Principal or President?

The other day at the end of class, we were discussing the President, and principals and election and all that jazz. So, as usual, my brain wandered off and tried to apply it spiritually. Here is what I cam up with:

The Principal was not elected. He was hired. Not by vote, but because he earned it.

The President was not hired. He was elected. Because of the grace of the people.


We cannot earn our salvation; We cannot be hired. If we COULD be hired, we would be able to boast about what we earned. But the Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9, "It is by grace you have been save, through faith-and this is not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast."

Instead, we have been elected by God to be a part of His family. God voted for us like we vote for the president. He saved us by His grace because He knows we can never earn it. (If we were the principal, we would never get the job). The reason we cannot earn His saving grace is because of our sin. Our daily shortcomings. Romans 3:23 says "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."


In my life, I have learned to take God's grace even when punishing yourself seems best. We are not perfect, therefore we cannot punish perfectly. If we beat ourselves up everytime we fall in a specific area, we will turn ourselves one way. You are not your own LORD. Rather, Jesus is the Perfect Father. He is a Perfect Disciplinarian because when He punishes us for our sin, He does it in a way that will still bring Him glory and will lead you down the right path. So please stop beating yourself up and realize God will forgive you and pick you back up. So get back up and know God's grace.

Summer Pictures!

1). One happy family. haha. Leah was NOT happy. 2). Super Summer! I am such a dork! I thought I was being really cute, but turns out I was just holding the 1 backwards.....oh gosh... 3). This is my new friend Stephani on our icee date at falls creek! yay! 4). My cousin, Lyndsy and I at falls creek. Love her! 5). Me and Leah at silver dollar city on a caterpillar. 6). This is a baptism that took most of our church service! 29 students obeyed God and were baptized. Then, an invitation to our whole church was given. If they wanted to obey God by being baptized, they could do it right after church in that big pool. 5 more were baptized. Praise the LORD!

My Promise

I just finished reading Every Young Man's Battle-no, its not a typo...-and I have learned MANY facts about guys. You might think its a little strange, but I think its smart. I wanted to read it because I thought it would help me help you (guys). During my teen years, I have dressed modestly and that has not really been a huge deal for me because of my parents. But since reading this, I have realized that modesty in clothing is great, but I also need to be modest in my actions and my body language. I have probably been a stumbling block to my brothers in this area, but since reading Every Young Man's Battle, I want to change. So, here is my promise to guys and since I am making it known to everyone, you may keep me accountable.

I Promise to act in a way pleasing to the LORD

and in a way that will not cause my brothers

to stumble or fall because in a world full of sexual

impurity and temptation, my brothers need

an example of a pure and modest young woman.

Romans 14:13b says "Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block in your brother's way."

Romans 14:21 says "It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall."

Romans 15:1-2 says "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up."

EPIPHANY!

An odd epiphany came to me while mowing the lawn with my dad. I was sitting on the riding lawn mower trying to mow the straightest lines I could while my dad was weed eating the perimeter of the yard. When he had finished, he began watching me while he took a break from working. Then, he began to show me small patches of grass I had looked over and missed. From there, he just guided me in straight lines so I would not become distracted, look away, and miss any more patches of grass. And I found out that if I continued to focus on his back, I would go straight.

The epiphany I had was about how much this scene is related to life. If you become distracted and look away from the LORD, you will no longer make straight lines, or paths. But! If you do keep your focus on God's leadership and guidance, your paths will be straight. God will guide you, but you must focus on Him and commit to following Him.

