Time.

Oh how time flies. The first week of January is almost over already. I remember as a kid waiting all year for Christmas to come and about the first week of December the countdown would begin! Everyday seemed to drag and there was just too much time until the wonderful day of Christmas came. Christmas as a kid meant something different then what it means now. It was all about the gifts and Santa and all the wonderful food. It makes me happy and sad at the same time. Happy because of all the wonderful memories I have. Sad because sadly, that's what the world views Christmas as. Not as the season for celebrating the best gift the world could ever have. The gift of our Savior. 

This year Christmas was truly special for me. I really did put Christ at the center of my Christmas. It's what Christmas should be about. We always get so caught up with the things of this world, and since the world tells us we should be busy 24/7 around the Christmas season we end up going a little crazy. Between plays, parties, baking, gifts, wrapping, decorating, and who knows what else we end up forgetting the meaning and true reason for Christmas. It was nice this year to stop and remember the precious gift that was brought to this world that night.  

This past week in Sunday school we talked about how we always hold onto the things of this world and how we wrap our lives in the world. We don't surrender our lives to God because we feel that the world can satisfy us better than our Father can. How foolish are we! I find myself doing it everyday, and I don't even know for what reason. I know God can and does provide more than this world ever will. Yet I cling to it. By clinging to the world we tend to forget God and the will He has for our life. Like with Christmas. We forget our purpose here on earth. To go out and share the good news of our Savior. We fail time and time again, yet God still uses us. He wants to use us. It blows my mind every time I think about it. God is awesome and I just can't get enough of Him. 

I want Him to take this life and make it His. 

Thankful for the little things.

Oh fall. It's one of my favorite times of year! The cooler weather, the leaves changing, jackets, pie, family get togethers, thanksgiving, and did I mention pie? I just love everything about fall! Especially Thanksgiving. 

Even though I absolutely love this holiday, the other day something hit me. Why is it that we, as Americans, take just this one day to truly sit back and think of everything we're thankful for. We are blessed throughout the whole year. Every single day we are blessed, yet we only think about it on one day. Yes, I know. We all do sit back every now and then and are truly thankful for the people or things around us. But why don't we do that everyday? God has taken the time to actually care and love for us to bless us, and yet we can't even thank Him. 

I recently helped with my college class at church by putting together Christmas shoeboxes for children in other countries who don't have enough money to get a Christmas. We watched a video of the kids receiving these boxes and you should have seen the looks they had. They were so thankful and they looked as if they had been given the whole world. All over a shoebox that contained a handful of items. Items us Americans have and use every single day. How blessed we are, yet we take it all for granted. 

I want to start taking each and every moment I am given as a blessing. I want to be thankful for everything I have and the people around me. If a child in another country can be forever grateful over a tiny shoebox, I can certainly be thankful for everything in my life. 

God has been working on my heart for a while now, and He is truly teaching me how to be thankful for the little things. 

Words.

For the majority of my life, I have been afraid of the future. What it will bring, the people involved, and how it will change. I have never known why, but I have always had a feeling it could be because the future  is really unpredicted. Your life can change in an instant and never be the same. 

But all of that is starting to change. Some things happened recently that have started to make me excited and eager for the future. Especially the near future. I can feel myself opening up and breaking out of my shell and I think that is what is making me excited for the future. 

I have always asked God to show me where He wants me and what He wants for my life, and I think he is showing me. Part of what He is showing me is that there is no reason to be afraid, He knows everything about everything. He has the ultimate control and knows exactly what will happen in the future, therefore there is no reason for me to be afraid and worry. 

So from this moment forward I am going to do my best to break out of my shell, stop worrying, and give it all to Him. 

I guess this is just another side road on my endless journey to please and glorify Him. 

I can't wait. :) 

How can anyone look at  a view like this and say there is no God? 

"From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of Lord is to be praised!"

Psalm 113:3

Waiting.

