billy goats and water towers!!!

soooo....

i've only been in the Washington/Idaho for like 7 hours and i've seen a ton of water towers...and all the water towers look exactly the same...kind of wierd...

and then where i'm staying (Chrissy's house)is next to a mountain and i'm expecting billy goats to come run through the yard any minute now...even though the natives say there are no billy goats :)

gut check!!

this morning I read the book of Titus..it was so good. i seem to overlook Titus alot mainly because of its size :)

there was one particular part of Titus that stuck out to me...it was in chapter 1 and verse 16...
it says this,
"They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good."

this was a definite gut check for me...i had to ask myself...am i one of those people?? do i profess to know God, yet deny His existence with my behavior?

or...

am i letting my light so shine before men that they may see my good works and glorify my Father in Heaven?? (matt. 5:16)


i hope i'm bringing God glory, but i know there are things i need to work on....




to those who have been praying for me, Thank You!!



-Joe

the lyrics that are feeding my soul

There is love that came for us
Humbled to a sinner's cross you broke my shame and sinfuless you rose again victorious

Faithfulness none can deny through the strom and through the fire there is truth that sets me free Jesus Christ who lives in me

You are stronger you are stronger
Sin is broken you have saved me it is written Christ is risen Jesus you are Lord of all

No beginning and no end You're my hope and my defence you came to seek and save the lost you paid it all upon the cross

So let your name be lifted higher
Be lifted higher be lifted higher

these lyrics were written by Hillsong...the song is called "Stronger"

for the week that i have been home i've been singing this song over and over...

it's the subtle reminder that i need to keep going every day...

if you haven't read my blog yet about this song go to www.honestscreams.blogspot.com


hope everyone is having an awesome Christmas!!!

new game plan and awesome books

it's been a learning experience so far at home...i've been trying to do different things to keep me busy and keep my mind off from myself...
house cleaning, organizing junk in my room, putting music in order on my computer, whatever it takes to keep my mind off from myself...
it's a new approach, and so far it is working...
i've been reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan and that has been a challenging read. It's just awesome how God speaks to me through His word and then challenges my heart even more as i read this book...
i know that it is just a book, written by a man, just like me, but God continually uses Chan's words to speak straight to my heart...

between Crazy Love and The Gutter by Craig Gross, i've had a major perspective change on how i view ministry, how i look at my priorities, and how i communicate with other people...

to all my friends who are praying for me...Thank You!!!
your prayers are working and God is continually amazing me :)

my enjoyment

i was asked to share more of my emotions..

so right now i'm talking with some of my best friends on skype and we're having a good ole' time...

right now my emotion is "Happy" and "Content"

more to come!!.....

When I think of all I have to do for school I feel overwhelmed.

When I think of God's love I feel at peace.

When I think of all the pain in people's lives I feel broken.

When I think of how Jesus is the same everyday I feel content.

When I think about myself I get depressed.

When I think about the One who made me I feel complete.



Thank You Father!!!
without you I am not worth a thing...
it is You that makes me...
help me not to put school or grades above You...
You are worthy of all praise....

1 John 3:16-18

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.


No matter how you look at it we need to be doing something...

www.i-heart.org (check it out)

an idol??

Lately i've been feeling God's pull on my heart to examine my heart, my motives and especially my priorities.

As i was searching and asking God to reveal the problems in my personal life i noticed that the biggest thing i've been worshiping is me...

i've been making sure i'm comfortable...
making sure i'm taken care of...
that i have enough money...
that i get what i need and that i'm happy...

I haven't been letting God be first in everything i do...
I've been so selfish...

i have asked God to be the center of my life, and that He would take control of everything, but i didn't completely let that go of everything...

I keep trying to hold on to those things i think i can control...
i want to make sure that everything i do is going to work out, so i figure the best way to make sure things work is if i take control...

i've been so wrong...

i need to let go...

i need to be uncomfortable...
i need to give 100%...
no more apathy...
no more judgment....
i need to stop thinking i know what's best...
i need to serve more...
i need to sacrifice more...

I've made myself an idol...
and i've been worshiping that idol more than i worship my Creator...

maybe you know what i'm talking about...
maybe you are saying "that's is exactly where i'm at joe"

i'm not going to try and give you advice on this one...
i mean...
i'm just as guilty...

here is what God's word says...

