"You are God’s unique steward, and the gift He has given you to give away is more than simply your money or your time. It is your deepest self – your love, your passion, your unique expression of His gospel in the world. And if you do not find a way to unleash that gift and release it to the world, no one will." --Michael D. Warden

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play.
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of Peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought as now the day had come
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rung so long the unbroken song
Of Peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair, I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song,
Of Peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep;
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With Peace on earth, good will to men."

I found another blogger who has just blown me away with the depth and blessing in his message. He is talking to guy about women, but women should read this too. He has put into words what I have attempted many time, but have never succeded.

The Roof Guys wrote this:

Imperishable Beauty

"Do not let your adorning be external-- the braiding of hair, the wearing of gold, or the putting on of clothing-- but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." 1 Peter 3:3-4

After a string of 5 sons, my parents had a little girl. Abigail Joy is 8 now, and she is the delight of the Wold family.

Abigail is all girl. She has always delighted in putting on dresses, necklaces, and having her hair done. She loves it. At age 5 and 6, she was eager to run up to me, with a smile all over her face and say "look at my dress!" or "Momma did my hair!" However, now at a very mature 8, she simply will walk by me in that special way that communicates to me that I need to behold something amazing. I think the Lord made her this way, and I want to communicate to her that her big bro thinks that she is gorgeous.

Thankfully, Mom has been faithful to teach Abigail this verse from Peter through application. She often reminds her that what is important is to be beautiful "on the inside." For an 8 year old, one of the most practical ways to carry this out is to serve! She loves to serve our whole family! She delights to be Mom's helper. And she delights to serve me! Every time Mom makes pizza, I can expect to have a separate small pizza that was made for me by Abigail. Often when I get home tired from work, Abigail will pull up a chair behind me and massage my shoulders.

The joy that Abigail has in serving is a response to Mom showing her that to be beautiful on the inside is to be TRULY beautiful! As a man in my sister's life, I have the responsibility to affirm this. I want to communicate to Abigail that when she serves, I see her to be truly lovely. Yes, I get excited about the dress, but I ought to be twice as excited about her servants spirit.

As a brother, my job is to confirm to Abigail that to be adorned by a "gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious" is to be truly beautiful. Why? Because I am agreeing with God!

Imagine what Abigail would think if Mom told her that being a servant of others is what it means to be truly beautiful. Now imagine that Abigail pursued acts of service, but my brothers and I never showed any gratefulness, or honor to her for her labors of love. However, every time that she gets dressed up, we get excited and treat her like a princess. What is she going to think?! There well be a great contradiction between what she has been told is true, and what she has experienced to be true.

Guys, we live in a world that does not agree with God on what is precious and beautiful. What is precious in the world's sight is the outward cup! But that outward cup is going to perish with this world! Our eternal father has told us to value imperishable beauty.

Christian women hear this message a lot. They are exhorted in the church to this end. Today, I am concerned about us guys. Please listen and hear me out on this.

We have a responsibility to have our minds conformed to the mind of God. If God tells us that something is actually beautiful, than it is actually beautiful. God doesn't care about your subjective opinion of what is precious. He cares that you value what He values.

We as men must value true feminine beauty. We must! This is one of the greatest ways we can serve our sisters in Christ! In the Church, today, single women are asking this question "I know what scripture says about beauty. However, what I see single men value is quiet different." How sad is this! God is looking down from heaven and seeing imperishable beauty in the church today, and it delights Him! He sees the joyful mother at home with the sick children, and He behold beauty. He sees the single women in the soup kitchen, and He beholds beauty. He sees an elderly women at the end of her life teaching and instructing younger wives to love their husbands, and He sees true beauty.

God is not blind to their outward appearance, He is consumed with imperishable beauty. Men, we have the temptation to be consumed with the outward appearance and blind to imperishable beauty! This is an affront against God. It causes discouragement and tempts Godly women to despair.

The body of Christ is a place where women need to feel truly precious because they are ransomed by the blood of Christ, and because they have laid down the world's value system and are serving their Savior and loving their church with a gentle and quiet spirit.

We ought to be quick to notice this. Men, we need to have heavenly vision. Women in the church ought to turn our heads when they are obeying God. They ought to win our honor, gratitude and respect when they are following Peter's admonition.

Tomorrow we'll talk about some practical ways that we can cultivate this mindset.

Dear Djanator,

Happy Birthday. You are now sixteen. You have grown so much since I first met you. Not only have you grown taller, you have grown spiritualy as well.

DJ there are a few things that seprate the men from the boys. They are not to be taken lightly, but to be considered and strive to be like them.

1. One of the most atractive things in the world is a Godly young man. A man who seeks after the Lord with all his heart is someone to be admired. I pray that you will continue to grow in your relationship with our Lord.

2. A servant is something the world thinks very little of, but that Jesus calls us to be. DJ you have great oppritunity to serve your family, friends, and everyone you come in contact with. Don't miss use this gift.

3.One of the great boundarys between manhood and boys is how they treat others. I know many men who never grew up, but this does not mean they aren't men. Showing respect for others is key to maturity. This does not mean that you have to give up being funny and having a good time with your friends. Some of the most attractive guys I know have the ability to keep their boyish funfilled ways while showing me they are men with the way they treat others.

4. Never compromise your standerds. Hold fast to the word of God and uphold what it says. Lead others in following God. Everything in this life will let you down except what God gives you in His word. Hold to it.

5.Be a leader in the faith. Like I said before, there are one of the most attractive things is a man who loves the Lord and leads others with his faith. It is also one of the most inspiring and hopeful things in the world. Strive to be a leader in our faith. This doesn't mean you have to always be in the spotlight. There are many men whom I know may not at first look like a leader of our faith, but if you take a closer look they bring others closer to Christ on a daily basis. Be that kind of man.

These are though things to do Djanator, but all things are possible with God. I see Him doing great things with you. Happy Birthday.

In Christ,
--Rie

Is it right to laugh at sin?

Is it right to laugh at sin?

How often do laugh at sin? How often when watching a movie or tv do we laugh at someone who is gay or person who has hemmed themselves into a corner because they lied? Are these suppose to be funny?

