Get back in the groove

I've got to get back into the groove of writing things!  I kinda took off for the Holidays and Christmas! So, how did your Christmas go?  What did you do?  My cousins came from O.K. to see us during the Holidays.  They have lots of energy!!!  One is 5 and the other is 6!

What are we living for?

What can you think of that we are living for?  What should we be living for?  Why?

I can think of countless things that I have lived for, other than Christ.  TV, Friends, grades, stuff...What about you?  How can we push this stuff aside and look to what really counts in our lives?  We have to be willing to lay down these things at the foot of the cross and say,  "Nothing matters but you, God.  I know that you will care for me."

I can see how TV and video games can become a great distraction, enough of  a distraction to pull us further away from Christ.  Set these things aside and do what is right.

We should be living for Christ in every aspect of our short lives.  Seeking Him and those who need Him.  We should be glorifying Him with our actions, and enjoying Him for who He is.

Why?  Because the Bible says that we should Glorify God and enjoy Him...I should have written the verse but I do not have a bible near by.

So, what ARE we living for?

The night of his birth!!

Jesus was born this very night a couple of thousand years ago!

Just a break in the seriousness

If someone tells you nothing is impossible, what do you say to them?  Comment and tell me what you would say :)


I'd say, "Ok, go dribble a football."

Please pray for a friend of mine

A friend I made in NY, I may have told you about needs prayer.  She is beginning to accept what I have to say about Christ, and she has started praying.  I would ask that you guys could pray for her.  I pray that God would send overwhelming peace and joy to her as she seeks Him.  I also pray that God would set someone in her path that is a devout believer, who would be a good influence on her while I am not around to do so.  Thanks :)  I need all the prayer I can get!  So does she!  With many prayers and a little faith, big thinks can be done for the kingdom of Christ.

Compromise

What are you compromising today?  What have you compromised?  Can you stop compromising?  I have.  I've compromised in the way I work, yes, today.  I have compromised in prayer, clothes, and thought.  Yes, I can stop compromising.
Why have I compromised?  Because the world says it's ok and because I am comparing myself with others in the world.
Compromise is a slippery slope that can easily cause any to stumble.  WE have to be aware that we are compromising when we are, so that we can stop and be more mindful as we continue in our faith.
I have been really convicted recently about this matter.  Do you see what I am trying to draw for you?  The world is compromising its morals and its goodness to sin and death, and so are we?  Yes, we are.  We need to turn this around if we can.

Prayer Warriors

We need to be prayer warriers for our country, government, people, and family.  I see were this nation is the kind that is independent and thinks that they can survive on their own.  God founded this country!  He created the earth!  Yet we think--little as we are-- that we can live without the very breathe that brought us to life! How can this be?  How can a little people think that they are so above God as not to ask for his help?!  I mean, some of us do pray I'm sure, but if you think about it not much of America's population are praying for Gods help.  We need to get down on our knees and ask God for the forgiveness and for the much needed help that He could give us.  If God decides not to help America, I wont blame him.  We are a sinful corrupt nation.  God has a right to let sin and death ravage our lands, we are the ones that asked for it.  We are the ones that chose the path of sin and death...

God is out there and he will listen to your prayers.

Modesty and the standards of the world

What is modesty?  Who defines it?  How do you practice it?

Well...for one thing, modesty isn't what it used to be.  I'm not saying that you should run around draped entirely with sackcloth and baggy clothes.  I'm saying that people look at other more immodest people for their standards instead of looking at the Bible.  I find myself comparing the way I dress with other teens my age and think that I don't look like they do, so I'm OK.  Well, it's not OK.  WE shouldn't look at others and base our standards from what we see on them.  We should see what God has to say about the matter.

God defines modesty in 1Timothy 2:9.  It basically says that we should dress nicely and look go0d, but that we should not flaunt (Show off) ourselves.  We should not want to draw unneeded attention to ourselves.

