Who God is to Me

Lately, I have been feeling overwhelmed by God's goodness and mercy.  So, I thought I would make a quick post about who God is to me.

God is my...

Healer, because He's healed all of my illnesses, no matter how bad they were or how horrible I felt

Deliverer, because He delivered me from addictions, depression, a bad self-image...this list could go on and on

Savior, because He died on the cross to save me from myself and my sins; He could have sent anyone else, but He came Himself

Peace, because His Spirit floods my mind, heart and soul when I feel panicked and everything is out of control

Joy, because He restored it when I was so depressed that I couldn't even smile

Provider, because He always makes sure I have what I need (and not just what I think I need)

Best Friend, because He was there for me when no one else was

Everything, because, even though there are billions of people in this world, He cares specifically about me and loves me for who I am

Now you know who God is to me.  Who is He to you?

Good Luck at the Grammys

I remember a time where I could watch my favorite TV shows without having to worry about the things the television network would put in there.  Yes, there once was a time where I could watch Disney freely or see an awards show without seeing things that would scar my mind.

Everything has changed.

In case you're wondering, no, I'm not in favor of homosexuality.  That being said, I have no problem loving them, talking to them, etc.  I just don't agree with that aspect of their lives.  If you're sitting there calling me an ignorant bigot or hypocrite or some other insulting name right now, you may as well click exit...I'm not finished.

This whole Disney thing infuriated me.  Their defense is that they are trying to make it equal for children all across the United States.  Well, if that were true, we'd see shows about Christians or Amish or some other religion...but we don't.  No, the truth of the matter is that Disney is using their channel, a children's channel, to make a political statement.  Congratulations, Disney, you have officially stated that you support gay marriage...like we didn't know that already.

But this isn't where it stops.

Then, I read a post about one of my favorite singers who was criticized for leaving the Grammys early.  She never said why, never told anyone that it was because they were performing wedding ceremonies for gay couples along with straight couples.  She never said why she left.  Yet, every liberal for gay marriage who read that must have decided that the marriages were her reasoning.  So they went off on a long tangent about how she's a hater, needs to change her opinion, blah blah blah (we've heard it all before).

Oh, I'm loving their maturity on the matter.

The truth is that we are called haters for disagreeing with homosexuality.  It seems as though we have been called every name in the book because of our beliefs.  We choose to love homosexuals as we love straight people, and we are called the haters.  But liberals and other sorts of people can bash us and make fun of Christians for believing in Jesus Christ...oh, but they're stating their opinion, right?  Do you see what I mean?

Quite frankly, I don't care what you believe.  I know that I'm not going to change your opinion by doing the things that I do.  I just do those things for my sake.  What I do care about, however, is you throwing this "popular" (not really) opinion in my face, telling me I should agree with it.  Just like I may never be able to convince you to become a pro-life activist (another post for another time), you will never be able to convince me to be a gay rights activist.

So stop trying.

In conclusion, I just want to say congratulations to Disney...you have lost at least one viewer (judging by posts on FB, I'd say there's a lot more).  I might rent some of the old shows I used to watch from the library or maybe some Austin and Ally when it comes out, but as of right now, I will no longer watch your station like I used to.

Haters, say what you have to say, but just remember who the real hater is when you're calling me nasty names for my beliefs.  We'll see who seems more mature then.

Not Important Enough...True or Not?

The other day I was shelving several parenting books at the library I work at, and many of them were on the issue of trying to get your teenager to open up to you.  This got me thinking...first, how disrespectful kids can be towards their parents (I mean, come on, 'oh, wise ones', don't treat your parents like they know nothing). But secondly, and most importantly, how I tend to clam up when it comes to my own parents.

My reasoning for this is a little different than others' however.  Most teenagers do it because they think they know more than their parents or they simply don't want them to be a part of their lives.  Me, on the other hand, I do it because I believe they probably have more important and pressing matters than the ones going on in my own life, whether it be big or small.

I've been like that with God a lot too.  I pray for other people and what they're going through, but I clam up when it comes to my own issues because I think "Surely, there's someone out there with worse problems than me, and God shouldn't be bothered by my own trivial problems."  I tend to think that God doesn't want to hear about the things going on in my life.

But, as He's been teaching me lately, God cares about my life so, so much.  And He cares about your life too.  1 Peter 5:7 says, "Casting all your care about Him; for He careth for you."  He loves us much more than we think, and He wants to hear what's going on, including the heartaches and hurts we go through.  If we clam up with him, then there can't be any healing for our wounds.

I have made a pact with myself, and I am determined that, from now on, I will be open with Him, and not try to hide anything from Him.  Even if I tried, He sees everything about me...it's better that I admit it before Him.

So what about you?  Are you open and honest with God or do you tend to think He has more important things to do?  Remember that God sees even the sparrow and knows how many hairs are on your head.  So why wouldn't He want to hear about your life?  Open up to Him today, and allow Him to show you just how much He cares.

