A year in review!

Wow, this time last year I was considering starting up this blog, I'm really glad I did! I have blogger friends from different countries who have the same interests as I do, which is super cool and I never would have 'met' them otherwise. :)

I've been pondering the past year in my mind for the last couple days and I wanted to write a  post about what God's done and what I've learnt from Him over the past year. This may be incredibly long and possibly vague because I don't share every personal detail of my life with the world wide web.

Here it goes:

 This year God's answered some of the smallest of prayers, even though I thought it was silly to pray about something that wasn't a big deal, occasionally I did and God came through on it! Which is really cool and always resulted in me doing a little 'happy dance' that I tend to do when I realize a prayer is answered. Yes it looks kind of silly but I don't care one bit!  Praise God!

                                                                                                                     

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit 

~ Matthew 28:19

 I love this verse,  it's quite popular and I've been thinking about it a lot but I think it's sometimes taken too far in context... When Jesus said to go and make disciples of all nations most people tend to think, oh I have to go to a foreign country on a mission's trip, that is the obvious thought and it's great that people do go to other countries and share Jesus with people who have never heard it, But to GO as commanded could also mean to go across the street and invite your neighbour to church, or to casually mention something that God's been showing you to a friend- even if they don't really respond because it's 'awkward'  for both parties, So God's really been showing me that I don't have to go to to another country, I'll go where I'm called and right now I think that's right here.

The second part of that verse reminds me of what I haven't yet shared with fellow bloggers...


I got baptized on December 9th! It was really great!!! And there's another answered prayer within the days leading up to it...
I had the slightly terrifying task of telling the rest of my family I was getting baptized about a week before it happened. As I was telling my parents... my dad kind of over reacted and freaked out about me being 'lured' into 'organized religion' as he puts it, even thought it was completely my decision. And of course I was upset that he didn't support me, not that I had expected him to.
 I went for a walk to calm down and I was praying about it, that he wouldn't over react and he'd let me make my own decisions (being the mature, responsible 18 year old I am). I kept on walking feeling a bit better and a little more calm... and it had literally been 2 minutes since I had been praying about my dad when he called me on my cell phone and apologized for over reacting! Again, my little 'happy dance' came out, I was so shocked and so happy that God just changed his heart all of a sudden I almost cried tears of joy! :')

So a week later I was standing in a tank full of nice *warm* water with my pastor, my dad showed towards the end of the service to see it and I was baptized! As I was standing in the tank I was thinking about how far God's brought me in the last two years and when I was being dunked I was just thinking 'whoa, this is so cool'!
 It was a really nice day, surrounded by friends (one who came from university and had an exam the next day) and family (which was mostly unexpected) and surprisingly my family has been better about my faith in general since. My mom came to a Christmas eve service with me and my dad started asking me the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament while we were driving around Christmas shopping! I think it's so cool that they're asking questions - I mean, that's what I did to get to where I am today, I asked my friend questions about God and the bible and stuff I didn't understand, these things I'm only just beginning to understand but God's still using me somehow! Woo hoo!



The major thing I've learned this year though was about love and family. I wrote a post about loving people in August (Love like What?, if you care to look it up) but basically in summary I've been learning to love people selflessly, like Jesus loved us, so God's been teaching me how to love (which makes sense, because He is love! hehe)
 I've also learned a lot about family this year.
I struggle with the question of whether I actually want a family and children of my own someday, yes it's a little early to think about this kind of thing but when ever I see broken families and fighting and hatred within families it just makes me want to give up and never have a family of my own... because what if it turns out like that?
But being part of God's family really changes things up, I see encouragement and all the good things about family even in troubled times. This year I was 'adopted' into a friend's family and well... they really are like family to me, they mean a lot and I get to what a close God loving family is like, something that I'd never experienced before and it means more than I can say.  =D 

I've been learning how to come before God with anything, it's tough, because well sometimes I don't want to feel convicted and guilty, or it's sometimes easier to turn to people, but I've been trying to rely on God in more areas of my life and it's really neat how He cares about the smaller stuff when you actually just go and bring it to Him, remember how I mentioned answers to the smallest of prayers,  stuff like that, I've found that God is really sweet and does care about minor details, which I'd heard people say  before but never really understood.

