Be willing.

Willing.

God's will. We always say it, we like to think that we are living it...but are we? If you are like me then you've probably prayed about what college you will go to, what job you will have...I think you get the point. We pray that Jesus provides a step by step for us. 

"You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail"

{Proverbs 19:21}

But really, what is God's will for us? It's the Great Commission. [insert a dance party with a little N'Sync because the great commission is my favorite] And for those of you who don't know what in the world is this whole Great Commission? Well, here it is.

Turn your Bible to Matthew 28:16-20. Or click on the link and right there in words is God's will for YOU and me.

The verses that grasp my heart are 19 + 20.

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

{Matthew 28:19-20}

Jesus says GO & MAKE DISCIPLES of Jesus Christ!

What does it look like to be a disciple of Jesus?

1. Disciples follow Jesus, literally and figuratively.

Go and build relationships with others. We are called to love the unlovable. So, we are called to be with the hungry, the poor, and the sick. It says so in John 13:34-35, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Build the relationships. Grab coffee. Matthew 18:20 says, "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." 

We, as followers of Jesus, should stick out. We should not conform to the ways of society. Instead of thinking about what is different in everyone else...how about you think about what is different in you? We don't follow things (iPhones, Instagram, Clothes...), we follow Jesus. We put our faith in Him. 

How do we stick out? Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

2. Disciples left EVERYTHING to follow Jesus.

"Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”

 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life."[Mark 10:28-30]

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."[Hebrews 12:1-2]

3. Disciples made mistakes and lacked faith.

But...wait go back to being willing here. Are you willing to follow where Jesus leads you? Are you willing to pick up everything and go? This brings us back to the Christmas story and since Christmas is only a few short days away...I will share it with you. 

Put yourself in Mary's shoes. A young lady...a virgin might I add, was told she pregnant and that she was going to have a baby and he would be given the name Jesus because he would save us from our sins. Do you think Mary said well here I will grow up, an angel will appear to me, and then you know I will just give birth to the son of God. Doubt it. In fact, I bet Mary had plans...as any girl her age does. I bet she planned on getting married to a godly man, having babies, raising them...blah, blah, blah. You get it. [Sounds like me ;)] But she trusted God. She had faith in him. Mary was willing to put everything aside even though she would be judged because she knew that she was following what the Lord had planned for her.

And Joseph, lets not forget about this man. He was willing to be ridiculed because he knew that what he was doing was of God. He was willing. He trusted.

[God's] Perfect plan for you is when you are allowing him to change you.

Scripture doesn't change. But the way the Lord reveals it to us does. 

Are you willing to proclaim the name of Jesus? Share His story this Christmas? Share the Gospel...and a great way to spread Jesus is to share your testimony. Your story, from death to life. 

Read Isaiah 55. Click on the link :)

As the wise men saw a bright and shining star in the sky and walked toward it to find baby Jesus, look for a star of guidance in your own life, and be willing to follow wherever I [Jesus] leads you. 

~Jesus Calling : Sarah Young

I leave you with my all time favorite verse...yes, I do say that about most verses but just hear me out. {Romans 1:16}

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, 

because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes."

A Full Life in the Emptiest of Places [Isaiah 58:9-14]

Have you ever felt empty? Like you have nothing to give, nothing to offer? Maybe you feel like nothing. Like you have been pushed to the side. Maybe you just don't feel like yourself. You are depressed instead of happy. You can't celebrate others joys because of your emptiness. I'm right there with you. Feeling the exact same way. 

With the holidays right around the corner, I see and feel the emptiness in life. If you live in an average American home, like me, you were raised to make a Christmas list. Make a list of presents that will make you happy for a good two days and then will be stored away for the rest of the year until you ask for something similar and your parents say to you, "but you never use it, I am not going to buy you another one." We were taught that Christmas morning is a happy morning. The season is a happy season full of presents. [It is a happy season, I love it.] But, where is the life in these presents? I see emptiness.

