A Mountain Top Moment

P E A C E F U L

To choose a single favorite moment from our trip to Colorado is way too hard. I don’t know if I have an all-time favorite but there is one that has stood out more than the rest.

It was on the second day of hiking. We were driving through the mountains, trying to find our hiking trail, and no we didn’t get completely lost, but I finally just sat back in the seat and started to soak it all in… driving through the mountains, the windows down and the icy mountain air brushing across my face, my hands out the window feeling the breeze with the Jesus music blaring, yet all I saw and felt was a horizon filled with breathtaking snow topped mountains and peace.

This is my happy place. This is my moment. This is peaceful. This is priceless.

I realized in this moment that life is good. God is good always. And trials become good. Yeah we got kind of lost in the mountains but I was only lost in the beauty and majesty of this place.

Then… it started snowing. What could be better? It was magnificent. Glorious and perfect. You could see the clouds of blustering snow come in and covering the green tree filled mountain side. It only lasted for ten minutes or so but seeing that and knowing who created it was worth a thousand tree covered mountains.

- Mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of Your Name - Chris Tomlin

During these moments the only words I could really say was thank you, God. My heart was full and I could not express exactly how I felt except thank You Lord for who You are and for the daily blessings that You give me—the both small and big ones.

“It’s a crazy life” accurately describes mine. The past month has been one of the best times of my life. It was a jammed packed life session but so worth every moment. My head rarely hit the pillow, my car ran and ran, my mind was constantly filled with thoughts, to do lists, test knowledge, and my hands never stopped moving.

I look back over the days and think of how incredibly blessed I am. God is good, always, and I see that more and more every day I live on this earth. My time in the mountains helped me realize that life is about the One who created all of this. I serve Him and only Him. My life, who I am, what I do or have just done (graduated for high school) is not about my accomplishments but solely about the One who moves mountains and calms the seas.

- I live my life to declare You are King -

I love my life. I truly do. I love the good times and the bad. I am growing to like the bad times more because it is when I encounter trials that I truly grow and see more of how great my God is.

James 1:2-3, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance." (NASAB)

In the moment on the mountain I breathed for the first time in a long time. I couldn’t form all the words of gratitude that I wanted to say so I just said thank you over and over. Remember to take those moments in your crazy life to recognize God and thank Him for who He is and what He has done and is doing in your life.

Holla to my mountains… see you again in three weeks.

~Gracie

An Open Letter To Fellow Seniors About S. T. R. E. S. S.

« Meaningful Mondays »

- Take time to BE STILL -

I wake up every morning and the first thing that comes into my mind is “Oh my gosh! I have so much to do today!” Seconds after my brain engages I am already overwhelmed by the day’s tasks.

As seniors whether you are in high school or college I think it is safe to say that we all WANT TO BE DONE WITH SCHOOL. We are at this point, however there are still several unknowns.

How can I go to class, finish homework, and go work for 5 hours tonight and still be sane? What will I do after graduation? What college will I go to? What job will I get?

Right now life is really overwhelming for me in high school. I have picked a college (thank God) but not a major yet. Each day someone asks me about it and I struggle to give them the exact same answer each day without arrive to a permanent decision.

Balance in life is also difficult. There are tests to study for, papers to write, finals are looming in the horizon. Outside of homework, work also takes up a lot time and energy as well as planning the graduation party—decorations, invitations, house preparations, food—you name it.

“Stress” seems to find its way into each area of my daily life and I struggle to keep it under control.

Here are 6 things I have done to help myself not become a stressful freak who has daily mental breakdowns:

> S. top stressing. Seek God

            God give us these "stressful" times in our lives when we want to worry so that we can either turn into a ball of stress OR turn our focus to Christ and rely on Him to get us through. He wants us to stop, pray, and seek His face through our emotional worries and challenges. Here is one of my favorite Bible verses that talks about stress, anxiety and worries:

Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (NASAB)

Once we are able to get our minds off of our problems we can put our focus on Christ, serving Him and serving others. It opens our eyes to the opportunities around us to be selfless servants for Christ and His kingdom. That should be our true life goal.

> T. ake a Breath

            After we decide to give our worries over to God, we just need to take a moment, a day, or even an hour in the afternoon to just breathe. Get somewhere quiet, in an open space and pray for strength. Go away from the distractions.

            You may think that you have “too much to do” to be able to take this time away, but the truth is you cannot work forever. You have to stop at some point and take a moment to be still. Relax at some point today— even if it is just for a few moments while driving I your car.


> R. emember Your Mission

            Do not forget who you are, where you are and what you are doing. Whatever the answer to those questions are— that is your mission. Sometimes we get too wrapped up into "these things" that need to be done (the things we are “stressing out” about) and we miss the big picture of what is really going on.

           Christ is molding and shaping us to be more like Him and sometimes it is a bumpy road. The small things in life are important but do not blow them out of proportion and make them heavier or larger than they need to be.

> S. ingle Steps Forward

            We cannot just remember what we are supposed to be doing but we need to act on our knowledge. This can be scary. It will require faith because we cannot do it on our own strength. We need Christ and His might behind us to keep us upright. But first, we have to jump out in faith that He has still got a hold of us and plunge into the unknown with only our faith in Him to hold on to.

This is a huge step forward, but once we get over the first hump the other steps will become easier to step into. Our goal is to follow Christ in faith while living a stress-free.

> S. tay Calm and Focused

            Consistency is key. Just because we have conquered our emotions in one situation does not mean they will never come back. More trials may await and the only way we will overcome them is through faith and stubbornness. We have to fight to keep a positive, Christ centered, selfless mindset.

Remember that “stressing” or getting worked up about things will not help your situation one bit. It will only emotionally, physically and spiritually drain you. Nothing profitable will ever come from worrying over something, or someone. It is simply not worth it.

Whenever you want to worry over details, stress out about a situation or get anxious with someone, TAKE A MOMENT TO:

Stop & Seek God
Take a Breath
Remember Your Mission
&
Stay Calm and Focused

Blessings,

~Gracie