Patience...

Well it's been a while since I've posted something, but I've been doing some soul searching and throwing myself into the Word and reading some pretty amazing books and I've been putting off a post because I wasn't quite sure what the Lord wanted me to share with y'all. But now I want to share with y'all what the Lord has been showing me throughout the last few months. The Lord has been showing, no telling me that I need to be patient and wait in HIS timing. I want certain things, have certain goals and I get frustrated when then don't happen in my time. However the Lord's timing is perfect so why wouldn't I wait for HIS time!? Trust me, by no means have I gotten this down to a science! I still struggle with patience everyday, but when I find myself complaining or becoming impatient about something in my life, I take a step back, ask God to forgive me and center my mind and focus back on HIM, and I find myself becoming more and more patient with the things I can't control. 

I'm reading the book Altar Ego by Craig Groeschel (he is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors!) and I just finished reading a chapter that was all about patience and it really hit home for me. One quote that really opened my eyes was this..."The world offers substitutes for (or counterfeits of) real things: physical pleasure, material things, pride in what we have and what we do. Before long, our sinful desires for the counterfeits of this world lure us into short-term decisions with long-term consequences." Another quote from this book that really hit me was..."We allow our out-of-control, fleshly desires to overwhelm our better senses. We allow our egos, instead of our altar egos, to drive our desires." So many times in my life have I let my fleshly desires to get in the way. I've wanted more material things and I've been prideful of things that I can't even take to heaven with me! Why!? One of the main reasons why is because I wasn't keeping God the center of my life. When I got my focus back on the ONE who gave me this life and gave me breath is when I really started to realize that all the material things I have don't matter one bit! I don't want to live for a counterfeit I want the REAL thing! Like Craig Groeschel said towards the end of this chapter "[When] We pursue God with all of our hearts his desires become our desires." I want my desires to be God's desires for my life so I'm gonna pursue God with all I've got! A verse that has always been a favorite of mine and has really helped me recently is Psalm 37:4...Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

It's Official!...I'm an Arbonne Consultant!

I have embarked on a new adventure! I have become an Arbonne consultant. For those of you who don't know what Arbonne is, let me tell you a little about the company. Arbonne is an all natural beauty products line that was founded in Switzerland. All the products of Arbonne are Pure. Safe. and Beneficial. They have no artificial fillers or by products in them. They sell make-up, skin care lines for men and women, and health and wellness products like protein shake mix and vitamins. I LOVE Arbonne's make-up line and the protein shake mix!  I'm very excited that God has provided me with this opportunity to sell products that I use and believe in! If y'all have any questions about Arbonne and what it is go a head and contact me! Hope y'all have a blessed day!

Megan

Overwhelmed with Love

Sorry I haven't posted in over a week I've been busy taking care of my Momma! I also started a couple college classes this week as well. I just want to update a little on my Mom's progress since her surgery. I'm so overwhelmed with the love that is being poured onto my family! Since my Mom's surgery a week ago we have had countless visitors and phone calls. Almost every night someone has brought over a cooked meal and/or a dessert. The love of Christ is shining through big time! I feel blessed beyond belief and I thank God everyday for the people he has put into my life. We've even had friends come over to visit and ended up helping us with things around the house! Now those are true friends. We have SO many people praying for my Mom and it is showing because she is getting stronger every day. Her physical therapist is extremely impressed with her progress after only a week. God is so amazing!

Megan

Workouts, Hospital, and Work...Oh My!

Whoa what a week it has been so far! I started out my week with the beginning of a new school year. I have been working like crazy in my classroom to get it ready for the school year and it has come along great. The classroom was 95% ready when school started on Monday. I'm finishing up a few things then I hope it's done, but all you other teachers out there know that a teacher's work is never done. The first day of school went great, we have been blessed with a wonderful class. Monday also marked Day 1 of my 8 week training for a 5K i'm running in October. Now running is not my idea of fun, give me basketball or volleyball to play and I could play all day but just running I really have to motivate myself. The training program I'm doing is a great one and I'm really excited to push myself and accomplish this goal! On Wednesday my wonderful Momma had hip replacement surgery, so I spent all day at the hospital with my Dad. When I say all day I really mean ALL day, we had to be there at 4 am and we left at 5pm. Needless to say we were exhausted when we came home. They did my Mom's surgery outpatient! (I'll give you a minute to pick your jaw up off the floor, I know it took me a good minute to get over my shock!) Her surgeon was amazing, he performed the surgery in only 45 minutes! (again take a moment to get over the shock) I was amazed that they could do a full hip replacement surgery outpatient and in only 45 minutes. My mom was in recovery for a while because her blood pressure was fluctuating too much, so we couldn't see her right away which was hard for me and my Dad. Once she got into a room she ate some lunch which made her happy and then they got her up and walking with a walker and a cane so they could send her home. I'm am still amazed that she was up and walking with a walker the SAME day she had her surgery. My Mom was sent home the same day and we got home about 6pm last night. She is doing great with a little pain and is pretty tired, which is to be expected. God has truly blessed her with amazing,caring doctors and nurses. I know God was with her and my family through all of this and He will continue to be with us through her recovery! I want to thanks all of you who did and are praying for her! God is so good.

