Life is short - cherish it

I realized something today that has completely changed the way I look at things. I realized that life is so short and we are definitely not guaranteed tomorrow. Our lives are a vapor and can be taken away from us in an instant. Our entire world can be turned upside down in a matter of no time. Yes, this is something we have heard a million times but it became a reality for me today.

One of my best friends lost his dad today due to some injuries sustained after a terrible hunting accident. In a matter of no time, he went from perfect health into eternity. I don't understand why God allowed this to happen or exactly what He has in store from this situation, but it definitely taught me to cherish those close to me.

We have so many heroes in our life..whether it be our parents, brothers, sisters, best friends...etc. The point is that we so often take them for granted. We forget to tell them we love them and just how much they mean to us. If we really understood just how quickly they can be taken from us, we would live our lives so much differently.

My heart is so burdened to not take for granted the time I have with those that mean the world to me. I never know when they may be taken from me, so I need to cherish this time and understand just how short life really is. I encourage you to do the same with those that mean the most to you. Just because Thanksgiving has passed does not mean that we should stop being thankful (and showing thanks) to those that mean the most to us.

Thankfully, with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, this life does not have to be the end of the road. If we are saved and have a relationship with Him, we are promised eternal life in Heaven with Him. It gives me so much peace to know that when I die, I will go to a far better place and live forever. After experiencing tragedy, it opens your eyes to just how much Christ did for us. He died just so we could have that access to the Father and be with Him forever. Wow. That is some kind of love if you ask me. If you have never asked Jesus to be the Lord of your life, I encourage you to do it because you never know when your last day will be.

With Love,

No Worries...

As 2012 draws to a close, I look around and see worry and distress on the faces of a lot of people. When you think about it, there are so many things to worry about and most of them involve money in some form or another...Do I have enough money to pay for school next semester? Do I have enough money saved back for Christmas? How much is gas going to go up?...etc. In this crazy, fast paced world, we spend so much time worrying about so many things. In reality though, how much of the things that we worry over, do we really have control of? Our true problem is not worry but trust.

In Matthew, Jesus says:
"That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life - whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your Heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single cubit to your height? "

"If God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So don't worry about these things saying, "What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your Heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you EVERYTHING you need." -Matthew 6:26-27, 30-33

So in reality, the problem is trust. Rather than trusting that God will take care of all our needs as He clearly states he will, we try to take care of them ourselves and begin to worry. As the holidays approach, and even throughout the rest of your life, stop worrying. Trust God instead and have faith that He will always take care of all your needs.

With Love,



Unconditional Love

I remember as a child thinking that love was so easy and effortless. I didn't understand why adults always talked about how complicated it was. To me, it seemed natural and not like work at all. I would hear people talk about unconditional love and how hard is was. I even remember being told that one day, when I get older, I would understand just what unconditional love meant and just how hard it can be. Well...I'm older now and I understand everything that I didn't understand as a child about this thing called unconditional love. In fact, I've become quite amazed and even borderline obsessed with the idea.

As a child, it was easy to love others because we didn't hold grudges. If someone stole our crayon, we were upset but only for thirty minutes because after that we forgot about it. However, somewhere along the way as we were growing up, we forgot how to do that. As we get older, we never forget those things that have hurt us and we allow them to keep us from loving unconditionally.

So what exactly is unconditional love? It is loving someone all the time with everything in you regardless of what they do, who they become, or the choices they make. It is remaining faithful to care about someone even if they hurt you deeply. It is choosing to not judge someone for their flaws, but rather to accept them for who they are. The perfect example, and the only true example, is Jesus Christ. I mean think about it...Jesus died for us just so we could have access to the Father. He knew exactly who we truly would be. He knew that we would seek other desires such as a boyfriend, girlfriend, or career rather than seeking Him. He knew that we would lie, cheat, steal, and hurt. He knew (and knows) every single flaw about us and every evil action we commit before we even do it.

Yet, even though we turn our backs on Him DAILY, He still loves us. He never leaves our side and the very second we need Him, He is always there. He is the true definition of unconditional love. So following in His example, we should show unconditional love to others as well. When people hurt us, we should not turn our back on them but love them. It is time for us to start loving others for their flaws too. Ultimately love is a choice. It is a decision we make daily to either love or not. Let's make the choice today to love, but not just love...love unconditionally. Forgive those who wrong you and love them for their flaws. The best place to learn how to love is to open the pages of the #1 Best Selling Book in the World....The Holy Bible. :)
With Love,



Thanksgiving...

I have to say...Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that really bothers me. It's not that I don't like thanksgiving because I really do. I mean who doesn't love eating way too much and spending lots of time with family and friends? My problem with Thanksgiving is that all of a sudden people become aware of their blessings, but it only lasts a day.

I mean think about it. How many times has Thanksgiving rolled around and all of a sudden you remember that you are thankful for your family, friends, health...etc. However, as soon as Thanksgiving is over, we immediately go back to our busy lives and no longer speak of how grateful we are. It really bothers me that we are not thankful for all of these blessings every single day of our lives. We take one day out of the year to express our gratitude for all that we have been given, when in reality we should be on our knees thanking our Heavenly Father every chance we get.

Just think of how much better our world would be if we expressed our gratitude or thanks more often. The problem is that we take all of these blessings for granted. I absolutely can't imagine life without my family and friends. I can't imagine life without having my Savior on my side. I can't imagine life without my health. However, I am just as guilty as the next person about not thanking these individuals more often.

