Hey girls,
You know what I noticed this morning? Well I noticed a few things, but I realized I had been neglecting my blog here. I have been back and forth thinking about closing it down, or just maybe not posting in it so often. Luckily, I have decided to keep it running, there will just not be posts on the blog from me nearly as frequently. (: So thats good news! But really now.. as I realized that I was neglecting the blog, I also realized I was neglecting something else. Something WAY more important then a silly blog on the internet. You want to take a wild guess at what that is? You guessed it! God. Sure, I have been talking to him every day. Sure, I have been reading the Bible more then once a week. But I made a huge mistake. I was spending more time in Ministry, then I was spending time with him. Spending a good amount of time in Ministry and helping others can be a good thing, yes. Don't get me wrong there. But here is where I messed up. Participating in the Ministry took a higher priority then having quiet times with God and spending time with him. Instead of spending some time with him like I should have been, I would have quick conversations with him through the entire day, spend a few days out of the week in his Word but really never sat down and went, "Okay God, this time is yours. I won't think about everything I have to do or should be doing. This time is all yours." The thing is, that step there is so important. Making the time to sit down and spend time with God, but also saying "You know what? This time is ALL yours and ONLY yours." I think thats where we mess up a lot of the time. So you know I want to encourage you this week to find something that you have been placing before God. This can be anything that you have spent more time with but him. Some examples are a boyfriend, school work(although school is mandatory, you need to know when to stop and give God some time), friends, your job, or even ministry. Everyone will be unique in what they find here. But pray to God for him to show you what is getting in between your relationship. Once he shows you, start working with him on changing that and making God first in your life. Spend some quiet time with him and try to spend time with him every day. You will feel so much more refreshed and loved, and in my case.. I might just have even more love and excitement for Ministry if God is being placed first. (:
Side Note: I changed the background of the blog because the old one got old. I also took the music off the blog until I can find the time to change the music options on there. (: Hopefully its not too pink, and if so then please let me know. Have an awesome day, and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me using the form above. Thanks!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Reality Check: What's Getting In The Way?
Hey girls!
You will never guess what I was doing tonight. I was in bed reading Paperdoll by Natalie Lloyd. Okay, so maybe it is not that odd of an idea to catch me reading at night. But, I had finished the first chapter a few days ago and was just starting to read the second chapter. As I was reading, I came across a few lines in the book that said this,
"The well was about to become a symbol for all the places she's gone (unsuccessfully) looking for perfect love. And the man waiting there is going to offer her a deep, beautiful life that she probably didn't even feel she deserved. She had looked for love in some empty places, but that day love was waiting to show her what she'd been missing. (pg. 41 of Paperdoll)
You might be sitting here wondering, "Okay, that is an awesome passage in the book, but what does this have to do with anything?" Well you see, this explains exactly what I have been doing for so long. Looking for love in all the wrong and empty places. Over and over and over again. But do you know what keeps happening? God keeps calling me back to him. He is whispering to me letting me know that everything is going to be okay, he is here. The funny thing is I am currently stuck in the middle of all of this right now. Right in the middle. In fact, I would be sleeping right now if it was not for the fact I felt like I should pick up the book. And would you look at what God did. But the funny thing is it was not just reading tht part of the book that made me realize that was exactly what I was doing. God connected it with something that had happened a few weeks ago. I was participating in a small group for the youth and while we were all praying, one of the young ladies there had stopped to tell me that she had a picture of a well in her mind. She had felt lead to encourage me that God has so much in store for me. I had gone home giddy and happy that God has so much in store for me, but had never thought that maybe that simple night, God was trying to call me back to him.
As we see in this passage here in the book, Natalie is trying to explain how the well is a symbol of looking for love in all the wrong places. So now you can see how I connected these two together with a sudden understanding of this. God is trying to call me back to him to stop looking for love in all the wrong places. I think I am finally ready to take him up on that offer.
