It's Been Awhile...

If you read our blog, you've probably noticed that Breanna and I haven't posted in awhile. I had previously been good about posting 5 times a month, but lately, that hasn't happened. I only did one post in September, and this is my first one this month. I guess you could say that high school has officially caught up with Breanna and me. We've been busy this semester with sports and school, but hopefully we'll be better about posting soon. I only have one week of cross country left.

Ironically, I had been working on a September post about priorities. I guess mine haven't exactly been in order lately, but it's something I've been praying about.

A passage I've been meditating on lately is Ephesians 1:3-6:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Our Sunday school teacher has been teaching on this the past couple weeks, and the phrase "to the praise of the glory of His grace" has been our main focus. Everything we do should be to give glory to God. This thought is very convicting to me. No matter what we do, God should guide us.

Trust

If you have ready many of my posts on this blog, you probably know that one of the things I am worst about is worrying. I have done numerous posts about doubt, worry, fear, etc., but I realized that dwelling on the negative things wasn't the best way to stop worrying. I need to focus on the positive things. So the opposite of worry is trust. Trusting in God for anything and everything and taking all your worries and fears to Him.

So, as I start high school tomorrow, I will be meditating on all these verses about trust.

*"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

Proverbs 3:5-6

*“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD."

Jeremiah 17:7

*"Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid."

Isaiah 12:2

*"I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies."

Psalm 18:1-3

*"Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.
In God... I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?"

Psalm 56:3

*"Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." Psalm 62:8

I Will Go

I stumbled upon the lyrics to the song "I Will Go" in a new hymn book I bought the other day. I had never heard the song before, but I started playing it on the piano and I absolutely love both the words and music. I thought it was a great song to meditate on as I get ready to start school tomorrow.

I Will Go

Give me ears to hear Your Spirit
Give me feet to follow through
Give me hands to touch the hurting
And the faith to follow You

Give me grace to be a servant
Give me mercy for the lost
Give me passion for Your glory
Give me passion for the cross

And I will go where there are no easy roads
Leave the comforts that I know
I will go and let this journey be my home
I will go
I will go

I'll let go of my ambition
Cut the roots that run too deep
I will learn to give away
What I cannot really keep
What I cannot really keep

Help me see with eyes of faith
Give me strength to run this race

I will go Lord where Your glory is unknown
I will live for You alone
I will go because my life is not my own
I will go
I will go
I will go

*Words and music by Steve Green and Douglas McKelvey*

John 15:7

John 15:7 ~ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

I thought this verse was a good one to go along with Psalm 119:11. It was a reminder to me that no matter what, we must keep reading God's word and praying to Him. Even when our present circumstances aren't going the way we want, if we are abiding in God, they will work together for good.

If we abide in God, our desires will be concentric with His will, which is why God can promise that we can ask what we desire and it will be done. That's about all the thoughts I have for this verse, but I hope it encourages you today :)

Only You

“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side,
When men rose up against us,
Then they would have swallowed us alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us;
Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
The stream would have gone over our soul;
Then the swollen waters
Would have gone over our soul.”
~Psalm 124:2-3

"Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep."
~Psalm 127:1-2

I have been reading through Psalms in my devotions, and these two passages caught my eye. I know that we hear all the time, "Only the Lord can truly satisfy." But these two passages really convicted me that not only is He the only One who satisfies, He is the only One who makes anything worthwhile. Unless our goal is to glorify God, and unless He is the one we look to for help, we will lose the battle we are fighting, even if it seems like we are winning for a little while.

That is the beautiful thing about being a Christian! We already know that we're on the winning team! God has already promised that He will have the final victory! So from now on, I am going to try to remember to only trust in God as my leader. No matter how many earthly leaders I have, I ultimately answer only to God!

Character Lesson: Nehemiah's Good Attitude

I did a post last year on Nehemiah and talked about his perseverance. Our Sunday school teacher did a lesson on it a couple weeks ago and another character trait that jumped out at me was Nehemiah's good attitude. Nehemiah 2: 1-2a says, "In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

The king noticed Nehemiah's sadness only because it was not a regular occurrence. The king was Nehemiah's boss and leader, and Nehemiah made it a point to always look happy around the king.

This thought was very convicting to me. I know that there are days when I do not go to school or even church with a happy look on my face. But Nehemiah chose to do this and was used in great ways by God.

Smiling is such a little thing, but it can make a big difference. Because Nehemiah chose to smile whenever he could, the king noticed his sadness and he was able to rebuild his city. When you choose to smile, you could brighten someone else's day. Smile at the cashier at the grocery store, or smile at your teacher, or smile at someone who looks sad and could use a friend.

You may not even know of the difference you made, but trust me, it will make a difference.

:)

Just Keep Swimming

I borrowed my title for this post from Dori off Finding Nemo :)

I have written some about perseverance before, but I usually talked about perseverance in big things. But lately, I've found that perseverance in small things is just as much of a challenge. My example would be reading my Bible. I have read my Bible every day this year since January 1st. But I haven't always followed my reading plan. Some days I've read just one or two chapters, using the excuse that I'm too tired to do more (I read my Bible at night usually). But then I stopped to think: "If I can get up to go to cross country practice at 6:30 in the morning in the summertime and run for almost an hour, then why can't I read 3 or 4 chapters in my Bible every night?" So, at that point, I made a commitment. I will read the "assigned" chapters in my Bible every day. If I can make time every day to read my Bible, I might as well read all the chapters that I'm supposed to. After all, if I don't, I'll just have to read extra chapters the next day in order to finish reading through the Bible in a year.

Speaking from personal experience, it's much better to persevere through a trial or struggle then to take the easy way out and have to deal with your conscience later.

Here's two verses and a quote that I think are good for thought and inspiration.

• Romans 5:3-4~Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
• Hebrews 12:1~Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
• Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain. ~Author Unknown

Praying God's Word

The last (but certainly not least) book that I will be talking about this month is Praying God's Word by Beth Moore. Before I started reading this book, I had never really thought about the principle before, but Beth Moore discusses the importance of our prayers lining up with what God's Word says.

The Bible tells us that God desires for us to pray. He wants us to pray to Him. But so often, our prayers focus only on ourselves and our desires. If we are praying what God's Word says, though, we cannot really go wrong in what we are asking.

Praying God's Word is divided into several different chapters. Each chapter deals with a different stronghold that Christians may face. Beth Moore has found verses that deal with each stronghold, and shows us how to pray for each one.

I love this book for my prayer life, and it is also a good resource to use as a kind of "topical index" to find verses about different things.

A lot of times, as Christians, we fall behind in our prayer lives, so if you are looking for a boost, I recommend this book.

Hope you enjoy!

My God is Near

This song is very comforting to me. I hope it is to you too.

My God is Near

Verse 1. Make me know Your presence, Lord, the King of glory here. You know each tho't and action, hope, anxiety and fear. How can I hide from Thee? Can darkness hide iniquity? Oh, how can I unfaithful be, when You are very near (are near) to me?

Verse 2. Make me know Your presence, Lord, when I feel so alone. You know each trial and testing, pain, the hurt that is "unknown." Oh, why can I not see Your hand so firmly guiding me? Oh, how can I untrusting be, when You are very near (are near) to me?

Chorus. When Go is near (is near), all the world seems far away. When God is near (is near), ev'ry fear is set aside. When God is near (is near), how can I stray, how can I faltar? I'll stay upon the altar. I know my God i near!

Redeemed

Redeemed is a song that makes me happy. I mean how much better can it get? I'm redeemed by the blood of the Lamb! Just amazing.

Redeemed

Verse 1. Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it! Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb; Redeemed through His infinite mercy, His child, and forever, I am.

Verse 2. Redeemed, how so happy in Jesus, No language my rapture can tell; I know that the light of His presence With me doth continually dwell.

Verse 3. I know I shall see in His beauty The King in whose law I delight; Who lovingly guardeth my footsteps, And giveth me songs in the night.

Chorus. Redeemed, redeemed, Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb; Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it! His child, and forever, I am.

The Gospel Primer

The Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent is a very helpful tool to use while studying through the Bible. Before I say anything else about this book, I want to give you this piece of advice: read through it slowly. It is a very short book, and you could probably finish it in a couple hours if you wanted to. But this book has so much wisdom that it needs time to be absorbed.

