Long Time, No Post? I know.

Love never gives up.
love cares more for others than for self.
love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
love doesnt strut,
doesn't have a swelled head,
doesn't force itself on others,
isn't always, "me first,"
doesn't fly off the handle,
doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
doesn't rovel when others grovel,
takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
puts up with everything,
trusts God always,
always looks for the best,
never looks back, but keeps going to the end.

1 Corinth. 13

The sets of words in purple are my favorite sections of this passage.
They're like, huge to me.

Love never gives up.
How absolutely amazing would it be if we never gave up on things or people that we love? But we give up all the time. It's so hard to keep going when the going gets rough. Jesus sets this example for us though. He never gives up on us sinners. The Bible says that he died for us while we were still his enemies. ENEMIES! How many of you would die for your enemy, let alone give them the shirt off your back. Jesus died for us who crucified him. How just completely mind blowing is that?

Love puts up with everything.
Once again, it's like never giving up. God puts up with so much from us.. from hating our bodies, which, by the way, he designed just the way they are. To hating each other, murder, cheating, lying, stealing. How much do you put up with from your little brother, big sister, parents, friends? EVERYTHING.

Love never looks back, but keeps going until the end.
.. The end of time. Jesus says in his word that he will be with us until the end of time. How many people will you truly love the entire time that you're with them, until that time is up? Love every second of every minute of every hour. You won't keep score of their sins against you like another part of this passage says. The Bible says our sins are as far away as the East is from the West. Jesus never, ever looks back.



So, how will you love today.. and for the rest of your life? Will you take pleasure in the flowering of truth, not rovel when others grovel? It's my prayer that you will, and that God will give me the strength to do the same.

Psalm 139

I thank you, High God - you're breathtaking!

Body and soul, I am marvelously made!

I worship in adoration - what a creation!

You know me inside and out..

.. Your thoughts - how rare, how beautiful!

God, I'll never comprehend them!

Psalm 139


God love syou with an everlasting love; a love that never fails; a 1st Corinthians kind of love. No matter what you do or don't do, god will never love you more and he'll never love you less. He thinks of you day and night, and knows everything about you. Go to Jesus and tell him your worries and your fears and everything you are going through. Even when you don't have the words he understands. Thank him for loving you so much and for everything he's created for you. The sun and the moon and the starts, every crystal of a snowflake, the sunsets and sunrises, the sound of laughter, music, hugs from your friends and everlasting life. Jesus loves you more than life itself.


I wrote this to a friend a while back, and these words ring true in my mind. I needed this truth from Psalm 139. God's thoughts about us are countless, and he loves us no matter what we do right or what we do wrong. He forgives our every sin because he came in the form of flesh to die for us, now we need to live for him.

'You make everything glorious,
You make everything glorious,
You make everything glorious,

And I am Your's."


-David Crowder Band

Oh, this weather :)

so, maybe I am getting a little ahead of myself.
but oh, well.

The weather here right now just makes me want to dance and sing. It's soo absolutely gorgeous and pretty and bright outside. I love it.

Yes, I know. It's still the middle of February.

Yesterday I took my dog for a run. Outside. I was so pumped. And the past couple of days I havent worn a coat to school, just a northface-jacket-look-alike that I bought at Walmart. I've started drinking lemonade. I wanna go out and ride the horses again, and I can't wait for softball practices to start. I love the transition between winter and spring.

At the beginning of winter I always think it's beautiful. The first snow, a white Christmas, snow angels and hot chocolate. But I adore when it starts to look like spring. The sun is out longer and at 7 am when I open the blinds in my bathroom it's not pitch dark anymore. This morning as I was on my way to school the sunrise and clouds were dazzling. The sky was blue, and the clouds purple, then right at the place where they meet the sun came shining through, making the lining of the clouds gold. It was wonderful.

You know the song 'Back to December' by Taylor Swift? If not I think you should listen to it. It's such a pretty song and totally caputures the way I've been feeling lately.

So this is me swallowing my pride

standing in front of you saying im sorry for that night,

and I go back to december all the time.

Turns out feedom ain't nothing but missing you

wishing I'd realized what I had when you were mine.

I'd go back to december, turn around and make it all right.

