Plug into the Power of Faith & Love

          I 've been watching Once Upon a Time for the last few months (I'm almost caught up!!!), and believe me or not, a show about fairytales laced with good, evil, love, magic, sacrifice, enemies and so much more has actually taught me some things about my faith. I want to share some (without giving spoilers-because I recommend the show) I will say characters names and possibly a little back-story, but will be as discrete as possible.

          The Lord wants us to be pure of heart.  Matthew 5:8 says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." and Psalm 51:10 says, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Snow White symbolizes that purity- she's white as snow. Ok, if you watch the show you know that Snow White isn't perfect, but her actions are done purely out of love (99% of the time- no one is perfect). Love drives her, but she does things in a pure way, she wants good to win, but she doesn't want to use evil to combat evil. As Christians, God is Love, and God/Love should drive us too. It's a different kind of "love" than the show, but it's a great example of how something good can drive you. Which leads to to times, when there seems like the only option is to use something evil or take revenge or something of that sort. There are many times when Snow is tempted per say, but she speaks up and stands up for what she believes, as she doesn't want to "fall into the trap" of conforming, or to use dark magic to combat dark magic. It also reminds me of how God has called us to follow Him. Following Him, isn't always easy and sometimes we have go against the grain, but it's better to follow God than ourselves or the worlds ways. In summary, Snow has this undying faith that there is another way, a wholesome and pure way, where she doesn't always follow "popular opinion."

           The second point that really sticks out to me on the show is that "love always finds each other." Which is similar, but Snow and Charming have this undying faith that they will always find each other no matte what happens. We need to have that faith that God is with us no matter what, and to believe in the ones we love as well. Things may happen in life, and someone may travel off the beaten path, but we need to have faith and believe they will come back. If they do, we need to show them love, not hate. Which reminds me of the Prodigal Son story found in Luke 15:11-32.

photo creed: google

   

          Another thing I've learned, is you get to chose you're destiny (your decisions can shape you're future). First off, whatever the past may be, we can't change the past, but we can make decisions today that can change our future. Which surprisingly ties into the sermon from this last week. In the sermons Jeremy was talking about when God was going to do something but men (in the examples, but women too) of faith would pray with an undying faith for God to change His mind, sometimes He did and other times He didn't. To make it clear, God is not manipulating us and we aren't manipulating Him, the point is things can change. To listen to the sermon go to http://media.centralaz.com/2014/12/20/the-beginning-of-the-end/. Also, the decisions you make today can shape tomorrow. One decision can change you're future, we have so many decisions to make each day, and we normally go to God when something goes wrong, and we complain, ask for forgiveness, ask why, but we also need to thank God for all the protection He has given us, and for guiding us in our good decisions that we may often take for granted. We also need to get in the discipline of communicating with Him, and hopefully we can make more good decisions…that's not the only reason we should communicate with Him, I'm just sharing a benefit.

         Going right off of that, is that people can change. For example, Snow continually believes in the good of people, and that everyone can choose to be good. She has a hope for each individual as well as the whole situation. Her trust is incredible and she's willing to give people a second chance, even if it ends up backfiring. People being able to change is great, but they can't change on their own. With Christ anything can happen. Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things, through Him who gives me strength." In Once Upon A Time, it's love that helps with the change, and hope. Knowing that you don't have to be who you were. It may be a struggle and you may be tempted to go back to your old ways, and maybe sometimes you do, but change can happen. In real life, Christ can cause drastic changes in people, as well as subtle ones. The tie between the two is that love and hope are byproducts (if you will) in following Christ.

       Good always wins. Throughout the show, there is faith that good will always win and guess what, it does. Yes, there are times when it looks like Satan may have won, or has the lead, but in the end good always wins. There is a spiritual warfare that has been going on for a long time and is still going on right now, but when all is said and done, Satan will be defeated once and for all. It's a powerful thing. In the show there's an emphasis that good always wins, and it made me think about my faith and how God wins and ultimately will win. I liked that message, and to have faith that good will win, even when it's not looking good.  Have you ever noticed the words God and good, besides the capitalization there is one letter change… God is Good!  Revelation 19 talks about that final battle and the Lord taking victory if you want to read more about it.  =)

       The last thing I really want to hit at this point, is the faith of a child. Throughout the series Henry (the child) as this undying faith in magic. When almost everyone has lost faith or doesn't believe, he believes. For one of the seasons, he is said to have , "the heart of the truest believer." In Season 1, he's the one who starts to put the pieces of everyone's identity together, and who needs to save everyone. Throughout all the trials that are thrown at him he always believes. He sacrifices himself for Emma with faith that it will help her believe and that he'll be saved. There's another time where he does something similar, but here's a clip from the first season (when he's still very young) and it shows a lot of the points I'm talking about for this little section.

                 -Matthew 18:3 says, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Ok, so this verse is also said to be talking about how a child is dependent on their parents, and we should be dependent on God. Which is true, but I also want to argue, that it's talking about this undying faith. For example, children believe anything is possible, they believe in magic, the tooth fairy, Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the sad thing is (SPOILER ALERT) they aren't real, but they have faith. If they have great faith in things that aren't really real, think of the kind of faith they can have in what is real? God is real, miracles can and do happen, God can do anything. Yet as adults, we've lost that innocence and belief. We tend to look at great miracles of the Bible like fairytales that we can learn lessons from, but guess what. Unlike Once Upon A Time, The Bible is real, God is real and He is all powerful and can do anything. We need to have that faith. That's one thing I have loved about this show, is the faith that Henry has and it's made me stop and examine my faith, and realize I need to have a stronger faith in Lord, and know that anything is possible. I know it is, but I need to truly believe it and not have it be just head-knowledge or something I learned in Sunday School when I was little. Miracles are happening everyday- even when we don't know it, because something could have happened (which we have no idea about) but the Lord protected us from it. We need to thank God and truly believe in what He can do! I'm not saying that I don't believe because I do, but the belief of the impossible needs to grow.

          My challenge for us all is to look at life and see how we can grow. Also, when watching t.v. or movies, reading books, try and think about what you can learn from it. I didn't have cable until high school, but when we did and I was watching Disney Channel, I'd realize how disrespectful some of the characters were to their parents, and take away lessons of what not to do. Yet media can have a big influence on you and you may find your self behaving like characters you shouldn't, being a brat, mean, etc. I've seen it, and have fallen into the trap as well, not all the time, but it's happened. So also be careful what you watch and discern what is true and try and take lessons away all the time. Below I'm also going to post the series trailer for the first season of Once,  just incase this has sparked your interest =)

                    With love and Merry CHRISTmas,

                                                                Jessica Lynn

         

                                       

         

Surrender

        Hello! So we're in this roller coaster called life, and the last few months have been an extreme incline and then a crazy spiral drop. Through it all I realized that I have actually learned quite a bit.  Some of the things I have learned include the importance of surrendering to God, my grandma's favorite phrase, "Let go, Let God", God's plan is greater than my own, and patience.