This book really helps tie together some of the main points of the Gospel. I guarantee that you will say, "Oh, I never thought about it like that before," more than once while reading this book. I definitely did.

I think every person should own a copy of this book. It will never get old; you will find yourself going back to it again and again.

Enjoy!

Do Hard Things

Any of y'all who read this blog regularly know that I love Alex and Brett Harris' book Do Hard Things. In today's culture, so little is expected of teenagers. This book, along with Start Here, lets teens know what God expects of us.

Perhaps my favorite thing about this book is that it's applicable to every person in every situation. Most other books are not like that. People may get to a point in their faith where a book on a certain topic can't help them grow. But everyone has room to grow in this area. We are not necessarily called to do big things or great things, but we are called to do hard things. Once you have gotten good at hard things, there is a whole new level of hard:)

If you are ready for a challenge to grow in your faith and overcome this world's low expectations, then you should definitely check out this book!

Victory in Jesus

Victory in Jesus is one of those songs that you love to sing in church. You know all the words to it. This is one of my all time favorites so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! It reminds me of how Jesus has victory over everything :)

Victory in Jesus

Verse 1. I heard on old, old story, how a Savior came from glory, How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me: I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood's atoning, Then I repented of my sins and won the victory.

Verse 2. I heard about His healing, of His cleansing pow'r revealing, How He made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see; And then I cried, "Dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit," And somehow Jesus came and brought to me the victory.

Verse 3. I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory, And I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea, And I bout the angels singing, and the old redemption story, And some sweet day I'll sing up there the song of victory.

Chorus. O victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever, He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood; He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him, He plunged my to victory beneath the cleansing flood.

Beneath the Cross

Beneath the Cross is one of my favorite songs. To me, this song is humbling. I know I say this a lot but, just focus on these words.

Beneath the Cross

Verse 1. Beneath the cross of Jesus I find a place to stand, and wonder at such mercy that calls me as I am. For hands that should discard me hold wounds which tell me come. Beneath the cross of Jesus my unworthy soul is won.

Verse 2. Beneath he cross of Jesus, His family is my own. Once strangers chasing selfish dreams; Now, one through grace alone. How could I now dishonor the ones that You have loved? Beneath the cross of Jesus see the children called by God.

Verse 3. Beneath the cross of Jesus, the path before the crown, We follow in His footsteps where promised hope is found . How great the joy before us to be His perfect bride. Beneath the cross of Jesus, we will gladly live our lives.

In Christ Alone

In Christ Alone is one of my favorite songs. Most of the time I like a song for how it sounds. In Christ Alone is a beautiful sounding song but, if you read the words, it is even more beautiful. I'm gonna put the words down here for you to read. Please focus on what you are reading.

In Christ Alone

Verse 1: In Christ alone my hope is found, He is my Light, my Strength, my Song; This Cornerstone, this Solid Ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled, when strivings cease! My Comforter, my All in all, here in the love of Christ I stand.

Verse 2: In Christ alone! Who took on flesh; Fullness of God in helpless babe! This gift of love and righteousness, scorned by the ones He came to save: Till on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied; for every sin on Him was laid; Here in the death of Christ I live

Verse 3: There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain; Then bursting forth in glorious day, up from the grave He rose again! And as He stand in victory, sin's curse has lost it's grip on me; For I am His and He is mine- bought with the precious blood of Christ.

Verse 4: No guilt in life, no fear in death- This is the power of Christ in me; From life's first cry to final breath , Jesus commands my destiny. No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck my from His hand; Till He returns or calls me home, here in the pow'r of Christ I stand.

Karen Kingsbury

Most of the books I will be talking about this month are more for studying, but I just had to write about Karen Kingsbury:)

I discovered some of Karen Kingsbury's at the beginning of this summer, and I have quickly gotten hooked. It can be so hard sometimes to find wholesome reading in the midst of this world filled with vampires, etc. But I have enjoyed her reading so much. I wont' tell you too much, because I don't want to ruin the books for you, but if you are looking for something to read this summer, I would definitely recommend anything by Karen Kingsbury.

Lies Young Women Believe

This month is my book month. Each post I do will have something to do with my thoughts on and experience with a particular book. One book I have really enjoyed is Lies Young Women Believe (and the Truth That Sets Them Free) by Nancy Leigh Demoss and Dannah Gresh.
My first important thought about this book is that you have to read it with humility. In other words, don’t read it and think that you don’t struggle with any of the things that it talks about. If you do, you may end up like this:

"I think many of the lies I have been believing about God are subconscious; they are slowly coming to light. I used to think that believing them at least somewhat subconsciously was better. I thought that, that way, I wouldn’t be outright believing that God was someone different then He really is. In some ways, maybe that’s true.
But on the other hand, if the lies are believed consciously, they can be recognized and corrected. I will not be lying to myself by thinking that I don’t believe lies.
Some lies that have started to come to light are 'God is not enough and 'God is not really involved in my life.'"

That is an exact, word -for -word, excerpt from a journal entry I wrote. Lies Young Women Believe encourages you to have a journal. There are some discussion questions at the end of each chapter; that was my answer to the question, “What lies have I been most likely to believe about God?”.

Ok, so the main point there is, read this book with humility!

Anyway, here is a basic overview of the book. The book has an introduction that introduces the Deceiver (Satan) and then lists 25 commonly believed lies and in-depth information on each one. My honest attitude when I first read the book was that I didn’t need to hear half of the lies. I thought, “These lies are for unbelievers who have a really hard time with sin.” But, as you think about it more, you realize that we all struggle with most of the lies on some level.
After the 25 lies are listed, there is a great section at the end that helps you identify lies in your life. It helps you see for yourself the things that you struggle with (even if they aren’t in the book) and figure out how to correct them.

I really recommend getting the Companion Guide for this book. If definitely takes a lot of time to work through (I’m still not finished) but it is a great help.

Hope you enjoy!

Be Strong in the Lord

Have you ever heard the song Be Strong in the Lord? If not you should listen to it. The words to this song are very encouraging to me. As you read them, focus on what they're saying. I think this will encourage you with your spiritual life with God.

Be Strong in the Lord

Verse 1: Be strong in the Lord, and be of good courage;
Your mighty Defender is always the same.
Mount up with wings, as the eagle ascending;
Vict'ry is sure when you call on His name.

Chorus: Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord;
And be of good courage, for He is your Guide.
Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord;
And rejoice for the vict'ry is yours.

Verse 2: So put on the armor the Lord has provided;
And place your defense in His unfailing care.
Trust Him, for He will be with you in battle,
Lighting your past to avoid every snare.

Verse 3: Be strong in the Lord, and be of good courage;
Your mighty Commander will vanquish the foe.
Fear no the battle for the vict'ry is always His;
He will protect you wherever you go.


I hope this song encourages you. Have a great day!

All That I Need

I am posting this song as a follow-up to my last post on contentment. I used to LOVE singing this song in children's church when I was a kid.

By: Ron Hamilton "Patch the Pirate" (From "Once Upon A Starry Night.)

When I look around at all this world offers,
I begin to crave the things that I see.
I must keep my eyes on Jesus my Savior.
He has promised Heavenly treasure to me.

All that I need is my faith in Jesus.
All that I need is my home above.
All that I need is my Father's Mercy.
All that I need is my Savior's love.

All the pretty toys shine brightly around me.
All the pretty houses glisten and gleam.
Riches seem to offer peace and contentment.
That is just a lie, it's only a dream.

All that I need is my faith in Jesus.
All that I need is my home above.
All that I need is my Father's Mercy.
All that I need is my Savior's love.

I think the song says it all.

Contentment

Proverbs 30:8 ~ Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.

I have been thinking about contentment a lot lately, and this verse came to mind. I really like this verse because I think the Psalmist hit the nail right on the head when he wrote it. No one wants to be poor. But this verse explains that we don't have to be rich either. When you think about it, being extremely rich and having no one to share your wealth with would be an extremely miserable life. This verse encourages me to be content with what I have. I am neither poor nor rich, and according to the Psalmist, this is ideal. I am so thankful for everything that God has given me, and I should never take it for granted. I have written a lot about thankfulness and contentment, but only because it is something that I tend to really struggle with.