What has happened to this world? It seems like everyone is only concerned with themselves. You see people with their $100,000 cars and their $400 pair of jeans walking around, completely focused on themselves. There are millions of people in need in this world. Millions! Yet we all, myself included, sometimes don't even care. We always want the next new thing, or the bigger thing. I find it interesting when people who have those $400 pair of jeans decided they want to help, so they send a check to save the children in Darfur or to a Aids clinic in Africa. Now, I am not saying it is wrong of them to send money because alot of those organizations need funding. But what I am saying is that here, in America, people are dying everyday. How many children go unfed every night? Or how many families are sleeping on the street? Millions of people are dying here, yet we don't seem to care or even notice. We are always so focused on helping other countries when our own is falling apart. Our country needs to stop and help those in need here.
Back in August the college group at my church went on a mission trip to San Diego and it was an amazing trip. Let me just say that it was probably one of the best mission trips I have ever been on, and I have been on my fair share of trips. One of the activities that we did was that everyone was to take $2 and as a team we were to go to a grocery store or someplace that sold food and put together bags for the homeless. I'm not going to lie, as soon as our leader said homeless it freaked me out. When I used to hear that word, I automatically thought 1) scary 2) dirty 3) crazy. Hah! Which is a ridiculous thing for me to think! Sheesh how judgemental am I? Before we leave to do this activity the leader said something that made me change my thoughts towards the homeless. She said, "These people are just like you and me. They are simply in need. We all have been in need at some point in our lives, and these people just might need a little more help.'' O how true her words were! Of course these people would be like me, they are just people. Children of God who need help from fellow children of God. So anyways, we went out and put together 5 bags for the homeless and went out searching for people in need. I was able to go out with a teammate and actually physically give a bag to a person in need and it opened my eyes and made the words that our leader said come to life. That man was just in need. That was all. God had blessed me with the ability to help him and I was so glad God chose to use me to help touch someone's life.
When we all were back together, we started talking about how easy it was to go and take $2  and a few hours to help someone in need.  What a simple and inexpensive thing to do!
After doing that it really hit me how wasteful this world is. I know there are alot of people out there who do love helping others and showing God's love. But I also know that a majority of the world is consumed with themselves and it breaks my heart.

I hope God can use me to be a light to those who are in need. Whether that need is something as simple as food, or if it is showing them that we need to be helping others. I am ready for the challenging. I'm just waiting for His guidance.

Overwhelmed.

Lately I have been feeling completely overwhelmed. Not with life necessarily, although life  has it's overwhelming moments, but with the thoughts and opinions of the people around   me. I mean, I know what I believe when it comes to God but I also know you can always learn more and have a better perspective of the things you believe.

 I am surrounded by mature Christians who have a strong faith and walk with the Lord. But  am also surrounded by baby Christians who are working on their relationship with Christ. I know, that as a more mature (so to say) Christian, it is my responsibility to help guide and   be a role model to baby Christian and it frightens me. The mature Christians in my life are 

guiding me and trying to help me grow, but sometimes I feel like what one person says another contradicts. I know that when it comes down to it, I have to look in the Bible for 

myself and see what it says to determine what the truth is and what God is showing me. I am so frightened that I am going to misinterpret something and then mislead a "baby"

Christian. I would hate to guide someone wrongly because I know I am spiritually responsible for the guidance I give anyone. 

I guess it all comes down to the fact that I need to pray about it and let God give me the confidence to guide the young Christians and to know what is the truth from the mature Christians in my life.

"Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you!"-

Psalm 102:1

Letting go.

Yesterday I went to the movies with a couple of friends and one of the previews was for the movie 2012. It's basically about the world coming to an end. In the preview you see the things that we all treasure or value on this earth get destroyed. Vatican City collapses, the Eiffel Tower is swept under a huge wave, even the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy is lost in the ending of the world. 

While I was sitting there, something hit me. Nothing in this world matters. Nothing. That thought has always been in my mind, but I guess I never really truly thought about it. Every single one of us clings to the things of this world, and for what purpose? When we die, it doesn't come with us. We don't get to cash it in and get something for it. It stays here on this earth. I know that I cling to the things of this world, and I have no clue why. I need to let it all go. The only thing I need to cling to is God. He is always there. He's my Rock. My Salvation. My Savior. My Father. My Everything. He never let's go of me, yet sometimes I overlook him for the things of this world. 

There's this song that I have recent;y fallen in love with call "You never let go".  These are the lyrics. 

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

Your perfect love is casting out fear

And even when I’m caught in the middle of the storms of this life

I won’t turn back

I know You are near

And I will fear no evil

For my God is with me

And if my God is with me

Whom then shall I fear?

Whom then shall I fear?

Chorus:

Oh no, You never let go

Through the calm and through the storm

Oh no, You never let go

In every high and every low

Oh no, You never let go

Lord, You never let go of me

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on

A glorious light beyond all compare

And there will be an end to these troubles

But until that day comes

We’ll live to know You here on the earth

Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on

And there will be an end to these troubles 

But until that day comes

Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

I want to be like this song. I don't want to let go of God when things are bad. I want to turn to Him. I don't want to not thank Him when things are good because it's because of Him that things are that way. He is there in every high and every low. Nothing in this world matters. 

I want my focus to be only on God. Nothing else. I know once it's focused on Him I will be able to reach those in need and show them God's steadfast and everlasting love. His grace and mercy. He is an awesome God who loves me and the people of this world. I want to show his love to those around me. I just need to let go of this world and focus on Him.