Hello :]
I'm back again! Haha. Second time in a WEEK. How exciting. I wish I had written more this summer... I actually really enjoy writing, and I love sharing with people, but as I've mentioned before, I was really struggling this summer and I think I just didn't feel like I was in the right place to be writing and sharing with people. But today, I'm writing because I want to share about what I learned from the struggle!
It's crazy how much of a difference time can make; we can go from the lowest point to the highest point in such a short time. But what do we have to do to get there? What is happening in the time from the lowest to the highest point? What is working - WHO is working?
I'm not sure if everybody else is the same, but the biggest aspect I've noticed from my roller coaster ride in my life, is that in every second, in every twist and turn, I see God. I see his hands moving from one end to the other; I see them working in building, shaping and moulding. For some reason, I normally don't see it in the process of it, but I notice it afterwards when it has already been done.
God has taught me something absolutely amazing these past few months. . As I was going through struggles this past while, I was feeling so alone and useless. I felt like nobody wanted me, and nobody cared about me. It really sucked! I kept complaining and complaining. "God, why are you doing this to me? Why are you letting this happen?" But he just remained silent, and I was forced to endure everything "alone."
This went on for months. I was in the dark; I was lost. I came back to Ottawa in hopes that everything would become perfect again, but nope, I was wrong. I was still in the dark. I forced myself to go to church, I forced myself to help out, and I forced myself to pray. Then, things started to get even worse. Everyday was a struggle. It felt like my friends were absent from my life, and I didn't have my family with me either. I didn't know what I was doing!
Then I started to notice something weird. Well, it's not really weird, it's great, but it was different. I noticed an abundance of people in my life who loved and cared for me. They were coming from all different directions; they were people I never would have expected to come into my life. I didn't really realize the work behind it all at first, but then as I kept talking with friends, one friend mentioned to me the glory of God, and how we should be thankful at all times.
That's when it hit me. It was GOD! He was comforting me and He was loving me. He was the hand behind it all, and He was teaching me to remember that He will never forsake me or abandon me, and that I should always be grateful for whatever He does, and for whatever I'm going through. It doesn't matter how bad a struggle is, or how bad a problem is. He will always be there, and he will always be glorified in every situation.
1 Peter 4: 12-13:
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
We are lucky to be able to go through the pain and sufferings, for God will be glorified through it all! We should always rejoice, and always praise His name, for He has blessed us to be able to experience not only the pain, but His glory as well!! I often forget that this world is not my home... It's only a pit stop before we go to our real home, and we get to be with our Father.
I hope we can all try our best to remember to be thankful at all times, and to rejoice in our sufferings and our joys! I'm sorry this post is a bit messy... I blame it on my illness hehe. But I hope you get the general gist of it! May your day be filled with joy~
kjoosaurus out!
Friday, September 28, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Hungry for Him [9/26/2012]
Hello all~
Wow, it sure has been a while since I've last written anything! And this is the first time I've written something at 6 in the morning! Holy moly, I hope what I say makes sense. I just had my first meal after fasting, and although it feels sooo good to be full, from kalbi, kimchi jigae, bap and japchae hehe, it feels even better to know that God revealed something amazing to me. Well, he revealed more than one thing to me.
Fasting... It's tough! I've never fasted for such a long time. Last night, I was so HUNGRY and so EXCITED about my next meal that I didn't fall asleep until 2 or 3 in the morning, and then of course because I was still hungry, I woke up at 5:30 in the morning. I was salivating like crazy when I woke up. But, as I was eating, I realized I was still hungry. I had eaten all of that food, but there was something more I wanted, something I craved! So, naturally, I brought out my beautiful bible :)
I felt like I needed to read the book of John. There was this little internal argument going on in my head hehe. One part of me was saying, "You've already read this! You don't need to read it again. This would be your third time!" While another part of me was saying, "REAAAAD ITTTTT NOWWW."
So, I read it.
The part I opened to was John 4:34-38.
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
What was I truly hungry for? I was hungry to do the will of God. I was hungry for more of Him, and God showed me and reminded me that the hunger I have for food was nothing in comparison to the hunger I have for his will. I will never be satisfied by the food I eat; I will always crave more and more and more and in the end, I will never be full. But the Lord is faithful, and when I am hungry for him, and when I search for him, he will fill my cup until it is overflowing.
Not only was I reminded of how much I need Him, but I was also reminded of his great love for me - for us!
Last night, as I was so hungry and so tired (yet not sleeping), I was put in a position that I would never wish to be in. It was a sense of betrayal from somebody I had cared so much about, and I was angry. Super, super angry. I went on a rampage, and became a destructive ball of anger. I called out to God, and I asked Him to help me! I felt so lost, and alone.. Betrayed and abandoned. Normally, when I pray and ask God to help me, there is nothing but silence. This time, things were different. I was reminded of how God cares so much for us, and how he doesn't want us to hurt! Yes, he does discipline us, but the pain and the challenge won't last forever.
