Unpolluted

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this......to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. ~James 1:27

This morning I got up and stood with students at Ida High School for See You At the Pole to pray for their school and lift up the faculty, students, the building, advisors, the nation, and the world, holding hands and standing together. It strikes me as a privilage to be a leader to these young people and I remember being in their position; a young high school kid who had sports, games, homework, friends, and many things on my teenie bopper to-do list! haha. But it was very important to me at the time, and it's important to me now because those times made me who I am today, and is shaping these students today into who they will be in years to come. So as I was standing there in prayer our little circle grew slowly.

Now thinking about this morning I read this verse with a new perspective. It's vital that mature Christians keep ourselves from being polluted by the world but it's also our responsibility to help the young ones from being polluted as well. We cannot shield them completely but by a covering of prayer and Godly wisdom we can help. It was like a small circle of light around that flagpole this morning, shining in a dark world where they will be tempted, hurt, and people will try to rob them of their confidence. I praise God that our students were willing to go early and lift their prayers to the Lord, and I praise God for bringing me to this place in my life. Only time will tell what an impact these students will have in the future days and years to come!!

Senses

I am officially ready for fall weather! It's so weird waking up in the middle of the night and being cold and then waking up in the morning and it's hot again....I hate that! You know in the Bible how it says "let your yes be yes and your no be no", well how come the weather can't comply?? Seriously, either be cold or be hot! Geez! I like the fall best of all seasons though, for multiple reasons. for one it's my birthday (November 2, mark your calendars...my roomies better do something sweet for me.....haha), and the typical things like the beautiful colors and wearing sweatshirts and jeans, snuggling up in bed at night and feeling so warm and cozy! Long walks on the trail and the park, watching football, going to the airport on October 1 to meet Frankie at the airport....okay so that's not an annual thing but it's something to have positive association with the fall for! I love bonfires and hayrides, the smell of burning leaves is really one of my favorite smells, and combine it with crisp autumn and and crunching leaves under your feet.....the entire thing just really makes me happy!

So I'm thinking about how the senses are so involved in every season of the year. The smells, the feels, the sounds, sights....even the tastes because of holidays....what do you associate Thanksgiving with? Turkey and mashed potatoes. Christmas? Baked ham and mashed potatoes. Valentines Day? Sugar cookies...and mashed potatoes. Haha, just kidding, but seriously, all the senses are involved. In my spiritual life I've come to realize just how much the senses are involved in my walk. There is so much more involved in our spiritual walk than we sometimes think. When you worship God you can FEEL His Spirit move. When you pray you can listen and HEAR His voice. When you read the word you can TASTE His goodness. When you live out your calling you can SEE how He works. When you lift your praises to Him your worship and praise is like a sweet SMELL to His senses. Or, you can smell the fart someone in front of you cuts but hopefully that isn't the case. Tonight I walked into church for youth group and my entire being was overwhelmed with excitment and joy for what God is doing in the youth! So my senses were overwhelmed tonight with not just the smell of walking tacos and adolescence, hahaha! I can't wait to see what God has in store for this season!!

The Good Things

I think some of the most random things in life are some of the best. for instance, the other day I was walking out to go running and one of our neighbors told me my shorts made me look like a lesbian. I could've gotten insulted but I understand that the rainbow stripe down the side is kind of a homosexual sign, but I've had the shorts since like, jr. high, and they've stayed so nice and in good condition! Anyways, I laughed because I figured, well if anyone thought I was a lesbian it would mean they didn't know me at all and if they just saw me running down the road, will I ever see them again? No.

Another random thing, walking into my bedroom to see my teddy bears either hanging from my bunk bed with a cell phone cord around its neck or tied up and blindfolded....it sounds so morbid and disturbing but I laughed out loud and screamed at Lauren out my window. I know she loves me and all but to the point of being jealous of the stuffed animals in my bed with me at night, that's kind of scary. Lauren, just because I wear lesbian shorts doesn't mean I am one! Haha!

And yesterday I accidentally called my boyfriend's mom by the wrong name (Patty instead of Peggy...haha) to his dad....that was the most embarrassing moment of the week by far. I don't know if he heard me say it or if he ignored it so I didn't feel like a huge tard but either way I felt like crawling in a hole. Besides looking like a I have a mullet when I put my hair in a ponytail, that was a pretty funny moment.

