The most important thing.

Love is the most important ingredient.

‘There are three things that will endure- faith, hope, and love- and the greatest of these is love.’- 1 Corinthians 13:13

Ok, what is with this girl!? She has this obsession with love! If you are a regular reader of my blogs then you might be thinking this way. Well, it is important! It really is what the world is missing, think about it, if most people in the world had and gave love.

‘Love is patient and kind... is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude... dose not demand its own way... is not irritable and keeps no record of wrong...rejoices whenever the truth wins... Love never gives up, never losses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance. Love will last forever...’ – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Wow, imagine if more people were like THAT! How much better would the world be!?

But what is stopping you?

“God gets blamed for a lot of things these days... we see bad things happening... we wonder why doesn’t He do something. Why doesn’t He stop it? I don’t really know, but I wonder if God ever wants to ask us the same question.”- Chris from To Save A Life.

I know how hard it can be to love some people, I know!

I’ve been praying most of my life asking God to please help me to love my enemies, cause crikey it is hard! But you know what? It is a great feeling when you do, because you know and God knows that you have and are doing the right thing, and that makes God happy. :)

Let me share with you a story of mine...

When I was in high school, there was this nasty girl who was bulling me, just emotionally, but she was scary... and very good at what she did, she would fake it and manipulate people to hate me for something I never did.

I don’t know why she did these things but it made school life and home life a regular battle, but I never stopped smiling.

One day she spread a nasty rumour about me, and my whole grade heard it including the office, next thing I know, the deputy principle pulls me out of class asking me what I was doing? Why I did it? When I hadn’t done anything, it was a lie. And some people were asking why I was being so horrible to the girl who was actually the bully manipulating them with her fake tears and lies.

Well I bolted to the toilets in a complete mess! Bawling my eyes out, and feeling sick. I had every reason to hate her, but do you know want to know what I did instead? I allowed God and the Holy Spirit to influence my thoughts and emotions, and not what the world says to do. When I was in the toilets sobbing I prayed this prayer.

“Lord, I can’t believe this is happening, how can someone be so heartless!? I want to ask you to make her come to school bald, but I guess for someone to do something like this must mean that she is really hurting inside, so Lord, will you please help her.”

Yep, one of my proudest moments I think, it took fair more effort for me to pray good things for her but the peace I had in my heart I could not have achieved any other way, not even with revenge.

‘You should behave instead like Gods very own children adopted into his family- calling him “Father, dear Father.”... His Holy Spirit speaks... deep in our hearts... tells us that we are Gods children... Since we are his children we will have his treasure- for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours too. But if we are to share his glory we must also share his suffering.”- Romans 8:15-17

Don't give up!

Yes life is a battle, it can be depressing, it can be hard and sometimes way too hard, it is unfair and takes things away from you very easily.

But this doesn’t mean you should give up, there is always a smidgin of hope somewhere, just sometimes it takes a while for you to find it, but keep searching and never give up, others may give up on you but don’t you ever give up on yourself!

You are valuable, important and unique, there is so much spectacular wonder about you, trust me I know there is, and sometimes you just need others to notice it for you.

Just because it is stormy now, doesn’t mean it will rain forever, hold on, keep your faith and keep your hope, the sun will shine again someday.

Ignore those hurtful comments made by haters, remember the nice things your loved ones have done for you rather then the hurtful things.

If you find yourself in a bad, depressing situation then for goodness sake get out of it! You may not feel as though you have a reason to live but I will bet that there is someone in your life that can’t live without you, and that’s got to give you a good enough reason to stay!

If you are reading this and wondering what on earth I am going on about, well a good friend of mine who I went to school with for a few years committed suicide.

And I want to encourage you to support others and for those going through a situation like this to never give up! Share love around and be kind to everyone, you never know what someone may be going through.

My cosine heard about it and asked the question “Why?” great question, and my answer was “He just didn’t want to live life anymore.”