I love this passage... It shows the true power and strength of our Lord, Jesus Christ. He is the Almighty God, and our faithful father! Last night, in a time of hardship, he provided me with more than what I needed. He surrounded me with love, and he reminded me of how he loves us. He helped me forgive somebody who had hurt me in the past, and it is a beautiful feeling! Forgiveness is amazing. I'm not sure about you, but I find it so difficult. Just thinking about the people who have hurt me, and the way they have hurt me, I never want to forgive them, but as we pray and pray, the Lord blesses us with a forgiving heart, does he not? Of course, I haven't forgiven everybody yet, but the day is coming :) He is still by my side, he is still loving me, and he is still surrounding me.
Psalms 18 really encourages and reminds me of how great, loving and powerful he is! I hope it encourages you as well. May we always remember the grace he has shown us, and the power of his love for us! For we would be empty, broken, and lost if we did not have Him.
We love you, Lord!
- kjoosaurus out!
Wow, it sure has been a while since I've last written anything! And this is the first time I've written something at 6 in the morning! Holy moly, I hope what I say makes sense. I just had my first meal after fasting, and although it feels sooo good to be full, from kalbi, kimchi jigae, bap and japchae hehe, it feels even better to know that God revealed something amazing to me. Well, he revealed more than one thing to me.
Fasting... It's tough! I've never fasted for such a long time. Last night, I was so HUNGRY and so EXCITED about my next meal that I didn't fall asleep until 2 or 3 in the morning, and then of course because I was still hungry, I woke up at 5:30 in the morning. I was salivating like crazy when I woke up. But, as I was eating, I realized I was still hungry. I had eaten all of that food, but there was something more I wanted, something I craved! So, naturally, I brought out my beautiful bible :)
I felt like I needed to read the book of John. There was this little internal argument going on in my head hehe. One part of me was saying, "You've already read this! You don't need to read it again. This would be your third time!" While another part of me was saying, "REAAAAD ITTTTT NOWWW."
So, I read it.
The part I opened to was John 4:34-38.
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
What was I truly hungry for? I was hungry to do the will of God. I was hungry for more of Him, and God showed me and reminded me that the hunger I have for food was nothing in comparison to the hunger I have for his will. I will never be satisfied by the food I eat; I will always crave more and more and more and in the end, I will never be full. But the Lord is faithful, and when I am hungry for him, and when I search for him, he will fill my cup until it is overflowing.
Not only was I reminded of how much I need Him, but I was also reminded of his great love for me - for us!
Last night, as I was so hungry and so tired (yet not sleeping), I was put in a position that I would never wish to be in. It was a sense of betrayal from somebody I had cared so much about, and I was angry. Super, super angry. I went on a rampage, and became a destructive ball of anger. I called out to God, and I asked Him to help me! I felt so lost, and alone.. Betrayed and abandoned. Normally, when I pray and ask God to help me, there is nothing but silence. This time, things were different. I was reminded of how God cares so much for us, and how he doesn't want us to hurt! Yes, he does discipline us, but the pain and the challenge won't last forever.
Psalm 18:16-19
New International Version (NIV)
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
he drew me out of deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
I love this passage... It shows the true power and strength of our Lord, Jesus Christ. He is the Almighty God, and our faithful father! Last night, in a time of hardship, he provided me with more than what I needed. He surrounded me with love, and he reminded me of how he loves us. He helped me forgive somebody who had hurt me in the past, and it is a beautiful feeling! Forgiveness is amazing. I'm not sure about you, but I find it so difficult. Just thinking about the people who have hurt me, and the way they have hurt me, I never want to forgive them, but as we pray and pray, the Lord blesses us with a forgiving heart, does he not? Of course, I haven't forgiven everybody yet, but the day is coming :) He is still by my side, he is still loving me, and he is still surrounding me.
Psalms 18 really encourages and reminds me of how great, loving and powerful he is! I hope it encourages you as well. May we always remember the grace he has shown us, and the power of his love for us! For we would be empty, broken, and lost if we did not have Him.
We love you, Lord!
- kjoosaurus out!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Planned Perfection [7/29/12]
Hello dear friends,
I'm truly sorry I haven't written in such a long time... I could give you a huge list of excuses, but I think I'll save you all from having to listen to it. Instead, I will do my very best to fill you all in on what has been happening in my life, and how God has been working!
In all honesty, a lot has happened, and I've had many ups and downs. I started going to a couple of bible studies, and I was really pumped at the beginning of the summer! I was going to do SO much. I was ready to take on the world! But, as usual, my plans did not go as I had assumed they would. My fire went down, and it turned into nothing but a little flame. I began to feel discouraged, and many distractions and temptations began to come my way.
One of the biggest things that has happened so far is that in the middle of my summer, I began to have an identity crisis! Well, more like I realized I've been having an identity crisis. I'm not sure if anybody else has done this, but I would always try to be like somebody else. I wanted to be wise like my Mom, I wanted to be a good listener like my best friend, I wanted to be spiritually strong like my grandmother, I wanted to be hard-working like my Dad, I wanted to be as loveable as my friend. I wanted to be talented as that photographer, or as tall as that model. And you know what? I tried to be all of these things. I wanted to be an all-around perfect person. But, this perfection was for selfish reasons. For worldly reasons. I've been like this for years and years. I've always tried to be somebody else, and I've never been satisfied with what I have. But this summer, God has gently been encouraging me to stop this jealousy and obsession.
