jesse: hannah come build a tent with me!
hannah: jesse, you know i'm busy. i don't have time to play 'tent.'
jesse: but you're always busy.
growing up is scary. i now understand why peter pan never wanted to grow up. there's so many decisions to make. so many responsibilities. so much presure.
i remember playing barbies with my dad, we would set up 'barbie world' in the living room and lay there for hours fantasizing barbie and ken's dream world. if we weren't playing barbies we were hiding out under a tent we made. We would lay blankets under the kitchen table and bring in a flashlight and read stories and eat pizza all night long.
lets fast forward a few years to sixth grade. suddenly, my friends stopped wanting to play with barbies or hide out under a tent all night. they stopped wanting to play pretend. now, the cool thing to do was sit in someone's basement talking about boys and gossiping about the girls in our class who still played with barbies. Our barbie and ken dolls were replaced with eyeliner and hairspray. slowly, things began to change that year.
lets fast forward even more to ninth grade. my school's advisor came to talk to my class about college. i didnt want to think about college-that was four whole years away! he told us that we needed to start thinking about our future:where we wanted to go to school, what we wanted to study, etc. well not so long after that my youth group was talking about relationships. my pastor told us that the decisions we make now, will effect us for the rest of our lives. he also said that we should make a list of attributes we want in our future spouse someday. i had had enough! not only did i have to think about college but now my future husband someday?!?
alright, presnt time now. im a sophomore. i have my permit. i have a job. i have a boyfriend. i play soccer. and try to maintain good grades. talk about being busy. im hardly ever home and when i am, im doing homework which makes me in a bad mood. i have two and a half years of highschool left. two and a half more years of living at home. if my life was a remote, the fast forward button would be pressed, making my life seem like it's going one hundred miles per hour. how i wish i could still lay under that kitchen table listenning to my daddy read me stories. and that i still had the time to play barbies every single day. i may be getting older, life may seem to be going faster, and i may often appear to be busy, but my imagination hasnt left me. even though my barbies are in the attic and i can no longer fit under the kitchen table, i still sometimes pretend im a princess locked up in a tower surrounded by monsters. i pretend im an orphan living alone on the streets scrounging for scraps of food. no matter how old or busy we get, let us never lose sight of our childhood memories!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
do you want to get well?
John 5:1-9
"Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, with five alcoves. Hundreds of blind, crippled, paralyzed--were in these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, 'Do you want to get well?'"
The sick man said, 'Sir, when the water is stirred, I don't have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in.'
Jesus said, 'Get up, take your bedroll, start walking.' The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bed roll and walked off."
The first time I read this story, I was really confused. It doesn't make much sense if you don't understand the importance of the pool in Bible times.
The pool in Bethesda was important because every so often (no one knew when) the pool would stir itself and the first sick person (invalid) to get in the water would be healed. Because no one knew when the pool would stir, there were hundreds of sick people surrounding it waiting for the opportunity to hop in. The problem was, only the first person who got in would be healed. Can you imagine waiting there like this man did for thirty-eight years?!? I haven't even been alive for that long! I can't imagine the disappoinment of using all your energy to get yourself into the pool and having someone else beating you too it. And what if the person who got healed was one of the people who had been laying next to you for thirty-eight years? I know I would be pretty mad if one of my friends got there first!
The sick man in this story is a lot like us. He had an illness that affected his life. Just like we are affected by sin. He also made excuses when he was confronted by Jesus! When Jesus asked him if he wanted to be healed, instead of saying 'YES!' he made excuses of why he hadn't gotten into the pool first. God isn't looking for excuses from us. The sick man also walked away from all the other sick people. Look at the last sentence in the passage..it says, 'He picked up his bedroll and walked off.' He had spent every minute of every day with these people for the last thirty-eight years and once he was healed he didn't even help the others get into the pool or better yet tell them about Jesus and how he healed him! It's sad how I'm quick to judge this man when we do this all the time too! Christ has healed all of us of our disease and yet we don't go out and tell everyone about it!
How can we respond to this story? We need to admit our illness. 1 John 1:8-9 says 'If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselvs. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins--make a clean breast of them--he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrong doing.'
