ASPIRING TO BE

ISSUE NO. 1SPRING 2016

M A G A Z I N E

STAYING CONNECTEDTO GOD

GOD IS DOING ANEW THING

JESUS: LORD &SAVIOR

HOPE VS. HOPEDEFERRED

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aspiringtobemag.wordpress.com

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02 03 06

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tableof con -tents

02 Letter Fromthe Editor

03 Staying Connected toGod

06 God is Doing a NewThing!

09 Hope VS. HopeDeferred

12 Jesus: Lord and Savior

L E T T E R F R O M T H E E D I T O R

 Dear Readers,

Our goal for this magazine is to help encourage each of you inyour daily walk with the Father.  Each of the writers working onthis project comes from a different background and has a passionto reach people in all walks of life. All of us are wives andmothers. But each of us is unique in our passions, walk and skills.We are all in different stages of life. From the mom of little onesto the empty­nester. Because of that  you will find something herefor everyone.

We all have one goal in common. That is, to reach people forChrist. We hope that you will use this magazine as a tool to help your grow, be encouraged, and help you to be ALL that God hascreated you to be.

We desire to equip you to be able to reach the world around you;whether you are the stay­at­home mom or a single woman.

We pray that this new tool will be used to glorify God in everythingwe write and do.  As we grow, this magazine will grow. Columns willchange and grow. New things will be added. New writers will comeon board.  We look forward to walking out our faith walks with youand we hope you enjoy it too.

God Bless,

Dianna

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Dianna Auton is a Homeschooling mom to 3 girls and wife to herbest friend for over 17 years. She is a blogger, author, reviewer

and a coffee drinker. She enjoys reading, writing, hiking, photographyand shopping. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Christian

Education from Calvary Bible Institute. Her passion is encouragingwomen of all walks of life to be all that God has created them to

be.

STAYINGCONNECTED TO

GODBY TR ISTAN BROCK

I believe God is calling us into a closer relationship

and a closer walk with him, where we walk in his

presence and draw life from Him daily. Jesus likens

our relationship to God as a branch that is

connected to the vine. John 15:1-8 says “I am the true

vine, and my father is the husbandman. Every

branch that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and

every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it

may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean

through the word which I have spoken unto you.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the the branch cannot

bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no

more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye

are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in

him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without

me you can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he

is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men

gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they

are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in

you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done

unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear

much fruit…” Jesus is telling us, as branches, to abide

in the vine. The word “abide” means to stay,

to live somewhere, to continue in, and to remain

stable and fixed. God wants us to live in fellowship

with him where we can hear from him and get

direction for our lives. His presence is the place

where we should abide. We need to stay connected

to the vine daily and we will experience his life

flowing through us.

So here are a few questions we should ask ourselves.

How is my relationship with God? Have I taken time

to be still and spend quality time with Him today?

Am I staying connected and walking in close

fellowship with Him? Does it seem like something is

missing or is there an incompleteness in my

relationship with him? Do my relationships, church,

work, or life seem dry and lifeless? Maybe you don’t

feel as passionate about your relationship with God

as you once did. I think many Christians have felt this

way at some time in their walk with the Lord. In fact,

I have heard people talk about times that they were

closer to the Lord and other times they were not.

This is like a yo-yo, which goes up and down. This is

not how God desires for us to be. I never thought it

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could happen to me, but it did. After I got saved,

God supernaturally delivered me from anxiety and

fear. I had been having panic attacks daily and the

moment I got born again I could feel God’s presence.

I felt the heaviness of fear being lifted from me.

Then, I began seeking the Lord and hearing from

him daily. I desperately needed him in my life and

desperation sometimes helps. As a new Christian I

had so much that needed changed. What a journey

it was to walk with him daily. However, after some

time of seeing and experiencing the blessings of

God, my relationship with him began to grow

distant. I had begun to put other things before him

and it happened so gradually that I didn’t even

realize it. I noticed if I would try to spend time in

prayer or in the Word, I didn’t have the same motive

as before. It seemed I was doing it out of habit. I

wasn’t able to hear from God like before or get

revelation as I once had. It seemed I was

disconnected from Him. As John 15 says, if a branch

is disconnected from the vine, it begins to wither. To

wither means to become dry and to lose freshness.

