. I kept praying, "Father, I just need a lot of blue bonnets. It's so simple for you. I know you can give them to me!" I arrived at the location, and guess what I found?

Blue bonnets! Lots and lots of them! The very thing I had asked my Father to give me! Of course I had to share my story with the family that I photographed.

But my story does not end there! If you are a photographer, then you probably have some of the same "fears" of shooting outside, especially if you live in Texas.

Hot weather.....
Sun so bright that everyone is squinting their eyes all the time....
Lots of wind.....

(Aren't they a great looking family, and aren't those beautiful flowers?!)

So yes, I may have slightly feared these things....but God gave me a perfect temperature, partly cloudy skies, and very little wind (I think it was going about 9 mph). It was perfect! And not only that, but the family that I worked with today had the sweetest most obedient kids, who were more than happy to pose in whatever way I wanted them to. The parents were even willing to make a silly face for one of the pictures (and did a great job of it too, I might add). And even by the end of the shoot, they were asking me to take pictures of them in a certain spot. Then the oldest girl wrote me the sweetest note later thanking me for taking their pictures. That really made my day, especially since my major love language is words of affirmation. I definitely felt my Father in Heaven looking down on me saying, "See Faith? I care even about the little things! I clothe the lilies of the field. I feed the ravens. I do care about making my precious daughter smile, and I do love to see you smile." So I could not help but smile all day today, knowing how faithful my God is even in the tiniest of things. If God cares even about tiny things like giving me good weather, and lots and lots of blue bonnets, then I know He cares about the "bigger" things. Because they are all the same to Him! Because He is a big God!! And not only all of these perfect things, but the location was perfect! My church is located in an industrial area, and so there are a lot of ugly signs, or tall buildings. But there was this awesome little "forest", and awesome trees, and no ugly buildings in the background!

We are commanded over and over in the Bible to bless the Lord, or to sing praises to His name, so I wanted to do just that. Why do I feel so much joy? Why do I smile so big? Because I know I have a Father in Heaven who is smiling down on me right now, and that makes me smile too. :-D God is so good to me, a wretched sinner. I am so undeserving of His love, yet He loves me anyway, and shows His love through small things like good weather, no wind, a partially cloudy day, and lots of blue bonnets! I praise you, oh my Father! You created this wonderful day, and I lift thanks up to you!

Don't forget to thank God every day, especially for the little things! Remember His faithfulness endures forever. Trust in Him, and give your all to Him!

Because of Jesus' Blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

P.S. It's good to finally get a blog post out....