Athiest Holy Day

This was an email that was forwarded to me by my mom! It is truly GREAT! 

You must read this, a proper decision by the courts for a change.FLORIDA COURT SETS ATHEIST HOLY DAYIn Florida, an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passover Holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians and Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days.The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case dismissed!"The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor, How can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays."The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant."The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists." The judge said, "The calendar says April 1^st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that, if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1^st is his day. Court is adjourned."You have to love a Judge that knows his scripture! 

Daily Devotional Journal

So in one of my classes we have to do a daily devotional journal. I was so excited when I heard that we had to do this, because I am not good with keeping up with my devotions or God time. So now that I have to do it for a class I am being held responsible. My teacher gave us an outline of what we had to do for the journal, clearly there is no one way to do it, however for her class she does require us to do it this way. So I wanted to share with you the journal technic that I use in her class. This has been such an amazing way to study the Bible and I love it, I hope that you too might use this and love just as much.

1. In a short paragraph write your thoughts and heart for the day.
2. Pray asking God for cleansing and guidance for that day.
3. Chose a book of the Bible to study.
4. Select a short book or passage.
5. Start with one or two verses, preferably an entire paragraph.
6. Select something practical for today.
7. I receommend Psalms, Proverbs or New Testament
8. Start at chapter one; verse one
9. REad it as if you've never heard it before. Don't assume you know the meaning of any of the words.
10. Whever you come to a key word, use your Bible to do a cross reference and study the word as found in other portions in Scripture. Serach until you find the word closest to the contesxt you are studying.
11. Write out the verse in your own words, drawing from the context of the scriptures you've looked up.
12. Return to the short paragraph you wrote. What has God said to you concerning those thoughts? Realize what is happening in your life right now has a purpose.
13. End by writing out a closing paragraph explaining God's wisdom for you that day.
14. On a 3x5 card write that vrese down to take with you through the day. Refer to it throughout the day.

a CHALLENGE

In a class this week I was very strongly convicted and challenged even....

Have you ever had the day that you thought would never end? There is just this one person or people and you just can't take it anymore... you have it it with them. So what do you do... you go to someone (roommate, mom, friends, etc) and you VENT about them... you mean it in a way that will help them in the end.... or you just need to get if your chest... if you get it all out you will feel much better....Do YOU notice a trend here.. it is all about "YOU" (but I am talking about myself as well) never once are you considering the other person, ok i will give you credit.. sometimes you are venting in the end to find a way to help, but most times it is all about "YOU"  Has it ever crossed your mind how the other person would feel if they knew what you were saying about them.... I know I know they aren't suppose to know.. but what if they did find out then what? If you ever walked in on someone talking about you wouldn't you want it to be good things not being degraded behind your back?

Well i know that i have on to many occasions participated in such a demeaning act. So in class we were discussing how to handle those situations.... being that you don't want to sin and bring harm to that person but you really can't just let it build up inside of you... because then you will be sinning against that person. So what is the sulotion?

Well it actually isn't that hard of a concept... PRAY... take everything to GOD. why in the world would talking to a fellow sinning believer help you deal with someone else's sin while you are sinning against them? Take all your problems, frustrations, and sin to GOD. He will help you deal with them.

So my challenge has become... anytime i want to vent my roommate/anyone about something (that i should be going to God about) they are to stop me and TELL ME to PRAY. I have only been doing this challenge for about two days now.. but i must admit i feel happier i feel closer to God and life is so happy and positive.

So I challenge "you" whoever you are to do the same... just PRAY

Hero - Abandon

He walked the dirty streets. Famous for nothing.

He said “come follow me” and they came.

A face like all the rest.

But something was different.

The Son of God would lead the way.

And soon they all would say.

There He goes - a hero. A savior to the world.

Here He stands with scars in His hands.

With love He gave His life so we could be free.

The Savior of the world.

He spoke with clarity. Walked across the sea.

A single word would calm the storm.

His touch could heal the sick, but He was called a hypocrite.

Laid behind the stone. His death was shortly mourned. He left the curtain torn.