"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8: 38-39
"But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." - Luke 12:7
Both of these Bible verses are amazing, but out of these two the second one really hits home. This Bible verse here is actually reality. When it says that the "very hairs of your head are numbered" this is 100% true. Can you do something with me? Take a section of your hair and start counting. No, really. Try it with me. (: 1....2.....3.....4.....5....6.....7...8...9... Okay. I think you get the point here. I stopped at 9 only because I lost count! (: Out hairs are all together and intertwined, which makes them even harder to count. But I want you to think about something for a second. ALL of the hairs on your head have been counted, and God knows an exact number. Every thought that goes through your head, every word you speak, and where you are right now... God knows. But it is one thing to know that God knows all these things, and another to realize that he cares about all these things. Every one of these little things about you, God loves. Amazing huh? (:
Apparently I am in a writing mood tonight, so I better stop before I write a book. =) But girls there is one thing that I want to make so clear tonight. God, the creator of the universe, cares about you. He is calling you back home to him. Stop looking for love in all the wrong places and going after guys, money, looks, or whatever it might be. You see, we have to remember here that God created you. Let me try to put this in a little bit of a perspective for you for a second. =)
Let's pretend for a moment that you really wanted this brand new dress in the mall. It was an amazing dress. It was pink, sparkly, bright and colorful, and was even 50% off it's original price! In fact, it just might be that perfect dress to wear to prom! After almost a half an hour of begging your mom to buy you that dress, she finally gives in and gets you the dress. You are thrilled to be able to have that beautiful dress to call your own. After thanking your mom a million times you finally try on the dress when you are back at your house. It makes you look beautiful and attractive. Days go by, and you decide to wear the dress to prom. It seemed perfect. (: While you were at prom you spilled some punch on the dress creating a huge stain down the front of the dress. Although this might be really sad and disappointing, your mom bought you the dress and she can always get you another one. The pain caused by the dress getting ruined was not as strong in any way because you were not the one that made, or paid for the dress.
Okay so obviously, you would not be so rude as to not care that the dress was ruined after your mom kindly paid for it. Not to mention there are many things that could take the stain out of the dress now a-days. But, forgetting those little details, I hope you get my point. Because you did not pay for the dress, or make the dress, the pain caused by the dress getting ruined would not be as great. But on the other hand, imagine you had made the dress by hand. It had taken many days and days to put that dress together. Then you had taken it out to prom and ruined it. The pain caused by the dress getting ruined would be a lot worse now that you had actually taken the time yourself to put the dress together.
The point in all of this is simple. God made you, and everything about you. Everything from the fact that you have a freckle on your nose to the fact that your hair is a beautiful brown. He created you and made every part of you beautifully unique. Don't you think you would love something that you spent time time to create? When you create something, it becomes yours and all yours. You love it a lot because it was something that you uniquely made. Same with God. He created every little part of you, and loves you more then you can ever imagine. (:
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13
So girls I want to give you something to think about tonight. What is coming in the way of you and God? Where are you looking for love in all the wrong places? For me personally, I have been longing for acceptance. Acceptance from guys, and from the kids at my youth group. I get hurt so easily simply because I feel they are not "trying hard enough to be my friend" But tonight I guess something spoke to me. Something connected with the fact that I don't need these kids from youth group to feel accepted. I don't need the sweet and handsome boy from who knows where to come and sweep me off my feet. What I need, is a God that loves me and will never leave. And you know what? He is already here! (:
In His Love,
Angelica
Note: Remember that all work on this blog is original and belongs to me. Please contact me for permission if you want to use or take anything off of this blog. Thank you. (:
You will never guess what I was doing tonight. I was in bed reading Paperdoll by Natalie Lloyd. Okay, so maybe it is not that odd of an idea to catch me reading at night. But, I had finished the first chapter a few days ago and was just starting to read the second chapter. As I was reading, I came across a few lines in the book that said this,
"The well was about to become a symbol for all the places she's gone (unsuccessfully) looking for perfect love. And the man waiting there is going to offer her a deep, beautiful life that she probably didn't even feel she deserved. She had looked for love in some empty places, but that day love was waiting to show her what she'd been missing. (pg. 41 of Paperdoll)
You might be sitting here wondering, "Okay, that is an awesome passage in the book, but what does this have to do with anything?" Well you see, this explains exactly what I have been doing for so long. Looking for love in all the wrong and empty places. Over and over and over again. But do you know what keeps happening? God keeps calling me back to him. He is whispering to me letting me know that everything is going to be okay, he is here. The funny thing is I am currently stuck in the middle of all of this right now. Right in the middle. In fact, I would be sleeping right now if it was not for the fact I felt like I should pick up the book. And would you look at what God did. But the funny thing is it was not just reading tht part of the book that made me realize that was exactly what I was doing. God connected it with something that had happened a few weeks ago. I was participating in a small group for the youth and while we were all praying, one of the young ladies there had stopped to tell me that she had a picture of a well in her mind. She had felt lead to encourage me that God has so much in store for me. I had gone home giddy and happy that God has so much in store for me, but had never thought that maybe that simple night, God was trying to call me back to him.