I'm just feeling goofy tonight, but I thank God for it. It's been a tough weekend, work has been draining and life is just difficult sometimes. But I thought about the times in life when we feel kind of separated from God, and even though we know we're not we still feel alone sometimes. But can you imagine being separated from God for all eternity? It hit me tonight. Not being in constant fellowship with Christ makes life more difficult even on a daily basis but imagine eternity being that difficult and more. That's what hell is. Hell=no bueno. No bueno=all evil. I'm a dork, sure, but you get my point.

The Needs of an Animal

I thought this was kind of funny and I even laughed a little while I was writing it into my journal one morning. My mom had just mentioned the other night that I hadn't come over to feed my cat at night for the past two nights (yes, I'm horrible, she's so sick from liver failure and thyroid issues and yet she's gonna die of starvation because I'm a bad mother!!). Granted, Mom fed her for me but the issue is that she's MY cat. So anyway I read this, Proverbs 12:10 "A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel."

I laughed because it's so ironic that I would read that at the same time my mom scolded me about my cat! Whether you believe animals go to heaven or not doesn't matter, and I won't state my stance on it either because I don't want to get shellacked with animal people comments (haters or lovers of animals), but the point is that it's a small responsibility to feed my cat every night. She's mine, and even if my parents gave her to me it's a responsibility which God holds me accountable to even if it's small. Matthew 25:21 "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things." I was reminded instantly of this verse after I read the Proverb, and I really felt kind of convicted about my lack of care for my cat! I mean I even wrote a blog about Pinky and how ridiculous it was to take to the vet all the time! Haha! So God does care about the little things in life, whether it's a small desire we have or a small responsibility we have.

I Bless Your Name

Today I work I was listening to the song "I Bless Your Name" by Selah on my handy dandy ipod, which I love because it's pink (but I love God more, don't worry, haha!). First I'll put the lyrics then I'll continue.

"In prisoners' chains

With bleeding stripes

Paul and Silas prayed that night

And in their pain began to sing

Their chains were loosed

And they were free

I bless Your Name, I bless Your Name

I give You honor, give You praise

You are the Life, the Truth, the Way

I bless Your Name, I bless Your Name

Some midnight hour

If you should find

You're in a prison in your mind

Reach out and praise

Defy those chains

And they will fall

In Jesus' Name "

I kept thinking about the last part about being in a prison in your mind. It is so easy to make yourself a prisoner to your own fears and thoughts. It's just another way the devil takes a hold in our lives, it starts in our heads but eventually leads to the heart. How do we overcome this? It's really hard to just reach out and praise God when we're fighting an inward battle in our minds but once we take the step and do it, God really does reach down to the deepest part of our hearts to heal. Think of Job, he wasn't happy he was sick but he still praised God and stayed true to the Lord. I love Ruth 4:14 where it says, "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel!" Ruth was in a tough position; her husband dead, living in a foreign land, and only getting the remnants of what harvesters had already gleened. If I were her I'd probably be in a mental prison, worrying about the future, my mother-in-law, everything! And yet she stayed true, God blessed her, and through her living a life of praise even the women around her praised God! how awesome is that?

So when you feel like you're in a mental prison reach out and praise the Lord, He will remove the chains and set you free. He does for me. He will for you. We love you, Lord, I pray your Holy Spirit will fill the hears of anyone who reads this tonight and we will truly praise you from the depths of our hearts, letting you take away the chains of mental slavery. You, God, are our kindsman redeemer, the lover of our souls, and the deliverer of our hearts!

Good Mornings

I woke up this morning with lots of happy and exciting thoughts. Always a great way to start the day, right? :) Anyway, I love waking up and straight away reaching for my Bible, to get into God's word whether I'm happy, sad, angry, exstatic, whatever, it's a fulfilling way to start each day. I've been rereading Hosea because I like the book for it's redeption theme and to learn how God responded to his peoples' disobedience....not because I like reading about people getting in trouble, hahaha, that's twisted, but because it just shows another level in who our God is.

Hosea 6:4b "Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears."

