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Tonya has been a huge influence in my life before I even knew her. She has an incredible God given voice but more than that her story of healing, redemption and faith. She may be one of strongest yet humbling women I know. Through her battle with breast cancer, Tonya persevered and endured and kept her eyes looking up at her Heavenly Father for hope and strength. Now cancer free, she is serving Him with everything she is and continues to pursue Jesus more and more each and every day. I am thankful for the boldness and transparency she displays through her friendship with me and how she is living out God's word piece by piece. I thank God for the prayer warrior she is and the example she sets for young women like me.

To be continued. : )

the promises of his word.

Letting go of the past is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in order to follow Jesus. In the beginning of my walk with the Lord, it just seemed like every time I closed my eyes, I saw my past. I saw guilt, unworthiness, pain, hurt and brokenness. Even though I had surrendered my life to Jesus, I didn't  fully understand the victory in the gospel until the Holy Spirit opened my eyes up to HIMSELF IN HIS WORD. I am set free by the blood of Christ and by that I am FULLY healed and FULLY restored. I John 1:7 says "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."

When the Lord opens our eyes to the Scriptures and we read it for what it really is, we see the simplicity of who He is and how He loves us. And once we read and take each word to heart, it changes us. Once we are changed, our faith increases because we have heard the word. Romans 10:17 If we just listen, we will believe that all good things come from Christ. Romans 8:28 says "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." 

In Matthew, the Lord said "come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." That is a huge promise. Time and time again, the Lord promises us all these great things but we have to believe him. He just wants the best for us. 

As I'm writing this to you, I'm also writing this for me. I believe it's time for us to step up and know God's word. Know it, so that we know who He is but know it so that we can be vessels to fight for His Kingdom. He wants to equip us. All we need to do is be willing. 


Join me in praying for the Church, the Body of believers but more importantly our Nation. 

new found love.

I love singing.

I love writing and rejoicing in the Lord. My heart just leaps out of it's chest when I'm in the midst of His presence and when I'm there, I'm usually singing songs of surrendering, praises, love and truth to Him. There's something about writing that puts me in the place of knowing my Savior more intimately. And, when I can express that through melodies and chords, there's something beautiful and delicate that streams out. Through my brokenness, transparency and raw voice, I pray that people would encounter the presence of God that will drive them to their knees.
Let's be real here.
I don't have a  voice like Whitney Houston I and am no Beethoven; but God has given such a precious gift to me that I can't deny : the heart to minister to others through the act of worshiping Him. Honestly, I can do that in the back of the church and be perfectly fine with that. But the more that I listen to Him the more I hear Him say, "It's much bigger than you. Take my hand and come with me. I'll show you exactly what you need to do. It's for me, don't worry."

So with that in mind, I'm ready to chase after this calling.

I am a full time worshipper, full time teacher and part time singer.

The end.

His steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 135

in the midst of my brokeness..

God still chooses me.

I woke up this morning thinking about how God has hand picked me to live out this story of redemption, sacrifice and love. I am broken, unworthy, undeserving, uncapable and absolutely filthy, but God chose to pick me. Just like with Saul, God turned my life downside up.  David thought He wasn't capable but God chose Him to write annoited pieces of music (psalms) that would capture our hearts even to this day. How beautiful is that? Esther was a young girl and God still managed to make her queen and used her to lead a nation.

 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he^[a] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

Ephesians 1:7-10

And the most reassuring thing that God promises is that He has chosen YOU to fullfill His purpose and will!

See, you are capable, chosen and clean by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He is writing your story as we speak.

I pray that you find peace in Him today.

³³ For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. 1 corinthians 14:33

For the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for all time. Deuteronomy 18:5

teaching.

 When I was in high school, I remember saying these exact words, " I will never become a teacher, much less an elementary school teacher! No way. That is just crazy." 

4 years later... 

I am sitting in Schlotzsky's with my fellow teacher friend discussing how much I love teaching third and fourth graders and how far we have come since the first year of college. Even though my days at school have been insane, I know that I was created to be and do what He has me doing. The passion He has ignited in my heart is unreal and I am absolutely thankful for the opportunity to be used by the Almighty God. 

The depth of God's plan is so much bigger than my little bitty mind can handle. That's why the worries of this world have nothing on my Heavenly Father. He has me in His hands and I choose to believe that. 

Run after the One who has your life in His hands. 

Bring us closer to you Sweet Jesus. 

journey.

These past 4 years have been a whirlwind. I am completely in awe of what has happened. From no dreams to dreams coming true and dreams yet to come, I am deeply blessed by my God who has provided me life, love and an everlasting light that will never run out. 

Teaching 

In high school, I would have never thought I would be teaching at an elementary school. I had very little patience for people; nonetheless, children. Golly Gee, I had no idea what I was going to do. 

But today, I am privileged to be student teaching and making an impact on students who need be taught, cared for and loved. It has had its challenges and frustrations, but through it all I am so blessed to be in a position to minister and share the love of Jesus to people who really need it. 

Graduating 

I never thought I would see the light at the end of the tunnel. But, it's October and December is coming up! This is definitely a testimony to God's grace. With all the emotional distress and lack of goals and motivation I had starting college, I could have ended up in terrible situations but Jesus chose me. He literally picked me up from the ashes of hell and brought me into His light to give me a life of joy, restoration and a task to change the world. I was weak and oblivious to my surroundings and He anointed me with a task I could never do on my own because He wanted me to be completely 100% dependent on Him. 

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised.

Psalm 113:3

Am I just dreaming?

When I was a little girl, I had dreams of living in a beautiful house, marry the man of my dreams and have a job I was passionate about.  But as I grew older, I started realizing the realities of life and how  (those things mentioned above) rarely comes true for people living in this world. So, I had no goals and a lack of motivation to do anything because I did not think "my dreams" would ever come true.  

Then Jesus saved me. 

And told me that His ways are not my ways and His thoughts are not my thoughts. 

He showed me that with Him all things are possible. 

But most importantly, the creator of this universe has placed His hand in my life to take care of me and work through me to make His name known. 

Because I know that, I choose that. 

God has expanded my dreams and has reassured me time and time again that He will fullfill every single one of those promises. 

I believe that for you as well. 

Stay strong sisters!