my source of strength and hope is Christ alone

"in Christ alone, i place my trust, and find my glory in the power of the cross. in every victory, let it be said of me, my source of strength, my source of hope, is Christ alone." - "In Christ Alone" by Brian Littrell

and yet another month slips away as i fail to post. but once again i will point out that there are not avid readers breathing down my neck for the next bit of news. but on the other hand, this does need to become more regular for my own sake. it is pretty pitiful when i have to read over my last post to remember where i was. ha!

anyway, moving on past the housekeeping necessities, Jesus has not failed me yet. of course, it is not like i ever though He would, but He does prove himself faithful time and time again. it is the day after thanksgiving and i just sit here and realize all that i have to be thankful to God for:
- amazing parents that love, support, and provide for me
- awesome siblings that love me and support me
- adorable nieces and nephews that love me and i love them
- marvelous godparents that love and support me
- incredible friends who love me for who i am, and that i love dearly
- great grades in school because the Lord has blessed me
- an incredible sorority, delta alpha chi, of which i am a newly initiated sister; God has me so much through this organization
- an amazing "big sister" through ∆AX who offers such wisdom, insight, and conformation in my life
- the fact that God is active and living in my life
- the fact that i am alive and breathing each new breath
- that i have lost 21 pounds since the middle of july
- an amazing church that supports me and the rest of the college students
- that i get to wake up everyday and praise my Savior and Lord

the best part about this is that the list goes on and on. i cannot even begin to list everything in its entirety because i know i would leave out so much. God has blessed me beyond belief and continues to do so everyday. sometimes i think that He may run out of blessings because of how much He has blessed me, but i know that He is infinite and will never do so. the Lord our God DELIGHTS to bless us. He take HOLY PLEASURE in our welfare and well-being. our Daddy, our Abba Father will never let us go or go without. He loves us too much to do so. now i'm not saying that if you love the Lord He is going to dump down a truckload of cash. but what i am saying as that as you continue to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, your desires will begin to line up with His desires and He will give you the desires of your heart. this is because your desires have become His desires for your life. what an awesome thought! the best part is that it does happen! i stand here before in testimony that the Lord is true to His Word. so i beg you do just that. let His desires begin to fill your life. then watch Him bless you beyond measure! our Lord is truly Jehovah-Jirah, our Provider. so let Him provide for you!

as each day passes, i hope to share with you some more insight, some more wisdom that the Lord has laid on my heart. what He has shown me is just too good and too great to keep to myself. so my dear friend, cling tightly to the Lord and never let go. know that we can NEVER lose with Him on our side. we have Elohim, the Creator of the Universe, as our God. everything is His, and we are heirs to His throne, so in short, everything is ours! what a blessings! what a promise! what an AWESOME GOD!

"taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who take refuge in Him. fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing. the lions may grow weak and hungry. but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing." - psalm 34:8-10

in & for Him,
ashleigh

glory in Christ Jesus alone

“then let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” – hebrews 4:16

so it has been quite a while since i have posted. i realize this. but on the same token, it is not like i have avid readers to worry about. it will be more of regular occurance though. i am quite excited about it too! so, without futher ado, let us get started.

much has happened since i last spoke. the Lord my God has blessed me beyond measure. i could not be more thrilled. sure, trials and tribulations occured, but they have only refined me by fire and set my eyes ever on my Redeemer and His glory.

i have: moved out of a living situation, into a place with two girls i did not know
: gone to atlanta and burmingham
: had my father find a new job
: received an iphone from awesome godparents
: resigned from one church position, just to have God place me in another
: pledged an amazing Christian sorority, detla alpha chi
: become friends with some of the most incredible women of the Lord
: gone line dancing til 2 in the morning
: seen the Spirit of God move among college students in the Worship of Him
: done fairly well in my studies
: lost 18 pounds
: grown so deeply and madly in love with Jesus Christ
: had God pour out His wisdom, love, goodness, mercy, and grace all over me
: finally grapsed the concept of faith
: understood and excercised the concept of forgiveness of others
: immersed myself in Jesus and realized that is all that i need

the Lord has been so good to me even though i have never ever done anything to deserve it. God has revealed so much to me, and yet, i can't wait to learn even more. i am such a temprel being, but for the past few days, i have wanted to praise the Lord Jesus Christ FOREVER! He has such love and mercy for us. please never forget that. He is such an incredible, loving, holy, righteous, soverign, good, wise, strong, self-sufficent, merciful, compassionate, consistant, never-changing, providing, patient, and faithful God. how could i EVER want more? i have the King of the universe as my Abba Father, my Daddy!

i hope to share with you in the upcoming days, weeks, months, and years my walk with my sweet, sweet Lord. like i said in my first post, this is me working out my salvation on my knees in total surrender to my glorious God. "if it pleases You Lord, it pleases me." i hope to reveal to you what my mighty God has revealed to me so that you may draw closer to Him.

know that He is righteous, just, strong, loving, and faithful. dwell on the attributes of God and find strength in Him because of His never-changing charateristics! Jesus commands our destiny. how can we lose in life?

"through Jesus, therefore let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess His name." - hebrews 13:15

in & for Him,
ashleigh

retreat

"I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." - jeremiah 31:25

where am i now in my life? that's the question of the hour. right now it seems as if i am completely wiped. of course, not in the physical sense. it's more so that my mental capacity has been drained down to zero and my spiritual one has been there for sometime now. it is frustrating beyond all belief. this is summer. the time to rest, relax, have some laughs, and get rejuvenated and ready for the next school year, or at least that is what i was making it out to be at the beginning. it seems as God had different plans. things have gone haywire. everything is turning crazy, and the best part is that i have absolutely no control of anything. try being a control freak with nothing to control. needless to say, it is more than ironic.

so this weekend, the weekend of father's day, i am heading home to see my family. and more so, to get away from all of this, a retreat. but here is the catch, i cannot run from what God is doing. not that i want to, i just want answers which i am not getting. so much for planning ahead. so aside from the fact that i will be with my parents, i will be able to take time alone in my room without anyone else around me and be still, a rare occurrence in my life at this moment. this will be my retreat, away from the world, yet so close to God. i could say more right now, but i have to leave, leave work, leave church, leave town and get away. thank goodness for i-10 and its bored. the two and one-half hour drive is a welcomed break from having to rush somewhere next, just to land at home at one in the morning. i cannot wait to take this drive and use it to worship the Living God, my Creator, my Redeemer, and right now, most importantly to me, my Sustainer, through times of struggle and stress.

"come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." - matthew 11:28

in & for HIM,
ashleigh

the beginning

so here it begins, the start of a bloggifed journey. in truth, the beginning started in february of my freshman year of high school. an evangelist came rolling into town and the Spirit of God moved in me like no other time before. it was the sunday night of his series where God called me out of my sin and brokenness to be set apart, to live for Him and through Him. that is when my relationship with Jesus started.

as for the time between, it's been crazy, sometimes great, not always worthy of noting, but my life nonetheless. but now it is time. it's time to forget who i am, and become who He wants me to be. to be honest, i'm going to screw up. but sometimes, i'm going to do it right, right in His eyes. it's going to be a journey of working my salvation out on my knees. a life lived in devotion to the one true God. so the day that i go to join Him, He will say to me "well done, good and faithful servant."

so here i go, chasing madly after my Creator, following the path He laid out for me. come run along side of me, help me, pray with me, but most of all, worship our incredible God with me by living your life for HIS renown, not your own.

"therefore, i urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will." - romans 12:1-2

in & for HIM
ashleigh