The Browning Tribune

Happy Mother's Day!! It is Mother's Day and yesterday I was thinking about how amazing my mom is. She is beautiful, strong, independent, and loving. She deserves the world.  As a single mom she is even more amazing. She loves my brother and I enough for two parents. This woman is my super hero because she has taken care of us all on her own. I don't know how she does it, but she always makes it work.  She gives us everything she can. She even goes out of her way to sacrifice for us. My mom is strong and brave.  My mom loves me with a love like none other. My moms love helps me understand just how much God really loves me. There are times when the only love I know is the love of God and my mom. If my mom's love overflows the way it does, what does God's love look like? My mom is there when I call her freaking out over a big exam. She even answers into the late hours of the night and early hours of the morning to help me sort through the struggles i...

The other day I was on the foot bridge in Missoula. I realized that there were lots of locks on the bridge. I thought about how every lock has a story. Then my friend said she wanted to be proposed to on that bridge. I thought this was a cute idea. Then I started thinking about the love I have for Jesus and how much he loves me. I love HIM and HE loves me. He has loved me since the day I was born and he pursues me everyday. I have an on going relationship with Jesus.  I decided to put a lock on the bridge to show that relationship I have with Jesus. Then I realized I could send a message with that lock to encourage someone. I wrote "Jesus loves me and you" on the lock. Then I attached the lock to the bridge and threw the key into the river.  Whether you are reading this dreaming of a relationship or in a committed relationship, I want to remind you that Jesus loves you. He is seeking a relationship with you today. Jesus' relationship with us deserves to ...

Let me start by saying, God is making beauty from the ashes because that is the nature of his character. Satin has tried to throw some curve balls at me, but God has caught them.  The Devil has tried to define my year with depression, anxiety, and over all emotional exhaustion, but he didn't win. I have been through domestic violence, loss of friendship, a car crash, and more. Yes, I have been through hard times, but somehow through the hardship God has always pulled me back to him. My prayer journal this year has been filled with me crying out to God to help me and get me through the mess. I may have had a hard time walking the Christian walk, but I have never took my eyes off Jesus. I am not talking about my faith like this to brag, but to show that even though I am a mess Jesus has never gave up on me. He has been through this broken road with me.  "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,   whenever you face trials of many kinds,   because you...

Today I Thought About You While I Was Curling My Hair One day you will be watching me get ready. I curled my hair for the first time in a while because I had time this morning. I was jamming out to music just soaking in my thoughts. Then you crossed my mind and I don't even know you yet.  If you haven't figured this out yet, future husband I was thinking about you. I was thinking about how  I hope you will love me no matter how my hair looks.  I was also thinking about how I hope you will be patient with me when it takes me a long time to get ready. That happens, after all I did get an award for taking the longest in the locker room from my friends the swim team in high school.  Today I was listening to country music. I don't even know if it is possible to not think about love while listening to country music, so naturally I was thinking about you. I looked in the mirror and was like God Bless the soul who falls in love with my crazy mess. In...

Life Is MESSY, but Jesus finds us in the mess! Last week at Young Life we had Messy Club. It was LIT to say the least. Messy Club is my favorite club theme out there. This theme has such deep meaning.  There is no doubt that life is messy and crazy. Life happens. Things come up out no where and it feels like we just got ran over by a semi truck.  The past few months have left me feeling like I have been hit by a semi truck and then ran over by a bunch of bulls. Sometimes I feel like I am wrestling one of those bulls and I can't seem to grab it by the horns. As a college student I wrestle many things everyday. I love my life, but sometimes life gets hard. I know that no matter how hard life gets I am never going through it alone .  God puts people in our lives to go through this with us. He surrounds us with people who will love us through our mess. Even if we may not have people there to support us HE is always there.  Jesus is always there ...

Most of the time I dread Mondays because the weekend is over and it is time to get down to business and chances are I probably stayed up all night doing the homework that I procrastinated all weekend. There are some Mondays that I like, though. Those are the first day of block Mondays. I like these Mondays because I get to wake up extra early and go pray on my school campus with my friends. This is something I started doing at the beginning of the year. My school is on block schedule. This means we take one class for three and a half weeks, have four days off, then start a new class. On the first day of every block we get together to pray about what God is doing on this campus. We pray for all the ministries on campus, students,  faculty and staff, and the surrounding community. I got the idea to start this at the beginning of this year because I was trying to build up the Christian Community on campus and encourage other believers. I have not only had the opportunity to e...

To the Girl Who Has Not Been Feeling Like Herself Lately,  I know you are out there, feeling less than yourself. Maybe you are going through a hard time or maybe you are just trying to find yourself in the midst of the pressure to succeed, in the eyes of the world. I don't know why you feel like this, but I can tell you that  I am right there with you.  My friends have noticed my lack of joy and I have been smiling less. I don't exactly know when this started happening, but I do know that i have not been feeling like my old self for a while. I know people change and maybe I have, but this has not been good change.  I used to be so happy and welcoming to everyone. I would even go out of my way to say "hi" to people. It is not that I don't like people, but lately I have become so overwhelmed when in a large group of people.  I have become so consumed by my circumstances that I have failed to go out of my way to love others. Maybe you have been feeling...