Lastly, I've been trying to get into a habit of spending way more time getting to know God, I can hear other people list off His character traits until the cows come home but it doesn't usually mean much if I don't experience it myself (like mentioned above), so my new year's resolution is to spend more time reading through bible and making more notes about God's character and seeing it through answered prayers, other people and the things He created, So I want to share what I'm learning with this in the new year, I'm reading through Luke right now and taking notes so perhaps I'll post some of what I've been learning.

Anyway, long enough post???

Merry  (belated) Christmas and Happy New Year! :) 

Hello, my name is Eve

I have never been one to fall into peer pressure or doing what other people think is cool or been tempted by anything that could get me into real trouble, (maybe a little scolding from my parents for staying out later than I should but other than that) my record is pretty clean.

So I've always had a difficult time seeing any similarities between Eve (the first woman) and myself, the similarity usually stopped at the fact that we are both female.
In fact most of the time I think Eve is quite... well stupid, For letting the serpent tempt her, convincing her husband to try it AND THEN trying to hide from God. It doesn't sound like a good thing to do, in fact it could only get worse once you're trying to hide from God.

But if you really think about it that serpent (aka the devil) can be very very tempting and shouldn't be underestimated, everyone's fallen into something of the sort at sometime in their life. Suddenly Eve isn't sounding quite as dumb to me.

THEN, I was thinking about it some more and I know that when I've done something I shouldn't have- like disobeyed my parents, not doing my homework and when I disobey God, I hide from those people (parents, teachers, and shameful as it is to admit- God) because well I don't want to get in trouble, I don't want them to know or find out. And that usually ends up making it worse... Especially when I'm trying to avoid God.

So really I'm not all that different from Eve once I've thought it through...
                                                                                         (Another similarity...I love apples! Weird right?!)

I quite enjoy this mini revelation, because I often find it hard to relate to people in the Old Testament but this has been a huge eye opener.

Has anyone realized lately how much they relate to some characters they didn't think they did? If so... Leave a comment! 

For God so loved the world

I, like most people have often struggled with loving others as God loves us, like commanded. And of course it's natural that no one can love somebody like that because, well... we aren't God.

But with certain people it does seem a lot more difficult. You've met those people who have completely opposite viewpoints than you, get themselves into a load of problems that could quite easily be avoided, they don't seem to have any healthy lifestyle choices and these people just seem to cause chaos in other people's lives and can be just plain rude about the whole thing. Those kind of people (to me anyway) are the ones I find difficult to love but...

I was reading John 3:16

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." 

Yea, I've read that one before. But I realized that this doesn't say:

 'because we were so loveable God loved us and gave his only Son'


Nor can I think of any other verse off the top of my head that says we are loveable
I think this brings up the point again of how unworthy we really are.
Like I already said, sometimes it can be very difficult to love somebody who seems unlovable, which makes it even more incredible that we are so loved by God,  just as we are!

Who's will?

Sort of going on a theme here, since I haven't written anything in so long. So two posts in one day, woo hoo (actually in 1 hour, impressive right?)!  Again this post is based off verses in Acts.

Acts 21: 10-14

10 After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”

12 When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

 

I also thought this verse was quite eye opening, because  if you were told that you were going to be tied up by the gentiles for going somewhere and spreading the Good news... you might not want to go, I probably wouldn't, I hear jail isn't a very nice place. I think it's interesting that Paul was willing to do that, to go and to die. But it was the other believer's who were scared for him and didn't want him to go, it didn't mention that they'd be harmed or bound and thrown in jail, but they still didn't want Paul to go. They did eventually say "the Lord's will be done" and I thought that was terribly accurate to how a lot of Christians are today too, often it does take a little while before we submit to God's will, we worry about what might happen or what could go wrong, and yes it's a scary thought but doing things God's way usually makes things work out in the end! :)

Will power and sinful practises

 

Acts 19: 18-19

"Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas."