There He goes - a hero. A savior to the world.

Here He stands with scars in His hands.

With love he gave His life so we could be free.

The Savior of the world.

He choose to take the cross. Shed tears for the lost, the broken, and the needy.

Forgiving those who were and will be.

The angel made it clear. He told them have no fear.

He’s not here. He’s not here!

There He goes - The Hero. The Savior to the world.

Here He stands with scars in His hands.

With love He gave his life so we could be free.

The Savior of the world. The Savior of the world. The Savior of the world.

How Awesome is our GOD?

Over the past three weeks I have been learning just how awesome God is! First I have had the opportunity to read an AMAZING book called Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. The book is a fictional narration of the story of Hosea. I know for me anyway when I read the Bible I can skim through it pretty fast and most times without much thought as to what is really going on with the live of the people involved. However when I am reading a fictional story I am knee deep in the story and envisioning everything that is happening. It has really made me wonder why I don't do that with the Bible and the Word of God that has been given to me. Obviously God didn't include such extreme details in all books of the Bible for a reason... and clearly His word is not lacking, it is more than sufficient.


When reading the book by Rivers I feel in love with the characters if they hurt I hurt, when they cried I wanted to cry. I was very connected to the characters and what was going on. I was able to envision everything that was going on and play it out in my head as I was reading. Then it occurred to me, why DON'T I do this when I am reading the Bible. Well I know why.... when reading the book by Rivers she goes into such great detail about everything... the clothes, the hair, the mood, the lighting, etc. you get the point. When reading the Bible I don't always find that same detail in every story, BUT what I do find is very meaningful, heavy, weighted words that are more descriptive than Rivers could ever be. They are the words that God wanted ALL OF US to hear, see, and know. Sometimes God leaves out those minor details, because that is what they are minor, God is bringing across a much BIGGER message than just a surface message.


So all of that to say that through reading Redeeming Love I could take back all the narratives and feelings and thoughts and apply them to the story of Hosea. When reading Hosea I can now think back to the book and it helps me to better understand what he was going through and what she was going through, and the glory that was brought to God through it all.






Also God taught me a lot about Him on the new student retreat that I went on last weekend. (by the way it was a lot of fun) We had a chance to share a testimony with the girls from our dorm on Saturday night, there is no way I could have imagined what would have been shared that night, but what was shared was deep, truthful, AMAZING, glorify to God, and personal. The girls sharing didn’t how they came to know Christ, but what God was doing in their lives right then and now. It is so amazing to see God working but then to hear about it is the cherry on top. The trip is very convicting to me, we shouldn’t hide our sins from others…. If we are struggling with it then there is someone else who is struggling too. So by admitting our sins to others it not only keeps us accountable to others to help our walk with Christ, but it also is a chance to encourage one another specifically.


Our God is so AMAZING!

service in honor of Christ

There is so much that i have to say..... I don't even know where to begin. First off i am really excited about this blog if nothing else i can one day look back and laugh at myself for all the crazy things that i did and said and another i will be able to look back and see growth in following Christ. I started this blog to document my journey with Christ in learning to serve others. But not just to serve others but to serve others with a humble heart and an attitude that glorifies God.
It is easy for me to say that i love to serve... that is when i am doing whatever i want. When i want to watch kids, help with this or that, or whatever else sounds good at the time. But what about the times when i am asked to serve but i don't really want to do it..... what about those time? God calls us to be Christ like and to live a life glorify God. Part of the life includes service. However God didn't include the exclusion rule, where if it is something you don't want to do then you don't have to. I have an undeniable desire to serve God in any way possible, even when it means doing things i don't want to do. I am learning that my heart must first be in the right place before i can begin to serve and then i must remember God at the heart of everything i do, and do my best to bring Him glory.
It can be hard for me in the pursuit of service to leave the glory and honor to God and not want to take it for myself. Thankfully God is such a loving and teaching God that He is humbling me one step at a time and more and more i am able to serve to His glory and honor not my own.
So if you are reading this please take a second to say a prayer for me that God may be glorified through my actions.
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