Genesis 22

I'm posting...again.

This time its about Genesis 22 and if you read it before you read this post it will probably make a lot more sense, but i'll try to fill you in if you dont' read it. I read it this morning in my devotions and some things really stuck out to me.

Genesis 22 is when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only and long awaited son. This chapter is pretty much all about obedience. (And again a lot of this stuff with come from the 'study' part of my Bible) God was testing Abraham to see if Abraham loved God or his son more. I'll make a point with this. We need to have God first in our lives at ALL times. I know i haven't always had Him first in my life. There are so many things that we get caught up in and it's sometimes hard to make time for God which is absolutly AWFUL. God does not expect you to be perfect twenty four seven. He knows you are going to sin and fall short. ( theres that verse in Romans "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" that's not word perfect i dont' think but it goes something like that) Okay on to the next point. God does not test us to see us trip and fall. He tests us to deepen our relationship with Him and develope our character. Instead of complaining or being upset/frustrated we need to embrace the difficult circumstance and let God build our character up. ( ha. I'm great at that, let me tell you. definatly being sarcastic but im working on it) Obeying God does not come naturally or easy and we're not always gonna get it right. Obeying God may mean making sacrifices we dont' want to make but in the end we will be blessed for it and you never know, the sacrifice you made, God might allow it to come back to you. And sometimes, like Abraham, we have to 'sacrifice' someone or something in our hearts before God allows us to have that thing or that person back in our lifes. And then He will provide what we need, in Abraham's case it was a ram. If we obey God, His blessings will outweigh our sacrifices by far.
Just like Abraham almost sacrificed his son, God did sacrifice His Son. Although it's a sad thing that God did not spare His Son and allowed Him to die for us (which we don't even deserve God's love) we should be thankful He didn't spare His Son because if He hadn't we'd be in a lot of trouble and wouldn't be able to expierence God's grace and an amazing eternity in heaven.

God Bless!!

People

Do you ever stop and just realize how many people affect and impact your life? I did tonight under the stars with my best friend. I've come to realize that this quote (i dont' think im wording it right but anyway it goes something like this) something about people walking into your life and its up to you who walks out of your life. Ive realized taht its not really up to us who walks out of our lives. To some extent it is up to us...but in reality its up to God and the other person. I've...had a person walk out of my life. Somone...so special to me and i didn't want him to walk out of my life but i could do nothing to stop him. So you see, you can't stop someone from walking out of your life. you just hope and pray that God brings them back in your life. and as hard as it may be to see if God doesn't bring them back into your life...then you kno that God is going to give you something so much better. no matter how much it hurts at the moment to know that there is a possiblity that, that person might not come back into your life. And sometimes for that person to come back into your life you just have to let go first and move on and leave your future in the hands of the One who knows best, God. Obviously, everyone struggles with that tho, especially me, but i know things will work out for the better and i just have to choose the path God leads me to. We all have a choice you know. So when your heart is telling you something follow it because if your heart is filled with God then you will be moving in the right direction. When i look at my life in the past like 2 or so years and i see what has happened, i'm hurt, but then i think of all the other people who have been hurt way more than me and have had to deal with so much more. it makes my problem feel so small but yet its so significant to me.


I feel as though i've lost someone that is/was supposed to be in my life...for longer than he was. maybe God will bring him back in my life. I can only hope and pray that He does however i know that if He doesnt' i'm going to eventually be okay with that fact. It's wierd how when you open your heart up to someone it always manages to get broken in some way. in my case, it's been shattered into a million pieces and i feel it will take me a long time until i finally get all those pieces back together again but i guess thats just the healing process of it all. And that brings me to another point. Best Friends. Where i would be without my best friends. ha. I have had so many memories with my best friends theres too many to count and lately ive been thinking about all the memories i've made with them like painting the table to put in our swing set and making a pulley to pull stuff up in the swing set with the triplets minus their brother (haha) and a more recent one, walking on the road in the dark singing as loud as we could "Jesus loves Me, and Jesus Loves the Little Children" beacuse we were scared out of our minds and then running from a tractor we thought was chasing us until we were safely laying in the grass looking up at the stares with my other best friend. It's just incredible how God has placed each person in our lives to make us feel happy or well...not so happy...but thats beside the point. Every person who has come into my life and given me so many memories to look back on and yes some of them hurt to remember (not because i wish i hadn't made the memories at all) *Sigh.* I don't know. ( and i have no idea how i went from what i was first talking about to this right now but oh well)


On a side note. The stars were beautiful tonight. My friend and i were talking about how incredible it would be to go to outerspace but yet how much more complicated it would make things. For instance, the stars alone are amazing to look at but think if you were to go to outerspace and see all the other amazing things God has created up there. I think the earth is big but if i saw the universe/galaxy/whatever it is, i dont' think i could even begin to comprehend it (not that i can now) I don't think any human being can fully grasp how big God is, no one can fathom whats beyond the universe and whatever else is out there (no idea if i used the word 'fathom' right but i like the word lol, its from the one song, 'no one can fathom the depths of your love' i think thats what it says anyways i think its from the song indescribable. haha) But seriously its just amazing when you think about it and sometimes its kinda scary if you really think about it in a way and for some people But How can anyone even begin to say that the earth was not created by God? There is no way you could explain it except for totally and completely amazing and that doesn't even cover the half of it.


