Thanks Ya!!

Have you ever just needed a reason to smile? Have you ever thought of trying to be thankful? I know it sounds a little weird but when you become thankful it causes you to think of all the blessings instead of bad things and makes you a little happier! That's another gift from God, He calls us to be humble which makes us thankful which makes us happy. God is a pretty smart, nice dude if you ask me!! :)

Here are some things I am so thankful for:

Thanks Lord for giving me the very breath I am breathing right now.
Thanks for deciding to create me so I can live!!
Thanks for giving me a family.
And a home.
Thanks for putting me in a country where I can praise You.
And say what I feel.
And not be killed because of who I was.
Or what I look like.
Thanks for Your grace!!
Thanks for not setting a limit on how many times we can sin.
Thanks for the never ending mercy!
Thanks for love.
A love beyond compare.
Thanks for hope.
You are my hope Lord.
Thanks for friends!!
Thanks for people who care.
Thanks for caring about me Yourself!!
Thanks for CHRISTMAS!!
LESS THAN 2 MONTHS!!
Thanks for sending Your son to die for me.
Thanks for the best gift I've recieved.
Ever.
Thanks for giving it freely.
To anyone.
Anytime.
Thanks for creating hugs!
And teddy bears!
And snow.
And rain.
And music.
Thanks for thinking of me.
Every second.
I'm eternally thankful to You!
THANKS!!!

Changes.

If your mind hasn't concluded this: time passes. As time passes things change. It's so simple but when it happens we act so surprised. Why is that? I think the worst is when the people we know change over time. It's like one day you know them and the next day you don't. The thing I've had to realize is you have to accept change. Things don't go back to the way they were. The past is the past and it's over and gone... Whether we like it like that or not. Suck much? Umm, yes.

Now for some good news! God never changes! God is the same God He was even back during creation. He is always going to be something stable in your life even when everything else around you is changing. It is just another truth in the saying "On Christ the solid rock I stand" and you can find it to be very true.

So I'm going to make this short and go ahead and wrap up. Things change for better and for worse as your life goes on. God will never change on you.

Please Read This.

I want to start off by saying.. I AM SO SORRY!!

These are the things I'm sorry for not doing:
I'm sorry for not keeping up with my blog like I'm called to do.
I'm sorry for not being as prayerful as I should be.
I'm sorry for not holding my friend's accountable.
I'm sorry for not sharing my faith.
I'm sorry for not showing Christ's love.
I'm sorry for not being real with all of you.
I'm sorry for not being the encouragement I need to be.
I'm sorry for not lifting you guys up, but instead bringing you down.

These are the things I'm sorry for doing:
I'm sorry for being so negative.
I'm sorry for building a wall around my heart.
I'm sorry for caring so much about myself I couldn't stop being sad long enough to help you guys.
I'm sorry for blowing some of you off.
I'm sorry for letting you down.
I'm sorry for everything.

I wanted to make that list so that you guys could see point blank my faults. I'm not going to try to cover them up because that's pride and let's be honest, you guys know that I'm not perfect so I don't see why I should pretend to be. I am so sorry for pushing you guys further out of my life just because I was afraid if you got too close you would hurt me...

I learned recently that by pushing you guys away I was only hurting myself more. I would rather be backstabbed or brokenhearted or ANYTHING than be alone. It's not fair to you if I don't even give you a chance. I never understood how my friends could really like me, but I've got Jesus in me! And I'm so blessed to have friends that love Jesus. When I saw this it made sense.

SO! I want to say again that I'm so sorry and whether you choose to forgive me or not is up to you.. And I can't blame you either way.. I just don't want to leave things the way they are because in life I want to improve my relationship with God and my relationships with others.

I love you guys so much.

Why?

Please watch this first.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX-lafNe3cc&feature=related

This is short, but after I watched this I jotted something down and I want to share it with you.