All to often this happens to many Christians, they

become dry and lose freshness.

How do we become disconnected? One way the

bible says we become disconnected is found in Mark

4:19 Amp “The cares and anxieties of the world and

distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight

and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and

the craving and passionate desire for other things

creep in and choke and suffocate the word, and it

becomes unfruitful.” Our world that we live in today

is full of distractions and other things that can hold

our attention. With the way technology is growing,

our cell phones will allow us to be in many places at

one time. The Lord began to show me this was one

reason I was having a hard time connecting with

him. I would be praying to Him but thinking about

something else. I was unable to keep my focus on

spiritual things. The Lord showed me to do one

thing at a time in the small things such as putting

my phone away while at work and turning my

phone off when I was at home with my family. Mark

10:41-42 when Jesus was talking to Martha and Mary,

he said, “Martha, Martha, you are troubled about

many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary had

chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away

from her.” In life, it is easy to get busy with many

things and become good at multi-tasking, but God

wants us to do one thing at a time and be single

minded. There are many things in this life that can

suffocate the Word. These things may not be bad

things, but they require too much of our attention.

Another way we can become disconnected is by

putting ourselves back under the law or by hearing

false teaching. Galatians 5:4-5 says “If you seek to be

justified and declared righteous and to be given a

right standing with God through the law, you are

brought to nothing and so separated from Christ.

You have fallen away from grace (Gods unmerited

favor and blessing). For we [not relying on the Law

but] through the Holy Spirit’s help, by faith

anticipate and wait for the blessing and good for

which our righteous and right standing with God

causes us to hope.” If you are not fellowshipping

with Him daily and staying connected to Him, it is

easy to get back under the law. We have to renew

our minds to who we are in Christ and realize that it

is through Jesus that we are made righteous. Trying

to do “right” things or doing things in our own

strength in order to earn God’s favor or to put

ourselves in right standing with God places us back

under the law. This happened to me. I thought if I

could pray enough or study the Word enough, then I

would be made right with God. A bible scholar

Kenneth Wuest said there are two types of Christian

living: “One is… dependence upon the Holy Spirit for

4 A2BSTAYING CONNECTEDTO GOD

the supply of both the desire and the power to do

the will of God. This method results in a life [in

which] the fruit of the spirit [is] evident. The other

method is that of putting one’s self under law, and

by self effort attempting to obey the law. This results

in a defeated life.” Satan would love to keep us

defeated and disconnected, but with the Holy

Spirit’s help we can re-connect with our loving

father.

So what are some things we can do to re-connect

with God? Revelation 2:4-5 says “Nevertheless I have

somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy

first love. Remember therefore from where thou art

fallen, and repent, and do the first works.” So, we

can return to our first love. We just need to do what

we did to begin with when we first began a

relationship with Him. We can seek Him and make

time with Him our number one priority. We can

repent, which means to change our minds. We need

to change our thinking and get our minds into

agreement with what His Word says. We can ask

God to show us things that we can put aside that

have distracted us. Gloria Copeland said “It doesn’t

matter how disinterested you may have grown

about the things of God, if you will turn your

attention toward him, your heart will follow. Our

hearts follow our attention.” If you have had your

attention on other things for a while it will take

some effort to get focused, but it can be done. And

after a while, our hearts will desire Gods presence

and His Word again. Proverbs 4:20-22 says “My son

attend to my words, incline thine ear to my sayings.

Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in

the midst of thine heart. For they are life to those

that find them, and health to all their flesh.” If you

have become dry and lifeless, attending to His Word

will bring life to you again. That is wonderful!

