Life's Tough

Get a helmet. I'm kidding! As people we go through so many hard times and as believers there are added pressures and higher standards. For example, a lot of people struggle financially and that's really hard but for Christians they also have to ensure that making money doesn't become an idol, or something put before God. There are many different ways of dealing with issues some successful and others not so much. I thought I would make a list of Do's and Don't's:

DON'T:
Ignore the fact that you're hurting
Base everything you do off sadness
Blame God
Hide everything inside
Believe things can't be better
Wait around on life
Focus on being hurt
Say "My life would be better if.."
Be ashamed
Lose heart

DO:
Pray!!
Tell God your hurts
Open up to Christian friends
Accept God's peace
Remain in God's love


And lastly on the DO list:
Realize that it is okay to be sad, but it's not okay to dwell on sadness. You have got to come to grips with the fact that everything here is only temporary, it cannot last. Why focus on temporary discomfort given by the world when you have the Hope of the world in you? We are fighting a battle already won, so let God have the battle and focus on the victory of it all! In that how could you be left feeling badly? Glory to God. :)

Open

Hey friends, it's been a really tough past couple of months for me so I just wanted to share something that I've learned along the way but I'm going to be very brief.

First, I've learned that you've got to be open. What does that mean? Let me break it down for you, being open is all about having a transparent heart and being honest and letting everyone enjoy the love you have inside of you. Sometimes in order to move past things you have to say them out loud to somebody and get it all out on the table. Do so. Find someone who will always be there and let them be just an ear so you can work through somethings, but also let God be an ear because He is the one that will fix your problems, not your friend who will listen. Always be honest about who you are and how you feel, bottling things up may seem like the best but it can be so hurtful. Also, just know that the love of God is in you and whether you feel it or not it consumes your heart at the very core of who you are, don't keep that from the world! The love of God is for everyone so radiate it.

Wanting and Wishing

So I was thinking about my life and trying to see if it was how it needed to be because let me tell you, it hasn't been near what I want. Soon I realized that my spiritual life is not where it should be because of my wants. When I gave my life to Christ that was me saying I will die to myself everyday so that You may be glorified through me. My wants and desires must die as well. For God to truly be able to use you, you have to be a vessel and your greatest obstacle will be yourself. For example, I was so consumed with what I wanted and what I thought I needed that I spent time praying (because I need God) and then I would go get all dressed up (because I need "that guy") and then I would dance around (because I need to be fit..and not bored) etc.

Now check this out:
"No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other."
"Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."
"Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?"
"And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?"

All of those quotes were pulled right out of Matthew 6. God cares so much about you and He wants what best for you.. so why are you turning away from Him and saying "but I want what I want and You aren't giving it to me so You just hold on" and then going back to Him and saying "I didn't get what I wanted and it didn't turn out the way I planned. Comfort me!" It all seems so foolish, doesn't it?

God has got to be the MOST important thing in your life and NOTHING can matter more or you are being unfaithful. I would say God should be your number one, but He should be your only one. He deserves your best and everything you are.

Here is a great example that I heard:
A little girl holding her two favorite stuffed animals asked her father what he would be preaching about that coming sunday. He turned to his precious 4 year old daughter and said, "I will be talking about how we need to give God our best." She looked down at the toys in her hands and replied, "Well, He ain't getting these!"

Now you may sit there and laugh or just kinda smile at that because I know I did, but so often we are that girl and it is so true. We "love" God but heck! He ain't getting what we want! I mean, we want it. If you take a step back though, it shows two things. First, it shows that God is not as important as whatever it is that we want. Second, we are leaving this life with what we brought into it: absolutely nothing. At the end of the day, God is all that matters because He is all you will have when its all over.

Following Christ is not easy. It may look easier to just quit and live your life the way you want to, but I promise you will find that life is meaningless without Jesus Christ.. so take up your cross daily and follow Him to the end.

Randommm..

I haven't blogged in forever, obviously, so I'm just going to throw in a bunch of little things I've learned lately and hope it makes some sense but if not...nobody really reads this anyway.. I think.

ANYWAY! First, this is something I struggle with so often but it's a simple truth. God loves you and He loves you a lot, but not only does He love you, He actually likes you. He knows everything about you from your greatest moment to your best kept secret and He likes it all.. So why would there be any reason for you not to? Answer: there isn't a reason. Be you! In Christ. You're absolutely treasured and valued by the Kings of Kings and that's totally AMAZING! So love it. :)

Second, God loves you..but don't go thinking it's because of anything you have ever done. God loves you because He made you and because if you are a Christian He sees His son in you. So not only does He not just love you because you baked cookies for the homeless, but it also shows that you can't earn or lose His love by anything you do. HE LOVES YOU! End of story.

Third, life has really rough patches. There are always those days where you want to crawl in bed and never crawl out. BUT! God is comfort. God is love. God is hope..and so much more. Turning to God in time of need is the wisest and most satisfying way to live your life. He wants to help you. He wants to turn those moments of sorrow into an opportunity to draw near to Him..so do it.

Fourth, God's love never leaves us. If you aren't feeling it, you don't have to go look for it! It's right inside you in your soul. Spend time in His word and you will see the depths of His love and then in prayer you can experience how personal the love really is. Our God is the God that is everywhere and in everything. He plays a role in everyone's life everyday. He is for YOU. The best part is: He is completely and totally alive and living..IN YOU!