"These six things the LORD hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren."
Proverbs 6:16-19
Sing_a_Song_of_Sixpence said this:
"the Bible says that the LORD hates these sins, and that they are an abomination to Him. He is perfect, and I think that it's safe to say a perfect God hates all sin... So my question is this: since the perfect God hates all sin, is it biblical for us to laugh at any sin? "

I ask you the same question. Is it wrong for us laugh at sin? It defiantly gives us something to think about.

Come in and know me better man!

Matthew 2:1-2

¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ²and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."


I was listening to A Christmas Carol a radio play. One of the lines really spoke to me:

"Mortal, we spirits of Christmas don't live on only the one day of the year. We live the entire three-hundred and sixty-five...so is it true of the babe born in Bethlahem. He doesn't not live in the hearts of men just one day of the years, but in all the days of the year. You have chosen not to seek him in your heart."

How narrow is our is our understanding of our Savior. We should not celabrate Him just once a year or once a week. We must continualy seek Him in our hearts and always bring His cheer and goodwill to all men.

Mystery

I'm sorry I havn't posted in a while, but it was finals week at college.

Proverbs 30:18-19

¹⁸ "There are three things that are too amazing for me,
four that I do not understand:

¹⁹ the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a maiden.

This is an amazing passage. One of my friends at college and I were talking about science. ( I was heading toward studing for my Bio final and he was coming from taking his Chem final.) He said the he found it fascinating that we could break down substances into molecules and atom, but still not know what makes the atoms keep moving. That we don't know everything about something as simple as water. He said he half joking and half not that he thought it was magic. I thought about it for a while. (I need to do that with really big concepts.) It kind of is magic the way God has made the world. There are things on this earth that we will never understand, that we don't have the ability to understand.

This may frustrate some people, but think about it. What if we lived in a world like Myst, the computer game. (Sorry if you havn't played it, but bear with me.) We would soon conquor all the puzzles and pieces on the earth. Having something always out of our grasp just beyond our reach is kind of cool. It adds to the mystery and the spice of life.

So my parting words to you are keep the magic, explore, and enjoy the mystery God has given us.

Common Sense

My sisters and I were recently listening to a history tape on the Revelutionary War. Near the beggining of the Revelutionary War Thomas Paine wrote a phamplate called "Common Sense." It woke up the American people to the war. One of my favorite parts was a quote from it.

"Government by kings was first introduced into the world by the Heathens, from whom the children of Israel copied the custom. It was the most prosperous invention the Devil ever set on foot for the promotion of idolatry. The Heathens paid divine honors to their deceased kings, and the Christian world hath improved on the plan by doing the same to their living ones. How impious is the title of sacred majesty applied to a worm, who in the midst of his splendor is crumbling into dust!"

America's founding fathers helped found this country using the principles of Christianity.(and they did it on purpose) They saw that man is fickle and fallen. They knew that they could not have a system of gonverment that relied to much on one man. A system that did that would soon become corrupt. Our founding fathers put so many checks and balances in our system that it would be nearly impossible to get anything done. They hoped that this would only allow only good laws to get passed, but I think they also realized that a group of men can become just as corrupt as one man. Sometimes even more corrupt than one man can.

Heavenly Father, please bless our country with men who's hearts are following after You. May be become a truly godly nation in Your eyes. Amen.

http://www.promiseofgod.com/teach/
This is how it happened...I just finished the household chores for the
night and was preparing to go to bed, when I heard a noise in the front
of the house. I opened the door to the front room and to my surprise,
Santa himself stepped out from behind the Christmas treee placed his finger over his mouth so I would not cry out. "What are
you doing?" I started to ask. The words choked up in my throat, and I
saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone. Gone was
the eager, boisterous soul we all know.

He then answered me with a simple statement.

"TEACH THE CHILDREN!"

I was puzzled; what did he mean? He anticipated my question, and with
one quick movement brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the
tree. As I stood bewildered, Santa said,

"Teach the children! Teach them
the old meaning of Christmas. The meaning that now-a-days Christmas has
forgotten."

Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a
FIR TREE and placed it
before the mantle.

"Teach the children that the pure green color of the
stately fir tree remains green all year round, depicting the everlasting
hope of mankind, all the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of
man's thoughts turning toward heaven."

He again reached into his bag and pulled out a brilliant
STAR.

"Teach the children
that the star was the heavenly sign of promises long ago. God promised a
Savior for the world, and the star was the sign of fulfillment of His
promise."


He then reached into his bag and pulled out a CANDLE.

"Teach the
children that the candle symbolizes that Christ is the light of the
world, and when we see this great light we are reminded of He who
displaces the darkness."



Once again he reached into his bag and removed a WREATH and placed it on
the tree.

"Teach the children that the wreath symbolizes the real nature
of love. Real love never ceases. Love is one continuous round of
affection."


He then pulled from his bag an ornament of himself.

"Teach the children
that I, Santa Claus symbolize the generosity and good will we feel
during the month of December."


He then brought out a
HOLLY LEAF.

"Teach the children that the holly
plant represents immortality. It represents the crown of thorns worn by
our Savior. The red holly represents the blood shed by Him."


Next he pulled from his bag a GIFT and said,


"Teach the children that
God so loved the world that HE gave HIS only begotten SON..." "Thanks be to
God for his unspeakable gift.


"Teach the children that the wise men bowed before the Holy BABE and
presented HIM with gold, frankincense and myrrh. We should always give
gifts in the same spirit of the wise men."

Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a CANDY CANE and hung it on
the tree.

"Teach the children
that the candy cane represents the shepherds' crook. The crook on the
staff helps to bring back strayed sheep to the flock. The candy cane is
the symbol that we are our brother's keeper."



He reached in again and pulled out an ANGEL.


"Teach the children that it
was the angels that heralded in the glorious news of the Savior's birth.
The angels sang 'Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace and good
will toward men.

Suddenly I heard a soft twinkling sound, and from his bag he pulled out
a BELL.

"Teach the children that as the lost sheep are found by the
sound of the bell, it should ring mankind to the fold. The bell
symbolizes guidance and return."


