Our Gracious God

Have you ever had one of those "bleh" moments? They really stink! I had one for a few days. I kept telling myself that God was never able to forgive me, and that I would be stuck forever. Pfft! Okay so I know the truth, but sometimes it is hard to listen to our own advice right? Whenever I find a verse that I can relate to, I cling to it! Last night, well actually, at 2 this morning, I walked into my room and noticed that one of my sticky notes fell off my wall. I was actually kind of mad because I didn't want the sticky note to be on my floor, but rather on my wall! When I went to pick it up, I decided to read it. I remember writing this verse on the sticky note and sticking it to my door because I figured I would read it everytime I left my room! Here is what it said! Pslam 103:8-9 "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever!" I love how things come to us right when we need to hear them! So I know the blehness wont go away right away, but being able to actually go to God and know that He is not angry with me, but loves me more than I can ever imagine really helped. This graciousness of His has also reminded me that we are to be in His image. Does that not also mean that we should be gracious as well? Slow to anger? We are all going to make mistakes, and we are not perfect, but our awesome God will always be there to catch us!

Hard Trusting Him

Well, everyone here but me is asleep. Renske fell asleep about a half an hour ago and that left me to do whatever I wanted. Yesterday, while at Hershey Park, I was thinking. We trust that these roller coasters are safe for us to ride. We put our trust in those who are in charge of running them. Last night, we wanted to get on this one ride one last time. While in line, they made the announcement that they were having technical difficulties and were temporarily closed. Um...that doesn't sound safe to me! Within 15 minutes they reopened the ride. I turned to one of my friends and told her that this wasn't very comforting knowing that there still may be something wrong! 15 minutes is not a very long time! Also, those things that strap you in, how can we really trust them? My question is, how can we trust people we dont even know, and how can we trust in a ride that could end our lives, but yet we can not trust in God? There is nothing that says that God is going to hurt us, but yet we trust something that says that this park is not liable for any deaths or injuries!? I really couldn't comprehend this today. The sad thing is, I am speaking to myself! If we would just put our lives in the hands of God and let Him have complete control, things would be okay! He isn't going to hurt us! His plans are for us to prosper, not to be hurt! If we would trust God like we trusted a roller coaster, our faith would be large! Think of how much our relationship with Him would improve. Trusting in Him would draw us closer to Him!

His Love For Us!

I don't know about anyone else, but I've always had a few questions that just didn't seem to add up when I thought about them. One of them was why did Jesus have to live in Mary's womb? I know that He was born a man, but God can do anything...why not take the easy way through things? I have been reading Max Lucado's 3:16: The Numbers of Hope. In this past chapter, he talked about God's love. He shared many stories of fathers who loved their children so much that they would go to certain extents, but then shared of how God's love is so much greater. Then, he asked the question, why did Jesus have to be carried inside of Mary's womb? Because of love...the God who made the stars and the heavens worked as a carpenter! Why give up the heavenly realms for carpentry? Because of love! I have never thought of it that way before. Of course, I knew that God loved us, but never really thought of the depth of it! Much more than I can imagine! And you know, thinking about it, His love isn't because of who we are, what we can do, or because of the things that we do, but because we are His creations! God's standards are not the standards that the world has set! Forget those! We don't have to be a part of a certain clique or group to fit in with God. It isn't something that is limited! How awesome is that!? To know that the God who created us loves us so much that He would give up the heavens and be a slave to earth! The God who created us does not require certain standards for us to fit in, but that He will take anyone!

You Are Beautiful!

This morning when I was doing my devotionals...the story was about Sarah and how her beauty got her into trouble. She was so beautiful that the Pharoh was going to take her as his wife, because Abraham said that she was his sister. One of the verses that was included in the devotional was 1 Samuel 16:7. Here is what is says : "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." Many women spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to make their outward appearance more beautiful. After reading that devotional...I realized that there were little things that I was doing that was putting my outward beauty in front of my inner beauty. Now, when getting ready for the day, I try to look at what I am doing and ask myself questions. Is what I am wearing bringing glory to God? Am I spending too much time on getting ready? Am I overly concerned about how I look? I wrote this verse out on a pink sticky note and posted it on every mirror that I use in the house. I think that I am even going to put them on my dresser and on the doors to my closet. Next time you feel like you are not beautiful enough, remember what God says. Your outward beauty means nothing, for God looks into the heart!

