What's happening in my life

God is really awesome isn't He?He is known as the great Provider and He is so true to His name.I've found an ever present faithfulness as I continually reach out to Him when I feel lonely or confused by the commotion of this world.I've been learning more and more lately why God says in His Word we don't belong here.We are aliens on this planet and this place is not our home.That's kinda weird to think about isn't it?Knowing that your home is a place where you've never been!It's exciting, but mysterious at the same time!I love it!I love the fact that God is there waiting with oustretched arms even though He knows if we are going to accept him or not.He's there waiting with His unconditional love, that we don't deserve, but yet He still gives willingly.

Sometimes this world can get me down with it's partying, noise, foul language, smoking and drinking.I constantly think to myself, "why" why would Jesus love me or any of these people for that fact.We don't stand a chance, yet Jesus died for us so we can have that free second chance.For that . . . I am forever grateful!Sometimes, I just can't wait until our Lord and Savior comes back to reclaim what is His!I just can't wait until I am together with all my friends, family, and any Christians I've ever met in this world, and we are finally home worshipping our Creator in all His splendor and majesty!Maranatha!

The thanks and ALL the glory goes to you God: the Creator of this universe, and the One that chooses to give each and every one of us breath.You love us when we are unlovable, undesirable, unforgiving, and cold-hearted.Thank - you from my innermost being.I love you so much and cannot wait to see what you have in store for my future!

Friendships

Friendships

friendships are like seasons
they change
whether it's different environments
or the relationships God brings
they change like time
friendships go through stages
sometimes they put on a show
other times they go
through unmeasurable circumstance
but both tmes, God always has something
better in store for our future
we as humans have to take the next step
to trust God
friendships can take turns
some for the worst
some for the better
but all in God's timing
at times, God has plans for friends
most times, our plans aren't the same
plans are foiled
but friendships aren't
friendships take time
they take work and communication
unless they are broken
real friendships will last forever

Song Lyrics

Look What You've Done

Look what you've done for me
Your blood has set me free
Jesus my Lord look what you've done for me
I haven't been the same ever since that day I called your name
Yahweh, Yahweh, look what you've done for me

What can I do for you my Lord?
I want you to know my heart is yours
It's not a question of what I can do for you
But what can I do for you my Lord?

Up to your cross I crawl
now I am standing ten feet tall
Jesus my Savior look what you've done for me

Free at last I'm free
I owe you my life completely
Yahweh, Yahweh, look what you've done for me



Over and Over

whatever I hear you say I'll do
whatever you want I want it too
whatever you say
whatever you want
I live for you

wherever I run I run to you
wherever you lead I'm going too
wherever I go
whever you are
I live for you

and I give myself away
every single day
over and over again
you're the only thing that's true
and I give myself to you
over and over again

there are so many ways to say
the one thing I feel today
all I want is all you want
I live for you

and I give myself away
every single day
over and over again
you're the only thing that's true
and I give myself to you
over and over again

all I want
is all you want
to live for you

and I will always give myself away
every single day
over and over again
you're the only thing that's true
and I give myself to you
over and over again

you're the only thing that's true
so I give myself to you
over and over again


www.tree63.com

Thoughts . . .

My Thoughts

Sometimes its as if my mind has a giant hole
and through it my thoughts dissapate
my daydreams fall into nothingness
and me trying to get them back
is like finding a needle in a haystack
I try so hard but to no avail
I want so much to think straight
but I just can't with this . . .
overwhelming decision that wants to surface
but for some unknown reason
my mind is gone
gone like water down the drain
gone like a grasping for the wind
JUST GONE

 

Outpouring of Emotions

Rain is an outpouring of the sky
my emotions are an outpouring from my mind
my mind is a sponge
soaking up what I hear
what I see
everything that was ever said
it's like a never-ending movie
repeating itself through time
through different stages of my life
through the hurdles of life
through whatever
I don't know everything
but I know I'm running out of time
blindly running through this next stage of my life
running from problems
running to find solutions
solutions to ever present inquiries
from me
from others
and trying to be
or find
the answer to it all

So many questions

Today I just started thinking about everything that is going on in my life and how everything is going to change after the completion of this summer.Where am I going to find solice?More than ever before, I see that friends have goals for their lives and I have my own goals.But next year I will be at a college where none of my friends are going and I have to figure out where my strength is going to be found.Is it going to be found in Christ alone?Am I going to be out of my comfort zone enough to rely on the One of whom I take my strength, of whom I can find refuge when those long days come?I guess everything just hit me all at once, I keep asking myself what my motives are, if they are pure and focused on God.Sometimes I have trouble sorting things out in my head and staying focused.I often wonder if my motives match up to what God has for me in the future.So many questions seem to ping pong around in my head.Am I ever going to meet that "special" guy?Am I going to have a family of my own?What kind of job am I going to have?Is everyone going to change?Where am I going to be in 10 years?How will I ever cope in this new stage of my life?And then I think . . . these questions are normal, and yes Romans 8:28 says that, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." So I just hope that this knot in my stomach goes away soon.It gets tiring trying to find a solution for all these thoughts. . . .So the plan today was to answer the meaningful questions in life, but sometimes even though it may seem hard, sometimes it is better to leave them unanswered.

~Success is . . .

~. . . not measured by man

6 Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal.And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kennizite said to him: "You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea.7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart.8 Nevertheless my bretheren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God.9 So Moses swore on that day, saying, 'surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children's forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.'10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness;and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old.11 As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and coming in.12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said."13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the sn of Jephunneh as an inheritance.14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.
Joshua 14:6-14(NKJ)

4 ways we measure success

1. Internal Opinion
2. External Opinion
3. External Standards
4. Eternal Standards = the true measure of success

But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.
Numbers14:24(NKJ)

What kind of giants are in my life?

