For Today...

"But anyone who does not love does not know God -- for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." (1 John 4:8-10 NLT)

Also, Cameron just told me I needed two phones because I like to talk and I have two ears. It's nice to know that he is starting to know his numbers...it's not really nice to know that he thinks I talk to much :)

The need to start before I'm finished...

Last night while I was organizing and cleaning my room out, I stumbled across a ton of books, all of them I started reading, almost finished, then put down and started another one. All 10 of them have bookmarks in them, near the end, but for some reason I never finished them. I don't really know why I have the need to start something else before I finish the thing I was on first.
My goal, until it is finished, is to finish everything I have started before starting something else. So, i have 10 books to finish reading, quite a few sewing projects that need to be finished, some scrap booking, writing down of recipes onto cards, and even a cross stitching project I've been working on for a year or so. Maybe through all of this I will figure out why I think it is necessary to start so many projects and finish so few.

On another note, everyday it seems that more and more people are calling me with their problems, at first I was like "oh my how am I going to deal with this, I can't even deal with my own problems". Yesterday while I was thinking about a specific person and wondering why in the world God put me in this position, I realized that out of all of this I have learned how to pray really well. I now pray about everything and anything, Thanking God for all he has given me and not really sitting in my own hole and dwelling on my problems. I feel it has brought me closer to God, because I don't really feel awkward talking to him anymore. It is, also, kind of nice to not really have the time to sit and sulk. A part of me, though, is fearful that when things slow down and not so many people need me, I will have to come to terms with what I, myself, need to deal with. I guess I might even feel a little sad because I won't feel needed anymore...(at least for the time being) I get satisfaction out of helping people, I think it makes me feel worth something, like someone actually needs me to be here on this earth to make them feel better. I know that that is not the only reason why I am here, and like many other people I am trying to find my place in this giant messed up world.

Until next time...

Ridiculous....

There are so many ridiculous things that go on in this world....

1.

Teen Sexting Legalized in Vermont?

Legislators in Vermont are considering a bill which would legalize "sexting" between teenagers. For those of you who don't know what sexting is, it is the exchange of explicit videos and photos via cell phone. See FOX News.

Current law in Vermont allows "sexting" participants to be charged with child pornography, but lawmakers are considering a bill which would legalize the consensual exchange of graphic images between people aged 13 to 18 years old. Passing along images to others without permission would remain a crime under the child pornography laws.

Supporters of the bill say while they don't condone "sexting" they also don't believe teenagers should be prosecuted as sex offenders under child porn laws for behavior that is consensual. Would you want your 13-year-old daughter to be able to receive nude images from a guy at school? While I don't believe such behavior rises to the level of child porn, I also don't believe that legalizing such consensual images is the answer, either. What do you think?

The hardest part...

I think the hardest part about being a Christian is the distance that grows between you and non-Christians. I know my beliefs and I will stick by them till I die, so being afraid of, i guess, peer pressure is really not an issue with me. It's more like you become a Christian and all the non- Christian people in your life just seem so different. I don't really know how to explain it, it just kind of saddens me. My family is non-christian and the more and more I grow in my faith the more and more we really have nothing to talk about. My sister and I really have nothing in common anymore, my mom and I don't really talk unless it's about the kids and even then we disagree on a lot of things like school, and money and how to raise them. It is really sad.
When I first spoke in tongues I was sooo excited I longed to call my mom and tell her how awesome it was, but I knew she wouldn't understand and would just kind of be like..uhh...so i didn't call her. Thankfully God has placed me in a place where my in-laws are awesome, so I could call them and be extatic and they would understand and be happy for me.
Good news: My sister Nikki gave her heart to God yesterday at church, I was so happy I cried..that is something i have been praying about for two years.
So, i guess I will just keep praying for the rest of my family, God is big and he is awesome.

Until next time....

Gianna

Read it its an amazing book. Just finished it in one sitting. Ha i havent done that in a very long time. I have a super busy day tomorrow hopefully i will be able to sleep tonight.

<3

I love this song... I need it most days!!



I open my eyes to the sound of morning news
And wish for ten more minutes left to sleep
And as I get into the shower the thoughts of
facing one more day
Overwhelm me and I begin to weep
And I've never felt like I've needed Your help,
so bad
Verse 2:
Well, my tears are pushed away now for the
sake of morning rush
'Til the Bible on the table catches my eye
And I read that you are near to the hearts that
break with grief
And I realize that I don't have to try
To live life myself because You're ready to help me live
Bridge 1:
And everyday I look to you
To be the strength of my life
You're the hope I hold onto
Be the strength of my life
Chorus:
Be the strength of my life
Strength of my life
Be the strength of my life today
Be the strength of my life
Strength of my life
Be the strength of my life today
Verse 3:
Each day has its problems, it troubles and its tears
And it seems I'm always anything but strong
When I learn to know my weakness,
I understand your strength
And even when the hard times last so long
I won't try by myself, I'll just ask for Your help
Each day
Bridge 2:
And everyday I look to You
To be

-Leslie Phillips

The Worth of a Woman

"You are precious and honored in my sight..." Isaiah 43:4a NIV

Are the factors that determine a woman's value based upon variable, shifting factors or are they based upon fixed factors? Fixed, of course right? But if the answer is so obvious why do we struggle so much as women with feeling worthless? It's because we often allow variable earthly factors define our worth. There are main reasons why women feel worthless:

