For your bad days…

I am having bad day. The combination of new medicine, diet changes, and everyday issues have left me feeling fatigued, helpless, hopeless, useless, and pathetically unhealthy.

On days like today, it is so easy to become stuck in these feelings. However, look around.

When I look around I see a peaceful bedroom I have set up with days like today in mind. All white and teal everything. Candles and flowers gracing any empty spot and pictures of my family and loved ones surround me. I see the sunshine coming in from my whiten linen draped windows. I see fluffy pillows and irreplaceable stuffed animals my Granny made years ago, before she died. I see books and Bibles. I see my own artwork that I made myself to lift my spirits. I see lights and garland so my room looks like a fairy wonderland. All around me I see hope and love. So why should I let today stand in the way of all the love I have tried so hard to surround myself with.

What do you see when you look around? You may not see a twinkling fairy wonderland like I do (because, let’s be honest, that is not for everyone..) but I am sure you see a few of these common things. Do you see books? You are educated and care about yourself enough to indulge yourself in your own education. Do you see a bed? You are luckier than the estimated 100 million homeless people in the world right now. Do you see pictures of yourself and family? You have people in your life, who although you may not always get along with, they care. Do you see a refrigerator with some food? Granted it may not be stocked full of healthy fruits and vegetables, you are lucky to even have what mystery foods are in there. Do you see a tv? Poverty has stricken America in overwhelming ways, but you are doing well enough to own a tv! Do you have lights on? Many Americans do not.

Whether or not you have everything I listed above, I promise you if you sit and look around you can find things to be thankful for and those things will give you HOPE. Get up, smile, take a shower, tomorrow will bring new blessings. God bless you, my friends. It gets better.

 

 

Colossians 1:17-18

“God’s Son was before all else, and by him everything is held together. He is the head of his body, which is the church. He is the very beginning, the first to be raised from death, so that he would be above all others.”

 

Let’s break this verse down.. God’s son was before all else. He was before your sins, my sins, the sins of our world. And by him everything is held together. You know how when you turn on the tv and see the news about another shooting, another riot, or the latest political shenanigans and you think, “By the grace of God, we are all still here.” That is how I interpret this part. I feel like with all the evil running rampant in our world today, God would look down and just throw his hands in the air, giving up on his hateful children. But by the grace of God and Jesus himself, everything is held together. This verse says that everything is held together by Jesus, which means everything you hold dear that you want to stay intact, the center needs to be Jesus. Your marriage. Your job. You talents. Your relationship with your children. Your relationship with yourself. Everything is held together by God’s son, so if He is not the center, it ain’t staying intact! Next, Jesus is the head and the church is the body. That again to me means, Jesus is to steer us (the church) in the right direction. He is the very beginning, the first to be raised from death, so that he would be above all others. God himself orchestrated the miracle of the death and resurrectional of Jesus to demonstrate the strength of his hands. He needed his children millions of years from then, to look back in awe and see Jesus as the one and only savior.

 

I hope this helps you find your inner peace today and understand this verse a little better! Feel free to leave your opinion in the comments.

Examine me, God!

“Examine me, God! Look at my heart! Put me to the test! Know my anxious thoughts! Look to see if there is any idolatrous way in me, then lead me on the eternal path!”

Psalms 139: 23-24

This verse can be very powerful if you really read it. Examine me! Look at my heart! Put me to the test! This is an example of how we should be talking to God. We should be open to the idea that He can test our faith and examine us out of love. Life is no walk in the park. God is going to challenge you in ways that you will not understand. However, this does not mean His love for us is not strong. God’s love is the strongest force there is. That is why He is challenging you! He wants you to be the best, most equipped version of yourself. Lead me on the eternal path! Here God is showing us an example of how we can call on Him to point out our wrong doings and then help us get back on the right path. God wants to help you, not hurt you. Show him your ways, ask for guidance and forgiveness.

 

These challenges you are facing right now are to build you stronger than ever. Consider this the work out. Your body tired. Your mind telling you to give up. You can not imagine this can be as hard for everyone else. No one else seems to be sweating as much as you. But one day very soon, you will be able to see a change in your strength. When everyone else is giving up, you’ll be running passed. When your body says, “Stop!” You’ll say, “Not yet!” All your struggle and hard work is going to pay off in ways only God understands so stay diligent. Have a great day, guys!

 

 

 

God wants you to be happy?