This is me and my beautiful Momma after her surgery! This was right after I got to see her for the first time since right before her surgery! I was so excited that I got to see her again and that she was feeling pretty good. Hope y'all have an awesome day!

Megan

Chill and Be Still...

God has bean showing things to me a lot lately. He's basically been telling me that I need to chill and be still. I need to rest in Him and trust Him everyday. I have been struggling lately with letting things go. He's been revealing to me that He is in control of everything and that my stressing and worrying about things I can't control and shouldn't control only hurts me more. I'm letting God take the driver's seat in my life because I live for Him and I love Him. I know that He will never leave me and that He will always protect me. I know and believe that His plans for my life are way better than my plans for my life. I just need to stop being stubborn and completely let go and let God! Here are some Bible verses that have encouraged me lately...

Be still and know that I am God

Psalm 46:10

You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises 

the Lord your God gave you has failed. 

Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.

Joshua 23:14

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

Lamentations 3:22

I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead 

you along straight paths.

Proverbs 4:11

My prayer for all of you and me this week is that we chill and be still in God and listen to his guidance and direction for our lives. Let me know if there is anything I can pray for for you! I hope and pray y'all have an awesome blessed week! 

Megan

I am Grateful...

I'm linking up with A Girl Smitten today with her I am Grateful linkup. Here are the things i'm grateful for this week...

I'm so grateful for my best friend Jessica! She is an absolutely amazing friend. She is always there for me and willing to be a shoulder to cry on if I need her! She's always encouraging me in my relationship with Christ and is always willing to pray with me if I need her to! In a nutshell she is simply amazing! I thank God everyday for putting her in my life, I don't know where I'd be without her!

I'm grateful for iced coffee! Gosh some days I don't know how I'd function without it! Today is a day where I need as much coffee as I can get to make it through this day! 

I'm grateful for my parents! They have been there for me through everything! My parents are always supportive and encouraging! They have taught me so much about Christ and His unconditional love. I love them so much! They are the best parents I could ask for. God has truly blessed me with my family and I can't not thank Him enough! 

Weekend Getaway to...Columbia, SC

This weekend was SO much fun! I was invited to go down to Columbia with my two best friends, Jessica and Melissa. We all work together so we left right after work on Friday and got into Columbia around 8:00 that night. We hung out and listened (and danced) to music, ate pizza, and watched movies. On Saturday night the couple we were staying with took us to go horse back riding. Now I have wanted to go horse back riding for a while now so I was super excited to be able to ride horses. Well twenty minutes after we got to the horses I broke out in hives! I had to leave to go get some benedryl because the hives were getting bad fast so  I was unable to ride, but my friends still got to ride so I was glad they got to enjoy riding. Saturday night we went dancing. We started out at a line dancing place then ended up at a Salsa dancing club. The Salsa dancing was the highlight of the night! We all had so much fun! On Sunday morning we went to church and heard an awesome message on Spreading the Word of God and how we are obligated as Christians to spread God's Love and Word. It was a great message that I needed to hear and be reminded of what God is doing with the youth at my church. Sunday night when I got home I had the other Youth Leaders over for some pizza and fellowship. It was a great night.The weekend went by so fast but I'm glad I got to have that time away with Jessica and Melissa and got to spend some time with my friends and fellow youth leaders. I thank God everyday for the amazing people he has put in my life!

Here are some pictures from the weekend...Enjoy!

Ready for a weekend of fun!

Here are my hives!

Jessica with the horse she got to ride

Dancing 

20 Things About Me

Saw this on another blog, Sweetness itself. That is one of my favorite blogs that I follow and I thought I would share 20 things about myself. Here it goes...

