So I've been doing a fair amount of reading, as usual. Here's a list of books I like (it is by no means a complete list!)
Uncle Tom's Cabin (Harriet Beecher Stowe)
I Rode With Stonewall (Henry Kyd Douglas)
Around the World in Eighty Days (Jules Verne)
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers (Baroness Maria von Trapp)
The Dave Darrin series (H. Irving Hancock)
The G.A. Henty series (Lots of books about different kids all historic fiction with really detailed history in them! Awesome!)
There ya' go! Those are some of the many books I like! Now for Awkward+Awesome!
Awkward:
1. Talking to somebody and you know their family fairly well and you've met them twice before and you know who they are but they just nod and smile politely the whole time while their eyes just go back and forth over your face as they try to remember who on earth "this girl I see every time I come home and is really into the military" is. ....
2. Having all your younger siblings and an older brother go to Field & Stream and being back in the cramped bow area and having to duck twice to get out of employees ways....
3. Remembering how awkward you were as a tween and how you thought you had it all figured out how you just knew what you wanted to do and knew everything about being an adult. No.
Awesome:
1. Having chats with your really strong Christian aunt!
2. Having your friends' baby toddler girl finally grin at you and let you hold her. (Never could get her to let me hold her when she was a baby)
3. Feeling God's love.
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Sunday, October 18, 2015
How Beautiful the Feet
"How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of him that... publisheth salvation"
I'll be quite honest. My feet are very frequently a great annoyance to me. They're wide so it's hard to fit in a lot of shoes. They're not long, so I can't opt for a bigger size without tripping on the toes. My feet are ugly. I tiptoed for many many years (still do.. it's why I like to wear heels ;) ) and due to the way I put my weight on my feet, my toes are at times bent to the side. As I said, my feet are ugly.
So as I've been getting older and figuring out the direction God would have me go with my life after highschool, I've been thinking of missions and praying about it. I forget how it came about but I suddenly realized that I don't have to fit into a size 7 shoe for my feet to be beautiful! I can have beautiful feet by publishing the gospel! That is the sort of beautiful feet we should want as Christians. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation"
I like that verse quite a bit. It is beautiful to me. I want those kind of beautiful feet! Feet that bring the gospel to people who need it.
Life is confusing and uncertain, but God is certain and as we need!
I'll be quite honest. My feet are very frequently a great annoyance to me. They're wide so it's hard to fit in a lot of shoes. They're not long, so I can't opt for a bigger size without tripping on the toes. My feet are ugly. I tiptoed for many many years (still do.. it's why I like to wear heels ;) ) and due to the way I put my weight on my feet, my toes are at times bent to the side. As I said, my feet are ugly.
So as I've been getting older and figuring out the direction God would have me go with my life after highschool, I've been thinking of missions and praying about it. I forget how it came about but I suddenly realized that I don't have to fit into a size 7 shoe for my feet to be beautiful! I can have beautiful feet by publishing the gospel! That is the sort of beautiful feet we should want as Christians. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation"
I like that verse quite a bit. It is beautiful to me. I want those kind of beautiful feet! Feet that bring the gospel to people who need it.
Life is confusing and uncertain, but God is certain and as we need!
Friday, October 16, 2015
Isaiah's Prophecies
I was reading Isaiah 5 and in that chapter, there is a prophecy/warning. I was reading all the "because" and "woe" and the reasons behind the prophecy parts and it really began to concern me. Read the excerpts below.
"Because they are haughty" (Isaiah 3:16)
"Woe to those... they do not regard the work of the Lord, nor consider the operation of His hands" (Isaiah 5:12)
"Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as if with a cart rope; that say, "Let Him make speed and hasten His work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it" (v. 18)
"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil" (v. 20)
"Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight!" (v. 21)
"Woe to them... who justify the wicked for a bribe and take away justice from the righteous man!" (v. 23)
I read those passages and said to myself, "Oh, God, we have done all that against You! This passage is us- now!" It is really quite disconcerting! You know what was going to happen to Israel for all this? They were going to be put through horrible wars and famines and devastation and persecution.
We're haughty. We think we're the awesomest and whatever we say goes. (I'm speaking of us as a collective community of people here)
We don't regard the works of God.
You know how much sin goes on in this country??? And a lot of people say, "I want proof that God is who He says"
We call good evil and evil good. We call pro-life people evil, and pro-abortion people good. I don't think I can come up with a more drastic comparison than that.
We're wise in our own eyes.
We justify the wicked. We give them excuses and all kinds of loopholes.
We are collectively fulfilling this prophecy in our own country and believe me, God will respond the same way unless we repent. I've been praying for my country for quite a while now. Let's all pray that God would truly bless America and spare us and forgive our sins!