I think somewhere along the journey of Christianity someone may have accidentally mislead Christians to believe that God wants us to be these lifeless, Bible-crazed, dry people. My opinion is very different from that. I believe that God wants us to be devout Christians, but no where in that definition says you have to be stale. I love seeing youth groups having parties and dancing. I love seeing videos online of church members who dance and sing with praise. I love the idea of Christians getting together and having tons of fun. God wants you to love Him, but also yourself. That means, to me at least, dance, sing, cry, paint, tell jokes, act crazy! Do not let other people’s opinions of how Christians “should” act influence you. People will always judge.. God is the only real judge. 

I am going to be honest, I do a lot of things God probably is not proud of. I have made him look down and shake His head more than I should have. I cuss way too much.. I get aggravated with the general public pretty often.. I judge people sometimes. Jesus was the only person to step foot on this earth that was perfect. Just because you make mistakes, does not mean God does not love you. He probably wishes you would stop and you will, especially since you know these things you will be better without. The point I am trying to make here, is do not be afraid to act a certain way because of what others may think of you. Only God knows the relationship the two of you have and that is beautiful. 

Remember, God gave his only son to set you free of your mistakes.. Work on improving yourself, your relationship with God, and your relationship with happiness, and the rest will fall right into place.

 

“Come to my home each day and listen to me. You will find happiness.” Proverbs 8:34

 

 

Saturday Morning Bible Study

“The Holy Spirit will give you life that comes from Christ Jesus and will set you free from sin and death.”‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:2‬ ‭CEVUS06‬‬ http://bible.com/392/rom.8.2.cevus06

I usually do not post Saturday Morning Bible Studies. Maybe I will start or maybe the terror that has stricken the world and my own personal life in the last few months is fueling my thirst for God’s word. If you have the Bible app powered by YouVersion, (I strongly recommend it!) then you’ll know that today’s Bible Verse is Romans 8:2 pictured and written above with a link to the Bible app. Now most Christians will not pay much attention to this verse.. It is simple and states a fact we hear very often. Jesus died on the cross for each of us and our sins. Maybe after you hear something over and over again, it takes away from just how miraculous it is. Like when your mother tells you everyday while your in your rebellious teenage years how much she loves you and you appease her with a monotone, “Love you too” before heading out the door. One day you will be out of those ugly teenage years and the very idea of hearing your mother say to you how much she loves you will fill your heart with warmth and joy. This is kind of like that. We may have taken the fact that Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we can be saved for granted. So today, let’s put it in perspective and be thankful.

“The Holy Spirit will give you life that comes from Christ Jesus and will set you free from sin and death.” Romans 8:2

Inside of you, you have the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Jesus, the spirit of God. This spirit gives you fight, love, peace, and like the verse says, life. Let’s think of life in a deeper meaning than just being alive. It gives you life. A light no one can take away from you. An inner peace that calms you in moments that should make you pull your hair out. It gives you a smile on your face on the hardest of days. A sense of meaning and purpose when everyone else makes you feel unwanted. This gift of the Holy Spirit burning inside you is one of the greatest tools and assets a person needs. This life came from Jesus, a man who never met you, but knew you were worth his pain and suffering. Jesus healed the sick. Jesus loved the people who hated him. Jesus carried the very cross he would be nailed to and tortured on with perseverance and grace. You have a little bit of Him inside of you carrying you through this life. More so, this great spirit and love does not stop there. It sets you free of your sins. All the times you turned your back on God, set free. All the times you lied for no reason, set free. All the times you’ve stolen out of rebellion, set free. All the times you hurt your loved ones with swift words, set free. You are free. You are not tied down by your mistakes, you are free from them. God loves you despite your mistakes. This Spirit sets you free from death. Your last breath here on earth is just a new door opening to an amazing world called Heaven that we can only imagine. Where we are allowed to walk hand in hand with our creator and rest without the hustle and bustle of life here on earth. That is how much God loves you. He knows you are special,  intelligent, beautiful, and worthy. Have a blessed day, guys!

 

 

Stand Together.

It is a scary time to be alive right now. In the past few years, we have witnessed terrorist attacks, multiple mass shootings, kidnappings, murders, rape, government conspiracies, think of your worst nightmare and it has happened here in America. Don’t get me wrong, I love being American and living in America, but that does not make these events any less terrifying. Let’s do some research..