Once we reconnect with Him, it is important that we

remain in Him and continually abide in Him. As it

says in John 15, without Him we can do nothing, but

if we abide in Him and His Words abide in us, we can

ask what we will and it shall be done unto us.

Abiding in Him gives us His enabling power to walk

in the Spirit daily and fulfill His will in our lives. I

believe we will experience greater life as we walk

with Him daily. We will have an abundance of peace

and joy. God desires for His children to walk like Him

and He is victorious. He is Joyful. He is full of power,

strength and love. All we have to do is relax like a

branch and draw from His life giving, abundant

power and we will be able to bear much good fruit

in our lives!

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Tristan Brock has been married 9 years and has 2 kids, girland boy. She began working as a therapist in 2006 and met agirl who shared the gospel with her, for 2 years she poured

into her life. She received Jesus as her Lord and wascompletely delivered from fear and anxiety during that time. Shehas continued to seek him and allow his word to change her

life. She currently serves and teach in the children's ministry ather church. Her heart is to continue ministering to children,women and married couples to see them find and fulfill Gods

plan for their lives!

GOD IS DOING ANEW THING!

BY RACHEL STORMS

Do not [earnestly] remember the former things;

neither consider the things of old.

Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth;

do you not perceive and

know it and will you not give heed to it? I will make

even a way in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert. The beasts of the field honor

Me, the jackals and the

ostriches, because I give waters in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert, to give

drink to My people, My chosen. The people I formed

for Myself; that they may set

forth My praise [and they shall do it]. (Isaiah 43:18-21

AMP)

I am a lover of all seasons. Each one has something

unique and beautiful to offer us whether its

summer beaches, autumn foliage, or winter

wonderlands. As we enter into spring we begin to

anticipate an awakening of nature. Everything is

fresh and new. It doesn’t take long for us to

forget how cold and bare everything was just a short

time before. This passage in Isaiah puts

me in mind of a spiritual spring where God is calling

us to awaken, forget what’s behind, and

look forward to this new thing that God is doing.

Let’s look a little closer at what He is saying.

Do not [earnestly] remember the former things;

neither consider the things of old.

First, God tells them not to remember or look to

their past. The Message translation says,

“Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going

over old history.” Why do you think it

was important to forget? After giving a list of past

accomplishments (yes, accomplishments),

Paul says in Philippians 3:13-14 NKJV, “Brethren, I do

not count myself to have

apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those

things which are behind and reaching

forward to those things which are ahead, I press

toward the goal for the prize of the

upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” He is saying that

even though he had done all these

things which are honorable in the eyes of men, he

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isn’t even going to think about them any

longer. He knew that there was more to do and that

as long as his focus was on what was

behind him, he could not proceed to the better

things that were still ahead. You simply cannot

move forward while looking back.

Now, perhaps your past isn’t so glorious to look at.

Maybe all that lies behind you are thoughts of pain

and regret. Well, I have great news! According to

Jeremiah 29:11, God has a good plan

for your future. However, the only way you will be

able to grab hold of it is by letting go of what’s

behind you. That includes all the pain and torment

of your past. You may think it’s too hard, but in our

weakness, God becomes our strength. If you’ll ask

Him, He will help you let go of those things that are

holding you back.

Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth;

do you not perceive and

know it and will you not give heed to it?

The next thing God says is that He is doing

something new. One of the definitions of new is

something that was not used by anyone previously.

To me, this means that God is doing

something different from anything He has ever done

before. How many times have we heard

people say, “If only we could get back to the way we

used to do things, we will see God move again?”

What we need to understand is that what worked

before will not necessarily work now.

Habakkuk 2:3 tells us that there is an appointed time

for visions. The only way we are going to produce

any lasting results is by getting in the presence of

God, obtaining His plan to accomplish His purpose,

and to do so through the power of the Holy Spirit.

We cannot depend on what worked yesterday. We

must get direction for today.

I will make even a way in the wilderness and rivers in

the desert.

