Bugs. They are not my favorite creatures in the world but they are ok I guess. But there's one bug that really irks me, that really really bothers me. The jealousy bug. Grrrrrr it makes me mad!!!
That stupid green creature (yes, I like to think it's green) has been bugging me my whole life! Here's something you should know about me, one of my biggest flaws is that I am an envious and jealous person. Honestly, ever since I can remember I've been this way, just always looking at what others have and wanting that. For some reason jealousy comes natural in me and I have to fight it. Apparently this stupid bug doesn't wanna die! It has been holding on to me for almost 18 years now but I've found the antidote to this burden. Meet my friend God :)
Ok I'm going to tell you about this girl, she's one of my closest friends, pretty much a sister and she's like the best person I've ever met. Her heart is constantly seeking God and she's constantly doing nice things for people and making people happy and it's amazing to see her development and growth as a godly young lady. This girl and I share everything, we talk everyday and we always tell each other about the random cool stuff that happens in our life. Now this girl is so kind and everyone sees that, she's so amazing and people notice that and recognize her for that and that's when jealousy starts to bite me. Confession numero dos of this post is that I'm a spotlight stealer, an attention seeker, it's an old habit from my childhood that I'm also trying to get rid of. Now this combination of jealousy and attention seeking is not good for me because it makes me dislike my best friend. "Well how come she gets all the attention??" Have you ever felt that way?? Ever feel jealous of a friend or a sibling? Well welcome to my life! lol. Literally. Until a couple of months ago I didn't know how to deal with my jealousy, I just shoved it aside or I would hide it or whatever, and then I finally figured out how to control this virus.
The best part about this girl is that she's so nice and I love her soooooo much that I can't help but to feel happiness for her and for everything good that happens to her. The only reason why I can do that is because of God.
I have this virus, this bug that is holding on to my skin for dear life, it feeds off my flesh and it seeks to devour my soul, it's called jealousy. But like any virus, it can be controlled, it's still in my system, it's not dead and it will never die but there's medications to help me control it. God is my medication for this virus. A part of this medication is love, I think about the people that I'm jealous of sometimes and I instantly change my thoughts and try to find a reason for me to love them, the number one reason that comes to me head is "well Christ died on the cross for them, he loved them that much, who I'm I to deny them my love??", then other reasons pop up and all of a sudden the virus is under control. When I think about God's love for them....wow, it helps a lot. Think about it, all this good stuff that's happening to them is because God wants it that way, God knows what each person needs and he knows very well that the last thing I need is attention. lol. He is constantly teaching me things and my number one lesson to learn here is that I don't NEED attention, it is not a necessity in my life.
My second ingredient to this medication is kindness. This girl is amazing and this bug comes up all the time when I'm talking to her, this reoccurring appearance reminds me that I need to be a kinder person. Ever get jealous of someone who has less than you? Cause I sure don't. Now Christ was as kind as kind can get, if dying on a cross to save a bunch of non deserving brats doesn't scream kindness to you then I don't know what does. haha. But seriously, getting jealous only reveals my lack of kindness towards people because I am not having a "pleasant disposition" towards the situation. I am called to pursue godliness and one of the ways to that is by being kind.
And finally we have humility. Now this one is probably the one I struggle with the most because being humble is one of those lessons that God has been trying to teach me my whole life and I've just been missing it COMPLETELY!! Kind of like trigonometry. lol. But it takes a humble heart to recognize its own faults and now I can admit my jealousy to myself. When I was a child my mother was the one calling me out on it all the time and I always told her she was wrong, that I wasn't jealous and I would push it aside but that bug kept holding on to me. Now a days I look at the situation and I can recognize when that bug is biting and I choose to feel the bite, to take it, to deal with the pain of it but I also choose to fight it.
God has given me this amazing friendship with this girl and it is such a godly friendship, such an spiritual upliftment but my favorite part of this friendship is that it helps me control this virus. Let me tell you how, God uses her as a great, shiny light to people (including me), this stupid bug apparently doesn't like that light so it starts biting me but I, being the intelligent child of God that I am, can feel the virus coming so I use the tools that God has given me to fight it. Fighting my jealousy means fighting my sin, winning a battle against my sin means winning a battle against the devil because he wants me to give in to jealousy, he knows that that can make me bitter and it can consume me to the point where I will question God's choices for my life. When you have a cold the first thing you do is deal with it, you take some medicine, take a bath, do whatever it is you have to do to make it go away. That's the same reaction I have to my jealousy, I do whatever it is I have to do to make sure that I'll be all better again soon.
If you are a fellow carrier of this virus then I hope this can help you, I hope you recognize that it's there because it's the first step to healing. If you are not then I hope you can find your own virus, because whether it is jealousy or bitterness or lust or pride or whatever the ONE thing that they have in common is that they share the same antidote: GOD!!!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
I Will Not Shut Up!!
In case you haven't noticed I'm a pretty strong opinionated girl and I have a strong christian faith, put these two together and it is a recipe for disaster, or greatness, whichever way God wants to use it. lol. If it is for greatness I'll tell you this, it's for His glory.
Now what inspired this post was a conversation (or rather an argument) that I had with my siblings a couple of days ago. In my household, I'm the only strong christian, my brother is saved but he's just starting in the faith and my other 2 siblings and my parents are catholic but they are not strong catholics. Now God is gracious and every once in a while he'll open little windows for me to talk about the gospel with my family. A couple of nights ago my siblings and I were all sitting in the kitchen and for some reason we got to the topic of religion, now I LOVE talking about the bible and God. I love it! I can do it 24/7 and my siblings are very aware of that because I do it all the time.
My siblings kept making arguments and arguments but it all came down to this: Please shut up. Just shut up. Just don't talk to us about that stuff, don't go out and evangelize people! See in their heads no one wants to hear that, and I get it, they are probably right because before I was saved I also didn't want to hear that. God has become such a "whatever" in our society that it's easier to go with the flow than to "bother" people with our beliefs. Now my sister kept telling me "it's just rude to go up to someone and tell them they are wrong because in their religion they are right and you are just disrespecting their beliefs. You people are rude and you don't respect what others think, you think you are right". Now let me break that down, first of all it's only rude if we don't approach it with love. Christians are supposed to evangelize but the key ingredient in that is L.O.V.E. It is because of love that Christ died, it is because of love that we share the gospel with people. Yes they are wrong! Excuse me but I'm the type of person that accepts when I'm wrong and I do my best to change it. Not every religion can be right and the reality is that Christianity is the reality. How do I know? The same way you know when you love a special person, my heart tells me. Cheesy huh? But think about it, you are sure you love someone, oh really? How?
I can feel God in my heart, the same way you feel that you love someone I feel God. I know Christ IS real because my heart recognizes it. Love and faith go hand in hand and I think that the moment someone proves to me that love doesn't exist, that's when I will say "Ok. God doesn't exist" because God IS love!! No I'm not disrespecting their believes, I'm trying to help them see reality and trust me, I do my best to be very subtle about things.
My siblings are begin me to stop evangelizing inside my house, to not tell them about the bible or relate verses to life but I will not do that. I know that the devil is trying to bring me down, if I do that he wins this battle and that's a pleasure I will NOT give him. The whole theme of the summer between me and God has been BE STRONG. I have no idea why but he keeps doing these little things and giving me these little challenges to build me up and he has sent me a couple of verses about staying strong (1 Corinthians 13:15, Joshua 1:9, 2 Samuel 10:12, Philippians 4:13) and about being strong in Him. I don't know why but I can tell you I have my guard up and my armor ready (Ephesians 6) because something is coming and this spiritual war is not getting any easier anytime soon. I love the gospel and the one thing I love about the gospel is that it got to me, that someway somehow the truth came to me and I was able to grasp it and embrace it. How can I shut up about the one thing that made me who I am today??
