Monday, November 19, 2012

Thanksgiving

So, Thanksgiving is fast approaching! Thanksgiving week is always nice because a lot of us have the week off of school and such. Thanksgiving is a time to get together with loved ones and eat way too much good food. ;)
But is that what Thanksgiving is really all about? Like is really about having a "feast" and seeing relatives and other loved ones?
I know you guys are all familiar with the first Thanksgiving, but let's take a fast review.
The Pilgrims came to America is hopes of finding freedom to worship the Lord how they felt was right. They endured a very hard winter in which many of them died of disease and starvation. But then after that, God sent some Indians to help them plant food, learn how to hunt and fish, etc. By harvest time, they had been so blessed by such a plentiful harvest that they decided to have a feast and thank the Lord for everything He had done/blessed them with in this new country. Ever since then, people have celebrated Thanksgiving.
So, isn't Thanksgiving really a day to meditate/thank God for all He has provided us with, done for us, etc??
This Thanksgiving why don't we meditate on all the things God has done for us and blessed us with. Count your blessings. Be thankful. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

My Prayer Window

So, the other day I had this idea of starting a "collection" of sticky notes with people's names on them. I then began to stick them up on the window by my bed. This can help remind me to pray for those people and I can even put their prayer requests/things I want to pray for them on the back. I call this area "my prayer window". I am not the prayer warrior type so maybe this will help me pray for people more. I also want to put at least one new sticky note up there per day for a year. Hopefully I can do that. If you have any prayer requests shoot me an email or a comment and I will put yours up there too. ;) Thanks! God Bless!!

Temples of the Holy Spirit

The Bible says our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 6:19-20). What does this mean? What does this mean for our bodies? What does this mean we need to do?
I believe that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. He lives in us. We are His temple. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Wow. Isn't that amazing?!? The Lord wants us to take care of our bodies. We need to take good care of ourselves then because of this. Take care a yourself. Eat healthy. Exercise. This doesn't mean we need to stress about it. But do keep in mind that your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit. Got it? Lol. ;)

Friday, November 16, 2012

Lay Your Burdens at the Feet of Christ/the Cross

Stress. Sin. Hurt. Unforgiveness. Unkind people's comments. The cares of this earth. They can all rush in on our lives. They can burden and weigh us down. They can take up all our time and energy. Us as Christians have the advantage of having Christ in our lives. With us through our pain. With us through our struggles. With us even during the good times. Lay your burdens down at the feet of Christ. Lay your burdens at the cross. Lay them down. Talk to the Lord. Give them to Him. He is waiting for you to give them to Him. Please, if you have anything that is burdening you, lay it at the cross. Go talk it out with your Savior. He loves and cares about you. He wants to hear all about your problems no matter how small or big they are.



Please Comment

Now that the young man and I have delivered the boxes, we have to pick a name for ourselves and what we are going to be doing in the future. Please comment on which of the following you like, what you think they mean, and what they seem to describe us doing.
1. Grace Youth Action Team
2. Mission Possible
3. For the Least of These
We will look forward to your comments!! Thanks!!

Handsome!

Okay, so my sister told me I should do a post about Handsome.

Handsome is my cat. He has a strong, independent personality. Handsome has brought many smiles into my days with his personality, his cuteness, etc. He is know for his mustache. It's super funny cause it looks like he really has one!
I'm glad my mom let me get him since he was the one that we weren't going to get. :( He has brought me a lot of happiness.
Thank you, Mom and Dad! Thank you, Handsome Socks!! I love you guys!!!


Here are a few pics of when he was younger:






AIM San Diego West

Have you ever seen a mime???? You know, the person dressed up in a stripped black and white shirt and a face paint mask on??? I am part of a mime team called AIM. "We are a family who trains young people to follow Jesus." This team has been an amazing thing that God has brought into my life. Some of the things I believe God has used it to show/shape me are the following:
Giving Bible studies
Working on my leading skills
Knowing more of my weak areas
Not being too confident about/in myself
Doing mime in front of a lot of people isn't really that hard when there are others doing it with you
Other people struggle with the same things that I do
Etc.
Mime has also had some "negative things" for me, but I do not regret doing AIM. I don't know where I'd be, what friends I'd have, and what my relationship with the Lord would be like.
Our theme verse is 1 Timothy 4:12. It is a challenge to youth.
AIM San Diego West. Check us out!