This whole week of Thanksgiving I have been feeling empty. Like dry bones. Especially on Thanksgiving I was not myself. I stayed in my room. Sitting, pondering, sleeping, not being social... I couldn't bear doing things. After the big old Thanksgiving meal at my cousins house, all I wanted to do was to go home and lay in my bed. Disclaimer, I am not sick. But, this was and is not me. The extroverted, joy-filled Meghan was not there one bit. I tried to put on a face but it didn't work. Not this time at least. This morning I woke up and still felt the same was but my heart was empty more than anything. I listened to this song by Audrey Assad on my way to Starbucks, came home sat on my bed, opened my devotional for today [Jesus Calling by Sarah Young] and Jesus spoke to me. I opened up the Bible verses that were at the bottom of today's devotional in NIV & Message. There it was in Isaiah 58, the truth I needed to hear, truth I need to fill my empty heart.

"I will always show you where to go. I'll give you life in the emptiest of places- firm muscles, strong bones. You'll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry" {Isaiah 58--MSG}

We shall not want anything else but the love of Jesus on our Christmas List. So as people are still shopping on this Black Friday, take time for Jesus. He is the best gift anyone could ask for and the best part is that your heart will be filled not empty. 

Waiting.

Waiting. Let's be honest no one really likes to wait on something, wait for something. We all have a tendency to be impatient. Right now, that's me. When I feel called to be somewhere or do something, I like to do it right away. I tend to be the spontaneous one which can be good is someways and bad in others. For example, I randomly decided to get my haircut. Bad choice, BAD choice. But, recently I have learned that the Lord wants me to wait. He wants me, Little Miss Impatient, to be patient. And boy, oh boy is he taking his precious time. Part of it is nature too.

Way back when in September at the beginning of my college application process, I didn't know where I was going to apply. Take that back, I had an idea but didn't feel like that is where Jesus was leading me. I decided to pray, alone at first, where the Lord wanted me. After four consistent weeks of prayer, Jesus revealed himself to me. He wants me to be in the South. With hints everywhere, from newspaper articles, to sermons, to music, to EVERYTHING, the city of Atlanta was calling my name. I was A-okay with this. I felt like I could pack up and move the next day. But, I am still in high school and still live with my parents. Bummer. Time for patience.

Ever since those days of hearing and seeing the city of Atlanta everywhere, they still appeared. It didn't stop...it got a little weird at times. I prayed and prayed. I finally opened up to my best friend about this. She knows me very well and although I thought she would be like no you are just thinking that, she prayed about it. I have no idea what her actual thoughts were during this time but I'm guessing they were nothing like mine. A couple of days later I received a text from her that would change my life forever. The text that read, "I could see you there in the South. I'm serious." Her opinion means so much to me and I know that she leaned on the Lord for this answer too. At that moment I couldn't believe it.

I dream. Really, I do. I have a BIG imagination which is great for a lot of things like random ideas, party-planning, etc. But, imagining my life is a whole other story. For the first time, I felt comfortable with the fact that I would be leaving Columbus, leaving everything I know to go to this new city. I had dreams almost every night of being in the city of Atlanta, loving Jesus. My heart was so heavy on this, I just wanted to leave and go. I saw myself living life for Jesus, serving him and raising a family in this city.

After opening up to some of the closest people in my life, family and friends, EVERYONE I talked to saw me in the South, saw me in Atlanta, saw me in a city I feel called to. I continue to pray about this and with only six months left of high school and a big college decision to be made soon, my answer will be coming and more of his will be too.

Now, I have to wait and pray. I invite you to join me on this journey Jesus has me on.

"Waiting isn't wasting when you are waiting on the Lord"

[read this the other day on twitter and it basically described my life]

Airports.

There is somethings about airports that I love and somethings about airports that I dislike. But, in general airports are my happy place. 

This may sound odd, I know but it's true. I love airports. I love the excitement of traveling and adventures, the excitement of getting on an airplane, the joy of putting my cell phone away for a couple of hours just so I can breathe and experience. I also love airports because sometimes when you arrive at them you pick people up such as family and friends. My heart gets excited when I pull up to Baggage Claim because typically that means I'm picking someone up and about to have a good time.