Matthew 22:37-39
Jesus said to him, "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love our neighbor as yourself."

Philippians 2:3-4
Let nothing bed done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interest of others.

Exodus 20:3
You shall have no other gods before me.

John 3:30
He must increase, but I must decrease.

Matthew 19:30
But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

1 Corinthians 10:24
Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

1 John 4:7
...let us love one another...

slave or son!!??

Galatians 4:6-7 says,
"God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."

Do you ever wander away from God?? Do you ever just get so busy that there seems to be no time to give God attention??
It seems that there are so many things to do that we simply put God lower and lower on the priorities list because we think "well...God is always there...He'll take care of me"

I's gonna be honest with you...i do this...a lot

I get so busy and I seem to push God out...

but yet our souls are crying out!! they are crying out to God, the Creator of the universe, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Father.

then, when we don't turn to God with our time and our choices things seem to start to get harder.

problems start to arise
temptation seems to be overwhelming
everything seems to be going against us
we start to lose hope

we've all been there...it sucks

but the best part is this...
"WE ARE NO LONGER SLAVES, BUT A CHILD"

did you get that??

YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD!!!

we don't have to think we aren't worth it
we don't have to listen to the lies anymore
we don't have to think God has forgotten about us
we don't have to feel worthless anymore

we have a promise...
because we are God's children He has a plan for us..

a plan not to harm us
not to do us wrong
but a plan of hope
peace
love
joy


that is something to celebrate!!

Abba, Father
Thank you for giving us a future and a hope. Thank you for your Son Jesus Christ and what He has done for us, your children.
We owe you our lives.
I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ who have forgotten that they need you. They have lost focus and have tried to go their own way.
Father! I pray that you be merciful to them and that you will show them a way back to your perfect will for their lives.
Thank you Father!!!

your servant,
joe

lately in life

I have not really updated what's been going on in my life in quite a while.
Soooo....I thought I would keep my peeps up to date :)

School is in full swing and it's keeping me super busy. I'm only taking 15 credits this semester because I had an A-Term class before the semester even started. I'm really enjoying my class on Postmodernism and the Emergent Church movement. The class is really engaging and the discussions are engaging.

I'm also working in the GBC Kitchen this semester. I'm only working about 10-12 hours a week, but it definitely keeps me busy on the days I don't have classes.

Personally: I'm doing really good. God is working in a new way in me each and every day. I was having a hard time with doing daily devotions and significant time to God. This last week thought I've been doing really good with that. God has been speaking to me about disciplining myself to organize my priorities and to give my top priorities more time.
I've been especially surprised about how content I've been so far this semester. I've definitely had a sense of God's presence throughout the days so far, and it has helped so much. I know a lot of that contentment has been because of you all praying for me.

Thank You!!!

Lastly I just want to encourage you with a verse God has been laying upon my heart. It's Philippians 1:6

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

To know that God is going to continue to use His children, no matter what happens in our lives is exciting for me to think about. He has a plan for us and He's going to complete it!!!

it's not about being attractive. it's about being real.

"It's not about being attractive. It's about being real."

This comment was made when talking about witnessing to unbelievers. Many people have this idea that in order to bring others to Christ we need to show how our lives are "awesome" and they can't live without what we have. It's become a competition to "out-attract" the world.

But in this new age the world's entertainment and attractiveness is out of our league. The Christian world has no chance at outdoing what the world offers to a non-believer. It is no longer a priority to go to church in our culture. It's become a competition to see who can win people's attention.

We don't have to compete in this game the Satan has created. The idea of being real with those outside of our faith may be a new concept to you, but I believe that our authenticity can bring a difference to unbelievers that will help bring them along in their process of finding Christ.

We don't need to defend God. We don't need to try and outdo the world. God is the ultimate Judge and Jury. He gives the final judgment to everyone. No matter where you've been, what you've chosen to believe, or where you've been, God will give the judgment on our lives. We don't have to put words in God's mouth. He'll take care of those who chose to not believe.

I believe that if we, as Christians, would be more authentic and real with those we come in contact with, instead of putting on our "masks" we will see a difference in how people look at us as Christians. If we would share what's really happening in our lives with others people would see a difference in us, as Christians.