Santa looked back and was pleased. He looked back at me and I saw that
the twinkle was back in his eyes. He said,

"Remember, teach the children
the true meaning of Christmas and do not put me in the center, for I am
but a humble servant of the One that is, and I bow down to worship HIM,
our LORD, our GOD."

Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!

I love Charlie Brown Christmas. I don't know any other secular movie that presents the gospel. Every time I hear Linus repeat the Christmas story I get all choked up.

Charlie Brown: (shouting in desperation) Isn't there anyone out there who can tell me what Christmas is all about?
Linus Van Pelt: Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you. Lights, please. (A spotlight shines on Linus.) "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you this day is born in the City of Bethlehem, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men'". That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie brown.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lucy Van Pelt: You know, Santa Claus, and ho-ho-ho, and mistletoe... and presents for pretty girls...

I saw Chronicles of Narnia!!! It was totally wicked! Go see it! Go see it tonight, right now!

Matthew 1:23
23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."

The name Immanuel really didn't hit home for me until last Christmas. I had grown up all my life in church and I had managed to miss one of Christmases ascpects.

Think about it. God with us. We once had total and unhindered communion with God, but when mankind fell that communion was broken. We were left completly and totally sperated from God. But God in His love looked down and decided that He would not let us be alone in this broken and distorted world. He decided to open up a passage way between us and Him. He sent His son to build a bridge between God and the sinners like me. Now I can once again have communion with God through Jesus Christ, His son.

How awesome and inspiring is God's love. That He would send His son down to open up the pathway between Him and us.

"Next to the word of God, music has the most power to move the human soul" ~Martin Luther


I love using music to praise my Savior. Music has the power to make people cry, laugh, or become angery. Music has the power to evoke great emotion, but it effect different people in different ways. A song that may get me choked up and almost cry might make another person merly thoughtful. (a.k.a. How Beautiful by Twila Paris. That song gets to me so bad.)

Take time to praise our Heavenly Father and His Son. It's Christmas.

Psalm 150

Let All Things Praise the LORD

¹ Praise the LORD!

Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty firmament!

² Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!

³ Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
⁴ Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
⁵ Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!

⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD!

Pray for me

This Sunday my boss' wife asked if she could come to church with me. She is a devout Hindu so I was kind of shocked. She came and I think she liked it. My Pastor preached a very different Christmas sermon. He preached on the "Promises of Christmas."

Revelation 12:1-5

¹A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. ²She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. ³Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. ⁴His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. ⁵She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.

This was one of the portions of scriptures my pastor used during his sermon. I think my friend understood this a bit more than anything else that was said. So my point is...even though my pastor didn't preach a traditional, run of the mill Christmas sermon, it worked because this was something my friend could understand. Neat how God works those things out.

Heavenly Father, thank you that my friend is starting to show an interested in You. May she come to know you and may You bless me so that I may effectively witness to her. Amen

1. Seven things to do before I die:
Get married
Have kids
Write a book
Make a cd of songs I've written
Write a song that makes the top 100
Travel the world
Learn to Dance

2.Seven things I cannot do:
Touch my tounge to my nose
Stop humming when I'm board or have a song stuck in my head (Drives my family nuts)
Be perfect
Save my self from sin
Do anything with out God
Stop gringing my teeth in my sleep when I'm stressed (This also drives my family nuts)
Braid my own hair (I can't reach back that far for that long and I can't see what I'm doing)

3. Seven things that attract me to a guy:
Hot!!!!
On fire for the Lord
Likes kids
Likes protecting me
Thinks that I'm talented, beautiful, and gifted (Self-centered little beast, aren't I)
Has a servant's heart
Has gifts that compliment mine

4.Seven things I say most often:
I'm confused
What?!!
It is still not illagle to put your dishes into the dish washer
Get out of the kitchen!! I'm cook'in here!
Sucks to be you
Okay
I don't know

5.Seven books (or series) I love:
Bible
Lord of the Rings
The Seer and the Sword
The Chronicles of Narnia
Mere Christianity
The blog series (I like reading peoples blogs. Go figure.)
Anything by Brian Jaques

6.Seven movies I watch over and over again (or would watch over and over if I had the time):
Pride and Prejudice
Lord of the Rings (All three, baby)
The Bourne Identity
The Princesses Bride
Much Ado About Nothing
Bride and Prejudice (Not to be confused with Pride and Prejudice)
The Taming of the Shrew

7.Seven people I want to join in, too:
Jordan
Tally Times
Jollyblogger
a practice in belief
Big Red
Grandmother of many (I'm one of the grandchildren :D)
Haven't a clue ( Don't know who else to ask)

You are Eliza Bennett from Pride and
Prejudice! Yay, you! Perhaps the
brightest and best character in all of English
literature, you are intelligent, lively,
lovely-- in short, you are the best of company.
Your only foibles are that you stick with your
first impressions... and your family is quite
intolerable.


Which Jane Austen Character Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla


I uasualy don't post this kind of thing unless it has to do with the bible or is some how usefull in our daily walk with Christ, but I'M ELIZABETH BENNETT!!!! How cool is that!

Cool with that

One of my friends said the funniest things today.

Friend#1:"It the end of the world."(This was in reference to something someone did and he was being sacasticly appoled.)
Friend#2:"Yeah, I'm cool with that."

I know this may seem like a very weird conversation and you may be like that's not very funny, but here is my point. My friend#2 wasn't at all phased by the "end of the world". He was in fact looking forward to it. He was cool if Jesus decided to tend the world right now.

How often do I think,' I want to be able to live through this experiance before Jesus can come. I want to get married, have kids, and be at the end of a prosperous and good life before I want Jesus to come again.'

Well, God has His own plan. I am just a part of that plan and if god decides to send His son before I have lived through everything I want to...I'm cool with that.

2 Peter 3:10-11

“ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ”

Rie's Favorite Quotes

Here are some of my favorite quotes. Some of them will make you sit back and think, other will make you laugh. All of them are a little portrait of my-self. It just might be describing my evil self so watch out.