I go back to december all the time.

I wish I could do that.

But I'm beginning to see something different.

I'm seeing what God wants me to see and what He wants me to sing.

I'm deciding that I'd rather not go back to December. I'm looking forward to the spring.

God showed me that a few mornings ago when I was listening to this song thinking about the past. There's no point in going back to December when God is the One who told you to leave it. Why drown yourself in the past when he's got spring waiting right around the corner for you?

I hope you look for spring. :)

Go With the Flow

Listening to? Glow -Britt Nicole

Smelling? Both the vanilla and cappuccino scented candles in my room. and something weird too, not sure what that is.

I think I may have a problem.

I can be pretty stubborn.

It's not that I've just realized this,

I just came to the conclusion that maybe it's not a good thing.

You see, I'm an only child. That can cause some problems with sharing and allowing others to have their way when making plans or other such things. Don't get me wrong! I love hanging out and doing what others do, but usually I like to go by my ideas of what we should do. Like for example, I hateeee spending money to do basically anything. It gets kinda hard to have fun when you don't like to go out and do anything. Now, I will spend a pretty penny on food, but that's my weakness. :) The movies really aren't my favorite thing because they're so expensive, if you want to go to the nice ones. I wait for movies to get into the dollar theater. And even then it's rare that I'll go see one. This weekend I'm going bowling. It's decently expensive too, unfortunately. But I'm super excited.

Anyways, so. Are you stubborn about anything? (like me) Or do you just go with the flow? I was thinking today, that the extreme of either is not good. Mostly, the extreme of anything is never good.

Example? Too much food vs. too little food.

Well this one is a little bit obvious. Too much food is very unhealthy,

Too little, is also unhealthy, maybe even more so.

Too stubborn vs. going with the flow

Stubbornism never ever gets you anywhere. Not being open to listen to what people

have to say does you absolutely no good and only gets people mad at you.

Going with the flow shows little character and belief in yourself and whatever you've

put your faith in.

Too much power vs. no say in anything

Well, let's just look at government. It's my opinion that if the gov. has it's hand in too

many public affairs things just don't go right. Ever heard of laizze-faire? That's when

the government lets things go their own way. It means "to let be".

No say in anything, kinda like the government having too much power. If one person

or one group of people have all the power and no one else has the say in anything

things don't turn out well.

One thing I have realized, though, is that you CANNOT have too much faith.

Isaiah 7:7- ".. if you don't take your stand in faith, you won't have a leg to stand on."

Matthew 8: 10- (This verse is sad to me,) "Those who grew up 'in the faith', but had no faith will find themselves out in in the cold, outsiders to grace and wondering what happened."

(have you made your faith your own?)

Luke 7:50- "Your faith has saved you."

Luke 17:5- The apostles came up and said to the Master, "Give us more faith."

May i just say, the verse above, is beautiful.

That's my daily prayer. I hope it's yours too. :)

Have a great weekend.

Holey Jeans, Boys, the Bible, Bestfriends and of Course, the Cops.

"What is he doing?" That's what I said to my best friend when a gorgeous mustang convertible pulled into the parking lot. "Let's get back in your car," and she scrambled for the keys. Eventually the cops followed us.
I really had missed hanging out with her. And talking to her. And, just in general, having a blast with her. That's why we used to be best best best friends. I think we might be getting back to that. :)
I love the suspense of TPing, and saran (however it's spelled) wrapping your friends cars and writing on the windows with window paint. Especially on a Friday night.. after you've just spent two hours eating chocolate and playing MarioKart.

I also love the Bible, most of all.

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the Earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
-Isaiah 40:28

You can't tell me that's not just beautiful.

Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up you will get the wind knowched out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.
-Matthew 23: 11-12

How's that for God pointing a finger right at all of us?

so, about boys?
Us girls have the ultimate Boy pursuing us.

Jesus Christ.

What're we doing, chasing guys when God, our Father has everything all planned out for us? He's right now, currently, working in the life of the guy he has for you. He's transforming him and testing him and blessing him and just making him into the only guy we will ever fit together perfectly with.
Follow Jesus. Pursue Him.
I read an amazing book called "Authentic Beauty" by Leslie Ludy. It talks about how she really met God, and her true Prince, and about how forgiving He is and just how he loves us. Here's her websiteee. It beautiful. :)

http://setapartgirl.com

Ever Had That Feeling?..