No. I will not apologize for being loud and proud about my faith and our God and the gospel. With some help, I've come to realize that my family needs me so much! God needs me inside my household because I'm the only person that can shine light on them. My gosh, every time I talk to my siblings I see how much they need God. I love these kids to death and I wish they would realize how amazing God is, they've had bad experiences with Christians so they let that get in the way of their relationship with God. I pray for their salvation all the time and I wish we would have had better experiences with christians but that's not possible, therefore my job is to show them what a christian is really like. To lead by example. To cover myself in God's truth and love so that they may see His great work, the great work He has done in me.
I won't stop telling people about God. Ever. He's telling me to be strong but he's also telling me to be brave, I'm going to need those two qualities if I want to do my job right. My job is to present the information about the gospel, to plant those seeds in the hearts of people, the Holy Spirit takes care of the rest.
I've been thinking a lot about the Olympics and the determination of these athletes, the commitment, and it makes me think. Committing to something like a sport is ok but committing to my religion is not? Well society, aren't you confusing? haha. I'm not an olympian but I am a warrior, man I wish I could be as determined as those guys. I want to seek God like they want to win that gold medal. I want to be that awesome warrior that always stands out in a movie? Ever seen the Lord of the Rings? Ever seen Aragorn? Dude is boss! Well that's how I want to be, I want to fight this spiritual war and win it for God's glory, in His name, and I know he's right next to me all the time!!
If you are NOT saved then I want to ask you a couple of questions: Can YOU handle the truth? What do YOU think of Christ?? Not religion, not christians, CHRIST!! Yeah I know you don't want to hear the gospel, but this isn't about what you want, it's about what you NEED!! Who says I want to take math next year? I hate math!! But this isn't about what I want, it's about what I need, I need that math credit to graduate, if I choose not to take it I won't graduate. You NEED the gospel, if you choose not to grasp it you are choosing eternal suffering. I don't want that for you!! Don't forget I wasn't always saved, I was once in your spot. That's why I want to share the gospel, because it's scary to think that....I could still be in your spot. Thank God I'm not. Thank God I'm free to share the gospel.
I will not shut up, not unless God tells me to and in all honesty, I don't see him doing that anytime soon :)
Now what inspired this post was a conversation (or rather an argument) that I had with my siblings a couple of days ago. In my household, I'm the only strong christian, my brother is saved but he's just starting in the faith and my other 2 siblings and my parents are catholic but they are not strong catholics. Now God is gracious and every once in a while he'll open little windows for me to talk about the gospel with my family. A couple of nights ago my siblings and I were all sitting in the kitchen and for some reason we got to the topic of religion, now I LOVE talking about the bible and God. I love it! I can do it 24/7 and my siblings are very aware of that because I do it all the time.
My siblings kept making arguments and arguments but it all came down to this: Please shut up. Just shut up. Just don't talk to us about that stuff, don't go out and evangelize people! See in their heads no one wants to hear that, and I get it, they are probably right because before I was saved I also didn't want to hear that. God has become such a "whatever" in our society that it's easier to go with the flow than to "bother" people with our beliefs. Now my sister kept telling me "it's just rude to go up to someone and tell them they are wrong because in their religion they are right and you are just disrespecting their beliefs. You people are rude and you don't respect what others think, you think you are right". Now let me break that down, first of all it's only rude if we don't approach it with love. Christians are supposed to evangelize but the key ingredient in that is L.O.V.E. It is because of love that Christ died, it is because of love that we share the gospel with people. Yes they are wrong! Excuse me but I'm the type of person that accepts when I'm wrong and I do my best to change it. Not every religion can be right and the reality is that Christianity is the reality. How do I know? The same way you know when you love a special person, my heart tells me. Cheesy huh? But think about it, you are sure you love someone, oh really? How?
I can feel God in my heart, the same way you feel that you love someone I feel God. I know Christ IS real because my heart recognizes it. Love and faith go hand in hand and I think that the moment someone proves to me that love doesn't exist, that's when I will say "Ok. God doesn't exist" because God IS love!! No I'm not disrespecting their believes, I'm trying to help them see reality and trust me, I do my best to be very subtle about things.
My siblings are begin me to stop evangelizing inside my house, to not tell them about the bible or relate verses to life but I will not do that. I know that the devil is trying to bring me down, if I do that he wins this battle and that's a pleasure I will NOT give him. The whole theme of the summer between me and God has been BE STRONG. I have no idea why but he keeps doing these little things and giving me these little challenges to build me up and he has sent me a couple of verses about staying strong (1 Corinthians 13:15, Joshua 1:9, 2 Samuel 10:12, Philippians 4:13) and about being strong in Him. I don't know why but I can tell you I have my guard up and my armor ready (Ephesians 6) because something is coming and this spiritual war is not getting any easier anytime soon. I love the gospel and the one thing I love about the gospel is that it got to me, that someway somehow the truth came to me and I was able to grasp it and embrace it. How can I shut up about the one thing that made me who I am today??
No. I will not apologize for being loud and proud about my faith and our God and the gospel. With some help, I've come to realize that my family needs me so much! God needs me inside my household because I'm the only person that can shine light on them. My gosh, every time I talk to my siblings I see how much they need God. I love these kids to death and I wish they would realize how amazing God is, they've had bad experiences with Christians so they let that get in the way of their relationship with God. I pray for their salvation all the time and I wish we would have had better experiences with christians but that's not possible, therefore my job is to show them what a christian is really like. To lead by example. To cover myself in God's truth and love so that they may see His great work, the great work He has done in me.
I won't stop telling people about God. Ever. He's telling me to be strong but he's also telling me to be brave, I'm going to need those two qualities if I want to do my job right. My job is to present the information about the gospel, to plant those seeds in the hearts of people, the Holy Spirit takes care of the rest.
I've been thinking a lot about the Olympics and the determination of these athletes, the commitment, and it makes me think. Committing to something like a sport is ok but committing to my religion is not? Well society, aren't you confusing? haha. I'm not an olympian but I am a warrior, man I wish I could be as determined as those guys. I want to seek God like they want to win that gold medal. I want to be that awesome warrior that always stands out in a movie? Ever seen the Lord of the Rings? Ever seen Aragorn? Dude is boss! Well that's how I want to be, I want to fight this spiritual war and win it for God's glory, in His name, and I know he's right next to me all the time!!
If you are NOT saved then I want to ask you a couple of questions: Can YOU handle the truth? What do YOU think of Christ?? Not religion, not christians, CHRIST!! Yeah I know you don't want to hear the gospel, but this isn't about what you want, it's about what you NEED!! Who says I want to take math next year? I hate math!! But this isn't about what I want, it's about what I need, I need that math credit to graduate, if I choose not to take it I won't graduate. You NEED the gospel, if you choose not to grasp it you are choosing eternal suffering. I don't want that for you!! Don't forget I wasn't always saved, I was once in your spot. That's why I want to share the gospel, because it's scary to think that....I could still be in your spot. Thank God I'm not. Thank God I'm free to share the gospel.
I will not shut up, not unless God tells me to and in all honesty, I don't see him doing that anytime soon :)
Saturday, July 28, 2012
The Summer Olympics
DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW EXCITED I AM?!?!?!?! AHHHHHHHH I LOVE THE OLYMPICS!!!!! Let's get something straight, for the next 2 weeks of my life I will probably sit in front of my tv watching NBC every second of the day becuase the Olympics are just too good and for many reasons that I am called to highlight.
- Countries. These athletes go there to represent their countries and their love for their countries. That's just amazing, like as much as they want a gold medal for themselves they also want to give credit to their countries.