The Leader Who Knows How to Follow

My personalty is more of that of a leader. I like to be in charge. I like to step in there and get things done. I lead. I am not naturally a follower. The thing is that it is good at times to be a follower. At times, being the leader could be the better thing. You don't want to follow someone when they aren't doing the right thing. You want to follow those who are leading godly lives. Those that are living to bring glory to their Maker.  Sometimes I want to follow someone. Let them lead. But most of the time I want to be in the one in charge. This is something I feel I need to work on. I want to be the leader who knows how to follow.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Drama!!

So, lately, another thing other than OCC that has been keeping me busy is drama. Heritage is putting on a play called Further Up and Further In. It is based on 3 of the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis. So, anyways, drama has been taking up a lot of time. This week is the week we are going to present this play to people and try to share Christ with them at the same time.
I hope I will look back on drama as something that stretched me and made me draw closer to the Lord.
Drama club has many wonderful people in it who love acting and stuff, but there are also that bunch that aren't the nicest and who you can tell don't care to be there and to do drama. Sadly, these people have been a bother to me. Just the other night, I had to apologize to a couple of them for my behavior towards them. Maybe that is another area God will help me grow in from doing drama. I guess I haven't had to be around many teenage girls with "attitude". Well, I guess it had to come one day.. ;) Anyways, please pray that the production goes well, everyone remembers their parts, everyone has a positive and happy attitude, everyone has a good time, everything runs smoothly, and most of all that God is glorified through it all.
Lol. If you took the time to read this, then congrats! ;)

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Operation Christmas Child

The last few months, I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with a young man in my church to organize the packing of 60 boxes. We planned and planned and planned some more. We did 4 fundraisers. We went shopping. We accepted donations of items to fill the boxes and money to help send them and buy items to fill the boxes. We even received a donation from Wal-Mart.
Today, we got together with our many boxes and items (pretty much all of these have been all over my room for the last couple of weeks :P) and wrapped and packed 60 boxes with the help of our parents, my siblings, and some friends who are the "OCC (Operation Christmas Child) experts". Within about 3 hours, we had them all finished. We now have to have pictures printed, notes written, and info sheets about ourselves printed. :P It has been a lot of work and a lot of fun. Next year, our goal according to Mr. David (the young man's dad) is 100 boxes. Anyone want to help?!?!?!
In this project, the Lord has shown me Himself by providing in many different ways! All praise and glory should go to Him and Him alone!
For those of you who don't know what OCC is, it is a project an organization called Samaritan's Purse, which is run by Billy Graham's son, does every year. In the middle of November, they take in boxes that have been packed by individuals, churches, families, etc. They then send these boxes to children around the world that wouldn't normally get a Christmas gift. These boxes have touched the hearts of many including the parents of the children receiving them. These boxes could contain items they needed in order to go to school, these boxes could have everyday items in there that the children needed badly, and most importantly, these boxes are a tool to sharing the Lord with these precious children.
Items that can be packed in a box include: hygiene items, school supplies, candy, toys, a personal letter/picture from the person/family/group that packed that box, etc.
Please pray for the children who will be receiving these boxes this year. Pray that they will be touched and come to know the Father. Pray for their families and their community.  Pray for the people distributing these boxes and sharing the love of Jesus with these children and their families.
Operation Christmas Child. Get involved. http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/Pack_A_Shoe_Box/

Thursday, November 1, 2012

I am finding/learning/etc.

I am finding that sometimes the person you felt closest to just isn't meant to be your closest friend... I am finding that sometimes it might be smart to listen to those who know.... I am learning that sometimes the best thing to do with the hard friendships is give them to the Lord... I am learning that sometimes girls are hard to get along.... I am learning that not all homeschoolers are as nice as I thought they all were.... I am learning that the Lord is real and that He wants to help us do His will.....
Okay, maybe I am not exactly "learning" all those things, but those are things that I have probably either noticed or have been learning. ;)