Just for fun

I just wanted to share this with all you guys. It is a paper that i wrote today. EnJoY!!

It is true when people say that a dog is man’s best friend. They have protected us, helped us, and watched over and kept in line our farm animals. Dogs are a big part of a human’s life.

The first category that I’m going to talk about is the hunting dogs.
There are many different kinds of hunting dogs each for different purposes in the world. But I only have two dogs that I am going to talk about.
Labrador retriever is one of the world’s top 5 best dogs you could ever own. Along with their amazing temperament they are great hunting dogs. Usually they only go and retrieve (hence the name) the animal that their owner has already killed, but they do fish. It is actually quite funny to watch. The dog just stares into the water and suddenly dives his head into the water and when you least expect it he pops his head back out with a fish in his mouth. If you ever have a chance to see a dog go fishing I suggest you go and enjoy it.
A Scottish deer hound, I think you can guess what they hunt. If you can’t then I will tell you now, they hunt deer. My mom owns a dog boarding business and has actually taken care of two Scottish deer hounds. They are so tall! Picture this, my mom is five foot eight inches and the Scottish deer hound goes to her waist. These dogs are amazing dogs.

Herding dogs is the next category.
A Collie is better known as Lassie. That is the kind of dog Lassie was. They are amazing herders. You almost don’t have to teach them how to herd because they seem to already know what they are meant to do. That’s how it seems to be with Border collies and Australian shepherds too. It seems that God has put something in them that tells them what they are supposed to do. It is so amazing that He would do that!

The third and final category is the dogs that are here to protect us.
A Pitbull is a protective dog. But it’s not entirely true how people portray them to be. Pitbulls are very sweet dogs. Even though everyone says and thinks that they are some vicious animal, they are not. The only time that you can say that they are vicious is when the pitbull thinks that his owner is in some sort of danger and needs help.
German Shepherds, Dobermans, Bullmastiffs, Malamutes (sled dogs), and Boxers are just some of the dogs that are said to be mean and vicious but really aren’t. I’m not saying that there aren’t any vicious dogs there are always going at least one dog from a breed that will be a mean dog.
I hope that all of the things that I have stated in my paper make you think of dogs in a better way. Every person should have a dog. After all a man’s best friend is a dog.

late update

i kind of forgot to tell y'all this but i got my license!! it is very exciting!! yep, so there is that.
and then.....
the man that got killed in Afghanistan on september 24, was the husband of a friend that went to my old church. Joseph is the husband's name and Jessica is his wife's name. they were married in may of this year. she is doing really bad. so i would ask you all to pray for her and their families. i would greatly appreciate it and i know that they would also.

confronting people

so i might not make sense on this post. i'm not really sure how to explain what i want to say. so if you know what i'm trying to say but don't think others will please write a comment. or even if i am completely wrong with how i am writing this write a comment. i would greatly appreciate it.

why don't friends confront their friends when they are sinning? why do you just let them keep scooting backwards from God? why don't you just ask the Lord for strength and confront them in a godly, i want to help you follow Christ way? is it because you don't want to lose them as a friend or is it because you just can't do it? those aren't very good reasons. do you know how important it is to tell someone that they are sinning? if no one ever did that we would have really no Christians.
i have recently confronted one of my friends and if i hadn't who knows what would have happened if she kept on sinning (just so you know she repented and is right with God now). who cares if you lose their friendship? well, you would. that is what kept me from going to my friend. i had told myself for the longest time that i needed to talk to her but i then told myself that she would not be my friend after i talked with her. that was on my mind alot. i was thinking like a week later and this is what i thought, "trying to win her back to Christ and telling her that she is sinning is way more important then our friendship." it might seem like i don't care about my friend but i do. i love her to death!! i had wrote everything down that i wanted to say to her and was going to call her, actually i was going to call her today, but Christ had His own plan and brought it before today. but i was prepared to talk to her. and like i said she saw that she was sinning and repented! that made my day! to see her come back to Christ was just wonderful!
but if you are planning on going to someone and tell them that they are sinning you need to first make sure that you are not going to be a hypocrite and tell them something that you yourself are doing. you need to get the log out of your own eye before you go after the speck in your friend's. (Matthew 7:5). BUT if you are the one who is being confronted and the person who is confronting you didn't get the log out of his own eye first don't go and attack him (so to speak). say to him, "thank you for telling me. i appreciate you coming to me." and if it's true, then you should go and take care of your sin and repent. then after you have done that you can go to that person, IF they have not themselves repented of that sin, and tell them that you have seen a pattern of sin recently that you think they need to take care of. it is so important to go to or friend or your sibling and tell them that they are sinning. if you don't that sin might cause them to keep scooting farther and farther from God.

