In honor of Megan Hoogeveen 6/29/2011

In loving memory of Megan Hoogeveen
December 30 1992-June 29,2011

Hey Everyone! How is everyone doing on this beautiful morning that the Lord has made? This blog update is going to be about one of my friends who died of a rare disease called HLH. If you don't know what that is you will find out in this update. I am going to be honest I did not know Megan Hoogeveen very well! She did inspire me very much though! Megan inspired me to live life to the fullest and to enjoy the moments that come to me! Megan inspired me with her smile and when I saw her she always had a smile! That smile is so beautiful just like she was! Now the disease she had was called HLH that is short for (Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis). This is a rare disease that I do not know much about. Today is the 2 year anniversary of her passing and what her family is doing is such a blessing to help fight against HLH and to raise money to find a cure for HLH. Megan's parents and brother started a website called Megan's Legacy and I will post the link to her page. I encourage you to check it out! I know when I did I learned some things about HLH I didn't know before! The only thing I knew about HLH is that it is a rare disease! Also on this page also known as Megan's page you will see poems,videos and pictures of Megan Hoogeveen and you will read about her story as well! I hope after you check it out that it touches your heart just like it has mine! 

I want to give a personal shout out to the hoogeveen family as this is a difficult time for you! Someone once told me that once you love someone they stay in your heart FOREVER! Megan is watching over you everyday and is with you even if you can't see her or be wiith her! 

I have a couple of songs that I think describe the long fight that Megan fought. There is one man who fought for Megan always throughout her life and throughout the lowest times and even when she was fighting the HLH. That man is God. A bible verse that now means so much to me is Jeremiah 29:11 It says For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord! Plans to prosper you and not to harm you! Plans to give you hope and a future!

The Lord will watch over our coming and going both now and forever more! that is from Psalm 121

So the songs I want to dedicate are:

1. - Open up our eyes-Elevation Worship

2. White Flag-Chris Tomlin

3. Skin-Rascal Flatts

I hope you find this blog update inspiring! 

I hope Megans story touches your heart just like it has mine check out Megans Legacy page! 

Blessings to all 

Mighty <3 Mariah

Gods reality is BIGGER then your reality

 Hello everyone! I hope you are all having a great day! Today is Father's day so I want to give a special shout out to all the dads out there, for all you do for your families and the love and joy and care you bring to this world!
So this blog post is going to be about one of the messages I heard  this past week at a youth conference I went to with my church family in Florida at Panama City Beach!
So we have a morning session and we have a night session then in the afternoon its just hang out on the beach. You have a choice of playing volleyball or basketball or swimming or hanging out in the sand! So it was fun to have that opportunity to hang out with friends as well! I want to talk a little bit about what one of the sessions were about. We talked about friendships and he described this as we are sitting in the middle and we have people on either side of us. Who's sitting next to you? Who are the friends that impact your life the most? The way the speaker laid the message across he used a thermometer and a thermostat! Let me explain. A thermometer takes the temperature you could set it outside in hot weather it would go up no question asked and it has no control whats so ever whether it goes up or down no matter what it will change by whats surrounding it! We do that don't we? We have friends that we hang out with and then we end up following into there ways. Where they go we will go! Maybe they smoke or do drugs and we think in our minds I won't ever do that until we become the thermometer. We change because of the people we hang out with and say we need to be a certain person we need to act a certain way to be accepted...NO not true!! God loves us He loves us for who we are WE DON'T HAVE TO CHANGE! Maybe we just need to be a thermostat and start something in our schools or at our work or in our homes! Cause I can guarantee you people will notice and some will be inspired but some will be the attack and will say to you "What you are  doing is the impossible! Well let me tell you this...anything....ANYTHING is possible when God is on your side! Are you hearing me? Be a thermostat not the thermometer
So to sum up quickly the rest of the week here's what we talked about
Day 1: was about walls in our life
Day 2: Friendships in our life
Day 3: fear we hold in our life
Day 4: Approval we think we need in life
So for me personally I could connect and I think I speak for many people this was AMAZING! God was on the move! I gotta wrap up my message other wise you will be reading a 5 page blog! but One thing that stuck out to me is what God sees is more then what we see. He sees his children doing great things, things we can't even imagine doing yet. So my prayer that week and continues to be for others as well is that God would open up our eyes to see what He sees. If you are reading this and you forget everything I have typed DON'T FORGET THIS...GODS REALITY IS BIGGER THEN YOUR REALITY! He sees his children doing great works to advance his kingdom! So GO be the light and shine through the world! If you have a passion for traveling the world, pray ask God to guide you and He will lead you! Or maybe you want to go to college...ask God to lead you to the right school that He has planned for you. Or maybe you want to look for a job...ask him to open your eyes to see what He wants you to do. Answer the calling God has called you to do! Now what was one word that was repeated in those last sentences? ASK! Ask what God wants to do with your life and I guarantee you He will show you! It doesn't always happen right away no that's not it sometimes you just have to be patient and wait on the Lord!
Amen?
So I have two songs that I want to share with you.
The first song is called I can't stop singing and literally when you are listening you can't be sitting when you hear this song it just makes you want to get up and dance so here it is I can't stop singing!
I can't stop singing-Seth Condrey
The next song is called Cornerstone! This song just makes my heart skip a beat its just an amazing song! Enjoy
Cornerstone-Hillsong
Heres some pictures from Bigstuf 2013!!!!