1."What is life without adventure? And what's an adventure without sacrifice to prove its validity?" ----Rebeccah Pruitt
2."The very existence of flame-throwers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done."
---- George Carlin
3."Nothing is yet in its true form."
--C.S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces
4. "Until you have given up your self to Him you will not have a real self..."
--C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
5."Beside being complicated, reality, in my experience, is usually odd....Reality, in fact, is usually something you could not have guessed."
--C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
6."I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God."... A man(who) said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would be either a lunatic... or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse."
--C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
7."In the same way a Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man who is enabled to repent and pick himself up and begin over again after each stumble- because the Christ-life is inside him, repairing him all the time, enabling him to repeat( in some degree) the kind of voluntary death which Christ Himself carried out."
-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
8. "Teach this to your children and your grandchildren...(bit of wisdom that I hope I remember to tell my kids and I hope I'm around to tell my grandchildren)"
--Dad
9."The effective range of an excuse is zero meters."
--Dad
10."That is some sweet (verb with an ing ending) action."
--Philip
11."We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and then bid the geldings to be fruitful."
--C.S. Lewis
12."Your mom's a (something just said), Oh."
13."Is this a kissing book?" --Princess Bride
14."This is true love - you think this happens every day?" --Princess Bride
15."This is your badness level. It's unusually high." --Lilo and Stitch
16." INCONCEIVABLE." --Princess Bride
17." I'm not a witch, I'm your wife." --Princess Bride
18."Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." --Karl Marx....or oh wait, Princess Bride
19."This is my family. I found it, all on my own. It's little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good." --Lilo and Stitch
20."You can, but you may not."
--Mom
21."Let's just say I have the benefit of hindsight." "Well, congratulations to you and your magical butt."
--Get Fuzzy
22."The wheel is still spinning, but the hamster is long dead."
--Sharon Ring
23."No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
--Eleanor Roosevelt
24."Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people."
--Eleanor Roosevelt
25."To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without fate, no explanation is possible."
--Thomas Aquinas
26."I think, therefore I blog"
--Jollyblogger
27."4 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires."
--Bible
28."Who are you to tell me
That I'm less than what I should be?
Who are you? Who are you?"
--Barlow Girl
29."To live would be an awfully big adventure."
--Peter Pan
30."The World could use a bit more modesty."
--Bryce

So there is a little insight into my character. I'll think of more great quotes later, but that will have to do you for know.

Paraoxysm: A sudden outburst of emotion or action

My pastor just used this word in His last sermon. I thought it was cool so I decided to post about it. (can you post about a word? well I guess if you can post about a cat...)

Hebrews 10:24
24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

How can we spur our fellow Christians toward love and good deeds? My pastor said we should have a paraoxysm. You can use and JOYFULL!!! paraoxysm or a Angery paraoxysm. Paraoxysm can be in all sorts of emotions. But the point is you can use emotions to spur others toward Christ.

I often don't do this. If some one needs spurred on or maybe the equivilent to a fire lite unders their rears, I tend to hold them and say,"It's okay, baby." I should be saying,"Don't just stand there pouting, use this situation for the glory of God. Enough mopping and get moving." Maybe I don't have to be that harsh with them, but I need to be pointing them toward the cross.

God gave us paraoxysms for a reason. To use them.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!

Things I am thankful for:
1. My God (with out Him I would be lost)
2. My Family (they give me a place to belong and make me feel special or "spethial")
3. My Church (I am so blessed by their spiritual guidance and help)
4. My friends at college (another place were I am blessed by my fellow Christians)
5. Music ( if I didn't have a piano to bang on and a song to belt to, the world might not live to see another day)
6. Soccer (fun with friends and getting to kick the stuffing out of a ball)
7. Chocolate Chip Cookies (duh)
8. Inspiration and Creativity (God has blessed man with the ability to create in which I find joy every day)
9. Books (Cold day+ No school= Curl up with a good book or Sunny day+ No school=Sit in the sun while reading)
10. This blog and all the people who read it (thank you for reading my feeble attempts to use the gifts that God has given me)

One of my friends at college wrote this totaly awsome post. I read it and I just sat back in awe of how deep it was. (is?) But anyway, thank you Athene. I was truly blessed by what you wrote.

"you know i don't think i've ever asked you how you were and have had you respond with anything better than fine or ok. that's not very inspiring. maybe you should work on that."

knife inserted and twisted.

ouch. funny how it only hurt a little then. and the hurt only grew over these past three years. it was one of those conversations you just can't shake.... the words remain echoing in your mind, your location, what you were wearing and doing, who you were with, all etched in memory forever.

but a seed was planted in my mind. what's it gonna take for me to be more than fine? what's it gonna take for me to say that and mean that? the last thing i want to do is say i'm great when i'm not. i can fake it like the best of them, it's a special girl quality, i think. but i knew then that i didn't want to do that. so i remained fine and so-so. but having no clue what would make it better.

lalalala..... three years pass. three years that shook my world. (hahaha, that makes it sound like everything is peachy now...hahaha. that's a laugh. i'm only saying this because this is one of these random moments of clarity in which i must record what i have discovered or i might forget it when things get cloudy again.) and in those three years i mostly realized that life sucks with a capital S-U-C-K-S. i was not inspired to try and be inspiring at all. but lo.... i waited out the storm and i realized i was able to survive it. and i thought i'd be at the point where i could say i was doing great. almost all of the chickens were lined up. then WAHBAM!!! SMASH!!! THUNK!!! BLAM!!! KABLOOIE!!!

put a timer in that idea, honey. it's over baked.

if you wait for all your circumstances to fall neatly into order exactly the way you want them to you'll never be able to say you're doing splendidly and mean it. because i don't think that ever freakin' happens. there's always something in the way.

now we are at the present. or the mostly present. piles of books i've read scatter my floor.... each read looking for some answer. pages and pages of my thoughts sprawling all over my journals hoping for someway that a new thought might spill out of my pen. miles driven in my stupid, ugly, unreliable car hoping that with distance clarity would come. hours have been spent over tea and coffee..... hours talking, thinking, and praying.

don't ask me how. but i've stumbled across something brilliant. i've found an answer.

praise.

i read the psalms. positively dreadful things happen in them.... but they are filled with praise. my journaling started to write of god's goodness... my trips to wac and sg showed me praise during suffering in a way i never thought was possible (so much more than i can go into now.... ask me about it sometime... i'd love to tell you). the hours over coffee nudged me to look at the big picture.

oh everything still is effed up. but it's all in perspective when you realize that you cannot question god's goodness or his plan when you look at the cross. i mean, just imagine being one of those people who were there when christ died. trying to believe that he'd rise again...but really being full of sorrow and doubt. but he did rise. and we have the advantage of being able to look and see that he does rise again... so when it is dark... those days when it seems like he is dead... i can praise because i know for sure that he will rise.