But, we can still be rich in the sense that we have the greatest Father anyone could ever have. My 7th grade social studies teacher told us that he was one of the richest men we would ever meet. He said that there had been times when he'd only had a few dollars in his pocket, but he had great family and friends and a life full of love. So, I encourage you to me like him. Be rich in love, but when it comes to material wealth, be content with what you have.

I Will Praise Him

Though the way seems straight and narrow,
All I claimed was swept away;
My ambitions, plans and wishes,
At my feet in ashes lay.

Refrain:I will praise Him! I will praise Him!
Praise the Lamb for sinners slain;
Give Him glory, all ye people,
For His blood can wash away each stain.

I am always convicted as I sing this second verse of "I Will Praise Him." The line "My ambitions, plans, and wishes, at my feet in ashes lay," always gets to me. I just don't respond well when my plans don't go the way I want. I will plan something out exactly how I want it, and then it will fall through. I know that the Lord has a plan for it, but I have a hard time accepting that when I don't understand what that plan is.

But in this song, right after that line, the author is still praising God. This is always convicting to me. Even when those things happen to me, I should still praise God for what He has done. Our small plans pale in comparison to what God has planned. If we just persevere through hard times, it will be amazing when we get to Heaven and see how God used our circumstances for His glory!!

From Running to Religion

What do you think running and your religion have in common? Anything? Well, I do. The main thing I see is that they both require a great deal of discipline. I mean you're not going to want to get out of bed and read your Bible just like you're not going to necessarily want to get up and run at 6 a.m. every morning. They both require constant training. We must be constantly spending time in God's Word to get everything out of it that we possibly can. Just the same, with running, you must constantly be pushing yourself harder because if you don't you will lose all you had gained. The last one I think about is how they both make you feel. When I get up and spend time learning in God's Word and then praying, I feel refreshed. It helps me to go through the day in a much better attitude and it makes me feel great. Same with running (most of the time...). Most of the time when I run I come in feeling refreshed. Feeling confident that I just accomplished something else that I thought I couldn't do. My purpose for this post is not to make the Bible equal to running, but to a make a practical application. I've shared with you before I learn something a whole lot better if it can be compared to something athletic. I hope this post encourages you! Have a great day! (:

Obey~Respect

Have you ever thought about what obedience and respect have in common? I never really put those 2 together until now. I always thought respect was saying yes ma'am and yes sir... you know stuff like that. I never really thought about respect starting with obedience. I have been wrong about this for my whole life and I am going to try to do better. By not obeying your parents or doing what they said with a bad attitude, you are being disrespectful. They are telling you those things because that's what they think is what's best for you. Whether you like it or not, it's true. I really want to challenge all of us to obey our authorities with a respectful heart. That's what God would want us to do. I hope you have a great day!

Procrastination

Procrastination. I'm sure many of us do this a lot. I know I do. It's very easy to just put things off. In my opinion procrastinating should be put to a minimum. I mean we shouldn't do it. When I think about the best motivation for not procrastinating, I think of Christ. Did He procrastinate about dying on the cross for our sins? If I were Him I would've put that off until the last minutes but He didn't I encourage you to stop procrastinating and just do it. Don't put it off any longer:) Have a great day!

Fear of Failure, a.k.a. Pride

If I had a penny for every time I didn't do something because I thought I would fail, I would be rich right now. I am always terrified of failing and looking like an idiot, so I don't do something and then end up regretting it. I realized how much this related to pride. I had always resented the quote "What other people think about you is none of your business." I argued that it was definitely my business because it was about me. I am very much a people person. I love interacting with other people, and I really want other to like me. I want people to think I'm cool.

I almost let fear of failure keep me from running Cross Country. I knew that I would start out as one of the worst ones on the team, and I didn't want the people my age looking down on me because I was less experienced than them. But, the Lord finally broke my pride in that area, and even though I'm not great at it yet, I am LOVING Cross Country.

So, my advice to you is, don't let pride keep you from doing something that you think you should do. Trust me, the regret is not worth it.

Are You Excited?!?!?!

Do you get excited a lot? About your faith? I was reading through my devotions the other day, and something caught my eye: an exclamation point. It's not often that you see these in the Bible, so when I do, I pay attention.
2 Corinthians 15:7 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" If you ask me, Paul was right on in putting an exclamation point right there. That is definitely exciting. We DO NOT have to live the sinful lives that Christ saved us from. We are redeemed!! Thanks to Christ, we can live in victory. If you are struggling with a sin, you don't have to be! Ask Christ to help you. He will!
This was just a thought I had, and an example of practical things you can get out of your daily devotions. Hope this is encouraging!

Blessings

I was sitting down thinking the other day... well, maybe I was standing... I'm not sure... but anyway... I was thinking about how all the time I am asking for stuff and getting upset when I don't get what I want... that's is not a good way to be. It gets into one of two places... 1. You get in a ton of trouble with your parents and get something taken away... 2. You become a brat and nobody wants to hang out with you. I'm sure there's more but I will just leave it at that. I think our focus should be switched from what we want to what we already have. God has already given me so much and yet I keep asking for more. And the sad thing is, when I ask for stuff it's what I want because I already have what I need. When I think about how selfish I'm being it's really eye-opening. Next time you think about wanting something think about all those people who don't even get what they need, let alone what they want. When I think about that it makes me content with what I have. Not only should we be less selfish on the outside, we need to be less selfish on the inside. We can start by instead of asking God for more tell Him how thankful we are for all He has given to us. Then everybody's happy :) I hope this encourages you! Have a great day! :)

Overcoming Fear

I finally overcame my fear of roller coasters a few Saturdays ago. I went to Carowinds with some of the band people from my school. I had only been on one roller coaster before that, and I was terrified. But my dad and little brother somehow managed to talk me into riding the Intimidator. I'm fairly certain the only reason that I got on it was because I didn't want to look stupid waiting through the whole line and then getting off at the exit once we got to the top. So, I got on the roller coaster, and I loved it!!!!
This fear is kind of like some spiritual fears. But, fearing to do something is not an excuse that Christ will accept. Christ tells us that He will help us overcome fears, so we must depend on Him and "Just do it." One fear that I have been really struggling with is the fear of witnessing. But, Christ has been really convicting me, and I am praying that He will give me strength and courage.
So this week, trust Christ to help you overcome fear. He won't let you down!!

Worry

I know Caroline has done a post on worry before couple of times but I don't think I have... (: Worry have been a problem for me over the past year. I worry about school, soccer, piano, church, etc. I know that God tells us not to worry or be anxious about anything but, in my flesh, I still do. There is no reason you can come up with that is a good enough reason to worry. God is always watching out for us and will never give us more than we can handle. I want to challenge you to not worry about anything but give thanks to God in everything. Have a great day!

Philippians 4:6 ~ " do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. "

Are You Static or Dynamic?

In literature, a character can either be classified as static or dynamic. A static character remains the same throughout a work of literature, while a dynamic character undergoes some sort of change. So my question to you is: in the story of your life, are you static or dynamic?

The reason I ask this is because I believe that God desires for us to be dynamic. Most times in literature, the main character is dynamic. It is important that they change in some way to resolve the conflict in the story. We are all sinners, and it is important that we change so that we can be more like Christ. We must be sanctified. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that we are new creations once we are saved. So, we have definitely been changed. But we must not stop there. We must continue to let Christ transform our lives.

Romans 6:22 ~ But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. (ESV)

The Power of God

Have you ever thought about the power of God? I have but I can't really say I've been awestruck... until now. I had thought about how powerful God was and I knew He could do anything but it never really sunk in... until now. Now that I have reread and heard it again and again I understand. God is all powerful. He is so powerful that when He says something people recognize that He is the Lord. Do you understand how amazing that is? Give me the name of one person that you know of you that can do that. You can't. You can try all you want but you will never find one. There is no other god like my God. He is the most powerful, loving, knowledgeable, caring, etc. God there is. He's beyond amazing and yet so many times we take that for granted. I just want you (and me) to be constantly reminded of how powerful our God is. Have a great day!