We also need to respond to the question, 'Do you want to get well?' We need to stop making up excuses for God. Our God is a god of second chances..he wants to heal us of our illness. John 1:11-12 states 'Jesus came to the world that was his own. But his own people did not accept him. But some people did accept him. The believed in him. To them he gave the right to become children of God.'
Lastly, we can not walk away from those who need Jesus. Romans 3:23-24, 'All people have sinned and are not good enough for God's glory..they are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ.' We have been healed but there are still thousands of people laying by the 'pool'. Don't just get up and walk away. God has saved us so that we can help save other people.
"Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, with five alcoves. Hundreds of blind, crippled, paralyzed--were in these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, 'Do you want to get well?'"
The sick man said, 'Sir, when the water is stirred, I don't have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in.'
Jesus said, 'Get up, take your bedroll, start walking.' The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bed roll and walked off."
The first time I read this story, I was really confused. It doesn't make much sense if you don't understand the importance of the pool in Bible times.
The pool in Bethesda was important because every so often (no one knew when) the pool would stir itself and the first sick person (invalid) to get in the water would be healed. Because no one knew when the pool would stir, there were hundreds of sick people surrounding it waiting for the opportunity to hop in. The problem was, only the first person who got in would be healed. Can you imagine waiting there like this man did for thirty-eight years?!? I haven't even been alive for that long! I can't imagine the disappoinment of using all your energy to get yourself into the pool and having someone else beating you too it. And what if the person who got healed was one of the people who had been laying next to you for thirty-eight years? I know I would be pretty mad if one of my friends got there first!
The sick man in this story is a lot like us. He had an illness that affected his life. Just like we are affected by sin. He also made excuses when he was confronted by Jesus! When Jesus asked him if he wanted to be healed, instead of saying 'YES!' he made excuses of why he hadn't gotten into the pool first. God isn't looking for excuses from us. The sick man also walked away from all the other sick people. Look at the last sentence in the passage..it says, 'He picked up his bedroll and walked off.' He had spent every minute of every day with these people for the last thirty-eight years and once he was healed he didn't even help the others get into the pool or better yet tell them about Jesus and how he healed him! It's sad how I'm quick to judge this man when we do this all the time too! Christ has healed all of us of our disease and yet we don't go out and tell everyone about it!
How can we respond to this story? We need to admit our illness. 1 John 1:8-9 says 'If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselvs. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins--make a clean breast of them--he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrong doing.'
We also need to respond to the question, 'Do you want to get well?' We need to stop making up excuses for God. Our God is a god of second chances..he wants to heal us of our illness. John 1:11-12 states 'Jesus came to the world that was his own. But his own people did not accept him. But some people did accept him. The believed in him. To them he gave the right to become children of God.'
Lastly, we can not walk away from those who need Jesus. Romans 3:23-24, 'All people have sinned and are not good enough for God's glory..they are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ.' We have been healed but there are still thousands of people laying by the 'pool'. Don't just get up and walk away. God has saved us so that we can help save other people.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
smile:)
so these last couple days have really really sucked and ive been in really bad moods. today i have the house to myself. so i decided to pour myself some chocolate milk, pop some popcorn, jam out to music and make a list of the random things that make me happy...
orange juice with extra pulp. big, scary thunderstorms. a novel that sucks you in. the hair on a cats nose. goosebumps. my grandma's cooking. dancing. mountains. fall. pumpkin spice lattes. christmas. when the clock stricks three during the school year. watching soccer. the feeling you get when you first wake up. drawing with chalk. speeding on the highway. brushing my teeth. bright colored flowers. bear hugs. meeting new people. payday. chicago pizza. taking pictures. trampolines. chips n salsa. giving my dog a bath. twizzlers. listenning to the wind blow. carmel apples. watching the clouds. blues music. going to new places. the sound of waves crashing. going on walks. candles. shopping. painting. my little brother. hiking. waterfalls. the smell of a sharpie. the smell of laundry. complimenting people. laughing. singing in the shower. the feeling of a new hair cut. staying in your pj's all day. hot chocolate with extra marshmellows. having exact change at the checkout. campfires. a spoonful of peanut butter straight from the jar.