Bible class

in my Bible class today my teacher, mr. brix, told a story. he was on a plane ride and was seated next to a man who happened to be a muslim. the man was very nervous about something. he was shaking that's how nervous he was. that made mr. brix nervous because it was the year 2001 right after 9/11. so mr. brix decided to share the gospel with this man. the problem with this man though was that he would not admit that he had done anything wrong in his life. he said that he wasn't what mr. brix told him that everyone else is, a sinner.

mr. brix asked, "you have never done anything wrong? not even something small?" the man said , "well, i guess i have done something really small. but that doesn't matter."

mr. brix thought of an illustration. he said, "i have a clean, white sheet of paper here. lets say it represents perfection. lets also say that any mark on the paper represents sin." mr. brix started to put pen marks all over the paper. in the man's mind most people had many marks on their paper. but he did not, he lived a good life. mr. brix asked, "if you have a sheet of paper and it represents your life and it only has one dot on it. is it still a clean sheet of paper?" the man said, "no, its not." mr. brix said, "so it doesn't matter if it has many marks on it or just one. neither of them level up to the perfection of God. and neither can enter His presence of holiness. sure some have sinned more than others. but all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

I have fulfilled Christ's command!

yesrerday evening i was baptized along with 12 others. it was a pretty awesome experience. i got to share my testimony in front of the entire church. now i'm going to share it with you all. a friend of mine has suggested that i write it in sections so then you all come back. :) that is what i'm going to do. i will give the first part of my testimony tomorrow. and then from then on you'll just have to keep checking to see if i have posted any other parts of it. haha. no i'll try to have a section of my testimony posted every day until i'm done.
come back tomorrow.

Questions

in my small group, at ichthus, there were two questions that were asked.
the first one was: why does satan try and tempt us when he knows that we are apart of God's elected people?
my small group leader wanted us to try and figure it out on our own. so some said because satan is evil and that's why he tempts us. others said maybe he thinks that we can lose our salvation. then i said that satan doesn't want us to do as God commands so then we don't obey Him. satan hates God and so he doesn't want us to do anything that would glorify God. and satan does know that we cannot lose our salvation.

the second question was: why are we to go out and evangelize to others, when we don't know if the person that we are evangelizing to is apart of the elect or not?
people gave some answers but i don't remember what they said. but i said we are to go and evangelize to people because that is what God has commanded us to do. we are to spread the Gospel to everyone (Matthew 28:19, Mark 13:10 and Mark 16:15) even if they aren't apart of the elect. the Lord commands us to do that so we must obey Him.
(i did not say this part) this goes back to the first question, the second question is a temptation to say well if i don't know if they are apart of the elect then i don't want to waste my time evangelizing to them. that is a temptation to not obey the Lord's command. we are to obey Him. we are also called to have the right heart attitude when we do obey Him. if you have a slothful heart then you are not having a servants heart. therefore you are not obeying the Lord. you have to have a servants heart, a godly heart, to be able to serve the Lord.

more from Hope For Each Day

okay so i love Hope For Each Day ALOT!! so you are going to be getting alot of the days that i read and want to share with you all. this books makes me think and see how the day that i am reading pertains to me. i see it and ask the Lord to change that in my life and help me work to keep that an ongoing part of my life. hopefully you see something in one of these days that pertains to you and you also change it. but remember you need the Lord's help to change it. remember from Ichthus; you are totally depraved! you can do nothing without Christ.