The Beauty of His Word

The storms came in, and that meant that I had to turn everything electronic off, and this included the computer. I began to just skim through chapters in the bible...ones that I could remember and ones that I just stumbled upon. Isn't it amazing how you can find pretty much anything in there!? Who would have thought I would find a verse in Zephaniah that brough joy? First off...I dont think that I have ever opened my bible to Zephaniah before! Let me share this verse. Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." My God is delighting in me!? No way! He will rejoice over me...with singing!? I really found that that verse just brought complete joy! Let me share something else I came upon. Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Everything, not just a few things, but everything, God works for the good! This verse brought a sense of hope, knowing that no matter what, God works all things for the good for those who love Him! These are just two of the verses that I found, but there were many more. After a while, I realized that God's word is more beautiful than I have ever realized. It probably is more beautiful than I realize now, but thats besides the point! Today was a day of reflection on the beauty of God's word, and I loved it!

Life Is Short

At this rate, I'm never going to get back to the lessons learned from the trip to Ohio haha! This past week, things have been just a little off. The whole email from my friend thing, my car broke down and yet the car was still moving, and I have to work all weekend. I didn't get to bed last night until nearly 2 am, and I had to be up kind of early today because I work 10-4. Anyways, on to why life is short. I had the worst dream I think that I have ever had last night. There was some mad killer at my house while all of my friends were here. The weird thing was, only those who were christians died. My brother, and a few other friends survived. What was weirder was that I survived. This killer went and killed anyone who was close to me...mostly all christians! Only towards the time where my alarm clock was going off did it settle. Someone was trying to "comfort" me and said don't worry you will see them in heaven. The question I ask myself now is, not just for me but for everyone, are you going to heaven? Of course, that is something between you and God, but it was something I was thinking about. All of this bad happened in the dream, but I still had friends here who I know are not christians. I try to analyze dreams and I am horrible at it, but what I got out of this is that sharing the love of Christ needs to be our number one priority. All other things in life are pointless. How can you live life, when you know there are people you know that are living to die?

The Past is The Past

I am taking a break from the lessons I learned while in Ohio. Today was a real struggle. Just things going on. I found a passage though this morning that really helped me to get through the rest of the day. Isaiah 54:4 "Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth." I have really been struggling with things that I have done in the past. The things have just been coming up in my head and it hurts. Tonight, things got ten times worse. 2 weeks ago I messaged a friend, sharing some thoughts with her because I was worried. Nothing in my message to her was completely horrible. I waited for a while and had not received a message back from her. I figured that she had just deleted my message and ignored it. Well, tonight she finally responded. I was in tears after reading it, and basically believed everything that it had said. That I hadn't changed. That I was the same person I was a couple of years ago. Nothing but a fake. Why the heck would I believe that after reading that passage today? Someone brought this up to me tonight...the verse I was holding onto came from God, the message I received came from an angry friend. Which one is more likely to be true? I think that is what got me through. Knowing that no matter what, God's word is always going to be true and what man says can never change that! Remember, the past is in the past...what you repent of, God remembers no more!

Treasures in Jars of Clay

2 Corinthians 4:7-9 "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." One night, Tana shared this passage with us. It was a day that I felt just defeated. It really wasn't the campers, or it really wasn't because I was physically tired...I just felt defeated. I felt like I really wasn't trying as hard as I could have been. My focus wasn't in the right place. I was so "tired" that all I cared about was just getting through another day. I was so glad when I got the hour away from the kids. This passage really helped me regain the strength that I needed. Our power is not from us, but from God! Have you ever wanted to stop doing something that maybe you were tired of doing, but only because YOU wanted to? Your motive is you...not to glorify God. The power is not from us, but from God! Isn't it strange how we are hard pressed, but not crushed? My God is not the God who would let that happen. This verse reminds me of the saying that "God will not give us more than we can handle." He may give us something that may press us on every side, but He will not allow it to crush us. Thats what is so amazing about God. That night, after hearing that...I realized that I was just in a blah mood, and was greatly encouraged by this scripture! Its amazing how God brings about the right encouragement from His word at the right time!