Here are some verses about God's guidance:

• Exodus 15:13
• Psalm 23:3
• Psalm 25:9
• Psalm 48:14
• Psalm 67:4
• Psalm 73:24
• Psalm 78:14
• Psalm 139:10
• Isaiah 42:16
• Isaiah 58:11
• John 16:13

Bits O' Wisdom

These are little bits o' wisdom I have gained during my tenth grade year:

1. Girls, never tell your boyfriend your deepest, darkest secret.
2. Not every hill is worth dying on. (meaning, don't waste your time stressing out over problems. Instead, look to the LORD.)
3. When you choose to become a christian, you are choosing to choose everyday to be one. When you ask Jesus into your heart, you aren't just choosing Him today, you are choosing to choose Jesus everyday.........it makes sense to me. Ask me if you don't understand. :)
4. There's a need but not always a call.
5. When there are boys and girls in a room, be careful what you talk about. (Mixed company) -Brian B. :)
6. I have really learned that God's strength is perfect.
7. Let the LORD work through you. Always. Otherwise, you will regret it.
8. Cain killed Abel.
9. Live and talk as if Jesus is coming back tomorrow.
10. Nobody plans to fail. They just don't plan not to. -Brian B.
11. I AM NOT THE SAVIOR.
12. The more time you spend in God's presence, the more joy you have. This was a really neat realization for me.
13. To be like Jesus, you need to be willing to do what others are unwilling to do (in terms of acts of service)
14. The joy of intimacy is committment.
15. Your body is a temple of the LORD, so what you wouldn't do in a church (also a temple of the LORD), don't do to your body.

The Disciple Is A Servant

For 30 weeks, I had been working through a devotional by Andy and Kim Harrison called The Discipling Cycle. This is a great book and I really enjoyed it.



I was very excited about this particular study because the week before, I had been reading my leadership book. One section was about servanthood and its importance, So I was ready to hear more insight and dig into this topic of servanthood. An exerpt from the first page of the study says this "Everything we do and are encouraged to do by the world's standards brings the result of making us look good. We study for tests to make good grades, which of course we could hardly do for another person. But we also work hard to make first string, to win our latest love interest, to keep up our car payments, ect,. The issue is where we pour our energy. When was the last time making someone else look good was on your list of things to do?" This really touched me because I realized how often I tried to make myself look good. For example, looking good in front of the boys, in soccer, or in choir. This is not the heart of a servant. A servant in the form of a wife makes her husband look good. A servant in the form of a friend makes her peers look good. This is how strong relationships are built. I make Jesus look good to the world because when He died on the cross, He made us look perfect to His Father. When He died, He showed us He wanted a strong relationship with us because of His love.

On Day 2 of our study, we read the story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet. (John 13:-1-15) Because of this story, I learned the value of being a servant by the example of Jesus. He tells His disciples in verses 14-15 to follow His example by washing the feet of others. He desires His children to be servants the way He was. Matthew 20:28 says "For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve." To be like Jesus in this way, we must be willing to do what others are unwilling to do. Sweeping the floor, taking out the trash, or vacuuming the car are all practical ways to be a servant.

I decided to make a personal purpose statement out of 2 Corinthians 4:5. As a servant of the Lord, I will not preach about who I am or what I can do; rather, who Christ is and what He can do.

Finally, 2 Timothy 2:24-25 taught me that serving is a lifestyle. A lifestyle that will, in fact, make us like God.

Always Focus on the Goodness of the LORD

Always focus on the goodness of the LORD.



Have you ever had your breath taken away? Maybe you are thinking "Ya, I hyperventilated once." But no....not like that. Have you ever been so in awe of something that your breath is taken? One Sunday, I was completely awestruck. God revealed to me a portion of His marvelous works and I would love to share it with you.

During the service, we studied James 1:16-18.
Verse 17 says "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Heavenly lights who does not change like the shifting shadows."

• God, who created the world and the lights of Heaven is GOOD. The grass or dirt that is around your house is made by the Good God.

While my pastor was leading us through this passage, he showed us that if the earth was a tiny tiny bit closer to the sun or a tiny tiny bit farther away from the sun, we would die. Instead, the earth is positioned perfectly for the world to have perfect living conditions. I dont know about you, but that shows me that God cares about mankind. He obviously wants us to live. Otherwise, He would have just put the earth somewhere in the universe. But I am here to tell you that God is so in love with you and wants you to have life abundantly and we know this because He allows us to live.