Well, I guess this post is long enough for now. I have to get to bed anymore. Work in the morning you know *so excited* (being sarcastic of course lol) I'll end with some quotes.


"No matter how much something hurts.. somehow letting go of it seems to hurt worse.."



"Friends are like balloons; once you let them go, you might not get them back. Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives and problems that we may not even notice that we've let them fly away. Sometimes we are so caught up in who's right and who's wrong that we forget what's right and wrong. Sometimes we just don't realize what real friendship means until it is too late. I don't want to let that happen so I'm gonna tie you to my heart so I
never lose you."



"It's funny how certain things trigger memories.Like, songs, smells, stuff like that.Some make you sad, and some capture you in a momentary deja vu.You can just close your eyes, and you are then captured in the past."

^ this is what im talking about with the memories. Like tonight while i was laying in the grass, the weather, the place, and the smell of the air alone just brought me so many memories. Wouldn't it be so nice if we coudl revisit the past and do things over? That would be so great in some cases but thats not how God works, which is a good thing so i guess i'll never revisist the past and change things but oh well God's taking care of that =] because if we could do that we wouldn't grow and learn from our mistakes. God has it all figured out we just have to let His plan take its course.

God truly is amazing isn't He?

God Bless!!

Be Kinder than Necessary

This world is becoming an evil and bitter place. What happened to the saying "Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you." There are so many people out there who act friendly to your face but stab you in the back when your not around. When you read that do you immediatly think of someone who has done that to you? Or do you think "wow, i've done that to." If you did think of someone else thats fine, but dont' forget that you have done it to at some point and time in your life. If you have never done that (which is highly unlikely) i'll say wow, way to go!" I'll admit, i've done it, although im not proud of it, and am disappointed in myself. Everyone has done it (at least that i know of). Like the other day at a place i won't specify, my sister and i were cleaning up and she found a piece of paper that had our names on it, beside my name it said "thin", and beside my sisters name is said "a little more" now we know the person who wrote it and we were highly disappointed to think that this lady would say something about my sister like that. although i know she wouldnt' admit it, it hurt her. Why was something like that written on a piece of paper? Why does it matter? And Why were they talking about us? There is no simple explaination to a situation like this (and by the way my sister is not "a little more" than me at all she is jsut as thin as me) Lately people at this specific place have been insulting my sister and mine's weight among other various hurtful things. I don't know if they realize their hurting us or what. It comes down to the whole world pressure thing. The world says to girls that they have to be skinny. God tells us that we just have to be who we are and follow Him. Although this piece of paper im sure hurt my sister, it doesn't matter, because agian the only person that we have to measure up to is God, we have to obey His standards and His standards only. So whatever motivates those people to make fun of my sister and i, can motivate them. We dont' have to listen to them and should be so grounded in our relationship with God that it shouldn't bother us. I mean yes it is hurtful to hear things like that, and yes we all do the same thing, but i am trying to not be that way. I dont' want to be that way at all but because of human and sinful nature I am that way unfortunatly. If we would all just try a little harder to be kind to everyone we come in contact with, this world would be a better place. Every little nice thing you do can improve this world and make others feel loved and cared for.

"Be kinder than Necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some sort of battle"

Family

I know this is my second post today but thats okay lol. Tonight i had a semi wonderful time with my family when we went out to eat. It makes me feel how blessed i am to have all my siblings and both my parents. Right now there are so many deaths of friends and family that i know it seems to be unreal and i just realize as we were talking tonight how blessed i am to have all my immediate family with me. I mean yeah not everything is great with the family and obviously we fight a lot! but at least we still have eachother...as much as i think that i can't stand someone in my family at certain times, i kno that if anything would happen to them i'd be devestated. which brings me to a point that i just thought of....we are so devestated when we lose family members or friends and are semi happy when their with us here on earth. God is devestated (in a way, and again this is just my train of thought here i could be wrong) when we are here on earth participating in all the sinful acts of this world but he rejoices when we join Him in heaven (if we are His followers). I mean yes God still feels the people's pain that we leave behind here on earth. but He's rejoicing because we've finally come back to Him and left this sinful and evil world behind us. But overall, I am very blessed to have my family members with me. I'm blessed that i still have my brother and sisters, and have both my parents. Some kids are not so fortunate and for them my heart breaks, it really does. However, there are times when i just don't appreciate my family memebers too, which is awful to say but i think most if not all of us at one point have felt annoyed or very angry with someone in our family. Family is a blessing to have, although many times not appreciated or looked at as a blessing.