As we see in this passage here in the book, Natalie is trying to explain how the well is a symbol of looking for love in all the wrong places. So now you can see how I connected these two together with a sudden understanding of this. God is trying to call me back to him to stop looking for love in all the wrong places. I think I am finally ready to take him up on that offer.
"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8: 38-39
"But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." - Luke 12:7
Both of these Bible verses are amazing, but out of these two the second one really hits home. This Bible verse here is actually reality. When it says that the "very hairs of your head are numbered" this is 100% true. Can you do something with me? Take a section of your hair and start counting. No, really. Try it with me. (: 1....2.....3.....4.....5....6.....7...8...9... Okay. I think you get the point here. I stopped at 9 only because I lost count! (: Out hairs are all together and intertwined, which makes them even harder to count. But I want you to think about something for a second. ALL of the hairs on your head have been counted, and God knows an exact number. Every thought that goes through your head, every word you speak, and where you are right now... God knows. But it is one thing to know that God knows all these things, and another to realize that he cares about all these things. Every one of these little things about you, God loves. Amazing huh? (:
Apparently I am in a writing mood tonight, so I better stop before I write a book. =) But girls there is one thing that I want to make so clear tonight. God, the creator of the universe, cares about you. He is calling you back home to him. Stop looking for love in all the wrong places and going after guys, money, looks, or whatever it might be. You see, we have to remember here that God created you. Let me try to put this in a little bit of a perspective for you for a second. =)
Let's pretend for a moment that you really wanted this brand new dress in the mall. It was an amazing dress. It was pink, sparkly, bright and colorful, and was even 50% off it's original price! In fact, it just might be that perfect dress to wear to prom! After almost a half an hour of begging your mom to buy you that dress, she finally gives in and gets you the dress. You are thrilled to be able to have that beautiful dress to call your own. After thanking your mom a million times you finally try on the dress when you are back at your house. It makes you look beautiful and attractive. Days go by, and you decide to wear the dress to prom. It seemed perfect. (: While you were at prom you spilled some punch on the dress creating a huge stain down the front of the dress. Although this might be really sad and disappointing, your mom bought you the dress and she can always get you another one. The pain caused by the dress getting ruined was not as strong in any way because you were not the one that made, or paid for the dress.
Okay so obviously, you would not be so rude as to not care that the dress was ruined after your mom kindly paid for it. Not to mention there are many things that could take the stain out of the dress now a-days. But, forgetting those little details, I hope you get my point. Because you did not pay for the dress, or make the dress, the pain caused by the dress getting ruined would not be as great. But on the other hand, imagine you had made the dress by hand. It had taken many days and days to put that dress together. Then you had taken it out to prom and ruined it. The pain caused by the dress getting ruined would be a lot worse now that you had actually taken the time yourself to put the dress together.
The point in all of this is simple. God made you, and everything about you. Everything from the fact that you have a freckle on your nose to the fact that your hair is a beautiful brown. He created you and made every part of you beautifully unique. Don't you think you would love something that you spent time time to create? When you create something, it becomes yours and all yours. You love it a lot because it was something that you uniquely made. Same with God. He created every little part of you, and loves you more then you can ever imagine. (:
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13
So girls I want to give you something to think about tonight. What is coming in the way of you and God? Where are you looking for love in all the wrong places? For me personally, I have been longing for acceptance. Acceptance from guys, and from the kids at my youth group. I get hurt so easily simply because I feel they are not "trying hard enough to be my friend" But tonight I guess something spoke to me. Something connected with the fact that I don't need these kids from youth group to feel accepted. I don't need the sweet and handsome boy from who knows where to come and sweep me off my feet. What I need, is a God that loves me and will never leave. And you know what? He is already here! (:
In His Love,
Angelica
Note: Remember that all work on this blog is original and belongs to me. Please contact me for permission if you want to use or take anything off of this blog. Thank you. (:
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
From The Inside Out- Kristian Stanfill
I found this song today and wanted to share it with you guys. Hopefully it speaks to you all like it has to me today. (:
Friday, March 25, 2011
Becoming a Hopeful Romantic- Interview!
Hey guys! (:
I recently sat down with Heather, the owner of the popular blog, Becoming a Hopeful Romantic. She was such a joy to interview, I decided to share the interview here with you guys. Here is an expert from her blog that will tell you guys what she is all about. =) Enjoy the interview!