• Adversity
• Failure
  
• Laziness
• Envy - this sidetracks our goals and dissipates our energies within Christ

Will you believe me when I tell you that God has a wonderful plan for your life?

Favoritism . . .

Wow tonight at youth group really hit home for me.My youth pastor was talking about showing favoritism.We are currently going through the book of James and this is the passage we went through tonight.

1My bretheren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there shoulld also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him,, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," 4have you not shown partialit among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen, my beloved bretheren: Has God not chosen the poor of this worl to be rich in faith and heors of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?
James 2:1-7

O Lord, forgive me for showing favoritism, as Christians we have absolutely no right to show favoritism.We are children of you God and as such we MUST love everyone the way you do.We need to strive to see people as you see them God.If I would just stop and think about all the people I judge falsely and how much you love them I would be better off. Lord, if you can care enough about me and love me for the person that I am then that only leaves me with one option.I need to stop being so self-centered and be more considerate before I look at someone through my eyes. If we as your children would care about the lost population maybe half as much as you did when you sent your only son to die for us as sinners, then this world would saved for you.Please forgive us and help us to live lives that are pleasing to you from now on.Help us as your children to not show favoritism as we are going through our daily lives.Oh Lord more than ever, help us to see people through your eyes and feel the burden to bring the lost sheep back to you, the Good Shepherd.

Help Me Not Take You for Granted

O God, thank-you for giving me my voice back.It's something I take for granted far too often.What if I never talked again?How would I then take your message to my friends?O God, I'm crying out to you right now.Please help me never to take you for granted again.Please forgive me, I know I don't deserve this love, mercy, or forgiveness ever again.You have been so good to me, no matter whatever happens to me!

I keep trying to find a life
on my own, apart from you
I am the king of excuses
I've got one for every selfish thing I do

what's going on inside of me?
I despise my own behavior
this only serves to confirm my suspicions
that I'm still a man in need of a Savior

I want to be in the light
as You are in the light
I want to shine like the stars in the Heavens
oh, Lord be my light and be my Salvation
'cause all I want is to be in the light
all I want is to be in the light

the disease of self runs through my blood
it's a cancer fatal to my soul
every attempt on my behalf has failed
to bring this sickness under control

honesty becomes me
(there's nothing left to lose)
the secrets that did run me
(in Your Presence are defused)
pride has no position
(and riches have no worth)
the fame that once did cover me
( has been sentenced to this earth)
has been sentenced to this earth

www.dctalk.com

The Sharpest Weapon in the World!

26If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his own tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. 27Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted (or unpolluted) from the world.

James 1:26-27

When James talks about bridling the tongue he's using the analogy of bridling a horse and keeping a tight reign on the horse to direct it wherever you want.Just as when you ride a horse you have to keep a tight hold of the reigns to keep the horse to go astray, so we need to keep an even tighter hold of our tongue.The tongue defiles the whole body.Haven't you ever wanted to eat your words as soon as they shoot out of your mouth?I know I have!Statistics say that with every 1 negative comment that you hear, it needs to be backed up by 6-12 positive comments.Negative words have so much of an impact on our lives that if you try to remember the last argument you've had with someone, you could probably remember every negative word.When you try to remember positive compliments someone has given, the negative words come into mind so much faster than the positive.This is exactly why Jesus warns us so often in the Bible to watch what we hear or say.It makes so much sense if we would just pause and think about it, Jesus is so practical.Seriously bad words are horrible!If I was walking down the street with a friend and they were a good witness, praying and forming relationships, but then something upsets me and I let 1 bad word fly; "what is the one thing that the people around us are going to remember?"How Christ-like my friend was or the 1 word that I let fly.Most likely they'll remember the one bad word that I said instead of all the great things my friend was doing.My witness as a Christian was at that moment shattered. God created us that way, that is why He is so emminent about His warnings to us about the tongue.I pray that each and every person that reads this would stop and ask God's forgiveness on all of the destructive things we've said.I also am praying that you will actually try to watch what you say from now on.Next time you think about letting your words fly when someone pushes your buttons, think before you speak.Ask yourself, "is this uplifting or encouraging" and most of all, "would I say this if Jesus were standing right here?"(but is God listening anyways, yea, but most often we forget that and just spout off at the mouth) Definitely stop and consider the next time you want to talk gossip behind someone's back, yell at someone, or even just tear someone down with your words.It's not right!

College Classes

You know, college classes can be SO boring sometimes.But then I try to remember the "big picture" of things, and my future comes into play.Did I really need this class for my career?Was there any good reason to take it this late at night?Questions start ping-ponging around in my head, like popcorn just beginning to jump in the microwave.Maybe there is someone who sits in my Math class who needs to be reached for God?Patience comes to light, is this a small stage in my life where I need to be patient, who knows?God does!God is so AWESOME!He is so organized that He has a plan and a place for everything, even boring Math classes that might seem to drain the very last bit of your energy.But that's ok, I'll look back on this quarter and say, "see I made it through this, I can make it to other better things that this life holds for me".So as I press on and strive toward the high calling in Christ, I encourage myself to not get wearied by earthly glitches that trip me up.Sometimes my view of Heaven gets shot down with an earthly perspeective that has a beginning and an end.As I stumble across the end of this post, I am enlightened, "college classes do have a point to them, to get me to contemplate".Whether the focus is on that certain class or if it is on something that has been aimlessly wandering in my head and just needed a revelation to see it through, I'm not sure yet, but I'll be sure and post if anything relevant comes into view.As you can see from reading this very first post on my blog, I am mindlessly talking in circles.The fact that I've had a very long day and it's now 11:15 at night doesn't tend to be of help.I'm going to end this post and see what kind of color schemes my blog has.