I'm truly sorry I haven't written in such a long time... I could give you a huge list of excuses, but I think I'll save you all from having to listen to it. Instead, I will do my very best to fill you all in on what has been happening in my life, and how God has been working!
In all honesty, a lot has happened, and I've had many ups and downs. I started going to a couple of bible studies, and I was really pumped at the beginning of the summer! I was going to do SO much. I was ready to take on the world! But, as usual, my plans did not go as I had assumed they would. My fire went down, and it turned into nothing but a little flame. I began to feel discouraged, and many distractions and temptations began to come my way.
One of the biggest things that has happened so far is that in the middle of my summer, I began to have an identity crisis! Well, more like I realized I've been having an identity crisis. I'm not sure if anybody else has done this, but I would always try to be like somebody else. I wanted to be wise like my Mom, I wanted to be a good listener like my best friend, I wanted to be spiritually strong like my grandmother, I wanted to be hard-working like my Dad, I wanted to be as loveable as my friend. I wanted to be talented as that photographer, or as tall as that model. And you know what? I tried to be all of these things. I wanted to be an all-around perfect person. But, this perfection was for selfish reasons. For worldly reasons. I've been like this for years and years. I've always tried to be somebody else, and I've never been satisfied with what I have. But this summer, God has gently been encouraging me to stop this jealousy and obsession.
Psalm 139:13-14
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother's womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous - how well we know it.
In all the years of trying to become somebody else, I had forgotten who created me. I had forgotten that my creator had a perfect plan for me. I had forgotten that the person I am is who my creator wants me to be. He doesn't want me to be my Mom, he doesn't want me to be my friend, he doesn't want me to be a carbon copy of anybody else in this world! Our God, my creator, wants me to be who he created me to be. The gifts I have are from him. The body I have is created by him. I shouldn't be searching for the gifts of others, but trying to discover the gifts he has given to me!
I'm not sure if anybody else has gone through the same thing... But isn't it crazy how we might forget who our creator is? He created the world. He created the trees. He created the oceans. He created all of the creatures on this earth! Everything has a purpose; everything is made perfectly. If he created all of these things with such precision, he most definitely created us perfectly. God makes no mistakes! He loves us for who we are, because he created us the way we are.
Lord,
Thank you for making us who we are today. Thank you for letting us be your children! May we only seek to be more like you, and nobody else.
In your name,
Amen.
- kjoosaurus out!
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Sharing is Caring [6/6/12]
Hi everybody!!
Sorry, once again, for not posting for a while... At times I feel like giving up this blog completely, but I made a promise, and I'm planning on keeping it! There has been a lot going on in my life. Last night, I was given the opportunity to share my testimony with the youth at my church! I was super excited and nervous, but I think it went well! (Well, that's what I heard from other people.) It was really great to hear that after I shared my testimony, many of the youth opened up in their small groups... :)
Lately, I have been reading Acts because it is the book we are studying at my bible study. It has quite a bit of material, and there is a lot of heavy stuff involved. There is one story of how a couple lied to the church about how much money they were giving, and after both of them lied, they dropped dead. (Acts 5) But, what I wanted to share with you guys today is a lighter, yet inspiring story. It is found in Acts 4.
Sorry, once again, for not posting for a while... At times I feel like giving up this blog completely, but I made a promise, and I'm planning on keeping it! There has been a lot going on in my life. Last night, I was given the opportunity to share my testimony with the youth at my church! I was super excited and nervous, but I think it went well! (Well, that's what I heard from other people.) It was really great to hear that after I shared my testimony, many of the youth opened up in their small groups... :)
Lately, I have been reading Acts because it is the book we are studying at my bible study. It has quite a bit of material, and there is a lot of heavy stuff involved. There is one story of how a couple lied to the church about how much money they were giving, and after both of them lied, they dropped dead. (Acts 5) But, what I wanted to share with you guys today is a lighter, yet inspiring story. It is found in Acts 4.
Acts 4:32-37
All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt
that what they owned was not their own, so they shared
everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's great blessing was upon
them all. There were no needy people among them, because
those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the
money to the apostles to give to those in need.
For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles
nicknamed Barnabas (which means "Son of Encouragement").
He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus.
He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.
I really enjoyed reading this. This is something I truly, truly desire! To be united in heart and mind with other believers. To understand that the possessions I have in this world are not my own; they have all been given to me by God! They are all things of this world. It would be so wonderful and great if we could all let go of our worldly possessions, and learn to share them amongst ourselves! What I have is what you have. I often find myself being so caught up in my own possessions; I went through a phase when nobody was allowed to touch my stuff!
But look at what these believers were doing! They were sharing everything God had provided them with; because they were sharing, they were able to say "there were no needy people among them"! How great would it be to say that!?