Maybe we've been neglecting the power of the Holy Spirit and how it can convict people. We start to think that we need to convict people by our actions or words, so we put on those "masks" to show how attractive our lives are, when really we're giving them a fake.

Are we being real with those around us? Or are we putting on the "mask" to show others someone we are not?

Mark 4:1-20 (The Message)

He went back to teaching by the sea. A crowd built up to such a great size that he had to get into an offshore boat, using the boat as a pulpit as the people pushed to the water's edge. He taught by using stories, many stories.
"Listen. What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled among the weeds and nothing came of it. Some fell on good earth and came up with a flourish, producing a harvest exceeding his wildest dreams.
"Are you listening to this? Really listening?"
When they were off by themselves, those who were close to him, along with the Twelve, asked about the stories. He told them, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom—you know how it works. But to those who can't see it yet, everything comes in stories, creating readiness, nudging them toward receptive insight. These are people—

Whose eyes are open but don't see a thing,
Whose ears are open but don't understand a word,
Who avoid making an about-face and getting forgiven."

He continued, "Do you see how this story works? All my stories work this way.
"The farmer plants the Word. Some people are like the seed that falls on the hardened soil of the road. No sooner do they hear the Word than Satan snatches away what has been planted in them.
"And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel. When they first hear the Word, they respond with great enthusiasm. But there is such shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.
"The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.
"But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams."

More Beautiful You - Jonny Diaz

Little girl fourteen flipping through a magazine
Says she wants to look that way
But her hair isn't straight her body isn't fake
And she's always felt overweight

Well little girl fourteen I wish that you could see
That beauty is within your heart
And you were made with such care your skin your body and your hair
Are perfect just the way they are

There could never be a more beautiful you
Don't buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

Little girl twenty-one the things that you've already done
Anything to get ahead
And you say you've got a man but he's got another plan
Only wants what you will do instead

Well little girl twenty-one you never thought that this would come
You starve yourself to play the part
But I can promise you there's a man whose love is true
And he'll treat you like the jewel you are

So turn around you're not too far
To back away be who you are
To change your path go another way
It's not too late you can be saved
If you feel depressed with past regrets
The shameful nights hope to forget
Can disappear they can all be washed away
By the one who's strong can right your wrongs
Can rid your fears dry all your tears
And change the way you look at this big world
He will take your dark distorted view
And with His light He will show you truth
And again you'll see through the eyes of a little girl

Psalm 40

1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.

2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.

4 Blessed is the man
who makes the LORD his trust,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.

5 Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.

6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but my ears you have pierced;
burnt offerings and sin offerings
you did not require.

7 Then I said, "Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll.
8 I desire to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart."

9 I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips,
as you know, O LORD.

10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and salvation.
I do not conceal your love and your truth
from the great assembly.

11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD;
may your love and your truth always protect me.

12 For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.

13 Be pleased, O LORD, to save me;
O LORD, come quickly to help me.

14 May all who seek to take my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.

15 May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!"
be appalled at their own shame.

16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say,
"The LORD be exalted!"

17 Yet I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O my God, do not delay.

Rice For The Hungry

1.02 billion people do not have enough to eat.
25,000 people die every day from hunger and related causes.
Every six seconds a child dies because of hunger and related causes.

WE are so blessed here in America. WE live in a culture where most of us never have to face a serious hunger problem on a daily basis.

When I first think about how I can help those who are dying from hunger, in a totally different country thousands of miles away, I feel overwhelmed. I start to think that there is nothing I can do to help these people.

Yet, WE as the Body of Christ are called to be helping these people. Jesus says “…whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

If WE choose to not help these people we are choosing to blatantly disobey what God has called us to do, “love the least”

So I present to you a way WE can help those who are starving.

It’s called Freerice.com

All WE have to do is play this vocabulary game that Freerice.com provides. For each question you answer correctly 10 grains of rice will be donated to those who are “the least”.


Now it is your choice! Will you help those who are starving for a simple grain of rice?

Go To http://www.freerice.com/





Stats are from the World Food Program

Ups and Downs in Life

Do you ever have days where you are on such a "high" of life and then hours later you find yourself feeling like crap??

