Thankful, #8

     What in the world am I suppose to be thankful for today? I have waaay too many things to be thankful for... I think if I said them all we'd be here forever, and ever, and ever... etc :D 

     You know what, that'll be my thankful today. I am thankful that God blesses us over and above all that we ever could or would deserve. 

     "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not."

     ~ Lamentations 3:22

     "Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!"

     ~ Psalm107:8

     "Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name; call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."

     ~ Jeremiah 33:2-3

     

     "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen."   

     ~ John 21:25

In Christ alone,                

Thankful, #7

     Okay, it's been a while. Sorry again :)

     So... today, I'm thankful for music - in specific, good music. I love music! Music touches the heart. Did you know, your body can tell that music is playing, even if you can't hear it? Also, I've heard that the stars make music... whether you believe that or not, I do! 

     "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork." 

     ~ Psalm 19:1

     "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;"

     ~ Ephesians 5:19

     "Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works."

     ~ Psalm 105:2

     "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;"

     ~ Revelation 5:9

In Christ alone, 

Thankful, #6

     I am thankful for people who "push" you to serve God... you know, push in a good way. I guess what I really mean is those who encourage you to walk with Him. The ones you know are praying for you, even if they haven't told you they are. The ones who sacrifice their time, desires, money - and so much more - to help give you a solid foundation.The ones who always, always, always point you to Christ. Who tell you to look up. Where would I be without those people? Certainly not even near as close to my Savior as I am now.

     

     "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:" 

     ~ Hebrews 10:24

     "Wherefore seeing we also are compasses about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

     ~ Hebrews 12:1-2

  

In Christ alone, 

Thankful, #5

     (apologies for my lack of diligence, and for my many apologies :D)
 
     I am so grateful that God is infinite.
     That conference I mentioned in my last post was at Cary Schmidt's (author of Life Quest, Just Friends, and other books) church. During one of his messages, he mentioned that humanism would tell you that you "should be the best you you can be." He also mentioned how people are trying to climb to the top of "their" mountain. And I thought, you know what? When you climb to the top of yourself, there is nowhere left to go except down. But with God... Yes, God is infinite. There is always "up" with God.

     "Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite."
     ~ Psalm 147:5

     "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen."
     ~ 1 Timothy 1:17

     "To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen."
     ~ Jude 25


In Christ alone,

Thankful, #4

     Hello, again! Sorry I didn't write over the weekend... went to a conference with my youth group. We had an awesome time :D.
   
     So, today, I am thankful for those who have gone on before: soldiers and martyrs. It is because of the soldier's sacrifices that we have freedoms today. Some have given their time and their safety to defend us... some have given so much more.
     Martyrs... while they have not purchased our freedom. But they remind us that our lives are not our own. They remind us to look to Christ, to trust in Him alone. They point us to Him.
     Sacrifice is important. Soldiers demonstrate this. Martyrs demonstrate this. Christ demonstrated the ultimate sacrifice for us on the cross. We should never take this for granted.


     "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
     ~ John 15:13

     "Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect."
     ~ Hebrews 11:33-40

     "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,"
     ~ Hebrews 12:1


In Christ alone,

Thankful, #3

     I am thankful for beauty and nature. Fall, as it turns out, is one of my favorite seasons (Spring is my other favorite season, and I can never decide between the two :D). One of my favorite things about fall is the way the sun shines through the multi-colored leaves... Sometimes it feels a little silly to just say that I am thankful for beauty. But beauty reminds me of who God is. To me, it reveals some of His characteristics - like love and purity.

     "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good..."
     ~ Genesis 1:31

     "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handywork."
     ~ Psalm 19:1

     "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple."
     ~ Psalm 27:4


In Christ alone,

Thankful, #2

     (I apologize for my blog's appearance... technical difficulties :D)

     I am so thankful for the Bible. It is so many things - it is truth; it is God's letter to us; it is the final authority; it is our only offensive weapon; it is the Word of God. As truth, it is our light. As God's letter to us, I am reminded of all He's done and am thankful. As the final authority, it keeps us grounded in the truth. As our only offensive weapon, we can use it to attack the devil. And as the Word of God... well, read this verse:

     "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
     ~ John 1:1

     Here's a few more verses:

     "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
     ~ Psalm 119:105

     "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction in righteousness:"
     ~ 2 Timothy 3:16

     "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"
     ~ Ephesians 6: 17

In Christ alone,

Hello!