 

I was reading through my notes I'd made from reading Acts over the summer and remembered writing this one down, mostly out of amazement. To me it just seemed so amazing because these new believers obviously felt convicted by what they were doing and knowing it was sinful and against God, burned it all. Their scrolls and books on sorcery and just stopped doing it. They just did it. I mean I know personally that it's hard to give up the sinful practises, especially when they may not seem like they are. For example there are a couple tv shows that I watch and well... they aren't really something I should be watching, I have given up watching several shows that I know I shouldn't, so I haven't been a complete failure but it is difficult. And I don't think I could do the equivalent of what these new believers did, getting rid of my tv… well it's actually my parent's tv. But I couldn't imagine just burning it or maybe smashing it, like these people in Acts got rid of their things, again, it's quite incredible. And maybe it did take these people a while to do that, but from the text it sounds like they quit it almost right away.

So has this been convicting? (in my case yes)  I just thought it was a really eye opening verse, has anyone else ever thought the same thing while reading it?

Love like what?

Wow, I haven't written anything in what feels like forever. Honestly, I've had no clue what to write. But just now,  I felt compelled to write about how, over the last few months I've begun to realize what it means to really love someone and I've decided to share (And no, this does not mean that there is a 'special guy' in my life right now, because there's not, at least not on earth). 


Firstly, I've realized that loving someone is a  choice.  Just like Jesus chose to die for us. And no that's not always easy, making the choice. Even Jesus had trouble with it when He cried out 

"Your Will, not Mine!" - Mark 14:36

He had to make that choice, and it can't have been easy. 


Secondly, I've realized that if you truly love someone, then you don't just stop loving them, part of you still loves that person no matter what they've done to you or how far apart you've grown. 

Could you imagine if God did that to us? 

'Weeeell, that joke you made about me? that wasn't very nice of you, Plus I haven't really heard from you in a while, we've grown apart, Sorry, but I don't love you anymore...' 

Um, no, that's not how it works. 


Thirdly I've really been running over 1 Corinthians 13 a lot. It's probably my favourite chapter in the bible and it tells us exactly what love is. 

^{4 "}Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

To really love someone, you make the choice to love them, you don't stop loving them and that love should be patient and kind and all of the things above ^ 

It's a beautiful realization and something that  I've been working on with all the people in my life lately :) 

WWJD

What Would Jesus Do. Original right? *insert sarcasm*
But sarcasm aside, this is a very important question that everyone can ask themselves when they go to act or speak or ...do anything really. Thing is, this is often hard to remember and sometimes hard to apply in daily life.



If you happened to be going out for dinner at one of those fancy restaurants that have 3 different forks, and you’ve never had etiquette classes,  you may not know exactly what to do with them, (which fork can be used for which course of the meal and all that). however you would know what not to do - like use a spoon to cut your chicken, or to eat your food right off a knife.

The same thing can be applied to WWJD. You may not know what exactly Jesus would do, but you probably know what Jesus wouldn’t do.


Suppose you’re out and walking by a playground and you see a child has been pushed over by another child. Naturally most people would be upset or angry that one child had pushed another down. Uncertain of what to do you ask yourself What would Jesus do? Go comfort the pushed child? Calmly speak to the other child about what he did was wrong? Perhaps one or both. But maybe it’s easier to think What wouldn’t Jesus do. He certainly wouldn’t get mad and yell at the child (though it may seem like a natural response) and He wouldn’t tell the child that he’s a bad kid, or think that the child’s parents didn’t raise him very well. When thinking of the two sides of WWJD it may be easier to figure out what to do, or what not to do. 

So have you ever thought of WWJD as  what wouldn’t Jesus do?

 

Summer Photography

Well, it seems like forever, but I finally got out with my camera and took some amazing shots down around the beach!

The moon coming out as the sun sets! 

*It doesn't really show in the picture but the clouds sort of looked like mountains in the distance* :) 

The moon continues to rise in the sky

Alright, you caught me, i have an obsession with the full moon *teehee! 

Ah, a picturesque scene down by the pier with the lighthouse and  a wonderfully placed picnic table!