Heard By My King,
Hannah Elizabeth

Don't Put It In A Bottle

If I'm being honest here, the past few months have been hard...no, I'm not saying that I hate my life or that my problems are worse than anyone else's because, honestly, my problems probably rate at the bottom.  Nevertheless, it had included heartbreak and a LOT of stress.

There was one particular heartbreak that affected me more than I thought...which included a guy.  I'm not going to go into detail, but I will say that we liked each other, and then without any warning, I was ignored and had to make the decision to step back from the relationship (although we weren't actually dating or anything).  I'm not saying it was completely his fault because I'm sure I had a part in the breakup of our friendship too.  However, it still hurt and tears were shed (well, I'm a teenage girl, what do you expect?).

During the past months, I have surrounded myself with friends and moved on fairly well.  I even have a crush on someone else (but no names will be mentioned, lol).  However, I was still hurting, and still having issues of trust due to the previous relationship.  But I was ignoring it and hiding it...from my family, my friends, and even myself.  Only God really saw how broken my heart was.

On top of that, I had been under a lot of stress the past few weeks due to tests and just plain pressure...I'm growing up, and realizing that life isn't easy, and there are a lot of responsibilities that come along with growing up.

Today, I got into an argument with my mom (arguments like this very rarely happen between us, but it still happened...) about something that probably wouldn't have mattered a few hours.  Usually, I would have walked away to cool down.  This time, however, I couldn't stop the stream of tears and the sob that came.  For the next half hour, I cried my eyes out.  I didn't even know why.  Eventually, my mom followed me back to my room where I had gone to take a nap.  There, we talked for a while, and she asked me what was wrong.  What was really wrong with me, that is...I usually would never respond like this.  After simply whispering "I don't know", I finally told her, "It's been a rough few months that's all".

Then she told me that she thought I wasn't completely over that relationship yet, despite the fact I hide it well.    It was in that moment that I realized she was right...I had fooled everyone, including myself, to believing that I was completely okay and that it didn't matter to me anymore.  But it did matter and God knew that.  I finally came to a point where I couldn't deny the hurt, and I needed to things go, so God could start really healing me, instead of me covering it up.

My point?  Don't bottle things up inside.  Sometimes we allow pride to get in our way, and we don't open up to others or even to God about our hurt or our situations.  But I'm pretty sure that God designed us to open up.  He can't completely heal us if we deny that we are broken and need His touch so desperately.  If we continue to withhold ourselves, there will come a time where we will explode, and it may not allows be in a bedroom where your mother is comforting you.  It may be in our workplace, at church, or some other place which would not be ideal.

So what are you hiding in a bottle?  Let it go now, and allow God to heal you.  Then, leave Him to do the work in you that He's been wanting to do for a while.  You'll eventually wake up one day and realize your healing is complete.

With A Broken Heart and Healing,
Hannah Elizabeth

Random Facts About This Paper Heart

Okay, so it has occurred to me that some of those who read this do not actually know me personally.  So, in an effort to reveal a little bit about myself, I thought I would share some random facts about myself.  Here you go!


First and Middle Name: Hannah Elizabeth (Hannah meaning grace and Elizabeth meaning devoted to God).  Interesting Fact about my name-my initials spell HER.

Favorite Color: Blue-any shade!

Favorite Music: Contemporary Christian-not so much hard rock or rap though

Favorite Band: Anthem Lights, of course! ;)

Two Favorite Boy Names: Caleb and Joshua-ironically, these are the two out of twelve spies that came back with a good report

Two Favorite Girl Names: McKenzie and Abigail

What Career I Want to Pursue When I'm Older: I would like to be a teacher, especially an elementary teacher, but I'm willing to go into secondary or high school education also

Three Places I Would Like to Visit: Just three?  Well, I guess I'll go with Australia, England, and the Caribbean...but I would love to travel the entire world if I could!!  :)

Favorite TV Show: That would be between Psych and Grimm.  Psych carries a lighter, more comedic mood, whereas Grimm carries a somewhat darker, yet intriguing disposition

Favorite Movie: Yikes!  I don't think I have one, but I do love things like October Baby and Courageous, but at the same time, things like Leap Year and Letters to Juliet, and then there's...well, I'm just a clean movie freak, and I'll leave it at that...

Favorite Book (other than the Bible): Probably the Hawk and the Jewel by Lori Wick...there are so many other good books, but this story has me coming back after two times still amazed at the beautiful love story between Brandon and Sunny.

Do I have any siblings: Yes, I have a younger sister and brother.  I'm the oldest.

Favorite Book of the Bible:  Man, that's a hard one!!  I love the stories, such as Esther and in Genesis, but I also love the poetic books, such as Psalms and Proverbs, and then there's the book of Romans...okay, I love the entire book!


There are so many other facts I share about myself, but I doubt you're that intrigued that I should go on, lol.  I hope this helped you learn a little bit about me, and if not, then just comment and leave your questions there.  :)

See You Later!
Hannah Elizabeth

Letting Go

Okay, so if I'm being honest, I had the worst week of my life about two weeks ago.  Not only did I have to cut off someone who meant the world to me, but I lost complete control of my life and it seemed like everything was falling apart and there wasn't a thing I could do about it.  But in the midst of this chaos, I realized that God was doing something in my life...

