I'm amazed.

I love how God works in unexpected ways. He is so amazing.

I've been feeling really disconnected from God lately. If you haven't
noticed, all of my recent posts have been more...forced than usual.

Once again I had fear. I knew I needed Jesus back. So tonight, he
reassured me of how loved I am.

I went to an amazing service tonight. The main point I got from it
was: 'Know God, and love is yours.'

1 Chronicles 22:19
Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the lord your God.

Never feel as though you've learned enough and that you are perfectly
ready for him. Because in all truth, you by yourself will NEVER be
ready. No matter how much you read, how much you pray you ALONE will
NEVER be ready. You have to keep learning, growing reaching. You can
never come to a stopping point. But if you ask him to help you, ask
him to guide you, when your time comes you will be saved. He will help
you.

Never lose faith. The words 'I can't?' should not be in your
vocabulary. Because Jesus said 'If you can? Everything is possible for
him who believes!' Mark 9:23

Everything is possible with Christ on your side! Never doubt him.
Never let others get you into the mind set that some things 'just
aren't possible.' Jesus can perform MIRACLES! He can save lives! Pray
for those you want to be healed, because the best doctor is God.

God makes me laugh. God makes me cry. But God is with me always,
always he is there.

God, thank you for all you have done today. Thank you for restoring
all faith I had lost. Thank you for taking away my fear, for showing
me anything is possible! God, I love you.
Amen

,.-'+'-.,

So you know how I randomly open my bible sometimes? Just to see what I
find? Well today I got a message, which seemed to be specifically for
me...

*iSaIaH 35:4*
Say to those with fearful hearts, 'Be strong, do not fear; your God will come.

I just thought I'd share that comforting verse with you.

So, I'm supposing that we've all heard about loving our enemies and
yada yada yada....right?

*MaTtHeW 5: 47*

"And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than
others. Do not even pagans do that?"

So in my opinion this is saying "Be different. Be like Christ. Don't
do things ordinarily, do things extraordinarily!"

You are awesome! You are in essence, trying to tell others about God's
love and trying to help change their lives, correct? Well how can you
do this if you can't demonstrate how God's love can change! How his
love can heal!

Soothing words
Comforting hugs
These a demonstration
Of the good Lord above

The gift of happiness, peace
You are amazing, his precious one
And through you my friend
All of his work can be done

Spreading joy
Showing all his power
Saving their eternity
By sharing one small hour

God's love is great
God's love is pure
God's love can heal
God's love can cure

luvssss...

.

I love Jesus and he loves me.

What more is there to say?

So you know....

Alright, you know how all Christians say that God has had your life
set out for you since before you were born?

So....that would mean that God chooses who will go to heaven or hell
in the end, and we really have no choice right?

This is soo untrue. God did make your life plan, that is true. But he
created choices in it...

You see, your life plan is more like climbing a tree (that God
made)...You start at the bottom and then it splits off into a couple
of branches, which you must choose from. And on those branches are
more branches, and every branch you choose is another decision. Some
of the branches are weaker than others, but as you are climbing your
own little tree of life it is always possible to get back on the right
path.

You could also compare life to a highway (again, that God made). You
start off on one main road and go onto exits and other roads and you
may not know where you are. But God is like your own personal GPS.
There is always a way to get to the destination you want to be at.
Some just take more faith and patience than others.

And I think on each of these exits there are signs, such as the signs
that tell you where food is. These signs along the road help you get
to what you need. And on your personal highway, all of these signs are
pointing to God. This is also like fruit on a tree. The fruit will
nourish you and keep you going. Just like God does.

So never think, when you're having a tough day, that God is intending
to make your life miserable. You won't always be lost. Having faith in
him is what can get you back in the right direction.

God loves you and will NEVER let you down.

luvvvssssss.....

faith

tomorrow....

Tomorrow I'm going to have a good post. Actually, a REALLY good post.
And if I wasn't having a sleepover right now, I would write it...