-They've been abused
-They've been told they are worthless
-Choices they have made
-They've been cheated on
-They are co-dependent
-They've battled an illness
Including many more that we use to define our worth. Many of us feel worthless. Why? We've felt ignored, invisible, insignificant, useless, undesired, ugly, unloved or forgotten. Girls are emotional, broken down in many ways. Great portions of our identity and of our personal value are wrapped into highly combustible packages of emotion..how we feel about this or that. The honest truth is our worth has nothing to do with how we feel.
That way of thinking is like a spiritual dead end road. Scripture tells us that anything we do in our own strength or of our own goodness is of no value to God. "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags" Isaiah 64"6a
Because of Jesus Christ, I am (you are) a woman of highest worth. NOT because of anything else. I am (you are) a grace girl. Not perfect by a long stretch. I (you) have been changed by the unconditional love of God and restored to perfect beauty through Jesus' shed blood. Because of love, we are His daughters and we are precious in His sight. We need to set aside feelings that diminish our value, and embrace our proper identity: A child of the King of Kings.
Feelings of worthlessness are from the Enemy himself. It makes me sad that the enemy has such a strong grip on God's daughters (myself included). We need to associate the word worthless with the word lie. That's what it is a super duper lie.
I bend a knee to negative feelings and live a defeated life because i'm not quite sure how to overcome my sense of worthlessness. I now know that God wants me (and you) to experince healing and have an appropriate sense of self-worth.

The Bible tells us that because Jesus died on the cross we can be clothed with the "robe of righteousness". Apostle Paul tells us that when we are reconciled to God, we become his righteousness. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" 2 Corinthians 5:21 There is no possible way we could ever earn such a robe. But Jesus gave his life for us, He earned it for us. He paid the price and we receive the gift. Why?? Because I am (you are) worth it. We are precious and highly valuable in the eyes of the One who sees.

Until next time....

The beginning of A Thomas the Train cake

The Beginning of Cameron's Thomas the Train cake. This is Thomas' face. It's as good as it's going to get, but better than I thought it was going to be. I'm excited for the rest of the cake now.

Pistachio's

I have been craving that pistachio flavor lately. I bought pistachio ice cream last night, made pistachio pudding today, I don't know what it is but I love that taste right now. Hopefully none of the pistachio things I am eating have salmonella :) I'll write something more meaningful later, I just thought I would share that.

Until next time...

For Today......

Love like Jesus. We hear this all the time from our pastors, youth pastors, Sunday school teachers, etc., but what do we mean? Sometimes it sounds so redundant that we become numb to what it REALLY means. "Loving like Jesus", can also seem impossible sometimes that we don't even try. My plea is for you to not become numb, because love is a command from God.

I am in the process of learning what love truly means. For the last couple of weeks, God has had me read 1 John over and over again. I am still a long way from grasping this concept that we talk about on a daily basis. However, I am beginning to understand that love is not a token of lust for your significant other. Love is not what you have for a well cooked, medium rare steak. It is not even your favorite T.V. show. Love is a choice and love is action.

1 Corinthians 13 gives a good definition of what love is in action.

4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

This love seems hard to grasp. I mean there are a lot people who I am not very patient with. I am a jealous person. I like to brag from time to time. I sometimes hold a grudge. I have to admit... I am a sinner.

However, when I turn to 1 John I see where it’s not me that does the loving but Christ through me. I, in myself, can not love like I am commanded. Through Christ, however, I can "love like Jesus".

1 John 4 7-12 reads:

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

John is instructing us to love one another just like God loved us. We were apart from and showed him hatred by our sins. However, he still showed us love by giving up his life so that we could have life. Therefore, we love him, because he FIRST loved us (v. 19). This is our example to others. They may not love us, but we must love them FIRST. We can do this because verse 9 says God sent his only son to die so that WE MIGHT LIVE THROUGH HIM. It is no longer us doing the loving, but Christ in us.

So now you can love like Jesus.

Hebrew

Today I was watching this show on the history channel about the bible and the Hebrew language and then I decided to learn Hebrew. I found this neat website called http://www.word2word.com/coursead.html, which gives you an entire list of languages that you can learn for free on the internet. I thought it was pretty interesting. So I am starting on my Hebrew quest, doesn't seem to hard yet, at least not to memorize what the symbols mean and how they sound. Then I can read it, but memorizing what the words I'm reading mean might be a little tougher. One day though I will be fluent in Hebrew!! :) ( I don't know how long it will take, I took spanish for three years and really don't know very much :) But it's an adventure, and it gives me something a little productive to do in my free time...

Until next time...

P.S. We went hiking today I will put pictures up soon :)

its nice that they do this

The largest gathering of prison inmates and their children takes place this weekend at a facility once known for its violence, murder, and mayhem.
 
The event, known as "Returning Hearts," allows inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola to spend a day with their children. Inmates and their kids enjoy games, food, relationship building, and Bible teaching. Lyndon Azcuna is director of Awana Lifeline, which sponsors the Returning Hearts celebration. He says the event can make a huge difference in the lives of at-risk kids. "Everybody knows that these children are mostly inner-city children. The characteristic of inner-city children is hopelessness," he notes, "and what we want to do is...equip parents and churches to build a legacy of hope in Christ." Eight-hundred children, 250 dads, and 800 volunteers are expected to take part in the weekend event at Angola.