...i really wish you were here to ask me how i am. because i know now...

"i'm dancing for joy in the depths of hell."

God works in mysterious ways. One of my friends from college told me the story of how she got engaged and it touched my heart. She has truly been blessed with a husband who loves the Lord and her. Here is her story:

There was nothing particularly stunning about that Tuesday morning on June 21st, 2005. I awoke to the usual sounds of the neighborhood and the light of a familiar sun. My alarm clock (thankfully silent) proclaimed the digital hour and my carpeted floor quietly begged for the services of a vacuum cleaner. However, one small thought in the back of mind pierced through the mundaneness of it all: "Miss Ladny, you will probably get engaged today". I was not surprised by this musing, for Jason had given me several clues to substantiate my suspicions.
About a month before I had even moved to GA (to an apartment significantly closer to him than my residence in MD), Jason had sent me a letter raving about his excitement over a certain crabbing trip we were to take in June. I would have thought he'd be more excited that we'd be separated by only three hours of driving as opposed to the previous nine.But for some reason, he seemed unusually focused on this vacation. In addition to this letter, Jason had alluded several times to the significance of the number seven, even going so far as to elaborate on the importance of a Seven-month anniversary as opposed to a six-month one. And wouldn't you know? Our crabbing trip would include our seventh anniversary. Finally, he repeatedly mentioned his desire to frequent one of our special spots on Greenberry point. And I knew that we would be visiting that romantic little penninsula after dinner that night. When I called Jason that morning to find he was out "running errands", my hypothesis was confirmed.
Jason and I had talked about marriage from day one of our courtship. We'd discussed schooling, our goals for the first few years, and had even picked a date. He had spoken to my parents, we had our friends' approval, and heck, I already had my wedding dress. I knew the formal proposal was soon coming. And we both knew what my reply would be. Yet for some reason, I was still a bit nervous at dinner. Jason had taken me to a very nice seafood restaurant in Eastport. The food was delicious and the view was beautiful. But I was more so taken aback by a peculiar habit of our waitress. Every so often during our meal, she would present me a yellow red-tipped rose- my favorite flower. I was even more surprised when Clif Stagnero greeted us near the end of our meal. I had no idea he was working at the restaurant.
Afterward, we changed into casual clothing more condusive to walking around the Peninsula. When we arrived, I assumed that we would head straight for "our special bench", he'd romantically pop the question, and that would be it. But no. Thankfully, Jason is delightfully much more creative than that. After picking up a Bible and some bug spray (He's so thoughtful!) we went to a low tree and climbed it. We prayed. I would have been happy to spend my evening in the slowly swaying branches, but we had places to go. Our second stop was atop a wooden fence bordering the rocks and crashing waves of the Chesapeake.There Jason and I read passages concerning the very applicable topic of joy. After jogging to our third stop, we rested on a bench and Jason asked if I were thirsty. After answering in the negative, Jason replied with "Well, I am," and reached under the bench to procure a bottle of sparkling grape juice. There was also some gouda and we had a short "wine and cheese" tasting party. I was highly gratified and amused.
On our fourth stop, Jason asked me to shut my eyes. And when I opened them, he had a basket of 77 yellow red-tipped roses. On each one was tied a small note describing something about me that brings him joy. He read each one to me aloud. I was humbled by Jason's attention to detail and also by an encouraging epiphany; if Jason, a mere man, takes so much delight in me, how much more does God- He who knows every hair on my head? After Jason mentioned that this had been our fourth stop, I started counting...(I've always been slower to recognize any mathematical pattern). Our fifth stop was at a different bench overlooking the city of Annapolis. Jason informed me that just being close to him brings him joy. So we held each other for a little while.
The sixth stop was particularly touching. We climbed down a rocky embankment to the water and Jason asked me to sit down. Then, after declaring that he wanted to serve me, he asked if he might wash me feet. And he did, using a bowel, soap, and towel he had hidden there for that purpose.
Finally, we treked to stop number seven. Our bench. I knew it was coming. And I was rather taciturn. Was this really happening after so many years of dreaming and praying and hoping? I sat down at our bench and Jason retrieved a small, ornately carved box he'd gotten in India. he knelt before me and opened it after I'd had a bit of trouble trying to.Inside was a key (that he asked me to hold onto for a while), an "eternal flower" (which was to represent his love for me), and a small wooden box with an angel carved onto it. Jason said that he'd gotten the box in Chattanooga and it was to remind us that God would always be with us. And inside was ring. Then he asked me the question I've waited my life to answer; "Katherine Ann Ladny, I love you. Would you make my joy complete? Will you marry me?" I smiled and answered a quiet, "Yes, Jason Andrew Mitchell". He put the ring on my finger and (after asking...such a gentleman) kissed my hand.
Then he asked me a question I wasn't expecting at all. "You wanna go on an adventure?" Hey, why not? He led me by the hand to the shore and I found the lock that my key went to- it was attached to a two person kyack (sp?). We donned our life jackets and rowed across that part of the bay to the light of a full copper moon. When we moored at the docks in Annapolis, we dried off and Jason led me to the pier. Now, unbeknownst to Jason, I had years ago asked God that the man I'd marry would ask me to dance with him on the pier. And Jason was carrying a small basket with tea lights and an old book. The title? "Modern Ballroom Dancing". He opened the book (after attempting to light the candles...the wind wasn't quite cooperating) and on the inside cover it read, "Kate, I love you. Shall we dance?" I actually had thought that I might have had to teach him! But Jason had taken lessons behind my back and was well prepared for this night. As I stood gazing into his eyes, I was suddenly surprised by the sound of a live violin behind me. I couldn't believe it! Jason had successfully won my hand. But it had been months since he'd won my heart. And we danced...
At the end, we embraced to the applause of all the strangers at the pier. We called his parents to ask for a lift back to the peninsula. We were tired, wet, and elated. And thus we were engaged on anything but an ordinary Tuesday, June 21st, 2005.