      With some recent changes in my life I decided to go home for Thanksgiving and spend time with my family.  For an analogy I had found myself trapped in an underground maze. How did I get there? I was on this wonderful adventure with many great times, a few months ago my friend in the adventure and I got separated and it took awhile to find our way back, but we did. Then another month of the adventure there was a crossroads leading to two different paths/endings. We both could see God saying this path is for you, and this one for you, yet I didn't want to fully believe it was true. The two separate paths are still close to each other for awhile, with many frequent stopping points, but eventually they will divert farther, according to the piece of the map we currently have. I was strong and brave when we decided to take different paths, but then when I was left alone on mine…I didn't want to believe what had happened and was trying to process that I forgot to look towards God for direction and fell down a hole into an underground maze that I felt I couldn't get out of. Just call me "The Maze Runner" lol.

      I 'm traveling through this maze and felt lost and that I'd be stuck in there forever. I knew going into the adventure I could end up anywhere, even in places I didn't see going,  but being smart you travel prepared. I wanted to find my way back out of the maze, and stay on the same path for awhile until it diverts, or maybe it doesn't really divert? Maybe we were looking at the map wrong and it doesn't lead to a diversion. I didn't understand how this adventure would lead here, when there has been many wonderful times in the adventures and breakthrough, and different forms of growth to make us stronger for the journey. It didn't make sense to me. I felt like I was finally fearless about the future and more ready for the adventure and then the paths split. I had so many why questions…why did I finally have so much confidence? Why would God answer this one prayer that we'd been praying for? Why? Why? Why?

     I wanted to fix where the path split, go back and change the direction, but no matter what I tried, I couldn't change it- or even get out of the maze for that matter, I was trying to navigate a maze in the dark.  I also didn't like how I felt, when I wanted to take matter's into my own hands because I felt full of anger, I detested what was happening. Here's another quick analogy [ I've been watching Once Upon A Time on Netflix, and felt like my pure heart (meaning a heart of love and kindness) was becoming darkened by anger etc.] I didn't like feeling that way, but I was stubborn and wanted to make my own way, and didn't want to admit what I knew to be true- that God had answered a specific prayer. If ______ wasn't meant to be/ path I should be on right now ________ would happen.  Well it happened. I didn't want to admit it because I was being prideful and wanted my own way, and to be in charge. Just because I went on this journey prepared didn't mean I remembered the materials I had with me. I did however have communication ... I heard it helps to communicate. So, I gave it a go.

      It felt good to talk to family and friends who would remind me God has a plan for me, better than I can ever think.  It may seem like I’ve fallen through a black hole, but God’s plan is far greater than whatever I could have planned for myself.  I’d say ok, listen to worship music, and say the right things, but I still wanted my way so I was conflicted with what I knew was right and how I was feeling and what I wanted.  My friends and family would remind me of the supplies I had, but I didn’t want to fully use them, because I knew that would mean I had to give up control and surrender.  You could say I had gotten a clue, my friend appeared through a portal, we decided that our paths had split but we would remain good friends.  I talked and said, that I knew I needed to surrender my future to God, and I felt like a hypocrite because I was having a hard time with this and a hard time taking my own advise.  I’ve realized that there are times when you do follow your advice and advice from others and other times, when you are being stubborn, even though you know you should.   He dropped me off to where I would be transported in my maze.  It was weird because even though I was in a maze, which felt in the dark, I could see and interact in the world. 

     I was at my place of transport real early and had a lot of time to pray and think. I sat diagonal from where I was supposed to leave as there was an open seat and as time went by, my transport got delayed, not once, not twice…but three times. I was frustrated because I wanted to get home and to the Thanksgiving Eve service at my church…but then I saw a time change, and it said the transportation was leaving in 5 min. I hadn't heard a thing over the intercom, and the person at the gate said I was to late and missed the transport. With the last few weeks that was my tipping point and I couldn't stop the waterworks.  A nice passenger at another gate came and asked what was wrong and led me to another gate, where I was able to catch another transport (flight) a few hours later.  While I was going to my gate I was crying the whole way and wondering if God was trying to get my attention through all of this, so I prayed saying I'm sorry for not just giving it all to You, and help me do that, I want to do Your will and follow you, and I don't want to be stubborn and etc. This whole day as well as the day before I had the song "I surrender all" stuck in my head- as if it was God saying, Jess…Surrender! I got to my gate and sat where I wouldn't miss it. My dad encouraged me to take a look at Hebrews 11 and I started to take a look at it, but by the time I got to it, it was soon time to board the plane :- So I didn't get really far into, but what I had read was encouraging and I could tell it was helping to make me stronger. On the plane, I had decided to finally take out "Love Does" by Bob Goff. I'd been wanting to read it for a long time, I was going to read "Unbroken" but wanted something not so intense for my current situation…Love Does was intense in an overwhelmingly loving way and I read it through my break and am very inspired by it, and it helped me realize something---which is for another blogpost in the near future.  I feel like it was a long surrendering process, but it slowly happened.
   p.s. I forgot to mention…when I got to Minneapolis, my mom picked me up and had a flat tire, but we got home nice and safe =)
     
       My time at home was full of love from my family, drawing closer to God and learning about His love, praying, trusting, hours of Scattergories and Heads Up!, a few movies, and some delicious meals. It was just what I needed and God knew I needed that time (pics below). I was could see the light at the end of the tunnel of the maze, and I'm getting closer to the end of the tunnel each and every day.  I was so much more rejuvenated and ready to take on the future. I came back and it started out great, but as the week went by it got harder. Friday I once again surrounded myself with family and before I went to my aunt's, my parents prayed with me over the phone and it was very good, and there was something they said that meant a lot and now of course I can't remember it. Last night I made a new workout playlist called "Stronger." The funny thing is the name came from when I was running earlier this week and yes, "Stronger" by Britney Spears came on and I was like…oddly I needed that, so I wanted to make a work-out playlist of encouraging songs, for what I'm going through now, or any other times in the future where life gets hard.
   

     What I’m trying to say is, there are going to be hard days and good days, and healing takes time and we do want to be good friends, but know that to truly do that we may need some space as well.  I’m excited for the future and to see what God has in store for both of us. 

   
      For my maze I'm going through it now using the materials I have for the hard times in life which is God, my Bible, Christian music, Christian books, family, friends, prayer and anything that God has for us. I know there will be good days and bad, as it takes time to heal. My dad gave me the analogy of a bandaid. You want the wound to heal and not to rip the bandaid off before you should, and it needs to be peeled off slowly, so it may take a little time, but I have faith that this is a good learning lesson for both of us, and we're both seeking God's guidance with His plan for our lives and that we'll have a good friendships. As for my heart the blackness is leaving and it's all nice and red. I did however wake up this morning and say a prayer, just giving my day to God and asking Him for guidance and that I will follow Him. I feel like I've known to do that but haven't really done that before. I've woken up and said that You for this day, but I'm trying to focus on giving each day to Him because my life is not about me, it's about Him!