June 27
Trust and Obey
Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust
Psalm 40:4

Some years ago someone gave my little boy a dollar. He brought it to me and said, "Daddy, keep this for me." But in a few minutes he came back and said, "Daddy, I'd better keep my own dollar." He tucked it in his pocket and went out to play. In a few minutes he came back tears in his eyes, saying, "Daddy, I lost my dollar. Help me find it."
How often we commit our burdens to the Lord and then fail to trust Him by taking matters into our own hands. Then, when we have messed things up, we pray, "Oh, Lord, help me, I'm in trouble."
The choice is yours. Do you want to trust your life in God's "pocket" or keep it in your own? The Bible's promise is true: "Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust."


June 29
Peace, Perfect Peace
I will give you assured peace in this place.
Jeremiah 14:13

"Worry," says Vance Harvner, "is like sitting in a rocking chair. It will give you something to do, but it won't take you anywhere." Worry and anxiety have hounded the human race since the beginning of time, and modern man with all his innovations has not found the cure for the plague of worry.
What is the answer? Imagine in your mind a ferocious ocean storm beating against a rocky shore. The lightning flashes, the thunder roars, the waves lash the rocks. But then imagine that you see a crevice in the rocky cliff-and inside is a little bird, its head serenely tucked under its wing, fast asleep. It knows the rock will protect it, and thus it sleeps in peace.
God promised Moses, "I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand" (Exodus 33:22). That is God's promise to us. Christ is our Rock, and we are secure in His hands forever. The storm rages, but our hearts are at rest.


July 2
The Call of Christ
The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.
1 Corinthians 3:19

Some may contend that the way for the Church to make the world a better place is to become like it. But whenever the Church does this, it ends up compromising its spiritual authority and losing its influence. Instead of changing the world, the world changes it.
God doesn't want us to isolate ourselves. In praying for His disciples Jesus said,"As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world" (John 17:18). If we isolate ourselves from others, we have no impact and demonstrate a lack of love.
But neither does God want us to become like the unbelieving world. We are to be separate, refusing to adopt its motives, attitudes, and patterns of behavior. The Bible warns, "All this is in the world-the lust of flessh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the Father but of the world" (1 John 2:16). Let Christ fill your life, and there won't be room for the world.

Hope for each day

Hope for each day is a book i read every day when i do my quiet time. i would like to share with you some of the things that has made me think.
this is what i read on June 11.

The Privilege of Prayer
Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
John 16:24

What privilege is ours: the privilege of prayer! Just think of it: you and i have the incredible privilege of approaching the God of the Universe, "the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy" (Isaiah57:15)! We can only do this because Jesus Christ has opened the way.

We are to pray in times of adversity, lest we become faithless and unbelieving.

We are to pray in times of prosperity, lest we become boastful and proud.

We are to pray in times of danger, lest we become fearful and doubting.

We are to pray in times of security, lest we become self-sufficient.

Pray, believing, in the promise of God's Word that, "If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" (1 John 5:14)

June 15.


Accept God's Freedom
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
James 4:8


One day a little child was playing with a valuable vase. He put his hand into it and could not take it out. His father, too, tried his best to get the little boy's hand out, but all vain. They were thinking of breaking the vase when the father said, "Now, my son, make one more try.Open your hand and hold your fingers out straight as you see me doing and then pull."

To the father's astonishment the little fellow said, "Oh no, Daddy. I couldn't put my fingers out like that because if i did i would drop my penny."

Smile if you will- but thousands of us are like that little boy,so busy holding on to the world's worthless trifles that we cannot accept God's freedom.
What "trifle" is keeping you from God? A sin you won't let go of? An unworthy goal you are determined to reach? A dishonorable relationship you won't give up? I beg you to drop that trifle in your heart. Surrender!Let go and let God have His way in your life.

June 21.

Free But Not Cheap
If anyone desires to come after Me, let him.....take up his cross, and follow Me.
Matthew 16:24

During the early years of the twentieth century, Bill Borden turned his back on one of America's great family fortunes to become a missionary to China. He only got has for as Egypt where, still in his twenties, he died of typhoid fever. Before his death he wrote, "No reserves, no retreats, no regrets!"
Discipleship is always costly. No, it may not cost us our lives. But it will cost us. It will cost us our plans, our wills, our selfish desires. Jesus' standard has not changed: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matt. 16:24). Instead of controlling our lives, we turn them over to Christ as Lord.
Someone has said, "Salvation is free but not cheap." It cost Jesus His life, and it will cost us as well. But could anything be greater? Could anything be more fulfilling?
Follow Christ, and at life's end you will be able to say, "No regrets!"