Last thing for tonight, I love you! Just learn to accept God's love and give it (because you can!). So again, I really love you. :)

Testimony Time!

Okay, so I know the title is so corny but whatever. I'm not creative!! ;) Let me break it down for you. Next week I am going on a mission trip to Phoenix, Arizona. I am so pumped! Now not only do I need prayer for the trip and for me, but I need to work on getting my testimony in simple terms so I can tell people!

Well first, what is a testimony? Dictionary definition says: A public declaration regarding a religious experience. What does that mean? A testimony is basically your story. How did you get to where you are? That's basically what I have to sum up into an understandable fairly short but deep story.

So here's my testimony: I grew up in a "Christian home" basically my family went to church every week and my parents were Christians. When I was very young my sister accepted Christ and I got this idea that I probably should too. I knew that with Jesus I would go to heaven and without Him I would go to hell and..well it wasn't a hard choice for a 6 year old girl. I wanted to be seeing some angels! For most people their testimony would stop here, but mine can't stop there because that isn't when I really think I gave my life to Christ. After I prayed "the prayer" as a little girl I still went to church and memorized verses, but there was church life and other life. Jesus was off in His own category and they never mixed. I put Him off to the side and continued life because I wasn't a bad kid! I made good grades, I respected adults, I believed in Jesus, and I hardly had conflicts with the few friends I had. Life was..good.

Then this weird thing happened. I got older. Then life got harder. I was strong and I took on a lot. I dealt with family, friends, school, hormones, heartbreaks, and the world of the preteen. Then suddenly I was in for a world of hurt. I got to the world of the teenage. OH BOY! If you can't say nightmare I can yell it for you! I realized that life is hard and no matter how "good" I am I CAN NOT do this alone. Life is so meaningless and stressful and hurtful all by yourself. I found God last summer in a way I'm not sure I can describe. I stopped living in the way I wanted to and I connected with my best friend, Lord of my life everyday. I felt a joy I can't express and I found comfort and healing through it all. I gained a new life in Christ with a new heart and a new mind that came with new loves and new priorities. Was life still hard? Oh, you bet your rear end, but I didn't have to storm through it alone. I could just rest in God's peace and love.

I've realized something else too. My testimony doesn't even end there. This is a daily thing where everyday I am called to give up what I want for what He wants and to be honest i don't always, but I wish I did because when I take matters into my own hands I FAIL. Like epic. Yet God never lets me down. I love the Lord with all my heart and follow Him. And that's my testimony.

What's yours?

Like a flame in a forest..

I know I haven't kept up with my blog and I really ought to and I've said I would but no promises. I will certainly try to better about it though. Today I just wanted to share something that I learned today and it really hit home with me.

In James chapter 3, the Bible talks about how the tongue is like the rudder of a ship. You don't even see it and it is so small but so powerful that it controls the direction of a huge ship. It also uses a couple other metaphors for the tongue, like a flame in a forest (hence the title).

Picture this: You are flying over a forest in a helicopter. As far as you can see in every direction there is only a sea of deep green. Now, unknown to you, one man has one cigarette and throws that seemingly harmless lit cigarette to the ground. It ignites a single blade of grass with its dim burning embers..but one blade turns to two..three..four..and threre's still no visible problem. The next week you fly over again only to your surprise there is no green. There where you used to have your sea of God's creation there is vast darkness. Every tree is charred and blackened and dead...and so are the animals.

It's not exactly the image of happiness but in a way that happens all around us and we hardly ever see it coming. Do you know what I'm talking about? Let me put it in terms that seem a little more applicable.

Imagine this: You have an amazing friend, you haven't been friends for very long but you hit it off really well. You are still getting to know each other and you decide to go to a party. Your friend gets to not feeling so well and heads home early. Now the hottie across the room (you know what I'm talking about) walks over and asks if they can hitch a ride home with you because they aren't feeling well. You figure something must be going around and the party is lame without your friend and they are hot so you give them a ride to their house and then head home. It's all innocent and you didn't do anything wrong..but someone saw them get in your car and told someone else that..but that person adds a little more to the story..and it continues to grow. Monday morning rolls around and you head to school. You walk up to your friend to ask them how they are doing but they give you the cold shoulder and start to walk away. You stop them and ask what the deal is. Well, they don't want to be seen with you because they heard you hooked up with someone in the back of your car and then went to their house after.

Was that true? No. Does gossip happen? Yes. It doesn't even have to be that severe. You might just have one friend who tells another friend that you trash talk them and then your on bad terms. Or maybe the tongue destroys in a way that isn't even gossip. Maybe you told someone they didn't look good in that goofy sweater and you didn't mean to hurt them and they act like it's no big deal..but they feel self consious all day. Maybe someone hacked you off and you called them something you shouldn't have and maybe it hurt them a little more than you know.

The words you say matter. Every last one. Your tongue is the most powerful thing in your body. It will make or break people. It will save or destroy people. I'm going to challenge you to something: Next time you have something mean to say and its burning inside you, yell out a compliment. You may get a goofy look, but you'll be much happier with a funny look than a ruined relationship. I promise.

So I have to ask, are your words showing love or spreading hate?