Indescribable Joy

An amazing thing.
Joy that can't be described.
Joy because of who God is.
Joy because He loves me - Though I don't deserve it
Joy because He forgives - Though I sin over and over again
Joy.
Indescribable joy.

Let Christ fill you with joy.
Let yourself fall into his arms and say "YOU are my God. YOU are my everything."
Pray. Pray for God to fill you with joy.
Then go out and be a light for him.
Let his joy fill you.
Submit to what he wants to do in your life.

Because I guarantee, yes I guarantee...when you release your hold on this world and let Christ work in you without resisting, you WILL be filled with unmistakable and continual joy.


Psalm 4:7, "You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound."

Let him fill you with joy. Give your WHOLE life to Him.
Is it time to make a change?

Psalm 32:11, "Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!"

From the mouth of babes...

Well ages 7 and 5...I love these guys. And Jacob really knows his bible well, it's awesome. :)  Jacob: "God wants you to give him your whole heart."
Joel: "Wow."
Jacob: "He wants you to be holy like he is holy"
Joel: "Like Noah! You should be like Noah and trust God!"
Jacob: "Yes but Noah died."
Joel: "HE DIED?!?!?!? Well...God can never die."
Jacob: "Even if you try to kill him, he can never die!"
Joe:l "there's bears in heaven."
Jacob: "How do you know."
Joel: "Someone told me."
Jacob: "Well there MIGHT be. We don't know."
Joel: "Well probably there is bears."
::Jacob started singing about bears::
Jacob: "In Heaven we'll spend all day worshiping God!"
Joel: "I don't think there's music in heaven"
Jacob: "There is! You know why? Cause everyday you worship God! There's lot of music!"
Joel: "Ya...even when you do your work!"
Then they got distracted talking about sharks and drawing with your head.... :)
Jacob: "I bet God would be the best drawer ever!"
Joel: "He would be as good as Ariel! He could draw a raccoon!...how old is God?"
Jacob: "Did you know there's millions of people in heaven rights now? Greatgreat grandpa is in heaven." ::thinks a moment:: "But kee-kee....isn't there going to be a new heaven? When Jesus comes back again?"
(This kid knows a lot for a 7-yr old!)...

Well That Hit Home...

We all have 'those days'. ..or 'those nights' when everything just seems to go wrong.
Tonight I was having one of those nights. I was trying to clean the kitchen, the little sibs had a friendover, the house was a wreck, people kept making new messes, and I had just had dairy (which means pretty much the littlest things will set me off), I was trying to upload a video and twice, 2 hours into it a little siblings shut my computer and I had to restart....I was not in a good mood.
Now I wasn't openly super upset or mad...mostly because my sibs had a friend over...
All day long the lil girls had been pestering me to do a group photo of them while Jasmine (their friend. She used to be our neighbor and now lives across the US so they never see her.) was over... I was busy and stressed and really not in the mood to take photos.
But finally I got my camera out to take a couple photos of them...on the way out the lil girls were talking about how I was 'upset' about them closing my computer (they were all laughing and joking) and I added how I was "furious" (joking of course). But even though I was smiling, and kinda joking, I wasn't joyful. Then Jasmine said something that really hit..."I like it when I come over and you're singing." (Last time she came over I was in the kitchen singing at the top of my lungs and she thought it was hilarious.
I sing when I'm in a really good mood. I sing when I'm joyful.
But what was I doing now? Was I showing God's love to this little girl who rarely ever is around people who love the Lord? (Her family is Muslim. She's 10 and professes to know Christ.)
I had no reason to be a grouch...even if I wasn't REALLY a grouch. I wasn't joyful. I wasn't shining the light God wanted me to shine.
I was caring more about my own personal cares and problems then shining a light for Christ. Not only to this girl, but also to my younger siblings.
1 Corinthians 10:31, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."
I want to be filled with the joy of the Lord in all I do. And I want that light to shine.

In everything. EVERYTHING.

I know, I know...I haven't posted in forever...
I've been busier then ever. (Doesn't everyone say that?)
I took my first CLEP for college yesterday...and passed! :D So I got one 'free' day before I start 2 more weeks of intense studying for my next CLEP. :)
Anywho...I'm just amazed at how much God has been working in my life lately. I couldn't get through life without him. He IS my stronghold in time of need, and wow...when you have him. You don't need anything else!
A little over 2 weeks ago I was having a really bad day. I mean I felt like life was awful and I was...really upset to say the least. And it dragged into the next day.
Then something happened (to which I had been dreading) and I totally lost it.
I sat in my room and cried for an hour. 
Then I came across this verse: "And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope" -Romans 5:3-5
I realized that God has a purpose for this trial. And with his help, I could get through it.
And I just gave it all to God. I cannot describe how much better I felt after that. I felt like the world just...fell off my shoulders. It was amazing.
When things seem hard...God has a plan. And if you trust him in everything, if you don't try to get through it alone...He will bring you through it. :)
I came across this quote; "Do you trust God enough to thank him for something you will never have the privilege of understanding?"
Do we? Sure we trust God in the easy times, sure we thank him. But when things get tough, do we THANK him?
I don't understand everything that has happened or is happening in my life. A lot of things I never will...but there's a reason. And for that, I thank God. :)
And the things I have seen the reason for, or at least part of the reason, I am just amazed. Amazed at how God uses something that seems so hopeless at the time, into something beautiful. :D

Just something to think about. :)

Psalm 33:1-5,
"Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
   it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
² Praise the LORD with the harp;
   make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
³ Sing to him a new song;
   play skillfully, and shout for joy.
 ⁴ For the word of the LORD is right and true;
   he is faithful in all he does.
⁵ The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
   the earth is full of his unfailing love."

