solid in Your truth!

i have a friend who shall remain unnamed because he would be embarrased, but if he reads this he will know who i am talking about. (many of you might as well, so sorry jeremy!) opps, did i say that out loud. anyway he shouldn't be embarrased because what i am going to say is good and exciting. okay, now are you ready? he has written a song (a long time ago) and some recent conversations have brought it back to my memory. i will give you some of the words,
show Your truth in me, let Your glory fall, God all i want to see is Your glory fall, bring us truth in unity that we'll see eye to eye, we are Your children but, there are lines that divided. to be solid in Your truth is my prayer for us.
that is the chorus and it is a prayer of mine right now, even though we are christian, and so are our friends, we should still be striving for knowledge of God's truth, and unity through that truth. it should be our goal to see God's glory fall, especially on those who are lost. it is like terry (our pastor) always says, if we are not comfortable enough to share what God is doing in our life with fellow believers, we will never be comfortable enough to share what God is doing in our life with unbelievers.
so i challenge you (and me) today to go out and live in unity, but don't compromise truth, because it is through God's grace and truth that the lost are found!

i love weather!

i am currently trying to keep myself from becoming stressed over school. today was the last day of class (yipee) but i still feel like there are two more months left of school. update: i finished all my papers except one, my thesis, i am currently working on it. it is due wednesday by 3:00pm and i'm sure i'll use all that time. the stress part comes in because i have to find time to study for 4 tests, one monday, one tuesday, and two wednesday. so pray for me to do well, and to remember a lot of the information, as study time will be minimal. so all that to update you and say, i love weather. there is nothing we can do to control it, and in utah it is a bit irregular. so as i am doing my homework, i am also thinking about what a nice day it was today. the breeze was blowing, but the temperature was still 67 F, 18 C give or take. weather makes me excited, even a little rain is fun for me to track on the news (no matter how accurate) and the internet. i hope you enjoy weather too, what was the weather like at your house today?

have a great weekend!
amy-g

you're invited!

i would like everyone to make a note, there are 7 days left until i, amy, graduate! yes it's true, i am so excited (even though it's not official until i finish my two summer classes). the "best" part about it, i get to be in the graduating ceremonies. if you don't remember, or never had one, or you didn't go, let me remind you... everyone who is "walking" shows up and they (the people in charge) put you in a line, usually aphabetically. then the whole line proceeds into the large auditorium, and walks down the isle so parents and the such can snap a couple pictures that are so small it wouldn't matter who the picture was of. anyway, this takes about 4 hours or so? i'm not sure, but i am still deciding if i will go. the difference between high school graduation and college, for college you must do this twice! yes twice, once on thursday night (the processional) and once for your specific college area. the social sciences (that's me) is having a ceremony at 8:00 in the morning! all to say thanks, we apprieciated having you in our class, and oh by the way, here's an empty folder, your diploma will be mailed in about 3 months! so all that to say, i am excited (if i pass) but i don't really want to go through the ceremonies. but i must appease the family (grandparents) so i'll live. to make this post even funnier, i have included a picture of myself at my high school graduation, 2002. go ahead, you can laugh, i did. anyway, if you would like to see me look a lot like that picture, you are welcome to come to my graduation (those who live here) and cheer or sleep, whichever. call me for details! oh yeah the part of graduation that is fun...
i am having an open house. because my house is half packed, we will be having it at my parent's house. you know the one, and if you don't, call me. the open house will be next friday from 6-8. i am sending out postcards, but in case you don't get one, you're invited. oh yeah, one more thing. notice i have an honor cord in the picture, yeah, not this time. but, at least i am graduating!
have a blessed day, i'll see you soon.

we wish it was our birthday

i would like to start out with saying happy birthday to ryan, your party was so fun!