"Welcome to A Hopeful Romantic! This "blog" is all about my convictions on everything from dating to marriage, and everything in between! I am very passionate to not only live out a life of purity as God calls us to, but also to help encourage others along the way. I do not and will not judge you no matter what you may have done in your past/are doing; that's between you and God, not me. However, I will challenge and encourage you to give up living your life your way, and to give it to God; the safest place to put it! I want to challenge and encourage you all--boys or girls(though I talk mainly to girls since I am one and understand where they are coming from better), to live a life sold-out for God, and to pursue a life of true purity; Purity of the body, mind, and soul."
Q. What would you say to Christian teens that are striving to live life in purity but feel bogged down by the weight of the world?
Q. Can you tell us the story of how you came to know Christ as your Lord and Savior?
Q. What is your biggest temptation or struggle when striving to live a pure life for God?
Q. How do you keep coming up with fresh content for your blog?
Q. If you could tell other teens who are also striving to live a life of purity one thing, what would that be?
If you guys want to check out her blog, follow this link. (: Becoming a Hopeful Romantic Blog
I recently sat down with Heather, the owner of the popular blog, Becoming a Hopeful Romantic. She was such a joy to interview, I decided to share the interview here with you guys. Here is an expert from her blog that will tell you guys what she is all about. =) Enjoy the interview!
"Welcome to A Hopeful Romantic! This "blog" is all about my convictions on everything from dating to marriage, and everything in between! I am very passionate to not only live out a life of purity as God calls us to, but also to help encourage others along the way. I do not and will not judge you no matter what you may have done in your past/are doing; that's between you and God, not me. However, I will challenge and encourage you to give up living your life your way, and to give it to God; the safest place to put it! I want to challenge and encourage you all--boys or girls(though I talk mainly to girls since I am one and understand where they are coming from better), to live a life sold-out for God, and to pursue a life of true purity; Purity of the body, mind, and soul."
Q. What stirred you to decide to create your blog, Becoming a Hopeful Romantic?
I created my blog, “Becoming a Hopeful Romantic”, during the time in my life when God was convicting me of my morals, where I stand on purity and how precious it is to Him.
The blog actually started off on the website for a Christian magazine (Susie Mag, whose editor is Susie Shellenberger; she use to be the editor for Brio Magazine before it was discontinued).
On the online portion of the website, they had forums where teenage girls could ask each other questions. Some of the most common and popular questions dealt with purity; “When is it okay to date?”, Should I save my first kiss?”, “How far is too far?”, etc. It was through these girls’ questions that I started “Becoming a Hopeful Romantic” through means of the websites blog application, and then I also moved it to blogger.com. I would pick a topic that I saw had a lot of confusion, and I would write about what God has personally convicted me of in that area, and shared it with them. I wanted to encourage girls to live out a complete lifestyle of purity for God, and to take the questions seriously and deeply to Him in prayer, and be willing to do what He convicted them of.
I wanted to be a tool used by God; He was changing me so dramatically in this area, and I found myself becoming so passion for true purity, that I decided to share with others what God was laying on my own heart. I wanted to help girls realize that purity is so much more then simply not having sex until marriage. This is how “Becoming a Hopeful Romantic” took off.
Q. What made you decide to live a life in purity?
Q. What made you decide to live a life in purity?
When I was 15 years old, God started to really hit me hard and heavy on the topic of purity. I found it laying so heavy on my heart that I thirsted for real, challenging, God-convicting answers. I had known of purity rings, and that they represented a girl saving sex for marriage, yet it all seemed a little off to me. I knew God commanded us to save sex for marriage, and I told Him I knew that, but I still felt unsatisfied; I felt like I was missing the big picture or the whole key to real purity. I received a devotional book as a gift called “Pure: Body, Mind, and Soul” by Rebecca St. James. The title captured me—purity? It goes beyond your body? I devoured the book. It was meant to be a 90 day devotional, but that didn’t happen. I couldn’t get enough of it. I had never once heard anyone talk about purity applying to so much more then just being a virgin on your wedding day. This was the beginning of my passion for purity; this was what I had been searching for, longing for. The true, real, complete, God called lifestyle of purity. I then began reading a variety of different books such as “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” by Joshua Harris and “Wait for Me” by Rebecca St. James. I felt God teaching me and talking to me through these books—I did not simply accept what the books were talking about; I took all areas to God, and really felt myself being convicted by God to apply what I was learning to my life. I learned that God calls us to live out a complete lifestyle of purity—body, mind, and soul—and not simply wait for marriage. I became so passion for purity, and I found myself exploring more books, Bible verses, and then deep conversations and thoughts with God. It was a truly life changing time in my life, and I have been passionately striving to live out a lifestyle of purity ever since.
