Mighty is Our God

You know what I love? The fact that I have such an awesome, all powerful God. The fact that, no matter what I'm going through, God is there. Always. Not sometimes or only if it's important enough, but always. I'm thankful for that.

The devil has really been trying to make his way into our church. It seems like for the past few months, Sunday has been the day when everything crumbles. Yesterday, some things happened that really made me think. It has also made me grateful to not only have a godly father, but a pastor and all around spiritual leader who lives his life for the Lord and no one else.

In my life, I often want things done my way in my timing. I'm a super impatient person that hates to wait around for anything. Maybe even without knowing it, my dad has taught me how important it is to put all your faith in the Lord. Not some of it, but all of it. I get frustrated with my dad for not dealing with things right when they happen, but he is so much more wise than me in every aspect.

I'm someone who likes to write letters. If I'm upset with someone, hurt by someone, or even worried about someone, I put my pen to the paper and let the words flow. My dad has always told me not to send a letter the day that I write it. He says to put it away, pray about it, and if I still want to send it a few days later, go for it. Do you know how many letters I've written and thrown away shortly after? A whole lot more than the ones I've sent.

My dad does nothing in his timing. If something happens, he prays about it and waits for God to speak to him in some way. Sometimes it's a few hours, sometimes it's a few months, but he always waits for God's perfect timing.

I'm so thankful for my dad and the godly example he is to so many. I'm thankful that the Lord gave my brother's and I a father who has taught and continues to teach us how important it is the press into Jesus Christ. Who knows where Seth, Jesse and I would be without our parents guidance. I'm so thankful serving and glorifying the Lord has always been the number one priority in our house.

So, if you get a chance to pray for our church and our pastor {who I proudly call my daddy}, that would be great. God is doing some mighty work within our church family. Having a leader who's a man whose soul purpose is to follow Jesus Christ is going to take us nowhere but up. I have complete peace and comfort in knowing that the Lord's will will be done at Calvary Temple Church.

95 Degrees

Right now, it's 95 degrees with a heat index of who knows what. I'm inside a nice air conditioned house babysitting all while wishing I was at the beach. Some people can't stand the heat, but I love it! It's times like these that I'm thankful to be living next to the ocean and water parks and having a pool in my back yard.

Time Flies

You know what I haven't done in awhile? Blog. I see those people who are "on again off again" bloggers and always say I'm not going to be "one of those", but here I am. But hey, I'm blogging now! ;)

Ryder is almost a month old. It's crazy how time flies! Not only is this little man growing outrageously, but where did June go?! I remember being at the hospital on June 6th, blinking, and being at game night last night. Again, time flies.

I've gone to the beach once this summer. Definitely something that needs to be changed. With Sebastian and Katie having such busy work schedules, the beach isn't necessarily a priority when they are off. Oh, and I'm not much for going by myself.

Well, I'm eighteen, a high school graduate, and a brand new aunt. I'd say life is going pretty well. :) I could honestly not be any happier with what's happening these days..unless someone showed up with a Ford Fiesta that had my name on it. ;) It'll happen one day! We're going out to dinner for my birthday tonight since on my actual birthday we were all a little preoccupied. Maybe I'll tell you about it later...

Maybe not. ;)

Water Parks, Birthdays, and a Beautiful Baby Boy...Part 3

{Click here for Part 2}

At 10:47pm on June 6, 2012, Jesse Ryder Amos came into this world. He was 7 pounds 12 ounces and measuring 20 1/2 inches long. After all of the waiting that had been done, his perfect face lit up the entire family.

How cool is it to have the same birthday as your first born nephew? For me, it's amazing. He's the best birthday present I've ever gotten! Seeing him for the first time was something I'll never forget. Again, so blessed.

I love that I can call that little guy my nephew.

Water Parks, Birthdays, and a Beautiful Baby Boy...Part 2

{Click here for Part 1}

We got home and mom and I left for the hospital. We got a call from Jesse saying they wanted Chick-Fil-A...what's new? ;) So, after stopping to get two number five eight counts with sweet teas and Chick-Fil-A sauce, we were on our way. I was already filling up with pride as I walked through the doors and into the maternity ward. Just knowing that the next time I left the hospital, I would have a nephew, made me a super happy camper. But anyway, they got their Chick-Fil-A. :)

Lydia had a looong labor. By the end of June 5th, we knew Ryder wasn't coming on the "scheduled" timeline. So, mom and I parked ourselves in the empty waiting room and waited for the morning. After all, if there was a change in events, we didn't want to miss anything. :)

When the clock hit midnight, it was officially my birthday. Eighteen years earlier, my mom was in the same position Lydia was; waiting for their little miracle. At 12:00, mom sang to me. While she was singing to me, my amazing boyfriend was calling me to do the same. With all of the hustle and bustle of the day, it would have been natural for everyone to "look over" my birthday. For me, that wasn't the case. When Seth and Stacey {brother and sister-in-law} came to the hospital that night to wait for the baby, they surprised me with a balloon and cupcakes. Oh, and candles that we could have set the smoke alarm off with. I'm so blessed to have the family that I do.