Night descends
oh look! you can still see the cloud mountains! :)

It might not look dark because of how bright the moon was buuut... this was taken around 10pm

A duck swimming in the moonlit waters. Special thanks to the zoom  function on my camera, I almost missed this one, the bird flew off just after I took this

sigh* I love the way the moon lights up the night! :) 

Well That's all folks! For now... :)

Summer

Well summer vacation is upon us all, and now I have what seems like unlimited time to sit around and be unproductive. However this summer I'm quite determined to do something with my time!


 And what better way to go about summer vacation then to spent it at the beach with some sunscreen and of course, my pocket bible! Along with 'dates' with my pocket bible at the beach (romantic eh?),
 I'm also sort of on a mission's trip... in my own house. I just really want to open up to my family about well... my faith, It's just something I don't talk about much, which is really terrible of me seeing as how it's such a big part of my life...  And hopefully God will be able to touch their hearts or use me to touch their hearts, but well, I don't like to admit it but...I haven't been doing a very good job of it...*looks at ground shamefully*  


However, myself and more importantly God  is working on that I trust :) 


Lastly, the thing that I wanted to work on most this summer (and for the rest of my life) is this... 

'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

Luke 10:27

Any particular verses or things you're trying to work on this summer?

A storm's a brewing

This post is probably going to end up being quite personal but it's easier for me to write what I'm thinking or  feeling than it is to say it.

I accepted Jesus into my heart either late October or early November 2011.

I don't remember exactly when or have a date, but approximately in a 3 week gap somewhere around that time.  I had sort of believed that Jesus was maybe possibly the Son of God for a little while (about 6 months), but the thought process was more like 'Ok, I believe this I guess... now what?' I never didn't do much in that six month gap before accepting Him except feel slightly insulted when someone would make fun of God.

I'd been thinking about really doing something about it for a while, taking the next step and all that, but I was really hesitant, i'm not one to jump into decisions usually, I think about pros and cons to most decisions (including what to eat, read or wear, ya it's a little extreme sometimes :p).

I'd been reading a lot of Christian testimonies or watching videos, and they were all really amazing and inspirational how all of these people's lives were changed, but I noticed that it was mostly stories about alcoholics, addicts or prostitutes. Now I have never had alcohol, touched drugs or cigarettes and I decided when I was about 14 that I would be waiting for marriage, so there was no way I was gonna ever go out and start selling my body.
 I didn't have any of these problems and compared to these people I had a really great life. In my mind, there wasn't anything to change in my life. I wasn't into any of this terrible stuff. That's probably why I hesitated so long, I didn't believe my life would really change if I did take the next step.

Boy was I wrong. 

At first nothing seemed to happen... and it took a couple months but the way I started to view the world was different, my heart was changing and to my delight so was my life. =D
 I started going to youth group regularly and volunteering at Youth for Christ (YFC), I might also start attending church regularly.

Of course, with all this change I knew there was going to be opposition to this, in fact I kind of expected it  and was surprised when it didn't come along...

No one in my family is a Christian, so not really having anyone else to talk to was and still is kind of tough. Once my parents started to notice that youth group and YFC had become a regular thing for a couple months though I started hearing things like 'oh that again', 'doesn't volunteering wear you out?', 'shut off that noise' (referring to the worship music I have a tendency to play), 'heresy', 'church is a waste of time' and 'brainwash'.
These things  are meant to mostly be out of concern from my family (I think) but they can really start getting to you. Same with things some of my friends say or...don't say. A lot of the time they no longer ask how my weekend was because it's very likely I'll go off on a tangent about how awesome worship was or God talk at YFC, so many of my friends have started to pull away as well the last few months, which is incredibly sad.

I realize this is nothing compared to persecution the Apostles faced, I just can't even imagine what that must have felt like, or what it's like in another country where people are killed for being Christian.  I could keep going on being an angst-y  teenager saying I have no friends and my family just doesn't understand me, but that's not the message I want to leave with who ever stuck around and actually read this incredibly long blog post.

I don't regret a thing. I love how my life is going and how God is just working in it all the time and is just continuing to change me, it's just awesome! I can't even think of words to describe it so I'm going to leave it at that! :) 

Random picture from Google, I thought it was cool

God bless! :) 

.