I have to admit, I'm not really ready to sell all of my stuff to help everybody else out... But I hope God will one day turn me into somebody who is that loving and generous! But for now, I do know that I want to start sharing what I do have with others... Whatever I have, no matter how small! I have no right to be possessive over clothes, over gadgets, over food, over money... Everything I "own" has been provided to me by God! I can't say I "own" these things, because it wasn't even me who did any work for these things! God was the one who allowed me to put my hands on whatever I have, and I should just as easily let them go!
I pray that God will help us all realize how little significance our worldly possessions have... That we will not shy away from being generous with these possessions, but we will rejoice when we are able to let go of these possessions! We already have so much more than we need... Yet we keep collecting more and more and seem to give away so little!
Thanks for reading this post! :D
- kjoosaurus out!
Monday, June 4, 2012
Open Doors [6/3/12]
Hello everybody!
God has recently been working a whole lot in my life; he's been using me in so many different ways, and it feels great! Today, I just wanted to share how God uses us all in different ways; he opens doors for us, and we should never be afraid to take these opportunities! These open doors are a precious gift he has given us; it gives us a chance to speak of his love and power, and it allows us to love others! As I mentioned yesterday, he is opening the door for me to go on missions! Well, he opened another door for me today!
Lately, I've been having very strong images of speaking to the youth group at my church. Every night, before I fall asleep, all I was able to think about was sharing my testimony with the youth, and telling them about God's love! I guess it was a daydream since I wasn't asleep. Anyways, it was a different kind of image than any other daydream; this time, it was a full speech, and there were words that I said in this daydream that I never would have thought of myself. And also, I had the same daydream every single night. I began to realize that God probably wanted me to actually go and speak to the youth group, but I was too scared to ask.
So, I briefly mentioned it to a close friend of mine, and we briefly mentioned it to the youth pastor. He didn't really react to what I said, so I decided to leave it be and just live without speaking to the youth group. Then, last night, I had this huge wave of desire to speak this coming Tuesday! I decided to ask the youth pastor; I said to myself, "Kristen, tomorrow is the day." So, I got to church today, and I saw the youth pastor, AND I chickened out. Haha. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to ask him...
So I headed home, and that was when I received a text message from a friend. It said, "Kristen, Tim wants to know if you would like to share your testimony on Tuesday." I jumped for joy!! Praise God!! He answered my prayers, and although I failed to make the effort myself, he opened the door wide open for me! :)
God has recently been working a whole lot in my life; he's been using me in so many different ways, and it feels great! Today, I just wanted to share how God uses us all in different ways; he opens doors for us, and we should never be afraid to take these opportunities! These open doors are a precious gift he has given us; it gives us a chance to speak of his love and power, and it allows us to love others! As I mentioned yesterday, he is opening the door for me to go on missions! Well, he opened another door for me today!
Lately, I've been having very strong images of speaking to the youth group at my church. Every night, before I fall asleep, all I was able to think about was sharing my testimony with the youth, and telling them about God's love! I guess it was a daydream since I wasn't asleep. Anyways, it was a different kind of image than any other daydream; this time, it was a full speech, and there were words that I said in this daydream that I never would have thought of myself. And also, I had the same daydream every single night. I began to realize that God probably wanted me to actually go and speak to the youth group, but I was too scared to ask.
So, I briefly mentioned it to a close friend of mine, and we briefly mentioned it to the youth pastor. He didn't really react to what I said, so I decided to leave it be and just live without speaking to the youth group. Then, last night, I had this huge wave of desire to speak this coming Tuesday! I decided to ask the youth pastor; I said to myself, "Kristen, tomorrow is the day." So, I got to church today, and I saw the youth pastor, AND I chickened out. Haha. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to ask him...
So I headed home, and that was when I received a text message from a friend. It said, "Kristen, Tim wants to know if you would like to share your testimony on Tuesday." I jumped for joy!! Praise God!! He answered my prayers, and although I failed to make the effort myself, he opened the door wide open for me! :)
2 Corinthians 2:14
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession
in Christ and through us spreads everywhere
the fragrance of the knowledge of him.
God is truly using us all to spread the knowledge of him! He uses us in ways we have never even imagined. Let us be full of joy when we are doing the work of God; let us do his work because we love him, and love others! There are so many people who do not know the real and true love of God! Something to remember is that you shouldn't only be teaching about God's love when you go on missions; it should be happening when you are at home too! It doesn't matter where it is, or who it's with. We should always be teaching about God's love, should we not?
At our workplaces, at school, with friends, and in our communities! If we all did our best - if we all stepped out of our comfort zones a bit; the impact would be tremendous!
Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary of doing good,
for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
We must persevere! I know, it's so difficult to talk to non-believers about God... Surrounding us, there are so many people who have heard of him, yet do not believe in him. Our friends, our family, our colleagues.. Some will come to hate us, others will drift away from us, while even more will mock us, but this is no reason to give up! We must continue to love them, and do our best to show them God's love! Don't ever give up. Not the first time, the second time, the third time or any other time! God never gives up on loving us, right? We should never give up on loving others as well! Let us continue to praise God through any times of hardship and through any times of struggling! Let us ask him to help us persevere in doing good; ask him to guide us and let him use us!
