His Creation Captured.

This is, "Trouble", the puppy at the Homeless Store :)

"I won't turn back"

I was driving on my way back to school and I noticed the lighting behind and tree and had to stop. :)

I think it's funny that the S is so far spaced out from alway...

I definitely took this while I was still driving.  I thought it was a gorgeous church!

Homeless Ministry Thrift Store

Homeless Ministry Thiftstore
Donate your clothes and shoes here! Located on the back road going toward Wal-mart.
Instead of turning right to go toward Wal-mart you stay straight until you
get to the dead end to 11E.

I'm in photojournalism this semester and our first project had to be on either sports or current news. If you know me, I'm not to big into sports so I tried my best at finding the most current news. As I was driving to Dunkin Donuts to study for Spanish yesterday I passed by this Homeless Ministry Thrift Store. I had noticed it before but never really thought anything of it until now. It kind of hit me, "Elli, you should go interview them about their business." I hesitated and decided to wait. So today when I got done with my classes I came back to my room to take a nap, but as soon as I laid down I was prompted to go take pictures there. I hesitated again but of course I wasn't going to back down again because I felt God telling me to go. I got in my car with my camera and arrived at the Thrift Store. The owner was very kind! He told me that they opened it in December and people donate anything from clothes to furniture, to toys. Also, he told me that they give the clothes for free away to the homeless children, adults, and veterans. I got really excited about all that they were doing! I have been looking for a homeless ministry to volunteer at and when he told me they fed the homeless as well I knew that's why the Lord had prompted me to come here. :) Isn't God so cool? I think so!

I want to be radiant like Moses!

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. Exodus 34:29-30

I read this scripture as apart of my daily Bible reading and it stood out so much to me! Oh how I would love to be so close to God that my face just RADIATED him. What a true and wonderful gift that would be. I pray daily that as I walk with Him that His Holy Spirit fills me so that I shine and stand out! I have had the privilege of knowing some incredible Christians who radiate Christ. They are beautiful! Such as, my parents, my sister, Mr. & Mrs. Crutchley, and Alexis, all of these people glow as they speak about our Savior. I've learned to radiate Christ doesn't happen over night. It takes days seeking him obediently and consistently, putting him above everything else! As I wake up to his Word each morning I become even more excited then the day before to learn more about Him.

My sister, my encourager, the one I admire and look up to!

Another verse I love is, "Those who look to him are radiant, their faces are never covered with shame. Psalm 34:5. When you look to God and make him priority all of his laws become apart of your life. Then your words and actions are Christ-like thus never leaving you guilty or in shame. OH HOW I HOPE TO RADIATE CHRIST!

He is beautiful!

A light in the darkness.
You are my lamp, O Lord;  the Lord turns my darkness into light.
2 Samuel 22:29

A friend loves at all times
Proverbs 17:17

Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see him now,
you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible joy, for you are receiving the
goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:8-9

A clear mind, a clear conscience.

"Other people seek to know and discuss at great length things that have absolutely no eternal value. If there's no real meaning or godly purpose in something, set it aside and seek to fill your mind with what does have meaning and purpose. This includes some television programs you may be watching or books you may be reading. What is the lasting value of these pursuits? Are they worth watching or reading? TV shows and movies with visual images that are ungodly and detrimental to a person's character simply need to be turned off. They clutter the mind and are contrary to the Bible's command to meditate on things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Phil 4:8)" -Charles Stanley

 Lately  I haven't been watching very much TV or movies because I don't have a TV and I really just haven't had a desire to. I've been learning that whatever you put in your body will eventually come back out through your words or actions. Whatever comes out, I want it to be good! "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good your whole body will be full of light. But if you eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matthew 6:22

At times it's difficult to think that's it best to not watch a certain show or listen to certain music but in the end I know its is beneficial. I used to watch Friends habitually and still love that show but have realized it doesn't really benefit me or lift me up spiritually at all. It is hilarious and at times I'm sad to not watch it because it makes me laugh but I've found there are much better things to do with my time. Letting sexual innuendos, cussing, and negative things into your life leads to eventually coming back out. That's not so attractive!

I don't know about you but I want everything that comes out of my mouth and through my actions to be joyful and encouraging. I pray to lift up others around me and the only way for me to accomplish that is through the reading of God's Word and encouragement of other believers in Christ.

Let's not be like the rest of world and fill ourselves with the Holy Spirit so in turn we can pour Him back out to others. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- His good, pleasing, and perfect will." Romans 12:2 Another verse that encourages me in this is : "Above ALL else guard you heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or left ; keep your feet from evil." Proverbs 4:23-27

God' timing.

