This morning I woke up and grabbed my cell phone to turn off my alarm, as usual. I laid there for a couple minutes allowing my eyes to adjust to the soft light peaking through my window, and then grabbed my cell phone again to check for any texts, calls and whatnot. When I checked my Twitter, I was shocked to see tweet after tweet about an earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan.

I immediately prayed.

"God, how devastating." I said out loud. Things like this always remind me of how fragile life is and how insignificant I am. What could I do to stop that? What could anyone do? Nothing. Not a human on this earth has control of the sea or the stars or the moon or the sun. Only God.

As I went to work today, I decided to drive without distractions. Usually I have the radio on or I'm talking on the phone or something. Anything to keep my mind active. Today, I just drove. I realized I'm a much better driver when I do this. Excuse my corniness, but this reminds me of my spiritual life. The more distractions I put in my life, the easier it is to go "off the road" per se. I'm a better Christ-follower when I just focus on the One I'm following.

"Be still and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10

Why does a tragedy have to strike for us to stop and be still? I don't think it's a coincidence that earlier in the same chapter of Psalms, the Bible talks about earthquakes and tsunamis.

"God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear, even if earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!" - Psalm 46:1-3

Be still and know that He is God. He is the maker of all things. There is a reason for all things. Don't forget God during the ordinary moments in your life and run to Him when the troubles come. Seek God ALL your life, so that when the troubles come you'll already be in His arms.

I really love my church. Sadly, the majority of people in America probably couldn't say the same. They either don't go, don't want to go, find it boring, hypocritical or judgmental. You name it, I've heard it. Why is this?

People don't understand what the church is.

The church is not a building with a steeple and a bunch of pews. That is just the traditional, architectural design for most religious buildings so people can tell the difference between a church location and the local movie theater. (Although, some churches are now meeting in movie theaters!) The church is a body of believers. We can have "church" in my living room. And we do, on occasion.

People don't understand why the church exists.

Sunday, Monday and Wednesdays are some of my favorite days of the week. Simply because I get to hang out with my church family. Sunday we all gather together in three services in our church "building"  located off of I-84 East (it can hold more people than my living room). This is where we sing songs of praise to God, hear testimonies from those being baptized, watch videos that make us laugh, cry or think and listen to our pastor as he teaches us the word of God and how it applies to our lives in 2011. The service usually lasts a little over an hour.

On Mondays (or any day the group decides on), we break into small groups of 15-20 people and meet at a friend's home. Here we share prayer requests, get "real" with each other and dig deeper in the Bible. Sometimes we even enjoy an outing together - meet for dinner at a restaurant, see a movie, bonfire, game night, etc.

The church building on Wednesdays is reserved for children and youth. My husband is the student pastor at our church, so I spend most of my time hanging out with the students in 7th-12th grade. I love it! I began to really grow in my faith when I was in the 10th grade, so I have a heart for that age. Wednesday nights are almost completely student led at this point - the band, lights, sound, videos, games and announcements are all done by them. Josh gets up to teach and that's pretty much it. The reason we do this is to allow the students a venue to use those gifts and talents that God has given them. If they can do it in front of 60-100 people every week in a building, its a good start to reaching their circle of friends at school.

People don't understand how the church functions.

Meeting every week in a building doesn't make anyone a Christian. It's the message that changes lives. Sadly, the only place some people ever hear this message is inside a church building. But then again, none of the other stuff that happens in the building makes sense if you don't know Jesus. Dilemma? It seems so. As long as there are people going to church without knowing the purpose the whole thing is centered around, it will leave them bored, empty and most importantly lost - because they feel as though they're missing out on something that seems to be pretty obvious. Plain and simple, they are. And so are we. And you.

So, why don't you go to church? Hopefully if you fall into one of the categories above, something has been said to help you think differently about what the church is, why it exists and how it functions. And I pray that instead of steeples and fancy clothes, you'll see lives saved by grace. And then you'll love it.

It's the day of love. But this day means more to me than just chocolate or roses. It was on this day three years ago that I was engaged to the man I had prayed for since I was a little girl. Josh Robinson. He's the funniest, yet sweetest person I know. He is constantly an encourager to me. And he'll probably read this and blush, because he's just not all about himself.

For example, I'm up to my head in piles of schoolwork right now that I have to get done by Wednesday in order to graduate this semester. But, I still planned on cooking his favorite meal tonight for dinner - Shake n Bake chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and rolls (he's a simple, southern man.) Instead, he decided to call up Papa Johns and order a "heart-shaped" pizza and cinnamon bread, so I could concentrate on writing papers and book reviews. It was a simple gesture, but so so sweet!!

It's going to be hard for Valentine's day to ever be better than the day I got engaged!

But, I'm grateful for my sweetheart who practices daily love.

sadly, I need to get back to writing my papers. this was way more fun...