Praise God for what he has done for us! Praise God for loving us and forgiving us! We have the most powerful and loving God, and he deserves all the glory! Let us love him just as he loves us; let us love others just as he loves us! Amen? AMEN!
Praise God for what he has done for us! Praise God for loving us and forgiving us! We have the most powerful and loving God, and he deserves all the glory! Let us love him just as he loves us; let us love others just as he loves us! Amen? AMEN!
- kjoosaurus out!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Missions [6/2/12]
Hello!
I hope you have all been well :) I know I haven't posted in too long... I apologize for this. These past few days were full of confusion and extremely busy for me. I recently committed to go to Turkey for missions this summer. It isn't set in stone yet, but I am beginning to train for missions, and a lot has happened in the past little while!
Today, I just wanted to share a bit about the thought process throughout days until today. It all began in Ottawa. A sister of mine was part of an organization called intercp. She is very involved with this organization and she had already gone on missions before; she told us stories of her trip to Iraq, and it made me become more and more curious about missions. She encouraged me to check out intercp when I got back to Vancouver, and she graciously put me in contact with some of the people who were involved!
When I arrived back in Vancouver, I was in contact with some of the leaders of intercp, but only through the phone. It wasn't until last Tuesday when I finally met for coffee with the em leader. It was then when I committed to go to Turkey for missions. I told him, "I will go to Turkey this summer, and I will make sure there is Vision School when I get back to Ottawa."
Wow. Those were big words coming from little old me. I'm not the kind of person who stops out of her comfort zone very much. I like to be in my cozy little bubble, and I have never stepped too far out of it. As soon as I realized what I had committed to, I became very, very scared. I didn't want to do it. There was too much at stake for me. I had so many obstacles to overcome, and I didn't want to put the effort into overcoming them. So, I started to hide from God. I began to go out with my friends a lot, I stopped writing this blog very regularly, and I immersed myself in worldly things. This last week, I rarely prayed, and I only read the bible on several occasions.
All of a sudden, I had gone from a girl who was doing nothing but looking for a job this summer, to a girl who was going to do God's work! Eep! What a change! But it made me begin to think... Is this why God wanted me to come home this summer? Did he want to give me this opportunity? Does he want me to do this? Well, this scared me even more. If God wants me to do something, and I tell him I'm going to do it, then that means I'm doing it. My friends were so excited for me! They were really hyping it up, but that scared me more and more. I didn't want to commit; I wanted to back out! But it wasn't until today, that I finally feel at peace.
You see, I forgot about why I wanted to do missions in the first place!
John 15:12-13
I hope you have all been well :) I know I haven't posted in too long... I apologize for this. These past few days were full of confusion and extremely busy for me. I recently committed to go to Turkey for missions this summer. It isn't set in stone yet, but I am beginning to train for missions, and a lot has happened in the past little while!
Today, I just wanted to share a bit about the thought process throughout days until today. It all began in Ottawa. A sister of mine was part of an organization called intercp. She is very involved with this organization and she had already gone on missions before; she told us stories of her trip to Iraq, and it made me become more and more curious about missions. She encouraged me to check out intercp when I got back to Vancouver, and she graciously put me in contact with some of the people who were involved!
When I arrived back in Vancouver, I was in contact with some of the leaders of intercp, but only through the phone. It wasn't until last Tuesday when I finally met for coffee with the em leader. It was then when I committed to go to Turkey for missions. I told him, "I will go to Turkey this summer, and I will make sure there is Vision School when I get back to Ottawa."
Wow. Those were big words coming from little old me. I'm not the kind of person who stops out of her comfort zone very much. I like to be in my cozy little bubble, and I have never stepped too far out of it. As soon as I realized what I had committed to, I became very, very scared. I didn't want to do it. There was too much at stake for me. I had so many obstacles to overcome, and I didn't want to put the effort into overcoming them. So, I started to hide from God. I began to go out with my friends a lot, I stopped writing this blog very regularly, and I immersed myself in worldly things. This last week, I rarely prayed, and I only read the bible on several occasions.
All of a sudden, I had gone from a girl who was doing nothing but looking for a job this summer, to a girl who was going to do God's work! Eep! What a change! But it made me begin to think... Is this why God wanted me to come home this summer? Did he want to give me this opportunity? Does he want me to do this? Well, this scared me even more. If God wants me to do something, and I tell him I'm going to do it, then that means I'm doing it. My friends were so excited for me! They were really hyping it up, but that scared me more and more. I didn't want to commit; I wanted to back out! But it wasn't until today, that I finally feel at peace.
You see, I forgot about why I wanted to do missions in the first place!
John 15:12-13
This is my commandment:
Love each other in the same way I have loved you.
Love each other in the same way I have loved you.
There is no greater love than to lay down one's life
for one's friends.