Have you ever had something that you know you should let go of, but you cannot for the life of you seem to?  Well, that's pretty much what happened to me.  I can't point a finger in either direction, but all I knew was that I had to break off this relationship.  All that I was getting from it was a broken heart and feelings of uncertainty, and I wasn't able to put anything into that relationship either...it was slowly falling apart and there was nothing I could do to save it.  So I broke it off that Monday...hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life.

Then came Wednesday.  Monday had passed, and had actually turned out to be a good day.  Tuesday had come, and I found myself a little tear eyed at dumb things I saw, such as seeing something at work that reminded me of it, or a thought popping into my head.  Wednesday, however, was the worst day of the entire week.  I was already feeling awful and completely stressed out that day, but then we couldn't go to church, and something happened.  When I was certain church was over, it hit me: there was no one for me to talk to.  There wasn't anyone who I could ask how service went, and no one to tell me how much they missed me at service.  Worst off, there was no one to tell how I was feeling to, except for God (thank goodness for Jesus!).

Honestly, I was ready to end it all.  At this point, I didn't believe in anything anymore.  I didn't believe in love or in friendship...the only thing I did believe in was God.  And once I poured out my heart to Him, He lifted me up and helped me to see that everything was going to be okay.

So fast forward to Sunday...I was absolutely dreading this day because I had to give something back to that friend.  I wasn't sure how that person would respond and I wasn't exactly sure how I would either.  Would I cry?  Would I be happy and relieved?  What would I feel like?  It was a mixture...For a few minutes, we actually acted as if nothing had happened, as if we were still friends.  I was relieved that that was over and done with, but at the same time, I didn't want to let go.  I didn't want to stop being best friends.

I fought these feelings for a couple days.  Why should I have to let go?  We could still be really good friends and everything would be okay, right?  But deep inside, I knew that wouldn't work.  I prayed and I prayed, but the answer was the same: We could be friends, but things would never be back to the way they used to be.  This was so hard for me!  I couldn't let go.  I was so afraid that I would go back to the lonely, insecure girl I once used to be.

After praying (very hard, I must add) and reading the Word of God, I felt God was saying it was time to let go.  So I did...that very day God showed that He would take care of me.  I learned that one of the boys I 'go' (I go to an online public school) to US History class with is actually someone I bible quizzed with.  On top of that, I got to see him and another one of my friends which I haven't seen since 2nd grade at the testing site for my ECAs.  I felt better from then on.

As the days went on, I started talking to a bunch more people, and now have more friends than I have ever had in my life!  I'm not saying I don't miss that friend of mine, because I do.  I miss being able to talk to him about nearly anything, and I miss hanging out with him.  But I do realize that letting him go was, in fact, the right choice.  God made the situation to work out for my good, and for that, I'm so happy and ecstatic!!!

So, with that, what are you hanging on to?  Is there something in your life that God is telling you to let go of, but you can't seem to bear the thought of it?  I can assure you, letting go is the right choice.  Let go of whatever it is you're holding on to.  You won't regret it!

Letting Go of the Past,
Hannah Elizabeth

Song List

Hey everyone,

Here is the list of songs I promised you all.  I hope you listen to some of them and are inspired!  :)

All This Time by Britt Nicole
Already There by Casting Crowns
Arms That Hold the Universe by 33 Miles
Beauty in the Broken by Hyland
Busted Heart (Hold On to Me) by For King and Country
Day After Day by Kristian Stanfill
Don't Give Up by Calling Glory
Every Good Thing by The Afters
Everything Falls by Fee
Feel the Light by Britt Nicole
Gold by Britt Nicole
He Said by Group 1 Crew (feat. Chris August)
Headphones by Britt Nicole
Healing Begins by Tenth Avenue North
I Am New by Jason Gray
Jesus, Take the Wheel by Carrie Underwood
Lift Me Up by The Afters
Light Up the Sky by The Afters
More by Matthew West
Never Let You Go by Manafest
Orphans of God by Avalon
Promises by Sanctus Real
Reach by Peter Furler
The Redeemer by Sanctus Real
Restore by Chris August
Safe by Phil Wickham (feat. Bart Millard)
Stand by Britt Nicole
Steady My Heart by Kari Jobe
Stronger by Mandisa
The Hurt and the Healer by MercyMe
The Upside of Down by Chris August
Walk on the Water by Britt Nicole
Wedding Day by Casting Crowns
Where the Light Is by Anthem Lights
Who You Are by Unspoken
Worn by Tenth Avenue North
You Are More by Tenth Avenue North
You Never Are by Francesca Battistelli

I know it's a long list, and there are still so many more songs that could be on this list (I just went through my playlists for these, so trust me, there's so many more!).  If you have any suggestions, please email me at brollett@gmail.com.

Peace and Love,
Hannah Elizabeth