Faith is not a T-shirt.

Faith can’t be like a T-shirt; you can’t share it around or take others whenever you need it.

It has to be your own.

If anything faith is more like underwear, if it’s not yours then it will be to lose or too tight, if it’s not your own then it just won’t support you.

Faith is a beautiful powerful thing between a human and God, and if worked on and strong enough it can be unbreakable.

But unfortunately I know so many people who just don’t have their own faith; they rely on everyone else’s faith such as people in their church, friends and family.

They just haven’t taken that leap, they need to trust God, let go of what you are holding onto and hold onto God.

It can be a scary thing I suppose but well worth it, you may be high of the ground but you just got to keep your eyes fixed on God.

When Peter (from the bible) stepped out onto the water to meet Jesus, he took a huge leap of faith, but the minute he took his eyes off Jesus is when he started to sink, did Jesus let him drown?

Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him. “You don’t have much faith,” Jesus replied. “Why do you doubt me?” – Matthew 14: 31

Of course not! He walked over and grabbed his hand saving him.

He will do the same for you, ‘all it takes is faith, trust and a little bit of God in us.’ :)

He loves you.

Why can it be so hard for us to love ourselves in a good just way?

I mean all it takes is people to not try for us, to give up on you after everything you have done for them. For someone to not even give you a chance. And our confidence is shattered and we look at ourselves thinking, what is wrong with me?

But that is so silly, why do we think that way when the maker of the starts loves US! Yes, God, the God of love, mercy, compassion, power... everything we keep looking and searching for is staring us in the face, He longs to have a relationship with us just as we long to have that relationship, to have that love!

He wants that relationship so much that He sent His son Jesus Christ to walk among us then die on the cross for us, so that His son Jesus, an innocent man, whom has never sinned, could take our sins for us, so that Jesus could be the way, the bridge for us to reach God, to have a relationship with Him. (Jesus then came back to life)

He is holding out His hand to you, and all you gotta do is take it. He will forgive you for the wrong you have done, He wants you to know that He loves you so much, and He is desperately waiting for you to grab His hand and love Him to.

He doesn’t care about your skin colour, hair colour, culture, weight, height, abilities, disabilities, friends or no friends, orphan or family member... what He cares about is your heart, He can read your heart, you may be smiling at someone on the outside yet wanting to hurt them on the inside, He sees that, sorry but you can’t hide from Him, and in saying that, if you are honest and truly want to be with God and have that relationship and follow Him, then He will have you, He will forgive you.

Why? Because He loves you, I know that life is unfair at times, and sometimes you will think, He doesn’t love me, look at what He has put me through! This may be hard to believe but sometimes He puts us through these things because He loves us and wants only the best for us, He may be putting you through something so that you may come out of it a stronger and better person, lessons that God teaches us you can’t learn at school.

And don’t be thinking of earthly love when I say He loves you, no I mean real love, this love never stops and it can’t but taken from you, this love will never hurt you or make you fall, it will give you the hope and courage to carry on, to keep fighting, and most importantly to keep loving others. He fills us with so much love that if we keep it to ourselves we will blow up, so share that love around, it is never ending.

Try spending some time with God today, find some time and sit, you can take a bible with you or you can just pray to Him, God loves spending time with you, and don’t think it is a minute wasted because it is minutes gained.

LIVE!

This is an encouragement to everyone, to not just be a part of life but to live it! Enjoy it!

I totally understand that life can be a big dark hole and also a drag, trust me I know, but why should that stop you from being who you want to be and having fun!

Sometimes all you need at the end of a horrible week, day or year is to have fun, go swing on the swing set, slide down a slide, dance in the rain, roll down a grassy hill, go with a friend to the beach and tackle them into the surf.

Let the child inside of you roam free for once, I challenge you to spend at least an hour outside doing something fun and stupid, I want you to go out, on your own or with a friend, forget about all your worries and fears and just focus on having fun, when we were kids all we focused on was getting across the monkey bars without falling, be that kid, and forget about life for a moment. You will feel much better, you will feel life.