Looking Glass Self

I wake and go to the mirror
I look at the girl in the mirror
Is she happy?
Is she kind?
What is her purpose?
Does she find satisfaction in her life?
The questions I ask
My looking glass self
Are to hard for me to answer
I stick to the easy questions
How does my hair look?
Should I wear eyeliner today?
My looking glass self
May seem superfical to reality
But that is because that
Is who I made her to be.

Proverbs 3:7

⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

⁷Don't assume that you know it all.

Run to GOD! Run from evil!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

⁷Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn your back on evil.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and depart from evil.



Rie's version: Don't try and look cool in you own eyes. It isn't cool. Gods cool. It's cool to trust in Him. He can help you through everything. If you looking at God then you aren't looking to get in trouble or falling into sin.

1 Peter 3:6

⁶For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband, Abraham, when she called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do.


As a single girl I am looking forward to getting married. But there alot of things that I know I will have a har time with. One of those things is trusting my husband to lead me and our children. If I see something going wrong I want to take over and fix it.

God will place my husband over me. I will need to respect him and follow him. This might meen letting my husband make discions that I would rather make. But the key words here are I will have to trust God.

I pray that the Father will supplie that I can respect and follow. And I pray that He will give me the heart to follow my Husband and follow my Lord.

Matthew 20:28

²⁸just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

I have a purpose on this earth. That is to first serve my God. The second is to serve those around me. To all those who know me,(and those who don't) pray that I would be a good and faithful servant to my God and others.

One of my friends from school, Jordan, gave me his blogsite. He had this poem on there. Pretty cool Jordan. Write more. I love poetry! (But only if it's done right)

"I Dare to Say"

How does a man measure happiness?
Is it the quantity of his joy?
Or is it the quality?
I dare to say it is both of them.
For many small laughs,
can amount to much joy.
Yet a burst of laughter,
can set the spirits soaring.

How does a man show his love?
Do his actions reveal it?
Or is it his words?
I dare to say it is both of them.
For if he simply acted,
he would merely be a mime.
Nor can he only speak,
for who then would he hold in his arms?

Ezekiel 16:14

¹⁴ And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign LORD.


As a girly girl I am sometimes obsessed with how I look.( Just ask my sisters how much time I spend in the bathroom to get ready) But this verse speaks to me, because it shows how God made us beautiful. First He created us the way we are. He planned how big our nose would be, how to connect our legs to our hips, and what color our hair should be. He then planned what personality we should have. Are we shy and quiet or do we have more charisma and spotlight quality's than most people?

But what seems to me to be the most brilliant is the beauty God gives us through His spirit. It isn't something you'll find on the fashion runways or in any magazine, but look at a girl or woman in love with her Savior and you will see one of the most beautiful things in the world.

Life Explained

On the first day, God created the dog and said: "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at
anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years." The dog said: "That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?" So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said: "Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span." The monkey said: "Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?" And God agreed.

On the third day, God created the cow and said: "You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years." The cow said:"That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?" And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said: "Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years." But man said:"Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?" "Okay," said God, "You asked for it."

So that is why the first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves.
For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family.
For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren.
And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.
Life has now been explained to you.

La Shawn Barber's Corner wrote something that made me laugh.

"I’m glad he’s(George Bush) in the White House screwing up instead of John Kerry."

I know that our President hasn't been racking up the brownie points lately, but I still love him.

Psalm 94:19

¹⁹ When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul.

Let's just say that alot of things have been on my mind latly. I have been stressed about school , relationships( not my own!), friends, youth group, the future, and a whole host of other things. Yet I find comfort in my God. Tell me, what other religion or belief can give me that? The peace and consolation that my God gives me is an undeniable truth.

Lord, fill my spirit with your peace. Take my anxiety and have it draw me close to You. May I rely on Your grace for my future and my today. Amen.

Beauty and Power

I Peter 3:3-4
3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

When I was younger I wasn't very pretty. After a while I got use to that fact that I wasn't drop dead gorgeous and was satisfied to be that way. In my last year of high school some thing happened and I suddenly got quite beautiful. When that happened I discovered a new kind of power. The power to attract men. This was quite a thrilling and rewarding experience; however, the Lord convicted my heart.

He showed me that trying to be beautiful just receive earthly praise is so underrated. What I really want in life is to known for serving to Lord faithfully. This isn't always the first and foremost desire of my heart, but if the Lord is the center of my life as He should be I am not focusing on me. I am focusing on my Savior.

May I encourage my sisters in Christ to remember who they are in God's eyes and not the eyes of men.

Proverbs 31:30
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Habakkuk 2:16
16But soon it will be your turn! Come, drink and be exposed! Drink from the cup of the LORD's judgment, and all your glory will be turned to shame.

As I draw nearer to my Lord and come to know Him more, I realize just how filthy I am. I see just how much sin has tainted my life. It hurts when I see this great sin. It brings me to my knees crying to the Lord for help. My sin is overwhelming to me, but to God it is something that is part of His great plan. He has covered it with His son, Jesus Christ.

John 14:6
6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Father, thank You for Your son and the blood He shed for me. Amen. (And Hut-Glory!!!)

Who is Peter?

I like people watching. Watching people and see them go about their daily lives fascinates me. I also like to imagine how the people I read about would look and behave. I recently acquired this new perspective of Simon Peter. You know, he was the one that denied Jesus three time, the one who had the guts to say that Jesus was the Christ, the one who rebuked Christ for speaking of His death, and the one that Jesus built His church upon.

Peter certainly had to put his foot in his mouth a lot. He did some really stupid things and some not so very wise ones. But he was the one who Christ built His church on. Peter may have made mistakes, but God was able to work through Peter despite of them and because of them.

