Sunday Reflections on Friday Lessons...

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me"

The past month I've been commuting to my classes five days a week. Driving 40 minutes to and from campus doesn't sound too fun at first, but I've quickly discovered the blessing in it. My 40 minute drive through pretty back roads is now a time of prayer and worship that I look forward to each day. Last Friday I had my radio on and the DJ started talking about some research being done. People wanted to know why an elderly man or woman who had lost most of their hearing could still hear their spouses voice (no matter how quiet) clear as day, but still have trouble hearing anyone else. A lady called the station and continued to say how her great aunt and uncle were 91 years old and had been married for 70 years. She said that when she visits she has to yell for her uncle to hear anything she says, however if his wife, her aunt, says anything to him he will immediately understand every word she says despite her soft tone.


If marriage is meant to mirror the love Christ has for the Church, this makes perfect sense. He is our shepherd and we are His sheep. In John 10:27 He says, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me". When we draw near to God we are more aware of His voice in our lives. The amazing depth of love that the old uncle had for his wife doesn't even compare to the depth of love Christ has for the Church. Draw near and know His voice. Spend time in His Word. Know the love He has for you. That same thrill you might have experienced when your earthly daddy came home and you just wanted to be in the same room and chat away about your "hard" day as a child, you should experience that on such a higher level for your Heavenly Father. Be intentional about making time to be in His Word and lay your burdens at His feet. Draw near and know your Shepherd's voice.

30 Days of Standing True

This summer I spent 30 days serving/interning with Stand True, a Prolife Outreach devoted to touching the lives of hurting women and men, while actively fighting to end abortion.

I lived in a little missionary apartment attached to the Stand True office in OH with six other missionaries/interns. During my stay we did mostly local work, minutes from wear I was born, and also took a 16 hour road trip to Dallas, TX for the 2013 National Right to Life Convention.
While in OH, we were in the office doing everything from filling orders and keeping up on Stand True's social media to cleaning the bathrooms and making dinner. We also did lots of sidewalk chalking around town, and praying at the abortion mill. When in TX, the interns ran the Stand True booth spreading the word about the work being done.

I had always wanted to help in this area but never knew how. It's not always an easy thing to just jump into. At the beginning of this year I had a strong conviction about how I'm spending my season of singleness. I want to honor Him with these days and use the time He's given me to serve Him. But again, I faced the how, what, and where dilemma.

When I was writing a research paper on the abortion issue Junior year of high school, I had signed up for Stand True's email list. Last April God brought an email to my attention about this ministry and their need for summer interns. It sounded like the perfect opportunity to get involved in, but I didn't even consider it at first. I had commitments, and thought I couldn't just up and leave for 30 days. However, the minute I dismissed the idea the Lord put such an ache on my heart, and so many people I respected were encouraging me to pursue it. I knew the Lord was at work here. Long story short, after much prayer, within 24 hours of submitting my application I was on the phone with Bryan Kemper, founder of Stand True. He told me how he knew the Holy Spirit must be at work, because he had such a peace about my application. Those words meant so much, because at this point I had had such a distinct, overwhelming peace about pursing serving with Stand True, I knew it was the Lord. There was confirmation at every turn, it was amazing watching God lead and direct me daily.

Stand True didn't require I raise a certain amount of money to come and serve with them. However, Stand True is trying to run a ministry and still provide housing, food, water, power, and travel expenses for the six other missionaries/interns giving up their entire summer to serve with Stand True.
They would greatly appreciate any donations. Whether or not God puts it on your heart to give financially, they would love for you to commit to praying for the Stand True team and the work they are doing, as well as for the many people they cross paths with who are in need of our Savior's love and mercy. My stay at the Stand True office might be over for now, but the other missionaries/interns need your love and support. This ministry is doing amazing things to bring glory to the Lord as they fight to end abortion. Stand True became my other home. I learned so much from these wonderful people that have become amazing friends. I was given countless opportunities to serve, yet the entire time Stand True was constantly educating me and helping me grow. I have some wonderful memories with my Stand True family from my 30 days in OH that only God could of planned out. For a month I was with these guys almost 24/7! If we weren't working in the office together we were serving together, if we weren't serving together, we were hanging out together. There was lots of good conversations, late nights, laughter, fun, and tears. Please pray about joining the Stand True team this fall as an intern and/or becoming a financial supporter.

To find out more on Stand True, donate, or look into a Fall internship, check out their website, www.standtrue.com

Have a blessed rest of the week and remember, His will is a wonderful place to be. Abide in the Lord. Rejoice today!