Practicing modesty can be a very hard thing for a young woman.  I, at times have a hard time with things of this sort.  Sometimes we feel insecure and feel that we have to prove to others that we can shine and that we are beautiful.  Its not bad to be beautiful or to have your time to shine...but sometimes we want to shine in the wrong ways.  Go loves us and wants us to be confident in who we are, but he also wants the best for us.  He wants us to lean on him and put our insecurities in him.  Like I said earlier, being modest doesn't mean walking around in rags.  Modesty is of an inner beauty, it shines from the inside out and will catch the eye of the right type of man that a good Christian woman would want to marry.  It doesn't draw the many eyes of the many men that would be unhealthy people to be around.  Modesty shows that you are well grounded and that you care about what others see when they look at you and that you want them to see an upstanding, Godly woman.  It shows a strong character and a pure hear.  Any young Christ-like man would rather walk alongside a woman that he knew was not going to go and flaunt herself to other men and for all to see, than beside on that does.  You may not be at an age to think of such things as marriage (I'd start thinking now :) it is good to have the right Biblical mindset before you get married) but modesty is something that can we started right now in your walk :)

I need prayer

I need prayer from all of you guys.  I, as anyone, have my troubles and trials.  I have been blessed with a burden that is rather big for my shoulders but I know that it isn't to large for me to carry because Christ is there to help me lift myself up.  But nonetheless I need your prayer.  The blessed burden that I carry is that of a heart that morns and cries out in pain at the sufferings of others.  It is to the point were I feel like I am in their shoes and I am living their pain.  I ask that you could pray that the Lord would lift me and those around me up on his wings and help us to be strong in Him no matter what.  Thanks allot guys :)

Why are we not the happiest people in the world?

As Christians we know and believe that Christ died for our sins and broke the chain of sin and death that otherwise would have dragged us to hell.  [Deep breathe]  Right?  Yes.  Then why aren't we the happiest people on earth?!  If you think of Hell, a dark place or a place of fire and brim stone (either way you would prefer to think it--Neither sound very soft and cozy if you ask me!), and we were saved from it!  Through Christs selfless death on the Cross for our sins, we were set free from the depths of Hell itself.  We should be the most joyful people that ever lived!  I know a few Christians that seem to be pretty doom and gloom if you ask me and I think that when we don't put a smile on our faces to  show others why we are happy, then we are not seeing what we were really saved from!

You may ask, "Why me?"

Everyone asks this question at least once in their lifetime.  Ya know, bad things happen.  But why to you?  Or why to me?  You may say, "Why is God punishing me?"

It's not that he is punishing you.  I believe that bad things happen as a trial, or a test.  God wants to know if you are strong enough to carry our his work.  Because sometimes His work can be hard.  He wants to see how you react, will you lean on what you know?  Or will you lean on him?  He knows what your reaction is going to be before anything happened.

God doesn't send bad things.  Sin and evil are what create the bad in the world.  In the beginning when Eve bit into that apple.  Sin entered the world to ravage it until the day that Jesus comes again.  We just have to pray for Gods hand to help us in our walk through this sinful world.  When you became a Christian, no one should have told you that things would be just dandy an nothing more would go wrong.  Many things do get better, and many things get more difficult.  But with God at you side, He helps you with those things that get harder.

Persecution for example:  If you were an atheist in China, I doubt that any of your rights and lawful practices would be condemned.  But if you were a Christian speaking freely to the masses of Christ the Lord, you could get punished for such a doing.  You have to take your chances for what is right.

It may seem at the time of your hardest trial, that you cannot stand up to it.  You may feel as though you have been defeated.  God NEVER gives you more than He knows you can handle.

"Why me?"  you may ask.  You, because you have been chosen for a special purpose.  You,  because evil is on earth.  You, because you can handle it.

An example of the work of Gods hand

       Look at the USA, when it was founded it was founded upon Biblical standards and by moral men, some Christians.  Our country flourished like NONE other!  We grew and became a free nation.  God placed his hand in what our nation did.  He blessed us and the land.  He helped our wishes for freedom to become a reality. 
      Most every family has a car and what food they need and what pleasures they want.  Does everyone in Africa?  No.  Most other countries now do not hold the wealth that we once did.  And none of them have the freedoms that we have enjoyed.
      But look at our once great country now.  We are heading to our demise.  The American dollar is dropping in worth, and unemployment is high.  From spending and borrowing and spending and more borrowing, our government has brought us to an unrepairable state.  But wait a moment, I'm not blaming the government alone.  The people in the USA are becoming moral less.  I'm not pointing the finger at you in particular, you may be one of the most moral people you know....  But, lets take a break and mention some things that are the moral less parts of our country:  hmmmmm, wow, Abortion is a BIG one, fornication, pornography, immodesty, homosexuality, drug abuse, and hundreds more!  Our country is failing to notice that we were based on Biblical standards and God helped us flourish because of it.  Now we are pushing God out of every aspect of our lives!  He is starting to pull back his hand, and we are going to see what evil is really like. 
       Don't you see the pattern here?  Embrace God, He will embrace you.  Push God away, He will push you away.  I don't want to see what evil can be without Gods hand to damper it.  Do you?  But our country is in no state to fight this coming evil.  If we don't change, the USA is going to crash and burn.
    