So that is what i have been reading this month in Hope for each day. I hope it made you think.

surgery

well things certainly have happened in my life since i last blogged. i think i will begin with my Pop-o (Grandpa).

my Pop-o had a brain surgery last monday, he was home by thursday. the day of his surgery was a stressful day. i had a dream the night before his surgery of what could go wrong durning it. this is what i had dreamt; the surgery was going great and then the doctors hand slipped and cut one of his major veins or something. also that after the surgery was over and he was in the recovery room, awake and couldn't remember who i was. those were my fears that day. but none of those things happened of course. this is how it happened. we (meaning my mom, caroline and me) arrived at the hospital. my Pop-o had already been in his surgery for almost an hour and the doctor said that the surgery would take about 2 hours, that was around 1:30pm. the doctor didn't end up coming out until 5:45ish. my dreams came into my mind while i was waiting. But when it passed 3 hours that he had been in there, i thought to myself, "why am i worrying? he is in the Lord's hands right now and if the Lord decides to take him today then so be it. he will be with the Lord." now do not think that i don't care about my Pop-o. i do very much, but i needed to trust in the Lord with that and that is what i did.
my Pop-o's surgery went fine, he also remembered my name.

My paper that convicted me

This is more towards girls then guys, but if you would like to read it then go head.

Would you like and older sister or a younger sister? if you already have sisters older, younger or maybe both and don't really like them, you should rethink that; i should know i have three older sisters and one younger sister. your sisters are some of the best friends you'll ever have.
Older sisters are great to have because then you can borrow their clothes, their make-up, you can basically use any of their stuff. those are not the main reasons why having older sisters is great. you can share you secret thoughts with them. for example, you could tell them who you have a crush on, how your walk with the Lord is, or you could talk with them about what you are struggling with and ask them to keep you accountable and pray for you. you really need to show your sisters respect. now, i'm not just talking about older sisters i'm talking about younger sisters as well.
Younger sisters can be a pain at times. they follow you around where ever you go, and they do everything you do. but that should just be showing you how much they want to be like you. think about when you young and how you were your older sister's shadow. Remember how they would just tell you to go away but you never did because you loved them? it is just the same as with your younger sister as it was when you were young. little sisters are so much fun to have because if they do whatever you do and you are showing her a godly example for them just think about what they will do when they get older, and maybe they have a younger sister also that is in their shadow. they will handle it with a godly attitude because you set a godly example for them to follow.
You will always have friends that will come and go in your life. But your sisters will be your best friend for their entire lives. They will always be there for you. Sisters truly are your best friends for life.

just a quick little note.

i am sorry that i haven't written in awhile. there's just no good things that are popping into my brain. but i am about to read Ruth so maybe i will get inspired by something in there and will write to y'all about what i though.

it is really windy at my house right now and i wanted really badly to drive to church tonight. but i'm not so sure if i wish to drive in this crazy wind. i guess if i do then i'll just need to trust the Lord to keep my family and myself safe.

driving

so i did get my permit even though it was snowing like crazy on monday. my dad did not want me to have to drive on 522 for my first drive so he stopped in town and then said i was driving the rest of the way home. i was so excited to drive. but in my excitedness and wanting to show off to my dad that i do know how to drive, i put the car into drive and not reverse and slowly took my foot off the brake and learned that i was in drive and not in reverse. my dad has been laughing about that since. but over all he said that i did a good job, i just need to learn to go a little faster. then yesterday i drove with my mom. she made me drive on hwy2 i was scared but those verse stayed in my head and i asked the Lord to help me make wise choices and i did alright. my mom and my sister Caroline both said for my second time driving on a public road i did good. now coming from one of my sister that is great! oh, and i also swerved to miss a bird, actually i would have hit two birds if they would not have flown away. but i knew that i couldn't so i didn't and my mom was proud of me. so over all i'm doing good!!

