Woah, hello Blogspot! I kinda forgot this thing existed... D: oops
Anyway, God's been doing some pretty cool things in life lately.

Recently, I've gone through a time of just struggling with self worth. Not in a "oh, PLEASE pitty me" sort of way... but more like "what am I here for...?" sort of way.
So, I was driving down the road and David Platt popped into my head. A few months ago, I heard a sermon by him in which he spoke of his daughter, Mara Ruth, from China. He said something along the lines of "She shouldn't be here". Because she's a baby girl from China, she should have been aborted. Instead, her birth mother dropped her off at the orphanage. Platt continued on to praise God for his little girl. "God has big plans for her" he said...
Then God said to me "Amanda, I have big plans for you. YOU shouldn't be here either... remember?" That took me back to mom telling me how her and my dad had so many problems having children. They had to go through tests, procedures, and all kinds of things to have my brother, Terry. And, as you can imagine, it wasn't cheap. After my parents had my brother, the doctors told them it would be impossible to have more children without going through these same steps. My parents, young and broke, decided that Terry would be enough. They would be thankful for the blessing of having one child and that it was just okay...

 Regardless to say, they were REAL surprised about 7 months later when mom was pregnant again. Without any help from doctors.
So here I am! I "shouldn't" be, but I am! Then God said to me "What's different from Mara Ruth being here and alive... and you being here and alive". Now, I know that isn't exactly ground breaking but at the same time, isn't it? The fact that God made me... and you. And God has an epic plan for each one of our lives? A plan that will further His Kingdom.

So, at the moment when I was reminded that God has a plan for me, I was also reminded that my self worth isn't valued by worldly things. No, it's valued by God. So, when I think of my self worth, I don't think about successes of this life. Instead, I concentrate on how God views me: as his beloved. As someone worth dying for.
I want my life to be something that God uses. Everyday. In any way He sees fit. Whether it's good and happy. Or ugly and sad. God, use it. I just want to serve Him!

And, by the way, I think it's pretty cool that a couple months ago, when I heard that sermon by Platt, the bit about his daughter was cool. But God knew I would need to hear it on down the road so He stuck those words in my head to be used later. Isn't He a cool God? He knows what I need long before I need it... He's just awesome.

ANYWAY, enough of my rambling for now. I love you guys. I'm praying for you guys, always. I hope your summer is going by slowllllyyyyy and fantastically.

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." Romans 12:12