I lift my eyes

I haven't seen too many drawings to accompany this verse so...

I drew this, inspired by Psalm 121
I might add more shading or detail at some point,  but I'm content with it for now :) 

I lift my eyes unto the hills, where does my help come from, my help comes from the Lord the Maker of Heaven and earth. 

Psalm 121: 1-2 

The Door

A little while ago at YFC, the group of student leaders looked at this painting together and began to discuss it.

This painting is based on Revelation 3:20 

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock" 

And we as a group concluded that there are two main points concerning this painting. 

Firstly, The door is supposed to be... our hearts! 

Secondly, we noticed that there is no door handle on the outside, WE have to let Him in! :) 

It was really rather startling coming to this conclusion, and very eye opening. A few weeks later I drew the below drawing inspired by the verse and by what we had talked about. 

The drawing is supposed to be a very clear adaptation of what we talked about. The actual place being your heart (and a house at the same time), and yet again no door handle on the outside. 

Like every piece of art the original could be interpreted differently then how we saw it. 

So any 'revelations' on what you think the original piece is saying? 

Food for the soul - Part II

A while ago I posted a picture/post captioned 'Food for the soul'. I was thinking about this picture and come to realize that it's not just what you are taking in or 'eating' but what you are (up)chucking back into the world (Sorry for the sickening imagery, PS. pun totally intended ;P). In most cases if you're absorbing all this good  then you should be giving back good, but that's not always the case, so pay attention to what you've throwing back in to the world too! :)

Original picture 

 

Waves

Have you ever just thought about waves? (And I mean the kind in an ocean not the greeting)
I was thinking about them the other day while down at the beach, and I just really love them, they're soothing and constant. it seems like the ocean (or in my case, lake) is breathing! :) 


I think the waves  and the lake are beautiful, particularly at sunset but then I thought about the one weekend in March where winds got up to 100km/h and the waves came up and soaked the other side of the side walk. And they flooded the beach! So I saw first hand the they could be pretty destructive. (not that I didn't already know that, but natural disasters don't happen often here)

Ok, to the point. I don't know if anyone else has ever thought about this but I think that human nature reflects nature...

It's both a beautiful and destructive thing. :) 

Any other similarities or insights? Agree? Disagree?  Leave a comment! :) 

Minor characters

There are so many intriguing characters in the Bible, specifically the New Testament (Seeing as I have yet to read 38 of the Old Testament books, I only know the major ones in there). However, I am always really intrigued by two very minor characters towards the end of the gospels. The two men who are crucified along with Jesus. We don't ever learn anything about them or who they were except that they were criminals. That's it, no thought about them. But I think they are so interesting and we learn a lot about both of their characters through the few lines they have.

 One seems to really have a grasp in his dying moments, he knew he'd gotten what he deserved for being a thief, while Jesus did nothing to be up there. Personally I think this guy had a lot of humility, he was willing to fess up and say he was wrong and let go of his pride (something we all have trouble with at times), and this is the way we are to act before God.

While the other man only really seemed to care about Jesus because he wanted to save his own skin, and he didn't exactly go about asking Jesus to save him the right way.

So those are two characters I always find very intriguing, they represent two completely different kinds of men and definitely contrast each other well.

Are there any small characters you find really interesting? 

If so, leave a comment and explain! :)

Oh, hey fellow bloggers

I've been pretty much silent lately, I've really had no wonderful inspiration to write about anything. However I''m going to start working on making my blog more interactive, isn't the whole point of blogging so people can discuss and interact with each other?  (you don't have to leave a comment and answer that lol)

So here's to getting discussions going! Hopefully I'll post something in the next couple of days! Take care! :)

ways of life

Nearly everyone has one motto or saying that they like, and some try to live their life by whatever the motto or saying may be and I think that is super important.  And there are some really good ones out there but personally mine is this...

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you.

                                                                                           ~ John 13:34

After actually making the effort to do this I've noticed it's quite life changing. I mean yes there are still people who are not nice to me and who I'm not fond of but making the effort to at least like something about them makes them tolerable. 