But, there is another side to airports. Somethings that I dislike. For example, dropping off people at the airport. It can be scary some days, I know but sometimes letting go is what you have to do. I hate to think about this side and don't really want to go into it now but I do know that this side doesn't bring me joy, happiness, or adventure.

I know you are probably wondering why I am blogging about airports, I mean seriously Meghan what's your problem, girl? But, this is why:

Have you ever been frustrated/mad at something you can't do anything about?

For example, I can't drive until I'm 16 or something crazy like that.

Well, that was me a few weeks ago. Frustrated and angry. I couldn't understand why I was being punished for being young. For being looked down upon and for not being able to hang out with my best friend because I wasn't 18. [nothing illegal was happening...just putting that out there] Here I had the longest day of my life, struggling with everything and the one time I need my best friend she is in town. Yay! But, no. Age hits me once again. And it's not her fault, not mine, not the Lord's. In fact it's no one's fault. It's society. I decided to drive out to the airport that night. I turned off my cell phone, told no one where I was going, and took an adventure of my own. I wasn't scared at all which was a first but I learned so many things that night. I drove around the airport for a good thirty minutes up, down, and all around. I finally parked my car in a parking lot and sat there, opened my Bible, worship music playing in the background, and journaling about my life. As I watched planes take off, I felt like I could breathe more. I felt free. 

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." {1 Peter 5:7}

That night, I felt Jesus lift my heart. And oh, how it was amazing. I needed Jesus. I needed life. I needed him to show me he was there. And there he was, right there.

Let me continue to share how Jesus has been working in my life lately, showing me that he is so faithful.

[this connected to my life--sorry if it didn't make sense]

Time flies.

How can it already be the middle of October?! WHAT? No. Please, no!! 

September flew by way to fast and ever since school started back in August, I feel like I have been go, go, go. Non-stop. From nannying to school there is always something going on. I feel like a bad "blogger" for not having posted a whole lot and what's worse is that I can barely remember what happened in the last few weeks of September. Yikes.

But, anyways. October arrived and who knew that this would be the month of stress. Typically, fall is easy going. I have time to bake on weekends and sometimes week nights if I'm lucky. Lately, I have not been feeling that way. It must be something about your senior year that every little thing becomes stressful. Plus, I am not good with change. So, here I am. All of my transcript forms are due tomorrow morning at 8:05 am. It's crazy that tomorrow my hopefully (fingers crossed) future school will know who I am. It's a really weird thought if you ask me!

But, as I said...I'm always busy. So, I wanted to post a little something to my readers...that is if I have any anymore! My best friend surprised me by coming home early for fall break last night and my other best friend comes home tonight. So, I am logging off to go hear about college and enjoy my best friends while they are in my presence! 

xoxo,

Megs

It's finally fall!

There is something about fall that I love. Maybe, it's the fact that I can drink my morning coffee without sweating or just because Salted Caramel Mocha's have arrived. But, I don't know.

This past weekend, I could definitely say it was a fall weekend. On Friday night, I sat in my jammies and watched Grey's Anatomy reruns for hours. One of those things that is just not exactly acceptable in summer...sitting inside. The next day, I got to spend time with my mom, my dad, and my sister. We drove an hour away to where my cousins live. I finally had the honor of meeting my sweet little second cousin, Chloe.

I mean isn't she just precious!

I might be a little obsessed with her ;)

...and I was holding her when she was smiling at Papa. Priceless. Seriously, look at that baby smile!! We are definitely related :)

Here are some of the cousins of the McGuire side of the family.

(Me, Chloe, Marleigh, & Frankie)

I have to say. Normally, we have so many kids around when the whole family is together but it was really nice to have the "oldest" with the "youngest". :) I loved every second of it.

We were about to leave when my cousin mentioned that an Apple Orchard was right up the street. Immediately, we packed into the car and drove down the street!! I love apple picking. And apples in general. There's something super fun about picking your own apples. 

 Frankie was so excited to pick apples. He grabbed his own apples and picked away!

He is just the right height. :)

But...sometimes your big cousin just needs to help you pick the best ones!