fifteen and a half

so i am getting my permit tomorrow. it is crazy! i don't feel like i should get my permit, i feel to young. but i am!! I am hoping that i don't have to drive from Everett to Monroe, or have to drive on 522 for my first drive. i will be scared out of my mind if i have to drive on one of those roads.
but a verse that keeps on coming to my mind and that is Psalm 46:1-2 God is my refuge and God is my strength, in every present help in trouble. therefore i will not fear though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the misted of the sea.
if we are in Christ than He will be our refuge and strength where ever we go. God is with us always. isn't that comforting to you. i know it is to me. i will never be alone.
another verse that comes to mind is Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall make you paths straight.
we are to trust in the Lord whatever our circumstance is. when i am scared, i am not trusting in the Lord with all of my heart. i thought that that was really convicting.
if you would like to you could pray for me. that i would listen to instructions while driving, trust in the Lord that i won't crash, and also that i won't swerve to not hit a bird.
Thank you.

Talking

so tonight i shared in front of One28. i dislike to speak in front of people. i was extremely nervous. when i am nervous i ramble and lose my train of thought and say things that don't even make sense, it is bad. but when i was thinking about it on my way home it boils down to not trusting the Lord. i need to trust in the Lord to give me the right words to speak and to calm my nervous. i usually think about what people are thinking of me and that is not glorifying the Lord. i need to be thinking about the Lord at all times and not of myself. that is called being selfish.
(sorry that i have not been posting a lot, but nothing has come to mind).
those of you who have jobs, you should love them. i wish i had a job so bad, but i am to young to have a job. do not take your job for granted. so many people in this world don't have a job and wish they did. you can also witness to your co-works and customers, that is such a privilege to do that. if you are thinking that i will think differently when i have a job, i don't think i will. with the Lord you can do all things. Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. that is so true. all we need to do is ask. but when we ask we can not doubt Him. that would not be the right heart attitude. we need to make sure how we ask is with the right heart attitude.

Life

i became a christian a little over a year ago in november of 2007. it was a wednesday and my mom and i had just finished talking about my salvation and i came to the conclusion that i was not a christian. i went back to what i was doing before my mom and i our talk, that was wedding. i took the little fork thingy and started to whack it at the weeds because of how angry i was. i was mad at my mom and at myself. why i was mad with my mom is because she had uncovered my secret of my heart. i was mad at myself for not storming out of that room when she started to talk about my heart. i am so glad that i didn't. anyway, while i was beating the ground i started to cry, i started to bawl. i finally realized that i was a wretched sinner and i needed the Lord to save me and come into my heart, and change the way i acted, and act more like him. so that wednesday, november ?, 2007 i became a christian.
let me take you back to how i acted before i got saved. i was three when i said the prayer and told everyone that i was a christian. i didn't even know what a christian was at that age. anyway, i was saying that i was a christian and my mom would always ask me how my bible reading was going. i would say good. she would then ask me, "what did you learn?" i would say, "i'll be right back." i would run up stairs open my bible for the first time that day, scan through a passage and then go and tell her what i learned.
Also, whenever i would get frustrated with my sisters (Caroline) my mom would always, always say that whatever is in my heart will come out. i got mad that she would say that so i decided to just act like i was nice but really i was lashing out inside. i am so thankful for a mom that confronts me about my sin. she could always tell that i was seething inside. a verse that my mom had made me say when i was younger and still reminds me of it. Philippians 4:4 rejoice in Lord always; again i say rejoice. when i was young i hated that verse, but now it is one of my favorites.
i most likely would not be where i am with my walk with the Lord had i not come to Grace. Grace has taught me so much. the pastor's teach the word, and the people keep me accountable. my relationship became more hot after snow retreat. so now we are in the present. i didn't mean to come back so soon, but it happened. lets go back, where should i start? oh, i know.
Sean, Bekah Wentling, Grant, Becca Barnts, Charissa, Mr. and Mrs. Weinberg, and Sarah Zimmer, all of these people have been helping me with my walk with the Lord. ( my family too, but i was only saying people that are at my church). I never have had people, who were not in my family, keep me accountable, ask me about my bible reading, what i thought about the sermon. it encourages me so much when people do that. Thank you all for helping me with my walk. i really do appreciate it.

