Just some thoughts...

Sorry I haven't posted, I've had a little bit of writers block. 

Tonight, I'm feeling rejected, alone, and like I don't belong. I don't understand why life can be extraordinary one day  and miserable the next. I'm worn out by these feelings, they've become quite common the past two to three years. I've always kind of seen myself as that loser kid who was left out and made to feel bad because of it. Most of the time not intentionally but nonetheless. I'm feeling emotionally and spiritually exhausted. I struggle because I feel like I have no one to go with my problems because I feel like I struggle so much I wear people out. I was thinking about this along wit he everything else tonight when this thought really hit me, God will never get tired if me asking for help. Anyone who has been around young kids knows all the questions can get frustrating and annoying but God will not get annoyed with us. He wants us to learn and grow towards Him and sometimes we learn the most by asking questions. I just found such comfort knowing Gods not fed up with me for this, He's not going to give up on me for crying out to Him to show me His will and how this can possibly be good. So tonight just be encouraged by knowing Gods not going to give up on you and He will never else you. 

My Testimony

So today my family joined our church, we had to give our testimonies to the congregation so I thought I would share mine with you as well. Feel free to comment yours :) 

At the age of 5 I prayed the prayer asking Jesus to forgive my sins and come into my heart. I knew I was a sinner and Jesus dying on the cross paid the price for my sin. I didn't truly understand that by me putting my faith in His sacrificial death,my debt was paid and by rising from the grave death and sin were conquered once and for all and I was now viewed as righteous in the eyes of God. I didn't come to understand this until around the age of 10. At the age of 11 I made my faith known through baptism. Once I entered sixth grade I really started to grow in my understanding of the Bible and knowledge of who God is.Through a program that my youth group offered called Servant Leadership I realized how Christianity is about a relationship and not a religion. I understood that it's not about what I have done it's about what He did for me on the cross.  I continued to grow in my walk with The Lord through bible studies, and various small  groups geared towards teaching teens how to be a light through living out the character of Christ. In the fall of 2012 my church split. The year and half that has passed since the split has without a doubt been the most trying time in my life. After the church split I really struggled with a lot of things, but through the trials I held onto the knowledge that my God loves me and has better plans for me.  One of the most important lessons I learned from this was people are going to fail me, it's inevitable but God will not. Even when it feel like He is not around I have to know that in His word he promises to never leave me. God has shown me that He is all that I need to get through life. If I have Him I have everything.  Through this trial God has taught me more about His character than I ever could have imagined I could learn from one situation. I understand that the God of the universe who brought the dead to life loves me in my selfish state and calls me His child and friend. While I will be unfaithful to Him and place idols in front of Him, He still will remain faithful to me and He still wants to use me. It is my desire and prayer to be used by God to further His heavenly kingdom in whatever way He sees fit for me. I know it may not be pleasant but I know that if He is with me and if it is His plan then it's good and I want to be apart of it.

Update: I'm back

So I know my posting hasn't been consistant lately but I am happy to say I will be doing my best to post as often as possible. I want to get back to doing once a week but I need topics and some weeks I'm not sure what to post. I needed a break as I had a lot of things I was struggling with. I felt I needed to get my feelings in order before I wrote again. I'm still struggling with them but I'm learning to live joyfully despite them and I have hope. Hope in a God who has not given me anything more than I can bear. Hope in a God who is going to be there for me every step of the way. Hope in a God who is going to walk me through and draw me closer to Him in the process. Now, that is something to live for. :)

Lesson #6: Quiet Times

We're a little more than a week into the new year so I'm sure everyone has at least one resolution. If you're anything like me you've had the same resolutions for the past five years! Anyways, one of my resolutions this year is to read through the Bible. (In the past I don't think I have made it past Exodus) I want to encourage you all to try something similar.  You don't have to do a reading plan and try and read the whole Bible. Try and step up your devotions if you do them, if you read a chapter a day try doing two. Gods tells in His word that the Bible is alive and powerful. It's spoken by Him, it's the very breath of God. I know sometimes the Bible can seem hard to understand or even boring but let me tell you, it's life changing. Once you start to really read Scripture and look into what it's meaning was/is, you will start to crave it. It's true, reading my Bible isn't a "chore", it's not something to check off a list, it's become something I look forward to doing. I have learned so much from reading a little bit each day. Learning more about the God who has saved you is encouraging. If spending quiet time with God is something that seems difficult, try finding someone to pray with you and keep you accountable in your reading. Ask God to give you a desire for His Word, to remove anything that may be distracting you from it. During a small group I was a part of we were discussing reasons we struggle to read our Bibles, and most people said "I'm just too busy." I will never forget what one of our leaders showed us next, she showed us an acronym to prove our busyness excuse was invalid...

Being

Under

Satan's 

Yoke.

This is so true, Satan enjoys being able to keep us distant from God, if we don't take time to know the God we're serving, how can we grow in His image?