Our Relationship With Christ

Another lesson! So, our relationship with Christ. I've never really put much thought behind it to be honest. When saying that, I mean that sometimes we really don't think about it that much. We go through our day to day lives striving just to get by. What is our relationship with Christ? It's more than just the time when we accept Him into our lives, but its an everyday thing. First off, what is the meaning behind our relationship? For some, it is to please others, and for many it is the genuine love and want to be with Christ. It really made me think after my connversation with Jada last Tuesday night. Her first experience with a relationship with Christ was trying to please her uncle. I even went through that! I remember my youth pastor giving me a little booklet and then calling me the next day and asking if I prayed the prayer. I said sure...I did! I then got off the phone and read the booklet. It wasn't until much later that I realized my reasoning behind it. Anyways...when getting to the point where you are at "God, what am I really doing?", its amazing. I reflect on when I reached that point, and watching Jada reach that point was more amazing. Giving herself back to Christ and saying "God, I mean it for real this time.", it's so awesome! Our relationship with Christ is not about our friends, our family, or anyone else. It's about us and our love for Christ!!

What A Song Can Do

Yet another lesson! During the time when we would wake up in the cabin, and during our chill time in the afternoon, we would play music. After a couple of the days, the girls really loved the song "Does Anybody Hear Her" by Casting Crowns. They would ask for us to play it over and over for them. I really got to thinking when we would listen to this song. Why did these girls like this song so much? After listening to the words over and over, I wondered if it was because they found themselves in the song more than anything. I wondered if they felt like the world around them was all put into place, and that they had no place. That the church was just ignoring them and that they did not fit in. Throughout the rest of the week I worked to show the girls that there was really meaning behind the song. At times I found it really hard to get on the girls level, and any little thing they did I would get irritated with because it was not only disrespectful to themselves, but to God. I learned that in order to help them to understand, I needed to be a bit more compassionate to them. I needed to leave my own sheltered little world and open up to what they had to offer. I found this difficult, but at the same time rewarding. It is amazing what one song can do to open the eyes of many and put meaning behind different lives!

Be Still

"Be still, and know that I am God!" Psalm 46:10! This really meant a lot to me this past week. A couple of years ago, I would have never thought of myself to be ina cabin for a week without my hair dryer. There were many times where I had free time or I was just in a quiet place. Joy of Living is beautiful by the way, so seeing the hills and the trees and the river made me really think about how beautiful God's creation really is. During one of my devotions, I stumbled upong Psalm 46:10. This week was at times frustrating, and at times we were really wondering what God was doing. At times it felt hopeless, like anything we did was not going to matter. When you have nothing else to do during your free time, and the only book that you brought along was the bible, you really begin to enjoy reading the bible! There were times during the day where I thought, "Man, I can't wait to get back to the cabin to finish reading this or this!" While sitting under the trees the one evening, I read over and over "Be still and know that I am God!". I started changing it around, "Be still, and know that YOU are my God!" During those times, God can speak to us in a way that is more powerful than anything else. And God did speak to me. I realized that my busy life at home was taking away from my time with God. While in Ohio, I had so much time where I could just spend it in God's word and talking with Him. So now, in my life, I am going to apply being still, and knowing that He is my God!

Missions Trip 2008 Photos

Well, I am finally home from Ohio and it was pretty amazing. Tonight, I am only going to post pictures that I have. There is so much to share from the trip that I am going to post one post each day. Each post will be something that God taught me during the week. Be prepared for a lot of posts because there is a lot of stuff that I learned. There are a lot of pictures...just be patient!

Happy 4th of July!!

This year is going so fast! It is already July 4th and the summer is half way over. This past week has been crazy. It was spent in doctors office and drugged up at home. We went to the urologist on Wednesday and pretty much spent the whole day trying to figure out what was going on. The urologist was not quite sure what was going on without doing tests. So, he sent me to the hospital to get an ultra sound. The ultra sound showed that there is no stone, but they believe that the stone could have passed without it being strained. My left kidney looked pretty healthy, but my right kidney looked awful. There is an infection in it that is pretty bad. I am still planning on going on the missions trip (nothing could keep me from going). My fever has stayed down for the past two days so that means that I can go. Knutes is having a party at my house all day, but I plan on watching Law and Order seasons 1 through 6 all day. I want to be lazy today, and that I will be. I am hoping to take no pain meds today..because I am not taking them out to Ohio with me. I am so excited for tomorrow. Rachael and I have been counting down the days all week. I get to see my cousin Sara tonight. She is 2 and I love playing with her. I rarely get to see her so I always look forward to July 4th.