"Because they are haughty" (Isaiah 3:16)
"Woe to those... they do not regard the work of the Lord, nor consider the operation of His hands" (Isaiah 5:12)
"Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as if with a cart rope; that say, "Let Him make speed and hasten His work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it" (v. 18)
"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil" (v. 20)
"Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight!" (v. 21)
"Woe to them... who justify the wicked for a bribe and take away justice from the righteous man!" (v. 23)
I read those passages and said to myself, "Oh, God, we have done all that against You! This passage is us- now!" It is really quite disconcerting! You know what was going to happen to Israel for all this? They were going to be put through horrible wars and famines and devastation and persecution.
We're haughty. We think we're the awesomest and whatever we say goes. (I'm speaking of us as a collective community of people here)
We don't regard the works of God.
You know how much sin goes on in this country??? And a lot of people say, "I want proof that God is who He says"
We call good evil and evil good. We call pro-life people evil, and pro-abortion people good. I don't think I can come up with a more drastic comparison than that.
We're wise in our own eyes.
We justify the wicked. We give them excuses and all kinds of loopholes.
We are collectively fulfilling this prophecy in our own country and believe me, God will respond the same way unless we repent. I've been praying for my country for quite a while now. Let's all pray that God would truly bless America and spare us and forgive our sins!
Friday, October 9, 2015
Prayer Date
Hey everybody! I hope you're reading this so you will know that I am arranging a prayer date for tomorrow night. Thirty minutes of prayer starting at 7pm EST. This time it's not prayer for the persecuted church. I want to have a prayer time for America. There are a lot of things going on, and a lot of important questions being brought up. We should pray for our leaders (in Peter it says, "Pray for those in leadership that you may lead a quiet and peaceable life") and we should pray for each other. Pray that other citizens would stand for what is right and true. Pray that their confused questions are answered through God's word. We cannot change just with human action. We must accompany effort with prayer!
So again, tomorrow, Saturday October 10th, at 7pm EST thirty minutes of prayer for our country! Let's pray that God will bless America!
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Hearing God
Sometimes it is really hard to hear what God is saying. The Bible says to "Be still and know that I am God" The Bible also calls God speaking a "Still small voice" (see 1Kings 19:11,12)
In this passage, God is passing by, and it describes a great wind that "rent the mountains" and it says the Lord was not in the wind. Then after the wind there was an earthquake and it says God was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but God was not in the fire. Then it says there was a still small voice. And if you read the passage, that was God.
I know it's hard to hear God. I have a hard time doing it. I've found some things that work.
1. While you're praying, if somebody or a situation pops into your head, roll with it and pray about that! I've been doing this, and ... wow, prayer time just got so much longer. To be honest, I'll sometimes be like, Wow this is taking loooong! lol But, if God brings something to your mind, you better bet your life you need to follow it!
2. Pray and then don't just say, "In Jesus' name, Amen." Okay, I'm done! Pray, and don't finish. Just keep quiet for a while. Do your best to keep your thoughts empty!
3. If when you're doing something you feel like you should pray, or read your Bible, do it! Now, I understand if you're in the middle of talking to somebody or working at something or school, this isn't really quite going to work, but you can pray even without actually taking time to stop what you're doing! I know!
So, there are some ideas.. I may turn this into a series, I don't know!
Some cool news, I graduate next June, I'm applying to a local college, (UNC) and I am going to major (this is all grounded on if I make it in) in Nursing as a Pre-Med! I'm so excited! Working on applications and scholarships! :D
In this passage, God is passing by, and it describes a great wind that "rent the mountains" and it says the Lord was not in the wind. Then after the wind there was an earthquake and it says God was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but God was not in the fire. Then it says there was a still small voice. And if you read the passage, that was God.
I know it's hard to hear God. I have a hard time doing it. I've found some things that work.
1. While you're praying, if somebody or a situation pops into your head, roll with it and pray about that! I've been doing this, and ... wow, prayer time just got so much longer. To be honest, I'll sometimes be like, Wow this is taking loooong! lol But, if God brings something to your mind, you better bet your life you need to follow it!
2. Pray and then don't just say, "In Jesus' name, Amen." Okay, I'm done! Pray, and don't finish. Just keep quiet for a while. Do your best to keep your thoughts empty!
3. If when you're doing something you feel like you should pray, or read your Bible, do it! Now, I understand if you're in the middle of talking to somebody or working at something or school, this isn't really quite going to work, but you can pray even without actually taking time to stop what you're doing! I know!
So, there are some ideas.. I may turn this into a series, I don't know!
Some cool news, I graduate next June, I'm applying to a local college, (UNC) and I am going to major (this is all grounded on if I make it in) in Nursing as a Pre-Med! I'm so excited! Working on applications and scholarships! :D
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