Q. What would you say to Christian teens that are striving to live life in purity but feel bogged down by the weight of the world?
I would tell you to run to God, and allow Him to help you each and every step of the way. God tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” God will help you—He wants to help you! Pray and pour everything out to Him, and then have faith and the willingness to do what He calls you to do!
Living a lifestyle of true, God called purity is not always easy, but it is always worth it! I would also encourage you to find an accountability partner who is older and wiser then you—that way, even when you are feeling the pressure of the world, you can go to this person and talk to them, get advice, have them pray for/with you, and encourage you to continue on your path of purity! James 5:16 encourages Christians to do this when it says “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
Q. Can you tell us the story of how you came to know Christ as your Lord and Savior?
I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior when I was 7 years old.
It was after my family had gone to a Carman concert that I over heard my two older sisters worrying about how none of us kids had gone forward during the alter call at the concert. It was then that I realized that I had never asked Jesus into my life, and that therefore my life was missing Someone very important. I decided to ask my brother how to go about asking Jesus into my life. He told me that I had to pray to Jesus, admit to Him that I was a sinner, repent from my sin and believe that He not only died on the cross for my sins, but also rose again the third day from the dead.
So that same day, I crawled into my bed alone, and asked Jesus to come into my life.
Since then, I have been learning more and more about Him, and falling more and more in love with Him every day! I have learned that it is not just some religion, but a relationship with the King of Kings!
I pray that I will never be ignorant enough to believe that I will ever reach a point in my life where I am done growing in Him’ not until I close my eyes for the last time and awake in Heaven!
Q. What is your biggest temptation or struggle when striving to live a pure life for God?
My biggest temptation or struggle in striving to live a pure life for God is to guard, monitor and purify my thoughts. A thought can happen so quickly, and can sometimes seemingly come out of nowhere, that I find it the hardest aspect for me personally when it comes to purity. However, God has been teaching me to closely monitor what I take in (movies, books, television, people’s opinions, etc) and to see if it matches up to Philippians 4:8. I remember praying to God, and literally asking Him to help install a “filter” in my mind, that would help propel anything bad or inappropriate out, and not allow me to dwell on it. It worked!
Q. How do you keep coming up with fresh content for your blog?
Anything that I blog about comes from something I had recently gone through, something I felt laid on my heart, something God recently taught me, or something that a reader asks me about, that I feel may apply to more girls out there.
This is the reason why my blog posts aren’t all that often like a typical blog tends to be; I only write when one of the above occur. I suppose you could say it’s like an open journal, because I am sharing what God has convicted me of, with other girls, and I encourage and challenge them to talk it over deeply with God, and listen to what He is telling them. For some topics—such as whether to save your first kiss for your wedding day or not—it is especially important for girls to talk to God, and look to Him for an answer, because it will not be the same for every girl. He convicted me to save my first kiss for my wedding day, yet for other girls, He may call them to wait for engagement, or for someone extremely special. In these such cases, it is so important to look to God, and not to me, to find out what He wants for you. For other topics, such as having a pure mind, body, and guarding your heart, God does make it clear what He wants us to strive for, and in that case, I encourage and challenge girls to strive to live it out in their daily lives, yet I always want them to walk away from what they read, and to turn to God, and simply talk it over with Him. This is the key to absolute purity—allowing God to mold you, convict you, and to lead you!
Q. If you could tell other teens who are also striving to live a life of purity one thing, what would that be?
I would encourage them to make sure that they are completely sold out to God and His will, and that they are fully living out the pure lifestyle He is calling them to live. So many girls who sport “True Love Waits” rings are only saving themselves sexually for marriage, but God calls us to live out true purity; purity of the body, mind, and soul! God is with you, He loves you, and you aren’t walking this road of purity alone!
Despite the lies you may hear from your peers or the media, it does pay off beyond your wildest imagination to allow God to take not only the pen of your love story, but also the pen of your life story!