1. I am the youngest child in my family, I have two older sisters.

2. I LOVE country music

3. When I was in the 10th grade I got to sing in the Vatican in Rome, Italy

4. I am a huge football fan--GO Colts!

5. I was born in Michigan, but raised in Florida. ( I was a month old when we moved to FL)

6. I accepted Christ into my heart when I was just 6 years old.

7. I rededicated my life to Christ on May 18, 2013

8. I'm addicted to McDonald's French Vanilla Iced Coffee

9. The summer before my senior year of high school I spent a couple weeks in England with my family

10. I have read all of Nicholas Sparks' books except for The Best of Me and The Longest Ride, but they are on my reading list

11. I've never had a boyfriend, waiting on the Lord to send me the right man at the right time

12. I love college basketball--GO Duke Blue Devils!

13. I have a flip flop obsession, I own way too many pairs

14. I love John Deere tractor stuff

15. My favorite tv shows are NCIS, NCIS:LA, Rookie Blue, Blue Bloods, Pretty Little Liars, Rizzoli & Isles, etc.

16. My favorite movie is The Proposal

17. I shop too much at American Eagle

18. I have 2 nephews and 2 nieces

19. I'm super close to my Mom and my Dad, Don't know what I'd do without them

20. Living my life for God!

Exciting Opportunities

God is definitely working in my life an I love what He's doing! He is SO good! He is providing me with some exciting things and opportunities. One of them is the opportunity for me to become an Arbonne Consultant.

What is Arbonne you ask!? Well let me tell you a little bit about the company...Arbonne is an all natural health and beauty care line. They offer products ranging from face wash to make-up to vegan protein shake mixes, etc. I'm super excited God has given me the opportunity to sell products that I live and believe in. I use some of the Arbonne products and I LOVE them!!!

You might know from previous posts that I serve as a Youth Leader on the Youth Ministry Team at my church. There are three youth leaders all together, me and two guys. (I think we make a pretty great team!) Well we're are launching a new youth event for our youth group starting on September 6th. The event is called Friday Night Live and we will have a praise band, made up of some of the youth kids and leaders, lead us in praise and worship songs. Then after praise and worship a youth leader will teach a lesson which will be followed by small group reflection followed by group wide fellowship! I'm so EXCITED to kick off this event. We have been super busy planning and praying for this event and I can't wait to see what God does with it. Something i've learned through these opportunities that came my way is that God's plan for my life is WAY better than the plans i've made for my life! He is in control! I'm so thankful to God for all the exciting things happening in my life and I can't wait to share more with y'all! Hope you have a blessed day!

Megan

What a Weekend....

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days I've been SUPER busy! Last Friday me and the two other youth leaders for our church took our youth group to our sister church's youth meeting. It was an amazing time of worship and our kids enjoyed the fellowship. Later Friday night I got to hang out with my two best friends Jessica and Melissa. I love getting to spend time with them and hang out. God has blessed me with the two best friends ever! I love them. However, late on Friday night I came down with a nasty cold, but I didn't let it damper my weekend fun! Then on Saturday morning my Mom had an Arbonne party, which I love Arbonne's products! Then I went shopping for tax free weekend here in Charlotte.The mall was a mad house, but I got some cute new khaki pants and blue shorts from my favorite store, American Eagle! I LOVE their clothes. 

Then on Sunday I went to church and we had an awesome pot luck lunch with the whole church. The pot luck lunch was all Italian food and I was in heaven because I love pasta and garlic bread! Oh the carbs!  It was an amazing weekend and I'm so thankful for the time I got to spend with my family and friends. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Megan

Eye See You

This morning I had my yearly eye exam. While I was at my appointment they asked if they could dilate my eyes and I said if you need to go ahead. Well I have never had this done before so I was in for an interesting time. I had no idea what to expect so I was a little freaked out when everything started to blur! Trying to pick out new frames and fill out paperwork was quite entertaining. When I left my eye appointment they had me wear these beauties!

When my parents saw me wearing these they had a pretty good laugh. Glad I could be some entertainment for some people. :) Hopefully I won't have to have my eyes dilated for a while. It was a very entertaining experience. Trying to read text messages and send emails with dilated eyes is interesting. Hopefully all of my messages made sense and their weren't to many spelling errors.  