So that's one of my life mantra's, what are yours? :) 

 

conforming to the world

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

-Romans 12:2

For class last week our task was to give up technology for the week, cell phones, tv, internet, ipods. And really its remarkable being able to give it up. I'm not going to lie, it was kind of tough, when you're used to everything in the world distracting you and suddenly you can't use it, it's a little bit irritating.

Without being  'plugged in' to all my gadgets last week I actually got a lot more done,  slept better and worried less. And another plus, I had time to finish reading Genesis! (Though I'm still convinced I'll be an old lady before I finish the Old Testament)

 What I learned: It's so easy to be conformed to the world, and it's not really a good thing. I spent a lot more time reading and just being with God. It was pretty awesome! So just take time out of your day and go do that, its a really great experience. :) 

Good vs Evil?

 "In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart."

- Anne Frank

Sometimes I have moments where I can't decide whether this world is good or evil. And yes that sounds terrible but when you think of all the destruction, corruption, lies and hate in the world it seems like it, right?

And then you read stories of human compassion, kindness sympathy and love in the most terrible of circumstances and it's just so so beautiful! And that's when I decide.

 Love is the strongest thing in the universe! 

(and also my favourite thing in the whole universe)

I feel like it can conquer anything and everything and that is just so awesome and encouraging!  :) 

What if...

What if today you woke up with the only things you thanked God for yesterday?

This quote I found, Wow, it's just really powerful. It makes you think huh?  

I'll leave it at that, make of this what you will. 

Prayer warrior

It's kinda been a rough week for me.

(The above picture (^)  is one from Google that I edited and added text to)  

     It's just a good reminder, especially for any one else having a rough week.

Take Care & God bless!  

 

Food for the soul

Apparently the Bible is sometimes referred to as Food for the Soul, so during youth group me and a friend 'cooked up' the idea to take this picture.

 tee hee hee! Aren't we humorous? :)  

Dance, sing, clap and draw!

So the Bible talks a lot about different ways of praising or worshiping God.
Psalm 150 goes on about praising Him with music

"Praise God in his sanctuary;
   praise him in his mighty heavens.
 Praise him for his acts of power;
   praise him for his surpassing greatness.
 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
   praise him with the harp and lyre,
 praise him with timbrel and dancing,
   praise him with the strings and pipe,
 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
   praise him with resounding cymbals.

  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord"

And there are many verses about dancing, clapping or singing as forms of worship but I don't believe it ever mentions drawing.

Personally, When i'm reading a verse sometimes I'll get and image in my head that could go along with the verse and sometimes I'll attempt to draw it. So here is one picture of something I've drawn inspired off a rather popular verse.

I think this is pretty easy to figure out. There's a bible sitting on a podium open to the verse
"And the Word became flesh"
There is wind coming out of it and it forms into an outline of Jesus.


:) 

Challenges

We all know there are challenges to face in life.  Jobs, money, family problems, death and other hardships.
And some might use this as an excuse and constantly ask "Why me?" 

But I think that everything happens for a reason and that maybe God will use the problem you're going through to help you out later.
 So shouldn't challenges be something that happen to help you trust God, not doubt Him?
You might not see it at the time, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

I didn't have a picture to go with this... so thank you Google images

Bare Beauty

Down the shore line! 

Wow.

A frozen entanglement of branches

Look! The sun is shining! 

Coast line again

That's me, My dad took this one! 

The waves splashed up and the water eventually froze on the branches, It looks pretty amazing! :) 

I generally don't find winter to be a pretty season,  all the leaves are off the trees and it's cold out but I think these pictures capture the beauty that can be found in winter.

These are all pictures I took down at Monk's Cove, one of my favorite places to go for a walk.

My journey

When I was 5 I went to Sunday school like any kid. But I was never able to sit still or be quiet (something I still have trouble with). So the people running the Sunday school told me to 'come back after I'd learned to settle down' Thus I was sort of kicked out of Sunday school. My mother tried taking me to church with her but the situation was the same. I was constantly moving or chatting, eventually we just stopped going.

I grew up believing that God existed and that He created the universe, that's what my parents believed. But that was the extent of any kind of religion in my life.