Challenge: No matter where you are or what time of the day you are reading this, I challenge you to give this day to God, and everyday here after. It's a goal I have as well, knowing me, I say I'm going to do things and sometimes will forget and be sporadic. I don't want to be sporadic and not do it, but I need to be honest, so if I forget here and there, I don't feel like a hypocrite. My challenge is to wake up and give each day to the Lord, even if you forget in the morning, when you remember give whatever is left of your day to the Lord!
    * Maybe make yourself a reminder until it becomes a habit.
   You can surrender to God, but being a human, I can say I've surrendered, but then realize I need to do it continually. We need to surrender our each and every day to Him. As Luke 9:23 says, " Then He said to them, ' Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.'" Christ calls us into daily surrender to Him!

God Bless,
          Jessica Lynn

Here are a few songs that have been playing in my head the last little bit

Give it all to You - Yellow Cavalier (aka Anthem Lights) https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/give-it-all-to-you-radio-edit/id314448423?i=314448479

I surrender all- Jump 5
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/i-surrender-all/id716156398?i=716157584

Moriah Peters - Brave Album (whole album)
    You Carry Me - has been an anthem for the last few months
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/brave/id896797026

Oceans (Where my feet may fail)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/oceans-where-feet-may-fail/id720105570?i=720106050

Central Moments - my church's worship album
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/moments/id942616836

Below: Moms view of table #photographer #sparklingjuice #hatsgiving haha

Give thanks IN ALL circumstances!!!

       "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is             God's will for you in Christ Jesus"

1 Thessalonians 5:18

The last few months I have been doing the "Children of the Day" study on 1 & 2 Thessalonians by Beth Moore at church with a wonderful group of women. It was sad to see it end this last week, but I'm excited to see what the next study brings as well. To be honest, I haven't finished all the homework yet for the study, so for me it's not completely over and I'm so excited to finish it. Anyways, this verse came up in one of the homework assignments, and it really stuck out to me, and I thought is was super appropriate for this time of year (ThanksGiving is just around the corner).

The homework question on this verse asked us to compare giving thanks for all circumstances vs. in all circumstances.  The Bible clearly says to give thanks in all circumstances.  Let us first look at what thanking God for all circumstances could look like.

FOR- Before I write about this, I wanted to say this hit me because this is what I thought I was supposed to do, even if it didn't make sense completely. It's easy to thank God for all your good circumstances…which ironically seems to be the times we forget to go to God and thank Him, and honor Him. Let's take a look at bad times in life, whether it's happened to you or someone else. There are bad times in history when food was scarce, jobs were scarce, bad leaders, wars, persecution etc. I always thought you were supposed to thank God for them, even when they are horrible. Here are some more bad times in life: sickness, cancer, death, war, recovery from an accident, violence, abuse, divorce, break-ups, mis-carriage, infertility, being laid off, not knowing what to do with your life, conforming constantly, etc- (remember these are scenarios I think are tough for humans).  I thought you had to thank God for all those things, and it's hard to think that cancer, death, etc could be good. So I thought about it some more…and decided to look at it from an optimistic way. Instead of thanking God for the situation you are in, I decided to look for the positives, like Pollyanna (see clip below to find out about "the glad game" -it's an old video so I'm sorry if the quality isn't the best). When it comes to cancer, death, and sickness, I try and think about how the story may touch someone, the effect on others that person could have. I try to think of a positive in it all, and sometimes it's hard but I think it's a good thing. You can also use negative experiences to grow and learn…I mean isn't that what history is all about in a way. As humans we are always learning from the past and present for the future. I still think it's important to play "the glad game" or try to find something positive in everything, but God does say to give thanks IN all times.

IN - The Bible says to give thanks IN all times. There is a big difference there. That doesn't mean you have to thank God for all the horrible things that go on in the world, but be thankful in all times. It's easy to be thankful in the good times, because oftentimes you are thankful for your good circumstances.  But who should we be thanking and praising. In good times, it can be easy to forget to give praise, and we should give praise where praise is due. Let's thank God for bringing us to this place, for what He has done, and how He has blessed us. But what about when you are in the storms of life? How do you give thanks in those times…if it isn't for your situation and such? Once again, Our God is an Awesome God- give Him praise. It doesn't have to have anything to do with what you are going through, but think about who God is and what He has done. If you are struggling because your circumstances are so bad, look at God's creation, and thank Him for what He has created, thank Him for giving us His one and only Son, different attributes of God, you can thank Him for things that He has done in you're life already! I think it would be very fulfilling to focus soley on God at times, and not bring it back to us. We live in a culture where we can relate everything back to us and make it about us, and I think it would be very fruitful to pray and focus solely on God and how great He is at time. Psalm 106:1 says, "Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." Let's praise the Lord for what He has done, and give Him thanks. To me thanks and praise can be very similar…praise to the Lord, I would say is a form of thanks. There is a Casting Crowns song, titled "Praise You in the Storm"- do you notice it isn't called Praise you FOR the storm? We are to praise and thank our lord in all times of life, even the storms. Check out their video below- and message he has right before it =) 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/praise-you-in-this-storm/id269440851?i=269441147

The last year has been one of the greatest yet most challenging years of my life so far, and at times it's easy to get down or whatever. When I was at the Regenerate conference at my church, they talked about counting your blessing, even in the tough times, and I thought that was a fantastic idea, to stay thinking positive even when it's hard. Now I have a confession. I want to go and buy a cute little jar and cut out little pieces of paper to put the blessings in for the 30-day challenge…well the challenge has been going to get a jar and paper…cuz my mind wants pinterest cuteness…but what's more important…I can easily write them on my phone until I get that cute little jar that I would like. So my confession is that I haven't done it yet, I will post a picture on my twitter or Facebook, when the jar part comes =) #accountability but before then…I'll start it on my phone. I'm even going to extend the challenge and say on one side count your blessing and the other side of the paper praise/thank God! Below is the start of it on my phone =)

I decided to add the song "Forever" by Chris Tomlin, as it talks about giving thanks, and how God's love endures forever. Either listen to the lyrics while you watch the videos, and think about how great God is, or this video has many Bible verses in it as well, and all these verses are verses of encouragement, God's love, giving thanks, praising God, singing for the Lord and so much more. Write down any that stick out to you and than I challenge you to thank God in whatever circumstance you are in good or bad!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/forever/id721275443?i=721276341

I think it's important to play the "glad game" when life just isn't going you're way, think of the positives in life, and try and find something good that may come out of it, but when it comes to prayer, don't forget to give thanks IN every circumstance. Praise the Lord, put your focus on the Creator of all things and give Him thanks and praise! This concept completely hit me, and was like I don't have to thank God for what's going on necessarily, but I can give HIM thanks! Also, when things are going great, don't forget to give thanks then as well! it says to give thanks in ALL circumstances…not just the bad, not just the good, or ok, but in ALL. Ironically, as I was writing the blog, I took breaks from writing here and there, and at one point I found myself on Facebook looking through my newsfeed, when one of my favorite Christian author's Karen Kingsbury posted this & God Bless!: 

The Big 10

            The post is finally finished!!!
 