it is wednesday and i am blown away by the fellowship i enjoy. last night at Bible study we decided that our fellowship does not talk about what God is doing in our lives enough. the things that we read and get excited about, we are scared to share with each other for one reason or another. but i want you to know that i love it when people share what they are learning or what they read or discover about God with me! it makes me so happy for you and it makes me want to enjoy that joy right along with you. so please share your thoughts in a comment, or the next time you see me, i want our friendships to grow in an understanding of God's love. so please walk with me in this new adventure, and maybe soon we won't feel nervous to talk about the love of our souls.

love and respect

my favorite thing about my hectic life right now is being married. i love being married! we have been through so much this year that i can't imagine doing all of that alone. a Godly marriage (at least trying for one) is hard work, but when i think of the other alternatives (like a non-christian marriage), i am so thankful that God had pete in mind for me. i know some of you are married, some are not and want to be someday, and some of you may not want to; but no matter what relationships you are in, i want to encourage you to continue on striving to be the man or woman that God is molding you into, instead of searching hi and low for the Godly man or woman you desire. our girl's group recently talked about this issue, and i have been thinking a lot about it. if God has it in His plan for you to be married, then you will. the trick is staying in His will so you will know the time when it comes. please don't view this post as anything but me wanting to encourage you and thank you for supporting me and pete in our marriage. you are a great group of friends, we love living here, and your friendship and love is so uplifting to us.

this picture is one of my favorites (plus it was one of the only good ones that wasn't a wedding photo, i show those off a lot). i pray that whatever relationships you are in (or not in) you will be so grateful. hopefully you can see God's perfect timing in that, He knows what we need when we need it, not when we want it!

praise Him continually,
amy-g

what tomorrow may bring!

when i was setting up this blog, i put that my residence was "anywhere God leads." at the time that was true in theory, now i know what it could mean in true life.

i'm sorry it took a long time for me to post something new (2 days), anyway, i have been busy enough to not be around the internet much. so in continuation of the previous blog about our house situation, i would like to tell you how amazing God is, and how unexpected are His surprises.

well, our house deal fell through on thursday morning. that day, a couple came to look at the house (we put it back on the market for a bit more money than before). friday came and we received an offer on the house! the realitor that we are buying our house from sold it to the couple so we would follow through on buying the new house. well, not only did it sell in one day, it sold for more than the previous offer, so in the end we come up with a couple more thousand than we were planning on. so not only to we have some extra (needed) cash coming our way, we are now moving around june 9th. this is good because it is not during finals week like before, it is the day after i finish my summer classes. so i will be school free when we move!

so thanks for your prayers. i am glad that we trusted God to take care of our needs, He truly is our provider, and He knows our struggles better than we do.

that's the update, so our praises are all for God, His timing, and His plan. pray that we can continue to trust Him, because we never know what tomorrow may bring!

oh yeah, check out the new Bible encouragement on the left side, i think it is truly what our world needs.

have a blessed day, amy-g

my new music

hey all, today i thought i would tell you a little about what music i am listing to lately. recently pete and i were convicted about how many burned cds we "own" and felt we should help out the bands by actually buying the cds. anyway one of the bands i have had a burned cd of forever is downhere. they have two cds which are awesome and are coming out with a third, may 23rd. i don't even know who to compare them to, but give them a listen and i'm sure you'll like it. check out their site, i put it on my links section. also, they have a blog, http://downhereblog.blogspot.com. it is really good. so that is my new favorite band, what are some of yours?

have a wonderful day or night, whichever, and i'll see you soon
amy-g

a hurt and a praise

hi friends, i pray this day finds you well, may i start off with saying, God is good and loving, and holy. i am always amazed by the stories i hear from other people about what God is doing in their life. today i am doing homework, and i saw a good friend of ours, but he was a little frustrated with something. we got talking, and he is struggling with why other christians don't understand that God is sovereign and in control of everything. he wants them to understand the the more we understand God and His attributes, the more joy we have and the more we grow. i whole heartedly agree with him and i can testify in my own life, that before i really knew what it felt like to live for God and let Him control my life, little things like moving and finals, and surgery would have broken me down. now i know that even though it is hard, God has a plan for my life and He won't give me more than i am able to handle. so as you go out today, remember that God has a plan, and your only job is to glorify Him through your actions the best you can.