Well, you're not alone if you do, because that's how my days have been lately.

I can start the day feeling on top of the world, and then moments later I get caught up thinking about how I've failed in my life. I know that the devil is trying to bring me down, but to be honest, it's working.

It's not like I'm on this depression mode or anything, but I do have times where I feel like there's no end to my pain. I can feel like such a failure, but you know what? I don't have to believe it. Because with God I have victory. Victory over death. Sin. Depression. Lies. And the Devil himself.

I hope that none of you ever feel alone in your life.

You have victory in your life that's worth celebrating!!! :)

Loving Others

Romans 13:8

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.

Family Force 5 - D-I-E 4 Y-O-u

I'd take a bullet for you
Bleed all my blood out for you
Be taken hostage, under the knife's edge
Pay all the ransom for you

Do the hard time for you
On the front lines for you
Bring on the pain, the ball and chain
Be executed for you

I'll cover for you, take a hit
I'm your alibi
I got your back
I'm living every day just to die

Every day I die for you
Throw me in the fire, I'd walk right through
I made a promise, it's an I-O-U
I'd D-I-E for Y-O-U

I'd D-I-E for Y-O-U
I'd D-I-E for Y-O-U
I'd die for you, die, D-I-E for you
I'd D-I-E, I'd die for you


I came across this verse last semester in school and fell in love with it immediately.
Then this song by FF5 really captures what love is I feel. I mean Jesus said "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."


I hope that we don't forger what this true love really is.

One Year Ago

I woke up this morning thinking about one year ago today. Where I was. Who my close friends were. What I thought about myself. What I looked like. Where I stood spiritually. Tons of different scenarios were running through my mind.

I remember at this time last year I was getting ready for college, and not knowing what to expect from that experience. I was working at a Dairy Queen and working as much as I possibly could. As I was thinking about all of there year ago memories I pondered how much I worried about the things back then that didn't even last until now.

How true that is in our lives. We get caught up worrying about the things of today and how we have to do this or that. We worry about how we'll pay for this or how we'll make this relationship or that relationship work.

Looking back at all of those things that I once worried about I feel so foolish.

I hope you and I will do better at worrying about the things that God is concerned about, instead of worrying about our own goals and pleasures.

Matthew 6:25-34(NIV)

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

What Season Are You In??

This weekend summer starts and I can’t help but think about the seasons in our personal lives. There are seasons of happiness. Seasons of sorrow. Seasons of joy and peace. Seasons of grief and confusion. Seasons of contentment. Seasons of dryness. It seems that sometimes those hard times in life out weigh the good times, and we get discouraged. We get caught up the suffering we are feeling in the here and now, but maybe there is more to it.

The Bible says: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment is working for use a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”(2 Corinthians 4:17-18)
We have so much suffering here on earth. There’s so much injustice and horrible things happening every day, but we have a greater reward in heaven to look forward to.

What season are you in today?? Are you facing difficulties today?? Are you having trouble with your purpose in life?? Or maybe you’re having one of the best weeks of your life. Just remember that things are going to get even better when we get to be with our Father in Heaven.

Never grow weary in doing good my friends. Don’t give up!!

What If I Stumble? by DC-Talk

What if I stumble, what if I fall?
What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?
Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?
What if I stumble, and what if I fall?


Psalms 40:1-3(The Message)

I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally He listened. He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn't slip. He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God.

Only 3 Days Into It!!

It's only been 3 days at Camp Rock and I'm tired. I'm exhausted and weak. I feel like I'm not doing a whole lot of good sometimes because of my weakness.
But God is good and He has all the strength I need.
2 Corinthians 12:10
For when I am weak, then He is strong

Don't Grow Weary

2 Thessalonians 3:13 (NKJ)
But as for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.

This verse has been running through my head the last few days. I’ve been able to have some great honest conversations with some of my close friends these last couple of days and whenever they’ve told me about how they are tired and broken I tell them this verse, “do not grow weary in doing good.” It’s like it’s just floating out of my mouth and I can’t control it.

I know that we are all facing some kind of hardship in our lives right now and I know that it’s hard to press on and keep on doing the right thing when we’re so tired. We just want to take the easy way out this once. We want to just give in to that temptations just this once because we are so tired of fighting it.