God calls us to love others the way he loves us. To go to the unreached nations to tell them of God's love and bringing light to their darkness... That is showing them how we love them! It doesn't matter if they reject the words we speak; it doesn't matter if they hate us. We must love them; we must want for them to experience the glory and mercy of God! God feels so much sorrow to see them sin; he loves them deeply. He wants us to go out, and tell them how he loves them! He wants us to go out and tell them there is a way! He wants to use us to lead them to the path of righteousness!
This is why I wanted to do missions. I want God to use me to lead these people to the path of righteousness. I want others to be able to experience the love of God just the way I have experience it! I was so focused on myself, but I pray God will make me selfless! There are people who need to hear the word of God, and we need to tell them the word of God! Oh, how he loves us. Let us love each other just the way he loved us! God's love is the true love. God's love is the greatest love of all! :)
- kjoosaurus out!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Discernment [5/31/12]
Hello!
Today, I would like to talk a bit about discernment. In all honesty, I don't know very much, so I'm hoping you guys will be able to help me out a bit. These past few weeks, I've really been needing answers from God, and although I'm getting answers, I'm not always sure if it's from God or from something else. Some answers seem more obvious, while others I have a very hard time discerning.
The reason why I do become confused is because there is one thing I do know.
Today, I would like to talk a bit about discernment. In all honesty, I don't know very much, so I'm hoping you guys will be able to help me out a bit. These past few weeks, I've really been needing answers from God, and although I'm getting answers, I'm not always sure if it's from God or from something else. Some answers seem more obvious, while others I have a very hard time discerning.
The reason why I do become confused is because there is one thing I do know.
2 Corinthians 11:14
But I am not surprised!
Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
1 John 4:1
Dear friends, do not believe everyone
who claims to speak by the Spirit.
You must test them to see if the spirit
they have comes from God.
For there are many false prophets in the world.
Signs we see and words we hear are not always going to be from God. Many times, Satan will communicate to us in ways that are extremely similar to God; so similar in fact, that we may believe it is God! I also know, as children of God, we must learn to discern between good and evil. As we grow closer and closer to God, we are able to discern more and more!
1 John also says to test them... At first I was confused. I wasn't sure how to test them, but that's because I didn't read on.
1 John 4:2
This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God:
If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges
that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God.
But if someone claims to be a prophet
and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus,
that person is not from God.
Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist,
which you hear is coming into the world
and indeed is already here.
Okay, I'm not sure if I'm insanely simple-minded or something, but it looks like the way we must know is if they: a) Acknowledge Jesus Christ came in a real body, or b) Doesn't acknowledge the truth about Jesus Christ. Once again, I'm a little confused. Is this really that simple? Is it really just as black and white as it appears? The reason why I'm a bit perplexed this is because of one of my friends. She is a dear friend to me, and I've known her for a very long time. She falls in the category of option a, but at times, I feel as if something is amiss. At times, she gives me advice on what to do spiritually, yet I feel like her advice is extremely far from what God wants.
This is what is confusing me quite a bit right now. It would be great if you guys could help with this!
I pray we will be able to easily discern between good and evil! I'm having a hard time with it right now... There are many different events in my life that require major decisions, yet I'm not sure what God wants. It is said that God will always answer with a yes, no, or maybe. But how do we learn to discern when he is answering? Because God doesn't always answer right away...
I feel it may have a lot to do with drawing closer to God. The closer we are to him, the easier it will be to tell between what is from him and what isn't, right? Please correct me if I'm wrong, because for this blog, I'm not too sure. I hope you guys are thinking about this too! We definitely need to be seeking the ability to discern what is from God and what isn't from God!
Thanks for reading this post :) I'm sorry I haven't been posting every single day... I've been so busy. But I know that's no excuse hehe. I will do my very post to continue posting every day! But thank you for the continuous love, support and encouragement.
- kjoosaurus out!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Broken Down Walls [5/28/12]
Hello there!
Tonight, I was able to experience a beautiful moment with my own mother. For a few days, we have been talking about how we want to pray with each other, but it didn't happen until tonight! Of course, I was feeling lazy once again, so I almost backed out of it. I didn't feel like getting out my bible and discussing it with her. For some reason, while we were reading the bible, I kept getting annoyed of her as well. It was extremely odd because I had absolutely no reason to be annoyed by her, and it was really distracting me from reading God's word!
Either way, I just prayed to God that he would help me. I prayed for him to cast away all of the distractions, and right away, they disappeared! I was able to focus on the word of God, and I was able to freely discuss the book with my Mom! :)
Then, as we were praying, an even more amazing thing happened.
To explain a bit, lately, God has been asking me to call out to him while I'm in prayer. I often pray at night when everybody is sleeping, so my prayers happen to be whispers. Yet, every time I prayed, God kept asking me to call out to him. He just wanted me to yell out his name! Although I knew this, I used the excuse of it being too late at night to stop myself from calling out his name. But tonight, as I was praying with my Mom, she was praying for me when she started to say, "Lord, cast out this spirit of heaviness. Kristen, just call out to God. He wants you to call out to him! Kristen! Call out to him!"