I love eating the apples right after they are picked. Right in the middle of the orchard...that is where they taste the best in my opinion!!!

Once our bags were filled to the rim, we headed to the little store.

Inside, there were fresh apple doughnuts. My favorite. They are the World's Best Doughnuts. Hands down. Don't they just look scrumptious?!

Frankie loves his doughnuts and was really excited to have his before his lunch ;-) Perks of having big cousins!!

Overall, Saturday was a fall-filled day!!

When we got home...we put all of the apples we had picked into baskets because that makes it feel more like fall and because I wanted to count them :) We picked exactly 80 apples!! How does that happen?!?! 

Enjoy your fall....and don't forget to go pick your apples ;)

Goodbyes are NEVER easy.

So, I know I planned on blogging these as a series but with catching up on blogging. I putting a lot of goodbyes into one! Sometimes things don't go as planned and I am definitely learning that!

Summer was coming to an end and school was about to start again. I knew this time was coming but I didn't want to think it was real. I was going to have to send off my best friends to college. And I was going to be stuck in Columbus. (Can you tell I was excited/still am?--complete sarcasm)

My sweet friend, Shannon!

My dear friend, Bonnie!

My best friend, Audrey!

I thought I would bawl my eyes out when they left but I didn't. I thought a lot of things were going to happen but they didn't. I guess I think too far into things sometimes. But for real though. I miss them all the time and love planning visits to see them...random Skype dates too :) (SERIOUSLY THE BEST INVENTION EVER)

Wedding Season - Part TWO

AH. The time came for two of my favorite people to get married. On September 1st, my dear friend (I call her mama) Katie married her best friend Dave. They both love Jesus so much and are amazing role models for living your life for Jesus together. I was blessed to be a part of this celebration. 

On Saturday morning we got our nails done!! 

(Bonnie, Katie, & I)

Rehearsal Dinner Pictures:

Aunt Maggie & I. (She's not really my aunt...actually none of them are. BUT, I call Katie mama and these are her best friends SO they are "aunts" to me)

(Katie C, me, Katie B, & Bonnie)

Auntie Amanda.

Sweet Anna!!

Aunt Katie!!

Abby and I!!

Mama and I!!

MY COLE LADIES.

(Katie, me, & Abby)

Bonnie, Katie, & I.

The Rehearsal Dinner favor. Adorable coffee mugs!! :)

WEDDING DAY!

9.01.2013

The beautiful Bride.

Mr. & Mrs. Mason!!!

Madison & I at the reception.

The Cake. Love the letters!!

Mama otherwise known as the prettiest bride ever and I.

Can you guess who caught the bouquet?? That's right me :)

*Disclaimer....I'm not planning on getting married anytime soon ;) Let's get through senior year and college too!

Wedding Season - Part ONE

Weddings, how I love weddings. I think weddings are on my top 10 all time favorites things because I love celebrations. This year, I had two weddings within three weeks.

Towards, the end of summer my family and I traveled to NYC for a family trip and then went to Boston to celebrate my cousin Robbie marry the love of his life, Andrea.
Here are a few NYC Pics:

Yankee game with my family.

 FAO Schwarz had this adorable minion!

My sister, Marleigh, my mom, & I in Times Square. 

My parents surprised me and took my sister and I to go see the Broadway musical, The Book of Mormon. I had been dreaming of seeing this musical since it came out. I listened to the soundtrack over and over and over again and FINALLY I got to see it!! Thanks to my mommy and daddy :)

Back to wedding season...right?!?!

The day of the wedding we had some free time to do what we wanted. So, my Uncle Bob decided since all of my family was from out of town we would go to the Patriots Hall of Fame in Boston. It was super cool even though I am not a Patriots fan!!

Now, this is pretty cool.

With my little cousins, Desmond & Brogan, at the Patriots Stadium!

The Bride...my new cousin, Andrea! 

My sister and I at the reception.

I wish Robbie & Andrea the best! I love you both SO much. You guys know how to throw a party...that's for sure!! Thank you for letting us dance the night away with you.