so as we are all remembering that God has a plan, i would like to say that we aren't moving just yet. the buyers of our house were denied their loan, so it is back on the market. this is both a hurt and a praise. it is a hurt because we are half-way packed, and kind of let down. however, it is a praise because now we aren't moving till the middle of may (hopefully) so it is not during finals week! thanks for your prayers, and keep it up. it is comforting to know we have so many friends who care.

also, (sorry it's a long one today) for those who were wondering, pete and i are doing well, and our new house we bought is in north ogden, (before the big houses on the hill). we are excited because it is a bit bigger than our house now, and the neighborhood is quite and a bit safer (i think). so please continue to pray that we will not be worried because we know that God is sovereign over all creation (including me)!

homework and prayer

homework and prayer, that seems to be the extent of my days. sometimes it is just homework. this blog is not meant to be a pity me post, i am just asking for your prayer and support. as you may see from my countdowns, there are nine days till moving time, and 15 days till graduation. so i am frantically trying to finish my homework as fast as i can so i can help pete pack. i still have nine things to work on, so that's more than one a day! i know that God is in control, but i get discouraged, especially with the setbacks i've had this week. i do have a praise, i am recovering well, (i had a cyst removed monday) and we have many friends who have offered to help pack, so maybe we can get it done in one day! thank you for all your prayers as pete and i move into this exciting time of graduation and moving. please pray that we can be strong, that i can stay rested and get all the work done that i need to, and that we can still find time for fun. thanks for your friendship, and let me know how God has blessed your lives!
in Him,
amy-g

i changed my mind

hello again, i am back after a short break from posting yesterday. i had to go to the doctor yesterday, and i ended up staying home after that, so i didn't have access to the internet. i am feeling better today, and ready to tell you what fun i have had already. i was going to post about my school work and moving and all the busy things i have to do. as i sat down to write my post, a huge group of college kids walked through the door of got coffee. i knew they were probably a mission team of some time because whenever mission teams are in ogden they usually stop at a coffee shop. anyway, not five minuites later, a boy named nathan asked if he could sit with me. we started talking and he asked me about homework, and i asked him about his group. he is with a group of fifty students from biola university. they are here on spring break, "bringing love to the mormons." he was really excited, and at the end of our conversation we prayed together which is something christians don't do enough of.

so i posted a prayer request for them if you think about them this week, they are here till sunday. also, i changed the Bible encouragement. this verse has helped me remember that when times are hard, they are not that bad because God's yoke is easy, and His burden is light. may you be encouraged this week by God's love and His word!

He is risen indeed!

on this day that the Lord has made, i pray that you are well. also, i hope that everyone was able to attend an easter church service today. there is just something about easter that is almost like a new years day for christians. now before you laugh too hard, it's true. at new years, you are able to almost look back at the previous year and decide what things you would like to keep, and what things you would like to make better (resolutions). at easter, we look back at the year and remember all that Christ has done for us, and we look forward to what He has in store to make us more like Him. so this easter, don't forget what a gift God has given you, and take time this week to thank Him for it. that is the difference between new years and easter, new years is all about us and how we react to ourselves, and easter is all about God and how we react to His grace.

luke 24:1-12 is my favorite resurrection retelling of all four gospels. verses 5 and 6 say, "why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen." so as you remember God's gift on the cross, also remember that He is no longer dead, but alive preparing a place for us until His return!