Verse 18b: And we, out of all creation, became His prized possession.

• Now, how wonderful is that?! Go back to verse 17. God made everything. He is the Good Creator. So....if God has made Heaven and Earth, sun and moon, rain and snow, animals and humans, why then has He chosen us to be His prized possession? We are not the ones who praise Him every second of everyday like nature does. The sun and moon praise Him. The flowers and the trees sing of His great works everyday. Yet, He has not chosen them to be His prized possession. Humans curse Him everyday. Mankind rejects Him. And lets remember who killed His Son. It sure was NOT the stars. It was us. It was the humans. But He has chosen us over everything to pursue relentlessly. Praise the LORD because He chose us.

And while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

A Very Merry Christmas: 2000 Years Ago

In years past, I have never really dug into Christmas the way I have this year. I knew that the LORD was supposed to be the center of Christmas, but it was all very surface level. I did not look into it too much. This year though, I wanted to see what this was all about on a deeper level. I picked up " The Purpose Of Christmas" by Rick Warren and began reading four days before Christmas, causing me to finish on Christmas Eve because of the sections. He talks of celebration, salvation and reconciliation. It really is a wonderful little book and I highly recommend it. Especially if you want to dig deeper into why Jesus came.
Many of you, like me know that Jesus came and made Himself known on December 25, about 2000 years ago. How many of you have asked the question "Why exactly did Jesus come?" Well, He came for a very special reason. For YOU. For ME. For the WHOLE WIDE WORLD. He came to bring us salvation; to save our souls from eternal death. Jesus came to free us from sin, worry, guilt, death, and the world. To be free from them means we do not have to live with them anymore, or they are no longer a part of us. Instead, they can be apart FROM us. All thanks to the LORD!!!
So, now that you know why He came, take a look at how Jesus entered the world. The little LORD Jesus came to earth as a lowly, modest baby. He was born in a stable with animals. As you know, animals stink. They were probably flies hovering over their waste products, and the animals themselves. Normally, there are not opulent mattresses, silk sheets or even soft pillows in a stable. There was hay and flies and the stench of dirty mammals.
Before Jesus was sent, He was on His throne, ruling the world and celebrating with the others in heaven. In fact, He was the very one they were celebrating. He is God and He can do anything, but He limited Himself to a human body. Of course, He was still God, so He could still do anything. He lived on the earth and grew in wisdom and stature. (Luke 2:52) Though Jesus was tempted all His life, He never sinned. Jesus is PERFECT! Imagine being His parents! They were responsible for raising Christ up from childhood-going through puberty and lustful temptations, trying to help Jesus understand just exactly who He was. Pretty weird...
On the very first Christmas, God sent us the ultimate gift-His Son, who would one day die for the world and their sin. Only to be raised from the dead three days later!!! If Jesus, would not have risen, Christmas would not have meaning. PRAISE GOD HE DID!
This unassuming birth has wonderful potency to those who dig into it and discover the true meaning of His birth. I am so glad I have done that this year. It is very rewarding. Seek and Find. The true meaning is not so much GIVING as RECIEVING. God has given you gifts of love, joy, peace, salvation, celebration and so many others! My prayer is that with every Christmas present you open this year and next, you will thank the LORD for these gifts He has given to you. People give because they love you and they love to see the joy on your face when you unwrap your surprise. Well, Jesus is the same. So many of us do not take the gifts God gives freely to us. Take them. There is still time. You do not have to wait for Christmas.

Fun Facts:
1. We give gifts on Christmas because of God's gift to us 2000 years ago. Jesus! Our Saving Grace.
2. "Jingle Bells" was written for Thanksgiving and then became popular for Christmas.
3. If you recieved all the gifts from "12 Days of Christmas", you would have 364 gifts!