It's Been a Year!

This month marks the one-year anniversary of our blog! Breanna and I started this blog on May 31, 2010 (we started it at about 11pm; we were very anxious to have a blog together, and we got one as soon as I found out I was allowed:)). I just wanted to do this post as sort of a fun "lessons I've learned" kinda thing. I'll do one column of fun stuff and then another of spiritual things God has taught me.

Lessons about blogging with Breanna...
~Blogger has all sorts of awesome backgrounds, colors, etc., but Breanna is much better at changing them than I am:)
~Doing 5 posts a month is a very good goal. It's not too hard, but it does keep you busy.
~Blogging is a great way to unleash some of my obsessive-compulsiveness and organizational skills.
~You have to click on "Edit Html" before you can copy and paste! (At first, I didn't know there was a way to do at all on Blogger, and I wasted so much time typing everything out:( Lame, I know.)
~Blogging with Breanna is a great way to learn a lot:) I learn from her posts, and I learn from mine, even if no one else on the planet reads this blog and benefits from it:)
~Accountability is great!

Spiritual lessons I've learned while blogging...
~You need to be able to take knowledge from God's Word and organize it so that it can benefit you and others. (Blogging is a great way to do that.)
~Humility is important, and it must not be false humility.
~There is always a lesson to learn from others; that's why God put us all on earth together.
~It is not impossible to overcome certain sins; you just have to pray about them and work really hard. Worrying has been one of my hardest to overcome lately. It's different than some sins because it's not something that you can just physically stop doing. You have to train your mind.
~God should always come first. Blogging is one of my ways to give God more time and give other things less.

"Lay Aside Every Weight and Sin"

I know Breanna has been doing posts on "Running Your Race," so Breanna, I promise not to steal your thunder:) I just have one thought from Hebrews 12 that I'd like to share.

Our youth leader had his last Sunday at our church a couple weeks ago, and Hebrews 12 was the passage he read to us as a last thought. The phrase about laying aside every weight and sin really caught my attention. I'll put an excerpt from Hebrews 12 here so that you can read it in context.

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (verses 1 and 2)

This passage just really encouraged me to do away with everything that hinders me and serve God completely. "If your right hand leads you into sin, cut it off." If there is something weighing you down, or a sin that is hindering you from accomplishing God's will, get rid of it!!! If there is a person that you can't be around without sinning, stop talking to them! The only thing that really counts is glorifying God and accomplishing His will, so don't let anything keep you from doing that!!!

Run Your Race (Part 2)

Hebrews 12:1-2


"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."





When you read those two verses what did you think about? I love the line that say, "and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..." Again, I want to do an athletic application. Anyone who has run for long distances or has done something similar know that endurance is a hard thing to have. It's not one of those things you just get when you're born... unless you're some freak of nature or something. Some people are determined to have endurance but it comes through commitment. Dedication for striving to do your best at what you're doing. Since I am an athlete, I understand this perfectly... but understanding and doing are two very different things. I know a ton of stuff I should be doing but I hardly ever do it, if at all. But, this is something you can't just let slide out of reach. We must have the dedication, commitment, and endurance to the race God has set before us to bring Him glory. This is easier said than done... but I think I'm up to the challenge. I'm not promising that I'm gonna be a success... I will probably fail a lot but, God is always there to forgive me if I ask Him for it. Isn't it amazing to think how wonderful our God is? Y'all have a great day!

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is not a topic that I like to talk about very much because I don't like "being the bigger person". I don't like having to give forgiveness or ask for forgiveness. I struggle with this a lot because my flesh does not desire to be like Christ. Forgiveness is something that most people I know, and people in general, do not like to talk about forgiveness. People at my church are constantly talking about how Christ died on the cross to forgive us for our sins. But, we never talk about how we should be the ones asking and giving forgiveness. Now me just saying stuff about this topic doesn't mean much so, I will give you some verses to go along with it. We're gonna start out in Matthew 26:28 which says,"for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Christ shed His blood so He would be able to forgive us of our sins. Without Christ dying on the cross we would not have eternal life in Heaven with Christ but instead we would spend eternity in hell. Now I want to look back in Daniel 9:9. It says, "To the LORD our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him." God is merciful and forgiving... shouldn't we be too? There are several more verses that I could put up here but I won't. Feel free to look those up though. I hope this post encourages you! Have a great day! (:

Quotes...

Some quotes I read make me smile. Some quotes I read make me think. And some quotes I read I really just don't get. We read quotes a lot right? Of course we do. Whether it's people putting it up on Facebook or just telling you about them, they're everywhere. I'm not saying they're bad because a lot of them are actually good, though-provoking quotes. What I am saying is that we need to be 'quoting' the Bible first. If we spent as much time looking through the Bible at the many good verses as we do reading quotes from other people, we would learn a lot. I want to challenge you. Every time you read or find a quote I want you to find a verse and read it. It doesn't matter if you're just opening your Bible to a random page and reading a random verse. Just do it. I just realized by saying that I 'quoted' Nike... that was not my intention so just ignore it;). Hope y'all have a great day!

People Need the Lord

Yesterday in church, we sang People Need the Lord. This phrase really stuck me: "What could be too great a cost for sharing Life with one who's lost?". I had been struggling with a possible witnessing opportunity, and I was really kind of scared. We had to do a booklet on irony for English I, and my example of dramatic irony came from Luke 24 where the two men were talking to Jesus after He had risen but they did not realize who He really was. We were supposed to present the projects in class today, but I was trying to wait as long as I could before I could present. So, I'll present mine tomorrow instead. Please pray that the Lord will give me the strength to share Him with others. This phrase really made me wonder why I am so scared to witness. When the song puts it like that, there really is no reason not to. No matter how crazy some people will think we are, we know that they are without something they desperately need. If they do end up accepting Christ, they will thank us for sharing Him with them. I hope this encourages you to share the Gospel with others.
*To view all the lyrics to "People Need the Lord," click here.*

Update: I presented my project and everything went great!

Amazing Grace

Too often we forget about God's grace. Without God's grace we would be on our way to hell. Our God is a God of grace. As you read the words to this well know hymn, think about God's amazing grace.



Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.


T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.


Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.


The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.


Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

Qualifications of a Pastor

Qualifications of a Pastor
You might read that title and go, "why in the world do I need to know this?"... well right now you may not need to but later on you will. We had a sermon on this at church a few weeks ago on it and I thought it was cool. Before that sermon I wouldn't have been able to tell you what they were but now I can. :)

A. 1 Timothy 3:1-7

1. He desires something that is good.

2. Characteristics: above reproach, husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but genlte, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, he must not be a recent convert, he must be well thought of by outsiders.

Ephesians 4


B. 1 Corinthians 9:16-18


1.Necessity is laid upon me

2.He will grieve if he does not preach (vs. 16)

3.Has a strong desire to preach God's Word

We are Called...

A few weeks ago we had Missions Conference at our church. One of the messages Mr. Dodgens preached I really enjoyed. I hope you will too!

Matthew 28:16-20

• We are still called to be disciples (followers) of Jesus Christ.


• He calls us to leave our old life to come and follow HIm.


• We should be completely committed


• John 6:60


• If you are a Christian, you are in Christ


• No man can come to the Father except through Jesus Christ


• We need to turn away all earthly distractions, just leave them behind and come follow Christ.


• Disciple - teaching and baptizing


• Romans 13:11-14 (put on the Lord Jesus Christ)


• We are commanded to "form into the image of Christ"(to become like Him) to be clothed with righteousness


• Philippians 2:2-8


• He livedfor others. He gave up everything He had for us.


• Jesus if the best and only example of how a follower should serve others.

He ended his sermon by telling us this, "For me to live is _____..." You would probably say Christ but sadly, most of the time we are not living for Christ. Just think about this as you go through your normal activities. "For me to live is Christ."