Jesus was beaten and He was hated on. He carried His cross to where He was to die. He wore a crown of thorns and was flogged; He was in so much pain. Then my Jesus was nailed to His cross and instead of coming down He hung there and died. He never did anything to deserve this. So why? Why did He die? Why did God have to watch His son die? For you. But more specifically, for you in Christ. If you aren't in Christ then all He did was a waste. Don't let it go to waste.

Help?

So far all I've blogged about is just all stuff I've learned. Well, now I've hit a snag. I'm in the middle of a spiritual drought. Which really sucks, because I was doing better than I have in my whole life. Now, things are happening and I'm swamped with life and I can't find God in all this. I want to be so lost in God again. I want to be in awe. I want to be passionate. I want to be forever changed. I just want my life to be for God. I need people to help hold me accountable.

Does anyone know how to help me? Any advice? Any encouragement? Anything?

Lead

Why aren't things different? How come every time you go back to school everything is the same? Should they be different? First of all, yes things should be different. Second, the change you ought to be looking for is in you. When you change everything else will too. Be a leader.

You need to lead, you need to be an example of how a Christian should be and other people may follow and even if they don't you still need to lead just for your sake. You need to trust that God will show and be with you, in you and constantly showing you what to do to be a leader. It's a cycle, you in God and then God in you.

Be a picture of Christ, you should no longer be you, but instead be just like Christ. Is this all coming together? Connect with God and with others to improve realationships like the one you have with God, He loves you and knows you, believe that, and get to know Him through praying and reading the Bible so you can do God's will and be just like Him so you can lead. That's the summary of my most recent blogs. They all go hand in hand together, but then I realized they all do. With God things just seem to fall together. It's so perfect.

In conclusion, Connect, Pray, Read, Have A Relationship, Lead. Step it up, right now is the perfect time.

Relationship

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q49BbfgJbto

To be known is to be loved and to be loved is to be known.

God knows every little thing about us and therefore He has right to say He loves us because He actually knows us. I don't know about you, but I want to be known, I want to be loved. It is all I could ask for. God gave that to me. Now think about this, God wants that from you. Do you love Him? Do you want to get to know Him? Now get this, no matter your answer to those questions be yes or no, He still knows and loves you. The love of God surpasses any love ever and it is so satisfying.

Are you taking the time to experience it?

Believe

Okay, this is something I struggled with big time. I just talked about reading the Bible then you can know all this stuff and it's all good right? Wrong. Knowing is great, but I discovered knowing is nothing if you don't believe. What the heck do I mean? Well, I'll give you an example:

God loves you, you can talk to Him anytime you want and you can always turn to Him. Great, you know that. You know God loves you. You know you can talk to Him anytime about anything. You know that He is always there for you. You know, you know, you know... Awesome. Now, do you believe that?

I hope it makes a bit more sense now. I struggled a ton with this. I grew up in church and I know a whole lot, but it doesn't matter how long I've gone to church or anything like that. Believing is all in you. Either you believe it or you don't.

Next, you may be thinking I know this stuff, why do I have to believe it? You have to believe. I'll show you an example of when it might matter and because I'm a girl I'm thinking of something that applies to girls, so sorry guys, but:

You are a beautiful child of God. You know that. Do you believe that? It matters if you believe that, it really truly does. God made you just the way you are and you are His masterpiece and you are beautiful no matter what you look like. You need to believe that and not just know it because it'll change the way you think about yourself. It effects you.

So do you believe?

Pray and Read

Being a Christian has a lot to do with doing God's will. God's will is basically just what He intended for us to do, that's my simple definition for it. Now, many times people want to do God's will they just don't know how to do it. It breaks down to two things, if you couldn't have guessed, it breaks down to prayer and reading the Bible.

Prayer is simply having a conversation with God. Talk with Him, that's all. It is so important to pray. It helps you grow closer to God and learn more about Him, which will help you learn His will. Let's face it, you have to do what God wants you to, you simply must in order to have the life God intended for you which is far better than any life you could have ever planned for yourself. Talk with God, connect (seen that before) with God.