June 26, 1942 - March 15, 2004

Do you see those dates?  It most likely means nothing to you.  Neither does it mean a thing to me.  You look at the first date wich represents Birth, or the birth of a person.  The second date is what?  Yes, it is death.  But look in the middle.  What do you think that dash represents?  Life lived.

Take you birth into perspective.  You have that first date and a part of a dash.  But you don't know when you are going to die so you don't have that last date.  What are you going to do with your life?  Is that dash going to mean something to God? I want the "-" on my head stone to mean something to God :) 

Do you?

God Gave me Peace :)

Today I went to take the ACT test and all I wanted was not to be stressed about it.  I didn't even care if I bombed it!  I just wanted to feel confident about it.  I started praying about it a week before, I asked that God would give me peace.

If you know me, you would guess that I would be stressed, hyper, and worried about the test.  I all honesty I thought I would be!  But I gave it all over to God, I said, "Lord, you gave me these brains for a reason and I am going to use them to the best of my ability today.  But Lord, I can't control weather I throw up from nervousness...so please let me be completely and totally calm."

We got there (TTU) at 8:00 AM and there were around 60 teens there.  Most of them were high school seniors.  I found my friend Caroline and we were filed into a room where the people that were taking the writing portion of the ACT (which is optional) waited to go to the testing class room.  There were very few, around 15 who were taking the writing.  Yay!!  I thought.  It was fine :)  My stomach was not churning and I was not worried about being around the other students.  All the other students looked terrified or somber.  None of them smiled.  I thought to myself,  Huh, huh!  Is this death row or something?  I burst out laughing in front of the small group and every one looked at me like I was crazy,  I don't know, maybe I am! But it was so darned funny at the time.  I think I was the only bright faced person in the crowd.  I don't know what had lifted my spirits, or what could have other than God!

I finished the test with a nod and a smile!  God helped me get through it.  If God had not been there giving me peace, I would have been nervous enough not to take the test.

Who made them?

Look at this pic.  Do you know what it is?  You might say,  "Well, duh, stars!"  Well, yes and no.  There are stars in these amazing things called Galaxies!  You may or may not have heard of a Galaxy, and that is OK :)  I am going to tell you :)  Well, I am going to explain the basics, 'cause I am not a rocket scientist it would be hard for me to tell you everything.  So think real hard here.  Our galaxy ALONE is approximately (A very rough number)  588,785,644,234,773,200 (about 6 quadrillion miles wide).  Things this large and to this magnitude can hardly be measured in MILES.  In this case most would use Light years (6 trillion miles).  It is said that the Milky Way is around 100,000 light years wide so if you do your math, 100,000 times 6 trillion you get something like 600,000,000,000,000,000 miles wide!!!! But look at how big that is!  There is said to be any were from 200 - 400 BILLION stars in the Milk way!

Look at that picture up above now.  Every one of those shiny things you see are not stars.  They are galaxies!!!!  Some are many times bigger than our own, some are smaller.  In 1999 astronomers said that there were approximately 125 BILLION galaxies in the universe each hundreds of thousand of light years across!!! 

If there are 350 billion stars in our galaxy then how may are there in the universe?  I don't know!!!  Well there must be around 450,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars in the universe!  Our galaxy is expanding.  Getting bigger.  If you think about it, the whole universe must be as well.  It just blows my mind! 

Our Creator knows EVERY star by name!! I can't remember all my cats nicknames and he has around 20.  Such a small number.  Cant you see now how small you are?  Can't you see how great our creator is?  Just look into stars and Light years, galaxies and all of that and you will just wonder how a big bang could have ever made everything the way it is.  Yes, there was a big bang, God said, "Let there be light!"  And it was.

This is The Pistol star.  It is not the largest star in the Universe but is is REALLY big.  It is 100 times the mass of our sun.  And think, 1,300,000 earths could fit in the sun!  That makes 130,000,000 earths that could fit in a STAR!  I just think it so amazing what God has made.  The Universe is so vast we could never hope to know its exact size!  Like I said I believe in the Big bang.  "Let there be light!" And there were trillions upon quadrillions of stars and a sun just close enough not to fry us and just far enough away not to freeze the face of earth.