troubles

okay so i don't really know what i am going to blog about tonight, so i'm thinking that this might be a random one.
okay, so i have noticed that i have not been being patient with other people. like they don't know that i'm not being patient with them but i know that i am not being patient in with them inside me. that is something that i have struggled with my entire life. i will say one thing to them and then say something completely different about them in my head. to me this is a really big sin issue of mine. oh, and also i like to tell others when a person bothers me, and that right there is gossip. i listened to a radio show this morning on Titus 2:3. it was talking about slander and how the greek word for slander is diabolos and how that would is used for satan. we are doing the devil's work when we slander. (slander: gossip, idle words, lying, talking behind someones back, boasting cursing, evil speaking). i think we can all say, or a least all of us girls can say, that we have slandered about someone. this has been very convicting. we are to put slander out of our lives. Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. you can't just stop speaking gossip, you have to get it out of your heart, so that there is no way for it to come in. i know that i have said this before, but i will say it again. you can not do this on your own!! you need the Lord's help to overcome it! don't listen to slander or gossip about others. that will just make you want to speak it more. i believe that even listening to slander/gossip is a sin (that is my opinion). make sure you stop the slander/gossip that you hear. it is not glorifying the Lord at all when you slander/gossip. who are you being like when you slander/gossip? are you being like Jesus? or are you being like satan?

how amazing is our God!!!

okay, so i have some exciting news for everyone!!!! my sister Caroline.....got saved!!!!!!!! it makes me so excited!! i was getting afraid i have to say. when i posted 'my favorite verse' i got sad. i was thinking that Caroline might be the one that was going to be burned over and over again while i'm praising God. i was so afraid that might happen. but i realized that when i am afraid i am not glorifying the Lord, setting a godly example for my sister, and not trusting in the Lord. i was really convicted by that. so i decided to let the Lord take over and i put my trust in the Lord. and looked what happened!! it just makes me so excited!! i thought i would share this exciting news with you all!!

worries

there was a sermon on worrying by Bruce Alvord. he is a missionary at my church, and he did an amazing sermon on worrying. i was really convicted by it. one of the points was ' it doesn't help or add anything to our lives when we worry.' he is so right about that. what does worrying cause us to do? it causes us to sin and to not trust in the Lord. Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. i know that i have said that verse before, but it is a great one to remember. we need to trust in the Lord, and we can trust in the Lord! how exciting is that? i find it very exciting!!
another point was, 'worrying ruins today with our worries for tomorrow.' how true that is. i am a worry wart. i worry about all the little things that people don't really worry about. and those little worries ruin the next day. it also does not glorify the Lord when we worry. Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. God will take care of tomorrow, we do not have to worry about tomorrow. when we worry it just double our troubles. that is somthing that has been on my mind for a long time.

do all for the glory of God

who doesn't like homework? who doesn't put that much effort into their homework?
i know that i don't really like to do school at all! and i didn't put that much effort into my classwork/homework either. well, do you know what we are doing when we do this? we are being lazy disobeying God, and more things but i cannot think of them right now.
1 Corinthians 10:31 So, weather you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. we are to do everything to bring more glory to God!! and that means doing our homework with effort will bring more glory to Him. but if you are just doing this because the bible says for you to and your heart really just wants to get it done quickly and effortlessly, then you are not bringing any glory to the Lord. you need to be doing it with a happy heart, with a willing heart, with a submissive heart, with a God-honoring heart, in order to bring Him glory. this doesn't just apply to school though, this applies to everything that you do and say. do all for the glory of God. "all" meaning everything! so, go out and give Him all the glory.

example

are you setting a godly example for people? younger, older? siblings, friends, strangers? i know that i don't always set that great of an example for people. with younger people i just don't think that they are watching what i do. but they are. the same with older people, i just don't think that they are watching me, looking at my life and how i live it.
i know that with my siblings i didn't really care how i acted around them. but i do care now!! (just to let you know i will most likely be talking about snow retreat a lot). during snow retreat i had realized how bad of an example that i was setting for my sisters. especially with my little sister Caroline. i had never set a good example for her, not even an okay one. i broke down crying when i finally figured that one out. i see so much of me in her and how i acted before i got saved, and that is not good. i have been trying to work on this. (remember you need the Lord's help you cannot do it on your own). and so i asked the Lord for His help and He totally is helping me with it!!! and i am seeing a change, my sisters are seeing a change, and even people that aren't in my family are seeing a change!!! it makes me so excited!!
okay lets see, what are we on? oh, friends. i have always thought about what people were saying about me but never what they were saying about my spiritual life. it scares me now that i never thought of that! but now i am! i am always wondering if i am showing off the Lord or what i can do to show Him off even more. i love it!!
strangers are kind of like friends. but i rarely thought, "do they think that i am christian?" that really didn't ever cross my mind. i was to much into myself and worried about what i looked like that i never thought about it. that is selfishness!!!
don't do what i did. you need to ask yourself, "are they seeing Christ in my life?". we need to think of better ways to show God off more.