- Odds. Some athletes have every odd against them, do they care? NO! They go anyway!! They don't give up in the middle of training, they don't give up in the middle of a race, they keep going and they finish the race. They don't look at the odds, they look past that, they see the slight light of triumph and they hold on to that hope. You think winning makes an olympian? I think fighting makes an olympian. They fight the odds, sometimes they win and sometimes they loose but they stay to fight them anyways. That's how I want to be, I want to fight all the odds against me because I know I have God and he doesn't care about odds, he cares about me.
- Training. Now some people don't see why the Olympics are so great and they don't think it's big deal and take it as any other competition but it's not like that. Athletes train every day for 4 years to compete for 2 weeks. Is that crazy or what?! How many of us are THAT committed to anything?? They finish one Olympics and start training for the next and it's hard. The training that each person does is different but they all have one thing in common, it's challenging. These people strive to get stronger and better and faster and in order to do that they have to challenge themselves. They know what they are getting themselves into, they know it's going to hurt and it's going to be exhausting but they do it anyways because to them this is worth it, it is a life dream. It reminds me of being a christian. The bible tells us that yes, we will face persecution and yes, it will be hard to be a christian sometimes but we know it's worth it. We know Christ is that gold medal we want so eagerly. Should we give up in our training? Should we tell God to not send us hardship? That doesn't make us stronger! It enables us, if an athlete is not ready to be in the Olympics he or she gets cut off, if you are not ready to face your life situations you will not be able to know how to deal with it. Don't feel sorry for yourself and your situation, embrace it. It's meant to strengthen you, not weaken you.
- Events. I LOVE watching the athletes compete!! Love it love it love it! It's just so exciting and nerve wracking sometimes. haha. But seriously, I get to sit here and enjoy it, those athletes and enjoying it but for them it means a dream, a goal, a lifetime determination. My two favorite events would have to be Women's gymnastics and Swimming (both men and women) because I think to myself "I could NEVER do that". Honestly, with all the training in the world I could never be as determined as the athletes. These events remind me that in life you have different people and these people were made to face different trials and God knows exactly what person was made for what. In gymnastics you have 4 events: high beam, floor, bars and vault. All girls compete every event but a good coach will know which girl is the one that will excel at a certain event, which girl will win bars or floor or whatever. God is just like that, he knows what person can carry what load, he doesn't expect everyone to be able to handle the same things because he knows how different we are.
- The athletes. Wow, if you don't have a hint of admiration for these people there is something wrong with you, seriously. These people train an entire lifetime. They work hard and they make sacrifices because they want to win a gold medal, they want to be successful in this and they want to compete. I don't care how nice or not nice they are, these people are hardcore and they deserve respect. Some of them are more inspiring than others, Mary Lou Retton, Lindsay Vaughn (winter olympian, I know I know, still great though), Apolo Ohno (winter), Nadia (classic), Nastia Liukin, Usain Bolt, all big names of people that if you hear their testimonies you'll be pretty inspired. For some kids these are their heroes, these are the people they strive to be like because they want that drive, that determination that they had because they too want a gold medal. I would love to make a christian connection to this but I want to leave it at that because I want you to really appreciate these people.
Les Miserables: Jean Valjean - Part 1
Ok so I decided to do a kind of series of posts on Les Miserables, the musical, because I am marveled by it and because I see a lot of Christianity in it. The original story comes from a novel written by Victor Hugo and I want to read it sooooo badly!!! To give you a little bit of background it is based on how life was during the French Revolution in France. Here are some big characters you need to know:
Jean Valjean (24601)
Fantine
Javert
Marcus
Cosette
Eponine
Enjolras
Monsieur Thenardier and Madam Thenardier
My goal is to post about each and everyone of these characters but we'll see.
With this post I'm going to explain the story of Jean Valjean. He is an ex convict who went to jail for 5 years simply because he stole a loaf of bread to feed his sister's dying and starving child and to feed the rest of his starving family. He tried to run from jail and got caught so they gave him another 14 years. In total he spent 19 years in jail. While he was in jail they gave him a number, he was prisoner 24601.
After the 19 years he is finally free to go on parole. While on his parole he tries to go back to being a good citizen but no one wants to hire a con and people treat him as if he was less than dirt. One day, he receives some kindness from a bishop who allows him to stay the night in the church. This is where I get my first little splash of christianity. In the song the bishop tells Valjean: "There is vine here to revive you, there is bread to make you strong" That's exactly what Christ is, his blood is the wine that gives us a new life, that frees us from suffering in hell if we just choose to believe in him, his body is the bread that makes us strong when our flesh is weak, when we can't go on.
In the middle of the night Valjean steals some silver and runs, after stealing the silver he is caught by the police. The police brings him back to the bishop, Valjean lies to the police and tells them that the silver was a present from the bishop, when the police asks the bishop about it he does something unexpected, he tells them they are correct and in fact he gives Valjean two silver chandeliers. They let him go and the bishop tells Valjean to use this silver to become a good man. This really gets to him, this really touches his heart and it shakes something in him, this guy was the first person to show him kindness in a very long time and the first person to give him a second chance. This reminds me of my relationship with Christ, how many time have I not cheated him and yet his grace is sufficient, I mess up and mess up and he forgives me, he forgave me a long time ago for every time I mess up! Don't ever judge a person based on their mistakes, instead show them that they can do better, you could be saving their life.
Jean Valjean breaks his parole and starts a new life. He becomes the mayor of a city and he has thousands of workers who depend in him. However, Inspector Javert has been after Javert ever since he broke his parole and is determined to put him in jail again. One day Valjean meets Fantine at one of his factories and she is forced to leave the factory after being involved in a brawl with another woman. Fantine is a sick, poor woman who goes through hardships in order to feed her child Cosette who lives under the protection of the Thenardiers. One of those hardships is prostitution, after being fired from Valjean's factory she is forced to sell her hair and 2 front teeth to send money for Cosette, she then becomes a prostitute. One day she refuses to be with a costumer and he gets violent with her so she hits him back, Javert gets there ready to arrest Fantine but Valjean saves the day. He tells the police to take her to the hospital, he recognizes that this happened because of him, had he not fired her she wouldn't have been forced to loose her dignity.
In the middle of Fantine's arrest Valjean is confused, he recognizes her face but he doesn't see how she could have ended in a place like a prostitute bar. She tells him it was his fault, he allowed her to be fired when she had done nothing wrong. Valjean is a noble character, he shows that kindness is not lost on anyone, one day someone showed kindness to him and he now shows kindness to others. He wants to help Fantine, he sees she needs help and at the same time he feels guilty. Do you know how strong he is? I mean to recognize that he was wrong and that because of him this woman suffered a lot is pretty bold. While Fantine is in the hospital she is under his protection.
Javert discovers that the mayor is prisoner 24601, or Jean Valjean, because one day a man is stuck under a wagon and Valjean helps him get out, he is still strong for his age and Javert knows that Valjean is strong and nobel. Fantine dies in the hospital but before her death Valjean promises to rescue Cosette and raise her as his child. Javert confronts Valjean but this one escapes and is able to pay for Cosette and raise the girl under good conditions. However he is forced to stay hidden from Javert.
I'm going to leave it at this for now and I'll continue his story later but Jean Valjean is one of my favorite characters because he is always looking for the good of others, he is always looking to serve others. After that night with the bishop he learned his lesson and changed, that's how all of us should be. We should be able to change after we give our heart to Christ, yeah it's not easy but it's what we are called to do, it's what we are meant to do. Valjean becomes a rich man but his heart is still soft for the hardships of others, he went to jail for stealing bread to save someone else's life and the world ALMOST hardened his heart, the bitterness almost consumed him but Christ rescued him!