Read the Bible. I'm guessing you hear that maybe not a lot, but you hear it and maybe you don't know why that's so important. WWJD? Well, that's simple to determine sometimes. For example, if someone tells you to steal something you can ask yourself "WWJD?" and it's pretty obvious. Now think about this, your friends are fighting and they want you to pick a side,WWJD? Sometimes it's so hard to tell. BAM! Haha, I wanted to get your attention because this is important. This is where reading the Bible comes into place, reading the Bible will help you get to know God and what He is like so you can know better what He would do.. or even later what He wants you to do. For example, I've never read Twilight but it's popular so when you read Twilight you know what Edward is like and in parts in the book you can probably guess what he will do just because of what you've read about him. Same with Jesus! Read the Bible and you can more likely determine His will because you'll know Him better.

Learn more than just about God. Learn who God is.

Lazy

Originally I had planned out 4 blogs to write, Connecting was the first one and then there were 3 more. Let me tell you, this is not one of them. I need to read more verses about them and pray about them more before I blog about them, but see I've had so much time to do that and I just haven't. Laziness. I have a tendency to be lazy and say to God, I will obey You.... Later. Do you ever say that to God? Do you ever want to do what He is telling you, but you just don't do it and not because you don't want to, but because you want to do it later? The answer is probably at a point in your life, you were lazy and maybe you still are and if you've never been eventually you probably will be. Let's just face it. Okay great, so now we are all lazy children of God, yay.... Woah, too much sarcasm to handle there.

Moving on, how do we stop being lazy? Well, first off you have to know it'll take a lot of work and if you aren't up for that, why are you a Christian? The Bible said it was never gonna be easy. Second, you have to have a change of heart. You have to want to be different. If you don't want to be different, it's going to be hard to get the drive to actually BE different. Third, you have to, I'm going to repeat for emphasis, YOU HAVE TO PRAY. You have to pray that God will help you become different. You can't become closer to God without Him, you big dummy. I'm saying all this to myself, so I hope none of you think I'm calling you personally a big dummy. The next step, is to LISTEN. After you pray, you have to listen to what God is saying back or else you are having a monologue, you want a conversation. That's what real prayer is. I'll get more into the importance of prayer in another blog. Then lastly, you need to BE different. Yes, God will change you, but you have to help Him out, work with Him or hinder Him, but you need to do something because if you're doing nothing at all you are just putting yourself in a big hole.

So this blog is cut short, but be expecting more. 3 more very soon. I'm so tired of being lazy and so I choose not to be and God's gonna help me out on that. I ask my friends to hold me accountable and if you don't see those 3 blogs on here pronto, find me and tell me I'm being lazy and to pull myself together. I love you guys and I can't wait to grow in God with you. :)

Connect

Connecting is a big part of being a Christian. What exactly am I talking about? Well, there are two ways we connect: connect to God and connect with others. It's our responsibility to improve our relationships with God and others. I'd like to begin with connecting with God because it is far easier to connect with others once you've connected with God.

Everday you have the chance to "connect" with God. What I mean by this is you have the oppurtunity to talk with God, be with God, learn about God and ultimately become more like God. This is really important because you have to learn to be in God and of God and that's a big deal. Be truly passionate about God. Want to connect with Him. How could you not want to be more like God? God's a good guy. If you be like Christ you can most likely bring people to Christ. How do you connect with God? Well, many ways, you can pray, read the Bible, worship or even sit in the presence of God. I'm not gonna lie, it's not always easy, but it's completely worth it.

The second connection, is the connection with others. To bring people to Christ (which is our purpose) you have to have relationships with others. You have to reach out to people. You need to LOVE one another. I can't stress that enough, it is so important to love each other. When you go to school or wherever you go where you come into contact with people you have the oppurtunity to build a relationship with someone. You have the chance to reach out and make a difference just by caring. Why would you let that slip away? Seize every oppurtunity. It's vital. Be DESPERATE with passion to LOVE others.

LOVE GOD. LOVE PEOPLE.

