Life has been CRAZY!

These past few weeks have been nothing short of complete craziness. Between babysitting, working, church, friends, and apartment hunting I have been running on fumes!

This weekend was so good. Friday night Amy and I had a Body Shop and Mark party. There was probably about 8 or 9 girls that came. It was a lot of fun just hanging out and being girls. ha.

Saturday and Sunday morning are kind of a blur. I led worship for the kids this weekend... so much fun!! I love seeing kids get so excited about worship! Sunday at Fusion I was completely shocked to see Lauren, one of my best friends that lives in N. Carolina. Such a good surprise! After service a group of us hung out upstairs of the powerhouse.. pretty much doing nothing. I love hanging out with them! They are all hilarious and keep me laughing. Today Sarah and I went looking for apartments and we found the one! It is so nice! We put down our application and they're holding one for us. So exciting... but at the same time... weird to think about. It's a different feeling for me... moving out and being a few minutes away.. compared to moving out and living in a completely different city. I think it will be good for me though. It will help me be more on top of my finances and start getting ready for the "real world". I am just praying in faith that everything will work out how God wants it to. 

Mark. Cosmetics

As you may know I have recently started selling Mark. It is such a great brand! The make-up line is fun and funky, yet can be natural and soft at the same time. There are amazing lip glosses. One of my favorites is the "glow baby glow." Then there is the accessories. Mark. offers purses, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, scarves, gloves, and sometimes shoes. Then there is the Face care line. I absolutely LOVE the face wash. I have been using the "That's deep" wash and it is the best wash I have ever used. There's also a product called "get clearance" and it is a cream you put on your blemishes and they are gone the next day. Lastly, there is the hair care products. I have been using the curling spray. It is made with sunflower seed oil and works really well!

Mark has been featured in many magazines lately. Seventeen the prominent one. I will attach some links at the bottom of this post of some Mark commercials that were made recently.

The reason for this post, though, was to let you know about this amazing line that I am selling. Mark is all about empowering women to make their Mark on the world. The products are very affordable, easy to use, and give great results. I know that you will love Mark. 

I have a website with the company that you can go on to order or look around, and then I also do parties. 

This is a great time of year to have some Mark. parties. There are gifts for the host, plus extra gifts if their parties reach a certain amount of money. There are also raffles and games that give everyone an opportunity to win something. 

One last thing that I want to tell you about is Fundraising. Mark. allows their rep's to provide fundraising for schools, churches, community organizations, and more. 50% of what is earned goes to the rep and whatever percentage they offer to the organization comes from that. 

So, think you're ready to have a party? I think you are! 

Tiphani 

tcorns.mymarkstore.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/MarkgirlTV

Remain in Me

 John 15:4 says "Remain in me, and I will remain in you."

I am pretty sure that I memorized this verse as a little girl, but tonight it pulled at my heart while I was reading it. Jesus tells us to remain in HIM.. so simple, yet I know I make it so complicated. I let life get in the way and push Jesus aside. I try to figure out the solutions to all my problems on my own. Why is remaining in Him such a struggle? Don't get me wrong. It's not at all like I don't want to have this amazing relationship with Christ, but I feel like just lately I have really developed a passion to remain in Him daily. 

Throughout chapter 15 it goes on to talk about how we are like the branches used to make fires if we are not in Him. We are absolutely nothing without Him. Why is it so hard to grasp? Why does our pride get so in the way? 

Tonight when Beau was teaching I felt like I was on overload with everything the Lord was speaking to me. The thing that so spoke to me was when he spoke about read Proverbs 16:9.

It says: "In his heart a mean plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." So powerful. Knowing that the Lord, the King over all, is determining the steps I take is so incredible. The way that makes me feel is beyond words. But... we have to remain in Him so that when He is directing us, we can hear Him clearly, and listen. So many times I have thought I was hearing the Lord, but really it was something I wanted to do.

My prayer right now is that Jesus would make me everything He wants me to be. That I would not be in the way of what He has in store for me. That I would remain in Him daily. That my life would overflow with His love. That doors would be open, and I would have the courage to step through them. That my eyes and focus would be sole on Jesus that I don't care what is going on around me. That the only thing I would depend on is Him. He would be the very first person I run to in times of sorrow, hurt, and happiness. That HE would be my everything.

Satisfy

It's been a while, huh?

Let me just start this off by saying that God is so incredible! He has been teaching me so much lately. 

I feel like this overwhelming passion to know Christ more has taken over me like never before. God has really been growing me. Over the past few months I had gotten into this rut. I felt so disconnected with God. After a while of being that way, it became a real struggle for me to want to be in his word. There was one night at Fusion where I just prayed for more of a hunger to be in his word. That next day I opened my Bible and started reading in Romans. The whole chapter was talking about being dead to sin and alive in Christ. I started to realize that I had some cleaning up to do. Big or small, it doesn't matter. It all creeps into our lives and a lot of the time you don't even realize it. This song I have below is by one of the greatest bands ever. The song is just a conversation between you and Jesus.. just asking him to satisfy you. When I feel tempted, this is the song I play. Read the lyrics, look them up on itunes... Be blessed!

Tenth Avenue North - Satisfy

Before the sun has touched the sky

Colors bursting from Your eyes

Before the flood of the morning light

Before the earth has felt Your heat

Before I stand up to my feet

Before I begin to feel this weak

Satisfy me Lord, oh oh

Satisfy me Lord, oh oh

I'm begging You, to help me see

You're all I want, You're all I need

Oh, satisfy me Lord

When the day is closing in

Like the stars in the night I am falling

Into the pull of the earth and it's affection

In me, oh lord, can you create

A pure heart cuz I'm afraid

That I just might run back to the things I hate

Satisfy me Lord, oh oh

Satisfy me Lord, oh oh

Yeah, I'm begging You, to help me see

You're all I want, You're all I need

Oh, satisfy me Lord

You're beautiful, You're beautiful

You're more than all this world can give

You're beautiful, You're beautiful

You're love is all I need to live

You're beautiful, You're beautiful

You're more than all this world can give

You're beautiful, more beautiful

You're love is all I need to live

God is so good.