The following is all directly from https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2015/september/latest-crime-stats-released/latest-crime-stats-released

Here are some highlights from Crime in the United States, 2014:

There were an estimated 1,165,383 violent crimes (murder and non-negligent homicides, rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults) reported by law enforcement.
Aggravated assaults accounted for 63.6 percent of the violent crimes reported, while robberies accounted for 28.0 percent, rape 7.2 percent, and murders 1.2 percent.
There were an estimated 8,277,829 property crimes (burglaries, larceny-thefts, and motor vehicle thefts) reported by law enforcement. Financial losses suffered by victims of these crimes were calculated at approximately $14.3 billion.
Larceny-theft accounted for 70.8 percent of all property crimes reported, burglary for 20.9 percent, and motor vehicle theft for 8.3 percent
Police made an estimated 11,205,833 arrests during 2014—498,666 for violent crimes, and 1,553,980 for property crimes. More than 73 percent of those arrested during 2014 were male.
The highest number of arrests was for drug abuse violations (1,561,231), followed by larceny-theft (1,238,190) and driving under the influence (1,117,852).

The following is from http://www.gunviolencearchive.org regarding gun violence.

Total Number of Incidents 27,447
Number of Deaths 7,095
Number of Injuries 14,646
Number of Children (age 0-11)
Killed/Injured 314
Number of Teens (age 12-17)
Killed/Injured1 1,541
Mass Shooting 179
Officer Involved Incident
Officer Shot/Killed 170
Officer Involved Incident
Perpetrator Shot/Killed 950
Home Invasion 1,151
Defensive Use 845
Accidental Shooting 1,171

Gun violence and crime incidents are collected/validated from 1,500 sources daily – incidents and their source data are found at the gunviolencearchive.org website.

1: Actual number of deaths and injuries
2: Number of INCIDENTS reported and verified

Numbers on this table reflect a subset of all information
collected and will not add to 100% of incidents.

http://www.gunviolencearchive.org http://www.facebook.com/gunviolencearchive

Data Validated: July 08, 2016
Gun Violence Archive

I do not blame guns, race, sexual orientation, religion, cops, or even ignorance. I blame hatred and the devil. People whose hearts are filled with hatred are prime victims for the devil to invade their minds and corrupt them with even more hatred and violence. Crime and hatred is on the rise, which means the devil is on the rise. Christians, we have to stand together! The only way to eliminate this hate, is with love. So Christians, I challenge you to spread love everywhere you go. The devil’s followers want us to hate them! That means we let them win. So literally kill them with kindness. It is not our job to sacrifice these people with our words. Nothing we can say or do can compare to the wrath God will have on the devil’s followers. Smile to the lady who is rude to you at the grocery store. Scream “God bless you!” to the man that screamed curse words at you. Send flowers to your hateful boss on their birthday.  Pray for the evil people who attack our religion, freedom, and our lives everyday. Pray they find love, peace, and most of all GOD. God has to fight this war for us, but he won’t fight for a bunch of unworthy, unreligious citizens. God will fight for devout, loving Christians. Spread God’s love everywhere you go, that is the only thing that can fight the devil and his evil.

 

“I will bless your country with peace, and you will rest without fear. I will wipe out the dangerous animals and protect you from enemy attacks.”
‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭26:6‬ ‭CEVUS06‬‬
http://bible.com/392/lev.26.6.cevus06

 

“Think of the bright future waiting for all the families of honest, innocent, and peace-loving people.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37:37‬ ‭CEVUS06‬‬
http://bible.com/392/psa.37.37.cevus06

 

Thoughts on Psalms 1:1

“The truly happy person doesn’t follow wicked advice, doesn’t stand on the road of sinners, and doesn’t sit with the disrespectful.” Psalms‬ ‭1:1‬ ‭
This is just a quick post before work, but I needed to gather my thoughts on this verse. “The truly happy” what does that even mean? “The truly happy person doesn’t follow wicked advice, doesn’t stand on the road of sinners, and doesn’t sit with the disrespectful.” Maybe the truly happy are those who can clearly hear God’s voice, who can wake up on a rainy day when times are bad and be thankful, who can think of a positive characteristic in anyone they meet. Maybe “the truly happy” aren’t millionaires with everything going their way. Maybe they are “normal” people like you and I who find something to be happy about everyday. They don’t follow wicked advice because God’s voice is much clearer to them. They don’t stand on the road of sinners because they don’t associate themselves within that group. They don’t sit with the disrespectful because they’re standing and working hard to please their Father. The potential to be truly happy is within all of us. With God’s love, a gracious attitude, and a pleasant mindset you can achieve being truly happy. Find your own happiness. Spread happiness and you’ll also spread love.