Are you thankful?

A current trend in my life is the idea of being thankful for the little things. The past several weeks the sermon topics have been along the lines of thankfulness. The concept of thanking God for the little things is an idea that is often preached around thanksgiving, but do we ever put it into practice?
My friend preached about the idea of how everyone has a thankfulness language. Yes just as the idea of people having a specific way that they show love, people also show that they are thankful in a similar way.
I show appreciation or thankfulness  when I buy people gifts and spend time with them. If I am generous that means I really do care. As terrible as that sounds, it really is true I don't spend money on others often.
This idea of being thankful for the little things really drove home when I realized that the fragility of life and the fact that people are temporary. I remembered attending a funeral for a lady that was a major part of my childhood years. She taught me the importance of smiling and that a smile can change anyone's day around. She has been dead for 3 years but the principles that she taught me about the Bible and the impact that we have on those around us changed my life.
Being thankful for those that are in your life. For you never know when you will get the chance to see them or hear them say the same old story over and over again. The things that you find as annoyances are what you will be remembering.
By being thankful for the simple daily things I have realized stress is gone the Lord provides and you always have the opportunities to be thankful for something. So as Mother Theresa said "let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."

Christmas

Last week I had the opportunity to completely turn my life full circle. I told my testimony that many of you have read about my time in college. I shared this to four freshman girls and was amazed at the work that God had been doing in my life and theirs. 
Many of the girls were going through similar experiences that I had gone through my freshman year. Feeling of wanting out, not knowing why and overwhelmed with finals preparation. I found out this past Tuesday that one of the girls that was seriously considering transferring to another college made the decision to stay. God sure can use people if they are open to going through all of the experience that leads up and breaks you down. God breaks people to build them up in Him.
I am a witness of the work that God has done in my life alone. 
I hated the not knowing of why God choose to allow me to experience terrible times just 2 years ago. I hated everything about being at a Christian University, the blah of routine Christianity and the routine rules and regulations. I even didn't like the wishy washy people that were so fake in their walks with God.
God has open my eyes to the hurt and the broken and those that really havn't experienced the grace and mercy and overwhelming loving hands of God. 
I had a moment like this back in high school where I felt God telling me to stand up for a larger girl that was being bullied and I listened and stopped several of my friends from being just mean to her because she was different and a slow runner. She thanked me and later I overheard her talking about me, no not trash talking but genuine complements about how thankful she was I said something to those girls.
A seldom known fact is that I was overweight as a child and still feel for those who are still struggling with their weight. That is an insecurity that many people struggle with. I know that feeling of not good enough and really get upset when people pick on those that appear different. They know your talking about them and as the bible says "you look on the outside but God looks at the heart."
When we choose to allow God to use us, what he can do through us is incredible. Indescribable, really.SO where was I oh yeah, last tuesday when I was sharing my story I felt a peace that God gave me the right time and words to say to them and really felt like what I said was what God was saying to them through me.
Since then, I feel like God is telling me to stay open with them and allow opportunity's to encourage them to persevere and stay faithful that God's will is ultimately the best plan for their lives. We do not know when or how he reveals it to us but after the hard times always come the blessing. 
Share the Blessings this Season.

10/22

It's funny how at times the world can appear to be completely consumed with the idea of "us." The single self centered beings that many people fall into acting like is not at all a new idea. 
I was sitting in the Pew this past Sunday and I began to think about how God used the worst of the worst people to influence and impact His kingdom and further the advancement of the Gospel. Saul to Paul conversion was preached about and I began to think about how if the great God can change a heart like that from killing Christians to being a great preacher and writing most of the New Testament, why at times do I feel like God isn't able to use me or why is it that when I hear his call for my life to go out and be bold and step outside of my comfort zone I seldom if ever act upon it?
How many times have I ever sat back and instead of acting kind and compassionate just joked along and didn't step out and act as Christ would. 
The sad reality is that we all fall into the patterns of our daily life and get into a comfort zone of sorts and forget that we are the "Light of the World". This past week I experienced full circle Gods hand in my life and why I went through the experience of Hating being at college. I realized that God used that time and build me up through the rubble to now be able to encourage the Freshman in my prayer group that are just now going through that hard indecisive time. For the first time I felt lead to volunteer to tell my testimony... this is a major step forward for me really living my faith and is a great way to proclaim the good work that Christ has begun in me. As the Bible says "He who has begun a good work in you will carry it out until the day of completion." 
If we really let those words sink in we realize that the work has already been started the hard part is over Christ took on the task of all our sins of doubt and shame. He whisked away any good excuse that we could ever fathom as to why we shouldn't be out proclaiming the good peace that comes from our savior. Procrastination is not an option that we as the Saved believers should be implicating. 
With that being said the self centered idea of "us" is that the only we in our lives should be that relationship that is Christ in me = we.
Cheesy as that sounded as it passed through my fingers onto the screen, if you think it through it is true. SO what I guess I am saying is that I am guilty of this too, not stepping out and being bold for the  Lord. 
Perseverance throughout diversity produces diligence in uncertainty which leads to wisdom.

walking alone

I thought I was finished with blogging and thought I had grown past this stage in my life. As most of you or whomever reads this knows I blogged monthly about what was going on at the time in my life for all of last year may-may. In june and july I landed a job working at an elderly home serving their food or doing whatever needed to be done.  I experienced the quality of life that the elderly can experience. I saw it all those who couldn't move or hear or even speak, and i witnessed first hand the need that people have to interact with other people. A simple smile and act of kindness toward them made them smile and genuinely brought them comfort and joy even just for that glimpse of a moment. I worked with the lowest of society those that had rough circumstances and had made poor life choices and had to work for they had no formal education or family to rely upon.