everyone, whether rich or poor, has an abundant amount of daily happenings they can count on to make them smile :)
orange juice with extra pulp. big, scary thunderstorms. a novel that sucks you in. the hair on a cats nose. goosebumps. my grandma's cooking. dancing. mountains. fall. pumpkin spice lattes. christmas. when the clock stricks three during the school year. watching soccer. the feeling you get when you first wake up. drawing with chalk. speeding on the highway. brushing my teeth. bright colored flowers. bear hugs. meeting new people. payday. chicago pizza. taking pictures. trampolines. chips n salsa. giving my dog a bath. twizzlers. listenning to the wind blow. carmel apples. watching the clouds. blues music. going to new places. the sound of waves crashing. going on walks. candles. shopping. painting. my little brother. hiking. waterfalls. the smell of a sharpie. the smell of laundry. complimenting people. laughing. singing in the shower. the feeling of a new hair cut. staying in your pj's all day. hot chocolate with extra marshmellows. having exact change at the checkout. campfires. a spoonful of peanut butter straight from the jar.
everyone, whether rich or poor, has an abundant amount of daily happenings they can count on to make them smile :)
Friday, July 16, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
10,000.
what do you think of when you think of 10,000? i think thats a big stinkin number. i think i would like a $10,000 bill in my hand. i think of all the thousands of people in this world. i think of all the mistakes i've made and how i could use 10,000 redos! 10,000 is a big number
10,000. thats the amount of steps an average person takes in one day. thats a lot of steps! if you think thats a lot then get this..the average person walks 115,000 miles in a lifetime. 115,000 miles is more than 4 times around this big blue planet of ours! now that is a lot of steps! this made me wonder how im using my steps. am i using them wisely?
to get across an average room it takes about ten steps-thats 1/1000 of your daily average. What if taking those ten steps could impact eternity? what if your walk across a room could help point someone elses steps in the right direction. ten steps is all it takes to change a life..are you willing to take those steps?
witnessing can sometimes be scary and nerveracking. you dont know what to say nor do you know what the other person's response is going to be. will they be mad and tell you to shut the beepedy beep beep beep beep up? Or will they quietly listen to what you have to say? But what if we didnt say anything? theres more to witnessing than just talking, we must use our steps wisely and step out of our comfort zone. we need to get out of the 'christian bubble' and spend time with people who need to see the love of jesus christ. what if people only had your life as an example to look at and the were asked the question 'does that person love jesus? is christianity even worth it?' how would they answer?
in bible times your name wasm ore than just a word. your name reflected and told who you were. what do you think people think when they hear your name? are you using your steps in a good influential way?
so many people have a bad view on christianity because so many 'christians' are not taking their steps wisely. they say one thing and do the other. romans 12:2 says, 'do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world but be transformd by the renewing of your mind.' we need to understand that we are the gospel. we are the only good news some people will see. we must be a living testimony for those around. people. watch you. and people will remember what they see. may be be shining lights.
i recently took a step out of my 'christian bubble' and got a job where i work with several non-christians who think its weird that i dont swear, or party, or drink, or have sex before marriage. i have had several opportunities to be a shining light. and my co-workers remember that. i stand out at my work place by what i do and dont do. ( yes i mess up all the time and am no where near to perfect but thats a whole different blog post:))
in luke 19:10, jesus says, ' i came to seek and save the lost.' in mark 1:17 he commands us to be fishers of men. jesus spent most of his time with the sick and needy people, we need to do the same. we need to stop investing in ourselves and start investing our life and our steps in others. we need to be willing to let go of our wordly passions in order to put god's people at top priority.
i want to end with this: romans 5:8 says, 'but god demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners christ died for us.' christ's redemptive steps..christ stepped out of the ultimate comfort zone-heaven itself-to rescue us. jesus embraced the worst this planet had to offer (us) with open arms of acceptance, forgiveness, and love. may we follow christ's steps and not waste our lives. you have 115,000 miles-what are you going to do with them?
i hope this made sense, i just read two really good books and this is a short summary of both of them. i highly recommend them. Dont Waste Your Life by John Piper and Just Walk Across the Room by Bill Hybels.