Patience my dears....

*-.-*

Just let this sink in...

2 Corinthians 7:6
"His love endures forever"

Shakespeare and Jesus...

'God is my refuge and my strength, my ever present help in times of trouble.'

Psalm 46:1

Here is a list of what else God is....

-Loving
-Caring
-Forgiving
-There with you
-Amazing
-Helping
-Your creator
-Serenity
-The sacrifice
-Perfect
-Almighty
-King of Kings
-Love

Some people may think, that because he says some of these things about
himself he is a bit conceited. Well, to me, it's as the saying goes.
'It isn't bragging if it's true!'

Oops. I left something of the list.

-The truth

Actually, I left a lot of the list, because another description of God
is 'indescribable'.

Some people think of the bible as fiction, because it was written in a
time that isn't in our history books. So they don't believe any of it
was ever real. But they also believe that Shakespeare was real because
he left his books of plays, so it was impossible for him to be made
up. Even if it was in another time.

The bible is like God's personal 'book of plays'. It's showing that he
was there. And it shows you the messages he wants to get across, just
like Shakespeare.

So if you ever start to doubt the truthfulness of the bible, think
about Shakespeare. Think about how we always try to find the meaning
of his plays, and try to understand them. Do that with the bible too.
Because unlike plays, which are fiction, the bible is ALL truth! And
the truth is great.

luvssss...

PS: I wasn't originally going to write that. So maybe God knew that
one of my readers needed to hear this....he's awesome like that in
getting messages across :)

People w/ Praying Problems...

Ok, I understand. We're all having some praying problems. I'm just
here to give some tips....

-When you just can't remember that thing that you prayed about so you
don't even remember if it happened...

This is a REALLY good way to pray. Get a notebook and just write down
your prayers instead of saying them aloud! I used to do this and
praying is a lot easier now. I know exactly what I want to pray for
and why. Just try it!

-But it didn't HAPPEN!
When people say this, the prayer is usually something like 'God, help
me get an A on this test' or 'God, help me win this competition'

Well, I see two problems...

A: They wording. THIS test could be ANY test. You should probably say
something more along the lines of, 'The Geography test I'm about to
take.' Because if he helped you on another test, he would still be
answering the same prayer

B: Think about what you are asking for. Are you mentally and
physically prepared? If you are doing a competition, and you haven't
been practicing do you really have the strength to do it? You should
probably prepare yourself before praying, and then use words like
'help me use my strength'

NOTE: THESE ARE NOT NECESSARY! THESE ARE MERELY TIPS! YOU CAN PRAY
HOWEVER YOU WANT! THERE IS NO WRONG WAY TO PRAY! THESE WILL JUST HELP
YOU TELL GOD EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED WITHOUT HIM HAVING TO DIG THROUGH
YOUR THOUGHTS.

Okay, just had to say that. Yes, God does know what you need in life.
And he will provide when neccesary. Praying is the way of you telling
God how much you trust him.

You tell your best friend almost everything right? Well, God knows
everything about you. But when you reveal these innermost thoughts and
deep secrets to him, he knows that you are turning yourself over to
him. He knows that you trust him and rely on him for everything.

God loves you like crazy and he absolutely loves to hear your voice.
He aches to have a conversation with you and until heaven, prayer is
the closest he gets.

luvsss

PrAyEr

One thing I've learned about prayer, is that you have to be specific.
God doesn't want to have to read your mind to find out what you want.
He wants you to tell him, specifically, what you need.

For instance, the other day, I was going to try a back handspring. I
prayed that I would have courage to execute the move correctly. I
never actually said back handspring. I said 'this move.'

That very day I didn't learn a back handspring...

But I did learn a back tuck. :)

He will ALWAYS answer your prayers....

But you have to be specific.

Mini post

Sorry I haven't posted the past two days, multiple sleepovers...

