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! :)

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!

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!

Are You Ready For 2011?

Can you believe that it's almost 2011? I can't. It seems like just yesterday that we were sitting around waiting for 2010. Time definitely flies sometimes! Do you have any New Year's resolutions? I have a few so far. They are:

*Read my Bible every day and read through the whole thing in a year (Breanna and I are doing the same plan this year and I think she is going to post it for y'all).
*Run at least two miles at least three times a week (I'm trying to train for a 5K, so we'll see if that happens)
*Finish the year with all A's (I may have to change that to all A's and B's, but we'll see)

I'm sure that I will think of several more resolutions before the New Year begins. My challenge to y'all, though, is to really try to keep the important ones. I mean, I know that they are all important or you wouldn't have made them. But, for instance, if I don't run 2 miles three days a week, that won't affect me spiritually. But if I don't read my Bible every day, that might. So, I challenge you to at least keep the really important ones, even if those are the only ones you are able to keep. I am sure that there will (unfortunately) be days that I do not read my Bible this year. But I am going to try my best to do it whenever possible, and to make time to do it each day. I hope this post encourages you, and I would love to hear about any resolutions you have made!

The Proverbs 31 Woman

I was reading through Proverbs 31 the other day, and although I have read it many times, I realized that I had not taken the time to fully meditate on everything that it says. As I was reading it, I underlined in my Bible all of the characteristics of the Proverbs 31 woman. I then transferred them to a notebook so that I could look back at them and easily see all of them. I was overwhelmed at all of them, but I was also motivated to ask God to help me be like this woman. Here is the list of all the characteristics:

The Proverbs 31 woman...
~has a noble character
~is worth more than rubies
~is fully trusted by her husband
~lacks nothing of value
~brings her husband good ALL the days of her life (emphasis mine)
~works with eager hands and strong arms
~gets up while it is still dark
~sets about her work vigorously
~opens her arms to the poor
~is clothed with strength and dignity
~speaks with wisdom
~has faithful instruction on her tongue
~does not eat the bread of idleness
~know that charm is deceptive and beauty is vain
~fears the LORD

Wow! That is definitely a long list of characteristics. Some of these are abstract. They aren't something that we can physically do, but we can do things to give us this kind of spirit. But, we can't do any of them without God's help. So, I hope that you will be praying along with me and asking God to help you have these characteristics (I don't know if there are any guys out there, but, if there are, y'all obviously aren't going to have all these characteristics. But, some of them can apply to you too!). I hope this post is encouraging and helpful!!

God's Will Part 2

A little while ago, I did a post on God's will. I said that I had been convicted lately that I need to be seeking God's will in my life. But what is God's will? I mean, some things we won't know until later, but what is God's will for right now? A couple weeks ago in youth group, my pastor did a message on just that. He told us some practical things that are God's will for us today and for the rest of our lives.

1) Salvation ~ God desires for each and every one of us to accept His free gift of salvation.
~2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:4

2) Submission ~ God wants us to be submissive to those that He has put over us here on earth, and ultimately to Him.
~1 Peter 2:13-25

3) Sanctification ~ God wills for us to be sanctified and made more like Him.
~1 Thessalonians 4:3a

4) Soul-winning ~ God wants us to win souls for Him while we are here on earth. We must know how to answer those who question us about our faith.
~1 Peter 3:15

5) Surrender ~ We must be surrendered to God.
~Romans 12:1-2

6) Speech ~ God wants our speech to build others up and glorify Him.
~Ephesians 4:29

7) Spirit-filled ~ God wants us to be filled with His Spirit so that we can accomplish His will for our lives.
~Ephesians 5

8) Saying Thank-You ~ God wills for us to be thankful for everything that He has blessed us with.
~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The Purpose For Our Life

Do you know the purpose for your life? Well, maybe these points will help you. (Psalm 90:1-12)

• The purpose for our life is to glorify God.
• God is our refuge. We worship an almighty, unchangeable God.
• We should have a God - focused life. Life is short and unpredictable so we should be prepared to die by putting your trust in God.
• Life is like a flood, a breath, a story and they end just like that.
• Life is sinful but, by the grace of God we can be saved from wrath. The wages of sin is death. Sin demands God's judgment. The Word of God overflows with grace.
• God is full of grace and mercy.