I mean do you get it?? Do you get how each and every single one of us has a little bit of Jean Valjean in us? We are prisoners of this worldly views on things like love, sex, friendship, compassion, life overall and when Christ wants to free us from that we don't listen!! But he gives us countless of chances until we change. Valjean was a prisoner of the law and an outcast and this priest gave him a chance, he gave him hope. Christ gives us new life, he gives us the chance to break our parole and renew our mind (2 Corinthians 5:17 and Romans 12:2), to live a new life by his side, IT IS OUR CHOICE WHETHER OR NOT WE TAKE IT! This world can make your heart hard and bitter, Christ can change that :)
Valjean is an amazing character and I can't wait to get to Part 2 of this :) I hope you liked it!!
Jean Valjean (24601)
Fantine
Javert
Marcus
Cosette
Eponine
Enjolras
Monsieur Thenardier and Madam Thenardier
My goal is to post about each and everyone of these characters but we'll see.
With this post I'm going to explain the story of Jean Valjean. He is an ex convict who went to jail for 5 years simply because he stole a loaf of bread to feed his sister's dying and starving child and to feed the rest of his starving family. He tried to run from jail and got caught so they gave him another 14 years. In total he spent 19 years in jail. While he was in jail they gave him a number, he was prisoner 24601.
After the 19 years he is finally free to go on parole. While on his parole he tries to go back to being a good citizen but no one wants to hire a con and people treat him as if he was less than dirt. One day, he receives some kindness from a bishop who allows him to stay the night in the church. This is where I get my first little splash of christianity. In the song the bishop tells Valjean: "There is vine here to revive you, there is bread to make you strong" That's exactly what Christ is, his blood is the wine that gives us a new life, that frees us from suffering in hell if we just choose to believe in him, his body is the bread that makes us strong when our flesh is weak, when we can't go on.
In the middle of the night Valjean steals some silver and runs, after stealing the silver he is caught by the police. The police brings him back to the bishop, Valjean lies to the police and tells them that the silver was a present from the bishop, when the police asks the bishop about it he does something unexpected, he tells them they are correct and in fact he gives Valjean two silver chandeliers. They let him go and the bishop tells Valjean to use this silver to become a good man. This really gets to him, this really touches his heart and it shakes something in him, this guy was the first person to show him kindness in a very long time and the first person to give him a second chance. This reminds me of my relationship with Christ, how many time have I not cheated him and yet his grace is sufficient, I mess up and mess up and he forgives me, he forgave me a long time ago for every time I mess up! Don't ever judge a person based on their mistakes, instead show them that they can do better, you could be saving their life.
Jean Valjean breaks his parole and starts a new life. He becomes the mayor of a city and he has thousands of workers who depend in him. However, Inspector Javert has been after Javert ever since he broke his parole and is determined to put him in jail again. One day Valjean meets Fantine at one of his factories and she is forced to leave the factory after being involved in a brawl with another woman. Fantine is a sick, poor woman who goes through hardships in order to feed her child Cosette who lives under the protection of the Thenardiers. One of those hardships is prostitution, after being fired from Valjean's factory she is forced to sell her hair and 2 front teeth to send money for Cosette, she then becomes a prostitute. One day she refuses to be with a costumer and he gets violent with her so she hits him back, Javert gets there ready to arrest Fantine but Valjean saves the day. He tells the police to take her to the hospital, he recognizes that this happened because of him, had he not fired her she wouldn't have been forced to loose her dignity.
In the middle of Fantine's arrest Valjean is confused, he recognizes her face but he doesn't see how she could have ended in a place like a prostitute bar. She tells him it was his fault, he allowed her to be fired when she had done nothing wrong. Valjean is a noble character, he shows that kindness is not lost on anyone, one day someone showed kindness to him and he now shows kindness to others. He wants to help Fantine, he sees she needs help and at the same time he feels guilty. Do you know how strong he is? I mean to recognize that he was wrong and that because of him this woman suffered a lot is pretty bold. While Fantine is in the hospital she is under his protection.
Javert discovers that the mayor is prisoner 24601, or Jean Valjean, because one day a man is stuck under a wagon and Valjean helps him get out, he is still strong for his age and Javert knows that Valjean is strong and nobel. Fantine dies in the hospital but before her death Valjean promises to rescue Cosette and raise her as his child. Javert confronts Valjean but this one escapes and is able to pay for Cosette and raise the girl under good conditions. However he is forced to stay hidden from Javert.
I'm going to leave it at this for now and I'll continue his story later but Jean Valjean is one of my favorite characters because he is always looking for the good of others, he is always looking to serve others. After that night with the bishop he learned his lesson and changed, that's how all of us should be. We should be able to change after we give our heart to Christ, yeah it's not easy but it's what we are called to do, it's what we are meant to do. Valjean becomes a rich man but his heart is still soft for the hardships of others, he went to jail for stealing bread to save someone else's life and the world ALMOST hardened his heart, the bitterness almost consumed him but Christ rescued him!
I mean do you get it?? Do you get how each and every single one of us has a little bit of Jean Valjean in us? We are prisoners of this worldly views on things like love, sex, friendship, compassion, life overall and when Christ wants to free us from that we don't listen!! But he gives us countless of chances until we change. Valjean was a prisoner of the law and an outcast and this priest gave him a chance, he gave him hope. Christ gives us new life, he gives us the chance to break our parole and renew our mind (2 Corinthians 5:17 and Romans 12:2), to live a new life by his side, IT IS OUR CHOICE WHETHER OR NOT WE TAKE IT! This world can make your heart hard and bitter, Christ can change that :)
Valjean is an amazing character and I can't wait to get to Part 2 of this :) I hope you liked it!!
Friday, July 27, 2012
WARNING!!
Ok my dear readers, beware, my next few posts will be pretty lengthy so watch out! They are based on things that I like so I kinda have a lot to say and explain so yeah....get ready to read a lot!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Now that's Love!
Ok so I'm sure you've all heard about the Colorado shooting by now but in case you haven't I'll tell you. In Aurora, Colorado, this guy went to the opening night of The Dark Night and he threw gas all over the theater and opened fire. A couple of people died and a lot of people were injured. Now Im going to request that you keep all these people in your prayers, including James Holmes (the shooter).
The reason why I decided to write this is because my friend and I have been following this case and her mom texted me and told me that 3 guys in the theater died protecting their girlfriends. Holy cow I think my jaw dropped when I read that. Wow. Ok in the bible Jesus says "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) Giving your life up for someone is the greatest demonstration of love you can give. Now take these boys, they were not married to this girls, they were just their boyfriends but they gave up their lives so that the women that they loved and cherished so much could live longer.
I don't even know how to process that. Yeah they are heroes!! I see that and it makes me think about my future boyfriend. He has to be like one of these boys, he has to look at me and think "this is my future wife" and have no doubts about it. He has to be willing to fight for me if he has to, to love me to the point of risking his life for mine. Now you may be thinking "girl you are crazy! No guy is gonna do that!!" Really?? Cause 3 guys did, and not only did they put their lives at risk for their girlfriends, they gave it up. I hope to God those boys are in heaven because I would love to meet them someday. Girls don't just settle for anyone, don't marry the guy that you love most, marry the guy that loves you the most. Marry the guy that is ready to treat you as a princess even before you start dating.
As for me you can be certain of one thing, I want to date one guy and one guy only, my husband. I pray to God almost daily that he shows me who the right guy is because I want to give myself completely to my husband, I want him to know that I was saving all of me for him, all of my love was for him. My boyfriend/future husband has to know me well enough to realize that asking me out is saying "marry me someday". Look at these three boys, they gave up their lives for 3 girls that they loved, they respected them and they adored them enough to do this. Girls don't you dare say that chivalry is dead, don't you dare say "all guys are the same" because they are not. Trust me.