If you guys want to check out her blog, follow this link. (: Becoming a Hopeful Romantic Blog
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Dancing With Jesus- Advice, Support and Prayer
Hey guys,
I wanted to take some time to let you all know about this awesome site called Dancing With Jesus. Dancing With Jesus is a site that recently launched that is there for teenage girls (and guys, although the main target at this point is girls) and is a place for them to go for comfort, support, advice, prayer, and overall just a place to talk to other teenage girls who understand what you are going through. Overall, the main goal is to love each and every one of the people that come through the site and try to help them in any way possible.
Here is the goal, taken from the website.
The goal of Dancing with Jesus is to provide a place for hurting teenage girls to get advice and support for whatever problems they might be facing at the time. Whether it be addictions, depression, loss of a loved one, relationship problems or wanting to find out more about Christ, we want to be there for you. We want to be a friend you can talk to and trust. It is our hope that as we help these teens with the problems they are facing, we will share with them how much Jesus loves each and every one of us, uplift one another through trials, and help equip you to have a better relationship with Abba Father.
The website is: www.dancingwithjesus.org
If you take some time to visit the site and check it out, I would love to hear what you think of it! Feel free to comment about the site, or send me a message letting me know what you think! (: ( You will also be able to find the site link at any time on the right hand side of my blog, with the other links.)
I wanted to take some time to let you all know about this awesome site called Dancing With Jesus. Dancing With Jesus is a site that recently launched that is there for teenage girls (and guys, although the main target at this point is girls) and is a place for them to go for comfort, support, advice, prayer, and overall just a place to talk to other teenage girls who understand what you are going through. Overall, the main goal is to love each and every one of the people that come through the site and try to help them in any way possible.
Here is the goal, taken from the website.
The goal of Dancing with Jesus is to provide a place for hurting teenage girls to get advice and support for whatever problems they might be facing at the time. Whether it be addictions, depression, loss of a loved one, relationship problems or wanting to find out more about Christ, we want to be there for you. We want to be a friend you can talk to and trust. It is our hope that as we help these teens with the problems they are facing, we will share with them how much Jesus loves each and every one of us, uplift one another through trials, and help equip you to have a better relationship with Abba Father.
The website is: www.dancingwithjesus.org
If you take some time to visit the site and check it out, I would love to hear what you think of it! Feel free to comment about the site, or send me a message letting me know what you think! (: ( You will also be able to find the site link at any time on the right hand side of my blog, with the other links.)
Friday, March 11, 2011
Run TO God
Earlier today my little sister was crying over some school work she was frustrated with. She wanted to give up and throw in the towel. She was flat out done with trying to complete the lesson and wanted nothing more to do with it. My little brother who is almost 5, walked in the room after hearing his sister cry. "Are you okay?" He asked her, his eyes full of concern and worry. "Go away!" She had screamed back at him. My poor little brother had turned around and slowly walked out of the room.
After watching this happen as I got ready to do some school for the day, I realized something. All of us are a lot like my little sister. At times we can get sad, frustrated, and angry at God because we can feel like everything we are going through is all his fault. We blame God for things and problems that he is not causing. And I think this is all because we want someone to blame. If we can't blame our father, mother, or siblings we want to blame someone. And in this case, it can easily be God. And you know what God does when we yell and scream at him? He backs off, and waits. He waits for us to come running to his arms, and he will never leave. He will never turn around and walk out that door, but he will wait for you to decide to come to him. He loves you more then you could ever imagine. If you are in the middle of running away from God, I encourage you to stop and do the opposite. Run TO him. He cares so much about you, and wants to be closer to you, not further away. :)
After watching this happen as I got ready to do some school for the day, I realized something. All of us are a lot like my little sister. At times we can get sad, frustrated, and angry at God because we can feel like everything we are going through is all his fault. We blame God for things and problems that he is not causing. And I think this is all because we want someone to blame. If we can't blame our father, mother, or siblings we want to blame someone. And in this case, it can easily be God. And you know what God does when we yell and scream at him? He backs off, and waits. He waits for us to come running to his arms, and he will never leave. He will never turn around and walk out that door, but he will wait for you to decide to come to him. He loves you more then you could ever imagine. If you are in the middle of running away from God, I encourage you to stop and do the opposite. Run TO him. He cares so much about you, and wants to be closer to you, not further away. :)
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus
I found this comic earlier today and I had to post it here. I'm not going to write this super long post, because I want you guys to really think about this. Often times when life gets hard we ask God to "lighten our load" and cut the cross down to make it easier to bear. Christ wants us to choose every day to follow him and do it in such a way that we are obedient to everything he asks of us. Don't ask God to cut down your cross...you never know what he is using it to prepare you for. :)
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