Also spice up your life a little, I catch the train all the time now, and it is so sad, people are stone faced, sleeping or ignoring each other. There’s no talking or smiles, so many times I have been sitting in a full carriage of people, yet I felt I was the only one there. And in those times I have just had the urge to jump up and start dancing with an umbrella! (Not that I ever would)

Instead of walking on the foot path, balance on a safe ledge, when you walk past some great music stop to appreciate it, stop to smell the flowers. Have you been walking past something you have always wanted to walk into, or have a look at but you have been in such a rush you just haven’t? Well do! Leave a little earlier so you can do those things without being late.

God didn’t intend us to be sad, sorry pathetic people just scraping through life; He gave us life so we may live it!

“So I conclude that there is nothing better for people then to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labour, for these are gifts from God.”- Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

“So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is why they are here! No one will bring them back from death to enjoy life in the future.”- Ecclesiastes 3:22

“Young man, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.”- Ecclesiastes 11:9

Following the crowd?

Today I took a walk before I had to go to uni, I had come up to some lights and I was waiting with a huge group of people at the lights for the green man to flash.

 I was waiting and waiting, then no cars were coming so a few of the people at the front of the group started walking across, then the whole group went except for me and two elderly people.

There were about twenty or more people standing at those lights and they just J-walked across without the green man flashing, it was safe to cross but I’d rather wait.

But I found it so interesting on how they all J-walked over just because a few of them started walking, and how many of them knew that they actually weren’t supposed to cross and where just following the crowd? They could have walked straight into danger simply because they followed the crowd instead of thinking for themselves.

I was gobsmacked at how the people standing near me and behind me just walked across because everyone else did. Out of about twenty or more people only three stayed and waited for the lights, only three didn’t follow that crowd.

It is no surprise that Jesus refers to us in the bible like sheep, and He is the shepherd. Sheep back then were a precious item, and the shepherd would spend all day and all night with them, guarding and protecting them from being stolen, eaten and from being lead astray.

Sometimes we think it is ok to do something, simply because everyone else is doing it, when actually, it may be wrong. If you have a feeling like you shouldn’t be doing something or following that crowd, then don’t do it!

Have a mind of your own, think! And most importantly ask God for guidance, He is always watching and protecting us, and seems to always have the best way for you to go with your best interest at heart. :)

Finding that key.

The past, I us to think that I was trapped by it, I felt as though it was always holding me back and holding me down.

I felt as though I were a bird in a locked cage, when the whole time I had the key and all I had to do was realise it.

You know those moments when you are searching and searching for something that you know you cannot leave without? Then you stop for a second, take a deep breath wondering where on earth it could be, you then put your hand in your pocket and you feel something in it.

You then shake your head and smile for a second, then look around at the room you just trashed desperately trying to find something you had all along.

Then you have this amazing peace, that gently floats over you and it is a great feeling.

Do you get what I am saying?

You have the power; it is your choice to let the past get to you.

“Just because the past taps you on the shoulder, doesn’t mean you have to look back.”

Give yourself that freedom you deserve.

It’s over, it happened, you can never change it, all you can do is forgive, others and yourself, and sometimes you need to say sorry to those you have hurt in your past.

Yes I know we all get little reminders of our past in our present, some more than others, but it is your choice to either dwell on them feeling sorry for yourself, or to fix it.

It can be good to speak with someone you trust about your past and the feelings you are still holding onto because of that past.

But only God can heal you, no boyfriend, girlfriend, family member or friend can help the way God can, though God can use others to help you, He can speak through them, and when He does, you know it.

Find that key, open your cage, and fly away a better person.

21 day diet: day nine.

Hey guys just wanting to let you know, the diet is working! Yay! The first few days were a little ruff and I had to snap myself out of it but I know it is working.