            No, it's not March and I'm not talking College Basketball, even though it's in my top 2 for favorite sports. The Big 10 that I'm talking about are thousands of years old. They were given by God to a man named Moses, who shared it with his people. I'm talking about the 10 Commandments found in Exodus 20.
            My church is currently going through the story and we recently studied when God gave Moses the 10 Commandments and then how the Israelites responded when he went back up the mountain for 40 days.  At the end of Pastor Cal's sermon we did an exercise as a church with the 10 Commandments, that was very humbling in a way and really hit you at the same time. Smack!
         
The first thing I want to do is list the 10 Commandments:

                                                          10 Commandments                                   
                            1.  You shall have no other gods before Me.
                            2.  Do not make for yourself an idol.
                            3.  You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.
                            4.  Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.
                            5.  Honor your father and mother.
                            6.  Do not murder.
                            7.  Do not commit adultery.
                            8.  Do not steal.
                            9.  Do not lie.
                          10.  Do not covet.

image from google

     
      Now at first glance it's easy to look at them and say: I'm a Christian, I only believe in God, I'm following the first commandment. I don't need to make myself an idol, why would I do that?  I personally don't say "OMG" but I say oh my gosh, so I'm good. I go to church on the weekend…oh and I even go multiple times…I'm an extra good person [note I am exaggerating how we as a society and individuals generally skim through the 10 Commandments].  I listen to my parents when it matters, or I'm a good girl (guy). I haven't murdered anyone, or cheated on a relationship. I don't steal. I don't lie, unless it will make someone feel better. What does covet even mean…well it doesn't matter, cuz it sounds bad and I don't do it…. get the picture? We don't dive into the 10 Commandments to see what they really mean and include.
     Pastor Cal now went through the list and had each person put a finger up for a commandment they haven't broken. For church he kept it easy and simple like murder means actual murder. Yet the Bible also says something else, which I'll get to when I get to that commandment. So I am going to go through the list again…and write some examples or a small blurb on each. Take some time and read through them and see what you haven't broken.
                             
                                                              10 Commandments
                                 1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
                                           - Before quickly responding, ask yourself: Have I ever put anything before God? I know I have. For all the commandments I will give some examples and they are not necessarily personal…some I may dig into and get personal, but think of these generally. Have you ever put a relationship before God? Your job? Money? Your own plans? Sports? Music? Being fit? the list can go on and on and on. If you answered yes to any of those, or thought of something else yourself- you join the "rule breakers club"…rebels.
                             
                             2. Do not make for yourself a false idol.
                                           - I am a Christian I don't believe in a polytheistic deity. Ok, but think of the things you've put before God or idolized. Do you have any memorabilia for any of that? For example I've always loved music and sports. I remember in high school I specifically gravitated towards the Jonas Brothers and Steve Nash. I had a lot of their stuff: posters, multiple copies of the same CD or iTunes download, I scheduled my life around the Suns basketball games etc. Those magazines, posters, jersey's etc can become an idol if you are putting them before God. Yes, you may not be making them specifically but you have them (crafting idols), and sometimes you do make something for your favorite___ - just make sure you don't put these items, people, etc up higher than God. **Disclaimer: In no way am I dissing the Jonas Brothers or Steve Nash or any musician or sports team. I'm just giving a quick reality check. If you put it before God and obsess unhealthily over it..it crosses a line and needs to be dialed back. You could also put the money you make, or moving up in your job, or a number of things in this category as well.

                          3. Do not use the name of the Lord in vain.
                                      - The obvious is "OMG" or saying Jesus (as a cuss word), or saying a cuss word with "God" apart of it. What about the slang substations for those words? Do they count? For example: oh my gosh! gosh dang it! gosh darn it! - and more. What do you think…are substitutions ok or no? But besides that, how many times have you thought the dishonoring words or phrases in your head, but not said it. I don't say those, but they do pop into my head sometimes. Here's a point my Pastor made that was a lightbulb moment for me. Has your mind ever wandered during a worship song? In that case you are saying these wonderful things to the Lord, yet being disrespectful to the Lord. To be vulnerable and honest…that was me last night (from when I wrote this a few weeks ago)…during worship in a young adult ministry (923) I'm apart of, my brain was pre-occupied and I felt horrible, because I was conscious of what I was doing…
                   
                        4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.
                                 - Yes, you may go to church multiple times a week…but have you ever skipped? I know growing up I was in both volleyball and basketball travel teams and we'd almost always have tournaments on the weekends. In college many times I was so happy to finally be able to sleep in, that a number of times I'd chose sleep instead…even though there was a late service. I also went to a Christian University where we had chapel 3 times a week, and I didn't always go…sometimes I'd sleep, do homework, etc Have you ever skipped a youth activity? If you chose not to go to an "organized church" do you forget to take time to just spend with God?

                      5. Honor your father and mother.
                               - Alright…we were all toddlers and or teenagers once…you can't tell me you've never disobeyed your parents. I have a good relationship with my parents, but there have been times I haven't listened or taken their advice. Have they ever asked you to clean something and then you didn't do it? Have you ever told them a lie? Have you ever made fun of them with your friends? As an adult have you ever belittled them? If you're an adult have you ever not listened to them in your adult life? It's very important to honor your parents, even when you disagree on something. There's a way to do it respectfully.

                    6. Do not murder.
                             - No I have not murdered anyone. The chances are you haven't either. So we're good right? Wrong. Jesus says in Matthew 5: 21-22 " You're familiar with the command to the ancients, ' Do not murder.' I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder…The simple moral of the fact is that words kill (The Message)." In that respect, I'd argue that we've all been angry with someone at some point…especially ones we love. We would never want those we love and even those we don't "murdered". But words hurt. Think back to a time you were arguing and said something mean, those words hurt. Think about when someone has said something mean to you and how you felt. It hurts right? Have you ever wished someone wasn't in office? Did you rejoice a few years ago when they caught the bad guy?  With all of this, have you kept this commandment?

