Garbage in, Garbage out

"Meditation is nothing but dwelling on the thoughts of our hearts"

How do respond when someone says something that doesn't benefit you? What do you allow yourself to watch on TV? What do you choose to listen to in the car? Do you surround yourself with people who talk about encouraging things?
-All these questions should lead to the answer of what's truly running through your heart and mind.

1. Find a happy thought and focus on it for one whole minute. How do you feel after? 
2. Find an angry thought and focus on it for one whole minute. Our moods completely change when doing these things.

Sometimes we think that just because we aren't necessarily living ungodly lives, then these things are no problem.
But, what about the time when your friend slipped a cuss word and you didn't say anything? Or, the movie you love that has nudity in it.
All of these things seem like no big deal, but they get put into our minds whether we want them there or not.

"Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about these things that are excellent and worthy of praise." Philippians 4:8

The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing, and that just seems crazy! But, to pray without ceasing simply means to continually be in the mindset of prayer.
Prayer  is nothing more than communicating with God, and we can easily do that by sharing our every thought and action with Him.

"Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never with, and they prosper in all they do." Psalm 1:1-3

Our thoughts lead to our actions. Our minds are always thinking and the things we allow them to dwell on will shape our thoughts, actions, and every other aspect of our lives.

"We are, and continually become, those thoughts that persist in our hearts and minds."

The saying has always been true: "what goes in must always come out". And I know I'm not the only one who wants those things to be Godly, uplifting, and happy things.

 "Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

 

                             

 

 

Happiness

Happiness.. It's a choice. But, it's not as easy as it sounds. When you're following the path of righteousness it is indeed harder than a life in the opposite direction. When you're following Christ, it makes the devil angry. He throws every temptation at you to try and knock you off your course. But that's the amazing thing about Jesus, the bigger the trial; the bigger the blessing. Have you ever felt such a strong feeling of contentment and thankfulness for everything you have? I mean, sometimes we don't even think we know why. The feeling is God's overwhelming love. The happiness isn't temporary. It isn't coming from some boy, or a good grade, or even your favorite movie coming out in theaters. It's God's love and mercy pouring out over you. And when that happens you begin to overflow onto other people. This is why it's so important to share the love God has given you! He sent His only begotten Son to take away all of our shame so that we could run and tell the world about His love for them. Before Christ returns, He promises us that everywhere everyone on earth will hear the word of God. We are his handmade disciples put on this earth to solely share the happiness of what comes from being filled with God's spirit... And He is proud.

 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." Matthew 24:14 NKJV

Things We Don't Wanna Talk About

"Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself."
 -1 Corinthians 6:19

Very recently 150 Yazidi women and young girls killed themselves after being forced to become Islamic State sex slaves. Some of the survivors helped share their stories..


- I'm not talking about this to make people upset, I'm doing it because no one else will talk about it.

The husbands, brothers, sons, uncles, etc. of these women were immediately butchered by the Islamic State.
The "less attractive" women were separated for special rape treatment.
As soon as one girl knew this was happening, she went to a nearby bathhouse in Northern Iraq and slashed her wrists.
These women chose to take their own lives over the lives the Islamic State decided they could force them to have.
The bodies of those who did commit suicide were given to the dogs as meals..

-Stories like this one are the ones we don't share. We prefer not to think these things are happening in the world we live in, but they are. We can't keep sitting back doing nothing. These women don't have a voice of their own, and that's why God gave us one.
We are their voice!
What if this was us? Our family? Friends? Even someone we barely knew.. We'd be devastated. Awareness needs to be brought to these kind of topics, and people need to stop being scared to get up and take a stand for them.

These women and men need to know they are LOVED! They are to DIE for. They need to know that they are prayed for daily. God has a plan for them too.. His plan for them isn't finished there. He's not even close to done! But, if we sit back and do nothing we aren't glorifying Him at all.
In fact, God has already told us to not worry, to not be afraid, to spread the gospel to all nations, that we are strong, that He is always with us... so what are we waiting for?

'He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."'
-Mark 16:15

"Cast all your worries on Him, because He cares for you."
-1 Peter 5:7

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him."
-Psalm 28:7

So lets be BOLD! Let's stand up for what we believe in and glorify God while doing it.

http://m.clarionproject.org/news/150-isis-sex-slaves-commit-suicide-some-fed-dogs

Reap What You Sow

I'm going to start off with this:
 ^"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:7-9)

We've all heard the saying "you reap what you sow", but are we truly living that way? That verse is pretty self-explanatory, but sometimes it's easier said than done.

You want love? Go show Godly love to someone else. Want to be encouraged? Encourage others. Ever feeling down? Go lift someone up. Feeling insecure? Go compliment someone.

Are you ever in a tough situation where it just seems impossible to do any of that? Let me give you some examples: A person wants nothing to do with you and gets pleasure out of your misery. We've all had an encounter with someone like that. BUT, there's a reason they're that way. Why do you expect love if you haven't shown it?

Ever been around a person who seriously just DRAINS you. Everything they say is negative and honestly it just brings you down. It's hard to show love to people who aren't returning it. No one wants to be that way. They're draining you, but don't give up. Encourage them.

But, what if we are one of those people? We aren't perfect, we get upset, insecure, and sometimes just feel lost.
We want love! We want to be happy and we all want to be someone who other people just enjoy being around.

How are we supposed to get RESPECT, LOVE, ENCOURAGEMENT, FRIENDSHIPS, HAPPINESS... if we don't first give it.
You can't do it backwards. People always say "Well, I don't respect them, because they don't respect me". Or, "Why would I want to help someone who doesn't even like me?"