Well, things have gotten much better since my last blog. Well, not really, but it seems that way. I've been making God my number one priority again like he should be. It's incredible how better everything seems when you have had some quite time with Jesus that day.

I got a phone call from my friend, Bekah, who is at Ocean's Edge. It was so great to hear from her. I miss them all terribly, but for once I can say I am completely satisfied being back here in Melbourne.

I sang this weekend. I wasn't ready for it. I got sick on Thursday, and by Saturday night it had gotten really bad. I believe satan was attacking me for a reason. Our set list this week was incredible. God poured down his spirit on it all. He completely healed my voice so that I was able to sing. He is so good.

I talked to Michael and Melissa both today. I miss them so much. It has been a struggle not having them here. They were always the ones I went to when things were rough. We had great times together. I can't believe they have been gone for 6 months now. I want them back!

Well, I think this blog is coming to an end for now.
Hope you all are well. (The one person that actually reads this. ha)
LOVE!

Laying it all out..

So, when I blog I try to be as open and honest as I can. This blog is going to be especially hard for me to write. I have been dealing with a lot of different things lately, but I feel like I need to share them. 

* If you don't read it all, make sure you catch the end. =) It's the best part.*

As you probably know, I am no longer at school. Things have been getting better. I feel like I am right where God wants me. I still really miss it though. I have been trying to go down there to visit every once and a while... whenever I get the money. It's been a struggle though. Everyone has gotten a lot closer since Christmas break. It's exciting. I am extremely happy that they are all becoming more like a family, but at the same time its been hard for me to watch and not be a part of it. I am starting to feel as if I am drifting away from a lot of them. It's hard, because I know I am where God wants me, but I can't help but want to be with all my friends... growing in my friendships with them. 

My friends here in Melbourne consist of two people.. both of which are my cousins. It's been extremely hard, not having the strong friendships I use to have here. Don't get me wrong, I have more than just my two cousins as friends, but they are the only people I hang out with and see out of church. I'm a very social person, so this is really breaking me down. I've learned a lot about myself, but I think its time for me to start putting myself out there to make new friends. I've stopped going to our college group at church. I'm not really sure the exact reason, but I think I am just scared to make new friends. I so desperately want to hold on to the memories I had with my old friends... I think I am scared to move on.

Next would be my job. I have really been struggling, because I am not getting worked at my job for more than 4 to 8 hours a week. Being back from college, I have had to start taking more responsibility and pay for a lot more, but at this rate, I'm not making enough money to do that. I've really been trying to prove myself to all the managers that I am a good worker and they can rely on me. Hopefully things will start to pick up.

I've been thinking a lot about marriage. It's hard... I've never been in any kind of relationship. I've never had anyone interested in me... that I know of. It's just tough thinking about that, and wondering if there really is someone God has for me. I go through really good times, where I am completely trusting God, and then come the times where I am doubting it all. That's where I am right now. 

And lastly, I have really been doubting my voice a lot lately. I know its just satan... it's a struggle though. I feel like I was growing so much at school. My voice teacher was amazing. She was really the first voice teacher I had that I could understand exactly what she was telling me. I miss my lessons, and I miss my teacher. She always knew the right way to encourage me, and she never let me give up. 

So, I can't post this ending on this note... Here is some encouragement. I was reading in Proverbs today and I came across this verse... "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." Prov. 18:10 

This is a chorus to a new favorite song of mine. Its by planet shakers and its called Healer.

"I believe You're my Healer, I believe You are all I need,

I believe You're my Portion, I believe You're more than enough for me,

Jesus You're all I need."

That's it. At the end of the day, I know Jesus is there. I know He is my Healer. We all go through hard times, but it's okay. I know I have grown stronger coming through them all. 

Wisdom

Pastor Mark just finished a series called "Come Apart or Come Apart." This past month has been incredible. I feel like every week something in the service applies directly to what I have been dealing with. My walk has not been as strong as it needs to be lately. Being back from school, I am still trying to get plugged back in to small groups at church. I need to find that accountability I had at school. The messages that have been given lately have really challenged me. I had become so comfortable where I was at with the Lord. I was not seeking after him everyday. 

After the service this past Sunday, God really lit a fire under my butt. I want to know him so much more. I don't want to be satisfied where I am in my walk right now. I needed to re-evaluate my life and make him my number one priority once again. 

I have been thinking a lot about the future. Where I'll be. Who I'll be with. What I'll be doing. God has really showed me that I need to be completely submerged in him. How can I be ready to be in a serious relationship if I can't even keep my relationship with him consistent. So thats what I am working on. Not for the purpose of hoping a relationship will be soon to come after, but because I can't be in the center of his will if I am not seeking after him. 

I have been reading Proverbs over this week, and I feel like I've tore it up. There is so much meat in every chapter. 

I have really been praying that the Lord would make me a woman of wisdom. In Proverbs 2, it talks about turning your ear to wisdom, applying your heart to understanding, calling out for insight, crying out for understanding, and then gaining the knowledge of God. Thats what I want! I want to know him so much more than I do. I want to become more in love with him. I want to radiate him in everything I do. 

So there it is. Thats my life in a nutshell over the past couple weeks. I hope you found this encouraging. 

"Blessed is the man watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway." - Proverbs 8:34