Lutheran church of Hope in the front row!

Jamie Dickens preaching on how Gods reality is bigger then ours!

Davis Patton on stage at Bigstuf

My friend Ashley enjoying the beautiful creation God made!

I am ready for some beach worship time!

Our awesome youth leader Brent Rauch

I forget this guys name but he did some pretty sweet magic tricks!

I hope you have enjoyed these photos and I hope the songs are very uplifting to you as they were to me this past week and how they continue to be!

Blessings to all!

Mighty <3 Mariah

Remember Gods reality is BIGGER then your reality!

He will carry you!

God is with Moore, Oklahoma

Hey everyone! I hope everyone is doing well! I also hope everyone will take time to remember our fallen soldiers this memorial weekend!
Another tragedy has hit, this time a tornado destroyed homes and killed family members, friends and beloved pets. Many people from Moore,Oklahoma are suffering from this tragedy! I want to say that God is with you and He has not left you in fact He's carrying you through your struggles and hurts.   Cry out to Jesus. He hears your cry. My prayer for Oklahoma is that God will comfort them and protect them and provide for their need. As I was preparing for this blog update I was looking up bible passages and I ran across Psalm 121. Hear the word of the Lord:
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. 
He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  
The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day,nor the moon by night.
 The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Amen? My favorite part of that entire verse is reading that the Lord will keep me from all harm. That's true for the people in Oklahoma even if they don't see it the Lord will keep them and protect them. We will all face struggles in this world but we should not fear because He has overcome the world. I want to wrap up this blog update by asking you a question. 
1. What struggle in your life has helped you the most in your faith walk with God? 
For me it would probable be when I lost my grandpa (John Van Zee) My grandpa was great guy he loved us and he loved to farm and drive bus. I remember combing his hair and he would fall asleep. But I actually watched my grandpa breathe his last breath here on earth. And it helped me realize that this life is short and we have to enjoy the moment! And not worry about the future or hold onto the past. I will admit I do struggle with those and my grandpa was and always will be that person that influenced me in my life and faith. So what is it for you? 
Finally I want to end with a song its called "He will carry me" This song is by Mark Schultz and this song for me is saying that through the darkest roads we travel and the valleys we go through God is not only right there with us He carries us through it all!
So here it is: He will carry me By: Mark Schultz

Here are a couple of pictures from Moore,Oklahoma:

Many homes destroyed.

Tornado in Oklahoma.

Blessings to all

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Mighty Mariah

Another year of living!