In John 14:6, Jesus refers to Himself as the way. It is

through Him that we have been restored to right

standing with God. It is by Him that a way has been

made for us to enter into the very presence of God. It

is in His presence that we find refreshing for our

souls. These rivers of refreshing are the Spirit of God

flowing from His presence. On the last day, that

great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out,

saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and

drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has

said, out of his heart will flow rivers of

living water.” But this He spoke concerning the

Spirit, whom those believing in Him

would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given,

because Jesus was not yet glorified.

(John 7:37-39 NKJV)

The beasts of the field honor Me, the jackals and the

ostriches, because I give

waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to

give drink to My people, My

chosen. The people I formed for Myself; that they

may set forth My praise [and

they shall do it].

Notice that when the rivers of refreshing are released

for the sake of God’s people, creation

enjoys the benefits of it. If you want to see a positive

change in our country (government, schools,

entertainment, natural resources, etc…) the only way

it is going to happen is by the power of the Spirit.

These rivers of refreshing bring healing to the land

(see Ezekiel 47:1-12). Wherever it flows it brings

blessing. All that are touched by it break forth in

praise to God. That is our very purpose! To bring glory

and honor to Him.

7 A2BGOD IS DOING A NEWTHING

This is the hour of refreshing. An awakening is taking

place. As we get in alignment with God and His plan

and purpose for this time, healing will be released

and increase will come to the kingdom. It is a new

season. Old things have passed away. All things are

being made new. Get ready for it! The time is upon

us now.

Rachel Storms is a happily married mother of three girls.As the youngest daughter of a minister, she has beenbrought up under the instruction of the Bible. Havingtraveled with her family often, she has been exposed tovarious denominations and concluded that the basis of faithis and always will be founded upon the truth of God’sWord. Rachel is passionate about teaching others. Hergreatest desire is to reach out to the lost and the brokenwith the compassion of Jesus Christ.

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HOPE VS. HOPEDEFERRED

BY CHR ISTY HENDERSON

When I looked up the word “hope” I found it very

interesting that the word “trust” is part of the root

meaning. I kept going until I had looked at eight

biblical and modern online dictionaries. In every

case trust is part of the meaning.

Hope Defined:

merriam-webster.com: Hope, verb: 2: to expect with

confidence: trust: to hope without any basis for

expectation fulfillment, desire accompanied by

expectation of or belief in fulfillment.

A Christian’s Definition of Hope patheos.com: A

Christian’s definition of hope is far superior to that of

the world. Instead of wishing or hoping for

something to happen, a believer knows that their

hope is solid, concrete evidence because it is

grounded in the Word of God and we know that

God cannot lie (Heb 6:18; Num 23:19). The Christian

has a hope that is “the assurance of things hoped for,

the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). It is a

hope that is like faith…a faith that cannot be moved

by circumstances or what the eyes see because an

unseen God is seen in His faithfulness.

Definition of Hope Bible.org: In Scripture hope is an

indication of certainty. “Hope” in Scripture means “a

strong and confident expectation.” In modern terms,

hope is similar to trust and a confident expectation.

Trust is a root word of hope. By its very nature, hope

stresses future. It deals with things we can’t see or

haven’t received yet.

We cannot see salvation, Jesus or the Holy Spirit

when we get saved but through faith and hope we

know they are there. Hope is the confident

assurance that everything God has promised is ours.

This is hope being activated which requires trust. We

have to trust in an unseen God that all of this is real.

Romans 8:24-25 We were saved with this hope in

mind. If we hope for something we already see, it’s

not really hope. Who hopes for what can be seen?