Breakin' In The School Year

As we go back in to the school year we might get swept in to our routine. Maybe you're thinking you don't have a "routine" but then what would you call this: get up, go to school, come home, avoid homework, do homework when forced, eat and go to bed. I'd call that a routine and I know we all do it, but this summer I really had a change of heart and I don't want to go back into the flow of things. We shouldn't have a summer life and a school life, we should have one life and live that one life for God.

Now you still need to do all those things in the routine (except for the avoiding homework, don't do that) but don't fall into a cycle and let be the focus of your life. In the big scheme of things school isn't what matters, yes getting good grades is important, but not as important as showing God's love. This year when you go to school don't worry about the tests, homework, popularity, teachers, etc. but instead focus on being as Christ like as you can be.

For example, at lunch time your friends save you a spot at their table, but you see a person sitting all by themselves at a different table.. What do you do? Most likely you would go sit with your friends, I mean they even saved you a seat! In all actuality though, Jesus would go sit with the lonely person and be their friend, everybody wants to be loved and if we show God's love they get a greater love than they bargained for.

This year it is really important that we stay focused on Christ! Do not focus on school! Be a good student, but first be a good Christian. Show people you care about them. Be a salt and a light to the world. Make a differnce. Don't sit there and think you can't, you're perfectly capable of impacting someone's life so do it, and have fun. :)

Never Alone

Recently I learned something that I don't even know if I can put it into words, but I'll try because it really means a lot to me. There are people out there that hurt you, break your trust, stab you in the back, and give you every reason to be kind to all but trust none. That way of life sounds like the best option, you avoid all the pain right? Wrong! Please don't buy into that lie!

Things are going to happen that will break you. Hurt happens. It's just a fact of life, pain is everywhere, but you don't have to go through it alone. Life is not your own battle to fight. God wants to fight your battles, so let Him. Life is hard, I know it is. Just know that God loves you. Be real with God, He knows everything about you and loves every bit of it. The things you dont' tell anyone, He knows. He knows when you're sad, angry, happy, confused, and everything else. Instead of trying to hide cry out to God, tell Him everything, He WANTS to be with you. He wouldn't have died for you if He didn't want you. I'm not going to lie, it feels amazing to be loved and wanted like that.

Now, when you get it right with God, don't stop there! Find people that love God just as much as you do and they want to help you grow closer to Him. There are people out there you can trust, they may be hard to find, but God is looking out for you and He'll provide. These people are going to be your real friends, and they will love you, be there for you, and actually care! Never settle for anything less!

You are never alone, God is always with you and if you have real friends, they are there for you too. It's amazing! If you struggle with all of this, all I can say is hold on. God is there. If you have all this, you know how incredible it is and now you need to be that real friend to the people who may not have one. We are all a part of the body of Christ if you are a believer and we need to be building each other up, because Satan will be tearing us down.

I just want to leave you with this: Love God, Love People.

Give It Up

Sometimes it's really hard to surrender your life to Christ or as I say die to yourself. First of all, what does that exactly mean? To surrender your life to God means to no longer be you. You have to completely change. You have to give up all your wants, desires, goals, everything. Trade it all for God and His wants, desires, goals for you, and His plan for you. He is offering you everything. When Jesus died on the cross for you, He wanted you. He didn't die so you could be like ok, He died. No take Him, be with Him. That's the whole point. So, stop being your old self. When you become a Christian the old has gone and the new has come, obviously you can't go on living the way you were! I'm not saying over night you'll be sinless. Think of it this way instead: When you surrender to God you aren't sinless, but you begin to sin less. Get the idea?

Next thing, why? Why should you surrender to God and not keep living the way you are? Well, lets face it, you are never satisfied. Only God can satisfy you, stop turning to other things. God is the ONLY thing that can satisfy us! And another reason, you don't know what the future holds. He does, and He loves you so much. He wants what's best for you and He has a plan for your life far better than any plan you could have made for yourself. It makes sense to let Him run your life, it'll be amazing! Why the heck not? No excuses. He is the best way, He is the only way.

How do I know God is going to do all this for you? He did it all for me. He promises to do it all for you and He keeps His promises. God is everything to me. He is my love, my hope, my passion, my comfort, my all, my everything. Why would you skip that? So you could live your life the way you want to? I know a life without God is nothing. It's just exsisting. Give it all to God! Don't miss your chance to live.