Hello everyone! Now I know I just updated my blog but today is a special day for me! It's my birthday! My life has hads its ups and downs and some days were GREAT! And some were not! But throughout my entire life! He knows the plans He has for me! I trust The Lord with my life! Everyday is a blessing from God where I was in life earlier I thought it was good which it was but I can tell you! I wasn't all that happy compared to where I am now! I am so overwhelmed with joy and happiness that it just spills out of my heart! Its hard to describe because I am just that amazed! God is an awesome God! I couldn't ask for more! I love my family, I love my friends and I love my church family but I LOVE God so much! I live for Him and everything I do should bring Him glory and honor and praise! Gods celebrating my birthday with me today! Tonight I am going to have dinner with my family we are going to eat pizza! I can't wait cause there's rootbeer too :) I just thank God for this family that I have that they adopted me into this loving family that I now have! I am so glad I am adopted! I couldn't ask for more then this right here...right now I thank God that I have another year of life ahead! Don't take life for granted because you life is here one day and the next gone! Cherish it! I know I will and so will my friends, family and church family! You know people aren't the same when u saw them yesterday or a week ago or months or years! Changes come and for me change was difficult at first but I fell in love with this change that happened! I found something better that made me happy and I am changed for the better! So here's my song I want to end on its called "Changed" By Rascal flatts! Enjoy! Changed
Blessings to all
Mighty Mariah
P.S if you want to wish me a happy birthday feel free to comment!

Our HOPE is found in Christ!

Hey Everyone I hope you all are doing well on this beautiful Monday evening! Let me first start off by telling you "thank you" I am so thankful that my blog has reached as many people as it has! I hope my writing is inspiring and uplifting!
So this blog update is going to be about the HOPE that we find in Christ Jesus our Lord! So Lutheran church of Hope all campuses including West Des Moines, Johnston-Grimes, Des Moines and Ankeny have walked thru a 31 week series based on The Story. We just wrapped up the last chapter and I can see that we as a church have grown not just biblically fluent as a church but we have ALL grown in some way shape or form in our faith! Its been a lot of fun growing together!
Let me ask you this question what is faith to you? Just think about that for a second. Let me ask you another question...whats the first thing that comes to your mind when you see the word faith? Now let me ask you another question. What comes to mind when you think of fear? For me this is what comes to my mind for fear:
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real
Now for Faith this is what comes to my mind:
Full
Assurance
In
The
Heart!
Now for HOPE I have a five minute video that I would like to share with you! I watched this and man even I was moved by it! I know its five minutes but I am glad I watched it! It was uplifting and I hope this moves your heart just as it has mine! Here it is:
Hope in Christ alone!
So what did you think? Gods hope is for you! This world is full of sin and pain and sorrow and terror but God says "I am making ALL things new!" So to wrap up this blog I want to end with a song! Starry Night Chris August
Blessings to you all on this beautiful and starry night! If you would like to leave a comment feel free to do that!

Mighty Mariah

Lord you give us HOPE when we have none!

Come to our RESCUE Jesus!

Hey everyone! I hope you all have had a great Monday! It was rainy and cold here in Central Iowa today. This blog post is going to talk about how sometimes in life we wonder where God is when tragedy or bad things happen in this world.
Let me start off by saying there was a tragedy today in Boston. There was a bombing! Today there was a running marathon in Boston and there was two bomb explosions that went off! The number of people injured or killed right now is unknown! It breaks my heart to know that this has happened!
This world is full of SIN! In hard times like this we cling to THE WAY,THE TRUTH and THE LIFE! Jesus came to this earth to die for us! In difficult times I believe that through those hard times it brings us closer to God! I know that right then and there it doesn't seem like it! God is ALWAYS with us! We are NEVER alone! He will never say "Go figure out on your own" He guides us through his Word! Maybe some of you are asking yourselves "Why does He seem so distant?" Well I read quote that really struck me here it is: When you're going through hard times and you wondering where is God, just remember; the teacher is always quiet during a test." That quote really spoke to me because I relate it to a bible verse. It comes from 1 Kings 19:11-13 here it is: Go out and stand before me on the mountain,"the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was a terrible blast (now think about the blast that happened in boston) that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a GENTLE whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
Now in tragic incidents we put out faith in God and trust that He knows what he's doing. Now your probable thinking "why" Why would I put faith in something I can't even see? Well for me the bible is a great source of wisdom and comfort! I trust that God has a plan for my life! We can't control what will happen in the next 2 seconds or tomorrow or a week from now or a month or even a year! Thats in Gods hands not ours!
Alright now I am going to show you some pictures of the tragedy in Boston