Today was a wonderful day as always! Obviously everyone has weary days but, God has always come through even in the trials. I went and exercised this afternoon with my friend, Sam. Let me just tell you she's hardcore! We decided that we would burn a thousand calories or attempt to. Heads up, she did a much better job then I did. I could only go 3 and a half miles (which is 450 calories) and she went for 7 miles (820 calories). I definitely admired her perseverance. The whole time I was thinking, oh dear I can't do this. Then one of my inspiring christian songs would come on my Ipod saying, "win the race" and I knew I was going to win it! Then I did weights for the first time since high school. I will definitely be feeling the burn in the morning! But, it will be totally worth it! 
Last night and this morning the Lord really convicted me of something. I mean it's not surprising because when you ask him to reveal your flaws to make you better. Be sure to be ready when He does. It's encouraging and humbling at the same time. I never want to become hardened to his words. I really have had this ultimate desire for people to just see how GREAT our God is and sometimes it's hard for me to understand why they wouldn't want to except his gift of Salvation. I've asked my parents this question before, "If God's plan of salvation is grace and not works, why wouldn't anyone not just jump on that?" Of course the wise people they are, they told me that Satan is very deceptive and tells people that we are unworthy of that kind of grace. He says, "You're not important", "God can't love you unconditionally", or "You have to work to make it to heaven", ect. 
So lately I started to get caught up in the fact that I wanted everyone to know about our Lord, which is great but I really didn't want to miss any opportunity. I would ask God, is this the time to speak of your plan of salvation? Is this the moment. He'd say, "Wait". So I'd wait. I was explaining all of this to my mom and she gave me the verse," No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made Him known." (John 1:18) This verse stopped me for a moment and opened my eyes.  I felt him saying, "Elli, through your obedience and trust in me, I will be seen." It encouraged me to wait and be patient. 


Another verse I love is, " For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what have been made so that men are WITHOUT excuse." (Romans 1:20)  So as I walk with God it's in his own timing that he will use me to bring people to know God. It's through the confidence he gives me and other Christians that His name will be shouted in all the earth. Each day I fall, but each time I stand back up I hope to say his name a little bit louder! 
Walk out in confidence and boldness of knowing our Lord and he will surely reveal himself through your actions and words! Let's see God work and use his believers to make more believers. 
An inspiring quote I read the other day in my devotional by Beth Moore says this:
"If we are waiting for the needy to walk through our church doors, we may wait a long time. God doesn't wait for the people to come to Him. He goes to them and desires to intervene right at the point of their need. He's looking for a few brave people, like the apostle Paul, who are willing to go rather then wait for them to come. He's not looking for show-offs. He's looking for people through whom He can show off his Son." -Beth Moore
Show off God's Son, Jesus Christ to the World :). 

Walk in confidence.

Every day the Lord teaches me new things in my quiet time. Yes, it's convicting but exciting all at the same time! Lately Satan has really been trying to defeat me in discouragement and the thoughts that I can't succeed. Every time these thoughts cross my mind the Lord brings to mind all the verses I've been memorizing. Such as, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:4-6) And, "May the God of hope fill you with all the joy and peace as your trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:8) Reciting God's word is one of the most powerful tools to resist Satan lies.


As most people know this semester I am now an R.A. at Carson-Newman and absolutely love it! God has definitely blessed me with this job. Last semester I began praying that I would receive this job for the Fall semester of 2011 and unexpectedly he gave it to me much sooner. I can't praise him enough. My heart's desire is to reach out to people and speak of God's incredible grace and mercy. That is one of the reasons I wanted this job so badly because I knew it could open that opportunity to speak about Him. That's when Satan came in. A part of being R.A. obviously means responsibility, work, and forming relationships which is great but can be overwhelming at times. I've never really had to do much except school work in the past and having to balance all of that and time with God is challenging. But, each day is a blessing and each time I struggle I grow a little bit stronger. 


A book I'm reading right now has been uplifting during those times of struggle and God has really spoken to me through the author. It's called, "How to reach your full potential for God" by Charles Stanley. I'll share with you a quote that I read tonight and lifted my spirits. 

 "Make a firm commitment to only listen to God about matters of identity. If something you hear about yourself doesn't reflect who you are in Christ, don't pay attention to it! If something you hear about God doesn't fit what you know about His true nature, don't buy into it! Don't repeat lies you have been told. Don't call yourself a failure when God says He made you a success. Don't call yourself weak when you know that the Holy Spirit makes you strong. Don't call yourself unworthy when God says you are worthy. Don't call yourself stupid when you know that the Father created you with an incredible capacity to learn and receive wisdom."

I hope you all have a blessed day and are encouraged as you seek God!