25, Do We Have To?

As I sat on the couch with my husband last night, with just a few days left of being 24, I looked at him with the dramatic pout I like to give every now and then (because I'm a girl and like to be dramatic), "I'm depressed!" "Why?" he asked. "I don't want to turn 25. Might as well say good bye now, life is pretty much over!" *throws head back, slaps back of hand across forehead, and faints*

I'd be lying if I said I've been excited for Monday to come. I've actually been down about turning 25 (all you people over 25 are rolling your eyes saying, "Oh, please!".) But it's true. There's so much I want to do and a lot of what I want to pursue, I've been told that because of my age, it will be much harder to succeed in this type of business. A lot of serious modeling agencies won't even consider working with you if you're over the age of 18. I've had photographers recently tell me that my age is a real disadvantage for me. I've heard that same thing about the entertainment business as a whole, not just with modeling. And since all of that is what I've been pursuing, this past week thinking about the reality of turning 25 next week, it's basically just been one big pity party around here. Sounds silly, right? I agree.

But today the Lord has been showing me that there's no time limit on His plan. If He has some cool opportunities for me in the acting/modeling/music business then it doesn't matter how old I am, He's going to open those doors. I don't have to worry about all the pieces not fitting together, I just have to have faith and be obedient to where He leads. After Him showing me this I'm actually excited to see what the Lord has in store for me this next year!

So Monday will come (no matter how much I've tried to freeze time this week),  and I'm probably going to put on a pink tutu and dance around the house to Disney princess songs (because that's my idea of fun) and I'll be ready to face a new year with a new outlook. Cheers to 25! (Are you allowed to "cheers" yourself? Because I just did.)

Grace and Mercy

                                

                                                      

This morning I was sitting on my couch reading Ephesians 2:4-10 and I became overwhelmed with Christ's love for me. I can't even comprehend this kind of love. All I can do is sit in His presence with awe and thanksgiving. I'm undeserving of anything good and yet, because of His great love for me, He works ALL things together for good (Romans 8:28).

I hear the words "Grace" and "Mercy" a lot and have known what they mean, but have kind of always thought of them as the same thing. They actually have quite different meanings but are both ways God demonstrates His love toward us. It wasn't until recently that I really looked at the difference between these two words...

GRACE: "Grace" is God giving us what we don't deserve.

MERCY: "Mercy" is God NOT giving us what we do deserve.

I'm so grateful for both. When I deserved death, He gave me life! Thank you, Jesus! His grace and mercy is not something we can work to achieve. He freely gives it to us! A love I can't comprehend, but am so thankful for. What a good God I serve!

Happy Birthday, Brandon!

Today we celebrate my best friend who I've been blessed to know for 9 years...and married for almost 2 of them. Today we celebrate my husband, Brandon! I've prayed for the one I would marry ever since I was young and God blessed me with the most amazing husband and best friend I could ever ask for. He brings me so much joy and I absolutely love doing life with him. I look up to him and respect him so much. He strives to honor God in all he does and to be the husband God has created Him to be. I adore this man and am so thankful for who he is!

Brandon, I'm so excited to see what the Lord has in store for you in this next year! I'm here to pray for you, encourage you, and to be your cheerleader every step of the way:) I love you so much.

A Story About God's Goodness

Hi friends! I just wanted to share a story with you guys about how awesome God is...

Lately the Lord has been putting on my heart to get connected with a nursing home or assisted living place. A lot of these people are in their last days and He's put so strongly on my heart to just go and love on the people there. As they live out the rest of their days on this earth my heart longs for every single one of them to know the Lord!

God has been putting this on my heart for the past year or so, but I never really did anything about it because I used the lame excuse of not knowing how to get connected with a place and was intimidated to randomly call them up. I thought, do people do that? What would I say? "Hey, my name is Ashley...Could I just like....come and love on some people?" But they'll laugh at me! (Ash, get over yourself.)

