..."the joy of the Lord is your strength". Nehemiah 8:10

The Lord's so good, isn't He? I found His joy to be so good this past week. There's been moments of sacrifice, and in those moments being reminded why Im here. Im here for Him. The One I love. The One I need to come have His way in me and my heart. There's a song that they sang at the Awakening meeting one night, and the chorus was, "You said there would be joy in the laying down, You said there would be joy in the giving up". It was my heart cry that night. And He's faithful, because His joy has come. And its overwhelming. Being overwhelmed by God has to be one of the greatest feelings. To always be in awe of Him is my goal.

Today has been filled with moments of joy. Some of these moments have been video chatting with my nephew and sister, getting a package filled with cookies and amish peanut butter from my parents, baking a birthday cake, and the joy of giving someone a cake for their birthday. My heart sings of the glory of my Jesus.

Another way the Lord has shown His goodness this week was when I went dress shopping. My amazing cousin Monica is engaged and getting married on July 3rd, exactly 5 days after I get home. So I had to find a dress, because I have the honor of standing beside her on that day as her maid of honor. The stress of having to find a dress by then by myself, thats the right color, while being in Kansas City with a busy schedule plus being on a night schedule. I was determined not to be stressed about it though, so instead I prayed that God would provide the perfect dress. I went yesterday for the first time, and after going to the second store i found the perfect dress. The color couldn't have been closer to what I needed, the style I liked, and the size fit perfect. And no alternations are needed. Seriously now, the Lord is so good.

Another goal of mine is to in every season still confess His goodness. I had to ask myself yesterday when I got back, what if I wouldn't have found a dress? Would I still have been confessing His goodness? Because no matter my situation, God's still good. He always has been, and always will be. But it seems we only tell of His goodness when our lives are going good. That's something I've been learning here. Relating to God not on His activity, but on His nature. And you can only do that when you know what He's like. So the bottom line is, get to know Him. And when the wind comes, cling to what you know to be true. He's a good God. He's faithful. He's a God of justice. And His love is better than anything this world has to offer.

If I had time to write everything thats on my heart I would be here all night. But there's so many things to be done on a day off, and sadly my day off goes by so fast. But incase any of you were wondering, I wont be staying for 6 months. I'll be home the end of June like I said for my cousins wedding. I think I can hear a sigh of relief all the way from Ohio from my mom. Its good to know your missed and wanted somewhere. Im so blessed.

Be blessed.