It's all about trust!

This weekend I learned a very important lesson. One that is vital in my walk with Christ. I learned to fully trust him with my life!
I mean, I always trusted in him but there was always a part of me that questioned God's reasoning for me.
"Why is this happening?"
"What could I possibly learn from this?"

This weekend my father was planning to come to visit us from Michigan. I don't get to see him very often so when I do it's a big occasion. The morning he was supposed to arrive I recieved a call. He explained to me that there was a huge snowstorm that hit Ohio making his bus dicuss the possibility of cancelling. He said he would call me later to give me the results of the discussion.
The moment I got off the phone I prayed that I would get to see my father later that day. An hour had passed before I recived the verdict.
He couldn't make it!
I was crushed!
I then began to wonder why God didn't let my dad come to me. It wasn't till my father called me back later that day that I recieved that answer.
" I can come in two weeks." My dad stated while trying to make the situation better.
As he said this, I glanced at my calendar. Two weeks was Easter weekend!. My dad hadn't been with us for Easter in at least 3 years! That's when I knew that this was all in God's plan. He wanted my dad to be with his family on Easter.

At that moment, I hit my knees and gave him praise!

When Faith Can Fly

When Faith Can Fly

A bird with wings to fly,
sits trapped in a cage.
The owner sits and admires the beauty of the bird,
and yet refuses to let it fly
What she cannot see,
is that by keeping the beauty for herself,
she is shielding the world from experiencing
the true beauty of the bird
that is seen as it takes flight.

Getting into the REAL Spirit of the Season!

Lately, I've noticed that people just don't get what this season is really about!

As a child we come under the impression that Xmas is all about the presents, the tree, and the holly jolly Santa Claus.

We then grow up and discover that all that is covering up the true reason for the season.

I think that too many people have forgotten this little fact.

There's a song called Christmas with a capital C that talks about the saying "Happy Holidays" One part of the song says that there are a lot of holidays in February, but you don't say Happy Holidays, You say what it is.

The thing that the song says that I like the most is that Happy Holidays is said because the do not want to admit the real meaning of the holiday. And after 2000 years Jesus Christ is still intimidating people!

*Pictures Found at:

http://www.christiananswers.net/kids/jesus-cross.gif

http://www.clipartguide.com/_small/0041-0503-1616-4056.jpg

Impressing Only One!

Are there times in your life that you feel like you don't fit in to "the LOOK" that society has laid out for this world?

• One must be so thin
• One must wear a certain thing
• One must act a certain way.

Why do we have to "fit in"?

There are days in my life that I feel like the Ugly Duckling,


http://www.callaway.com/images/TheUglyDucklingCover.jpg


a character that has been portrayed to children for years upon years. He is the classic example of a creature that feels left out of life simply because he is rejected by his peers.


There are also more modern day interpretations of this classic tale.

For example:

There was a show on television that describes a rather "geeky" girl who was trying to survive in the cutthroat fashion world. This show was titled "Ugly Betty",
http://www.popkulturjunkie.de/pix/BetUgly.jpg

and although I didn't particularly care for the show, I did enjoy the overall concept. I think that the outside of a person judges too abruptly on the looks of people.
Now there are the obvious sayings that could be used as fuel to what I am arguing such as: Don't judge a book by its cover and so on and so on.
But I think that the only way to handle the fact that our world today tends to judge the way we look before they get to truly know us and who we are, is to figure out why such a thing is possibly done.

• These people could feel uncomfortable about themselves and therefore push the ridicule on an easy target.
• They could be so wrapped up in society that they forget that human beings are built with feelings.

Now I am not saying that fashion itself is evil, I am simply saying that there is, perhaps, too much emphasis on it. I think that you should wear what you want. Clothes allow a person to begin to express who they are. However, if you take one bite of a cake, do you now know all the ingredients.
So basically, in all this rambling I am trying to say that being "Cool" ,being "Normal" ,being "Stylish" is overrated. There is one person in this life that we should strive to impress, and that person could care less whether we are wearing $300 jeans or rags that were handed down from our brother. That person is God.
I'm going to leave you with one more thing. There is a chorus popular christian song that says,
"I'm not cool. That's okay. My God loves me anyway. I'm not cool. That's alright. I'm still precious in his sight."

The Faith Within

I haven't done this before, but I thought it might be nice to get some of my work on the blog. And I dying to hear what is thought of this poem because I'm a little unsure myself! It's called "The Faith Within"

I am at your side,

although you ignore me.

I am here to guide,

although you do not follow.

I'm stuck in your head,

no matter how hard you try to erase me.

I hear all of what is said

and I am there to rethink the wrong

Although you may deny me,

I assure you I will never fade.

All I want is for you to see

your faith within.

So there it is .........now give me the truth!!!

Genesis.....What Does it Mean Now?

We all know the story: The snake tempted Eve, Eve ate the fruit, Adam then gave in and too ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge. Yet does this give others the right to assume that Eve is weaker simply because she was the first to submit to the temptation.

The Book of Genesis has stirred controversy in scholars for years and , I believe will continue to do so for awhile. Many men have used this text to prove that women are the weaker of the two. They prove their point by using a number of verses from this book.

Genesis 2:22

" And the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man made he a woman, and brought her unto man."

This somehow leads people to assume that because Eve was taken from Adam, women are not equal to man because we are merely part of them.

This next passage comes after the consuming of the apple. God is laying out his punishments to the first couple.

Genesis 3:16

" Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over you"
This passage not only provides a reason for painful childbirth, but also a reason for mans control over women. In my Core 3 class we discussed this very passage. the professor asked the ladies in the classroom "What if your husband wanted you to be a stay home mother and do nothing else but cook and clean? Also keep this in mind" he continued, " If you disagreed with him he pulled out the bible, knowing you were a religious person and pointed to that passage."
I thought to myself....I am a very religious person, however, life has evolved since the life that was portrayed in the bible and I think God appreciates and respects that.

The Good...The Bad....and.....The Worse

What makes a good person? What attributes does one have to gain to become good? Frankly, I believe the goodness of a person depends on how that person handles their mistakes. Let's face it, We all mess up! We all do wrong! I know I've lied a time or two and done what I was told not to. But how did you handle the facing of your wrong doing. Did you quickly apologize and maybe start crying, or did you lie and try to push the blame on someone else. In my eyes, this is what determines the good from the bad and the bad from the worse.

(WARNING GETTING RELIGIOUS!!!!) In the Bible, it states that if we admit our sins and ask for forgiveness, we will be forgiven and will have a place in heaven Yet if we constantly ignore the fact that we have sinned and cover it up with more sins and lies, heaven might not be waiting for us in the end.

Granted I am not saying that a man who murders 15 people is a good person just because he admits he did wrong and asks for forgiveness. What I am saying is that he is a better than the man who killed 15 and didn't admit he did anything wrong. I know this can be a very fine line with many situations and opinions. I hoped I have not stepped on any ones toes and upset anyone. I just wanted to get my opinion out there. I am looking forward to getting some feedback from you.