I'm very happy today, why? Because I was able to pack one of these boxes! A box for Operation Christmas Child. A box filled with gifts that will be given to a child somewhere in the world, who has probably never gotten a gift before.
Whats great about this ministry is that it shows God's love to these children in a tangible way. I feel blessed to be able to give joy to a child in need. Even more so, they have the chance to hear about Jesus, and may come to know Him as Savior and Friend!
I am filled with joy! I've had the best time making this box and praying for the little girl who will receive it.
I've been stuck in the house for almost two weeks, as my blood test results weren't good so I can't be around people. (Can't risk getting sick) I've missed being at church, but making this box has brought me great happiness. I love the feeling of knowing that God has used me, its one of the best feelings in the world.
How much joy can fit into a shoebox? Quite a lot!
A coloring book.
Crayons.
Pencils.
Toothbrush and toothpaste.
Bar soap.
Lofa.
Bouncy ball.
Hair ties and hair clips.
Notepad.
Socks.
T-shirt.
Hair brush.
Pony toy.
Candy.
Two stuffed animals.
Puzzle.
(I feel like I've left out something)
All for about $17
My goal for next year is to make more boxes. (I'm hoping for 6, one for each age range and gender) I'll be on the look out this coming year for sales to stock up!
"You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for you have created all things, and for your pleasure they are and were created” Revelation 4:11
I was watching a news segment about drinking to the point of intoxication It was crazy the way those kids were acting, giving all themselves to something so wasteful. It reminded me of something- that we are designed to worship. You may think you don’t worship anything- but that’s false. Worship is when we pour our lives out for something, its what our choices are based around, its who or what we aim to please, its what delights us, its what we think about 24/7. Even if it’s our own selves, we will find something to place on the throne of our lives.
We are designed to worship, but worshiping anything other than God is worthless- we pour ourselves out for nothing and are left only empty and broken.
Why?
Because we weren’t designed to worship just anything, we were designed to worship and please the living God. We will never know true joy until we know and live this.
Apparently blogging regularly is not my strong point.
Anyway, just a quick update since the summer is pretty much over. This summer in July I was able to be a Student Leader at Student Life. May I just say, it was the most nerve-racking, stomach turning, anxiety provoking thing I've done by far.
That may sound extreme to you, but it takes about everything I have inside to speak up in a group of people I know. Speaking up to help lead a (small) group of strangers was not something easy. But you know what? It was one of the most rewarding things I've done. I'll admit, I doubted and was confused if this was what I should be during the first few days- but by the end of the week I knew I was right where God wanted me to be.
I would like to add, that I was paired up with the wonderful lady I co-lead Chosen with. I loved spending those days with her, teaching and watching what God was doing in everyone's lives. [Including mine]
Its.....really exciting. Going to student life as a student leader, co-leading a high-school girls group in our church....all this stuff stepping out of my comfort zone- but its exciting. Nerve-racking, anxiety provoking, out-of-my-comfort-zone, stomach-turning exciting!
Anxiety aside, I'm pretty psyched actually.
Watching God move in my life and use me to reach others; Its what I dream of.
The future is really foggy, I have no idea where I'll be 5 years from now. Heck, I don't know where I'll be a year from now.
Gasp
No plan?
Yeah, that can be scary.
But I'm not scared for my future. because I know God has a better dream, a better plan, than I could ever manage of my own.
I guess I do have a plan.
My plan is to continue to walk forward, seeking God and letting him lead me.
"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." - Isaiah 30:21
So today was the first 'official' day for the Chosen Girl's Group to start up (Two weeks ago was the soft launch). Girl's came- which made me very happy just to see them there. It was pretty relaxed this first time, and we didn't get to finish all of the discussion since we started late. But.......people came! That in itself makes me crazy happy. We'll continue on with this and I pray God takes it and does his will.
On the bright side I'm not so nervous anymore.
Oh, and I graduated yesterday! : )
Chosen 1st discussion outline.
Chosen
What does it mean to be God's chosen?
"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” - Eph 1:4-6
“Many are called but few are chosen” Matthew 22:14
Creation is not some afterthought of God. You are not an accident. Your life is not random. From the beginning God has had a plan for your life. Even from the very beginning, when Adam and Eve rebelled against God and entered into sinfulness, God had a plan for our salvation.
In Matthew 22:14 Jesus told the parable of the Wedding Feast. The King sent out many invites to many people. Most people were too busy with worldly purists to come. But a few people dropped all they were doing to come to the feast.
God invites us…he calls us in many ways, but only a few accept the invite of salvation and are saved; therefore becoming chosen. We aren’t chosen because of good behavior, church attendance or good looks; because it’s not about us; we are chosen in Christ because of Christ. Long before we were thinking of God, God was thinking of us, He chose to love us He chose to provide a way to Him through Jesus Christ our savior.
I'll be one to admit, I won't protest receiving a nice piece of dark chocolate on Easter. And while the bunnies, chicks, chocolate and pastel colors are all cutesy and fun, its not what Easter is about. To start this off, I want to bring up a post I saw today by one of my Facebook friends...
I love Easter because, Christ died for everyone; even those who do not know him. He died for you, regardless if you wake and curse Him, or Worship him. You cannot escape His complete adoration of you ♥ That's unconditional love, and that's why I celebrate His sacrifice today.