Megan

A Weekend full of Worship

This weekend was full of fun and exciting things. Friday was a pretty typical day for me. I had to work that day and then that night after work I had a youth leader meeting and we planned some more exciting things for out youth group! (I can't wait to share) 

On Saturday me and the other youth leaders had the wonderful opportunity to take our youth kids to an event called Shake the City. Shake the City is an event that's held every last Saturday of the month. This month was the second time we took our youth. The event was held in Uptown Charlotte, NC. We got to praise and worship our Lord and Savior with a bunch of other youth groups and spread the Word of God to people walking by. It was an amazing experience and I love watching our youth kids get involved and praise God! I'm so grateful that I got to experience this event with our youth group and can't wait to go again next month!
Here are some pictures from Saturday night...

On Sunday I had the privilege of teaching the youth group girls a great lesson on being grateful and content with what God has blessed you with. It was awesome to hear the girls share some personal things that they were grateful for and to hear their heart for Christ! Then on Sunday night I had a few friends come over for dinner and a movie. It was a great time of fellowship and fun. We watched the Disney/Pixar movie Up. I had never seen it before and I really enjoyed it.

I had a really great weekend and I'm so thankful for the amazing friends, family, and opportunities that the Lord has given me!

Megan

High 5 for Friday

This week has been a crazy busy week for me, but I've enjoyed every minute of it! First off on Monday night I had Youth Leader meeting at church and it as great. We have some awesome things in the works for our Youth Group. I'm so excited, I can't wait to share all the events. Then on Tuesday night my women's Bible study at church finished our study of the book of James.

The James Bible study was so good and I learned a lot and grew so much in my relationship with Christ from this study. 

Wednesday nights are my girls nights with my best friends Jessica. We go line dancing at Coyote Joe's here in Charlotte, NC. (In the picture i'm the one in the green plaid shirt and Jessica is right behind me). 

On Thursday night a some friends and I went bowling to celebrate our friend Kimberly's 24th birthday. We had so much fun. We got a little competitive but it was a blast. 

 And tonight I'm super excited to watch Napoleon Dynamite with some friends. I've never seen this movie all the way through to the end so I can't wait to watch it. 

I'm linking up with Lauren for H54F today!

Megan

Weekend Fun

I had an amazing weekend with my family and friends. On Saturday I spent the day with my wonderful Mom. We started our day off with some great breakfast and got caught up on some of our favorite shows (Graceland, Burn Notice, Covert Affairs, etc). Then we spent the afternoon shopping and enjoying each others company. I got this super cute new ring this weekend...

On Sunday I went to church and enjoyed some great fellowship with my church family. I loved the message that our pastor gave and it was exactly what I needed to hear. I love to see how God is working in my life. Overall I had a great, relaxing, fun weekend. What did y'all do this weekend?

God Bless

Megan

Praise Him all day everyday

I was reading in Psalms yesterday and this verse stood out to me...

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets; 

the name of the Lord is to be praised.

Psalm 113:3

This verse was a great reminder for me that the Lord is to be praised ALL day everyday. Not just when something great happens or when one of our prayers is answered. We need to praise Him even if we are struggling or going through rough times. By no means am I saying that I do this everyday. But let this verse be a great reminder to praise the Lord everyday for giving you life! Hope y'all had a blessed weekend.

Megan

Daughter of THE King

Hello there, I'm Megan, and I just wanted to introduce myself and tell you a little about me. There are many loves and passions in my life...

 My first love and passion is Jesus! I recently rededicated my life to Christ while I was on a women's retreat with my church, (story for a future blog post), and got re-baptized soon after to show publicly that I'm committed to serving God and living for Him. 

My second love and passion is my family and friends. My am very close to my family and I think it is very important to spend as much time with them as I can. My family and friends love God, love and support me, and hold me accountable. I have 2 older sisters that I could not live without! They are full of wonderful advice. (I'm sure you'll be hearing more about my sisters in the future.) God has truly blessed me with an awesome family and awesome friends. Here's a picture of me and my awesome parents.

My third love and passion is children and youth. I am a child development teacher for infant and toddlers. I love my job. I'm also a youth leader for the high school kids at my church and I'm loving getting to know their hearts and see how their relationships with Christ grow.

My fourth love and passion is sports. I'm a HUGE sports fan. I love watching hockey, football, and basketball. (and the Olympics when they're on) I'm a big Detroit Red Wings fan, big Indianapolis Colts fan, and a big Duke Basketball fan. I know what you must be thinking, none of those teams are in the same state!? I'll explain later how I became a fan of each of those teams.

My fifth love and passion is photography. I love taking pictures of God's beautiful creation and pictures of my family. Here are a couple of my favorite photos that I took...

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little about me. I'm sure you'll get to know me more as I post on this blog. Hope y'all have a Blessed day.

Megan