But friend, “don’t grow weary in doing good.” For greater is your reward in Heaven :)

Here are some videos that I found. I thought they were pretty cool. Let me know what you guys think of them...please :)

Miniature World
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvTFKpIaQhM&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.heartsupport.com%2Fblogs%2Fnews%2Fiheart.html&feature=player_embedded

We're All In This Together
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4NlyZqJhwk&feature=channel_page

Savior, Please - Josh Wilson

Savior, please take my hand
I work so hard, I live so fast
This life begins, and then it ends
And I do the best that I can, but I don't know how long I'll last

I try to be so tough
But I'm just not strong enough
I can't do this alone, God I need You to hold on to me
I try to be good enough
But I'm nothing without Your love
Savior, please keep saving me

Savior, please help me stand
I fall so hard, I fade so fast
Will You begin right where I end
And be the God of all I am because You're all I have

Hallelujah
Everything You are to me
Is everything I'll ever need
And I am learning to believe
That I don't have to prove a thing
'Cause You're the one who's saving me

Galations 6:7-9 (The Message)

Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit.

Sin??!!

Sin, it’s something many people don’t like to talk about it, but I think it’s something that needs to be addressed in our culture.

I’m just as guilty as anyone when it comes to sinning. It’s so easy to get caught up in sin and sometimes it feels like we’re overpowered by it. It feels like we can’t escape it and that it’s controlling our lives. Whether it’s lying to others, stealing, looking at porn, self injury, cheating, it’s all stuff that we all deal with.

I hate feeling like I’m controlled by sin. I’m sure you do too.
The thing is…we’re not controlled by sin. We don’t have to live a life that deals with sinning every day. I know it’s impossible to not be tempted, but it is possible to not sin. The Bible says “Christ has made us free” Galatians 5:1. We are free. We don’t have to sin.

We were once slaves to sin. We were born to a sinful nature because of the curse that God placed on humanity through Adam and Eve. BUT Christ paid the price to get rid of that curse. He paid the ultimate price to take away our sin, His life. We don’t have to live in sin anymore.

Yet we still sin, day in and day out. We feel like we’re in bondage. Like there’s no way out and that we will never overcome the sin we’re struggling with.

The thing is…we don’t have to do anything to be free from that sin. The price has already been paid. We just have to messing around with the habits of the life we’re free from.

Allow God to take control of whatever it is you’re struggling with, that’s the only way you’ll feel completely forgiven.

Ephesians 4:22-24 (The Message)
Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

Take You Back - Jermy Camp

The reason why I stand
The answer lies in you
You hung to make me strong
Though my praise was few
When I fall and bring your name down

But I have found in you
A heart that pleads forgiveness
Replacing all these thoughts
Of painful memories
But I know
That your response will always be

I'll take you back always
And even when your fight is over now
Even when your fight is over now
I'll take you back always
And even when the pain is coming through
Even when the pain is coming through
I'll take you back

You satisfy this cry
Of what I'm looking for
And I take all I can
And lay it down
Before the throne of endless grace, now
That radiates what's true

I'm in the only place
That erases all these faults
That have overtaken me
But I know
That your response will always be

I can only speak
With a grateful heart
As I'm pierced by this gift
Of your love

I will always bring an offering
I can never thank you enough

You'll take me back always
And even when my fight is over now
Even when my fight is over now
You'll take me back always
And even when my pain is coming through
Even when my pain is coming through
You'll take me back always

Even when my fight is over now
Even when my fight is over now

You'll take me back always

Even when my pain is coming through
Even when my pain is coming through

You'll take me back

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.

Sometimes our walk with God isn't going to be down an easy path full of fun and excitement, but if you commit to your walk with Him you'll be blessed!!!

Encouragement!

I just want to share with you all some great verses that I came across today while I was reading my Bible.
Isaiah 55:8-9
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Psalm 103:11-12
For as the heavens are higher above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us.

I hope that you were encouraged as much as I was to know that God has bigger plans for us than what is happening today. Whether we are having an amazing day or this is the worse day you’ve had in a long time, God has a bigger plan for you. This suffering which you are feeling will not last forever. This joy which you are experiencing is a great thing, and I hope that it continues for you but God wants all the glory to go to Him. I hope that whether you are going through a hard time or a joyful time you are giving all the glory to God, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Do You Know Forgiveness??