Workers helping victims of the bombing in Boston

Helping those in need!

This man lost his legs in the bombing today.

To wrap up this blog I want to end with a song and I post songs because they speak to me and I hope they do to you too. The song that I am going to post is called Rescue by Desperation band!

Rescue By Desperation Band

We need Jesus to come to our rescue and He will! We need faith in the one who created us! I speak for myself as well there are times when I struggle with this as well! WE all do. We all need a rescuer and that rescuer is Jesus! Amen?

Blessings to you all

Mighty <3 Mariah

Happy Easter! Christ has risen for YOU!

Hey Everyone! I hope everyone is doing well! This past week has been amazing! We have walked through Holy Week from the time Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey through his time that led to the cross and today Easter CHRIST HAS RISEN FOR YOU AND FOR ME!
I want to first start off by talking about Palm Sunday! This was a day that people wanted to welcome Jesus into Jerusalem on a donkey saying palm branches saying "Hosanna" "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord" As Jesus sees people celebrating He cries...Jesus wept over the town because they did not fully understand what was going to happen to Jesus.

Well now we are into holy week and we reach a day called Maundy Thursday! Now this is a day that is also called "Mandate Thursday" This command to "meet" this is something that the early church would do every year on a Thursday that would mark a beginning of Easter of what God did for us. The story of God is ongoing WE are Gods story! There is a festival that people did and it was called "Passover" This all started with a guy named Moses. Moses was the one who started "The Passover. At this celebration the disciples took the Lords Supper. Now on this night Our Lord and Savior Jesus took bread and broke it and gave it to his disciples saying "Take and Eat for this is my body which is broken for you! Then Jesus took a cup and said..."Take this and drink this is my blood which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins"

The Lords Supper

Now we go to Friday...Good Friday, this is the day our Savior was handed over to be beaten and killed!
On this day He went to Pilate and He could not find a good enough reason for him to be killed So they took him to King Herod...well He thought he was just crazy so the guards took him back to Pilate and then Pilate decided to have either Barabbas released or Jesus released. The crowd shouted Barrabas, then pilate asked "what then shall I do with Jesus who is called christ? The crowd shouted CRUCIFY HIM...CRUCIFY HIM!! Pilate asked "why" but he got no where with the people they just kept on shouting CRUCIFY HIM! So then Pilate washed his hands in front of the crowd and said I am innocent of this mans blood...it is your responsibility then he had Jesus handed over to be crucified. Jesus was nailed and at about noon darkness came over the land until 3:00. Then Jesus called out in a loud voice" "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”  At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. That is what happened on Good Friday. Our Savior was killed BUT...Sunday is coming

Jesus carrying the cross!

Jesus on the cross

Now we are at Sunday and we can shout....CHRIST IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD!! HE CONQUERED DEATH! Its the greatest day in History! Our sins our washed away and we can now live forever knowing that you are forever in our hearts and lives! I hope each and everyone of you reading this will realize that this verse speaks to you just as much as it did to me...For God so LOVED the world that He GAVE His one and ONLY son that whoever believes in Him shall NOT perish but have EVERLASTING LIFE! AMEN?

HE HAS RISEN

Blessings to everyone to end my blog I want to end with a song by a man named Carman He wrote a song called The Champion and it talks about how Jesus defeated Satan so Here it is..
The Champion Video
Blessings to all!
Happy Easter
Mighty Mariah