Soooo...

I really want to do a study on other religions. Because it seems to me
that in some other religions you worship something that could be in
one of the following categories,

A: It isn't alive
B: Doesn't care about you OR
C: Will not forgive you

And most of all, didn't die for you!

This isn't referring to all religions, btw, just some...

But I mean, I love God. And it's always nice to know that someone is
always there for me. He is, in a sense, my bodyguard. He will die for
me, be my friend, and mainly, he's there. He's just really cool.

luvss...

A bit bummed...

I am a bit bummed that no one has been commenting/ responding to my
posts. It's a bit sad. Tutu yobu, much thanks.

But tonight, I would like to tell some stories. Except I'm not going
to read the verses and then explain them. I am quite simply going to
tell the stories, using verses.

Actually, the stories are very similar.

A ruler tells Jesus that his daughter just died. He goes to the house
and says, 'The girl is not dead but asleep.'

But they laughed at him
Matthew 9:24

But it's true.

Jesus tells a paralytic, 'Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.'

Some of the teachers said, 'This fellow is blaspheming!'
Matthew 9:3

But he's healed, and it's true.

Two blind men have faith that Jesus will return their sight.

The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet....
Matthew 21:31

But their vision was repaired.

And during all of this, the Pharisees are requesting a sign. I know,
it's so stupid. There WERE signs. He was being ridiculed for no good
reason.

He's being laughed at, ridiculed, yelled at, and crucified all because
of a lack of faith.

He lived a perfect life. His life in general wasn't 'perfect', but he
was. He tried to be as humble as anyone possibly could be, but no one
kept their promises of keeping things secret, so he seemed like a big
show off. But it wasn't him.

How did he go through with his everyday life? He prayed. He gave it
all up to and for God. This is the way we have to go through life.
This is the only way we'll survive.

I sometimes wish I had been one of the disciples, so I could have
lived through it all. But I'm not scared of death anymore. Rather I am
excited to finally get to meet my creator. I am very excited.

Little children...

Matthew 18:3

"And he said: I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like
little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Jesus repeatedly says to become like little children. They have so
much faith, and they are open to God.

So I thought, why don't I interview my 6 and 4 year old sisters, and
see how little kids feel about God? God has opened their hearts, let's
see how this impacts their thoughts compared to older people....

"Who is God?"

6 yr old: God is a person who made this land.
4 yr old: God is everyone's friend.

"How much does Jesus love you?"

6 yr old: A zillion.
4 yr old: All the time. (She didn't understand the question...)

"What is special about God?"

6 yr old: He's in our heart.
4 yr old: He made people and went in their hearts.

"If I say Jesus, you think....."

6 yr old: God, With us
4 yr old: God, helping, creator

And to them, everything just makes total sense!

I liked how when they thought Jesus, they thought God. Try this quiz
for yourself. Are we all being like little children?

luvssss

I can't believe myself...

This is what I thought about writing....

"Hey guys. I kind of don't feel like blogging tonight so talk to ya tomorrow."

But, as shocked as I am at myself, at least I got a lesson out of it. :)

What if God had was lazy? How would WE have turned out?

So why can we be lazy in our work for him? How will others images of him be?

So whenever we are doing something for God, let's use our full
potential. Let's use the strength he gave us. Let's demonstrate his
power. Let's not give up when something goes wrong. Let's keep trying!

God is here for you
When you don't have a clue
When you don't know what to do

God is always here
When you just need an ear
When you're facing a fear

He'll help you out
When you just want to pout
When you're out and about

He'll still love you
Through anything
Anything.

luvssssss......

Why Jesus?

You may have asked before, 'Why do I need Jesus? What's the difference
between him and God?'

Well, Jesus IS God. They are both the same. Jesus is more of the
picture of God. He is the image of him. But they are both equal. In my
eyes they aren't neccesarily the exact same, but since the are both
equal, they together along with the Holy Spirit are God.

