Giving thanks for being lost.

Readers,

Whatever you do, whatever your situation, whatever condition you are in right now... Praise God. Give thanks to Him. 

For the past six or seven months, since I have been in an intense relationship with Christ, my life has changed. In so many ways, though these things may seem small on the outside, but on the inside, my heart is exploding with joy; and I feel that so many doors are opening for me and those around me.

Let me tell you a story about where I was, even a few months ago. 

As a recent college graduate, honestly, I was lost. I was scared. I did not know what I wanted to do with my life. Well, I knew what I wanted to do, but... I didn't know where to start. So naturally, with my degree in English, I thought that my best choice was right at this very moment was to just start applying for jobs (knowing that the very first place I applied for would hire me, well that didn't happen), and I would get on with my life. Save money, start paying my loans back, move out and grow up... Well, that was obviously not in God's plan. I interviewed for a coffee shop about a month and a half ago, the interview went really well, and the manager said that she would call me by the end of the week. Well, I never received the call- yes, I have been looking elsewhere for other jobs. Heartbroken and discouraged, I was encouraged by the fact that there's a family that I help with their children, and they were coming back to Albuquerque for a short while to visit (currently, I am helping them and my heart is over joyed). Yet, still looking for a job, I was presented with another opportunity. A sweet friend of mine was in need of a nanny. She messaged me on Facebook asking if I wanted to take care of her two sweet little boys. Of course, I said yes! I am so excited to be apart of these kiddos lives. 

But, what does this have to do with anything?  Well, for months now every morning when I wake, and every night before I go to sleep, I give absolute thanks to Christ. I thank Christ for what abundance I have, I thank Him for the food in my house, for the dogs that protect me, for the cat that meows at me at 3 in the morning, for my mother, my brothers, my father, every great moment, and every moment that is not so great. I gave my worries and my fears to God, and in trusting Him, my worries were seemingly melting away.

 Also, with the worrying about a job, I was worrying about  what I was going to do with my life- because, after all, I can't live with my mom for forever. Suddenly, I felt as if there was a calling placed upon my heart, upon my LIFE. Ministry. MINISTRY. Going into ministry had been on my heart for about a year now, but being the silly disobedient person I didn't listen the first time; so the chance to go into ministry was presented to me again through my church. I took that leap of faith and applied- as silly as this seems, there is such great comfort in the unknown. I can't wait to start helping in different ministries, help with the city, with the women, with lost college students. I cannot wait.


But, all of this goodness I gave thanks. I gave thanks through the times I felt so lost, through the good times, through everything. I have even been tithing- and it is amazing the goodness that has been poured into my life. 

I cannot wait for the things to come. 

My sweet readers, I challenge you to just to give thanks. Give thanks to the Lord, and give thanks to the things that are unknown.

An Ode To Love.

Readers,

Today this seems appropriate. An ode to love. But not just any type of love... An unconditional love. For those of you who know me personally, or are friends with me on Facebook or Twitter... You know how much I love my dogs. Mack and Molly Brown. 

I know. There are loads of dog lovers out in the universe. But personally, I think my dogs are the best; and though I may love other dogs, I cannot sleep a night with out my two gigantic heelers right next to me. 


I adopted Mack Brown from the Animal Humane New Mexico. It was Super Bowl Sunday three years ago. The New Orleans Saints had won, and this sweet butterball of a puppy had won my heart. Of course, I had to go get my sweet Aging Old English Sheepdog from my house so they could meet. Winston was amazing. Though he did not care for the hyper activity of this puppy, he accepted the fact that this pup was coming home with us; he taught Mack what it was to be a Gibson. Winston helped me train this sweet sweet puppy. Within a couple of weeks, he was sitting, staying, going to the bathroom outside, shaking, and truly enjoying his new home, and his new family. (I did not tell my mom about this puppy, but she fell in love). 

Mack was about three months old when he lost his best friend at home. Winston had died of old age, and heart failure. He was 16 years old when he died. 

 But, this is not where this love story ends. It is merely the beginning. From that moment on, Mack learned his independence. He was no longer a shadow, but he was the big dog in the house.  From the day that I had brought Mack home, he had patiently waited for me at the window; he would not eat, drink, use the bathroom, or play until I was safely home from school- mind you, I was at school from 7 in the morning until 3 or 4 in the after noon. Concerning behavior from a puppy. My mom had sent me a picture saying that he had not moved from our front window all day; so, I did some quick research on red heeler behavior, and they are extremely faithful to their human. Every night that I go to bed, I can assure that Mack will be in my bed after I have gotten comfortable. 