Of course, I realized then how much there is blocking the path between me and God. He has been wanting to get closer to me recently, but I've been allowing myself to be brought down and distracted... Before my Mom even said this, I was wanting so badly to call out his name! I wanted to yell out! "JESUS! JESUS!" But there was something in my way... God definitely wanted me to pray with my Mom tonight, because tonight, I finally called out to him. Slowly, very slowly, I'm getting closer and closer to God.
I can still feel the clutter of stuff that's in the way, but I felt so much freer tonight! I want to be able to love God with all my heart, and with everything I have!
Tonight, I was able to experience a beautiful moment with my own mother. For a few days, we have been talking about how we want to pray with each other, but it didn't happen until tonight! Of course, I was feeling lazy once again, so I almost backed out of it. I didn't feel like getting out my bible and discussing it with her. For some reason, while we were reading the bible, I kept getting annoyed of her as well. It was extremely odd because I had absolutely no reason to be annoyed by her, and it was really distracting me from reading God's word!
Either way, I just prayed to God that he would help me. I prayed for him to cast away all of the distractions, and right away, they disappeared! I was able to focus on the word of God, and I was able to freely discuss the book with my Mom! :)
Then, as we were praying, an even more amazing thing happened.
To explain a bit, lately, God has been asking me to call out to him while I'm in prayer. I often pray at night when everybody is sleeping, so my prayers happen to be whispers. Yet, every time I prayed, God kept asking me to call out to him. He just wanted me to yell out his name! Although I knew this, I used the excuse of it being too late at night to stop myself from calling out his name. But tonight, as I was praying with my Mom, she was praying for me when she started to say, "Lord, cast out this spirit of heaviness. Kristen, just call out to God. He wants you to call out to him! Kristen! Call out to him!"
Of course, I realized then how much there is blocking the path between me and God. He has been wanting to get closer to me recently, but I've been allowing myself to be brought down and distracted... Before my Mom even said this, I was wanting so badly to call out his name! I wanted to yell out! "JESUS! JESUS!" But there was something in my way... God definitely wanted me to pray with my Mom tonight, because tonight, I finally called out to him. Slowly, very slowly, I'm getting closer and closer to God.
I can still feel the clutter of stuff that's in the way, but I felt so much freer tonight! I want to be able to love God with all my heart, and with everything I have!
Mark 12:30
And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart,
all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.
He really does want us to love him with every thing we have. He wants us to give everything up to him, and just love him! I desperately want to be able to love him with all that I have! I hope you do too! There are so many things that can keep us from loving him completely. This world is filled with distractions and doubts, but God does want us to be close with him. He wants us to draw closer and closer to him every single day. We need to break down these walls! We need to throw away our pride! We need to seek him in every thing we do. We need to pray and pray and pray!
Our God is a beautiful, wonderful God. Tonight, he brought me so much joy! I feel so much happier and freer as I draw closer to him! I want to love him completely! One day, I hope to love him as much as he loves us. :)
- kjoosaurus out!
Monday, May 28, 2012
One on One [5/27/12]
Hi everybody!
I hope you're all doing well. A lot has been happening in my life in these past few days, and I hope I can share about them sometime soon! I've been learning a lot in the past while, but I just wanted to share with you all something God has been asking me to do.
My life has always been prone to becoming very hectic. I've always been terrible at staying at home, and being without people. Therefore, I'm almost always out and I'm almost always surrounded by many people. As I've mentioned before, I have recently gotten to know God a bit more and he has really motivated me to reach out to others and tell them the good news! With this new vision, I've been going out and meeting up with more and more people! It has definitely been great and all, but it has caused me to forget something very important.
In this busy life, I have forgotten that I need to spend some time with God too. No, not in a crowd of people, but time where it's just me and God.
As Jesus spent his time on earth, he preached, healed and performed miracles! But, he always found time to spend with God.
I hope you're all doing well. A lot has been happening in my life in these past few days, and I hope I can share about them sometime soon! I've been learning a lot in the past while, but I just wanted to share with you all something God has been asking me to do.
My life has always been prone to becoming very hectic. I've always been terrible at staying at home, and being without people. Therefore, I'm almost always out and I'm almost always surrounded by many people. As I've mentioned before, I have recently gotten to know God a bit more and he has really motivated me to reach out to others and tell them the good news! With this new vision, I've been going out and meeting up with more and more people! It has definitely been great and all, but it has caused me to forget something very important.
In this busy life, I have forgotten that I need to spend some time with God too. No, not in a crowd of people, but time where it's just me and God.
As Jesus spent his time on earth, he preached, healed and performed miracles! But, he always found time to spend with God.
Matthew 26:39
He went on a little farther and bowed
with his face to the ground, praying
"My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of
suffering be taken away from me.
Yet I want your will to be done, not mine."
He prays a similar prayer to God three separate times. I really love to see this from Jesus. To see how he really does have a relationship with God, and how he tells God what is going on and how he is feeling. It's also very encouraging to see Jesus say, "I want your will to be done, not mine." Jesus sets us a perfect example. He knows what is to come, and he takes the time to pray to God about it. I mean, when I think about it, this is huge. A lot of times, when something really bad is happening to me, I don't pray about it. I'm so consumed in my worries and my sorrows, that I forgot to lift them all up to God.