This verse came to mind when I was praying

about a subject to write about Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward

you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not

of evil, to give you a future and a hope.' NKJV

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25But if we hope for what we don’t see, we eagerly

wait for it with perseverance. GWT

Hope has power. When we activate our hope it

changes the way we see things. It changes our

perspective of how we view the future. All things are

possible when we put our hope in Jesus. It makes us

heavenly minded not earthly minded. Mark 10:27

…“With men it is impossible, but not with God, for

with God all things are possible.” NKJV

Early this year I experienced what it felt like to walk

in peace. I was being torn apart by circumstances

that were out of my control. The only way I got

through it was to stay in peace. The hope we have in

our God fills us with this peace. Fact is God is the

source of hope and He is the only one that can give it

to us. The only thing we have to do is just ask and

believe and it is ours. Romans 15:13 “Now may the

God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in

believing, that you may abound in hope by the

power of the Holy Spirit.” NKJV

Hope comes from knowing the Word of God and

resting in Him. Reading and applying the Word to

your life will change it one step at a time. It will

become less complicated as you grow in the

knowledge of Him. Fill your mind with His Word so

you can stand against the devil when he comes to

snatch your hope from you. 1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore,

your minds must be clear and ready for action. Place

your confidence completely in what God’s kindness

will bring you when Jesus Christ appears again.”

GWT

But there is something called hope deferred. Pray

now for your strength and faith to be strong enough

that you do not allow it to creep into your line of

thinking.

What a scary thought. You spend all your Christian

life putting your hope in the One that can do it all.

Then at your deepest darkest hour when you think

there is no light at the end of the tunnel you decide

to stop hoping. All that energy and pain wasted.

How many times have we stopped just before our

answer is made visible to us? Proverbs 13:12 “Hope

deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is

a tree of life.” ESV

Definition of Hope deferred:

Benson Commentary: Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred

maketh the heart sick -- The delay of that which a

man eagerly desires and expects is such an affliction,

that it differs little from a lingering disease; but

when the desire cometh — When the good desired

and expected is obtained. It is a tree of life — That is,

most sweet, satisfactory, and reviving to the soul.

BibleHub.com

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible: Hope deferred

maketh the heart sick, that is, the object hoped for; if

it is not enjoyed as soon as expected the mind

becomes uneasy, the heart sinks and fails, and the

man is dispirited and ready to despond, and give up

all hope of enjoying the desired blessing; whether it

be deliverance from any evil, or the possession of any

good. But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life;

when that which is hoped and wished for, and has

been long expected and desired, it is as grateful to

him as the tree of life was in Eden's garden; it gives

him an unspeakable pleasure and delight.

BibleHub.com

Hope in the Bible, is more than wishful thinking.

Hope is a confident expectation of something to

happen in the future. Not knowing the time it will

manifest is what defers the hope, especially when

your positive turns into imposable. The heart grows

sick when you think it is defiantly out of your reach.

10 A2BHOPE VS. HOPEDEFERRED

Solomon simply states what is true of the human

condition. Even those of us with the first fruits of the

Spirit who have been reborn by the grace of God and

who have become new creations in Christ still groan

inwardly as we wait eagerly for what we hope for to

become a reality (see Romans 8.18-25). But what do

we do with the sick heart? How do we overcome this

darkness, this weariness from crying out? How do we

keep our eyes from growing dim with waiting on

God to bring into reality that for which we hope?

fbcbenbrook.wordpress.com

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, yes, but how do

we get rid of deferred hope? The psalmist gives an

answer. He simply states that the only way out of a

sick heart is to hope. You may think it just can’t be

that simple. In reality, it is. We have a choice to

choose the one we want to dominate our lives.

When you are so very tired of waiting simply renew

your hope. Make yourself look for something positive

to focus on.

Hope is a powerful tool, keep it activated and strong

by trusting in the one who can make anything

possible. Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christy Henderson has been married for 25 years andhas two beautiful girls. They are both married and she islooking forward to grandbabies.  She is thankful for twospecial friends who remind her that she has a solid rockin Jesus Christ when life gets crazy. One thing she lovesto do is minister to the hurting. 