11 years later is when I first started to turn to God. It had been several months since I'd broken up with my first boyfriend (after the heartache subsided) I was feeling empty and wanted something else in my life, but I didn't know what I was searching for.

That summer my Grandma became very sick and on the verge of death. That was the first time I ever prayed. I felt a great sense of comfort and surprisingly better, despite the circumstances.  After that I started reading the New Testament to figure out what it was all about. I didn't believe in any 'immaculate conception'. My opinion on the matter was somewhat like this 'Ok, I guess it's possible, I mean, it's God right?... But I highly doubt it'.

As I continued to read, I started to believe it, and what it said, But I still had huge amounts of doubt.

During a period of the next 5 months I asked my one and only Christian friend (who I'd become close with over the summer) a lot of questions. And he invited me to his youth group one night.

During the worship time of the evening while everyone was singing along to songs I started to feel terrible, to the point of feeling nauseous. I also felt very unwelcome and the nearly unbearable urge to get out of there as fast as I could. I took some deep breaths and didn't move. No one was aware of the internal battle going on with me. After 3 or 4 minutes the feeling passed, but needless to say, I did not go back when I was invited again.

Over the next 7 months I continued to read. Although I didn't do anything else in terms of my spirituality.

In October I went with my friend and his family to a concert in which the family/band sings, dances, and preaches. It was a great concert and a great pleasure to meet them. (They really are inspirational people to me!) After this concert and meeting these people, I made the decision to really get involved and to have a relationship with Jesus. I nervously went back to the youth group (and did not feel nauseous this time) and i have been going regularly for about 3 months. I am also a student leader at YFC (Youth for Christ) and may join a friend in her church's choir for their Easter Cantata.

There are still some days where I question my relationship with Jesus and God, but i can see how much it has changed me in so many ways over the last year and a half! And that encourages me to keep going!

My journey is just starting! :)

One tin soldier

So, my sister is part of her school choir and at Remembrance Day the choir sang it and I absolutely love this song, It has a great message to it. And it's just so lovely to see a large group of children singing it all together.

 Even though it's no where close to November 11th I thought I'd post the song, it's 'One Tin Soldier' by Coven. It gives me chills every time I listen to it!

Over looked

I received a 'Chicken Soup for the Soul book: 101 Miracles', for Christmas this year.
I hear some people say, 'well, miracles just don't happen anymore' and I realized that the general perception of miracles is something extraordinary and extremely obvious and things that seem to be impossible.
 But I don't think they have to be they can be small simple things, that are often over looked and not thought of as a miracle. But it truly can be.



For example, a Sunrise :)

Bethlehemian Rhapsody

Alright, so a pretty epic Youtube video I found. The story of David and Goliath set to the song bohemian Rhapsody by Queen! I find it quite hilarious and entertaining!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeK50inA2-A

Walks on the beach

Oh how I love being able to go walk on the beach, early in the morning, afternoon or late at night, anytime really. The crashing of the waves is always a wonderfully calming sound! 
 

This here is just a picture I took while I was walking on the boardwalk one time. I really like this picture because the colors look so vibrant, I even got the light house in there. And my much elongated shadow. 

a 12 year old artist

I wish I could draw and paint like this! This girl paints the most beautiful paintings and is very talented and blessed! <3  :)
She says it all. Click the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POvJECu1qhM&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL


I especially love when she is describing the different colors in Heaven, Most people if they were told to picture it, think of clouds and everything being a bright white, But i think this girl has got it right, Why would God make such beautiful colors on earth and then not have them in Heaven?

Candle light!

"You are the light of the world"

From the sermon on the mount. (Matthew 5:14)

A girl I know was talking about this, How even though the world can seem so dark and terrible, there is still light, and loads of it.
She then emphasized every one in that small group to BE that light. Let the world see it!
I completely agree with her, we need to shine brightly and show the qualities of God! Because He has some pretty great ones! :)

♫ Shine your light and let the whole world see! ♫ 

                                                         - From the song Mighty to Save (I prefer to Laura Story version)

First Post!

Well... This is my first post, Hopefully this blog isn't lame and I don't sound too much like an annoying teenage girl! This isn't very inspirational... I'll get on that for the next post!