And if you have no idea what I am talking about then please read my last blog,’ 21 day diet, what are you planting?’

Some things I have learnt so far are...

True there is always a negative, but there is also always a positive, you just need to decide which you will focus on.

But what if you have searched and searched but you can see no positive? Trust me; believe it or not I know exactly how that feels. And my only answer to that is to ask God, He can sometimes be the only one who knows the answer.

And I want to encourage you to find someone you can trust and open up to them, open up with each other, learn, cry and laugh with each other, believe it or not it does  help.

 

I had gotten myself into a ditch, I was a negative thinker and I pushed people away, and it was a very lonely place, God didn’t intend for us to do this all on our own, He can provide us with someone who can help, just when that person comes, please, don’t push them away.

:)

21 day diet, what are you planting?

Want to know something I only just realised?

My emotions don’t have to control me; I need to control my emotions!

Ha-ha, yeah, it’s only taken me 18 years! But hey, life is a journey.

Well anyways, I need to get a hold of myself and get on top of my emotions, my life.

No more negative thinking.

From now on I am determined to live my life in a positive way.

Either way I’ve got to walk through that door, may as well walk through it with a smile and positive attitude then a grumpy, negative face saying I told you so.

Do you know how bad negative thoughts are for you?

Whether you realise it or not, we are all connected, our body, our emotions thoughts are all together in one.

Your thoughts produce your moods and feelings; they then make a physical reaction like

·         Muscle tension

·         Clenched fists and jaw

·         Rise in blood pressure

Which then affects your energy levels, immune system and general health.... common people we are giving ourselves unhappy bodies.

Man, I already knew that but I just need to snap out of it and take back the reigns, then hand them to God, He knows what to do, whenever I rudely take over... we fall of a cliff.

In the book I am reading, ‘When your past is hurting your present- Sue Augustine’ I am encouraged to do a 21 day positive mental attitude diet.

One thing I am great at is guilt when I muck up, make a mistake, I pummel myself into the ground with a dark black negative cloud floating over my head for making a mistake.

But no more!

Silly me, I’m human! (Not that that is an excuse to do wrong things.)

You want to know something amazing? God gets us! He knows that we are only human; He remembers that we are imperfect, and he is cool with it. Plus He is more than capable of picking us up, dusting us off and helping us stay on the right track, astonishing huh?

Well I’m going to take you guys on this journey also... whoop! This is going to be interesting. I may need to restart many times but I am determined, I need to change the way I think, not only does the way I think effect me, but also those that I love and don’t want to hurt. God please give me strength, cause I’m going to need it!

The war

This is to all of you who are facing a battle, whether you are in the middle of one, just near the end of one or facing another.

We are all in a war, and it is the same war, it is called life. Most of us are just trying to survive, others have given up and most are trying to win the battle.

Either way this war can be hard for everyone, it is full of trials and tribulations and we constantly are meet with new battles along the way, each with its own differences and lessons.

Some battles are small others are huge, and when we get to the nasty ones where the enemy is many, we barge in head first then quickly realise that it is too much to handle on our own. Sometimes we can get badly wounded and need some time to revive, and other times we use that pain to in-power us for the next battle, when we really don’t need to.

God will give us the strength and wisdom we so desperately need, all we need to do is ask.

When we are surrounded by the enemy and all hope seems lost God will create a miracle, He is really good at those, He may even send a rescuer on their horse to come sweep you up and carry you to safety.

And at the end of the day, when your wounds are many and your faith is running low, God will bind your wounds, and unlike other medicines, His wont sting.

“He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.”

Psalm 147:3

So pick up your sword and shield everyday!

Slay those fire breathing evil dragons, defeat the enemy, but keep your dignity and heart.

“The righteous person is rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead.”

Proverbs 11:8

If you want a great start to your day, then pray.

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire- may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

1 Peter 1:6-7

“Consider it pure joy... whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of you faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

James 1:2-4

Disney girls that we can learn from.

