Imma Dreamer.

I dream about the day that I hike up a mountain to reach the lost.

I dream of the day when I am on a plane on the way to my next adventure.

The only life for me is the life of a nomad.

I don't believe I will ever stay in one place for to long.

My heart overflows with excitement to serve Him.

I would rather be overseas.

But for now.

I will serve Him right here in this small town.

At least I can dream.(:

-Tessa

Eyes. Wide. Open.

Well hey there everyone,
It has defiantly been a while. Life is so busy. But here I am again writing another blog. I yet again have something wild stirring in my heart. It's about to burst!

So,yes, the dreaded school is back in. But you know what? I am so excited about this time of year! I could for sure do without the whole Algebra thing but there are SO many opportunities at my fingertips right now. God is pointing them out to me but what breaks my heart is I am not always listening.

Here is the thing, my heart is aching for the new kid who sits at lunch by themselves and the kid who is picked on day and night. But I am way to caught up in myself to realize that I can act on it or maybe I even realize I can but completely ignore it. Jesus lead by example. I want to be just like Jesus. Jesus loved the prostitutes and the beggars. And I want to be JUST like Jesus.

You see school is completely different from everything else(especially the small high schools). If you state you are a Christian, everybody knows. If you state you are a Christian and don't act like it, everybody knows. If you state you are a Christian and act like it, everybody knows. And everybody is watching you. I mean, we were warned by Jesus of this. He says in John 13:35 "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” See that key word, EVERYONE. (:

So hey Christians, Join me in listening to our sweet savior's instructions on how to love. He will point it out. And if you listen, you will love HIM all the more. I promise. This is a hard challenge but I pray you take it with confidence. Love you all.

-Tessa

JOY...(:

Joy. This three letter word is a significant one in the Christian life. Joy should be all over our face. All over our lives. And we should leave a path of it everywhere we go. Okay okay, I understand people have different personalities and are not gonna be happy all the time. I understand that. But truly, God tells us to be JOYFUL. In James 1 God says, "Consider it pure joy when you face adversity." What now?? God wants me to be joyful in times that are the worst?? God expects me to have a smile on my face when I lose a loved one, run out of money, get dumped, lose my job?? YES! In James 1:3 God states that your endurance has an opportunity to grow when your faith is tested.

But hold on a sec, just because we should consider it pure joy doesn't mean that we can't weep. Ecclesiastes 3 says there is a time for everything. And everyone knows the famous verse, Jesus Wept(John 11:35). Emotion is okay, It's normal. And in many ways necessary. But please understand something, as Christians we are called to be different. Anyone in the world can weep, and they can mourn but very few people who don't have Jesus can find JOY in the midst of hard and messy situations of life. This is truth. You know why?? Because JESUS IS OUR JOY. He is our comfort and our savior. Our savior from Hell but also from worry, and stress. And a person without Jesus, simply can't have PURE JOY. Maybe that statement is to bold, But I believe it with all my heart.

A huge problem that a lot of Christians run into is pity and the feeling that they don't deserve what they are getting. If that is you, LISTEN UP. We deserve Hell. Jesus DIED on a cross to save us from this place. I am pretty sure that being beaten and hung on a cross to die is far worse then anything we will ever experience in our lives. Just the fact that Jesus was PERFECT and still chose to walk this SINFUL earth for us should be enough to convince us that we deserve nothing. But one thing: HELL. Harsh? Nope. Truth.

My prayer is that you don't feel good after reading this. I pray that you feel convicted and you feel ready to do whatever it takes to let people see Jesus in your life. Work on this with me. Let's rise against the current of the Lukewarm and comfortable church.

Love yall,
Tessa(:

I am Second.

Hey guys! Long time no type(?) I have to say that was kind of cheesy. So I have been really busy lately but craving to type something! So here it goes. Would you like to know what God is doing in this heart of mine?? K! I will tell you. (:

How often do we think of ourselves? How often do I think of myself?? These are the questions stirring my heart lately. How many times a day do I say I? It's a crazy amount, let my tell you. So right now I am changing things, not by myself of course. God is changing the way I think. By prayer He is helping me in this way.