Cords

Ok, so today I was feeling not as in tune with God as I normally do. I kinda began to panic and i was thinking why can't I be better? Why can I not get this right? What am I doing wrong? Then when I got to the "What am I doing wrong?" question I realized, nothing. I'm not doing anything wrong. Then I got more confused so I began to pray because confusion is not good and should not be focused on.

I felt like I juts needed to wait, He was going to show me the answer to all of this. I went on about my day a little upset but trying my hardest not to be. I want to grow closer to God, but I can't force Him to show me things. When He shows me it will all make sense and it will just be better.

I began to start cleaning (I know it's weird and I'm not sure why I did but I just did) and I grabbed my phone charger off the floor. It was intertwined with my computer charger, which is totally annoying. Why do cords just automatically tangle themselves? I walked over to a chair and sat down then began to unweave the cords.

They were so tangled. It took forever to untangle them. They got caught in a few spots but were definately being seperated. I didn't even think twice about what I was doing until after they were completely seperated. This is the way they were supposed to be.

What does this have to do with anything? Well God showed me that I was doing the right thing (I was like the cords beginning to untangle) and I hit a snag. As the cords were being seperated they hit snags but they were still on their way. I know they are just cords but we aren't. If you are doing what God is telling you to do and you are completely devoted to Him, but you still feel like He isn't moving in your life, maybe you just hit a snag but you might still be doing the right thing.

You're on your way to where God's intended you to be, so don't be discouraged.

Don't You Get It?

I know it's been awhile since I've posted, but the things I've been learning lately I had no idea how to put into words. I learned something late last night that I guess I already knew and it just became so clear. So here it goes:

Why do people lack so much passion when it comes to Christ? We can go on and on about how amazing our favorite singer is, but we can't go on about how amazing God is? Is it because we aren't sure if He's there? Let me tell you something, God is there. If you don't believe that with all that you are, how can you call yourself a Christian? I'd fill this post with proof that God is God and He's real, but that isn't what I was intended to write about.

Christ came and lived a perfect life. He never lied, never cheated, never screwed up. He spent His whole life devoted to God because He loved Him so much. Then He loved you even more, so He gave everything He had. He was beaten so brutally some of us can't comprehend the pain, then He picked up His cross and hung on it, suffocated and died. He was taunted and made fun of AS HE DIED. DOESN'T THAT MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU?! Then He rose from the dead 3 days later and instead of saying, "Forget you all, this sucks." He STILL just wanted to be with you! He gave EVERYTHING!

Then we refuse to give Him an hour of our time on a Sunday? We don't talk about him to our friends? We wear crosses but refuse to act like we know why we wear it? What is the problem! Are you scared of what people are going to think if you talk about God? Guess what. I think if you don't talk about God you are a cowardly selfish jerk.

HE STILL LOVES YOU! Loves you more than anything you ever dream of. Even if you are a cowardly selfish jerk. Doesn't that just blow your mind? Give something back, give everything you have to Him, it's not yours to keep, let it go, it doesn't matter. God is ALL that matters. Do you get it now?

Youth

I'm sure you know that people look up to you, the people your age and younger do what you do because they want to be "cool" like you. As a Christian you need to use that to make others want to be a Christian. You can make a difference!

Now here is something you might not have known, older people look up to you too. Don't believe me? You should, it's true. They look to see how you handle situations they've been through.. I know it sounds weird, but it's true.

Don't ever think for a second that you can't make a difference because you are young. The Bible say in 1 Timothy 4:12 "Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example for other believers in your speech, behavior, love, faithfulness, and purity." That's cool, isn't it? If you love God, show it and others will notice and maybe you'll ignite something in them.

I know this one was short, but take the time to pick the truths out of it.