One of the things I love most about Rapunzle from the Disney movie Tangled, is that she looks toward the future, she isn’t trapped in her past or present situations, even tho she is physically and emotionally trapped in a tower, she has completely painted each section of the walls, as if she is painting them away.

She is a dreamer and isn’t afraid of going after what she wants, she hasn’t let her cruel ‘mother’ effect and stop her from dreaming and chasing her dreams... I think we can learn a lot from her, don’t let those that are cruel to you stop you from discovering your destiny, and chasing those dreams, some people will try to tare you down and stop you from succeeding greatness only because they are jealous. But don’t let that stop you, you can’t control others and their behaviour the only thing you can do is control your reaction, attitude and feelings.

Only when Rapunzle went after her dream and stood up for herself was when she finally discovered her destiny/purpose and true self.

Another great Disney girl, my favourite, is Belle (from Beauty and the Beast). Here is a girl that doesn’t fit in, which is one of the reasons I like her so much, because I can totally relate to not fitting in. She knows she doesn’t fit in and dreams of something more, she is a caring loving girl who would do anything for her father, but she is a beauty, so she can get the jerks like Gaston chasing her willing to do anything to be with the ‘prettiest girl in town.’ Even tho she could marry him and be a ‘little wife’ she stands up for herself and dismisses the arrogant man for the faith and hope that there is a man out there who can love her for who she is, the quirky, weird, good and bad sides to her.

So one of Belles many messages is to not settle for second best just because you are sick of waiting, trust in God, He has the perfect guy for you, and one of the key things to do while you wait for that guy is pray, ask God if that guy who just gave you his number is ok to be with, and He will answer you, it may take a while or a few seconds but either way He will.

In the end Belle transforms the lives of many with her love and finds true love.

Mulan, this girl keeps getting it wrong, the Asian culture is very strict and as she is a women there are many things she must do as well as many things she definitely cannot do. And even though she tries very hard, she just keeps mucking up, but she is very lucky as she has a supportive family that loves her and a father who adores her no matter what.

But there is only one man in the family, her father, and he must go to war despite his age and health, Mulan is disgusted and respectfully argues her fathers’ case trying to do the loving right thing, tho in doing so shames her father and is harshly shut down.

Mulan is fighting between her culture and love for her family/father. She then makes a brave decision to dress as a man and join the army so her father does not have to. On her voyage she discovers who she is, what is right and what is wrong, as well as becomes the bravest solder out of all the other male solders.

Mulans story shows us to do the right thing with bravery and determination , you will definitely come to many challenges and heartaches but you will be rewarded in the end.

Fear

Fear, something that can literally stop you in your tracks, it can hold you back from great things that you can accomplish and builds invisible walls.

It is a very interesting thing, it always amazes me on how much I feel it stops me from doing, it can make you shake and make your head spin.

It can be the fear of public speaking, fear of flying or something even sadder the fear to love.

Now fear can come from many different things, but it is nearly always created by something you have gone through. For example, when I was younger I was pretty fearless, especially at the beach, I would go as deep as I could get, the bigger the wave the better, till one day I made a mistake and got dragged under thrown around and left gasping for air from strong waves, lucky for me a family friend grabbed me out of the water in time but I have never been the same since, I don’t go deep anymore. Why? Because of fear, when I get to deep water I’m that terrified gasping little girl again, I didn’t get back on that horse, I ran as far away as I could from it, and that is no ones fault but my own. I let fear get the better of me and I seem to do it all the time with many things in life, and it really is disappointing.

But like most things fear can be overcome, it is inside of you, to do it you just gotta dig deep and roar!

I have always wanted to learn how to surf, and one day I will, and when I do and I ride that scary wave... I’m gonna blog about it! :) Just you wait.

But until then I have many other fears I really need to have a chat to. I saw this great picture on face book the other day, put up by love and inspiration and it says:

‘Everything you want, is on the other side of fear.’-Unknown

Brilliant and oh so true!