How great is our God?  You answere that question. 

God is out there

He is out there and he is watching you :)  Not in the "Oooo spooky"  kind of way.  He is caring for you and loving you :)  He sees your pain, he sees when other people don't.  He doesn't care if you just lied to a friend, he doesn't care if you have a new boyfriend...he is going to be your friend no matter what.  He will NEVER leave you for something you might say or do.  What kind of a person would do that, No one!  We are human and cannot comprehend Gods greatness. HE CARES WHEN NO ONE ELSE DOES.

Would you rather...

Have a gorgeaous voice and any ugly face

or

Have extream beauty and have to sing in front of a crowd even though you couldn't sing a note.

ACT Test

Taking the ACT test this Saturday at TTU (Tennessee Tech University).  I am worried that I won't pass :(  Do any of you have any tips on the test???

Take a look at this scary stuff!!

The Muslim’s Sharia Law and Jihad

By Rachel Stickler

America faces another threat that some Americans fail to realize exists—Islam and Sharia law. 

Political correctness, misguided notations of tolerance, and laziness to become informed and

involved have combined to create an atmosphere of confusion and denial that an actual threat

to our nation exists.  Islam is not just another “religion” and definitely is not a “Religion of

peace” as some contemporaries have stated.  Sharia is a totalitarian, legal and political entity,

cloaked in  religious garb, that seeks to dominate and control every aspect of human existence.  

In 1991, The Explanatory Memorandum, was written by Mohamed Akram, the senior Hamas leader in

the U.S. and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Board of directors.  It stated that the “movement”

(civilization of jihad), was to establish itself in America (through massive population strategies) and once

accomplished, to undertake “grand jihad” (conquering by whatever violent means necessary) “in

eliminating and destroying  the Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house by

their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated…”

Islam cannot coexist with our constitution.  So many people turn their backs and say, “It could

never happen to us.” Yet, that same refrain was heard when the Japanese invaded China and

Hitler invaded Europe.  Half a million U.S. deaths later, we knew otherwise.

Infiltrate, implement, destroy and dominate.  That is the battle plan of Islamic Sharia law.  The

books that Muslims use as we use our bible are called the Koran, Sira, and the Hadith.  Each of

these texts are like our bible, having chapters and verses.  Over 59% of the written content of these

books is about the loathing of all non-Muslims.  The non-Muslim is to be treated actively and eternally

with great cruelty and evil.  This is illustrated by the Sura 5:82:  “The enemy between Muslims and Jews

will continue without compromise as long as Muslims and Jews remain upon this earth.”  The same

books also call for active and total jihad (war) to establish Islam worldwide.  John B. Boggs, Ph. D. says,

“To say that radical Islam is no threat is to facilitate our total destruction.

Because Islam is moving in so slowly at the moment people don’t see Muslims as a threat.  Who

desires to dominate the world”  Americans or Muslims?

Walid Shoebat (a former Muslim, converted to Christianity)  writes:  The Bible teaches that the

Antichrist will strive for complete world domination.  The Apostle John informs us that in the

Last-Days, “Power will be given to him over all peoples, and tongues, and nations.” (Revelation

13:7)  This is confirmed by Jewish tradition as well: “He will deceive the whole world into believing that

he is God and will reign over the entire world.” What the Bible warns us of is exactly what Islam is.  The

renowned Muslin scholar Mawlana Sayid Abul Ala Mawdudi from the Indian subcontinent stated: “Islam

is not a normal religion like the other religions in the world, and Muslim nations are not like normal

nations. Muslim nations are very special because they have a command from Allah to rule the entire

world and to be over every nation in the world.” “Islam is a revolutionary faith that comes to destroy

any government made by man. Islam doesn’t look for a nation to be in a better condition than another

nation.  Islam doesn’t care about the land or who owns the land.  The goal of Islam is to rule the entire

world and submit all of mankind to the faith of Islam. Any nation or power that gets in the way of that

goal, Islam will fight and destroy.  In order to fulfill that goal, Islam can use every power available every

way it can be used to bring worldwide revolution.  This is jihad.”

                All of this  is what comes with Islam, Sharia law, and jihad. This was written from a reliable source.