Thought for the Day

Whenever life is going easy we often seem to forget about God. I don't mean completely forget everything about Him... I mean we act like we only need Him when we are having a hard time. I know when I'm studying for a test I ask God to help me but when I'm out running I'm not even thinking about Him. Just because we do it does not make it right. I want to encourage to start thinking about God constantly. Think about what He has done for you. Thank Him for all He has done and pray for His guidance and wisdom everyday. He deserves our praise; we need to give it to Him. Remember to keep God on your mind today! :)

True Freedom

Freedom:
1.the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint
2. exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.
3. the power to determine action without restraint. (*)

Because Christ has forgiven us, we are free, right? But what are we free from? Many people would interpret these definitions in light of what Christ has done for us to say that we are freed from Christ, by Christ. While it is true that through Christ's death we are saved from the wrath of God, that does not mean that we can do whatever we want. People would say that because we are free, we do not have to worry about sin. We are not condemned, so we can do whatever we want. That is not what Christ meant at all. He meant that in being freed, we can make our decisions without having to worry about being defeated by sin. We are free to "determine action without the restraint" of sin.
I have never really had the mindset that I can do whatever I want, but I have struggled with knowing that I can overcome sin. When Christ's blood was shed, He defeated every single sin we would ever have to face. Remember, Christ lived life here on earth and was fully God and fully man. He knows exactly what it feels like to go through your pain, sadness, etc. The only difference is, He went through every bit of it without ever sinning.
So, the next time you are struggling with sin, remember these things: 1)Sin is a big deal; do not just think of it casually. 2)Christ has freed us from having to sin, and He knows what it feels like to be tempted. 3)Look to Him, the author and perfecter or our faith, to help you deal with Your sin.

For discussion:
Lies Young Women Believe says, "Remember: True freedom is found in a vital, growing relationship with Jesus Christ."(**)

In what ways do you think that having a relationship with Christ is freeing?

References:
*Dictionary.com
**Lies Young Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free, by Nancy Lee Demoss and Dannah Gresh. Page 198

Ephesians 1:4

Just a thought for today...
Ephesians 1:4-5 ~ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

I just really think this verse paints a beautiful picture of what Christ has done for us. Not only has He saved us from our sins, but He chose us before the world even began. Christ adopted us into His family to be His sons (and daughters:)). He transformed our lives from those full of sin and bondage to those full of blessing in the family of God.
When Martin Luther "rebelled" against the Catholic Church, these verses were some of the ones that he studied. The doctrine is called Predestination. Martin Luther knew that the church was hiding very many important truths from its people. In those days, only the priests really had access to a Bible. The church members just had to have faith in the priest that he was telling them the truth. Unfortunately, many times, he wasn't.
Anyway, that's enough of a history lesson. So, next time you feel unloved, remember that Christ not only loves you, He has always loved you. Before the world began, He had aleady chosen you for his child. Never forget that!

A Servant's Heart ~ Love

Make me a servant like you, dear Lord.
Living for others each day.
Humble and meek, helping the weak,
Loving in all that I say.

Give me Lord, a servant's heart.
Here's my life:take every part.
Give me, Lord, a servant's heart.
Help me draw so close to you.
That your love comes shining through.
Give me Lord, a servant's heart.
Give me Lord, a servant's heart.

Make me a witness like you, dear Lord.
Showing the love of the cross.
Sharing Your Word till all have heard,
Serving whatever the cost.

Give me Lord, a servant's heart.
Here's my life: take every part.
Give me, Lord, a servant's heart.
Help me draw so close to you.
That your love comes shining through.
Give me Lord, a servant's heart.
Give me Lord, a servant's heart.

The lines highlighted in purple are ones that really caught my attention. This was kind of surprising to me. If we want to show the love of God to others, we must do it by growing close to God. To grow closer to Him, we must (1) read His Word to learn more about Him and (2) spend time talking to Him through prayer. Once we grow close to Him, others will be able to see that we love Him and that He loves them.
I really felt like this was a good concept. I had never really thought about it like that before, but when we spend time with God, others really can sense a change in our mood. On the mornings that I have time to do my devotions (I always do them at night, but sometimes I don't get around to doing them in the morning) I go to school in a much better mood. I am more likely to do well on my schoolwork and interact better with others. All because I "drew near to God."
So, this week, it is my challenge to you this week to draw near to God. I'd love to hear about the difference it made in your life!

Run Your Race (Part 1)

I want you to read this passage. While you're reading it, think about it. Also, you might want to come up with some questions to ask yourself.

• 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 ~ 24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

What do you think about what you just read? What questions did you ask yourself? Well, with me personally to connect an athlete to something is one of the biggest way to get me to understand it because I'm and athlete. I know that in order to win games or run a fast mile you have train, eat the right foods, pace yourself, etc. One thing we all need to realize is that just as a runner prepares for a race, or a soccer player prepares for a game, we must prepare for our Christian race. Now when you win a race or a game you get a prize such as a trophy, but one day you will forget about it or it will be destroyed. What if you don't win? What happens then? Well, you typically don't get a prize. But what about our Christian walk? Does only one winner get a prize? NO! Anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as his Savior and accepts the challenge of following Him will get a prize and that prize is spending time with Christ in heaven. There is no greater gift than that one. As you run this race remember that you are never alone; Christ is always with you. I hope this was encouraging to you! I will try and have part 2 posted sometime this week if school permits:). Have a good night!

Childlike Humility

Tonight was like a flashback from my childhood (even though I'm really not that old). A few girls from the youth group went to sing with the Children's Choir because they only have a few kids to sing this year. So, I went to sing in that, and then after church, a bunch of us teens went outside to play freeze tag. It made me think back to when I was little and didn't have a care in the world. The days of childlike innocence. That made me think of what Christ said in Mark 10:15. "Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."

I have heard that verse many times, but it made me really happy when I read it again. I had been thinking about how sad it was to be growing up and to not be able to return to those times. This verse reminded me, though, that even as I grow up, I should still have a heart like a child's. I never have to get rid of the mindset that I am helpless before God. I cannot do anything to achieve my own salvation. Nothing I can do will even begin to repay the debt I owe to Christ for giving His life to set me free. I can only thank Him for what He did and live my life so that it is pleasing to Him. I hope this encourages you!!

Lord, Thank You

I recently had the opportunity to go to Chicago with my school band. We had an awesome time. Something happened there that really made me stop and think. I was shopping on the Magnificent Mile when a man approached my chaperone. He began talking about how hungry he was and he started begging for money. Seeing that was so sad, but it made me remember how lucky I am to have what I do. God has given me a wonderful family, amazing friends, a great school to go to, a church filled with inspirational people, a house to live in, food to eat, and so much more. And most importantly, He has saved me from the death that I deserve. But most of the time, I take all of this for granted. I get upset when I'm not able to get something new or when I don't get exactly what I want. But what if I was like that man on the street that had nothing to eat?
I don't understand why God has been so gracious to me, being the sinner that I am, but I do know that I am very grateful. Almost every time I watch the news, I think of how lucky I am. It seems that there's nothing on the news these days but depressing stories. Like the one I just saw about the two 14-year-old girls who committed suicide, supposedly because they were victims of bullying at their school. I feel so blessed to go to a public middle school that has virtually no bullying, etc. It hurts me to think of how often I take for granted what God has given me, but I pray that He will help me to always have a thankful heart.

Proverbs 30:8~Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.

O Great God

• O great God of highest heaven Occupy my lowly heart Own it all and reign supreme Conquer every rebel power Let no vice or sin remain That resists Your holy war You have loved and purchased me Make me Yours forevermore


• I was blinded by my sin Had no ears to hear Your voice Did not know Your love within Had no taste for heaven’s joys Then Your Spirit gave me life Opened up Your Word to me Through the gospel of Your Son Gave me endless hope and peace


• Help me now to live a life That’s dependent on Your grace Keep my heart and guard my soul From the evils that I face You are worthy to be praised With my every thought and deed O great God of highest heaven Glorify Your Name through me

Always remember that we serve a great God. I hope this song was encouraging to you; I know they were to me!

Our Purpose

Have you ever thought about what our purpose is on this earth? I mean God must have put us here for a reason right? Well, of course He did. And in this post we are going to look at what our purpose is. I know I've already done a post like this before but I think I need to do it again... I'm not quite sure why though;). Have you ever thought about why God put us on earth? We weren't put on this earth to just enjoy what it has to offer and die. We are here to bring glory to God in all that we do. I struggle with this a lot. It's hard to do everything to glorify God because our flesh longs for the things of this world, not the things of Christ. Just be constantly thinking... is what I'm doing glorifying to God? Hope y'all have a great day! :)

What Are You Learning?