The main thing that working allowed me to learn was that people are there but for a season. Eventually I needed to come to learn the ultimate lesson from God... only HE is always with me.

I am back at college writing for my school paper and learning daily that the Lord is my strength and my comfort He is my provider and guide through every situation.

Yesterday this truth became apparent as my roomate and I were left to wander the streets for over 3hrs walking home from raquetball practice. We were totally lost and in the bad part of town when the Lord walked with us and directed us to find an old civil war map landmark, benefit of being in the south. we read the map and were able to get close to school before nightfall. The only way we made it out of there was with the Lord walking with us.

I have great respect for Jesus and all of the apostles that walked all over europe proclaiming the good news and Gods working. Walking for 3hrs straight allowed me to experience just a glimpse of the physical commitment that the apostles devoted themselves to and allowed me to bask in the glory of Gods creation. The mountainous terrain at times was a disadvantage when walking up hill both ways literally. But in the end I recognized the values of the hills and Gods creation is truly something that I have taken for granted.

Walking with the Lord is a lesson all should experience at some point in their life.

Tonight I was awoken to the need to fully stop trying to understand what was going on in my life. Many trials and just plain confusing things have been happening to me and my friends and I had been at the point of lying awake just thinking about how can I be a better friend and Christian. I know I dont show the Love of Christ as often as I should, sadly I know and recognize that I need to implicate my faith and really act on my faith. If i say I have faith but do not act upon it then what use am I in furthering the kingdom? Tonight the passage of Job was preached upon and I realized that is my life why am i questioning why things happen. why do i think that i even deserve the explanations of why situations are arise all at once in my life.

Walking with the King was my High schools motto the year I graduated. All things in life are circular i am finding out. I had a terrible Jr year of high school, I was depressed and at times suicidal. I was constantly doubting everything I knew and always was feeling alone. I stopped associating with people and just went day to day not making any effort to enjoy the days. I realized that I wanted to come to the place I am at now because I needed to snap out of what I was feeling and this college was easy to be accepted into. When i visited, I walked around for about an hour and really felt drawn to this place.

As you know from previous posts I have had my fair share of doubt about being here but ultimately the Love of Christ and the power of HIS WORD has reassured everything. Tonight was just another one of those nights where God spoke and said let go and truly trust me. I know I can't have it all together all the time and I need God for everything. I need to act upon how i feel about my savior. I walk with God and He walks with me literally. Tonight I gazed upon His creation and prayed for everything I had been trying to control myself. "Lord empty me of me so i can be filled with you" "never once did I ever walk alone"

Philippians 4: 6-7  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

AMEN

World domination

Here's something I continue to find truly amazing. You the readers live all around the world and actually read what I write. I'm just a college kid in America who enjoys writing about important issues and practical advice. Mexico, Indonesia, Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Russia, amazing places I can only dream to visit. I think its great that even though I have never traveled to any of those places we still have something in common and can relate because we all feel. Some of us feel more than others and experience situations that cause us to feel sorrow and hurtful emotions and other times we feel joy peace comfort happy emotions. A midst the struggles and blessings that each day contains we can feel like there has to be someone out there that knows and has experienced what we have gone through. Through the power of prayer and belief in salvation from sin we are united in faith in Christ Jesus and know we will never walk alone. 

Learned this year

Tonight the question was posed what have I learned this year. Great thing to think about.
learned...
1. How to express myself without swearing, I used to curse like a sailor and think nothing about it
2. How to find the joy in a situation and turn around my outlook
3. Nothing school related
4. What good friends I have
5. There are more important things in life than drama
6. Experiences are blessings good or bad, you experience them for a reason that only God knows
7. People will always fail you but its how\who you turn to to make things better

MILATARY

Recently I have been watching too many military themed movies. Red Tails, Black Hawk Down, Act of Valor, are just a few. All of these movies make me recognize the fact that America might be called the "land of the free and the home of the brave" but at the expense that people pay. The brave that call America home, are the ones that seldom return to enjoy the freedom. Military personal are being killed and sacrificing themselves everyday in the battlefields for US. Are we living as free people should be living? If anyone who served came back and saw the way that we are living would they still be proud to say they fight for us? Would you want to give your life to protect a bunch of gangsters, drug addicts, club rats, slackers, unemployed people, broken  sinners? 
Jesus did. He died for US and protected us from death and sin consequences.