I like this post a lot, it brings up a subject I've been wanting to blog about, but didn't know when was the right time. Well, Easter seems like a good time to talk about Jesus's death and resurrection, doesn't it?
Jesus died for everyone.
Yes! And truth be told at one point or another, we have allturned away from Jesus and decided our way was better. We've all at one point, by action or by words, have cursed God. No one is better than the person sitting next to them, we didn't deserve to be saved from sin, but God choose to save us anyway.
"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way," Isaiah 53:6
Jesus died for everyone; lairs, murderers, rapists, church people, prostitutes, protesters, hypocrites, you, me, everyone! Jesus died so that everyone, no matter what they've done, could come to him. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23
But wait! The story doesn't end there.
As much as I love talking about what Jesus did for us on the cross, it doesn't end there. Jesus died and rose three days later. Jesus's death was not the end, he's alive! My Lord, my King, is alive! The tomb was rolled away- there are no bones in his grave. I don't worship a dead king, my Lord is alive, my Savior lives. Such beauty, such love, such grace! This is why we celebrate Easter.
My God is alive, and he dwells in me by his Spirit. I am alive, truly alive, only because He lives.
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in
you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your
mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. - Romans 8:11
Dear Reader, I don't know where you are at in your spiritual life, perhaps you're already commited, perhaps you've fallen away, perhaps you despise God or perhaps you're on the fence; but I want you to know that Christ died for you, He loves you. If you choose to follow him it won't be easy, but it will be worth it.
May the Lord Jesus, the one who defeated death, defeat death in your life. May he provide a resurrection for your spirit, and may you truly know what it is to live.
I'm going to place a very long scripture here at the bottom, yes I know, reading! How terrible. But I think it sums up what this Easter celebration is all about quite nicely.
Isaiah 53
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord's makeshis life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledgemy righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord....
I turned 18 a few days
ago (April 2) so I decided to finally give a blog update.
I heard the question asked on the radio today if you were either dreading getting older or looking forward to it. For me, if I ignore the number part, ( I do enjoy being young) then I look forward to it- because I look forward to seeing the different stages God walks me through in my life. But if you would have asked my that questions two years ago, I would have flat out answered I dreaded it...
When I was 15 (Or around that time) it became my big dream, my big goal, to change the world by time I was sixteen. That's how I wanted to celebrate that age, I wanted to know I had done something great (or was at lest on the path) I wanted to know that my life wasn't meaningless, I wanted to make an impact, a lasting impact for God.
Big surprise, 16 came and went and the world remained the same. My life remained boring and dull, and if I remember correctly I think I probably cried the day before my 16th birthday- cried because I had failed my dreams.
Never less, I kept pushing, my dreams to change the world grew bigger- and the new goal became 17.... again, that didn't work, and I found myself down in the dumps, wondering what good my life was if I couldn't make an impact for God. I wanted the change the world for God, I wanted him to use me in mighty ways- but I was stuck at home, doing dishes, schoolwork, and taking care of animals. (Don't get me wrong, I love our critters)
April 2, 2012, I turned 18. And for the first time in a while, I didn't beat myself up over not doing something 'big' for God. Because God, over the course of the year I was 17, had been working on my heart. He has helped me see that I don't need to do some grand thing in order to be used by him. I've been shown that within my desire to change the world while I was still young, I was attempting to rush God and myself. God has plans for my life, (Jeremiah 29:11) and these plans will be worked out step by step, day by day, →within Gods timing; not mine. ←(There was a lesson I had to learn!)
Do I still desire to make an impact; to change the world? The simple answer is yes! I'm still a little too eager to launch into the world and rattle it up. However, my focus is no longer around that dream, my new goal is to live every day in faithfulness, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, - Colossians 3:23
I want to do every task handed to me with joy and satisfaction with the stage God has me in; trusting fully that God will reveal his plan in his perfect timing and in his perfect way.
I'll admit, its a process, a part of me still gets itchy when I think of all the years that have already gone by, but I'm much farther along then I was. As I look back over my last couple of birthdays, I definitely see something changing in my heart, a change only God could do. Needless to say, I have way more peace about growing older than I did before.
...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
I'm sadden and frustrated with a look at my generation that surrounds me, focusing on so many worthless things. So much junk, stuff that is meaningless. So much sin entangles this generation, idols, lust, wrath, jealousy. Just to name a few. Let Jesus come and break those chains, surrender to Him and find out that to truly live you must die.
Give up, just give up and run to the Father who loves you more than you can fathom.
Giving up is a beautiful thing. I know what its like to cling to something worthless, something that amounts to nothing. I tried to convince myself I was happy wasting my time, but I wasn't. My heart was breaking inside from His calling until I couldn't take it any longer. I knew I had to lay down what was distracting me from my relationship with Him, and when I did, I wish I would have done it sooner!
Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, not your boyfriend/girlfriend, not your things, not your money, not your friends, not your hobby, nothingwill bring you everlasting peace and joy. Nothing but Jesus.
Just got this book today, (and the squeal to it) I've only read to the 3rd chapter but I'm already on board. For all the teenagers out there that may happen to stubborn across this blog, go get this book. Don't settle for less and waste the years of your youth, break the exceptions of nothingness that this culture has for young people, and 'do hard things.'