Well thats it for this post, i'm not really in a "thinking" mode right now otherwise i'd go on to something else and plus i have to get to bed because i am again working tomorrow, on a saturday, crazy, i kno. haha alright well i'll end with a quote.

"We are one big family of people, trying to make our way through the unfolding puzzle of life. We are all connected to one another in the heart. Connecting with the ultimate source of love is possible through discovering the hidden power in your heart."

Be Who You Are

Hey Everybody! Just another post about ourselves. Right now I'm going through a change i guess you could say. I'm trying to be who i am and not who other people want or expect me to be. I'm doing stuff that i normally don't do because i was always like man what are they gonna say about it. I tend to be one of those people who care what others think and get easily embarressed. But ya know what, I'm sick of trying to be who others want me to be. I just want to be me. Wear what i want to wear do my hair how i want to do it and other things. If people come up to me and be like why are you wearing that or something, I'm just going to say because i want to or feel like it or just because i can. Dare to be Different. It seems that everyone these days are conforming to the world. (i have in some ways, and everybody does even if they dont' realize it) doing what the "cool" thing is. Like now i feel that everyone is pressured to be as skinny as they possibly can. it doesn't matter that their starving theirselves and making themselves unhealthy by trying to be as skinny as that girl or this girl. I know almost every girl looks in the mirror at some point and time and doesn't like what she sees. but stop caring! you are who you are. if you think your a little overweight exercise or eat healthier but don't go crazy with it! and if you think your not beautiful, just tell yourself that you are. remember we only have to be beautiful for God. thats it! Stop worrying about what other people will say about you. If they want to say bad things about you, then let them, and pray for them that whatever is wrong in their life that causes them to make fun of others will improve and that problem in their life will disappear so that they can see how much they've hurt you and others. I'm a very self-concious person. If i wear something i like and later feel stupid for wearing it ( i did the other day) but i just made that thought disappear. who cares. I'm being me and who God wants me to be and thats all that matters. We don't have to measure up to anyones standards but God's! So stop living for other people and start living for God!!


Sorry guys, this post was kind of pointed towards girls as most of my posts will probably be becasue well i'm a girl, haha. Alright well i have to get ready for work yet and then tonight after work i think i'm going to a resturaunt with my family for a sea food buffet, which i'm excited for because i love sea food!

God Bless!

Self Worth

I'll start off by saying I am a Christian. I want to follow what God's plans are for my life. It may not always be easy and i may sometimes feel like taking things into my own hands but i have the desire and need to follow His plan for my life; not my own plan. I want God's light to shine brightly through me so that i can touch other people's lives and show them who God is. I'm not a great writer at all and you may find my blogs boring and maybe sometimes confusing but thats all right because if i know i'm touching at least one person's life on this blog then i know i'm doing something right. Now on to my first post!

I'm reading the book of Genesis right now. I'm past chapter 1 but there is some pretty strong stuff in that chapter that you might not see right away. I didn't. (I have a study Bible so i will be getting some of what i say out of it and just expanding on it.)

A lot of teenagers struggle with self worth. They go through that stage where their not good enough or pretty enough or "whatever" enough. Other kids make fun of them and call them names. And the sad thing is, we've all done it. Every single one of us has put someone else down multiple times even though when people put us down we get hurt too. And it's not always other kids putting us down. We also put ourselves down. In Genesis 1:26-27 it says '"Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.' We were made in God's image. ("We have the ability to reflect his character in our love, patience, forgiveness, kindness, and faithfulness.")That alone gives us self worth. I mean think about it, really think about it, we are sinners right? and God knew we would be sinners but He still chose us to be made in HIS likeness even though He is WAY better than us. Today self worth is based on 'possessions, achievements, physical atrractivesness, and public acclaim.' If we criticize ourselves, or others criticize us they/we are criticizing what God has made and the ablities He's given us. If you continue to read into the next few verses of Genesis 1 it tells how God viewed His creation as 'very good.' We are part of His creation and He made us for a good reason. The only person that we have to be valuable to is God. Sure it's nice to be valued by other people but if at times you don't feel valued or loved by other people, just tell yourself that God values you and thats enough because in the end He's the only one that matters! Especially today, teenagers are pressured to look "good" and if you don't feel that your pretty or that you look geeky or ugly or "not cool" its hard and you try to do everything you can to feel good about youself sometimes taking drastic measures or getting upset about it. Or maybe you think someone doesn't think your pretty or cool or something and it hurts you really bad. All those feelings and more can make you feel like junk and it hurts. (okay that kind of got confusing) but the bottom line is that you dont' have to be pretty on the outside, you just have to be 'pretty' on the inside, because if your pretty on the inside then you have more beauty on the outside than anyone else does. Show your beauty by being kind to others and showing them God's love. I encourage you to not look down on yourself but remember that God only looks at your inside beauty. He made you the way you are and He thinks your beautiful no matter what!

Alright people, i have to get to bed because i have to work tomorrow. Sorry if the post was boring or confusing but i hope it blesses you! God Bless!