     Hello, out there! It's been a while...
     Hopefully I will continue this blog, we'll see. I plan to, anyway.
     You know, a lot can happen in 11 months... and I mean a LOT! I guess I'll save my "list" of changes for next month, though, just because :D.
     From now until Thanksgiving I am going to (attempt to) post one thing I am thankful for a day, starting with today. Today's thankful thing is:

     I am thankful for God's love. The more you contemplate how much He loves us, the more you can't help but love Him back. He loved us so much... we are so unworthy... we can never serve Him enough!

     "...God is love"
     ~ 1 John 4:8

     "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
     ~ Philippians 2:6-8

     "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
     ~ Romans 5:8

     "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
     ~ John 3:16


In Christ Alone,

Christmas, New Years, and Monumental

     Okay, I missed two holidays and want to post about Kirk Cameron's "Monumental", so I figured I'd do it in all one post.

     First, Christmas.
     During Christmas, there's always a lot of talk about having "the Christmas spirit". But when you take God out of Christmas, there isn't much of a good spirit to have. Christmas, of course, is the time of year that is set aside to celebrate Jesus' birth. But why is it so important to celebrate His birth? Because Christ didn't just come to be born of a virgin. He came to save the world from their sins. He came to shine light into the darkness, to "seek and to save that which was lost". That means that He came to die on the cross. But that wasn't the end. Christ ultimately came to defeat death and sin. His resurrection from the dead was just that. So, first, he was born of a virgin. Then, after his ministry, he took on the burden of all of mankind's sins on the cross. And finally, He rose again in victory over that death and sin! And that is where the true Christmas spirit comes from - the ultimate gift, God's own Son!
     The first thing my family did for Christmas was go to Sight and Sound's play "Jonah" with our grandparents. It was really amazing! I don't really know how to describe it... it had a really good - and strong - theme, too. It was about being freed from chains of your own making. And for a book of the Bible that ends with the main character being so selfish, they wrapped up the play really well. If you can possibly go see it, I definitely recommend.
     Also for Christmas, my family stayed at my Grandmother's. We were planning on having a big party at her house, but that party was pretty much cut in half because of the snow. But I didn't mind so much. I was so thrilled that the snow came just in time for Christmas! For the whole week before Christmas, I wasn't too sure it would snow. And I absolutely hate so-called "green" Christmases. I don't know how they are in places, like, say, Florida. But in Pennsylvania, a "green" Christmas is really a grey Christmas. So when the snow fell, my sisters and I all went outside - some of us even in our bare feet - to enjoy it. Some of us made snow angels, and we all just plain "romped" in it.
     Other than snow, we also went bowling, decorated, and, of course, wrapped and opened gifts. One thing every member of my family received was gift cards to Barnes and Noble. So, on New Years Day...

     Second, New Years Day.
     My family spent New Years Day in going to Barnes and Noble. Since I recently got my permit on my 16th birthday, Dad let me drive. Mom wasn't too impressed, but I think she is a little more settled about it all after my older sister's turn at learning to drive.
     So, we got to spend a few hours at Barnes and Noble. At first I was a little discouraged because the books that I was really looking for weren't in stock. But then I found Johnny Tremain. And then all of a sudden, all of these books I've wanted to read started popping in my head :D. After a bit of searching, I ended up leaving with "Johnny Tremain", three books by Elizabeth Gaskell, "King Solomon's Mines", "Boy Meets Girl" by Joshua Harris, "Oliver Twist", "When God Writes Your Life Story" by Eric and Leslie Ludy, and Monumental (the DVD).
     When we got home, we played a game that Dad had got (Would You Rather...), and then had dinner and watched...

     Thirdly and Lastly, Monumental.
     So, after going to Barnes and Noble, we all watched Kirk Cameron's Monumental. It was really good. Growing up with a Dad who's really into history, especially American, I have had access to a lot of good history books and other things. But I still learned from Monumental. For instance, I did not know that when the Pilgrims left for Holland, the men were separated from their wives and children. I didn't know about the storm the men were caught in, or about its miraculous stop. And the monument they went to see in Plymouth that Congress built... it was all amazing. It was sobering, encouraging, and challenging. It was sobering to see how far from the principles of our founding America has come, and where other nations in history - such as Rome - have ended up after becoming much the same as our own society has. But it was encouraging that we have such rich history that we can point to, and that our God is a God of mercy. If we will only look back, perhaps we will move forward. That's the challenging part. To not just sit back or be involved in the blame game. To instead see how this country was made, realize the Providence of God in our history, and then move forward with that knowledge. And then, to cry out with the Pilgrims "You can save us even now!"
     If you haven't seen it already, I recommend this to you, too. It was just incredible.

So, I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

In Christ Alone,