He is risen!
amy-g

this one's for the girls!

sorry to all you boys reading this, but maybe it will give you insight into what girls are like. today i went shopping with some of the girls. we went to newgate mall because i have a gift card that is good for every store in the mall! anyway, it was a good time. i purchased a pretzel from the pretzelmaker, three shirts from mervyns (14.50 total), a skirt and shirt from wet seal, and perfume from victoria's secret for 5 bucks! talk about a good time. so i know you girls know what i'm talking about when i say i am so excited to have new clothes. there is just something about having something new every once and a while. so if you have not indulged in a while, there are always sales to be found, and even cheaper clothes from ross bring the same amount of happiness at the end of the day. so get your friends together, and go have fun.

now boys (if you've read this far), you may think girls are strange, and we are. but if you don't know what to get your mom, sister, girlfriend, or wife for mother's day, christmas, birthday, or just because, get them a gift card and tell them to take an afternoon with the friends and spend it! it will be much appreciated. (it's like real money!)

have a great day all you crazy bloggers, and i'll talk with you again soon. hopefully, in person, but for now, goodnight and goodluck!

good friday to you

here we are, two days before easter the day we celebrate Christ's resurrection, but before Christ could rise from the dead, He had to die, which is why we have good friday. it is amazing to think of all the events of that day for Christ. the thing He came to earth to do was about to unfold. He came and died for my sins, and yours, so that we may live for Him now on earth, and someday in heaven. it is good to think about, and we should do it more than once a year.
this weekend more people will go to church than ever, save christmas time. please keep Christ in your mind this weekend, and pray for all the lost people who will have a chance to hear just how good, loving, and just God is.
as pete and i sit at the coffee shop this afternoon, it is hard to do homework instead of reading my Bible. but if you get a break to read today, read over john 19. it goes through the crucifixion from His arrest to burial. think about Christ's sacrifice today, and my you be moved by His redeeming love.

He is risen indeed!
i forgot to say that back to a few people this week, so when somewhen says to you "He is risen!" respond with "He is risen indeed!" it is a good way to keep the resurrection always at the front of your mind.

beautiful

that is what i think of when i think of spring. today the temperature is in the 70s in utah. it is so loverly outside. i want to show you a picture of my favorite tree at my house. the picture is from last spring, but it looks the same every year anyway. the people in the pictures are my sister, dad, mom, and me. i love that tree, the only problem is that it only blossoms like that for maybe two weeks out of the year.
when i think of things that are beautiful, i also think of christians who are helping each other and spuring one another on to love and good deeds. that was the scene last night at youth group. once again we had a mission group come by and run the show. this time they were mostly in high school, so our kids were ministered to by kids their own age! they are a fun group from sacramento. it is good to see that even though our youth group is small, they can still have a great time enjoying God's word with a group twice their size!
so to all of you who were there, thank you for the fun time, i was really encouraged.

do we delight in the works of the Lord?

my question today, do i delight in the works of the Lord? i am reading psalm 111 and it is one of my new favorites! anyway verse 2 says, "Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them." now i know that as christians we would say that God's works are great. but do we really believe it? God is sovereign over all things, and His works happen exactly to His plan. so why is it we often question God's work in our life? God is good and all of His works happen for a reason. we should delight in the working of the Lord. so read psalm 111 for yourself, and let me know what you think. our goal should be to notice the works of the Lord, meditate on them, and glorify Him through it by telling others how great His works are.
have a good day and tell someone how great God's works are for you!

good to have friends

may i just say, my site is working! i set it up so that i could receive encouragement from you, and i am. the comments you leave are so good, even if they're short. i like reading your blogs as well, i will try to comment more.
the weather here is nice and cool, but still spring (yeah). on to another subject...
today at work (the high school office of christian heritage school) i did not have much to do so i went to the gym to check out what they were doing. when i arrived i saw the teacher, two students, and mat (yes the english teacher!) jumping all around on those dance dance revolution mats. they were having so much fun. i took my share of turns and i have to say, it was addicting. i wasn't very good, i only made it to light. but that is one step up from beginner! so if you are ever around a dance dance revolution game, try it out. you will feel dumb and awkward, but it is worth the workout for one, and the good times. it would be best if you took a friend!
have a great day, amy-g