'So if they are both basically the same, why do I need Jesus?'

Well, let's look at some verses.

Matthew 10:40

"He who recieves you recieves me, and he who recieves me recieves the
one who sent me"

Matthew 11:27
"No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father
except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

The ticket to God is through Jesus. If you cannot believe in Jesus,
how can you believe in God? God has left all judgement to Jesus, and
in the end it will be Jesus who chooses your eternity.

When you believe in Jesus....

Matthew 9:2
"Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."

We aren't perfect. We need a Savior. And without Jesus we would all be
living to die. Forever.

We are so lucky he came to save us.

luvsssss.....
faith

Confused.

You know how something is just so personal to you that you can only
share the full glory of it with yourself?

And then you somewhat deny it before others, because you just can't
share it with them because they wouldn't get it in full without
experiencing it?

You see, I keep repeatedly having a problem. To share or not to share.

You see, my relationship with God is...incredible. It's simply
marvelous. But for some reason I don't want to tell others how great
my relationship with God is. I'll encourage people to have their own
special relationship with him, sure, but when it comes to my own
relationship I just cannot talk. Sometimes I think it's because my
relationship with him is so great, but others seem to be struggling,
so I don't want to talk...but at other times I think that maybe my
relationship with him isn't as good as I think it is, and others are
having a better relationship than mine...and then other times I think
it would be (strangely enough) greedy to tell about mine. Because then
I wouldn't be humble. This kind of sounds strange to me, but its true.

Luke 9:48

"He who is the least among you all- he is the greatest."

I always want to be that person, so I just keep my mouth shut when
questions are aroused about God and I. Now I feel the need to let it
out, partly because I'm not completely sure who will read this, and
partly because I need some type of response.

My relationship with God....is awesome. I talk to him ALL the time and
I always get answers (some in stranger ways than others). I'm always
pointed out things in the bible. Things just kind of pop. And when I
pray I feel him right next to me. During church is strangely enough
when I feel him the least. The others teens just....aren't...as
focused, I guess. They don't get it the way I do. They haven't gotten
God to the full extent. The adults are magnificent, but to me a lot of
the other teens are just there to go through the motions.

I'm so confused. Please respond.

Disregard....

Hey...I decided to post!
 
Matthew. I am writing about Matthew. Isn't that wonderful? 
 
Matthew 7:21
"Not everyone who says to me; "Lord, Lord,"  will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my father in heaven."
 
So basically, I'm taking it as this. You know those churches where they say the key to heaven is being the best person you can be? That, according to this verse, is untrue. Only those who do the will of God get to go to his kingdom. This is why we have to act.
 
Ways we might act:
Discover our spiritual gifts!
 
What does God want you to do? What did he give you so that you could help others find him?
 
Use them!
 
In some other verse, it says it is a sin to ignore your spiritual gifts! Use them! Use them! ( I think we talked about this during church...)
 
"I haven't found my gift yet, but I want to be involved, what can I do?"
 
Prayer is key! Pray for others, and pray that your gifts may be revealed to you! They will come! God has your life planned out ahead of you. He will show you in due time. God loves you, and he will not let you get hurt.
 
Something cool that Jesus said.....
 
Matthew 6:34
" Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
 
Jesus is again showing how much he loves us! He doesn't want you to worry! He wants you to feel safe in his arms, comforted by his presence, calmed by his words.
 
 
  luvssssss....
 
 
Faith

Just wait for it.....

Guys, I'm not posting until Saturday. Sorry. But I'm in Ohio, and it's
a bit hard to post. If I can, I will. So until then.....

Love you guys!

Read 1 John.....It's (kinda) short and REALLY good.

Luvssss....

faith

6th time's the charm....?

I have tried to post FIVE other times.Wow. Let's hope sixth time's the charm....