Let’s talk about the fear to love, and to be loved, ha-ha yeah, here’s one I KNOW we all have inside of us, which I believe is to be expected, some tho have much more fear of it than others. And yes I am one of those people, well common think about it, to love someone is like, placing your heart in their hands while on your knees begging, please don’t crush it, and you know what the perfect answer to that would be?

“I’m sorry, but I am human, and I make mistakes all the time, I never wish to hurt you, but during sometime of all this there is a big chance that I will hurt you and you hurt me, and before those days I want to apologise in advance for any pain I may cause to you.”

Well I’ll take that heart back thank you, pack up my things and go... see ya.

Ha-ha, no, how many times are we going to have to reject others till we find the one that well never ever hurt us? Hmm, let’s see NEVER!

That human does not exist, sorry to break it to you, its apart of life, unfortunately some hurt you on purpose, others are just human, and that includes us. (But don't let yourself be disrespected and used.)

Don’t let this powerful curse of fear stop you from great joy and happiness (at times). You can conquer it, common you are strong enough, even if you aren’t, it will make you stronger!

Stop letting fear get the better of you.

You only live this life once, so common LIVE it, for the good times and the bad times, even if the worst may happen God will carry you through it then bless you with great things, don’t let fear get in the way of your blessings either.

Take that chance to be happy.

‘Never let the fear of striking out,

keep you from playing the game.’-

 A Cinderella Story.

How is that fair?

How many times have you been used by someone? Common be honest.

People come up to you like there your best friend, they tell you there problems expecting you to fix them, suck everything they can out of you then just leave, and then ignore and forget about you during their happiness.

Yet how many times have we done that to God?

How is that so unfair on us, but not Him?

Another thing is, time. It breaks my heart when people don’t make time for me and check what is more important first to then spend time with me.

But how often do we think, oh nah it’ll be right I can read my bible and spend time with God tomorrow, I’m too tired or my favourite T.V show is on.

He is the maker of time, and gives us time but we sometimes don’t give any of that time back.

You know what it feels like to be used and not wanted, so don’t you think God will be just as crushed if not more when we do the same to Him?

He loves us so much and do you want to know one of the things He loves to do the most?

Spending time with His child, that’s you, and me.

It actually isn’t that difficult to do, think about it. When you have to go to school or work you set your alarm and get organised so that you can make it on time. When you have a T.V show you like, you watch the time so that you don’t miss it.

So then how hard is it to take 15min, 20min or half an hour or more to spend daily with Him, just read your bible and pray. Tell Him all about the things you are going through, tell Him that you love Him, thank Him for all the blessing He has given you and tell Him about your dreams. :)

He loves a chat, and will ALWAYS have time for you!   

The Tree

A while ago I was in the city and as I was walking up a concrete street there was a row of tail trees on the side of the foot path.

Out of all the trees on that cement foot path only one of them had no leaves... he was so unhappy.

One part of me didn’t blame the little fella because he is a tree, he isn’t suppose to be in a cement street with no birds, grass and tones of pollution around him, no wonder he is dyeing and unhappy.

But on the other hand the other trees were just fine; sure they would be even healthier and happier out where they belong with nature, but this is the life they have been given and the others were doing the best they could in their situation while the other had just given up.

For a very long time now I have found myself trapped in a situation that I felt for a while I couldn’t escape from.  And I got to a point when I asked myself and God, am I becoming a better person out of this? Or is it destroying me?

Am I (like these trees) growing or withering?

Better yet am I doing the best I can in the situation I have been given?

I’m still working through the answer and what God wants me to do. But in saying all this, if you are in a situation that is dangerous to you emotionally or physically then you get out of it, you don’t owe anyone the favour of letting them torture and disrespect you.

Are you in a tuff situation?

Are you doing the best you can in the situation you have been given?

Are you going to grow? Or wither?