Water

This morning I was getting ready for the day and I began to wash my hands. This is a simple thing we all do everyday, but today I took my time. I let the water gush between my fingers and flow over my palms. Then, I began to think, maybe we should all just slow down and enjoy the things God made for us, like the water and as I kept rinsing my hands I realized God was going to teach me something through WASHING MY HANDS! It was very cool and this is what I learned:

In a way, the water was just like Jesus. The water washes us clean and it feels good. The water doesn't just wash our hands but our whole body. It's called a shower and I hope you take one. In the same way, I hope you let Jesus cleanse you inside and out. It also makes you feel good and even better than just water.

Jesus must have known this for two reasons: Jesus knows everything. Also, in the Bible, Jesus refers Himself to the Living Water. John 4:10 "Jesus answered, 'If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water.'"

By "living water" He was meaning Himself and salvation, and that she would never need anything else but Him. The same is true in our lives today, all we need is Him... So I strongly encourage you to go wash your hands. :)

We Live- Superchick

If you haven't hear the song "We Live" by Superchick, I strongly suggest you listen to it. The chorus goes:

We live, we love, we forgive, and never give up cus the days we are given are gifts from above and today we remember to live and to love.

There is a lot of truth in this song, so I'll break it down as best as I can.

We live- As a Christian we shouldn't just exsist. Non-believers exsist. It's nothing special, we need to LIVE for God. He gave us life, let's live it for Him! Why waste such an amazing gift? Just going day by day doing the same thing is a waste of life, it's so lukewarm. Are you wasting life? Why? Go LIVE!

We love- This is my favorite. We need to love, not shallow love that this world portrays, deep and passionate love. Who do we love? Everyone. Love God, love people, love your enemies and your neighbors. The bible says that the two greatest commandments are (all summed up) Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself. Love everyone.

We forgive- Just as Christ forgave us we are to forgive others. It doesn't matter what anyone has done to you, you are to forgive them. Part of forgiving is also forgetting. When we forgive people, that's it. It's over and done with. Forgive all the people you haven't forgiven yet.

Never give up- What would have happened if God gave up on us? I'll tell you, we'd all be burning in Hell. That's the sad, sorry truth of it. We can't ever give up, we need to go tell people about Christ so they can experience Him too. But they can't have Christ if we all just give up. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, so it's stupid to just quit. Don't ever give up.

And the last part: cus the days we are given are gifts from above and today we remember to live and to love- Every day, every second, every breath you have God gave you. So be grateful and remember to live for Him and love and forgive and never give up. That's the least you can do.

In and Out

Why won't my parents let me do what I want to? Why do we have to spend so much time with God? Why does it matter what shows I watch or what music I listen to?

I'll tell you why. It's as simple as this: what goes in is what comes out. I know you think that you know when stuff is right and wrong so it doesn't matter what goes in, you can control what comes out. That is partly true, but partial truth is basically a lie. Am I right?

Watching all the coolest shows and listening to all the new music just isn't good for you. These things are of the world and if you keep letting them in, how long until it comes out? It's like filling a jar with dirt and saying you can make sure none of the dirt comes out. This may be true, but if you keep filling it with dirt eventually dirt will have to come out of the jar. It's the same with us, if we fill our lives with all this world has to offer, we are going to begin to act just like the world. Why did you think most people can't tell the difference between Christians and non-believers? It's because we act the same because we fill our lives with the same things they do!

BUT, on the other hand, it can be the other way around. If you fill a jar with water it will spill over pure and clean. When we fill our lives with Christ and His Word, it's going to show. Just the thought should excite you! Spend time with God and you will begin to act like Him. THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT! Christian means little Christ so acting like Christ is being a Christian. Then people will finally see the difference, and guess what, when people see the difference between Christians and them they can't help but want what we have. That's how people get SAVED! Now that's something to get excited about!

So I encourage you to think about what you are filling your life with and if you need to, make a drastic change! I promise you will never regret it.

Are you filtering what comes in so you can TRULY control what comes out?