I cannot tell you how proud I am of those boys and how deeply I wish for my partner to resemble them but I also have to do my job. As girls we also have to love our boys deeply, to honor them and encourage them, to look at them and think "God, I have one life to live, please let me share it with him", we have to act like the princesses we are. I pray for those three girls and that they may find comfort and love and hopefully Christ.
That was an amazing declaration of love. Please if you are a guy and you have a girl that you are thinking of marrying someday, go and do something random for her that will show her how much you love her. Cherish her smile and then look her in the eye and think "you are my future wife".
The reason why I decided to write this is because my friend and I have been following this case and her mom texted me and told me that 3 guys in the theater died protecting their girlfriends. Holy cow I think my jaw dropped when I read that. Wow. Ok in the bible Jesus says "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) Giving your life up for someone is the greatest demonstration of love you can give. Now take these boys, they were not married to this girls, they were just their boyfriends but they gave up their lives so that the women that they loved and cherished so much could live longer.
I don't even know how to process that. Yeah they are heroes!! I see that and it makes me think about my future boyfriend. He has to be like one of these boys, he has to look at me and think "this is my future wife" and have no doubts about it. He has to be willing to fight for me if he has to, to love me to the point of risking his life for mine. Now you may be thinking "girl you are crazy! No guy is gonna do that!!" Really?? Cause 3 guys did, and not only did they put their lives at risk for their girlfriends, they gave it up. I hope to God those boys are in heaven because I would love to meet them someday. Girls don't just settle for anyone, don't marry the guy that you love most, marry the guy that loves you the most. Marry the guy that is ready to treat you as a princess even before you start dating.
As for me you can be certain of one thing, I want to date one guy and one guy only, my husband. I pray to God almost daily that he shows me who the right guy is because I want to give myself completely to my husband, I want him to know that I was saving all of me for him, all of my love was for him. My boyfriend/future husband has to know me well enough to realize that asking me out is saying "marry me someday". Look at these three boys, they gave up their lives for 3 girls that they loved, they respected them and they adored them enough to do this. Girls don't you dare say that chivalry is dead, don't you dare say "all guys are the same" because they are not. Trust me.
I cannot tell you how proud I am of those boys and how deeply I wish for my partner to resemble them but I also have to do my job. As girls we also have to love our boys deeply, to honor them and encourage them, to look at them and think "God, I have one life to live, please let me share it with him", we have to act like the princesses we are. I pray for those three girls and that they may find comfort and love and hopefully Christ.
That was an amazing declaration of love. Please if you are a guy and you have a girl that you are thinking of marrying someday, go and do something random for her that will show her how much you love her. Cherish her smile and then look her in the eye and think "you are my future wife".
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
My Mighty Fortress
Ok before you read this you MUST listen to this song:
A Mighty Fortress
This song inspired this post. Like, ok continuing from last night's post things have been crazy these past few days but I listen to this song and I remember why I love my life :)
The lyrics of this song are just absolutely mind blowing! God's kingdom IS unshakable!! I am part of that kingdom therefore my faith should be unshakable too. Like Christ is sitting on the throne holding my heart in his hands and there is nothing that will bring him down from that throne, there is nothing that will keep Christ from my heart and my love. NOTHING!! My faith HAS to be unshakable, it has to be strong. When things get hard I will go to God.
Our God is a consuming fire
A burning holy flame, with glory and freedom
Our God is the only righteous judge,
Ruling over us with kindness and wisdom
Wow...that really gets to me. Like if there was any song that I would dedicate to God it would be this one because it reminds me of who holds my life. He is glorious and loving and he's passionate about ME! God is crazy about me!! He loves me more than I can possibly comprehend. He is the only judge, and he rules but he is a kind and loving ruler, and the best part about him is that he is wise, he knows exactly what he's doing! There's no such thing as "I made a mistake" in God's power.
God loves us and fights for us. Christ died for us. Is it just me or is this crazy?? Like the person who created EVERYTHING is fighting for me and is willing to let his only son die in my place so that I can have life ETERNALLY!! Yeah my God is jealous for me, he wants me to love him just like he loves me, can you blame him for that? Don't you want people that you love to love you back? He calls me his bride, if I was getting married I would want my groom to love me too! GOD LOVES YOU! HE LOVES YOU SO STINKING MUCH!!!
Yeah God is a mighty fortress and he is MY mighty fortress. I will take refuge in him during any storm because he is the only refuge I didn't create, the only refuge that will not fail. Sometimes as humans we take refuge in the people around us, friends, family, lovers, and that's not a bad thing, but these are imperfect fortresses because humans are imperfect and we are bound to fail. God is the only perfect refuge! You can still go to the people around you but don't ever put them above God, go to God first! Always always always seek him first, seek his fortress above anyone else' and he will place the right people around you to keep you strong.
My heart is set on him, my eyes are fixed on him and although it is hard sometimes I will not stop because He didn't stop Christ from suffering and dying for me.
Wow God, you inspire me so much!! I love you!!
Our God is exalted on His throne
High above the heavens
Forever He's worthy...
A Mighty Fortress
This song inspired this post. Like, ok continuing from last night's post things have been crazy these past few days but I listen to this song and I remember why I love my life :)
The lyrics of this song are just absolutely mind blowing! God's kingdom IS unshakable!! I am part of that kingdom therefore my faith should be unshakable too. Like Christ is sitting on the throne holding my heart in his hands and there is nothing that will bring him down from that throne, there is nothing that will keep Christ from my heart and my love. NOTHING!! My faith HAS to be unshakable, it has to be strong. When things get hard I will go to God.
Our God is a consuming fire
A burning holy flame, with glory and freedom
Our God is the only righteous judge,
Ruling over us with kindness and wisdom
Wow...that really gets to me. Like if there was any song that I would dedicate to God it would be this one because it reminds me of who holds my life. He is glorious and loving and he's passionate about ME! God is crazy about me!! He loves me more than I can possibly comprehend. He is the only judge, and he rules but he is a kind and loving ruler, and the best part about him is that he is wise, he knows exactly what he's doing! There's no such thing as "I made a mistake" in God's power.
God loves us and fights for us. Christ died for us. Is it just me or is this crazy?? Like the person who created EVERYTHING is fighting for me and is willing to let his only son die in my place so that I can have life ETERNALLY!! Yeah my God is jealous for me, he wants me to love him just like he loves me, can you blame him for that? Don't you want people that you love to love you back? He calls me his bride, if I was getting married I would want my groom to love me too! GOD LOVES YOU! HE LOVES YOU SO STINKING MUCH!!!
Yeah God is a mighty fortress and he is MY mighty fortress. I will take refuge in him during any storm because he is the only refuge I didn't create, the only refuge that will not fail. Sometimes as humans we take refuge in the people around us, friends, family, lovers, and that's not a bad thing, but these are imperfect fortresses because humans are imperfect and we are bound to fail. God is the only perfect refuge! You can still go to the people around you but don't ever put them above God, go to God first! Always always always seek him first, seek his fortress above anyone else' and he will place the right people around you to keep you strong.
My heart is set on him, my eyes are fixed on him and although it is hard sometimes I will not stop because He didn't stop Christ from suffering and dying for me.
Wow God, you inspire me so much!! I love you!!
Our God is exalted on His throne
High above the heavens
Forever He's worthy...
Monday, July 23, 2012
Say what God?
AHHHHHHHH!!!!! THERE'S SO MUCH GOING ON! Ok this past week has just been so full of emotional ups and downs that I am just tired. Part of me having this blog is that I get to vent about the stuff that's upsetting me.
I've really been feeling a lot of love from people around me lately and it's awesome. These are people who are just willing to love me and I am extremely grateful for that. God has been really blessing me a lot lately.
He was spoiling me really. And then he said no to a prayer, a HUGE prayer.