Lately I've really been thinking about my time on this earth. I'm only here for a short time and am I using my time the way the Lord wants me to? I don't want to stay busy just doing "stuff". "Stuff" that doesn't matter. Many days I feel like I'm just existing...not really spending much time doing things that have eternal value. Those are the things that truly matter. I don't want to get to the end of my days on this earth, look back, and regret what little impact I had, eternally. This isn't at all about being religious. God isn't interested in us being religious...you can't win brownie points with God. But because of what Christ has done for me I want to spend the rest of my days serving Him and sharing about His amazing grace and love!

The other day during my quiet time I asked the Lord to show me how He wants me to be spending my time. He brought to my attention, again, what He's been putting on my heart over the past year about getting connected with a nursing home/assisted living place so I decided to do something about it this time. I began researching places in the area to call. I prayed that the Lord would confirm it if this is something He's wanting me to pursue or if I'm just trying to make this happen. A few hours later I got a call to audition for a commercial the next day. This is the part where God blew me away... Guess what the commercial is for... It's a commercial for the nation's largest owner and operator of senior living communities throughout the U.S. They're the leading national provider of all senior related services. You can contact them and they'll get you connected with a place in your city. WHAT?! Ok God, I'm listening... I couldn't help but just laugh in that moment. God is so awesome how He works! He blew me away with how He confirmed what it is He wants me doing with my time. He answers our prayers in such amazing and unexpected ways! What an awesome adventure our walk with Christ is!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today we celebrate an amazing, godly man who I look up to and respect so much...the man who walked me down the aisle on my wedding day...Happy Birthday to my dad! I am so blessed to be his daughter. My dad is fun, loud, and hilarious, but most of all He loves the Lord and desires to honor Him above all else. My dad has taught me many things, but the most important thing he has instilled in me is the importance of loving God and loving people. That's what we're on this earth to do. My dad has made so many sacrifices for my family....He's a selfless man. I'm so thankful for a dad who prays for his kids and encourages us, daily, to run hard after Jesus. Dad, you've had such an incredible impact on my life and I'm thankful for your love! Thank you for always pointing me to the Lord. I love you!

My Friend, My Role Model, My Mom

Today we celebrate the life of a precious gem who entered this world 51 years ago. Today we celebrate my friend and my role model. Today we celebrate my amazing mom! She is the most loving, caring, selfless, godly woman I know. Her heart for the Lord and for others is something I strive for everyday. She has dedicated her life to serving the Lord and serving people. She is such an amazing example of living a life that honors and glorifies God in all she does. I strive to be the kind of wife, mom, and friend she is. She is a true blessing to those around her. The joy of the Lord shines so brightly through her and I'm so blessed to call this woman "mom"! Happy Birthday, momma! Thank you for always loving me, praying for me, and encouraging me in my walk with Christ. I love you so much!!

A Princess

To the ladies out there:

As little girls, one of our favorite things to do was play dress-up. We always had a favorite thing we liked to dress up as....for most girls it was a princess. In this fantasy world we created, we had a prince who admired us and fought for us (sometimes it was our little brother who we forced to put on a crown...and sometimes it was a mop that we turned upside down). We would get all dolled up in our mom's high heels, pearls, and a bed sheet that we imagined was a beautiful ball gown. Out of everything we could pretend to be, why did we choose a princess? Because princesses are lovely....they are beautiful....they are desired. We wanted to be those things.

We might be older now and don't play dress-up anymore, but we still have that same desire to be a princess. What if I told you that the little girl in you doesn't have to pretend anymore. What if I told you that you ARE that princess you always wanted to be and you have someone who admires you and who has fought for you. The Creator of the universe sees you as a princess! He sees you as LOVELY....PRECIOUS....BEAUTIFUL....He DESIRES you....He DELIGHTS in you....YOU were made in HIS image! You are so special to Him! You bring Him joy:) He wants to spend time with you and He loves you more than you can comprehend. Jesus fought for you on the cross so that He could make a way for you to have a relationship with Him and so you could spend eternity with Him in heaven. He wants to spend forever with you!

Sometimes it's easy to forget how God sees us. To be reminded everyday of who you are, go out and buy a tiara and place it somewhere you'll see everyday. On your dresser, in your car, etc. Every time you see that tiara know that you are special! You are lovely! You are beautiful! You matter! You are desired! And you are so dearly loved by your Creator!