                   7.  Do not commit adultery.
                               -  First off, most of you are probably like I haven't cheated in my relationship (whatever level you're at). Matthew 5: 28 "But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart (ESV)." This is the same for women looking at men. Let's quick look at the word lust.  Dictionary.com defines lust as, " intense sexual desire or appetite; a passionate or overmasting desire or craving." Have you ever been in a relationship and lusted over the person you were in a relationship with? Have you lusted over a celebrity- this totally goes for guys and girls, not just girls…I know guys have celebrity crushes and such too haha.  What about lust that has nothing to do with sexual desire…but like the lust for money or power? Has a thought ever came to your head that was impure?  Those are all some ways to break the 7th commandment.
             
                  8. Do not steal.
                             - I know what you're thinking, I'm not a thief in jail. Let me tell you a story to prove how much of a thief that I'm not. So once upon a time, I was shopping with my mama, back in the high school days. We were shopping and I saw this clear bag you can put on your back that held a volleyball and such in it. I asked my mom if I could get it and she said yes. So while shopping, I put it on my back. After checking out, we were in the parking lot walking to the car…and I realized I still had the bag on my back and we hadn't paid for it. We rushed inside and I was so afraid I was going to get in trouble for stealing. They were appreciative of what we realized and we paid for it and all was well. I was wondering about their security system, because nothing went off…hopefully it's better now. So I definitley haven't broken this one…right?! Let me ask a few questions now: Have you ever cheated on homework or a test? Have you ever borrowed money or something from a family member or friend? Have you ever cheated while playing a game? Have you bought all your music on your mp3 or iPod/Iphone? Same with movies? Have you ever cheated someone out of something? When you put it this way it's like…shoot I have stolen.

                9. Do not lie.
                             - "Yeah, I don't lie"…well ya just did!  Have you ever lied about your age? Young and old both do this. Many young people lie about there age so they can do things, they aren't supposed to do yet, or get into places. Older people (not necessarily old) lie about their age, because they don't want to admit how old they're getting. Have you lied about your weight on your driver's license and other forms?…I can tell you mine is inaccurate. Have you lied to make someone feel better? Have you lied to yourself about the way your feel? Have you lied so you don't have to confront something…but then it always gets worse..right? Have you lied about any of the other commandments? Have you lied about your beliefs to fit in? The list could keep going…your lies may not be "BIG" lies, but let's face it, we've all lied.

           10. Do not covet.
                            - Covet? Covet? That's just a strange word, what does it mean? My dictionary app defines it as this, "to wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others; to wish for, especially eagerly." Has the big great giant of jealousy ever found you? It's found me before. Have you ever wanted something of someone else's that you wished something would happen to them (ex. a position in a sport- if they got hurt you'd start), so you could get it, or did you want to steal it? Have you ever acted on those thoughts and/or desires? Next time you find yourself coveting, pause, pray and give it to God. You can also ask the person where they got ____ or who made it, so maybe you can get one too. It may take awhile to get, but you can always try and get something the right way and then you can work on patience as well. I don't covet a lot, but there has been times in my life where I have, so there's another commandment I've broken.

            Going through this list of the "Big 10" I find that I've broken them all to some extent, some less than others, and others more frequently. I guess this makes me a failure and a bad person, and I have no hope. I mean, in order to live with Jesus forever and spend eternity forever with Him don't you have to be perfect and a good person? The answer is…
       
             No. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) says, "For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through FAITH-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no on can boast." Guys! God send His one and only Son, Jesus to die on the cross for us, so that we could be with Him forever and have a relationship with Him. Jesus is the sacrificial lamb to end all sacrifices. He was pure and blameless and He took on all our sins, all the times we screw up, break the "Big 10," don't think of others, not show the fruit of the spirit, but the opposite, and so much more. Christ paid the price for us!  But, just because He did that, it doesn't give us a free pass to have the following mindset, "I know God will forgive me, so I'll keep doing what I'm doing and ask for forgiveness at church on the weekend (or whenever)". When someone gives you a gift you don't use it and abuse it right? There was a story I mentioned in my last blog where Jesus says, "Go now and leave your life of sin. (John 8:11)." 1 John 2:9 says, "Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did." That means, even though we are human, sinners, and imperfect we can strive to be more like Christ. Good works don't get us into Heaven, but they are fruit of what life with Jesus is like.

           This sermon was a great reality check to really take a look at life and realizing how much you have sinned or broken the commandments. Then it is beautiful and wonderful to know that Christ took care of it. He shows us grace and love, and we need to have faith in Him. Join me in leaving our sinful ways behind and striving to be more like Christ. It doesn't mean we won't ever mess up, but we can strive to do the right thing and follow Jesus =)

                                               The Beauty of Grace by Krystal Meyers

What Would Jesus Do?

          This post is going to be slightly different. I haven't ever done something like this, but I read a blog today, where I could see the overall picture, but there were some points that could easily be misunderstood and taken out of context.  I know that it is trying to convey that Jesus was and is radical, but I want to take a little different perspective on it. I want to write this one on the same topic, and dig into the other blog a little bit, to get another view, and then you can make your own decision. You may read the other article here if you would like: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mick-mooney/wwjd-what-would-jesus-do-_b_6010114.html 

           I want to dissect this a little bit. The article starts with a mom giving her son a W.W.J.D. bracelet. I remember having those bracelets growing up. If you think of it as following the 10 Commandments it's an easy reminder and such. My parents raised me to love and be kind to everyone, even those without friends. As a child that's exactly what I did. I remember being in elementary school and stuff and I would try and find those without friends and be there friend, it left me without many friends, but you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. Don't assume someone is a dork, rough around the edges, without getting to know their story and how they live their life. We want to be salt and light.

                             photo cred: google

          This story goes on to say that the boy became friends with prostitutes, buying more drinks for those who are already drunk, turning tables at the church store, chasing out the pastor, and showing up at an abortion clinic with a sign saying: "You who are without sin, throw the first stone!" - which is out of the Bible. Some of those things, yes Jesus did do, and some are an interpretation of what one thinks He would do.
       
          Yes, Jesus was friends with prostitutes and sinners. If you look in John 8: 1-11 (NIV) you will see the story the article is referring to. Here is a quick summary. The Pharisees bring in a woman who is caught in adultery and say she should be stoned,  according to the Law in the Old Testament. The Pharisee's continue to question Him and then Jesus says in verse 7, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw the first stone." Boom! End of story right? No. Turns out everyone left except Jesus- as He is without sin. Here is what Jesus then did in verses 10-11 " Jesus straightened up and asked her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no on condemned you?' 'No one, sir,' she said. 'Then neither do I condemn you.' Jesus declared. 'Go now and leave your life of sin.'" Did you read that right…He doesn't condemn her but says, LEAVE YOUR LIFE OF SIN.  That means, yes we are called to love, intact the greatest commandments deal with LOVE.  Matthew 22:37-39 "Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. Ant the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" In other words, Love God and Love People. That does not mean to compromise though. Jesus remains pure and holy. Yes we're human and do fall, but we can strive not to fall. The fact that Jesus loves us and will forgive us doesn't give us a "free pass" to "just keep sinning, just keep sinning." We want to strive to be more like Christ…who is perfect and Holy. I'm not saying we have to be perfect, but shouldn't we strive to be more like Him in all that we do?