Wow. I was not expecting that. I legit did not see that one coming. God likes to spoil me so he usually answers my prayers with a "yes" but not this time and although I was extremely upset at the time I wasn't upset with God. I was upset at the situation and the events but my heart never got angry at him. I don't understand Him and I prayed and told him "this sucks" but I never blamed him and even when I think about my reaction I smile for no reason. Want to know why?? Because I would have NEVER done what I did today 2 years ago when I was a non-christian. Because today I truly realized the meaning of my transformation. You see things didn't turn out the way I had planned them today but God told me "DO NOT be anxious", he told me to follow him, yeah it was not easy, it was hard receiving a "no" from God when I usually get an approval for everything but I want to trust him, I'm going to trust him! Wow today I was able to obey God's will and follow His plan...had this happened two years ago I probably would have ignored God completely and done things my way. He is testing me, testing to see if I can walk the walk. It's one thing to say "I'm going to follow you" than to actually do it. I know that he's making me the person He wants me to be, he's preparing me for the future.
Today I had an amazing worship time just by myself in my living room and I was blasting my music and screaming my heart out and wow...I felt the Spirit SOOOOO MUCH!! Like there were times where I would get goose bumps and I knew that He was there and I knew God was in control.
I know that doing the right thing is hard and sometimes we don't even see how following the rules is worth it but think about it, we complain about the world and people who don't follow the rules...well when God tells us to go right we choose to go left!! Not all the time, but sometimes we just ignore him COMPLETELY and we ignore his will. I don't know how to explain it but even though I was sad and disappointed and angry I felt happy and peaceful (Philippians 4:7) and I felt JOY!
My attitude determines my situation. Now, I can choose to be a bratty 5 year old and pout about not being able to get things my way and be a total jerk to the people that brought about this situation OR I can act like a mature young lady and a faithful christian and realize that what I am facing right now is a spiritual battle and I can choose to stay focused on the events of today or I can move on and rejoice because I know God knows better, he planned this whole thing FOR A REASON!! I can choose to confront things with anger and sadness or I can choose to look for the joy in the little blessings of everyday life and confront this with love.
Some good will come out of this, because problems and trials and tribulations are cowards and they don't come by themselves, they come with a solution and lesson. And I know that the testing of my faith develops perseverance :)
My God's enough for me, I hope he's enough for you too :)
I've really been feeling a lot of love from people around me lately and it's awesome. These are people who are just willing to love me and I am extremely grateful for that. God has been really blessing me a lot lately.
He was spoiling me really. And then he said no to a prayer, a HUGE prayer.
Wow. I was not expecting that. I legit did not see that one coming. God likes to spoil me so he usually answers my prayers with a "yes" but not this time and although I was extremely upset at the time I wasn't upset with God. I was upset at the situation and the events but my heart never got angry at him. I don't understand Him and I prayed and told him "this sucks" but I never blamed him and even when I think about my reaction I smile for no reason. Want to know why?? Because I would have NEVER done what I did today 2 years ago when I was a non-christian. Because today I truly realized the meaning of my transformation. You see things didn't turn out the way I had planned them today but God told me "DO NOT be anxious", he told me to follow him, yeah it was not easy, it was hard receiving a "no" from God when I usually get an approval for everything but I want to trust him, I'm going to trust him! Wow today I was able to obey God's will and follow His plan...had this happened two years ago I probably would have ignored God completely and done things my way. He is testing me, testing to see if I can walk the walk. It's one thing to say "I'm going to follow you" than to actually do it. I know that he's making me the person He wants me to be, he's preparing me for the future.
Today I had an amazing worship time just by myself in my living room and I was blasting my music and screaming my heart out and wow...I felt the Spirit SOOOOO MUCH!! Like there were times where I would get goose bumps and I knew that He was there and I knew God was in control.
I know that doing the right thing is hard and sometimes we don't even see how following the rules is worth it but think about it, we complain about the world and people who don't follow the rules...well when God tells us to go right we choose to go left!! Not all the time, but sometimes we just ignore him COMPLETELY and we ignore his will. I don't know how to explain it but even though I was sad and disappointed and angry I felt happy and peaceful (Philippians 4:7) and I felt JOY!
My attitude determines my situation. Now, I can choose to be a bratty 5 year old and pout about not being able to get things my way and be a total jerk to the people that brought about this situation OR I can act like a mature young lady and a faithful christian and realize that what I am facing right now is a spiritual battle and I can choose to stay focused on the events of today or I can move on and rejoice because I know God knows better, he planned this whole thing FOR A REASON!! I can choose to confront things with anger and sadness or I can choose to look for the joy in the little blessings of everyday life and confront this with love.
Some good will come out of this, because problems and trials and tribulations are cowards and they don't come by themselves, they come with a solution and lesson. And I know that the testing of my faith develops perseverance :)
My God's enough for me, I hope he's enough for you too :)
Friday, July 20, 2012
Did you know you are not alone??
I want to dedicate this to you. If you are dealing with a certain kind of temptation or sin in your life then this is for you my dear friend. So here it goes....
My dear friend, I want you to know that I love you and I have faith in you. I know it's hard, I know how good it feels to do what's wrong, but I also know how much satisfaction you get when you do what's right. I know that that sin is pulling you and it's luring you and tempting you, but I also know you are stronger than what you think you are but I need YOU to know that. I need you to have faith in yourself just like I have faith in you. Don't you dare give in to temptation, don't you dare ignore what your heart tells you. Your mind betrays you my friend, your feelings don't.
I want you to know you are not alone. I'm a sinner too. My sin bears a different face then yours but it's sin nonetheless. In order to encourage you I have to stay strong myself, I have to know my demons and how to defeat them. YOU are my inspiration for staying strong and Christ is my reason for winning this war. I will not let my sin consume me because I want you to know that yes, you can do it. It is possible. I am a helpless girl but a strong warrior because my strength is never ending (Philippians 4:13)
Please, if you are a non believer take my strength, borrow it from me because I love you and I know you don't belong in that world of sin and darkness. The light is shining on you and you will reach for it someday.
If you are a believer then know that Christ is with you!! I am with you!! Borrow his strength and cling on to what is good. Cling on to God! I refuse to sugar coat anything for you because you know better than this, you have an armor (Ephesians 6) and you better wear it. Be ready for this war and be ready to win it because no matter what the world tells you and what temptation you are facing, you are a light that was meant to shine as radiant as the sun and as beautiful as the moon at night.
I know it's hard, who said it was easy?? Know this, it will be hard, but it will be worth it. The best things in life are those that we fight for. Humans have fought for life, for freedom, for love, for respect, for territory. Now fight for yourself, fight for your life to be the way God wants it to be, fight for your freedom from this temptation, fight for the love that you feel for yourself and for the love that you feel for your family, friends and the love of your life, fight for respect for yourself because this sin is mocking you and taunting you and it's disrespecting the beloved child of God you were meant to be, fight for your territory because it wants to take over your heart and defile it and your heart doesn't belong to temptation.
I LOVE YOU!! I know you can do this, I know you can and I pray that you gather the strength necessary to win this war. My God is always with you and his spirit is here to save you from falling. Take his hand and if you can't, then take my love, I know how hard it is. With God's help, I win battles against my temptations every day, I dare you to join me in my quest for victory :) You are amazing!
My dear friend, I want you to know that I love you and I have faith in you. I know it's hard, I know how good it feels to do what's wrong, but I also know how much satisfaction you get when you do what's right. I know that that sin is pulling you and it's luring you and tempting you, but I also know you are stronger than what you think you are but I need YOU to know that. I need you to have faith in yourself just like I have faith in you. Don't you dare give in to temptation, don't you dare ignore what your heart tells you. Your mind betrays you my friend, your feelings don't.