I encourage everyone to really think about what you are thankful for. It might help to even make a list. Then make time to really express your thanks to those people whether it be our Lord Jesus Christ or family and friends. Don't allow Thanksgiving to start and end on Thursday. You can begin today and make it last all year.


--What if today we were thankful for everything??--



Never Ending Love

Even though I'm young, I've learned a lot about love over the years, especially this last one. The one thing that I'm just now beginning to realize is that people that love you will fail you. From a child's perspective, I just always assumed love never failed. In my eyes, love was perfect. The problem with this thought is that I was looking at flawed, human love. I now realize that there is only one kind of perfect, true love. This love can only be found through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Life is made up of ups and downs, and is literally like a roller coaster ride. You never know what is coming around the corner. However, one thing I have learned is that no matter what comes around that corner, Jesus is always, always, always there right beside me. It does not matter if I have not been living for Him like I should or if I have turned my back on Him. He is always there to wrap His arms around me and love and comfort me like no other.

Just a thought...God's love is the one thing that never leaves. I pray that one day I will be able to love others half as much as He loves us.

With love,

Clifton Wedding

Wendi Hayes and Jarrod Clifton were united in marriage in a small outside wedding on Saturday, March 26 in Waycross, Ga. The lovely couple was joined by family and friends that have supported them throughout their lifetime.

The officiator, groom, and groomsmen walking down the aisle

            The young duo met on the school bus as children and quickly became good friends. However, when Jarrod got in high school, his family moved to Macon and they were no longer able to see each other. In 2010, Jarrod moved back to Waycross and bumped into Wendi at a restaurant one night. The two quickly rekindled their friendship, and within no time were engaged. Now, after all those years, the two have finally made it official.

The bride being escorted by her father

Before the wedding began the groom commented on the big day saying, “I’m so glad it’s finally here. I hope it turns out to be everything Wendi has ever dreamed of. This is one of the best days of my life, and I’m so ready to begin our life together.”

            As people began to take their seats, the groom and groomsmen were led in by the officiator, Carley Hickox. The bride was then escorted down the aisle and the ceremony began. Following the ceremony, friends and family were invited to a reception at Shrine Lake in Waycross, Ga.

Wendi and Jarrod saying their vows

            At the reception, Wendi commented on her big day stating, “This has all turned out so perfectly. I know people always say that your wedding day will be the best day of your life, but this truly has been the best day of my life. I’m so thankful for everyone coming to celebrate with us.”

Mr. and Mrs. Jarrod Clifton

            Wendi is the daughter of Todd Hayes of Waycross, Ga. and Beverly Lee of Nahunta, Ga. She attends Waycross College and is employed by Satilla Regional Medical Center.

            Jarrod is the son of Jerry and Debbie Clifton of Macon, Ga. He graduated from Central High School in 2007 and is employed at Ware State Prison.

Friendship

Picture courtesy of Eric Hickox

I was once told that when you get to college is when you find your true best friends. While I agree that college is the perfect opportunity to find people who are a lot like you, I don't think that it means you should forget all of your other friends. Friendship is one of the most important kinds of love to experience. Everyone needs someone that they can vent to about their bad day or share their big news with. However, as college students, we tend to get so caught up in our own lives that we take our friends for granted. I think it's important to realize how much we need our friends, and every now and then tell them how much they mean to us. As the semester comes to an end and most of us move off to different colleges, I encourage everyone to not lose contact with your close friends. A true friend that will always stand by your side can be hard to find, so when you find one don't let distance keep you apart. A best friend is like a four-leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have. -Sarah Jessica Parker







With Love,

Kendal

Little Kid Love

http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&gbv=2&biw=1024

Have you ever thought about just how lovable little kids are? Unlike us, they have the ability to love unconditionally. Recently, I have been paying a lot of attention to my little cousins and the way they love others. All of them are under the age of six, but they have taught me more about love than anyone else. I've noticed that appearance, wealthiness, and status are not important to them and will not determine how much they love you. Children seem to see the big picture and love people for who they truly are, and not by how society views them. Little kids also continue to love you even if you hurt their feelings. Don't get me wrong, they might be upset for a little while, but they always seem to forgive and forget ten minutes later. After watching these children, I began to wonder how different our world would be if we would just learn to love the way they do. What if we embraced the little kid love inside of us and began to love others unconditionally? What kind of difference could we make in our community?


With love,
Kendal

The Greatest Love

http://christianbackgrounds.info/the-cross-sunshine/

As Easter Sunday is approaching, I thought it would only be appropriate to talk about the greatest love known to man. It is easy for people to proclaim their love, but the true testament of other people's love is if they are willing to back it up. The greatest example of this is when Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. He loved us so much that He was willing to give up His life in order for us to have a means of salvation. He willingly gave all He had for us and became the true definition of love. His selflessness is something that we can all learn from as we try to love others around us. During this Easter season, I encourage you to remember the true reason for Easter, and strive to love the way Jesus loved us. I leave you with one of my favorite verses about love: "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." -John 15:13

With love,
Kendal

Loving and Learning

Love. It's a word we use a thousand times every single day, but we rarely stop to think about the meaning. "I love that song! I love my friends! I love pizza!" Without even thinking, we proclaim our love for all kinds of things, but what exactly is love? I've created this blog because I've always loved the idea of love.

I've learned that love is the one thing that everyone desires and is searching for in life. There is strength and power in love and it can conquer anything. However, I've also learned that people define love differently and associate it with different things, whether it be people or objects. Through this blog, I hope to show the many kinds of love and open your eyes to a new perspective on love.

With love,

Kendal