Previous First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, once said,
                                    "Where flowers bloom, so does hope."
This time of year, we begin to see the flowers sprout up, blooming and giving glory to God.  Also coming up is Easter.  Easter weekend is the hinge of Christian's entire faith.  Easter weekend is hope. 

Yesterday, on Friday, Jesus...the Son of God, WILLINGLY laid down His life for us.  He laid His life down to pay for our sins.  "Without the giving of blood, there is no forgiveness."  He spilled His blood for our forgiveness.  We aren't perfect as Christians...far from it.  But, through Jesus's death, we have hope of forgiveness and life eternal with Him.  The story didn't end with His death, though.  Sunday morning, He demonstrated His power by conquering death-our biggest problem.  You see, on Friday He conquered sin and Sunday He conquered death.  Death is our biggest problem because it is after our death that we pay for our sin.  Now, through Him...through JESUS, we have hope of a life with Him in heaven.  He gave us so much-He gave His all. 

As the flowers bloom at this time of year, so does our hope.  Our hope that was given us through Christ's death and resurrection. 

Stopping to Smell the Flowers

Writing about this seems familiar, but it really is something that I constantly struggle with. Maybe I miss the little things in life because I am so goal-oriented. I am trying to get there more than I am trying to be there.

Last Friday, God showed me how much I was missing. What would it be like it I got to heaven and realized I completely missed life? What would it be like if I realized that I had missed the little things because I was only looking for the big things. I think, at the end of my life, those "little things" are going to look a lot bigger.

On Friday, all of a sudden, I heard that the birds were singing beautifully. How did I miss that? I was so caught up in my "to do" list that I didn't get to enjoy the birds singing in the drizzling rain until God showed me. Since Friday, I have been trying to be thankful for the little things and I've realized how much it adds to my life. Joy and peace are more constant when I am looking for little things to be thankful for. Also, I can often be disappointed in life when my goals don't get met. When I put my hope in the Lord, and find my joy in His small blessings...my life will be worth living because my life will be a thankful life. I think that the blessings I count can, in the end, outweigh the disappointments.

I need to start recording in a journal or somwhere the blessings that I find from God. God has given us so many spectacular things to enjoy- are they worth passing up in the race to find something bigger?

Psalm 46:10

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will
be exalted in the earth."

1 Chronicles 16:34

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. "

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...everywhere you go.

The stores are packed...Christmas trees stand proudly inside homes...lights glisten as they adorn roofs and bushes...Christmas is here. But what about the heart of Christmas? Its so easy to do the movements of Christmas without ever even thinking about the true spirit of Christmas. Most people know the story of the nativity....angels, shepherds, a baby, Mary and Joseph. But, what does that mean to each one of us?

This last Sunday, my pastor talked about the birth of Jesus. He brought up the point that Jesus didn't only bring peace. In Isaiah, prophesies speak of Jesus being a stumbling block. Throughout Christ's life, this prophesy cam true. He was a sanctuary for those who accepted Him and a stumbling block for those who rejected Him. Its the same today. Christ was born in Bethlehem and we celebrate His birth at Christmas. At this time of remembrance, we all must ask ourselves:

what will I do with Him? What will I do with Christ this Christmas?

His birth changed the world-it changed the history of the world. I get caught up in the season's stresses and forget what Christmas is all about. Remembering the birth of hope. Christmas is a time of hope. Jesus's birth brought hope to all mankind. Now, we can accept Jesus's birth, death and resurrection as our only hope and find eternal life through Him.

What is He to us? Sanctuary or stumbling block? Are we able to rejoice like the shepherds at His birth, or do we try to blot Him out of our paths like Herod? Or, are we at the point where we are ready to seek Him like the magi?

Luke 2:10

" for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. "

Happy Thanksgiving!

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.

I find it REALLY hard to count my blessings-especially when things are going tough. Even when its hard to count blessings-there seem so few, we always have something to be thankful for. "Every good and perfect gift comes from above." So, we need to look around us and thank God for all He provides. Right? God also gave us His one and only Son. To die...for us...sinners...now we can live with the PERFECT FATHER. We didn't ( and don't) deserve it, but God...the PERFECT KING is offering us a gift...THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE. He's offering this to all of us. Thats something to be thankful for! Look at the other gifts He gives us. Maybe He has given you something He hasn't given me, or vice versa.

However, He has blessed all of us in one way or another.

God Gets His Point Across!

Going through high school is quite the venture! Right now, it is quite frustrating as a matter of fact. Grades I guess stress me out when they're not where I think they should be. The other day, while in speech, we were supposed to sit according to our favorite Bible verse. I came up with one, and didn't know where it was found. My teacher was able to help me out and I was able to find my seat. Today, I looked at the "verse of the day," and guess what?!?! Of course, it was the one God had brought to my mind yesterday. It seems to be such a powerful verse for "right now." I was delighted to be able to find exactly where it was found and read the entire passage. It is so good! Here it is.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10
But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made
perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,
so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I
delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in
difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Just as 1 Corinthians 1:9 says, "God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful." He will lead and guide and "hammer into my head" what He knows I need to do, or hear and believe.

He is my lighthouse, in whom I may always trust-He will guide and lead my "safely home by His good grace."

"Run the race with endurance...the race that is set out for you."

God reveals new things to me day by day. Tonight, I finally was able to wrap up and pinpoint what I have been discovering through Christ. He has been shaping me to recognize this conclusion for quite some time. Lately, I have been frustrated in feeling far from God. However, it is only because I have grown lazy.

My walk with Christ is either growing or backsliding. There isn't a "no man's land." When I'm not growing in the Lord, I am losing the closeness I have gained. I have to challenge myself, push myself and keep working at it. If I want to keep the "ground I've gained," I must keep memorizing His word, keep listening to wisdom from others, reading the Bible, studying the Bible, etc. I cannot expect to feel close to God when I am not committed to following Him and yearning to grow in Him.

We cannot let our faith stagnate!

Go see "Courageous." It is sooo worth it!

I saw this with a friend's church and enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to. They did such a good job ,when producing it, to present many angles of struggles and trials. I thought all of the movie was relevant and believable. "Courageous" is a movie filled with very deep, emotional scenes that call forth resolution in all of us. It is truly inspiring. Scenes are sad, deep, funny, and intense. The movie is well made and well written. It is a must see.