         Here is my thought on how the abortion thing was handled in this article. I wrote a poem ( awhile back) on the abortion issue, and it isn't for people who have already had an abortion (when it's posted you'll see why), but for people who are thinking about having one. It's a poem to help make them think about it in a different way. It brings in something they may not be thinking about while trying to make a decision. It's not to make a person feel bad, if they have had one. I want to post it someday, but know there will probably be some "haters" as it's a real touchy topic. So be expecting that sometime in the future…not sure when though. We don't want to condemn those who have but love them. You can have your opinion that they shouldn't have done it, but you want to love them. Whether they like it or not, they will feel the loss at some point. It's a secret hurt as people usually don't know about it. There are ways to heal and be there for one another. The song "Lucy" by Skillet is a powerful song on this topic, and even goes into the healing process as well as the movie "October Baby."

         One part that really got me going, was the whole part where this guy bought people who were already drunk more drinks. I personally choose not to drink, but I'm not going to judge you if you do. Ok, it is not a sin to drink, but drunkenness most often leads to sin. Ephesians 5:18 "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." I did an exegesis on this verse in college which was around 30 pages, but I learned a lot. Humans tend to try and fill themselves up with different things, instead of the Spirit. We must be filled with the Spirit instead of going to things of this world to fill us up. The verse can be taken in different ways, and if you're interested in reading the exegesis (way to long to blog…maybe I'll post some of it someday…idk) you can e-mail me (e-mail on the blog). ** It's been brought up since writing this that the point of the other article was that Jesus was hanging out with sinners. Yes, go to all kinds of people, try and be a light, but do it in a non-compromising way.


       So about "trashing" the temple.  This is what Matthew 21:12-13 says, "Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money chargers and the benches of those selling doves. 'It is written,' He said to them, 'My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.'" Here a place that is supposed to be a place of worship is becoming just a market place which it isn't supposed to be. Having a bookstore at church is not a bad thing, what is being sold at the bookstores are meant to help you and others grow in the faith and be encouraged. There are also things, being sold to help advertise you're faith such as t.v. shirts, bumper stickers, etc…which can be conversation starter's that may lead to church, or a deeper conversation about faith. There are cafe's and coffee shops at different churches where people can build community before and after church-beacuse we are also the church (it's not just a building).  Do you go to church just for the coffee or the food? Yet if it's just a social thing and there's no growth or application, we need to pause and check our heart and motives. Meaning, if you're only going to church to hang out with friends, talk to people, etc…you can do that anywhere. Yes, there are social things at church and they aren't bad, but is it just about hanging out or are they part of a growing experience? It can also change from a purely social thing, to actually wanting to grow, and going to be fed. For example, when I first moved here, I didn't have any friends. I wanted to make friends and grow in my faith. I started going to 923 (pre-923) so I could learn and grow in my faith as well as make friends. I was excited for the lesson each week, but the friends were driving me. Now I am looking forward to the message each week and what I'm going to learn, as well as seeing friends and having fruitful discussions with them.


     Yes, I know Jesus lived a radical life and we should to. We need to go against the grain and not conform to the ways of the world. Which brings me right back to my "blog" verse; Romans 12:2 " Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -His good, pleasing and perfect will." We live in this world, but don't have to be of it. Also, we don't want to cause our brothers and sisters to stumble and we want to lead others to Christ. The Bible even talks about not getting in situations etc, where it may cause someone to stumble. You may think what you're doing is harmless, but what if it caused someone to stumble? What if an unbeliever thinks, Oh cool, these guys are cool and just like me. I guess I'll become a Christian because I can get into heaven but keep doing what I'm doing. Let me tell you, it's not always fun being different, but we don't want to conform to the world. People are drawn to differences too, and want to know what makes us different. Here is a link to a chapter of a book that deals with not conforming http://www.standingfirminthefaith.com/Book/Chap13.shtml .  Here one of many verses about not causing your brother or sister to stumble. Romans 14:13 " Let us not therefore judge one another anymore: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way." So yes, trying not to conform can be very difficult sometimes. It may mean not doing this or that, maybe you'll lose friends along the way but…"I don't want to gain the whole world and lose my soul"- TobyMac. Which comes from Matthew 16:25-26 " For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul." The things of this world will come to pass, but God will always stay the same. Let's strive to be more like Him and live boldy for Him, be intentional and #beknown.
 
       One of my favorite movies is called To Save a Life. I probably have mentioned this before but one of my favorite parts of the movie is when Jake- Mr. Popular, full of himself, basketball star, who's world has just been rocked…and is about to get more rocked…starts going to church. He's at church and this is before he decides to be saved, but he's observing how people are acting and such and says this, "What's the point of all this if you're not going to let it change you." - Ponder that.
     

 The last thing I want to leave you with is a statement from DC Talk, a popular Christian band in predominately the 90's. Now all three guys are still making music. TobyMac, Michael Tait (current lead singer of Newsboys) and Kevin Max (current lead singer of Audio Adrenaline). This is an intro to one of their songs of their Jesus Freak album, which is very powerful. 

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians. Who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelieving." - DC Talk

-Jalynn (Jessica Lynn)
   

   

Stop Whining and Rejoice!

**So I've been working on a post most of the week now. Earlier this week, I almost finished it after school, refreshed my page (it saves automatically) and it didn't save:( So now I have to go back and re-write what I had written. I'm hoping it comes out better than it was now…looking on the bright side. But the other night at 923, the lesson kind of hit hard…so I wanted to briefly share…briefly being the key word.

***The post I've been working on will be up shortly =)


          My church is currently going through The Story! The blog I'm working on doing introduces The Story again and a little more in depth. Anyways we were on a chapter 6 which is titled The Wandering. At 923, the young adults meeting Kevin was teaching on this, and how it relates to our age group.
   
         I will say I missed some of the beginning of the lesson because I had to take a breath and try and change my attitude. I've had an extremely stressful few weeks and I had like reached my breaking point, and I had to lead that night. So I took a few minutes for myself, and after, I listened to the lesson from the back (because I didn't want to walk to the front in the middle of it)…and it hit me like a ton of bricks, when I finally got in for the lesson. My friend I was texting was telling me to get in there…and then I was just frozen with how much applied to me. I asked him, if he knew what Kevin was going to be talking about…like specifics, and he said he didn't…so that was all pretty awesome.