10,000. thats the amount of steps an average person takes in one day. thats a lot of steps! if you think thats a lot then get this..the average person walks 115,000 miles in a lifetime. 115,000 miles is more than 4 times around this big blue planet of ours! now that is a lot of steps! this made me wonder how im using my steps. am i using them wisely?
to get across an average room it takes about ten steps-thats 1/1000 of your daily average. What if taking those ten steps could impact eternity? what if your walk across a room could help point someone elses steps in the right direction. ten steps is all it takes to change a life..are you willing to take those steps?
witnessing can sometimes be scary and nerveracking. you dont know what to say nor do you know what the other person's response is going to be. will they be mad and tell you to shut the beepedy beep beep beep beep up? Or will they quietly listen to what you have to say? But what if we didnt say anything? theres more to witnessing than just talking, we must use our steps wisely and step out of our comfort zone. we need to get out of the 'christian bubble' and spend time with people who need to see the love of jesus christ. what if people only had your life as an example to look at and the were asked the question 'does that person love jesus? is christianity even worth it?' how would they answer?
in bible times your name wasm ore than just a word. your name reflected and told who you were. what do you think people think when they hear your name? are you using your steps in a good influential way?
so many people have a bad view on christianity because so many 'christians' are not taking their steps wisely. they say one thing and do the other. romans 12:2 says, 'do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world but be transformd by the renewing of your mind.' we need to understand that we are the gospel. we are the only good news some people will see. we must be a living testimony for those around. people. watch you. and people will remember what they see. may be be shining lights.
i recently took a step out of my 'christian bubble' and got a job where i work with several non-christians who think its weird that i dont swear, or party, or drink, or have sex before marriage. i have had several opportunities to be a shining light. and my co-workers remember that. i stand out at my work place by what i do and dont do. ( yes i mess up all the time and am no where near to perfect but thats a whole different blog post:))
in luke 19:10, jesus says, ' i came to seek and save the lost.' in mark 1:17 he commands us to be fishers of men. jesus spent most of his time with the sick and needy people, we need to do the same. we need to stop investing in ourselves and start investing our life and our steps in others. we need to be willing to let go of our wordly passions in order to put god's people at top priority.
i want to end with this: romans 5:8 says, 'but god demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners christ died for us.' christ's redemptive steps..christ stepped out of the ultimate comfort zone-heaven itself-to rescue us. jesus embraced the worst this planet had to offer (us) with open arms of acceptance, forgiveness, and love. may we follow christ's steps and not waste our lives. you have 115,000 miles-what are you going to do with them?
i hope this made sense, i just read two really good books and this is a short summary of both of them. i highly recommend them. Dont Waste Your Life by John Piper and Just Walk Across the Room by Bill Hybels.
iced water.
so i wrote this a long time ago but i just found it and liked it..so im posting it:)
i ran today for the first time in months. it wasn't as easy as i had anticipated in fact the only thing that kept m egoing was that i knew that a cup of iced water was awaiting me back at home. i love running. i feel so free and like nothing or no one can stop me. no worry or fear can get in my way. i love the feeling when you finish. so relieved and proud of yourself. but the thing i love the most about running is that our life is compared to a race all thoughout scripture. if we would run our life race with as much focus and determination on GOD that i had on that glass of water than our 'life races' would be so much better. i feel as if i've put 'iced water' in place of GOD. wordly things have been my determinations instead of the almighty GOD-the sustainer of the universe! may we all run for the lord. les us finish the race that was marked out for us.
i ran today for the first time in months. it wasn't as easy as i had anticipated in fact the only thing that kept m egoing was that i knew that a cup of iced water was awaiting me back at home. i love running. i feel so free and like nothing or no one can stop me. no worry or fear can get in my way. i love the feeling when you finish. so relieved and proud of yourself. but the thing i love the most about running is that our life is compared to a race all thoughout scripture. if we would run our life race with as much focus and determination on GOD that i had on that glass of water than our 'life races' would be so much better. i feel as if i've put 'iced water' in place of GOD. wordly things have been my determinations instead of the almighty GOD-the sustainer of the universe! may we all run for the lord. les us finish the race that was marked out for us.
Friday, June 18, 2010
ahhhh!!!!
i have so much on my mind right now..i just realized ive been staring at this blank post for the last 40minutes. i know i havnt blogged in quite some time but i will soon. im going through a lot and prayer would be great! god bless!
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