Stars

Stars by Switchfoot

"Maybe I've been the problem, maybe I'm the one to blame

But even when I turn it off and blame myself, the outcome feels the same

I've been thinkin maybe I've been partly cloudy, maybe I'm the chance of rain

Maybe I'm overcast, and maybe all my lucks washed down the drain

I've been thinking 'bout everyone, everyone you look so lonely

But when I look at the stars,when I look at the stars,when I look at the stars

I see someone else

When I look at the stars,the stars, I feel like myself

Stars lookin at our planet watching entropy and pain

And maybe start to wonder how the chaos in our lives could pass as sane

I've been thinking bout the meaning of resistance, of a hope beyond my own

And suddenly the infinite and penitent begin to look like home

I've been thinking bout everyone, everyone you look so empty

But when I look at the stars,when I look at the stars,when I look at the stars

I see someone else

When I look at the stars,the stars, I feel like myself

everyone, everyone we feel so lonely

everyone, yeah everyone we feel so empty

When I look at the stars,when I look at the stars,when I look at the stars I feel like myself

When I look at the stars, the stars

I see someone else..."

This isn't some long, deep lesson, but it is something I want to say:
Life can be overwhelming so take a break one night and just look at the stars. It can change you.

Regrets

We all have regrets, whether you chose to admit that you have regrets is up to you. Most people believe you can live life with no regrets and if you have any you aren't living the right way. The dictionary definition for regret is to feel sorrow or remorse for. So for all of you who believe you can live without regrets I am here to tell you you're wrong.

Now I'm sure you are thinking 'well thanks I feel better now' but I'm not done. Just because you have regrets doesn't mean you have to keep them. Recently I've been clinging to a regret of mine and it was eating me up on the inside. The thing that is so hard for people to wrap their minds around is a simple truth: the past is the past and you can't change it now.

A thing to remember is that whatever happened was God's plan so don't feel bad for something that was planned that you can't change, that's just silly. Also, holding on to regrets is a little selfish if you think about it, then you are spending all that time feeling sorry for yourself when you should be giving your time to God. Rephrase: you should be giving His time to Him. Have regrets, we all do. Don't keep them.

What regrets are keeping your mind off God?

Listen

Why doesn't God talk to us like He talked to people in the Bible? They could know with out a shadow of a doubt that God was speaking to them. We pray and talk to God, but He doesn't answer. LIES! That is all lies! God speaks to everyone then and now. Have you heard God speak to you? Or a better question, are you listening?

Picture this:

You look at your best friend and see them talking to people. You start to wonder why they aren't talking to you. You're confused and hurt. You know what would help? Pull out the earplugs!

What does all that mean? It means you may know God and love Him and talk to Him. Did you ever stop to think He's trying to talk to you and to answer your questions? The earplugs are symbolic to things of the world, things keeping you from hearing God. Put all things aside and just truly listen to God. The things He will tell you will AMAZE you, but to be amazed you have to hear what He's saying.

What are your earplugs?

Trust

In Christ you learn many things. I've learned a lot lately and I want to share a couple lessons with you through blogging. Here is one I learned tonight:

God comes first, always. If God calls you to do something, do it. Don't even hesitate. What if something is holding you back? That can be hard, or rather confusing. It doesn't matter though, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords will help. It isn't up to you to break free and live fighting alone. God is there and He will fight your battles. God will make a way whether you see it or not, so don't quit looking for it. Keep seeking God and you'll find Him. He loves you and is looking out for you, so don't worry. Give your burdens to God.

A question to ask yourself: Am I trusting God?

First Post.

This is my first post, so have mercy on me. I grew up in church and accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior when I was very little. That means that I decided to hand my life over to God and let Him do with me as He chooses because I know He loves me and I trust Him. I was your average luke-warm Christian. I went on all the mission trips and to all the camps and came back the same. Not until recently did I learn the power and love and grace of God Almighty. He's changed me and I'll never be the same.

The most recent lesson he has taught me is to be joyful. That doesn't mean slap on a smile and keep walking, it means I needed to give all my troubles up to God and just know that He will take care of me. You know what that means? I can just be joyful and have peace of mind. All I need to do is live for Him and He will take care of the miniscule things.

So I have to ask, have you traded your sorrows for joy?