What's your favorite thing to feel? I love that feeling of just waking up, and the blinds are open and the sun is just shining in on you. It's the warmth of a summer day just beginning, with new opportunities right at your doorstep; you're free to choose and jump right in.

Or the feeling of a late night with your friends, where you've all just talked and laughed and shared with each other. Happiness. When I was in middle school my friends and I were in contest for choir, and we sang the song from Charlie Brown called "Happiness". I can't remember all of it, but some of it went like this:

Happiness is two kinds of ice cream,
knowing a secret,
climbing a tree.

Happiness is five different crayons,
catching a firefly,
setting him free.

For happiness is anyone and anything at all
that's loved by you.


How cute is that? I could really use two kinds of ice cream, five crayons and a firefly right now? What about you? I wish I could go back to being a kid, not worrying about the exams I have coming up this friday, and not worrying about what I eat, or how many calories I've burned today. Who cares what you wear and how your hair looks? It's not gonna matter in the future. I wish I could look at the whole picture sometimes.

This last Sunday we watched a video in church about relationships. Something that the guy teaching the lesson said was that if we could all learn and live by this one phrase, our lives would go so much smoother.

"It's not about me."

In 2011, I am going to try to live by that. Of course, I'm going to make many mistakes, as I already have. I've been forgive though. So have you. I'm going to look at the big picture. I hope you'll join me. :)

Bless Your Name

No matter what,

I will choose to

Bless Your Name.

The book of James: Day 4

Today I read James 2:14-26. The title of this section in the three versions I read in are "Faith in Action", "Faith without Good Deeds is Dead", and "Faith and Deeds". These verses can often be very comfusing. Because doesn't everyone tell us that it's our faith that gets us to Heaven and it's not by anything that we do? It's true. There is nothing you can do to get into Heaven other than accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and commit your life to him. That's just step one though.
Step two involves a little more work. How do you prove to people that you are a Christian? Just sitting there isn't going to convince anyone that you truely believe and that you're different from the rest of the world. In the Message it says that even talking about faith doesn't show that you really are faithful. The Bible goes on to talk about telling a friend who doesn't have addequite clothing or food that just telling them that you hope they stay warm and are well fed isn't going to do anything for them. You must be the hands and feel of Jesus and give them these things, by which you are proving your faith.
The most tricky thing about all this is that you must have faith. You can't just have deeds. The Book says "But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons delieve that-- and shudder." (James 2:18 and 19)
This illistrates that just because you believe there's only one God you obviously don't go to Heaven based on that believe because the demons are not in Heaven. Deeds show that you have faith. The Bible talks about a couple examples. One being Abraham and the other being Rahab.
The final verse in this section says "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."

The Book of James: Day 3

Today we're reading James 2:1-13. This passage is about treating everyone the same, no matter how much they have or how popular they are or whatever. It askes, "Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?" (James 2:6 and 7.) In one of my Bibles on the side it askes if we treat people different if they're popular or prettier than everyone else. So I'll ask myself that question. Do I? Well, I'd have to say I used to. I always wanted to be well-liked by the 'popular' girls in my grade, but now I could care less if they like me or not. Don't get my wrong, I'm still just as nice to them as everyone else, but I don't care what they think of me or the choices I make anymore.
These verses also talk about all sins being the same in the eye's of God. The same God who said not to commit adultery also said not to murder, so if you commit one, you also commit the other. That even goes for small sins. If you lie, you commit murder. He considers saying that you hate soeone commiting murder, and looking at someone else's spouse is adultery. They are all the same.
In the Message version this is my favorite verse in this passage: "For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy winds over harsh judgement every time." (James 2:13) So if we think that by judging someone you are getting yourself somewhere, we are completely wrong. That's definitly a lesson I can apply to my life.