Firstly, I have a message for Monica, Tuyetson, Katie, Leigh and Elisabeth....
You guys rock! Your comments just keep me energized and I just wanted
you to know that you guys help me SO much with your questions and
comments. Thank you SO much!

Now that I'm happy,(well, I was happy, so really happy), I'm going to
talk about JeSuS! Yay! Cue: I love Jesus song :)

So, Jesus said some pretty AMAZING things, am I right? And since not
all of us know JUST HOW MUCH HE LOVES US, let's have HIM tell you!
Jesus said....
"You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Matthew 8:26

Why are YOU so afraid? YOU are one of God's temples. He treasures you!
Yes, you might go through some tough times, but he's going to be the
with you. Don't be afraid! Have faith!

What did Jesus say about faith?

"Your faith has saved you- go in peace." Luke 7:50

Having faith will SAVE you! We have FAITH that God is with us, and
because our faith in him is so great, we are loved, cherished,
forgiven. If we had no God, no amazingly powerful and loving father,
who would forgive us? Who on EARTH is this loving? Who would DIE for
our sins? NO ONE! But Jesus LOVES us! He will always forgive us.

What did he say about forgiveness?

"If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes
back to you and says, 'I repent', forgive him" Luke 17:4

He will ALWAYS forgive you! He wants you to forgive others as well.
Forgiveness is key! Forgiveness is part of what SAVES you. Because
none of us have always been perfect. Except Jesus.

A cool parable (well, part of it,) that he said..

" Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine
pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold
everything he had and bought it." Matthew 13:45-46

We need to throw all of our selfish needs away for Christ. Because in
the end, we won't have the things we saved. Only the people.

Have you?

Have you ever wanted to spread God's word, but you just didn't know what to say?

Well if this is you, read these...

Matthew 10:20
'For it will not be you speaking, but the spirit of your father speaking through you.'

And...

Exodus 4:12
'Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.'

Go get that confidence! God is ALWAYS with you, and now we can see that he will help! He will give you those words, just ask!

This shows the importance of prayer as well. If you pray about it, he will show you the path. Because prayer helps. Prayer uplifts. Prayer will reach others. These few words can be the best words you've ever said. And you will know what to say. Because Jesus loves you.

In his eyes you are amazing. You are precious. You are beautiful. You are amazing with your talents. You are unique. You are the BEST! You are so loved. And you will be, for eternity.

2 Chronicles 7:6
'His love endures forever.'

luvs
faith

I'm back!

So during church today we took tests. And these tests told us what our spiritual gifts are. Guess what I got?

My three perfect scores were Teacher, Prophet, and Knowledge.

Or....
Jesus blogger! :)

And I also have a motto that relates. I was reading my bible and found it...
2 Timothy 1:8 'Do not be ashamed to testify about our lord.'(shortened)

I could talk about Jesus all day. I love him soo much! And if I know that someone doesn't know him, I HAVE to talk to them.

Now I do have something I'd like to share with you.

1 John 4: 19-20
'We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, 'I love God', yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.'

The first time I read that, I knew I had to fix any broken relationships. Because it's completely true.

Read it one more time.

Doesn't this show the wrongs of friends, siblings, or anyone else fighting over something silly and never making up? Wouldn't this just send God the message that if you had the slightest doubt in him, maybe even one planted by Satan, you would turn away?

This is why God has the 'love your enemies' speech be so important. He wants you to love all. He loves you so much. He wants you to experience it, to love him back. If you love him, I want you to simply say, right now, 'God, I love you'.

Because really, how can we love what we cannot see without loving what we can see first? How can we love the maker without loving the creation?

I want others to feel this joy, this joy I feel. If you don't know how to get Jesus in your heart but want to just do these four simple things.

Tell God that you know you're a sinner. Tell him you know Jesus died on the cross for you, you know he washed away your sins. Tell him you accept his gift of eternal life. Then listen to him, feel his love!

Jesus is the best friend everyone has always wanted. And he wants you.