Burden For Prayer

This is a more personal post, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to post it. And I don't want this to sound all weird or anything. But I decided to post it.
Something that hasn't happened very often to me, but yet I remember each and every time as though it was yesterday...is when God places on my heart a burden to pray for someone.
I'm not talking about a burden as Christians we feel to pray. It's really hard to explain, but it's a burden so great it's as though you feel the pain of the person you are praying for.
And it really really  hurts. I can't describe how it feels. It's a feeling of hurt, lost and empty, with no cure. But when I feel it, it's not coming from me. I'm feeling someone else's pain. That might sound really weird, but that the closest way I can explain it. I feel the pain, and with it comes the extreme need to pray. To pray for that person.
I wrote these songs tonight based off what I feel. They aren't wonderful written songs or anything, they're more my thoughts and prayers.

Galation 6:2, "Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

Praying for You Tonight

Please understand this isn't easy
Please understand it hurts
Please understand that I know
The pain you feel tonight

I'm here to share your burden
It's not yours alone
God has opened up my eyes
To see the hurt

I cry for you tonight
I hurt for you tonight
I pray
I pray for you tonight

Maybe I barely even know you
Maybe I saw you only once
But I feel as if I've know
Every pain within your heart

So I'm praying for you tonight
I'm asking God to show you
That he loves you tonight
I'm praying for you
Asking God to opened up your eyes
To know a truth beyond the pain
I'm praying for you
Praying for you
As the tears fall from my eyes
Your pain is mine
So I'm praying for you
Praying for you
tonight

***

On My Knees In Prayer 

Dear God I have a letter
But I'll write it in a song
Oh Lord why have you placed me here
Why in this place right now?

I feel like I can't stand the pain
Why do I feel it  now?
Is it a curse or a blessing
I've asked myself before

When I'm down on the floor
And the pain they feel becomes my own
I'll listen and bear he burden
Here on my knees in prayer

And when the tears are fallin', but they aren't my own
When my heart is aching, but the pain isn't mine
God I'll be on my knees in prayer
Praying you'll open up their eyes

I'm not asking for you
To take away the pain
I'll gladly bare the burden
And stay on my knees in prayer

But God I'm asking
For the strength, courage and wisdom
To bare this burden
To stay on my knees in prayer

And I'll be on my knees in prayer
For a burden I don't always understand
For a pain greater then I've ever felt
I'm on my knees in prayer.

The God of the Heavens and the Earth - made YOU!

So last night I was planning on getting to bed on time for once. ....It all worked out fine, until I looked out the window.
The clouds and the moon looked absolutely stunning. And try as I might, I couldn't resist getting my camera out and taking some video/photos.
I lay on my back in the dark, in the cold, on our rather wet porch holding my camera up towards the sky.
I was overwhelmed with how beautiful the sky was! Cold as I was, I stayed out there for at least fifteen minutes.
The thought that God created this. He formed each and every cloud...just took my breath away.
You can't look at the beauty of the rapidly moving clouds across the moon and not think about an omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent God who created it.
I can't describe or even begin to describe how awesome God is. How amazing his creation is.
A God who created the sun, the moon and earth, how much more has he created you? Created you just as he wanted. No part of you is a mistake or a mess up. Frizzy hair? Hey! He gave you that! (As weird as it seems!) God created you specially and he loves you.
So don't blow it off by trying to make yourself something you aren't.
What if the sky wasn't happy with how it looked? What if it wanted to be green instead of blue? Ok, ya I know that's a little over the top idea...but do you see what I'm trying to say?
I am overwhelmed with God's power and love. Even this morning, as I look outside and see the snow falling. As much as I don't really care for snow, it's absolutely beautiful.
Psalm 139:13, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

So It's February - And the mountains keep coming

 Wow. February 1st 2011.
Two years ago this date seemed so far ahead.
Now it's here.
It's crazy how fast life goes by. It's true what they say, life is over before you know it. I'm starting to see how fast it goes by...and I'm only 17! I can't imagine how it's gunna be when I'm like...old...like...30. haha ;)
So often we want so much just to get through with the day, but it feels like we're stuck. We're stuck staring at this huge mountain we have to overcome.
So often we find ourselves in conflict with family or friends.
And how often do we keep putting it off? Put it off for another day?
You don't want to deal with working out your issues with your sibling or parent. We don't want to do things that are hard. Things that aren't fun.
We just want to live for ourselves. To pack as much fun in as we can.
But where does that get us? That mountain is still there the next day. And the more you put it off, the more it seems to grow.
Life isn't about serving ourselves. It's about serving God. Doing His will. Trusting in Him.
Now I'm not saying that we aren't allowed to enjoy life. Nope, that's not what I'm saying at all!
I'm saying that we should find joy in honoring Christ. When we serve Him wholeheartedly we will be filled with an unbelievable joy.
When we leave conflict unresolved, it grows. We aren't serving Christ. We serving ourselves. Maybe you don't want to sort it out with that person, because you're afraid of what they'll think. Maybe you don't see any wrong in yourself. That when they are ready to talk it through, they'll come to you. No, Christ calls us to love one another. To serve others above ourselves. Part of that is not living with resentment or anger. If there's strife between someone, work it out. Pray about it. Don't let that mountain grow.
Ephesians 4:26-27, “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ and do not give the devil a foothold" That verse says it so clearly. "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry" If you have unresolved conflict between someone, don't just put it off. If you can't work it out with that person, and if you're upset at them for some reason, don't let the bitterness. Forgive them. Pray about it. God will give you strength to let go of any anger. Don't let the devil sneak in. Don't let that mountain grow.
If you can work it out, DO IT! Go talk to that person. But with humility and love.
With God's help you can overcome that mountain. :)

(Btw isn't my bro adorable???) ^_^