This is a charge against Judah and Ephraim but I find it completely appropriate for us too. Do you want your love for God to be like the morning mist or early dew? Sure we all go through funks in our walk sometime but even in those times there can still be the deep and devoted passion for God. I don't want my love for God to be something He feels is unstable, unreliable, untrustworthy. No I am not perfect, far from it, but I want God to know my heart is His....always.

So in contrast to Dew Love (I made that one up, haha, I feel cool) in the mornings, every morning let's wake up and have True Love. Expect to draw closer to Jesus, to let that love carry us through each day and wait in expectation that God will answer. Psalm 5:3 "In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." I prayed something one morning this week and believed in faith God would answer my prayer. I waited in expectation. He answered my prayer last night. I went to bed last night praising Him for His faithfulness, with gratitude in my heart. Psalm 92:1-3 "It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night..."

So have great mornings with me! Let's walk in the constant truth of God and who He is, remembering salvation inthe morning, and praising Him every night.

Ode to the Nub

Last night I was laying in bed thinking about how I'm not going to be at my mom and dad's house anymore...feeling kind of sad, I reached for my old teddy bear and tried to fall asleep. Yes, I slept with a bear, deal with it! Anyway, all last night and most of the day today I had a horrible anxiety in my spirit, which only comes when I'm involved in something new and life is changing. I've never been one who likes change much and as I've grown up physically, spiritually, emotionally, God has been gracious and helped me cope with change.

Life is so uncertain sometimes. With change comes new people, new places, unexpected events, unpredictable circumstances. All those things can be scary and sometimes hold us back from doing what God has called us to do. But change also brings new opportunities, a fresh outlook on life which gives us a clear perspective, and with new people and places come more chances to share the truth. Whether life is changing for good or bad one thing always remains the same, and that is Jesus. "Take your eyes off this changing world and turn them to the unchanging God". I can't stress enough how much that quote has impacted my life in times when life seemed difficult. It's even touched me when life was great! Through the mountains and valleys in life God is the consistent wind which blows and touches both places.

Ode to the Thumb Nub

Chopping away so smooth and swift,
Suddenly I slipped and I was sure miffed!
Oh what a shame to cut my thumb,
It hurt so bad and swelled like a plumb!
So there I was with blood abounding,
I ran to the sink, my poor heart pounding.
Yes I'm just a dame who cut her thumb,
I've been trained, too, so I felt really dumb.
Alas there was still much work to accomplish
So I put on 3 bandaids and a glove so I could finish.
Now I'm sitting here, my nub thumb throbbing,
No stitches needed so I won't be sobbing.
What a shame to cook with my thumb nub,
If you taste extra seasoning all I did was rub!
Call me sick but it's all a big joke,
I did cut my thumb but don't have a stroke!
In a month it will be healed and pain will scatter,
But tonight I'll take a pill so I can sleep a little better.

Pinky

I have officially come to the conclusion that animals (pets) ought to die of natural causes. I'm sick of taking my cat to the vet all the time, is that horribly selfish? Here's the deal, Pinky Pie Velasquez is 16 almost 17 years old, she has hyperthyroid with a tumor in her throat, liver problems and I have to give her 3 medications twice a day. I can't even add up how much money's been spent on veterinary visits, including one this winter to have the tip of her tail amputated because it was scraped clean of the hair somehow and we didn't want it to get jaundiced. She, among many other cats in history, would have died at least a few years prior to her actual day of death if allowed. Why put animals through this misery? If I were as sick as she was I'd ask to be taken off my pills and just let me die, for the LOVE! Especially if I were that old! However, I do like my cat, she is funny and humorous in her old age....she makes this crazy squeakie noise in her throat and her meow is all mangled for some reason.

So yeah, I took her to the vet this morning and it was just for a shot so I didn't get her cage out. She shed all over my car and me, I seriously looked like a sasquatch when I got home. My car is in dire need of a cleaning, too. But holding her while we waited softened my heart a little. In a sense it reminded me of how we are. Helpless, sick, people, with Father God holding us and caring for us even though we are as good as dead. But by His grace and mercy we are brought to life and have a reason to live and have new life and joy in Him. So....thanks to my decrepit old cat Pinky, for reminding me of the love of Jesus today.