I have recently learned to view Peter as the most annoying person I can think of. Why? When I am trying to deal with this person, it helps me to think that this could be another Peter. God can use this person for His glory and even though I can't see it right now, this person may be the next spiritual giant of our time. It takes a quirky, driven, and enthusiastic person to be like Peter. So don't write someone off just because they are annoying. Pray for them and ask God that He would use them in the furtherance of His kingdom.

Lord, help my unbelief

James 1:5
5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

I don't know about you but I certainly lack a whole lot of wisdom.( Just ask my sisters, they'll fill you in.) However if you look at what James says next it also applys to me.

James 1:6-8
6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

This is me. I am a doubting Thomas to the core. I have a hard time trusting God, which is probably why I write about it so much. But I find omfort in this passage.

Mark 9:24
24Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

Father, today I cry out to You to help my unbelief. May I recieve Your wisdom and may I not doubt Your promises. Amen.

My Pastor was in WORLD magazine! Isn't that too cool! My pastor's blog site is the JollyBlogger and he went to GodBlogCon. While there, I guess he got interviewed by WORLD magazine. Whoot for the JollyBlogger!!

Bad Days

I'm having a bad day. I had a bad day yesterday and because of that I didn't get good sleep, so lack of sleep is really killing this day too.

But I know I can't stay in a sour mood. My dad recently preached about this very thing. When we are faced with trial and bad days, it becomes an opportunity to trust and rely on God. Pretty cool thought, huh. My dad said it during his sermon and it made me look at trials in a new way. As an opportunity.

James 1:2-4
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

So even though today hasn't been the best of days so far, I'm going to try and be joyful and give thanks to God through my circumstances.

So my brethren, keep the faith and today try and find a way to count it all and I mean ALL joy.

Dear Pastor

Dear Pastor,

Thank you for being our pastor. I have really enjoyed the sermons you have preached. You are interesting to listen too and have a clear point that you want to get across. You have addressed many issues that I had questions about or just need to hear again.

When you taught about the rapture and second coming it really helped me understand that there is more than one view. Your sermon "My girl or Hey Baby where have you been all my life" I found funny and insightful. A little more recently I have learned more about Melchizedek and how he is a image of Christ.

Thank you for being my pastor.

In Christ,
--Rie


What if no one ever said," You did a great job today, pastor," or if no one ever encouraged each others faith? How long do you think Christianity would be around? If Christianity relied just on mere men, not long. But we have a gracious, wise, and powerful God who died that we may have fellowship with God.

Hebrews 12:3 ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Nice Christian Girls

This article describes me to the t. Except that I don't have the privilege of sleeping in till two. And I'm not as blunt as I should be. In fact I often avoid getting into fights to much, but that's another lesson for another day... anyway read this:

The Difference Between Girls and Girls

by Denise Morris

Here I am a poor creature made of earth
This life has brought me down
Stripped me of all myself worth
So I kneel before You scared and ashamed
Naked of everything I thought good
But Your the same Holy Father
Your ever the same
Here's my worries and my wishes
Here I place my hope in You
Here I put my treasures in You

"A Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man who is enabled to repent and pick himself up and begin over again after wach stumble- because the Christ-life is inside of him." C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors of all time. He had a whole lot of wisdom and God was and is able to do great things through Lewis's works. I would strongly suggest that you read Mere Christianity. It is definetly one of the most rewarding books to read besides the Bible.

Consume Me
Worthless, Useless
All because this darkness consumes me
Why am I so swift
To fall into this pit so quickly
Make me clean
Make me pure
Holy Father, make me Yours

Consume me
Drive this darkness from me
Move through me
Shine Your holiness through me
Take my life and make me wholly Yours
Take my sin, change me till I'm pure

Restless, Senseless
I wander from Your blatant goodness
Why am I oblivious
To everything about Your great Kindness
Open my eyes to see
Holy God consume me

You are Proverbs.


Which book of the Bible are you?
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Unclean

Mark 5
The Healing of a Demon-possessed Man 1They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.[a] 2When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil[b] spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 4For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
6When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" 8For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!"
9Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"
"My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." 10And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
11A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." 13He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
14Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
18As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." 20So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis[c]how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman 21When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." 24So Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
31"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "
32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."
35While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?"
36Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe."
37He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." 40But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" ). 42Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

In this chapter Jesus deals with three different people: a demonpossessedd man, a sick woman, and a dead girl. These are all people who areceremonialy unclean. If you touched these people, you became unclean. Jesus had no fear of becoming unclean. He reached out to these people andactivelyy helped them. The man who was demonpossessedd probably didn't smell or look that good. The woman who had been bleeding fortwelvee years was considered unclean as was any woman during her period. And you were not aloud to touch the dead in those days. By doing these things Jesus showed us that we need to reach out to those who other will not.

Reaching out to others who may not be as clean or nice or popular as us is hard; however, if we are to be "little Christ's" we need to be doing just that.

This action of reaching out to those that are unclean and dirty also shows Jesus's unending, unfailing love for mankind. Jesus sees the sin and filth that has control of our lives and yet he isn'trepulsedd or disgusted. Instead He takes us in His arms and wipes all our ugliness away. He did that for the demon possessed man, the sick woman, and the dead girl. He can do the same for you.

Lord Jesus, thank You for seeing my sin and not being repulsed. Thank Y

Matthew 5:3-12

3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God.

10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

I've got to say that none of these things I would voluntarily under go. I don't like being persecuted and all that. When these things happen to me I can't say I'm jumping up and down with joy saying,"I am blessed."

But God says that He will bless us and grow us and bring us nearer to Him through this. Even through we may not see the purpose know, He will show how His glory and power are made known. Even through the bleakest of circumstances.

Psalm 27:14

14 Wait for the LORD;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the LORD.

Blogging

The Reformation was a time in history when the Christian faith was very strong. It made such an impact on our faith and church today because the christians used or harnessed the leading media tool of their day, the printing press. These days Christians seem to pick up the tail end of techknowledgy and media. A new type of media is making its way and a new chance for christians to use the media to spread the gospel more effectivly. Blogging is an effective, easy, and accesible way to tell the wolrd your views. It is a wonderful oppritunity for Christians to further the name of Christ. Someone who would never walk into a church volentarily will scan the internet for hours. A person who has gone to church all their life can grow in their knowledge of God. This is a tool that GOd has given. May use it to the fullest extent that we can.