Are you still reading your Bible everyday? I know I haven't checked up on this in a while and also I haven't given you guys any of the past 3 months reading plans... I'm sorry about that:). But my question is, what are you learning? If you are reading your Bible everyday, you should be learning something. If you aren't, I understand why. There have a few times where I read my Bible just because I'm supposed to, not because I need to. I've gone through my Bible reading time without focusing on it and when I was done couldn't even remember what I had just read. With school it can be easy to do that... we are too busy focusing on upcoming tests, or homework we have to do last minute, or, for me, I have soccer game and I'm so nervous I can't focus. None of those things are bad necessarily but Satan can use them to distract us from focusing on God and His Word. I just want to encourage you to read your Bible with a purpose and be learning something every time you open God's Word. Have a great day! :)

2 Timothy 2:22

2 Timothy 2:22~ Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. I hadn't thought about this verse in awhile until a few days ago. I don't remember what I was struggling with, but the phrase "flee the evil desires of youth" came to mind. It reminded me that even though I am a technically a "youth," I don't have to surrender to youthful desires. Christ has given me the strength to overcome these. Instead, I am supposed to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace. This reminded me of the book Do Hard Things. As teens, we can surpass society's expectations for us. We do not have to be a slave to youthful lusts. But, unless we trust Christ to help us overcome them, we cannot do it. I hope this encourages you to overcome youthful lusts and pursue things like righteousness, faith, love, and peace!

God vs. Satan

Spiritual warfare is something that I know very little about. I am not going to try to explain things that I do not understand, but I do know one thing: God's Word says in 1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:." I do not know very much about angels, demons, etc. My goal for this post is just to remind myself and everyone that God warns us to be wary of the devil. He says that the devil is as a roaring lion. The devil is out to get us. We cannot live our lives thinking that he does not exist. Satan is trying to get us to fall into temptation and trying to get us to sin. We must constantly ask God to help us overcome sin. God is so much greater than sin, but He can't help us until we are willing to admit that we need help. For more information on this subject, I recommend reading the "Lies about Satan" section of Lies Young Women Believe. You can also read a post I wrote about Spiritual Warfare here.

God

I said in my last post that I had been learning a lot, even from reading through the Old Testament. These are just a few examples of things that I have learned.

• In Numbers 10:9, the LORD tells the Israelites, "When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the LORD your God and rescued from your enemies." I think God told them to do this because by doing it, the were obeying Him and acknowledging that they needed His help. The trumpets themselves had no special significance. It was the Israelites' mindset when they blew them that affected the outcome of the battle.
• Numbers 11:1 explains how God felt when the Israelites wouldn't stop complaining. I am very bad about complaining and this verse reminded me how much God hates complaining.
• In Numbers 13 and 14, the God sent several Israelites to explore the land of Canaan. They people came back scared and worried about how they would overtake the people living there. God was upset with the people for trusting in their own strength instead of His. This reminded me that I can do nothing through my own strength, but everything through God's.
• Numbers 20:8 says, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.” This reminded me of God's provision.
• In Numbers 20:12, God says to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them." Although this is a sad passage, it reminds us that God knows what He's doing and He demands obedience. Those who don't obey Him and honor Him will not go unpunished.
• In Numbers 21, the Israelites grew impatient. God grew angry and sent deadly snakes to the people. Many Israelites died from their bites. But the people repented and said to Moses, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." Moses prayed to God and God said, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." This chapter reminded me that God honors true repentance. God is a patient God, even when we are impatient.
• Numbers 32:11 taught me that God requires wholehearted service. God doesn't want us to follow Him only when we want to. We must follow Him through good times and bad times.
• Numbers 32:23 reminded me that our sin will find us out. It may seem like we are getting away with something, but God always knows what we are doing and we will all have to give an account to Him one day of everything that we have ever done.

The Holy Spirit showed me all of these things just while I was reading through Numbers. It is amazing how much we can learn from God's Word. There really is no substitute for spending uninterrupted time in God's Word every day.

When Trials Come (Part 2)

Well, hopefully all of you guys read my first post about trials... if not you need to:). So I was playing piano yesterday and found a song that I have known for a long time but I had forgotten about it. I think this fits in well under the category of trials(or help when you're going through a trial). So I hope you all enjoy this song. It's called Lord, I Need You by Ron Hamilton.

"Sometimes when life seems gentle and blessings flood my way, I turn my gaze away from You and soon forget to pray. But when the sky grows darker and courage turns to fear, My anxious voice cries upward with words You long to hear."

"Lord, I need You when the sea of life is calm. O Lord, I need You when the wind is blowing strong. Whether trials come or cease, keep me always on my knees. Lord, I need You. Lord, I need You."

"Lord, help me to remember I'm weak but You are strong. I cannot sing apart from You, for Lord, You are my song. Although I'm prone to wander and boast in all I do; Lord, keep my eyes turned upward so I depend on You."

"Lord, I need You when the sea of life is calm. O Lord, I need You when the wind is blowing strong. Whether trials come or cease, keep me always on my knees. Lord, I need You. Lord, I need You."

Take Note...

I know that no one likes taking notes at school (trust me, I know, I have to take a lot!) but I believe that it is really important to take notes when it comes to our Christian walk. I often am listening to a sermon or reading my Bible and I hear something that I really like. I think, "I am definitely going to remember that." But, I never remember unless I write it down. Whenever I am in Sunday School or a church service, I try to take notes. But recently, I have started taking notes while I do my devotions as well. Doing this has really helped me learn a lot. I used to think that there wasn't a whole lot that I was able to get out of reading the Old Testament. I mean, I acknowledged it as inspired Scripture but I didn't think that there was much I could get out of it to apply to my life. But, I started taking notes and realized that there was just as much applicable stuff in the Old Testament as in the New Testament. I learned some valuable things about God and who He is. And, because God is the same now as He was back then (Malachi 3:6), those attributes are the same today. OK, so I learned attributes about God, but what am I supposed to do with them? Joshua Harris says, "We're either building our lives on the reality of what God is truly like and what He's about or we're basing our lives on our own imagination and misconception." A.W. Tozer writes, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God." The attributes of God are so important; we live our lives based on what we think about God! For example, if we truly believe that God is a just God who hates sin, would we sin as much? If we believed that God works everything together for good, would we complain as much about our current circumstances? I realized all of this because I simply started taking notes on my Bible reading. My next post will give examples of things I learned about God from taking notes. I hope this isn't too jumbled up to understand!

In Awe

Recently, I read a post on the Lies Young Women Believe blog about being in awe of Christ. I realized that that was something I really needed to do better with. I found a quote that I really liked, but I'm not sure who wrote it. It says: ""When we are awed by something—we can't help but pass it on. It's our natural tendency. And if we are in awe of God—we become natural, unstoppable, top-notch teachers." Wow. I don't know about you, but that really gave me something to think about. Evangelism is something that I really struggle with, but this made me realize that, if I am enough in awe of Christ (which I should be according to Isaiah 33:5-6 which talks about God being exalted and fearing Him), I will automatically tell others about Him. How many times have you learned something that you thought was just amazing and just kept it to yourself? None, right? You went and told someone (or probably a lot of people) about it. This made me realize that I need to be more in awe of Christ. But, how do I do that? If I learn more about Him (by reading His Word) and see how truly awesome God is (Deuteronomy 10:17 NIV), I will tell others about Him. Awesome is a word that is way overused in our society. It really refers to something that causes awe, terror, inspiring wonder, or excitement (according to wiktionary.com). I thought that it was really interesting to see that a secular website gave the definition of inspiring wonder. If I am inspired by something, it really impacts me and I will tell people. Because God is awesome, I should feel inspiring wonder when I think about Him, and I should tell others. I really hope this post isn't too jumbled up for you to understand. I thought this was really cool to see how everything fits together.