You reap what you sow. You don't get what you want, then return it. That's reaping before sowing. It doesn't work that way.

Take a step of faith and simply go out of your way for someone who normally wouldn't appreciate it. Compliment someone. Be honest with them. Respect them. It takes time, but it works. It's the only way it will work.

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38

How Do I Know?

When thinking of God's will for your life, we often think: "What college does HE want me at?" "Who does HE want me with?" "What if God doesn't want me there?" "What if I'm not taking the right job or picking the right city?".

We do know a few things about His will for ALL of us. 

1. That we will be saved. 

2. We will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 

3. We are pure. 

4. We submit to proper authorities. 

5. We will suffer for doing what is right. 

It all begins with us. You see, God is a gentleman. He waits on us to come running to Him. He isn't going to force us into salvation. That's why we have free will. To live our lives glorifying Him in all we do, or choose to follow the evil. There's no in between. 

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

Actually, God's will isn't about where you go; it's about what you do when you get there. 

It's not about the 'perfect' college; it's about the type of student you are. 

It's not about the atmosphere you're in; it's how you handle it. 

It's not the 'perfect' job; it's how you use that job to GLORIFY Him. 

It's not about who He wants you with; it's about what that relationship/friendship is centered around. 

God loves us so much that he gave us the freedom to make our own choices. But, He said make them wisely. 

"Get wisdom- how much better it is than gold! And get understanding- it is preferable to silver." Proverbs 16:16

Yes, God does give personal guidance, but those cases are rare. (1 Corinthians 14:7-9)

So don't worry, don't stress about not hearing a specific plan for God! As long as you are living a Godly lifestyle and glorifying Him through it all; He will give you the desires of your heart. 

This is Not Your Battle

Jesus came, not just to give eternal life to those who believe in Him and live for Him, but to give us a life on earth that is fuller and more abundant.
If being a Christian was easy, everyone would be one. A lot of people have this idea in their head that if you become a Christian, you have a perfect life from then on. Its our job to sacrifice worldly things and let God take control over our life. Through spreading the Word and expressing your beliefs, you have to know that there is going to be times when people, maybe even everyone, will mock you. They will ridicule you and persecute you.

"Those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples" Luke 14:33

Instead of hoping God will, we should believe He already has. Christians sometimes get a reputation of being hypocritical or judgmental. Instead of being insulted by that assumption, we should just change it. Respond to negative words or actions with love. If Jesus didn't love us, He wouldn't have died for all of us to have an eternal life. Even when Jesus, who is PERFECT, was up on that cross getting yelled at, spit on, mocked, PERSECUTED, He pleaded to God by saying, "Lord forgive them, for they know not what they're doing."
It is not our job to judge people because they sin differently than us. If we spend our life doing that, we will stray away from the plan God already has for us and will also be judged.. by our Heavenly Father.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

God isn't a punisher. He doesn't throw obstacles at you because you sin and fall short of His glory. 

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." James 1:2-3

Instead, He gives you another chance. We will go through trials and temptations, not to hurt us, but to challenge our faith and prepare us for what is to come.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

By knowing Christ, we know He is the Comforter and the Healer. Through Him, we will find peace in any struggle.
The word "comforter" in Greek means defense attorney. What exactly does a defense attorney do? They defend the innocent. It's pretty much like you're on trial and God is your attorney. Actually, that's exactly what it is.

"This is not your fight, you need only to be still." Exodus 14:14

Those who come to Jesus realize they still struggle with the same problems they did before. But they now have powerful resources to help them along the way and situations that seemed impossible become possible. (Philippians 4:13)

Jesus never promised it would be easy. He promised that it would be possible and rewarding.
Our struggle is not just with our own flesh. There's an enemy who seeks to destroy our faith, slow us down and discourage us.
Resist him, standing firm in faith, because you know that your brothers are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. (1 Peter 5:8-9)
You are not alone. You never have been. With Christ inside of you, you can conquer any battle.. against yourself, friends, family, and the secular world we live in.

"For when I am weak, then I am strong"

You know what I don't like nowadays? Relationships.
I hate that they're pretty much all based around fame, popularity, Instagram LIKES, and love movies....
I'm sorry(no I'm not), but happiness doesn't come from how many likes you and your significant other's candid gets on Instagram.
Love movies are unrealistic. Fame is just ridiculous and so is popularity, because no one should be put in categories. OK moving on.  

I didn't realize all of this until I went through a bad relationship. A relationship that left me broken, crying all night, couldn't eat, and just felt hopeless. When you reach a point like that you really do think you'll never be whole again.. and maybe you're right. Maybe, it'll take some time for the pieces to grow back together; but you will become strong again. Eventually the tears will slow down, the thoughts about them will only come every other day or so, and you'll learn to smile again.

Then you'll catch yourself going out with friends instead of crying yourself to sleep. You'll start to notice that you feel comfortable flirting back with guys who've been trying for months. You'll actually give one of the guys a chance! You'll have fun and maybe, just MAYBE there will be a second date.

And you know what? Then there comes a day.. when your friends or family brings up their name and you can answer and be okay with it. A day where you can think about it and only feel a little discomfort, because you have finally came to the realization that you are truly better off without them.. truly better off by yourself.

Then, from that day on, you continue to get stronger and happier. You notice it. Your friends notice it and they'll tell you too! You'll start to open up about things you couldn't bare to even think about 6 months before; and you guys will talk about it then move right along.
You moved on. You made it. You are STRONG!


"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
"Jesus replied, 'You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand'" John 13:7

"That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10