Summer 2013

So, lets just pretend I wrote this one the last day of summer...okay? ;-) Life is finally starting to settle down...not really but I finally have time to BLOG! So, I am a very happy lady today!! :) Here's a look on the rest of my summer!!

Well, after Vacation Bible School came one of my favorite days of the year!! The 4th of July! I am blessed to have an awesome community that celebrates the 4th of July in such a special way!

Parade with my friend, Bonnie.

Party in the Park with my girls, Audrey & Bonnie.

And, after the 4th of July summer flew by! The Saturday before I left for Daytona I went to Katie's Bridal Shower!! She is such an amazing woman and she is beautiful inside and out.

Her wedding will be blogged soon :)

DAYTONA 2013 - Student Life at the Beach Conference

Every year, since the end of my freshman year of high school, I have attended this conference in Daytona, Florida. This is conference where I met the Lord and it holds a special place in my heart and will forever. I look forward to traveling miles and miles in 12 passenger vans with other high schoolers and fabulous leaders. I look forward to the sermons by Louie Giglio and worship led by Chris Tomlin and Brett Younker. Yeah, talk about amazing. This years theme was KINGDOM. 

UALC at the Beach

(My whole church group who went!)

Miss Madison & I

Bonnie & I

The fabulous Daytona leaders for 2013!!

(Dave, Katie C, Christen, & Katie B)

My roommates for the week.

(Abby, me, Katie C, Bonnie, & Madison)

CAMP 56 2013

Oh Camp 56, how I love you. Last year, I was asked to be a helper to a head counselor at Camp 56 (a camp my church puts on for 5th and 6th graders in Southern Ohio). I said yes and had a wonderful experience. This year, I was asked to be a head counselor. I was beyond excited to spend a full five days with 5th and 6th grade girls. Not only that, but I was able to share my faith with them and love them. I had so many beautiful girls who love Jesus. Their joy was incredible. I miss them and pray for them all the time.

My co-counselors.

(Gina, me, & Madison)

Miss Madison & I

One of my dearest friends, Shannon was a counselor in the other 56 girls room.

CEDAR CAMPUS 2013 - PEACE

This summer, I had an amazing opportunity to go to Cedar Campus (A family Christian camp in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan). The Schuster family invited me to go with them and so I became their daughter for the week. Before Cedar, I had prayed a lot about my future (college, occupations, and other things girls think about ;-) ). 

When we arrived, the kids and I hopped out of the car and ran to the beach. It was beautiful. I didn't take too many pictures because I turned my phone off for the week and spent a lot of time with Jesus and so many friends who I love. There are so many things I love about Cedar...here are my top 10 (it's super hard to narrow these down!!)

10. The Sauna (seriously one of my favorite experiences)

9. The Honey Pot (includes Choco Tacos)

8. Gloria Taylor dock....you can have a lot of great conversations on that dock...well, I know I did!

7. Talks given by Russ Nagy (theme was Peace) & Worship led by Dave Fullen

6. Family game....The prophet song was created after this fun night!!

5. Conversations (especially because I'm extroverted ;) )

4. ANY SENIOR DT ACTIVITY (High School Activities)

3. Water Polo Game

2. The People (includes meeting new people)

1. Time with Jesus

Here are some pictures of Cedar!!

THIS IS THE GLORIA TAYLOR DOCK. :)

I just love this look. So pretty and preppy....nautical...okay, now I am dreaming. :)

Sail boats. One of the best activities at Cedar

Water Polo Game :)

Senior ladies of the Senior DT's!!

(Abby, me, & Marissa)

Cedar Campus Family

(UALC)

KEEGAN'S CONCERT

After I got home from Cedar Campus, I joined two camp counselors from Camp 56 and we went to Keegan's (a guy 56 leader) concert. He is in a band and so Shannon, Abby, and I decided to have a girls night and go to dinner and then go support our friend, Keegan!

Me, Abby, Keegan, & Shannon after Keegs concert!!

Abby & I.

Shannon & I.

I had a fabulous summer and I hope you did too :) Now, onto more posts that I need to catch up on!!