       Kevin was talking about how we all go through times of wandering. Those times are often filled with questions of the unknown. We may know where we're going but not how to get there, we may be searching for direction etc. I remember when I was about to graduate college and wondering where I'd get a job, would I get a job? If I got the job in Arizona, would I actually take it and move back there? And then when I got here and less than a week before we were going to open, found out the school couldn't open. There was another whole basket of questions and unknowns. When my brother was sick in the hospital all those CHRISTmas's ago. We didn't know if he would make it. It was a very scary time for us…and I remember feeling numb to it at times, hoping it was just a dream. Through all the trials I just mentioned…and many more…the LORD has provided. Kevin gave us this Scripture:

   "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles."
                                                                                                  - Psalm 34:17 (NIV)

      When I think about it, that verse is so true in my life. God has always provided…even when it's not immediate or exactly the way I'd hoped it to be. But like Kevin said, we get insecure because we don't know the future. Then today ironically my roommate Claire (Kevin's fiancé) and I were girl talking and talking about faith. One thing that completely applies to this is the human's need for security. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they lost everything, and gained a lot of negative feelings and such that we were never intended to have. They were filled with insecurity and hid, and then want to security. This applied to this lesson well, because when we're in a time of wandering…we want security. The great thing is, even when life is uncertain, we can be secure in Christ!
     
      Going back to the verse, God promises to deliver us. "God's gonna throw us the ladder, we need to chose to grab it."- Kevin. We always complain about what we don't have, and are not thankful with what we do have. Even though what we have is a blessing…it's like…God, I really want this though… We need to CHOOSE JOY and be grateful for what He has done and is doing in our lives. We can also learn a lot in these times of wandering.

       Let's bring it to The Story now. So the Israelites have a Point A and a Point B. Their Point A was Egypt, and there Point B is the Promise Land…in between was a time of wandering, and in that time God had a plan and the Israelites had to trust. Many chose to complain and whine, while very few trusted the Lord- two specifically…Joshua and Caleb. Now to relate it to us from a faith perspective. Our Point A is being in slavery and bondage to sin. Our Point B is being delivered from sin and having eternal life in Christ. That is the big picture. In my case, I've already accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, but there are still Point A's and B's in life…and times of wandering or waiting.

       In fact, I've been in a wandering/waiting period. I'm not going to go into details on it, but it was really stressing me out. I guess I can be impatient and easily flooded with fear and doubt…when things are not set in stone. In fact, the other week I was worrying so much that I literally worried myself sick. It's something I really need to work on just trusting God in times of uncertainty and wandering. My mom was telling me just earlier that day to choose my attitude and I can still have a good attitude from this. I was trying to here and there and then Kevin said the exact same thing at 923 and the lesson just completely hit me hard. I was like, "Ok God, I know what I need to do." Let go, Let God and as Kevin said, "Choose your tude!"

      Then he tied it in greatly with some activities. The first was writing a letter to your future self, for when you're in a time of wandering. Since that is my current life, I did mine a little different. I wrote a letter to myself about my current state and things I'm thankful for. I was taking forever…the time for this activity and the next (which I'll tell about in a bit) ended and I was still writing my letter to myself. My friend Emily joined me and we had a fantastic talk. That girl is so fun and easy to talk to. Before we knew it, all the tables and chairs we're going up around us. I decided that night I would choose a better attitude, even if I'm frustrated. It was a very wonderful exercise and my friend and I want to do it more often, just letter's of encouragement to yourself and or other friends.  She wrote a list of ideas for different times you could write letter's for. I took a picture of it because I wanted to remember it and post it here.

        The second activity from that night, I never got to do at church, but I still wanted to do it. Let me tell you about it and I encourage you to do it as well! There are many organizations where you can send letter's and stuff to those in need. We looked at two. One is called Send Kids the World www.sendkidstheworld.com .  It is an organization with a list of children who have life-threatening illnesses.  It has a list of children, bio's for many, basic info, and addresses where you can send a letter. The other organization is called Operation Gratitude www.operationgratitude.com .  Here you can write letters to those serving and laying down their lives for our freedom and our country. This website has a lot more than just sending letters, they have care packages you can help with and stuff as well.  At our church we have a phrase: THERE'S MORE TO LIFE THAN ME. That is so true. Yes, we may be wandering or we may not be at this point, but there are others who are, and God has called us to a life of love. 

      "Jesus replied, ' Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"  

          - Matthew 22:  37-38

       I didn't get to write my letter Thursday night, so this morning (Saturday) I wrote it. The letter I decided today was to a sick child. It was hard trying to pick who to write to and knowing me, I'll probably end up writing to more than one eventually. I prayed before, as I started thinking…what do you say, in a situation like this…especially if there isn't a lot of info on the child's interests.  I wanted to focus on the fact that this person is loved and how brave they are. Christian artist Moriah Peter's keeps popping up, and she has a song called "BRAVE." I listened to it, and wanted to share it with the girl I'm writing to. So I mentioned it as well as her popular song "You Carry Me." I really like the song "Brave" so I'm going to share it here, as well as a picture I did at the top of my letter with the message of BRAVE & LOVE.

       That night after group, I stopped at Walmart to get a few things and I came across a flip calendar with verses and Christian sayings. I wanted to share a picture of the one from Friday morning. The funny thing is, Thursday night, I let go in a way. I wasn't 100% happy at the situation but, I was choosing a good attitude and working on trust.  The next day (Friday) it seems like as soon as I let go and was going to chose my attitude the wait was over. God is good. So no matter what season we are in let's stop our whining and REJOICE in what the Lord has given us. 

p.s. I'm going to attach both songs!!!

                                      

     

                                      

Confession: I had the worst time getting to a post office with my work location and hours, and then I was moving, so and everything is packed or something, so I'm going to rewrite the letter. I've felt guilty of not sending it yet, so I put it off but i'm on a vacation now, but will get to it- I just have to find the CD…b/c I don't think I can buy it at Target…but my goal is sent by CHRISTmas =) (2015)

Heartbreak to Heart Restoration : Regenerate Conference 2014

         So this weekend my church hosted a wonderful women's conference: Regenerate Restoration Heartware!  This was my second year going and it was wonderful this year as it was last year. The first night started with Anita Renfroe, a Christian comedian and ended with a concert by Francesca Battistelli. Day 2 started with worship, a message from the author of "Love Does"- Bob Goff, then we had breakout sessions we signed up for, had another message from Bob and closed in worship, with encouragement from Cal's (our pastor's wife) wife, Lisa.
     
        Some of you may be wondering about my title for this. You will find out very shortly, but I want to preface this. During Francesca's concert, not bashing social media, she was honest about a trend she's seen and is guilty of herself, and most of us are. The trend is: that we tend to mostly post about the good things in our lives, and give off this false reality of our lives. We are all broken and not everything in our lives are perfectly perfect, it's not always the lowest of lows either, but life is a roller coaster and has it's ups and downs. She challenges us to be vulnerable with others…to be honest…which leads me to the title.
     