This behavior continues today. He will not budge from the couch, which is against the window until I am home from wherever I have gone. 

Josh Billings once said, "A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than  you love yourself". 

Mack is a shining example of selfless love.  I think that God created dogs to show humans, that we as a species need to be a little more selfless. Dogs are the ones we look forward coming home to everyday; unless you don't have a dog. . . Then I suggest you go get yourself one. Dogs don't care what you've done, who you are, how much you weigh, if you've showered or not, they don't care if you wear make up or not. Dogs take you as you are. Simple truth as this may be, all a dog wants is a scratch on the belly, food, and a warm place to stay in the night. The little gestures that we give to our dogs, the small amount of time we spend with them, or the great amount of time we spend with them. . . the amount of love that is given back in return is so enormous, that it bursts through the ends of their tails. Mack's tail is about 3 inches long, so when he's happy... His whole body wiggles in delight. If ever I leave, for even just a moment, Mack brings me a stuffed animal of his, and gives it to me as a sign of welcoming. 

Alongside Mack, there is his other half, the unsinkable Molly Brown. Now, the love that they show one another, is absolutely amazing. As much of a surprise Mack was to my momma, Molly was a surprise to me. We had gone to the Humane Society together, to look at potential mates for Mack- and we had found one. She was literally the black sheep of the group. Her brothers and sisters were all gorgeous red heeler puppies, but she was the one who was mixed. I think it was her jet black fur, silver chest, and semi-floppy ears that had won our hearts. She was eight weeks old, but we could not quite take her home yet. Saddened, we went home without a pup. So, the next day I had gone to school, a little sad, but knowing that this beautiful dog was meant to  be mine. I called the Humane Society to see if this little girl was still there, but she was not... Someone had adopted her already. Saddened, I slowly walked into the SUB, where my mom had called me. She asked me what I was doing, I told her that I was on a long break... She told me that she would be down to campus in twenty minutes, she had a surprise for me. It was the gorgeous black dog from the Humane Society. Needless to say, I was so excited. We walked around campus for the next couple of hours getting to know one another. When my mom had come for her, she said... So, what's her name? I told her, Molly Brown, the unsinkable. I had a great feeling about this little girl. She is so insanely brilliant, beautiful, and funny. Just like Mack learned from Winston, Molly had learned from Mack. She is just like Mack, patient and seemingly always waiting. She is always at the front door waiting for me to walk in. She always greets me with a tennis ball, and is never sad. Just like Mack, she always sleeps right next to me, and she is always by my side.

I honestly can't remember a moment in the three years that I have had Mack, or the two years that I have had Molly where either one of them isn't next to me; no matter if I am in the bathroom or in the kitchen cooking, they are always next to me.

So, readers, you may be asking yourself... Yeah, I have a dog... Yeah, they always follow me and get in my way... So what?

The point that I am trying to make,  is that dogs love you, care for you, and are always waiting for you. They do not care about what you did last night, or what the number on the scale is. They love you with all of their hearts, and they would die for you. That's a lot of love, and God created these precious creatures to remind us every day what Jesus did for us. He died for us. 

So, today being Valentine's Day... I want you to spoil your dogs a little bit more than usual. They deserve it. Even if it's an extra MilkBone or two, show them that you appreciate them. Aspire to be the person that they think you are.  The love of a dog is the purest love someone can encounter. 

Insecurities, Mistakes, and Going Home.

Dear readers,

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. Or HANDSOME. Which ever you are, it's the truth. Do not let the labels of society bring you down. Those labels are not your truths. 

That is first and foremost. This has been a reoccurring message within the ministries at my church, and I feel that it is something that I need to spread. We read from Mark 10:46 which teaches us that our God, is a God of restoration; and this chapter is excellent proof. Just days away from his crucifixion, Jesus went to Jericho with his disciples, but he was also surrounded by an exceptionally large crowd of people. Yet, within this crowd, was a blind beggar called Bartimaeus. People were stepping over him, being rude to him, telling him to shut up when he knew that Jesus was present. 

Now, this crowd was loud. But Bartimaeus knew that Jesus was present, so he kept SHOUTING. The crowd of course, kept telling him to shut up... But he did not. He kept shouting. Jesus heard him. Jesus said to the crowd to bring Bartimaeus to Him. Bartimaeus knew where He was. He knew where Jesus was. He got up, threw off his beggars cloak  and went to Jesus. 

Jesus asked him... "What do you want ME to do for YOU?" The blind man answered him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight". Jesus said to him (READ THIS CAREFULLY) "Go your way; your faith has made you well." Bartimaeus' sight was instantly restored. Because of his faith in The Lord.