an incredible story

have you ever read Daniel? i have been reading Daniel for my quiet time. it is an amazing book about trusting in the Lord with all your heart. i am only in the ninth chapter, but take Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego for instance. those three men stood up to King Nebuchadnezzar when he said that everyone had to bow down and worship his golden image and if they didn't they would be thrown into the fiery furnace. still after they heard that that would happen to them they didn't do as King Nebuchadnezzar said. for they knew that they were only to serve their God, the one true God of the entire universe. Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered him, "it is written you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve." and that is what they did. they were not about to disown God just so they could save themselves. they show great faith in the Lord, faith that i think all of us should have, faith that i want. anyway, i believe you know the rest of this incredible story, but i will tell you anyway. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the furnace but they did not burn. when King Nebuchadnezzar looked into to the furnace there were not just three in there but four people. also they were walking and talking with each other and not burning. finally King Nebuchanezzar called them to come out of the furnace. when they did they did not smell like smoke they did not have a singed strand of hair on their head. King Nebuchadnezzar was amazed. Daniel 3:28 Nebuchanezzar answered and said, "blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants, who trusted in Him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than to serve and worship any god except their own God. they had great faith in the Lord.
what would you do in that kind of situation? would you bow down to the golden image or would you stand up for God, and trust Him to take care of you?

eating habits

something that i struggle with is being afraid of what people say about me. that is why, for people who know me, i don't like to eat a lot of food in front of people. i am afraid of what they will think of me. so i don't eat as much as i would if i was at home with just my family. this is something that i have been trying to work on. i am just being selfish, disobeying God, and really i'm lying about who i really am. Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.
i am not trusting the Lord when i am being afraid of what people think of me.
oh, remember, if you struggle with this also, that you can not do it on your own, you need Christ's help, you need to ask Him for help.

lukewarmness

i thought of this while i was at snow retreat. after the lukewarm sermon i got a cup of hot water took it back to my room and forgot about it until cabin time was over. i took a drink of it and hated the taste because it was lukewarm. then i thought to myself that this is my life, i am this lukewarm cup of water. i loath lukewarm water so then i thought, should i hate my life? and the answer to that question is yes. that is one thing that made me wake up at snow retreat.

my favorite verse

Revelation 20:10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were. and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
you might be thinking to yourself that i am crazy to have that verse as my favorite. but think of it like this, that the bad guy is not going to win, that he will burn forever and never harm us again. And that while he is burning we will be singing praises to God. i know it doesn't say that we will be praising God while they are getting burned, but we will be. We will never get burned again. that is something thing that i am looking forward to when i get to heaven. no more pain shall ever fall on us again.

my first blog

i went to a funeral today. i have never really liked funerals, but who does? but it makes a difference when the person who has passed away was a christian. this man was an amazing christian! he impacted my life so much! if you heard his testimony you also would look at your life differently. this man's name was Bob Porter. Bob was like my uncle. he was the sweetest man ever. when ever i saw Bob he always asked me how my bible reading was going, how my walk with the Lord was. his number one love was Christ, and also to help other people with their walk with the Lord. he helped my dad with his walk with the Lord. you could just tell by his actions and how he talked that he was a christian. Bob's love for Christ was amazing! i want to have has much love for Christ has Bob did, and i believe he still does, now more than ever. but i realize that i can have as much love for Christ has Bob did, maybe even more!
even though you don't know Bob's family could you please pray for them? even though they know that he is with the Lord they are still hurting. Especially for his wife Jacqueline. she has just lost her best friend. thank you to all of you who are praying for them.