        Heartbreak. My boyfriend and I mutually came to the conclusion to break-up. *** He read this paragraph, helped me with a few parts. I asked how much I could share (this being the "longer" version) and he gave me the text of approval*** We both had spent an amount of time praying and getting guidance about what to do. At this point in our lives, I feel that God has different plans for us, and we both agree there are areas in our lives that need growth. It wasn't a fight or an "I hate you" type thing. In fact, we made the break-up as easy as possible because we do care for each other that much. This is my first relationship and when we were seriously talking about doing this, because we are such good friends, I asked if we could have a few days to mentally prepare us for this, and that's what we did. To make it easier we decided after our "last day" as a couple, we wouldn't have "the conversation" that night before heading home, we just knew it would be over when we got up for work the next morning.  We also decided we still want to be friends after all this is through. I can't say the last week has been easy, because at times it hasn't. We do care about each other, but know we are doing what we should, but it still stinks at times. We are in the same church groups on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Since the breakup we've had tears, we've had laughs, there's been hurt and fun times. In fact we went to lunch with my best friend (Shari)  and her husband (Isaiah) to celebrate her husband's birthday. It was nice knowing that we can still be friends. We are happy to move forward as friends and look forward to the support and prayer from our friends and family.

        That night my mom, cousin's wife, her mom and sister and their friend Brandy and I all stayed at my Aunt M.J.'s house.  I was having a tough night with all that I've been through this last week, my mom came and comforted me, while I had tears rolling down my face. The following day I held in tears during my favorite worship song "Oceans (Where My Feet May Fail)" by Hillsong, because I am in a transition and it's not the easiest at first. I was down for awhile after the conference yesterday (Saturday) and was in tears while at lunch with my parents, and we had a super good talk about how I was feeling, what I'm going through, and how to deal with it. Remember, I haven't been through this before. They also encouraged me to look towards God, and the good friendship Chase and I will, and do have.  After I said goodbye to them I was able to think even more, talk to my grandma and my roommate which also helped. I have found out sharing has helped me, and that is one reason I am writing this. Then I went to church last night that also helped and hung out with my best friend and her husband. Let me get back to the conference. But first, the title for the conference couldn't be better: Restoration Heartware…it's perfect for someone just going through a break-up and one who wants to get closer with God as well =)
 
        Bob Goff was an excellent speaker. We saw footage of him speaking at a Leadership Summit, one sunday while in church (well I went Saturday, but that's not the point).  He has a book titled "Love Does" that I've wanted to read, but haven't got to yet, but I'm even more excited to now. There were so many things he said that I loved, but I just want to focus on a few specifically.
     
        From Bob's first session I want to mention the aspect of loving others. We are called to love others, and well as DC Talk says, "Love is a verb." Which means "Love Does", love does things. One thing he said was to step out of your comfort zone. Which reminded me of a previous blogpost I wrote, here's the link: http://crossroadscorner.blogspot.com/2013/12/be-change-you-wish-to-see-in-world.html . We can help others, if we see someone in need we shouldn't try and pick a fight and laugh things off and make fun those in need. Everyone has a story. If you don't want to give money to those in need you can: buy them a meal, give them food, help out in someway. From personal experience with a man named Johnny, sometimes one of the greatest things you can do is have a conversation with them and let them know that you care and are interested. He was so thankful that a group of my friends and I took time to get to know him. You can also pray with them or if they don't want you to, pray for them on you're own. We want to "leave Jesus where we go" meaning that we live a life like Christ and Jesus can touch people and come to Jesus, we may not see it directly, but we all have different roles in the body of Christ.
   
        From the  second session, the phrase "stop being right, be humble" stuck out. Sometimes we are wrong, and it's important to admit our faults. We just need to be able to say "I'm sorry." Bob Goff for example will call people and just say he's sorry.  The whole sorry thing really stuck to me, because I know at times it's heard to admit you were wrong and I know many of us can agree with that. And sometimes you think someone is never wrong, but guess what, it's ok to admit you're wrong about something. I'm sure, if you are reading this, you can think of someone who is never wrong…maybe it's you…say I'm sorry…genuinely and don't be afraid to make a mistake, agree with someone else or admit you're wrong. Bob Goff closed saying, "What if we fix our eyes on Jesus?" That reminded me of a song by one of my favorite Christian bands for King & Country called "Fix My Eyes"

      The breakout session I went to was called confirmation, and the speaker told a story I could relate to in a way, it reminded me of what my brother went through that one CHRISTmas…there is also a blogpost on that: http://crossroadscorner.blogspot.com/2013/12/christmas-miracle.html . Anyways, one of the questions they posed was, "Do you want to follow God's plan for you, but don't know what it is?" One thing that was mentioned was looking to see fruit from you're decisions. I still don't know exactly where He is leading me, but I'm working on trusting completely. This class also talked about when you are in a valley on the roller coaster of life, which I felt I could relate to currently with what I mentioned a few paragraphs above.  They presented a 30 Day Challenge, which I believe is good to do whether you are in a valley or not because it can help you not take your life for granted and see how blessed you really are.
             30 Day Challenge:
                Create a blessing jar. For each day find at least one thing that was a blessing and write it down. After the thirty days look back at all those blessings.
                         -I haven't started it yet, but I have some in mind. I need to get a jar and paper, but I may be able to improvise. I will however start this week, and after my 30 days I may do a post, on what I learned from counting some of my blessings. I challenge you to do this too, no matter what's going on in your life.
      The last think I have is how the conference inspired me to do some songwriting again. I used to write a lot more in high school and on and off in college, but honestly, I've rarely written down here. The whole "I'm sorry" thing got me thinking. Last night while I was showering I just got these lyrics and melody stuck in my head and I didn't want to lose it so I kept singing and singing. When I got out I recorded it in my phone, was exhausted. This morning I woke up and continued writing the song and it was awesome, there's still a little more of it to write, but it felt so good, and I thank God for this weekend.
      Ok, I said that was the last thing, but I wanted to let you know that Chase and I and Isaiah and Shari had a good time eating pizza. I finally saw today that this can actually work. We started a pizza after church tradition and Isaiah and Shari have now joined, and I think we can continue it as friends and others can always join. I'm exciting to see this friendship grow and see the blessings that come out of just being friends and am excited for life. I'm sure I'll still have my down times, especially not going through this before and it still being new. But I am Choosing Joy in this and trusting God. I'm excited for what He has planned in the future! Hope you had a blessed weekend and God Bless!

Here are a few pics of the weekend!
       
       Below: My mom, myself and Shari!            

                                                       

                                                                                      My mom Susan and her sister M.J.

 Below: Shari and I

                                                                                 Aunt M.J. and Me =)     

 Below: Central Campus Pastor's "Let it Go"

                                                                       Anita Renfroe

                                                         

Bob Goff                                                                   Francesca Battistelli 

                                         

I'm Sorry