Matthew 27:25
25All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!"

Every time I read this verse I just want to cry. This is exactly what happens. If we do not except the gift of salvation that Christ offers us, then we are guilty of murdering Him. A sad and scary thought. His blood is on our hands and the hands of all generations after us and before us. Each of us are covered in a blood that no human can wash out. That no person can cover and hide. That no one can do anything with except to bring it before our Lord Jesus Christ and have Him heal and cleanse us.

Isaiah 1:18
18 "Come now, let us reason together,"
says the LORD.
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.

Psalm 62:11-12

11 One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong,
12 and that you, O Lord, are loving.

You are a loving God. You are a Holy God. You are a great and gracious God. We stand in awe of Your power and holiness. Amen.

The Danger of Dating in Your Mind

When I went to the League of Reformed Bloggers convention, I met this lady who had written this book called,"Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? Trusting God with a Hope Deferred." I didn't think much of it then, but then I read this blog posting by her called The Danger of Dating in Your Mind . I really enjoyed what she had to say here. I constantly struggle with liking guys too much.( What can I say I'm a silly teenage girl) Here she points out that that kind of mind set is harmful and sinful. Ouch! I'm glad I met this woman and I'm glad that God has blessed her with the gift of writing.

A Politics Test

You are a Social Conservative (31% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (30% permissive) You are best described as a: Totalitarian Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Beautiful is Better?

I found a new Blog site that I adore and so I will be telling all of you about it. It's called girl talk. I like it because their theme is: conversations on Biblical womanhood and other fun stuff.

One of the blob posting was this one called Beautiful is Better?: "The other night I saw a report about the trend among high school girls to request breast implant surgery as a graduation gift. It got me thinking.

Though we would not choose to walk out of our graduation ceremony and into the plastic surgeon’s office, I don’t think there is a woman alive who hasn’t wished she could change at least one perceived physical flaw. I probably think about it more than I want to admit.

When it comes right down to it, I don’t think these girls—or any of us for that matter—want a different body for it’s own sake. Rather, because of the sin in our hearts, we long to find happiness in the applause (worship) of others. We think beauty is our ticket to bliss.

But it won’t take us anywhere. Beauty doesn’t satisfy....."

Parenting

My dear readers. This will not be a popular blog I'm sorry to say; however, that has not ever stopped me in the past so here it goes.

Proverbs 22:6
6 Train [a] a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Ephesians 6:4
4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

All to often children in our society are not being raised by their parents. I'm not talking about nanny or babysitters or even foster care. The children are raising the parents. This isn't right. As a child a baby is continually trying to find out it's limitations. What am I aloud to do? What will mommy say no to and what will she say yes to? The baby is looking for borders in his or hers world. If the parents do not provide limitations to that baby it grows up not knowing the security of a structured household. This will lead to problems later on in the child's life.

Structure is providing a schedule for the child, such as meal times, bedtimes, and activity on a regular bases that the child can adapt to. It is providing discipline. Showing the child what is right and wrong. It is also providing love, hugs and kisses all around. Structure is instilling good principles in your child.

In my first aid class we learned about obesity. The main problem these over weight kids had was lack of structure. If a child does not have structure he starts to have behavioral issues. We have all seen some two year old throw a fit in the store if he doesn't get candy. At two years old he is still finding his boundaries and so it is reasonable to throw a fit at his age. Yet when a child of ten or dare I say fifteen throw a fit, You can see that lack of structure they had growing up.

I know a lot of mothers don't want to discipline their children because they don't want their children to hate them. I can understand that, but if they love their children enough that they are willing to discipline their children when they are young then their children will grow to be good and much happier children then if the parents didn't discipline them.

Raising children is one of the challenges that I'm looking forward to. I hope that all my children will love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and strength.

Bloggers convention ( I really am a geek)

Last night I went to a bloggers convention. I was the youngest person there and probably had the smallest blog of all of the people there, but I got to met La Shawn Barber. I have a link to her blog already. She has some very good( In my opinion) comments on politics with a religious twist. I got my picture taken with her so I'm sure you'll see that later.

I also met this other guy who had written a book. So I have another reading assignment as soon as I get a weekend free. He talked about this one blog he is really impressed with, Uncreative Laura: A Practice in Belief. She had a really cool blog. She sound like a person I would want to meet and become friends with. She has probably read more theology books than I ever will and she has a blog site in Español, Poliglotta: Mi Modo de Vida! I want to learn better Spanish and if I read her blog that will improve my language skills. We seem to have alot of the same interests music, cooking, and theology. She is just probably out of my class in theology, but still she sounds like a cool girl.

There is my first blog meeting in a nut shell. You can also come to the next meeting of The League of Reformed Bloggers. I have to see you there. It will be fun.

River of Life

Ezekiel 47:6-12

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. ⁷ When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. ⁸ He said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, ^[a] where it enters the Sea. ^[b] When it empties into the Sea, ^[c] the water there becomes fresh. ⁹ Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. ¹⁰ Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds—like the fish of the Great Sea. ^{[d] 11} But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. ¹² Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing."

A friend recently showed me this passage and she said that this is what the water is like that Jesus speaks of at the well with the Sameritan woman. The water is so alive that it turns the Dead Sea into something living. This is the kind of water I hope that flows out of my life.

John 4:10-11

¹⁰Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." ¹¹"Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?

Education

My dad has a little phrase that use to drive me crazy when I was younger. "Teach this to your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren," and then he would say some bit of wisdom. This is a biblical principle that too many family's are ignoring today. Here is a letter he wrote about what he wanted my sisters and me to learn. My mother and Father did a great job teaching me by homeschooling me and bringing me up in the way of the Lord.

Psalm 119:73

⁷³ Your hands made me and formed me;
give me understanding to learn your commands.

We have no excuse not to follow God's commands. He has made to know good from evil, wrong from right, and truth vs. a lie. We know when we do wrong. We feel guilty for the bad things we do; however, we still sin. Why?

The Evil in our nature over powers the good. We want to sin too much. Does this make it okay? NO! God has given us a way out of our sinful ways.

John 1:29b

“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

How wonderful an awsome is our God.