A few hours later, the two mom's ran down the hall and into the delivery room. The time had come. :)

And you can see part 3 here...the best part in my opinion. :)

Water Parks, Birthdays, and a Beautiful Baby Boy...Part 1

Tuesday morning was cold and rainy. While most people would want to grab a good book and their favorite soup, Sebastian, Katie, and I were getting our bathing suits on and our lunches packed. We were going to Water Country USA to celebrate my eighteenth birthday. I think there was a slight moment when we contemplated going a different day, but what's a little rain when you're going to a water park?

We got there at about 12:30. We got up to the ticket place to buy Katie's pass, and they told us they were closing at 1:00 due to the rain and 60 degree temperature. I can't say we were too upset; it I was cold. So, we went ahead and got Katie's season's pass and went to the bathroom to change out of our bathing suits and into our jeans and jackets.

While we were changing, I got a text saying Lydia's water broke. I guess it worked out Water Country was closing early. It would have been terrible to get in there, get all wet, then have to dry off and leave ten minutes later. Not to mention freezing!

Although the water park was a bust, there was something much much better waiting just around the corner. :)

You can read part 2 here. :)

The Aftermath

When I wrote what I did about homosexuality, I knew I would get some bad feedback. Before posting it, I prayed and asked God to really give me a peace about sharing my thoughts. I can honestly say that He gave me that peace that passes all understanding. Still, I didn’t know what the future held for that blog post, but I laid it in the Lord’s hands.

People were “liking” and commenting on it telling me how much of a blessing it was. Some of my friends were sharing it and then some of theirs, too. Within the first minute of posting, it already had nine views and no negative comments. “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Maybe people were listening to what they had learned so many years ago? Either way, I just prayed that God’s will would be done.

It wasn’t much longer when the first blow hit. I saw a nice long status that, although never said my name, had every hint pointing straight to my blog. It explained how just because I believe something doesn’t mean everyone else has to. It mainly focused on how the fact that I don’t believe people are born gay is a joke. I wasn’t sure what to do about it, so I didn’t do anything at all. The next one came a little while after. After commenting on my post, a status was made even worse than the first one. Again, never saying my name, it had “Hannah” written all over it. I need to stop shoving my “religion” down people’s throats and I need to think of others instead of myself. Just because I think something is right doesn’t mean everyone has to abide by my rules. It ended with saying people like me are why this person left GCA three years ago. There were a few more, but I’m not going to explain each one. I think the worse one for me to read was from someone who I felt like should have had more respect for not only me, but my parents. In a roundabout way, I was told that I was putting a box around what God can do and I was being judgmental.

Not many of you know me personally, but I am an incredibly sensitive person. Sebastian {my boyfriend} showed up just in time for me to break down. When I posted the link earlier, I knew those comments would come, but when they did, I was in no way ready for the amount of negativity. I kept telling myself that the good outweighed the bad, but the sense of pure hatred I felt while reading some of the responses made me wonder if I should have shared the post to begin with.  

I was going to reply to some of the people who didn’t “approve”, but then it was like God just said, “No, that’s what they want. Be the bigger person.” In my mind, I felt like those people didn’t have the right to tell me I was pushing anything down their throats. They saw it. They clicked on it. They read it. Before I gave myself too much time to get upset, I decided that I was thankful that they saw it, I was thankful they clicked on it, and I was thankful they read it. Who knows, maybe a seed was planted in their hearts that wasn’t there just a few minutes earlier.

Yesterday was full of mixed emotions. I have never gotten so much “hate mail”, but it just made me imagine what Jesus Christ had to go through. I have comfort in knowing that the Lord is working in people who read what I wrote. Even if only one out of the three hundred views was blessed by it, it would be so worth it.

As a Christian, I have to be ready for persecution. I have to be ready to stand up for my God and go to battle at any given time. Yesterday, I had to endure some of the worst things ever said about me. It may be weird to some of you, but when someone doubts my faith, calls me a hypocrite, or downgrades anything having to do with my Savior, it hurts ten times worse than anything else that could be said.

I’m so thankful for the prayers I got yesterday - they mean more than you know. I have never taken such a stand as I did yesterday, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Psalm 86:12

"I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart and I will glorify thy name for evermore."