11 A2BHOPE VS. HOPEDEFERRED

JESUS: LORD ANDSAVIOR. THE WAY,THE TRUTH, THE

LIFE.BY ASHLEY CHAMBERS

fear and whispered to Aunt Alice "I want to go up

there and be saved." I walked up to the altar with

Aunt Alice holding my hand. I knelt down and

confessed my need for Jesus as my savior. I

immediately had an overwhelming peace, comfort

and pure love and acceptance like I had never

experienced before. I knew instantly that God had

heard my prayer and had accepted me. I lived for

the Lord from that point on. It was easy as I grew up

in a small community of church going folks and it

was an easy town to be a Christian. I was very

sheltered and there wasn't much opportunity to get

involved in intentional sins of the flesh.

Following high school graduation my home life

deteriorated. Divorce, separation, and division

became my reality. I had zero leads as to what I was

doing with my life. I decided since I was 18 I no

longer had to listen to my dad, I thought I knew

more than he did, and I became a lover of self-

fulfillment. I went to the nearest big city and got a

job at a restaurant serving tables. I had always told

Allow me to reach into my memory bank and

go back in time several years. It was mid-

August. I was riding in my papaw’s pickup

truck up a winding mountain side road. We

were headed to Indian Bluff Baptist Church.

I'm talking switchback curves and a long

gravel road to a tiny country church with

reddish carpet and hard wooden pews. There

was revival.

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I was twelve and I was snuggled up to my Great Aunt

Alice's side. I don't remember the exact sermon or

words spoken that night, but I will always remember

how I felt and the feeling of the Holy Spirit calling

me to the altar. I went into a supernatural trance. My

heart started pounding and I felt led to get up and

go receive salvation. The

pull in my inner being was so strong that I could not

resist it. I was scared. The battle raging inside of me

was one of fear and shyness. As a child I was made of

fun of often and those memories contributed further

to the battle I was fighting inside. I overcame the

myself I would be a city girl and I dreamed big. That

was the beginning of the darkest years of my life. I

was eighteen and stepping into a world that I had

been protected from. I was introduced to the world's

view of living and I ended up married, and pregnant,

divorced, alone, broke, and hopeless. I moved back in

with my grandmother and got a different job at a

spa where I sank deeper into the world. I became a

fan of dance clubs. Thursday through Sunday I could

be found at the dance clubs trying to drown out my

life. My walk with Jesus was gone. I had given up on

Him and turned to the world in my time of

desperation. How could a person who was so excited

to serve God find it so easy to throw it all away or

something that left me feeling empty? Discipleship.

You see there is a huge importance associated with

discipleship. I had never been taught once you

accept Jesus as savior you make Him Lord also. I was

not taught how to walk that out. I forgot that Jesus

lived in me and I was quickly running away from the

very person that could and would help me find my

way. I was longing for love, self-worth and searching

for the very thing I already had living inside me. False

hope and the way in which I was choosing to fill the

void only left me empty.

The grace and kindness of God and how He drew me

to repentance came as I was on my way to a country

dance club to drink and dance the night away. The

night was no different than all the other nights

except while riding in the car on this trip I felt a

spiritual heaviness that drove me to tears. I felt such

love and compassion and the need to repent and

denounce the lifestyle I had been choosing.

Immediately I vowed to turn away from that lifestyle

and I chose to not only allow Jesus to be my savior,

but I made him The Lord of my life.

Fast forward years later and Jesus is Lord of my life. I

now am full of Joy and Hope and I am bold in my

faith. I am a Spirit-filled woman of God who lives to

Encourage Believers to fight the good fight, Believe

God and I’m passionate about discipleship! All next

to winning souls for the Kingdom. If you are

searching, Jesus is the way.

13 A2BJESUS: LORD ANDSAVIOR

Ashley Chambers is a deep thinker and big dreamer whocasts those thoughts and visions onto paper. Her purpose isto inspire others to see their potential and choose to bebold and courageous as they journey through this foreignland we call Earth. She runs the Facebook page Count itALL Joy Where she encourages others in their Faith andchallenges them to be intentional about their walk

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