This last weekend I’ve been challenged by God is some crazy ways that I personally don’t like to go through. It’s one thing after another. From being so annoyed by someone to feeling like I was unappreciated and hated by others. And on top of that I couldn’t even find comfort in my own home. I never really thought a person’s life could get so crazy in such a short time.

I went home this weekend and it was hard to be in my room. It brought back some sad memories of depression and feelings of worthlessness. I was going through some old stuff that I had lying around and every time I found something new it would bring more and more pain.

Maybe you’ve been in a similar situation. You see something or someone and it brings back a memory that you’d rather forget. Maybe some of you have a past that you are not proud of and you wish you could take it all back and give it to God.

I would just like to encourage you that no matter what you’ve done in your past, present or future God has and will forgive you. You may have done things against your body or maybe you’ve hurt another person. God doesn’t remember that. He has forgiven you and He has forgotten your sins. We just have to accept His forgiveness!
We have the choice to make. Either we can give our past, present and future problems to God and find a peace within our souls or we can try and do it on our own and continue to feel the pain and sorrow that they bring each day.

What choice will you make today??

Hold On To God, Not Your Problems

Today I was listening to this song called "Hold On" by Abandon...there a new band with a great sound...and some of the lyrics look like this:

Does anybody care
Do you even see
Look past my skin
Do you see me
Do you even know what I’m going through
I need to talk to someone
Can I talk to you

Does anybody care
Do you even see
I’m running out of hope and sanity
Do you even know what I’m going through
I’m having a hard time facing the truth

As I pondered on these lyrics I started to feel pain for those who feel like they don't have any hope. I know that I've felt that way many times, and I know that all of us have gone through times when we feel like everything is wrong and we don't know what to do. We wonder why God would allow this to happen to us. We know that He can fix it, but yet it seems that He just keeps letting it happen.

I just want to let you know that God can fix it. He will fix it. We just have to let Him fix it. We have to stop trying to do things on our own. We try and fix life's hard times with our own power and yet we fail, time and time again. Give your pain, your confusion, your doubt, your fears, your worries, your hard times to God, and "He will raise you up!"

Reality Is Sinking In

Today has been a rough day. I woke up with great expectations for the day, but those soon vanished. I had some homework to do followed by some classes. After I got out of my class at 2:30 I hit reality.

I soon found myself back to my old habits of listening to music in my room(even though it is a different room this time) and acting like nothing is wrong. When I actually I was depressed. I found myself hurting myself(I don't understand how that happens either). Everything I thought that I was doing right I was doing wrong.

I don't like being single. I don't like being alone. I have too much time to sit and think.

And I know all of you are saying "find something constructive to do" but I feel like I have no reason to do anything anymore.

I don't care about my grades anymore. I'm sick of being here. I have to see her around school and everything but I'm not supposed to care about how she is doing. I'm not supposed to ask any questions or act interested.

I'm still broken and I know that God can use me in my brokenness, and I hope He does.

God's Will be done!

Why?!?!

At 11:13 a.m. today my life changed.

My love feels incomplete. I feel like I'm not good enough. I feel broken. I feel empty. I am weak and tired.

God's will be done. Let nothing stand in the way of my Savior's plan.

I hope she's alright. But I'm not supposed to care anymore. I'm not to call. I'm not to hug her. I'm not to ask her how she's doing. I'm not to praise her. I'm not apart of her life anymore, but the only problem is...I STILL LOVE HER!!

The Straight and Narrow

The moment I think I have God's will for me figured out I seem to get shut down. Maybe you are the same way. Everything seems to be going great and then it's like there's a big door shut right in your face. It sucks! Sometimes I wish I could just know what God had in store for me. Then I wouldn't mess up. But then again, I am human so I'm bound to screw up somewhere.

Our Relationship With The Man Up Stairs....Perfect??!!

