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.