I want you to know you are not alone. I'm a sinner too. My sin bears a different face then yours but it's sin nonetheless. In order to encourage you I have to stay strong myself, I have to know my demons and how to defeat them. YOU are my inspiration for staying strong and Christ is my reason for winning this war. I will not let my sin consume me because I want you to know that yes, you can do it. It is possible. I am a helpless girl but a strong warrior because my strength is never ending (Philippians 4:13)
Please, if you are a non believer take my strength, borrow it from me because I love you and I know you don't belong in that world of sin and darkness. The light is shining on you and you will reach for it someday.
If you are a believer then know that Christ is with you!! I am with you!! Borrow his strength and cling on to what is good. Cling on to God! I refuse to sugar coat anything for you because you know better than this, you have an armor (Ephesians 6) and you better wear it. Be ready for this war and be ready to win it because no matter what the world tells you and what temptation you are facing, you are a light that was meant to shine as radiant as the sun and as beautiful as the moon at night.
I know it's hard, who said it was easy?? Know this, it will be hard, but it will be worth it. The best things in life are those that we fight for. Humans have fought for life, for freedom, for love, for respect, for territory. Now fight for yourself, fight for your life to be the way God wants it to be, fight for your freedom from this temptation, fight for the love that you feel for yourself and for the love that you feel for your family, friends and the love of your life, fight for respect for yourself because this sin is mocking you and taunting you and it's disrespecting the beloved child of God you were meant to be, fight for your territory because it wants to take over your heart and defile it and your heart doesn't belong to temptation.
I LOVE YOU!! I know you can do this, I know you can and I pray that you gather the strength necessary to win this war. My God is always with you and his spirit is here to save you from falling. Take his hand and if you can't, then take my love, I know how hard it is. With God's help, I win battles against my temptations every day, I dare you to join me in my quest for victory :) You are amazing!
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Picking up the pieces
Oh man I haven't blogged in like a month. I kinda miss it! Which is why I decided to blog today, I just don't know what to blog about. Well I guess I could blog about relationships since it has been kind of a recurring theme in my life lately. I don't mean just romantic relationships I mean all kind of relationships.
Friendships
Ok I've been stupid lately, I've met so many new and amazing friends that I've kind of forgotten about some of my old friends. I usually hang out with my church friends a lot and they make me extremely happy, but I forget that I have school friends who love me and who need me. One of my best friends confronted me about this not too long ago and it helped open my eyes about the way I was acting, she felt completely abandoned by me and I felt like a jerk because she was right. I never meant to hurt her but I was just caught up in my recent blessings. I want to show God's love to everyone and specially my unsaved friends, I needed to wake up and realize that I am divided into many different little groups of friends and they all need me in one way or another. I am so blessed to have so many loving friends in my life!! Don't be stupid like me, don't forget about certain friends just because there are others coming into your life. If there are friendships that you are willing to fight for and that can be fixed, fix them. As for me I am trying to shuffle all of my friendships and although it gets a little difficult at times, these are kids that are worth it :) Thank you God for blessing me with so many loving people.
Family
Oh yes.....family. Can you believe that it's harder for me to love my family than to love my friends?? I don't get it, I don't know what it is but it has been that way for a couple of years now. For a little background on my family, my parents are divorced and I live with 3 of my 4 siblings. Now something that I have been working on lately is sibling bonding and obedience. I've been trying to show my mom how much I love her by including her into my life a little bit more and by doing random nice things for her. Now I don't know if you have an awesome mom like mine or if you have a mom who's not so great but who said that to show love you have to be loved back?? I mean look at Christ!! Dude couldn't be more hated by all of us and he still died on that cross because he LOVED US!! John 3:16 clearly says "For God so LOVED the world....." Who cares if my family shows me the same love that I show them, the point is that I am showing it and by doing so I shine God's light (Matthew 5:16). Look it's not easy, it's not easy trying to bond with my siblings because I know how much of a jerk I was before I got saved, I'm trying to pick up the pieces of relationships that have been broken and that can be better if I just try a little. I'm not saying they are willing to put in the same effort, but without knowing it someday they will start acting just like me, at least that's what I hope for. I don't know why I find it so hard to love my family but I know that I am willing to try because these are the people that God chose for me and he knows what he's doing, he knows they need me and I need them. So do me a favor will you? Whether they "deserve" it or not, please do a random act of love for someone in your family today, you never know what could come out of that :)
Crushes, boyfriends and any other shenanigans
Haha. I got a little creative with that title :) Well if you are wondering, no, I do not have a boyfriend, but I do have a crush, a wonderful boy who is passionate for God and has become one of my absolute best friends. My favorite part about me and him is the fact that we can get together and talk for hours and hours without having "awkward" moments. Of course I worry and wonder about the "what ifs??", "what if he doesn't want to talk to me? what if Im bothering him? what if he doesn't miss me? I wonder if I crossed his mind" and yada yada yada, all that stuff that goes through a girl's head. Ok let me say that I am a teenager and I much as I would want to not think about that stuff....I CAN'T HELP IT!! lol. Do you ever watch a movie that you've already seen before and then there's a part coming up that you don't like or makes you cringe and you almost want to skip it but you can't cause you happen to be watching the movie with your friends and they really like that part? Well that's how I feel right now. haha. I wish I could skip this whole "having feelings for someone" thing and move on with my life but I can't. If you have a crush or a boyfriend and you are feeling a little like me....STOP! Take a breather and relax. Step back for a second, no matter how things are going with your crush be faithful, the only thing we will never run out of is hope. Stay calm, don't chase after a boy, chase after something that matters. Idk about you but I gave my heart to Christ, he's keeping it safe for my husband and God knows why he allowed these feelings to happen. Ok this boy is amazing, yeah he makes me mad sometimes and sometimes without realizing it he hurts me but I can't explain what I feel for him. So what if he does or doesn't have feelings for me? We have a wonderful friendship and that's what matters, the day that ends that's when my heart will be crushed! If you like someone WHO'S WORTH HAVING YOU BY HIS/HER SIDE then pursue a FRIENDSHIP! Don't go after someone's heart, go after the brightness they can bring into your life. Chase the light.
God
Ahh yes, I finally got to my favorite one. Before I begin....Heavenly Father, thank you for a new day, Holy Spirit please guide my thoughts and type these words for me. Amen. Ok we are all good now. Yep, I have to do this, why? Because out of every relationship in my life this one matters to me the most. I've been a christian for like a year and a half and my transformation has been AMAZING!! God went from being like a "whatever" thing in my life to being my EVERYTHING! Look if you are not saved then this message is for you: He loves you, he truly does love you, he loves you more than anyone else in this world, he loves you to the moon and back and three times as much as that, he loves you so much that he took the time to create a whole life story for you and to create trials so that you could learn from them to create good times so that you could laugh and have fun and joy. He loves you so much that he forgave you and gave you life through Christ, but it is YOUR choice! Heck Im almost 18, after that my parents can't tell me what to do anymore, God can't force you to love him, that's a choice only YOU can make! You can listen to the lies the world tells you or you can search within your heart for the truth!! God said "let there be light", I promise you that the light inside of you will let you know that he is real and that Christ is real and I dare you to look for it. I dare you to look into the mirror and tell me that your life without God is better than my life with him, go ahead try it....I tried it and I failed. You are his beautiful, beloved child :) If you are saved then I am so happy for you my dear brother or sister. I am so happy because like me you were lucky enough to hear the gospel from someone who loves you, someone who cares about you so much that they wanted to see you in heaven but now I want to challenge you and encourage you to be that person for someone else. Don't you dare shut up about the gospel (Romans 1:16), don't you dare conform to this world (Romans 12:2), if you do that the devil wins, if you do that you give him a victory in a battle from a war that he is sure to loose. Look guys, God is my everything because I know that Christ is REAL! I love him because he opened my eyes to what my life can be like if I let him lead me, I love him because he died on the cross so that I don't have to suffer eternally, I love him because every time I look to the sky and smile I know he's looking back and smiling as well, I love him because he picked up the pieces of the selfish, bitter, lying and ungrateful human being that I was and put them together, not only did he put them together but he also polished them, he told me that I was more than that, I was made for more than that.