My Testimony

Doing math can really make you think... but in a different way then you're thinking;). While I was doing math I realized that I haven't shared my testimony with y'all! Here all this time I've just been preachin' away and I haven't even told you how I got save... It should've been the first post that I did but it wasn't... So here is my testimony! :)

I grew up in a Christian home. I went to church every Sunday and Wednesday. We did family devotions every night before bed. We did all those things and more like... pray before we eat... pray before we leave to go somewhere... Growing up like that I grew up knowing about God and about how He died on the cross for me and that I needed to be forgiven for all my sins so that He could make me clean and all that but I never really thought about it outside of church. I would like to say that I was a good kid but I really wasn't... I was actually a mean little girl (to my sister anyways...) but that's another story for another day;). To spite all that I never saw my need for a Savior. Well, not until I was 9 at least. Sometime in November, 2006 our family went back to Ohio (where we used to live) and stayed with our old pastor (Pastor V). One of the Sundays we were there I heard a message in children's church about Heaven and Hell. Now I was 9 and I knew what I hadn't been doing and what I needed to do. That night about 11:30 or so, after me and my sister were already in bed, I told my sister that I wanted to get saved. Being the great sister that she was said that I should wait until morning;)... but of course I couldn't. We went down to where my parents' room was and I told them I wanted to be saved. We talked for a really long time and they showed me some verses and we talked some more. My parents wanted to make sure that I was serious. After all of that I asked Jesus to come into my heart and immediately I just felt awesome! Kinda like when you jump into a cold pool and your body gets all tingly but the difference with me was that I was sooooo excited!!!!! not cold;). So, on November 28, 2006 I got saved at 12:30 in the morning. :D

This is really the first time that I have really shared my testimony... except for when I got baptized. I really hope that all of that made sense to you and that it's not just a jumbled up mess:). Now I would love to hear your testimony! Maybe I can soon:). Hope y'all have a great day! :)

Psalm 2

Now I know with my Psalm 1 post I wrote what I thought they meant but for Psalm 2 I want you to think about what they mean to you. I will put them below so while you're reading them, think about them. :)

Psalm 2:1-12

1Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? 2The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3"Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!" 4He who sits in the heavens laughs, The LORD scoffs at them. 5Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, 6"But as for Me, I have installed My Kig Upon Zion, My holy mountain." 7"I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance , And very ands of the earth asYour possession. 9'You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'" 10Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. 11Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoicing with trembling. 12Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

Do All to the Glory of God

The other day, I was listening to a sermon in church. The preacher said something that was so familiar to me, yet it was exactly what I needed to hear. It was almost like I had heard it so many times that I forgot. He was talking about doing everything to the glory of God. I often have a hard time doing all to the glory of God while I'm at school. I try, but it is really hard when you are surrounded by hundreds of people who don't share the same faith you do. The preacher saying that just reminded me that it is my job to do all to the glory of God, and I can do it if I'm trusting in His strength (Philippians 4:13). Lately I've been praying and just asking God to help me always focus on Him. If I am always concentrating on God, I won't have a problem with saying wrong things, etc. The problem is getting myself to focus on Him. The best way to help with that is to constantly read His Word. The more you read His word, the more you will focus on Him. I hope this is encouraging and helpful!

Psalm 1

Ok so we're going to start going through Psalms. Now this is going to take a really long time because there are so many chapters but we will get through it.... eventually:). So for right now we're going to go through each verse and find out how we can apply that to our own life.

Psalm 1:1-6

• 1 ~ "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners." This verse is basically telling is that we will be blessed if you follow Christ instead of taking the wide path of sinners.



• 2 ~ "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night." This verse is telling us that we should love reading God's Word. It is also telling us that we shouldn't just read it, but we should meditate on it all the time. You can do this by making verse cards or memorizing verses, etc.



• 3 ~ "He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water; Which yields its fruit in its season." I'm not exactly sure if how I take this verse is how it was meant but I'm gonna tell you what I think. Saying He will be like tree firmly planted means that He is strong. The second part I guess means that He is fruitful in His work.


• 4 ~" The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away." Sinners aren't strong like God. Instead, they are like dust that just gets blown by the wind.


• 5 ~ "Therefore the wicked will not stand in judgement, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous." People who don't follow Christ on earth will get sever punishment. They will not be allowed to even be with the righteous.


• 6 ~ "For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish." Those who choose the follow Christ will know Him and He will know them. For the wicked it is opposite, He doesn't not know them and they don't know Him, and they will perish.

I hope this encourages you. If you have any comments or even questions I would to hear them! Hope y'all have a great day!

Living Outside the Box

Have you ever had someone tell you to "think outside the box"? I have had some experiences recently that have taught me to live outside the box and go outside of my comfort zone. Recently, a new girl from Africa came to my school. I was assigned to show her around the school and introduce her to all the teachers, etc. I love meeting new people, but this made me a little uncomfortable. I could hardly understand her accent, and I had to miss some of my classes to help her with stuff. Then, I realized: I really should be spending wayyyyyyyy more time doing things like this rather than spending all my time worrying about me, myself, and I. Most of the time, I just live inside my own little box, and I don't want anyone to bother me. But, I realized that that is a terrible attitude to have, and God has really shown me a lot through this circumstance. So, my challenge to you is: do something that is a little uncomfortable or inconvenient, but ask God to help you grow through situation. You'd be surprised what God can do!!

When Trials Come

Some people like talking about their trials. Some people like to keep it to themselves. Some people just like to go to their happy place and pretend that they don't have any trials. Now I'm not saying that if you aren't going through a trial right now that you are crazy. What I am saying is that if you are truly a Christian and you are trying to follow Christ, you will have trials and if you don't have one now be sure there will be more to come. So far all I've managed to do is basically put you all down in the dumps because you're either crazy or you have problems but if you keep reading it will get better. I promise! Since we are going to have trials, where do we get comfort? Where can we get strength? Where will we find help? The answer to all these questions is the Bible. Now that's a pretty broad answer so let's narrow it down a little bit.

We're gonna start out with Hebrews 13:5. It says, "Keep your like free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."" Now the first part of this verse is important but when you're reading it I want you right now to focus on the last part of it. Now let's move on to our second verse. It is in Deuteronomy chapter 31 verse 6. It says, "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." Again He states that He will never leave you. When you are in the middle of a trial I want you to remember these verses. They will hopefully help you get through your trial.

*I sort of combined this post with another I was going to do about God never leaving you but I think I covered that subject pretty well with this post. I hope this encourages you. I have other verses to go along with this lesson but I think it would be a good Bible study for you to do especially if you're going through a trial currently.

Valentine's Day Challenge

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I would like to challenge y'all with something today. When you think of Valentine's Day, you probably think of candy and roses, right? Well, this Valentine's Day, I challenge you to think of something more important. Think about the greatest love: that Christ died for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Christ loves us so much that he was willing to become like a bondservant and come to earth to die for us (Philippians 2:7). If you ask me, that love is much better than any love here on earth. So, spend today meditation on God's love for you, and see if it isn't much better. Hope this is encouraging!

Again and Again and Again...

Does your life ever feel monotonous? Do you ever feel like there just has to be something more to life? I sure do. Lately, I've just felt like every day is the same. I go to school, come home, do homework, and go to bed. It feels like there is no end to the homework that I have to do, and I feel like nothing fun ever happens. But I came across a post on the GirlTalk blog that completely changed the way I thought about this (you can view it at http://www.girltalkhome.com/blog/changing-diapers...in-christian-faith. It's written for a slightly different situation, but it's the same concept, and I think it's got a lot of truth to it). It talks about the fact that we should feel honored to even be able to do the things we do. We should thank God that he died for us so that we could live the way we do: without condemnation. The things we do may seem boring to us, but we should be thankful that we have the things we do. Instead of complaining about having to come to school all the time, I should be thankful that I have a good school to go to. i hope that this encourages you and that it teaches you as much as it did me!

