Poetry page...

     I have a few posts in the work, but I wanted to drop a note saying that I have added a few new poems to that page which you can find right here! I do have finals beginning at the end of this week so I'll have a few posts up after Memorial Day weekend. In the meantime, check out the above and enjoy the upcoming holiday!
~Abby

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

While I live I will praise the Lord;

I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Do not put your trust in princes,

Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.

His spirit departs, he returns to his earth;

In that very day his plans perish.

Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,

Whose hope is in the Lord his God,

Who made heaven and earth,

The sea, and all that is in them;

Who keeps truth forever,

Who executes justice for the oppressed,

Who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;

The Lord raises those who are bowed down;

The Lord loves the righteous.

The Lord watches over the strangers;

He relieves the fatherless and widow;

But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.

The Lord shall reign forever—

Your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the Lord!

{Psalm 146}

A Goodbye Letter

     It's been a little over two months since we had to put our dog Lady down and I'm finally able to share this without crying... well, crying a lot I should say. To those who have never had to say goodbye to a pet, it might seem a little silly, but to those who have, you know. I wrote this that night.

I said goodbye to one of the only friends who's stuck around always.
None of the annoying things you did seem to matter anymore. 

You were there when I needed a distraction.
You always knew how to make me smile through all my tears.
You were a silent friend I could talk to and dance around. 

You were everything a dog should be and more -
thank you for being one of my best friends in the world.

There will not be a day that goes by that I will not think of you in some small way.
I love you forever.
Thank you for being what I needed and much more.

Rest peacefully my dear puppy.
You will always hold a special portion of my heart.

I love you Lady.

Abby

I'm alive...

   I've been absent for a while: between school, tax season at work, and everything else, it was a crazy busy few months but I hope to be updating like regular again. So this was just a little note to say "Hi!" and "I'm not dead!"

I will update soon!

~Abby

PS - I added to my poem page, which you can check out here!

Jesus & Others

     God put this thought in my heart today: we're not here to serve ourselves. It's Jesus first. It's others second. There's a church song that I've taught to the kids: "Jesus and Others and You, what a wonderful way to spell joy!" If you want true joy, you have to put a few other things ahead of yourself.

     Jesus never put Himself first: His entire life was about others. Obviously, we cannot get to this level because we're not God, and we will never be perfect, but Jesus is our example.We should strive to put Him first and others before ourselves.

     Today, I could feel this ringing in my heart. It is something I need to work on, and I'm beginning to see that it isn't overnight. I'm not going to become less self-centered overnight. But if I continue to ask the Lord for His help, He is faithful and will continue to change me.

     So as you read this little piece of my heart today, be blessed and try to do something that would put someone else ahead of yourself. Maybe this quote from Oswald Chambers will help to inspire you: "Have you ever realized that you can give things to God that are of value to Him? Or are you just sitting around daydreaming about the greatness of His redemption, while neglecting all the things you could be doing for Him? I’m not referring to works which could be regarded as divine and miraculous, but ordinary, simple human things – things which would be evidence to God that you are totally surrendered to Him."

~ Abby

Do we do this?

     This thought keeps running through my head - "...encourage one another and build one another up..." How often are we actually encouraging each other? Do we build each other up? It is one thing to have an open ear and be a shoulder to cry on, but do we ever take it to the next step? Do we earnestly push each other to continue in our relationship with Christ?

     We're a family. If someone you love is hurting, we want them to feel better, to move forward. Why are we not always like that with our fellow Christians? You don't have to be this way for every person you come across - we cannot be that for everyone in our circles, but we can be that encouragement for a few. Pick a few. Be that builder-up. Text them that Bible verse. Call them up and check on their walk with God. Pray for them. Send a note of encouragement. You never know who needs that little extra push today.

~ Abby