Let me put it this way: you and I, we are nothing more than just filthy rags but some people think that those rags are just not filthy enough and so they cover them in mud, and when I say cover I mean completely cover them with mud (lies, hurt, betrayal, mean words, mean actions, profanity, etc). We are now covered in all this mud and we feel even more filthy than before. The good thing about that is that Christ is the only person who knows how to wash away all that mud and make those rags all better again :) I'm not telling you accepting salvation will be easy because I don't know that for sure but I am telling you to give it a try because all that mud surrounding you right now, you won't be able to get over that on your own. Trust me, I tried and failed.
Wow.....Ok that was a lot. A little bit of a rant too, well I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did :)
Friendships
Ok I've been stupid lately, I've met so many new and amazing friends that I've kind of forgotten about some of my old friends. I usually hang out with my church friends a lot and they make me extremely happy, but I forget that I have school friends who love me and who need me. One of my best friends confronted me about this not too long ago and it helped open my eyes about the way I was acting, she felt completely abandoned by me and I felt like a jerk because she was right. I never meant to hurt her but I was just caught up in my recent blessings. I want to show God's love to everyone and specially my unsaved friends, I needed to wake up and realize that I am divided into many different little groups of friends and they all need me in one way or another. I am so blessed to have so many loving friends in my life!! Don't be stupid like me, don't forget about certain friends just because there are others coming into your life. If there are friendships that you are willing to fight for and that can be fixed, fix them. As for me I am trying to shuffle all of my friendships and although it gets a little difficult at times, these are kids that are worth it :) Thank you God for blessing me with so many loving people.
Family
Oh yes.....family. Can you believe that it's harder for me to love my family than to love my friends?? I don't get it, I don't know what it is but it has been that way for a couple of years now. For a little background on my family, my parents are divorced and I live with 3 of my 4 siblings. Now something that I have been working on lately is sibling bonding and obedience. I've been trying to show my mom how much I love her by including her into my life a little bit more and by doing random nice things for her. Now I don't know if you have an awesome mom like mine or if you have a mom who's not so great but who said that to show love you have to be loved back?? I mean look at Christ!! Dude couldn't be more hated by all of us and he still died on that cross because he LOVED US!! John 3:16 clearly says "For God so LOVED the world....." Who cares if my family shows me the same love that I show them, the point is that I am showing it and by doing so I shine God's light (Matthew 5:16). Look it's not easy, it's not easy trying to bond with my siblings because I know how much of a jerk I was before I got saved, I'm trying to pick up the pieces of relationships that have been broken and that can be better if I just try a little. I'm not saying they are willing to put in the same effort, but without knowing it someday they will start acting just like me, at least that's what I hope for. I don't know why I find it so hard to love my family but I know that I am willing to try because these are the people that God chose for me and he knows what he's doing, he knows they need me and I need them. So do me a favor will you? Whether they "deserve" it or not, please do a random act of love for someone in your family today, you never know what could come out of that :)
Crushes, boyfriends and any other shenanigans
Haha. I got a little creative with that title :) Well if you are wondering, no, I do not have a boyfriend, but I do have a crush, a wonderful boy who is passionate for God and has become one of my absolute best friends. My favorite part about me and him is the fact that we can get together and talk for hours and hours without having "awkward" moments. Of course I worry and wonder about the "what ifs??", "what if he doesn't want to talk to me? what if Im bothering him? what if he doesn't miss me? I wonder if I crossed his mind" and yada yada yada, all that stuff that goes through a girl's head. Ok let me say that I am a teenager and I much as I would want to not think about that stuff....I CAN'T HELP IT!! lol. Do you ever watch a movie that you've already seen before and then there's a part coming up that you don't like or makes you cringe and you almost want to skip it but you can't cause you happen to be watching the movie with your friends and they really like that part? Well that's how I feel right now. haha. I wish I could skip this whole "having feelings for someone" thing and move on with my life but I can't. If you have a crush or a boyfriend and you are feeling a little like me....STOP! Take a breather and relax. Step back for a second, no matter how things are going with your crush be faithful, the only thing we will never run out of is hope. Stay calm, don't chase after a boy, chase after something that matters. Idk about you but I gave my heart to Christ, he's keeping it safe for my husband and God knows why he allowed these feelings to happen. Ok this boy is amazing, yeah he makes me mad sometimes and sometimes without realizing it he hurts me but I can't explain what I feel for him. So what if he does or doesn't have feelings for me? We have a wonderful friendship and that's what matters, the day that ends that's when my heart will be crushed! If you like someone WHO'S WORTH HAVING YOU BY HIS/HER SIDE then pursue a FRIENDSHIP! Don't go after someone's heart, go after the brightness they can bring into your life. Chase the light.
God
Ahh yes, I finally got to my favorite one. Before I begin....Heavenly Father, thank you for a new day, Holy Spirit please guide my thoughts and type these words for me. Amen. Ok we are all good now. Yep, I have to do this, why? Because out of every relationship in my life this one matters to me the most. I've been a christian for like a year and a half and my transformation has been AMAZING!! God went from being like a "whatever" thing in my life to being my EVERYTHING! Look if you are not saved then this message is for you: He loves you, he truly does love you, he loves you more than anyone else in this world, he loves you to the moon and back and three times as much as that, he loves you so much that he took the time to create a whole life story for you and to create trials so that you could learn from them to create good times so that you could laugh and have fun and joy. He loves you so much that he forgave you and gave you life through Christ, but it is YOUR choice! Heck Im almost 18, after that my parents can't tell me what to do anymore, God can't force you to love him, that's a choice only YOU can make! You can listen to the lies the world tells you or you can search within your heart for the truth!! God said "let there be light", I promise you that the light inside of you will let you know that he is real and that Christ is real and I dare you to look for it. I dare you to look into the mirror and tell me that your life without God is better than my life with him, go ahead try it....I tried it and I failed. You are his beautiful, beloved child :) If you are saved then I am so happy for you my dear brother or sister. I am so happy because like me you were lucky enough to hear the gospel from someone who loves you, someone who cares about you so much that they wanted to see you in heaven but now I want to challenge you and encourage you to be that person for someone else. Don't you dare shut up about the gospel (Romans 1:16), don't you dare conform to this world (Romans 12:2), if you do that the devil wins, if you do that you give him a victory in a battle from a war that he is sure to loose. Look guys, God is my everything because I know that Christ is REAL! I love him because he opened my eyes to what my life can be like if I let him lead me, I love him because he died on the cross so that I don't have to suffer eternally, I love him because every time I look to the sky and smile I know he's looking back and smiling as well, I love him because he picked up the pieces of the selfish, bitter, lying and ungrateful human being that I was and put them together, not only did he put them together but he also polished them, he told me that I was more than that, I was made for more than that.
Let me put it this way: you and I, we are nothing more than just filthy rags but some people think that those rags are just not filthy enough and so they cover them in mud, and when I say cover I mean completely cover them with mud (lies, hurt, betrayal, mean words, mean actions, profanity, etc). We are now covered in all this mud and we feel even more filthy than before. The good thing about that is that Christ is the only person who knows how to wash away all that mud and make those rags all better again :) I'm not telling you accepting salvation will be easy because I don't know that for sure but I am telling you to give it a try because all that mud surrounding you right now, you won't be able to get over that on your own. Trust me, I tried and failed.
Wow.....Ok that was a lot. A little bit of a rant too, well I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did :)
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