My Peter Story

This post is kind of hard to write, but here goes...
The other night at church, we had a message preached on the life of Peter. The speaker talked about how even though Peter had a great faith in Christ and loved Him a great deal, when opposition came his faith often failed him. He gave examples like the time when Christ walked on water, and while Peter had faith in Christ, he was able to also. But, when he began to doubt, he fell. Another example is the time when Peter was told by Christ that he would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed. It happened.
Even though we can sometimes look at this story and think that we're better than Peter, it's not true. I have the tendency to think so too. After the message, I began to think about how I needed to try and be a better example to other people and live more like Christ. I prayed and asked Christ for the strength to do so. But, not five minutes after the service I was complaining and gossiping. How could this be? We had JUST had a message about that and I was resolved to live for Christ. The answer is that we are just like Peter. None of us are perfect. Christ can and will give us the strength to live for Him, but we must first realize that it is only through His strength that we can do so. I think this is where I messed up. I believed that I could do it myself without any help. And, I didn't succeed. But, I believe that if I humbly come before Christ and ask for His strength, He will help me be successful.
I hope this post encourages and helps you!!

Decisions, Decisions....

I was thinking this week about all the decisions we have to make in our lives, big and small. I was thinking about how many times that we feel like the things we do today won't affect our future. We think that we can do whatever we want right now, then when we get older we can fix our problems or start over. We think that right now is the time to have fun, to be happy. But unfortunately, right now turns into next month, which turns into next year, etc. Galatians 6: 7-8 remind us: "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." This verse shows us that our actions today do matter. We cannot sow seeds for this life. We need to be laying up treasure in heaven for the only life that counts: eternal life. I was really convicted by this, because I know that a lot of times I do try to sow seeds for this life. I want my life here on earth to be perfect. I want to have a good job, a family, etc. These things are OK and God put these gifts here for us to enjoy, but many times we think about and strive for them too much. I hope that this post encourages you to live for God and sow seeds for the future, for eternal life!

Withdrawing From A Disorderly Brother

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a while.... I've been kinda busy;). These next few points I got from a sermon a couple weeks ago. I hope these are helpful in some way to you...and if they are, I would love to hear about it! Have a great day!!:)

2 Thessalonians 3:6-18

• We should pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
• We should have peace with 1. God; 2. Church; 3. Fellow Believers'.
• We should be a peacemaker by having peace within ourselves.
• We should withdraw from a disorderly brothers and sisters. They could draw you away from God.
• If a brother/sister who has a problem with sin then those who are spiritual can confront them..... lovingly
• We should be reconciled by God and the church.
• Matthew 18
• We should 'note' them and withdraw from them.
• No one should be proud of living in sin.
• We shouldn't gossip!
• vs. 11 - "For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies."
• We should glorify God with our body.
• 1 Corinthians 5
• We should make ourselves an example.
• Paul was a role model for following Christ.
• We should try to be like Paul and be a role model in following Jesus Christ.
• We should be willing to do whatever is necessary to serve God fully!

Actions and Words

Note: My thoughts are WAY jumbled up in this post so I hope you can understand it and that it helps you!
As I was riding in the car a few days ago, I saw a church sign that said "Preach the gospel always; and when necessary, use words." Then a couple days later, I saw another sign that said "Show your faith by your actions as well as your words." These signs reminded me of a song I used to sing in children's choir when I was little. It's called Hippocritter. It goes: Your walk talks and your talk talks, but your walk talks louder than your talk talks. You cannot hide what's inside, it's sure to come out, your words may whisper but your actions SHOUT!" All these things just reminded me that even if we say the right things, our actions are truly the greatest testimony of our faith. We must proclaim to others our faith in Christ, by acting in a way that pleases Him. If we say that we are Christians, our actions must match up with that. We must show others what our faith is all about. We must show them that we are different. Christ has saved and changed us and we will now live for Him.
This post has taken me a while to write (like 3 days), because this is something that I struggle with a lot. It's so easy to just say what we know people want to hear, but not follow it up with the actions that we know are right. We say one thing, but then turn around and do the exact opposite. We need to pray and ask the Lord to help us do the right things. He is the only One who can change us. Being a Christian isn't just about us accepting Christ's free gift of salvation. We must continue to live for Him every day. Every day is a new beginning and we can live for Christ no matter how badly we messed up the day before. If we ask Him to help and change us, He can. He will help us to witness to others through our words AND actions. What we say, how we act, what we wear, all of these things decide what a person's impression of us is. I've heard that when a person sees you for the first time, they form their opinion of you within the first 30 seconds of meeting you. I don't think that you can say much more than "Hello" in that much time, so the main deciding factors are your actions and attitude. I will definitely be praying this week and asking God to help me be a good example to others through my actions and words!
Note: Today (June 23rd) I saw another sign that said, "Preach the gospel always; open your mouth when necessary. I think maybe the Lord's trying to teach me something!! Three signs in completely different towns that say almost the exact same thing:)