new changes to site

hi friends,
i hope that you are having a wonderful april monday. i just want to say that this blog is so fun. i ran into ryan today at the coffee shop (surprise, surprise) and he helped me add some links and things to my blog. i hope you enjoy them, some are more serious, and some are not. there are prayer requests that i will change often, a Bible verse of the week or month depending on how i feel. also there are links to websites like strongbad emails (funny), tetris, john piper's site: desiring God, bebo norman's site, and a color site that tells you the html code for your templates.
also, after that comes "check us out!" my friend's blogs, then a couple things that are "coming up", countdowns to when pete and i move and the day i graduate (or at least walk with my class, i have two more summer classes)!
so look around and enjoy, if you have a prayer request, please leave a comment, because i read them all!
thank you for being encouraging, God bless
amy-g

nothing better than sundays and grandparents!

even though i am sitting at got coffee right now doing homework, (which i always do) , i love how sundays "feel". i know you know what i mean. it's a relaxed time to be around friends and worship together.
my grandparents came to church with us today, which is a big deal because they are lds and it took a long time for them to even step foot in a church on days that aren't sunday. but anyway, i picked them up and brought them through trappers loop to huntsville. they have met some of the people from church because of my wedding, so i know they weren't completely uncomfortable. i think the people at church were very inviting, and pt's (pastor terry) message was very salvation ressurection driven because of easter. i'm not sure how much of the message they understood, but they said it was fun and they enjoyed it. i know i don't do everything i can to share the gospel with my unsaved family, but i am trying.

if you read this, please pray for my grandparents ab and janett. pray that they would pull down their walls that keep them from God and listen to His calling. here's a picture of them from my wedding,



thanks, and God bless you on this palm sunday,
amy-g

working out is hard!

hi friends, i would just like to say that working out is hard. i went to an end of year aerobics "fitastic" at school this morning. it was very hard, but fun. i am not a fan of working out, but i know i need it to be healthy. however, i do love the feeling after working out, it is so refreshing. it makes me feel ready for the day. so hopefully you all are fit or at least trying like me, it does a body good.
later today i am going to play frisbee and slackline in the park. the weather is nice around 65 degrees. God surprises me so often. today it is sunny, yet it snowed 6 inches on thursday. what fun we have had here.
well, that is the update. i enjoy posting more than i thought, so look often, you never know what might be there. i am going to try to put some links and things like that on the site. i'm not sure how, but pete or jesse can help me.
many blessings to you, amy's Bible verse for today (another feature i would like to have someday) is, John 15:22 "So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you." i hope you are encouraged, and remember that Jesus is the only way to the Father and eternal joy!
amy-g

oh the places you'll go

i am currently working on a presentation for my geography of europe class and this is one of the pictures i'm using. i went to italy in 1999 and i would love to go back. this is a picture of the rialto bridge in venice, what a beautiful city. i think italy is one of my favorite places! i love the culture and the history. if you're reading this, give me an update on a few places you would like to see. so farewell for now, may your day be filled with sunshine and good friends.

the way i was made

Hi,
I have been looking at my friend's blogs and it looked really fun. So, I made my own! I won't keep it up every day, but it is a good way for you to know what's going on in my life even when I don't see you. First things first, what does my blog name mean? I wanted this site to be a place where I could leave some encouragement for you, and receive some as well. So, the name "the way i was made" comes from a Chris Tomlin song off the arriving CD. Here is part of the chorus,
I want to live like there's no tomorrow,
I want to dance like no one's around
I want to sing like nobody's listening
Before I lay my body down
I want to give like I have plenty
I want to love like I'm not afraid
I want to be the man I was meant to be
I want to be the way I was made

That is my goal for my life and this year, so help me out as we journey together!