Power, Love, and a Sound Mind

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

-- 2 Timothy 1:6

This verse is awesome! Story behind my experience with it:

Last night I went to sleep around 8:45, but woke up at 10pm with a spirit of worry and fear. It was almost unbearable. I went online to get my mind off of whatever it was that was consuming my thoughts, but the fear was still there. By 1, I was way tired, so I went to bed. But I just could NOT sleep. I started praying for the Lord to relieve my spirit from this fear and worry, but I was dwelling in the feeling. I knew that it was the enemy attacking, and it just seemed like too much. Then, I heard "For God has not given us a spirit of fear.... but of a sound mind." I thought.. "Wow.. He has given us a spirit of a sound mind!! I don't need to fear or dwell on this because He has given me a spirit of a sound mind." I meditated on that for a moment. But I didn't remember the other things mentioned in the verse.. after repeating it over and over in my mind, I figured out that one of them is "love". He has given us a spirit of love... and I meditated on that. I really wanted to know the entire verse because my relief just didn't feel complete, and after many minutes of trying to figure it out, I turned to my bible and read "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of POWER!" That was it! I no longer need to let this fear and worry have any power or control over me, because the Lord has given me a spirit of POWER- power over this fear and the enemy.

What a wonderful promise our heavenly Father has given us!! :)

"For God has NOT given us a spirit of fear, but if POWER, and of LOVE, and of a SOUND MIND."

Thank You, Jesus!! :)

Kari Anne!

This is my friend and "sis" Kari! I love her SOOOO much and tomorrow she is leaving to go to college like 90 miles away. :( Now, I know its not forever, but its still for a while. See, she is pretty awesome... we have laughed at random jokes, cried when sad things happened, wrestled each other in the soapy slip in slide at camp, and annoyed each other with silly accents and poking.. I'm definitely going to miss not having that ALL of the time. I'll miss our Cherry on Top trips.. especially ones in BIG vans that smell like dirty. ;) Of course she is going to come back home every once in a while, and I will, Lord-willing, go visit her, but I'll miss seeing her every Sunday at church!! Bottom line, she is leaving and I'm sad, but excited for her cause it's going to be an awesome growing opportunity for her! Kari Anne is Uh-Mazing and she's gonna ROCK in College!!! :)

The End! :)

Being Content

Today I was thinking "Why can't I have HER family?... Why do I have to live where I do?... Why can't I have anything other than what I've been given?" and the Lord brought to my mind "Be content with such things as you have..." I was trying to find it in my bible and for some reason I couldn't find it. Then I heard "For I will never leave you nor forsake you." and I knew RIGHT away that it was Hebrews 13:5.

I think its funny how people tend to leave out the beginning of Hebrews 13:5 and only say the last part of how the Lord will never leave you nor forsake you. It's a great promise, but their's more to it. The beginning of the verse not only explains the rest of it, but it is also very encouraging and convicting for people, specifically girls, who live in this day and age. So many girls find themselves in the very situation I caught myself in today- coveting what other's have and wanting anything other than what they have been given. Take looks for instance. Girls are constantly comparing their looks to their friends or to other people around them. Even if it isn't intentional, it happens. And not just with body type or hair color, but with clothes, and accessories as well. We tend to not be content with the things we have.

But I guess that goes for all people. We aren't content with our house, our car, our paycheck, our parents, our siblings, our church, our city, our looks, our possessions, our co-workers, our hair supplies, our lack or abundance of food, and the list can go on... Its the truth.

So with that in mind, listen to what the bible has to say about our covetousness and our not being content:
"Let your conduct be WITHOUT covetousness; be CONTENT with such things as you HAVE. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'"
-- Hebrews 13:5

We HAVE the King of Kings with us always. If we learn to make Him our everything, we will be content with such things as we have, even if we have nothing at all. Because as long as we have Jesus, we lack nothing. Therefore, we should be content always, because Jesus will never forsake me and you.

Guilty

I hate those times when you mess things up and sorry isn't good enough to fix things. Those are the times that leave you feeling guilty with no way out.

Glorious Hope!

Thought: What would have happened if Christ had never died and became the propitiation for our sins?

Greater thought: What would have happened if Christ did not raise from that death?

These are the thoughts in my mind today. I began to wonder where I would be if I never knew Christ, then I thought of where the world would be if Jesus never came! I was saddened at the thought.

If Christ never came down from His glorious throne in heaven, and lived as a humble servant, never sinning, we would be lost without hope. If He would have never willingly died a brutal death, fit only for a criminal, in our place because of our sin and rebellion against God, we would have no life. If Christ would have not become the sacrifice for our filthy and unforgivable sin, we would be consumed in it until we died.

But, He did. He did come to this earth from on High and He did live a perfect, sinless life, only to be killed on our behalf! We can be forgiven because of His death and God's grace! Our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ!

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
--Romans 5:8

And what if He had just died and stayed dead? If that were the case, we would still be dead in our sins. If He would have just died, He would be like every other false prophet who lived for other's, like Buddha, and Muhammad. If He would have just died, we would not have the hope of being alive in Him.

But, He did raise from the dead on that wondrous third day, by the power of the Almighty King of Kings! Oh what hope we have in Christ! He is ALIVE and therefore, we are alive in Him!

"Now if we died in Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God."
-- Romans 6:8-10

OH WHAT A GLORIOUS HOPE WE HAVE IN CHRIST! :)

Beautiful

Scarlet

Beautiful...

Satan's lies, now bowing to the truth!

I see forgiveness over taking hatred

Pride and prejudice, now giving way to love

I see depression replaced with joy and gladness

And Satan's lies, now bowing to the truth

OH!!!!

Come quickly, Lord Jesus!!! :)

Love is Here- His Name is Jesus

I'm heart broken for those who don't see how much Jesus loves them, has loved them, and always will love them. So much lately I have been reminded of how lost and broken our world is. Girls are searching for happiness, love, and satisfaction in guys, but their search is in vain. Flirting with, messing around with, and sleeping with guys is not the answer to happiness, love, or satisfaction. I wish that I could sit down with every girl who has placed herself in that position and tell them how very much they are loved; that they are so precious, and a timeless treasure to their Father in heaven; that they deserve so much more than a one night stand and a broken heart. I wish I could express to them the greatest love story of all time, of how Jesus died to set them free of the pain they know so well. I wish I could tell every girl who is looking for love in all the wrong places, that they can call off the search, because love is here and His name is Jesus.