The Book of James: Day 2

In day two of this study we are reading James 1:19-27. It's titled "Act on What Your Hear" or "Listening and Doing". In my NIV Bible it says that the verse everyone should try to memorize is this:
"Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, whic can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so decieve yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:21-22 NIV.
Here's what it is in the NLT: "So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves."
Message: "So throw out all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let out gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other."
I am going to try to memorize that verse in the NIV, because I like that one the best. Usually the NLT is my favorite, but it make smore sense to me this time in the other version.
Another thing I think is something to remember in this passage is the very first verse. It is definitly a hard one to follow. Here it is in the NLT:
"Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: you must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry." James 1:19.
I guess I'm quick to listen most of the time.. and usually I think about what I say before I say it, but sometimes I let Satan get the best of me. I say things I don't mean to in my head.. but God still hears them. To Him it's as if I said whatever it is that I thought. And I know a lot of people get angry pretty easily. I've been known to do that, too. So I guess those are all things I need to ask God for help with. But like the verses said yesterday, ask Him for help and He will help you. Our God loves to help.

The Book of James

James is my favorite book in the Bible. Lately though, I haven't been reading much of it. So I decided to challenge my boyfriend (and myself) to a study of James. Today is the first day we'll be reading it. For my study I'm reading it in three different versions, NIV, NLT and the Message. We're reading James 1:1-18 today.
This became my favorite book a couple of years ago when I first started getting into reading the Bible. It's got so many things to remember and advice for your entire life. I think ti's an important part of the Bible to study. James is located near the back of the Book, in the New Testament. It's right after Hebrews.
James is Jesus' brother. He wrote this book probably around 49 A.D. The book talks about trials and abotu faith being something you live out, not just in your words but also in your actions. Ever heard that actions speak louder than words? James believed this.

I just finished reading all three versions of these verses. The verses that stood out to me most are the ones I have heard a thousand times over. James 1:2 and 3.

NIV: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trails of many kinds, becasue you know the the testing of your faith develops perserverence."

NLT: "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your failth is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow."

Message: "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, you faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors."

In these verses it also talks about asking God for wisdom, but in the Message it puts it a different way. James 1: 5-8.

Message: "If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'llg et his help, and won't be condescended to whe you ask for it. Ask boldy, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don't think you're going to get anything fromt eh Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open." (emphasis added.)

So if i were to apply the beginning verses to my relationship with Zach, I'd have to say that God is doing this to us to make us stronger in the end. Or to prepare us for what's to come, whether it's with each other or not. Which, I have to say, I hope it is with each other. But God's will be done.
We are to consider it 'a sheer gift'! Okay, then let's think about that. A sheer gift. What comes to your mind when you hear 'sheer gift'? If you look up sheer in the dictionary it comes up with several different results.
1. Transparently thin.
2.Unmixed with anything else.
3.Extending down or up very steeply; almost completely vertical.
4.Bright; shining.
5.Unqualified; utter.
Dictionary.com also gives you synonyms. Here's what it came up with: mere, simple, pure, unadulturated, absolute, downright, abrupt, precipitous, totally and entirely.
Okay. So James (or God, since this is His Word) means that it's a gift in it purest form; the best kind of gift possible. Being under pressure, having troubles, and being tested are gifts from God! Who would've guessed. It is true though, when in the Message it says that your faith-life shows it's true colors when it's under pressure.
Then, talking about verses 5-8, the Message says them way different than the other two versions. The others say to ask God for wisdom, the Message talks about not knowing what your doing. I guess they are the same, I've just never thought of it that way. The Message makes it sound so much simpler to go to God and ask for help. Isn't that what we all want is help? Direction? Someone to tell us if we're making the right choice or not? I know that's how I am. But most people I've met in my life don't tend to be that way. When I offer acvice no one seems to listen. And then I end up being right. I wonder if God feels that way. I bet he does, and way more often than I do.
I also like at the very end of verse 8 when its talking about trying to get God to help you but you keep all your options open. That sounds a lot like me. I want to follow God in all my ways, but I like to keep my options open. Like, maybe I can do it all on my own. I like to be in control of everything. I feel safe when I'm in control of my life. But sooner or later when I am in control everything falls apart, but God is always there to pick up the pieces.
Well, there's day one out of 11 of my study of James.

My Lyrics

I'll bless Your name,

During sunshine or rain.

I'll bless Your name,

Through love and

Through pain.

Whatever comes my way,

I'll bless Your name.