So- there are a few lessons here: 
(1) The coat that was given to Bartimaeus was given to him by the city, signifying that he was indeed poor, blind, and was a beggar. His throwing away of his coat was the disconnection between his FORMER and NEW IDENTITY. Much like Elisha's faith in Elijah (Kings) when he said that God had called him; and he burned his plow and killed his oxen. They are throwing away their cushion. They are throwing away things that they can go back to- it's like leaving the city, going into the woods, throwing your keys to your car into the river and going into a new town. You have no directions, or food. . .  Just FAITH. When you are in Christ, when you're walking with the Lord you are not who you WERE, you are not WHAT YOU'VE DONE, or WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO YOU! Our society has this lovely way of labeling us at our exact moment of weakness. 
(2) Ask Christ to change you, define your needs! Many times we are asking God for things that will make us comfortable, but in all reality... We need to ask Him for our VISION back. We need our purity back.
(3) He's calling us. The Good Lord knew us before we were even conceived. We have a call on your life; we need to ask Christ what that call is. Don't run from Him. He is the answer.

Bartimaeus was the only person who had gotten healed that day. Why? Because he was he only one who CRIED OUT. Jesus heard his cry. Jesus HEARD HIS CRY. We have to ask God to to take our blinders off. We need to ask God to change our vision- give us it back. Faith without action is DEAD. God moves when you do. Ask. Be fruitful, be faithful.

Insecurities are another thing that plague our nation. But especially our young women. Insecurities range in anything from selfishness, to being overly competitive, dominating, over-accomidating, being over-materialistic, defensive, inappropriate joking, self promotion, bullying, jealousy. . . etc. I'll be the first to admit, I am not the most secure person in the world. Sure, I have some things that I can work on, and that I am working on, like my weight, taking supplements for my hair- I have really thin hair and bald spots. But they build character. I used to inappropriately joke around a lot. Not so much anymore; I'm an auntie, and I take care of two beautiful girls. They need another positive role model in their lives. 

We learn from 1 Samuel 20, the moment that we give our insecurities to the Lord, the he will show you your reason. Hannah taught us that we have to get out from under the table of comparison; the game of comparison is always a lie. I will never be a 6'1'' Victoria's Secret Angel- but I will always be my sturdy 5'5'' curvy frame. And I love that about myself. I love my legs, my fingers, my eyes, hips, tummy, hair, smile, tattoos, feet... etc. I really love everything about myself. I know that God is in control of the situation. He is in control over every thing. He has not forgotten about us- HE SEES THE BIGGER PICTURE. We just have to get away from our insecurities. But, the thing that we are most insecure about... Is the thing that God will work WONDERS for us within our lives!!!! We just have to stay connected to the source to truly have self-confidence. The moments when we have the most insecure moments, are the moments when we are not connected to the source. 
Ladies, we are daughters to a KING. It's time we start treating ourselves like princesses. Not materialistically. But, spiritually and within our faith.

This leads into my last little segment. How to lead a greater life.
(1)What you say is what you are; the way you talk is the way you feel about yourself.
(2) Dating: If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. Everything in our lives involves planning. Is your dating intentional or accidental? Write down the qualities you want in your future husband or wife. Seriously. I did it. This list is non negotiable.
(3) Gentlemen: Never make a woman uncomfortable with the way you talk/touch/treat her. 
(4) Ladies: A guy can't give you his heart, when all he sees are all your parts! Don't blame a dog for the attack when all he sees is meat. Now, ask yourself... Is this something my heavenly father would approve of?
(5) What do you do in the name of God? Are you doing something in the name of God that scares you?
(6)Do you have nice things, or do those nice things have you? Is God your God? Or is money your God?
(7) Finish what you start. Seriously. Once you have started something... Finish it. Ladies, ask your man what he has finished. 
(8) How you respond to discipline, will determine your destiny. Discipline comes from the same root as disciple. The greatest friends will ask you the toughest questions.
(9) Is the Bible the ULTIMATE authority in your life?
(10) Church isn't the destination, it's the means to the destination. The church is the hub/central/atrium/heart for all things. 


So, readers.... I know that this is a lot. A LOT. But, I want you all to go out in faith. I want you to put your complete faith in Christ with your insecurities, with your LIFE- throw away your old identities and give your life back to Christ, and I also want you to make a list- a non negotiable list of qualities that you want in your future husband or wife. I'll share mine with you another time. But I've made one. 

Do not let your past mistakes identify you