Enjoy the few pictures I remembered to take during my summer internship with Stand True :)

Stand True

Life has been crazy, wonderful lately. I graduated high school, traveled out of the country, and now I'm halfway through my stay as an intern with Stand True Pro-Life Outreach Ministries. I know I'm doing a horrible job updating the blog, but if you hang in there, at least a couple times a year I'll post something ;) I'm working on it.
These past two weeks working with Stand True have been absolutely amazing.
My roommates are awesome, we're doing tons of outreach, and God is doing so many things in my heart as well as the hearts of others. And I still have two weeks to go! I'm learning so much here at Stand True. They're giving me an opportunity to fight for the unborn and love on the hurting, as well as educating me on how to properly debate and defend my prolife beliefs. If you get a chance, check them out at www.standtrue.com
It's a great place to purchase prolife T-shirts and other gear. And it's a wonderful ministry to donate to. The donations go to keeping the interns on the road sharing Christs love and speaking up for the voiceless. I try to keep you guys regularly updated on where we're at and what we're doing on the Tori Grace Life Facebook page.
Please keep the team in prayer. Pray for safety as we travel and cross paths with many different people with many different view points. And pray for strength. Physical, emotional, and spiritual strength. There's no better motivation to wake up everyday and keep going then knowing you're in His will. It's a wonderful place to be.

Jason Lovins Interview: using his voice for the One who made sure he had one

"It sounds so cliche, but I'm so thankful for life"

Jason Lovins, founder and lead singer for the Jason Lovins Band
Jason recently went national about how his life almost didn't begin, and the brave stand his family took for life.
His mother being raped at 15, listened to the wise counsel of her mother and carried Jason full term. Here he is today alive and well, sharing his story and sharing Christ's love through music.  

 Favorite memory...
Favorite memory? wow. ummm...I would say it would have to do with my grandma and grandpa. I was just madly in love with them and we had this amazing relationship. Today was actually my grandpa's birthday, he passed away a few years ago. One of my favorites I guess would be when we went on vacation and we had a camper. We got snowed in, so my grandma, grandpa, and I were stuck in this trailer for like 5 days. My grandma was so mad at him for not getting us out of there before the snowstorm, but I just remember loving being with them. 

Favorite restaurant...
Right now, I love Carrabbas.

Favorite movie...
Big Trouble in Little China

Favorite free time activity...
Golf.

What instrument represents your personality the best?...
I don't know...that's tough!...what do people say to this? I do play the guitar, but I'm not even that good at that! I don't know, that's tough :)

Was music something you wanted to be your career when you started playing music with friends in college?...
Yes, absolutely. Music has always been what I've dreamed of doing. When I was a kid, I would have told you I was going to be the next Garth Brooks. In college, the focus really turned to making music about Jesus. So that was what we set out to do. 

What genre would you classify the Jason Lovins Band under?...
We do so many different styles. It's really hard to put a pin on a genre.

Do you have a favorite song on the new album?...
"The Grass is Greener" It's a beautiful picture of heaven. It's so beautiful. 

"Promises" is your fourth album, how does it compare to your others?...
It's our best by far. We really set out to put together a group of songs that would really minister to the church. We didn't even write all the songs. We reached out to friends and people we knew that were songwriters. They all kind of came from different places at different times, and it was neat how it all came together. It was a really neat body of work we didn't even have everything to do with. The Lord put it together. People say this all the time, but I really am more excited about this album more than I've ever been. 

Any funny memories from this recording process?...
I love watching Jose our base player. He's from Venezuela, so he's got that latino vibe. Watching him in the studio dancing around as he's playing and getting into it is probably one of my favorite things from this recording process. To watch these guys make this music is beautiful process.

You recently went national with your birth story, how has peoples response affected you?
It's been humbling for sure, and a bit overwhelming. I've been sharing this for several years now, but how it impacts people is crazy! It reminds me that I'm just so small in this equation. Because you know I didn't have anything to do with this, I'm just a product of it, so it's easy for me to talk about, but I never realized it would have such impact. I always knew I was different, I was always told I was special. But as I got older I realized I needed to share that and the beauty of it was I had nothing to do with it. More so than anything Im so humbled to be apart of something that's so much bigger than I am. 

Would you or your mom ever think about writing a book about everything?
Actually, our band pastor has somewhat of a similar story, he should have been aborted and wasn't, and it's different from mine, but he actually just sent me a text a couple days ago that said "we have to write a book". So yes, it's something we would definitely consider and it may happen sooner than later. 