So I challenge you to check yourself. Stop thinking about yourself and focus on others. Focus on God. (:

Love Yall!!!

The trees. (: Hehe.

I absolutely love to travel. Some of my family lives in Texas and so we travel over here a lot(I'm in Texas right now). I could stay in a car forever. As long as I have music of course and a pillow to sleep on. (: Often when we travel though I tend to look at the trees... It's the funniest thing because everytime I look at the trees I fall more and more in love with God. I sit there and look at these enormous trees that have been there for years and years... and I think, my God is BIGGER and has been here LONGER. He creates the wind that sways these huge giants. My God is mighty. Wow. So next time you travel, look at the trees. ;)

A love letter from God...(:

Hey there,
I am writing you a letter to let you know that you are BEAUTIFUL. (Psalms 45:11) You are my lovely child. I want to let you know that the world will put standards on your image. The Devil is using those stick thin models and that girl who always gets all the attention from the guys in class to put you down. But I am begging you. Please don't listen. I made YOU just the way you are. I adore you. You are precious. I am telling you now that a "special someone" will come into your life and then break your heart. You will feel ugly, self conscious, and worthless. Be prepared. But cling to me. I will let you know that you are mine. You wont listen for a little while. You will let the Devil beat you down over and over again until your so weak that you fall on me. I wish you wouldn't but you do it everytime. Why can't you just see how special you are? Why do you judge your "likeability" and Image on whether you have guys/girls swarming around you all the time. YOU ACT LIKE I AM NOT ENOUGH. You have heard me tell you how great you are over and over again. It hurts me when you just disregard that. It hurts me when you don't listen to me. You push me away time and time again. The World will never see you as beautiful if you are with me. The world hates you. Yet they are attracted to you. Because you have me.
The world will push you to go beyond my standards. They will say things like it's okay if it is true love. But the world DOES NOT KNOW TRUE LOVE. (1 John 4:7) Do not stretch the standards I have given you. Remember,TRUE LOVE waits.(Hebrews 14:3) I am very pleased with you when you obey what I have commanded. When you do, you make me smile. The world will tell you that it is necessary for you to date. But if I say NO, you can't. Even though you may disobey me and break my heart, I will still love you. I will convict you and break you and gently put your heart back together. And you will fall in love with me again. (Matthew 22:37) If you follow what I have told you, in the dating world, You will stand out like a lily among thorns. In the end everyone will see that YOU ARE the most beautiful. Don't you know that I love you.
You. Are. Beautiful.
I love you,
Your Heavenly Father

*I am in no way claiming to be God or even close to being Him. I just want to encourage you with some things He has been revealing to me. God and I just want you to know that you are beautiful. (:

A Facebook Fast.

Tessa + 1 month without Facebook = Interesting outcomes.(:

So God gave me a challenge at the end of January: To take a whole month off of Facebook. I realized that Facebook had become an addiction in my life. And though it's hard to say... A god. Everyday after school I would get on Facebook and stay on for hours. I would think about Facebook during the day and wound up talking about it with other people through just simple conversations. In effect to that it cut into my family time, God time, and just my thought process of what God needed me to think about.

So has a month without Facebook changed me? In a way, Yes. God has used this sort of "fast" in bigger ways than expected. I no longer am captive to the Facebook monster. My goal through this? Well, that is to tear down EVERY wall that could block my view and communication with my heavenly father. So. I am starting to do that in my life. Not just with Facebook. But with words, relationships, movies, shows, thoughts, well, Just everything! I want to live above just a lukewarm Christian. I want to live life to the Holiest possible way I can. Not saying that I could ever be perfect, cause I can't. But if I am trying to live my life purely. My prayer is that I can please God.

In no way am I saying that Facebook is a sin, because it's not. God can use your Facebook in HUGE ways!! Just let Him. And if He is telling you to take a break. Do it. He can use that as well. Who knows. He could change your life. (:

Alright. Love you guys, TESSA<3