I feel like many of us Christians think that in order to do God's will we need to feel like we are close to God or that we are bringing others to Christ. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to be "super spiritual" or feel like you are close to God in order to do His perfect will. I've been in close contact to a person who is struggling to feel God's presence in their lives and I think that they feel like they have to feel God's presence or that they have to be "spiritual" in order to be close to God. But I feel like that is a myth and many of us believe that. We feel that we have to be reading our Bible two hours a day and we need to pray before every meal and before we go to bed, but what if there's more to it. I know God wants us to read His word and pray to Him, but is that all there is to life....to go through the motions and have the same routine week in and week out. What do you think!! Do you think we as Christians need to focus more on our relationship with God rather than the actions we think we are supposed to be doing?? God wants us to have a r-e-l-a-t-i-o-n-s-h-i-p. That means there are going to be ups and downs in it. I've never been in a relationship with anyone that has everything go perfect for it, but the ones that I never gave up on and continued through the hard times...those relationships are stronger and more reliable than almost all the rest. I think it's the same way with God. We are going to feel like God is close at times and other times we are going to maybe feel alone and abused, but if we press on through the hard times that relationship with Him will be A-mazing. I know from experience and I hope that all of you will never give up on your journey with God. Press on!! You are not alone

You're Not Alone - Saosin

That's just like him

To wander off in the evergreen park

Slowly searching

For any sign of the ones he used to love

He says hes got nothing left to live for

(He says hes got nothing left)

And this time I think you'll know

Your not alone

There's more to this I know

You can make it out

You will live to tell

She's just like him

Spoiled rotten, confused by the lies shes been fed

Shes searching for no one (but herself)

Her eyes turn to green and she seems to be happy that she is her

And this time I think you'll know

Your not alone

There is more to this I know

You can make it out

You will live to tell

Your not alone

There is more to this i know

You can make it out

(there is more to this)

We're not alone

There is more to this i know

you can make it out

you will live to tell

(so tell me)

Your not alone

There is more to this i know

You can make it out

You will live to tell

Your not alone

Your not, your not alone

Honesty is a word that I feel God has placed on my heart over these past 2 months and last night it was a word that continued through my mind as I was up till 4 a.m. not knowing what that word had to do with me. When I first think of the word "honesty" I think of someone just telling the truth. But when I started to talk to some friends on the internet and they started just opening up to me about how their lives were going and how they were struggling I realized that honesty is what people need to help get them away from their struggles. I was talking with a particular friend last night and she was sharing with me about her struggles. My heart went out for her and she was saying that she "was broken" and wasn't feeling "used by God" That feeling is not uncommon I don't think. I see it my own life many times and I know what it's like to feel alone, useless and broken. When my friend started being honest with me she started to realize that she didn't need to feel useless anymore, but her "light bulb" went off and was encouraged to start helping other people. I feel that honesty was all that she did and now feels better about things. I wonder if honesty and love is all some people need to get out of their "rut". I know some people need counseling and psychiatric help, but there are a lot of people who just need someone to talk to. All they need is someone to be honest to and tell their story to. I hope that I can be someone that people can talk to, someone that people can tell their story's to. I think everyone's story is important, and makes them who they are. God works in everyone differently and I love to hear how He's working in other people.

Being Happy vs. Being Real

This morning I cam across a picture on Heartsupport.com and it really challenged me to think about my motives when I'm talking to someone about either their depression or whatever hard thing they are going through. I had to remind myself about how I felt when I was deep into my depression and what I needed when I was going through that. I put on that "mask" of hiding the pain instead of being real. It was my fault for not just going out there and telling someone. I needed to be real though. I want to make sure that I'm not trying to make people "happy" when all they might need is someone to talk to and be open with. God does want us to be happy but I don't think He wanted me to force happiness on anyone. I need to allow people to go through those hard times, but I don't let them go through it alone. I want to be a person people can come to and put their mask down and have a real conversation, NO PRETENDING. I pray that God will give me the words to say when I need to talk and that He'll help me to be real with those I come in contact with everyday.

what I'm here for

For those of you who will read this I thought I would just say a little something about why I'm doing this. I saw that a few friends had a "blog" site and I felt really blessed to read about what they blogged about...so I thought "why not try this and see if you can impact someone with your words or thoughts?" So now here I am about to start on this blogging world, and let me warn you these things are going to be inconsistent and random...but that's just who I am :)