Keep your chin up, life can’t be this way forever, it is constantly changing from worse to better, better to worse. But the main thing to remember is that it will never stay worse throughout your entire life, it is always changing and when you get to the better part, than you enjoy every second of it!

Knock me off my feet.

Far out!

‘You knock me off my feet Lord, and I’m not even standing!’

He is amazing...

I’m going through an extremely difficult time at the moment and I feel trapped, I feel as if I cannot escape the situation I am in! You ever had that feeling?

It has been so bad that I have been having panic attacks, anxiety and so much trouble sleeping at night.

And for a while now I’ve been asking and asking God...

‘What should I do? I can’t stay like this...even my body can’t handle it anymore because I’m dying inside.’

I haven’t had a solid answer from Him in about a week or so... it was killing me but I stayed patient and had faith!

When then finally today I picked up a book I have been reading, ‘When your past is hurting your present’-Sue Augustine. (Brilliant book)

Now I haven’t read this book in a month or so... I’ve just been so busy that I haven’t had the chance, but today I was suppose to go visit a friend, but it got cancelled so I lay in bed and started reading chapter 4.

And what do you know! In the book she talks about exactly! Not nearly but exactly what I am going through and as clear as day the author has written one sentence that BLEW me away!

It is exactly what I needed to hear; in this book and chapter the author reassures us that it is our choice... we have a choice and if there is something you feel you are stuck in and can’t get out of and it is destroying you, then you have a choice to get out and save yourself!

Man after reading a certain sentence, I had to put the book down and I just said to God,

“Man! You knocked me off my feet and I’m not even standing!”

It’s true I was lying down in bed.

Gobsmacked!

Amazed I was!

He has the WHOLE world in His hands.

Yet He bothers enough to put a single sentence in a book I only just picked up, that I haven’t read in weeks and I happen to read it today because my day out was cancelled!

Amazing!

He IS a God of details... well just look at how much breath taking detail is in a single wing of a butterfly!

Wow! I ended up with tears running down my face and a huge smile just thanking God.

Trust me people, He cares for YOU dearly and He will ALWAYS answer your prayers, NEVER doubt Him!

Our God is a great big god and He holds us in His hands! – A song from Awanna.

:)

Meet your Hero

The other night I was with some friends coming home from a party. When we came over a hill on a main road and there were all these young teenagers walking on the road! Yeah I know! Some of them moved but there was this one girl who just kept walking with her head down in the middle of the road, she didn’t even look back.

My friend beeped, but she still stayed there her head to the ground walking, she wasn’t in harm’s way but as we got closer a boy from the group darted in front of us and grabbed her swinging them out of the way. She wasn’t going to be hit but this boy thought she would be and saved her.

No one else of the group even looked at her and there was a huge group, except this one boy, who put himself in harm’s way to save her.

I think there are many of us that are like this girl, we want and need to be saved but we want to pick who saves us, a lover or a mysterious hero.

When right in front of us we have someone who wants to save us... He has been waiting our whole lives!

His name is Jesus.

But He isn’t like any other rescuer, most hero’s save someone then leave and all that person is left with is a memory.

No, no, He wants to save you, hold you, love you!

When Jesus saves you, He stays forever, but only if you let Him.

Has He been calling you? I bet He has.

Don’t wait too long.

Are you ready to be saved?

Meet your Hero!

It’ll take your breath away!

7 steps to true beauty.

It can be very easy to look cool or pretty, just pick out an outfit you look smoken hot in and ‘Wa-lla’ you can walk out that door with far more confidence then in your PJ’s.

But what about looking beautiful? Wow beautiful, there is a big word every girl wishes to hear and every guy knows how to use it.

Beauty from the Google dictionary says: ‘The quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind.’

And for beautiful it says: ‘Having Beauty: Having qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about.’

See with both it explains that it is giving pleasure and satisfaction to the mind.