Has knowing and sharing about how your life almost didn't begin, influence your views on abortion?
Ya, somebody even asked me the other day, "So, you're prolife?" and I'm like "well, I wouldn't be here" So you know, to be perfectly honest and vulnerable here, as a kid when I started learning about abortion and all these different things, it kind of clicked that that could of been me. I just hated that something so bad like that happened to my mom. And you just hate the circumstances. In the case of rape you always question yourself, well would abortion be okay in those situations. And I'm thankful that my family set the example for me that no, it wasn't okay for us. For my grandma and her 15 year old daughter, abortion was not an option, and I'm so thankful for that, cause I wouldn't be here. We try to share that in love and let people know God loves you and He wants nothing more than to show His glory through a terrible situation. When you allow Him to work like that, beautiful things can happen. It sounds so cliche, but I'm so thankful for life. My grandma had a lot of people, a lot of Christian people, telling her how in the case of rape, nobody would be upset with you if you allowed your 15 year old daughter to have an abortion. And that just wasn't going to happen.

WOULD YOU LIKE A COPY OF THE JASON LOVINS BAND LATEST CD "PROMISES"?! 

All you have to do is send an email to torigracelife@gmail.com 

and share how this interview has impacted you. 

Include your address, and we'll send Jason's CD your way! Only four copies available, so email today! :)

My thoughts on Valentines Day...

Valentines Day. Single Awareness Day. The day we eat way too much chocolate. And us ladies. That is what I want to talk about tonight. Valentines day never bothered me. I've never been in a relationship, but that fact hasn't put me in a state of depression when February 14th rolls around. I never really thought about why this holiday has such a negative affect on single girls of the world, but not on me...until now.
To the world it's impossible, most if the time, to be single, happy, at peace, and content all at once. My guess is the women of this world who don't know Christ's love, are usually single and fearful, single and insecure, or single and all the above. Fearful of loneliness for the rest of their lives. Insecure about why their single. But when we are blessed with faithful love if our Savior, He enables us to live without fear. We know that even if we are single for the rest of our lives WE WILL NEVER BE ALONE! We know we are beautifully and wonderfully made in His image! And because of Him we can be content with where we are in life while we look forward to the future with hope in knowing its in His hands! So this Vale tines Day I'm not going to joke and pout about being single on Valentines Day. I'm going to celebrate a day of love! Love from my Savior, love from family, from friends, etc! I can look past the worlds version of Valentines Day and remind myself I am loved and forever will be loved.
"THREE THINGS WILL LAST FOREVER--FAITH, HOPE, ABD LOVE--AND THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE" 1 Corinthians 13:13

Quick Update!...Winter Jam, Senior Pictures, & a Birthday!

Lots to mention & so little time! I have to clock in tomorrow at 5:30am! The life of a barista ;) So first up: Winter Jam 2013! THANKS SO VERY MUCH TO TURNING POINT MEDIA FOR THE TICKETS!! We had amazing seats and so much fun! RED was the highlight of my night! So many great artists performed AND introduced other artists. Great stories too. Guys look into when this tour is coming to your town! You never want to miss Winter Jam! It's spiritually refreshing, so much fun, and affordable! Tour dates are at www.jamtour.com Next order of business! I HAD MY SENIOR PICTURES TAKEN! Can't believe graduation is only 3 MONTHS AWAY!!! Unreal guys!! So excited though! And I had a birthday :) Fun! Fun! Hopefully I'll have time to blog some more very soon! Have a great week!

This Weeks Reviews!

It's review time!! This week I'm talking about some healthy snacks I've just discovered and a new hair product I cannot function without! :) Okay so if you read my last blog post, you should already know one of my new year resolutions was to make healthier choices. I'm gonna go ahead and assume a lot of you share that same resolution, so I hope my health finds help! I know I should be drinking more water, but I get tired of plain water, so I'll add lemon or lime. But for me even that gets old. So I'm super excited about this HINT water I've found!!! It's naturally flavored, unsweetened water with no gluten, sugar, MSG, or preservatives! Their slogan is "Drink Water, Not Sugar". The only flavor I've tried so far (and love) is blackberry. I get mine from the cooler under the pastry case at Starbucks. I can't remember how much it is, but I remember it not being too crazy for the 16FL OZ bottle I got. Pictures are below! Next order of business! Again, I found this at Starbucks. It's the KIND PLUS FIBER BAR. it's an all natural, gluten/wheat/trans fat/dairy/cholesterol free, low sodium fiber bar that ACTUALLY TASTES GOOD! I got the apple cinnamon nut one which is sweetened with just honey and cinnamon. It's very filling and satisfying. Win! And last but not least, hair find of the week! Mom gets credit for this find ;) The state I live in has horrible hard water which causes my hair to easily and severely tangle. It's painful and annoying, but by applying HERSTYLER HAIR SERUM after blow drying my hair I've finally been able to eliminate my matted hair problem all together!!!! And it smells delish :) www.herstyler.com So that's it for this week. Have a good Tuesday!!!