Amazing Grace.

"Grace can be defined as unconditional acceptance,
granted to an undeserving person by an un-obligated giver."
- Tullian Tchividjian

So I was reading Stuff Christians Like this morning,
(Check out the blog HERE)
(Check out Jon's twitter HERE)
And it was talking about fear of the word religion.

I don't know if you've done it in the past,
But I know I have on so many occasions it's disgusting.
Someone says, "I have a question for you. You're religious, Right?"
And you respond, "I'm not religious.... I'm a Christian."

It talks in the blog how, that does not make a difference person.
Think about it. If they are asking a question that pertains to faith,
Then they may not know the difference.
If anything, you may make them feel guilty for not knowing the difference.

It made me ponder.... That is all I'm going to say about that today.
It is something to think about.

Just a disclaimer, today's blog is going to be random.

Life has been crazy.

I don't even know if I can explain it.
I love it.
It's the crazy where you have time to really live.
Not a busyness, but an adventure.

At the same time,
I'm really facing my pride.
It is rearing it's ugly head.
The pride that tells you,
You know everything.
That you don't need anyone's advice.

Jesus is really working on my heart on it though.
He is so faithful.
No matter how full of myself I am.
He humbles my heart,
& speaks words of love and grace.

God is so undeniably good.

Random notes.
I went on a hike the other day,
& in nature, God really reminded me of His glory.
He made every tree,
Every rock.
And He made them to cry out to Him.
How incredible is that?
















































Also, I went to see The Almost.
(Check them out HERE)
It was funny, because there were only about 50 people at the show.
At most :P
But there were like 5 people getting down.
Everyone else just stood there,
But then they busted out the worship stuff,
The atmosphere changed so much.
It's like everyone woke up.
It was truly beautiful to see, God's children dancing & praising him.
So sweet.

:D :D :D
My twin brother, Matt, comes home from the U.S. Air Force in 18 days.
I'm so ridiculously excited.
He will be back for a month,
Then he is going to Japan for 3 years.
That's a long time.
Thank you Jesus for Skype!






















Be blessed in your week,
And remember you have a Jesus who loves you!

Oh, Gravity!

Psalm 37:3-7 (NIV)
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
⁵ Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
⁶ He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
⁷ Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Psalm 37:3-7 (The Message)

^3-4 Get insurance with God and do a good deed,
settle down and stick to your last.
Keep company with God,
get in on the best.
^5-6 Open up before God, keep nothing back;
he'll do whatever needs to be done:
He'll validate your life in the clear light of day
and stamp you with approval at high noon.
⁷ Quiet down before God,
be prayerful before him.
Don't bother with those who climb the ladder,
who elbow their way to the top


For those of you who read my last blog,
You know that I was in a really dry place in my life.
Well, that has changed. :] :] :]
God woke my heart up & thawed it to what beauty he has.

First of all, I wasn't going to be able to be a youth leader on Wednesday nights,
Because of some understandable things at work.
It was disappointing to say the least, but I understood.
Well, I knew God had a plan, & I knew not to be overly upset.
Things worked out, without complaining from me to my boss,
And I got Wednesdays off because we had a staff come back to the house!
That was an amazing gift!
Youth has been bananas lately too.
Kids are coming out with issues that need to be cared for.
Addiction, Un-forgiveness, Physical injury.
& As leaders, we are praying for them,
And trusting Jesus with them, & trusting him to guide us as leaders.
(Have I mentioned how much I love youth ministry???)
Check out the youth facebook page HERE!

As a tiny add on, I confronted someone.
Not in the angry kind of confronting.
But the loving kind, where you honestly want better for the person.
"Carefrontational"
I did so, & I expected anger and hard feelings.
I got love, respect, & gratitude.
It was incredible.
I love true friendship!

Secondly, I got an internship with The Spirit.
(Check them out HERE!)
I love it. I am learning a lot & it is really reminding me how great it feels to serve others.
I litterally walked in and asked if they needed an intern.
They said yes, three weeks later, here I am.
4 days into the internship, & learning more and more about Jesus, culture & music.
Lovely.

Lastly, I got to go to Cedar Falls last weekend.
It didn't turn out at ALL the way I expected it to at all.
I ended up staying with a dear friend of mine & her kids.
It was a total blast & it definitely blessed my heart.

I should probably go back to doing intern things now :P
Remember how much Jesus loves you!
Love & Blessings,
Sammee Bean