How interesting, doesn’t say giving pleasure to a guy from seeing the ‘beauty’ in a girls cleavage, or pleasure in seeing the ‘Beauty’ of a man’s chest, nope!

Being beautiful does not mean pull down your shirt and roll up your skirt. Sure that might bring great pleasure to some people but to be truly beautiful you must touch their heart!

Firstly the question is do you want to look beautiful or be beautiful? They are not the same.

There are many ways to look beautiful, the right makeup, clothing and light can make anyone look great!

Yet true beauty consists of finding a formula to being the best you, therefore BEING beautiful.

‘Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.’

Colossians 3:12-14

Step one: Put on your Compassion shirt, show others that you care about them just as much as you care for yourself or more! True most people won’t treat you with the same respect, but you will feel better about yourself. And no matter how heartless some people may be... they will remember the compassion you had for them no matter how many years it has been.

Step two: Smooth on the lipstick of Kindness, when you speak let the words touch your ‘Kindness lipstick’ and gently touch others hearts. This can even be done when no one wants to hear the words that need saying.

Step three: Hook up the necklace of Humility around your neck, were it with pride! You are far more beautiful with it on than without. Humble yourself with its sparkle; no one is better than another.

Step four: Slip on the gloves of Gentleness, there soft touch has the capability to calm a storm and cool a fire. Show people you love them by being gentle and gracious in your words and your actions. (Except when playing footy) ;)

Step five: Now put on the pants of Patience, this may be one of your most important pieces of clothing, it may take time to have patience but it is for the best once you have it, it will give you peace and also give peace to those around you.

Step six: Finally, place on the jacket of Love, this jacket is very special as it never stops giving, if you have God’s love in your heart then you will never run out of love, and the best thing to do with love is share it! Give your friend the jacket, your neighbour even your enemy. But don’t worry this is a never ending jacket... you give it away and another comes right back, this jacket will keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer, it gives you hope during despair and faith in the darkness.

Step seven: Now you have your whole outfit... you are beautiful... but don’t forget to smile! But how can you smile if you are holding onto a grudge and you have not forgiven? You can’t, it will come off as fake, and fake is not beauty. Forgive one another... has God has forgiven you, in doing so you are not letting those people win, but showing that you are far better than a silly grudge and you will have peace in your heart and mind. :)

True beauty is not by wearing a certain brand of clothing, or by drowning in pearls and diamonds... no no, true beauty comes from with in... It is written in a smile and grasped by the way you treat yourself and most importantly others. You want to be beautiful? Then put down the makeup and start working from within. :)

And remember God loves you! :)

Could the maker of the stars- hear the sound of my breaking heart?

I kept thinking and thinking, hearing hurtful words that have been said to me over and over, feeling the hurt again and again.

And then in doing that putting myself down because I am focusing on all the negative, and not the positive.

But why is it that it is so easy to hear, see and feel the negative, yet harder with the positive?

I think we all do that at times, and it is rather unfair on ourselves, but in the end the negatives can either break you or make you... it’s your choice.

But could the maker of the stars-hear the sound of my breaking heart?-Tenth Avenue North

Yes! He most definitely does!

Better yet he cares!

As I was lying in my bed... with these things tumbling through my mind, a very soft song started playing in my head... out of nowhere I was hearing lyrics to a song very dear to me... As I stared to hear it, it became louder and louder... till I stopped thinking and hurting!

And oh I could not help but smile... it was no accident! God could hear me, He was listening, and He then placed the song, ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus’ in my head. Man he is a great God!

You may think that He doesn’t care, because that is the way it seems, because things are not going right for you at the moment.

And when there is disaster, pain and suffering in your life the last thing that we sometimes do is think about God, or we blame Him.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus!

Look to Him! Things may not be making sense now, but He is watching and listening, and He has a plan! Hard to believe, trust me I know. But He loves you, very dearly.

Try to look at the positive... and don’t dwell too long on the negative, it only hurts.

‘Praise the Lord... who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.’ Psalm 103:2-4