New Year's Resolution; Checkup

Hey guys! How have your new year's resolutions been going? Mine have been going surprisingly well. I been reading my Bible everyday which is shocking to me because I still can't believe I've done it faithfully for this long! Have you been reading your Bible everyday? If you haven't, I encourage to do it from now on. Now doing this kinda fits in with my post on motivation (which you see in our January posts). I just want to remind you that without God being your sole-motivator, you won't be able to do this. I encourage you to ask God to help you start or keep doing those new year's resolutions. I'm gonna keep checking up on all of you but, I can't ask you everyday so I encourage you be accountable to someone. This will not only help you but it will also help the person you're doing it with. I hope you all have a great day! :)

Scripture Memorization

This is kind of a repeat of what I have said before, but I think it is very important. In the last post, I talked about Psalm 119:11 (to see this post, go to our January 2011 archives). One part of Psalm 119:11 is hiding God's Word in our hearts. One way to do this is to memorize certain verses that talk about things you are struggling with. For example, some areas I struggle with are my tongue and worrying. So, I wrote down Ephesians 4:29 for the tongue and Philippians 4:6-7 for worrying. I memorized these verses so that they will (hopefully) come to mind at times when I struggle with these things.
One thing about memorizing verses, though, is that it can get legalistic. If you focus just on memorizing them but don't do it for the right reasons, it won't help. I will confess, I won an award in my 5th and 6th grade for memorizing all the verses I was supposed to (I don't remember how many it was, but it was a lot. I memorized enough verses/passages to do one every week for two years.). Unfortunately, I don't remember all of them. Actually, I probably forgot most of them. It's not enough to memorize them and forget them. We must meditate on them day and night (Psalm 119:97).
I am trying to get better at focusing on God's Word, because it really gives us everything we ever need. It tells us how to live, gives us God's message to us, etc. We never need anything else. When I think about, I think of how poorly I have done at meditating on it. We spend plenty of time studying our literature for English class, but not near enough reading God's Word. I hope this post encourages and helps you!

Complaining

Complaining is one of my best friends and has been for as long as I can remember but it's not a good character trait to have. Complaining not only annoys others but it also going against what God say in the Bible. In Philippians 2:14 it says, "Do all things without grumbling or questioning". I encourage you to memorize that verse so whenever you think about complaining because you're not happy with that situation you can think of that verse. Now this is much easier said than done. For me, I'm gonna have no choice but to follow through because my Mom reads our blog... 'nough said ;). But some of you may not be as lucky as I am. If you don't of anyone to check up on you then ask a friend or a family member or you can ask me:). The reason that I'm saying to get someone to check up on you is because it gives you accountability. So, next time you're about to complain think of that verse and pray and ask God to help you not complain but to reflect Christ in your response. Hope this encourages. you. Have a great day!

Psalm 119:11

This post is slightly (or very:)) delayed, because I should have done a post on Psalm 119:11 as an introduction post to our blog. I didn't think about that back then though, but, looking back, I am glad. I just heard a really good message preached on Psalm 119:11 and now, I can do a post on it in a whole new light. I wouldn't have been able to do this back then, so I guess it all worked out.
Psalm 119:11 is about knowing why we do what we do. We need to do the right things, but we cannot do that unless we have studied God's Word to know what those things are. We must know the right things that we should do, and the wrong things that we shouldn't do. You can't just do something because your pastor said to. You need to look in God's Word to find biblical truth that supports everything you do. We will have to answer to God for everything that we ever did.
Also, when we read the Bible and hide it in our hearts, it will constantly be in our thoughts. When we read it enough, we will think of what God says there, and put it into practice in our lives. Unfortunately, we will never be perfect this side of Heaven, but reading God's Word will help us to sin less and fulfill God's purpose for our lives.
How much we read God's Word shouldn't be determined by what someone else says. We should be reading it a lot, but when and how much you should read God's Word is between you and Him. There is no certain plan you have to follow, just do what God is leading you to do.
This post is kinda jumbled up, but I hope it gave you encouragement to read God's Word and learn from it!

The Gift of Love

This post is from a sermon I heard last night. The speaker was Evangelist Will Galkin. He preached on the gift of love and how love cares about others not yourself. The passage he used was 1 Corinthians 13. I encourage you to go through and read that entire book but especially that chapter. I'm going to put my notes from last night below. I hope these help you:)

"None of us can be selfless without God."
1 Corinthians 13

• Gifts are made for giving and sharing with love. (gifts can also be talents)
• vs. 2 ~ "if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing."
• Christ was and is completely selfless.
• We need to stop caring about 'me' and start caring about others.
• Love and patient and kind.
• Love is not jealous. Love stops talking and starts listening.
• Love is not caring about 'me' but instead caring about others.
• We need to love and care for others more than we do ourselves.
• Love is not self-seeking.
• Our only idol should be God; not tv, not friends, not sports, etc.
• Your anger reveals your idols.
• We let anger get in the way of our love.
• Don't "keep score" of peoples' faults.
• Love brings hope and mercy.
• Love endures all things.

Some of you may be thinking about that one person that you couldn't possibly love. I did the same thing. While I was listening to this I kept thinking about this one person that I have ignored, disliked, and talked about and thought about it. Could I love? I made a decision last night that no matter what that person (or any person) I would still love them. But only through Christ is that possible. So, I guess this could also be a challenge. I challenge you (and me) to love others more than you love yourself. But remember you can't do it without God! I would like to ask y'all to pray for me because this is going to be hard and I know it will be for you too. I hope this post encourages you to love through Christ alone. Have a great day!

Motivation

I'm having trouble trying to figure out how to start this post... well, I guess I just did:). So, motivation. Are you motivated? If you are, ar you motivated for the right reasons? Now if you think about you can probably think of a whole lot more bad reasons to be motivated than good and I would expect you to. We live in a sinful world and sin comes naturally to us so we need to work at being motivated for the right reasons. So what are some bad reasons to be motivated? Well, you could be motivated to have a girlfriend or boyfriend just because your friends have one, you could be motivated to do drugs just because your 'friends' tell you they're cool. Now that's only two but I'm sure you can think of plenty of others. Now what should be our one and only motivation? Jesus Christ. He deserves honor and glory and praise. If Christ is our sole motivator then we should no problem doing what's right... right? Well, there's just one problem... Because we are sinners, we are also natural God-haters. So, if we hate God how can we want Him to be our sole motivator? We have to accept the gift of Salvation through Christ because He is the only one who can save us from sin. If you have done that, ask Christ right now to be your sole motivator. He alone can save you from sin. He alone can is where you can find true happiness. Christ shouldd be your ONLY motivator. I hope this post encourages you.. and if it didn't make sense let me know so I can fix it:) I'm still half asleep:).

Decently and in Order

Decently and in order... fun subject isn't it? You may be thinking (especially if you're a boy... no offense guys;)) that there is no reason to clean or be organized because if it gets bad enough then someone will come and do it for me. And by this point you're probably going, "ok Breanna, what is the point?" Well, the point is... YOU NEED TO BE ORGANIZED!!!!!!!! Not that I'm being bossy or anything but this is something that really bugs me... and I know it shouldn't but it does. Not only does it bother me, it probably bugs God too. Why do I say that? Because the Bible tells us to do things "decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40). So, if God says things should be done decently and in order then things should be done decently and in order. Now this is easy for me because I'm a little OCD... when it comes to organization... I'm not like some germ freak or anything;). But if you do have problems with doing things decently and in order (like my sister;)) then ask God to help you. He will. I promise:). Well, I guess I better go and do my homework... but I hope y'all have a great day! :)

Doubt: A Companion to Worry

I have done a post on worry before, but I thought I'd do a post on one of Worry's best friends: Doubt. Philippians 4:6-7 tells us, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." This verse is telling us not to worry, but to let God take care of everything. But if we are worrying, are we not doubting that God will take care of us? This is something that I have struggled with, because as I have said many times, I worry a lot. In every situation that I have worried, though, God has shown me that there was no reason to. Everything has been fine in the end. But, I tend to still worry. I thought about it, and realized that if I am worrying with no cause (and there is never a just cause, because God has promised us that he cares for us and will take care of us [1 Peter 5:7 -"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you"]), I am doubting that God will take care of me. I know I am doing this, because God has never given me a reason to worry, but yet I have anyway at times. James 1:6b says, "for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind." I do not want to be like a wave. I want to be steadfast and sure. All of these verses continually convict me that I shouldn't worry. It has taken a lot of prayer and meditation, but I am slowly learning to trust God for everything. I hope that this post isn't to jumbled up and that it helps you!