Jesus finds the time to lift everything up to God. He finds the time to be alone with God.
Luke 5:16
But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.
Jesus was doing quite a bit. He was a very busy man, and he was doing huge things! But, he still found time to spend with God! When I read this, I realized how much junk I need to cut out of my life. I have so many distractions that surround me, and I'm letting them distract me quite a bit! Sometimes, I'm not even busy. Sometimes, I just find a whole bunch of nothing to do, and I call myself "busy." Because of this, I've been spending less and less time with God... But recently, he's been calling me back to him. He wants me to spend time with him! He wants you to spend time with him!
I actually deleted my Facebook account for a while... Just to get used to not having it around. It's terrible, but I really let Facebook distract me. Of course, there are tons of other things that distract me, but Facebook is the biggest. It's silly because I don't really do anything on Facebook anyways! God doesn't want these things to keep us from him. I mean, they're a great way for me to connect with people, but I definitely cannot let it consume so much time as I've already let it! I'm sure we all have something that is distracting us from spending time with God. I hope we will all realize what that is, and figure out a way to stop it from being a distraction!
Let's all get to know our God even better! :) Thanks for reading this post!
- kjoosaurus out!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Cry for Attention [5/25/12]
Hello there!
Today, I had a friend ask me how I was doing spiritually... Although I did not have the time to express my joy, I can say now, I am extremely joyful that he asked me this! Just with that one question, a whole conversation about God came up! Isn't that wonderful? I'm getting excited right now as I realize how simple it is to bring God into our lives. So, I hope we will all ask each other how our spiritual lives are!
Now, today, I'm going to quickly share about something I learned in Matthew. I was reading Matthew chapter 6, and I noticed a very obvious recurring theme. This chapter was teaching about giving to the needy, prayer, fasting and money. Here, I'll show you some of the verses I read.
Matthew 6:1-2
Watch out!
Don't do your good deeds publicly,
to be admired by others,
for you will lose the reward
from your Father in heaven.
When you give to someone in need, don't do
as the hypocrites do-blowing
trumpets in the synagogues and streets
to call attention to their acts of charity!
I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get.
Then I read:
Matthew 6:5-6
When you pray,
don't be like the hypocrites
who love to pray publicly on street corners and in
the synagogues where everyone can see them.
I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.
But when you pray, go away by yourself,
shut the door behind you, and pray
to your Father in private.
Then your Father, who sees everything,
will reward you.
And the final example:
Matthew 6:16
And when you fast, don't make it obvious, as the hypocrites do,
for they try to look miserable and dishevelled
so people will admire them for their fasting.
I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get.
So, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but in every single passage, there is one common theme. We must not boast to others. We must not do the things we do for the fame of it! This is something I am definitely guilty of. I've always struggled with seeking the attention of others, and I would do things to get people to notice me. I wanted people to like me, and to look up to me. But, because of this, I was just falling more and more.
As humans, we often seem to seek the attention from others. We crave it. We want to know people care about us and look up to us, so we try to put ourselves out there for them to see. But is this the reward we should be seeking? Are we going to be satisfied when we get some attention from people? The answer is no. Nothing of this world will ever completely satisfy us. The best and most fulfilling reward comes from God!
So, let's do good deeds to honour our father, and not to be admired by others! The rewards from our father are the best rewards! They are the only rewards we should be seeking. It will be tough, but together, we can all overcome this need for worldly rewards! Hooray~ :)
Sorry, it was a bit shorter tonight... But, we will meet again tomorrow! Hehe.
Good night everybody!
- kjoosaurus out!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Encouraging One Another [5/24/12]
Hello there!
Sorry I didn't post anything yesterday... Lately, I've been struggling with reading the word, and I've been putting it off for a long time, but last night, I finally decided to throw all laziness aside, and I spent some time with God. Of course, it was worth it! For the past few days, I've been staying home and watching movies and dramas. I've been doing absolutely nothing. I always had a feeling that I should be reading his word, but I just couldn't shake the laziness off!
So, yesterday, while I was spending some time with God, he told me a little something that I would love to share with you all today! As I was praying, God was reminding me of something I had heard a while ago. It's something many of us know, but fewer of us do. He told me we should be holding each other accountable and encouraging each other to spend time with God, and to keep up our relationship with him! This is something I had needed in the past week. I needed people to ask me how I was doing spiritually, I needed people to ask me about my relationship with God.
Sorry I didn't post anything yesterday... Lately, I've been struggling with reading the word, and I've been putting it off for a long time, but last night, I finally decided to throw all laziness aside, and I spent some time with God. Of course, it was worth it! For the past few days, I've been staying home and watching movies and dramas. I've been doing absolutely nothing. I always had a feeling that I should be reading his word, but I just couldn't shake the laziness off!
So, yesterday, while I was spending some time with God, he told me a little something that I would love to share with you all today! As I was praying, God was reminding me of something I had heard a while ago. It's something many of us know, but fewer of us do. He told me we should be holding each other accountable and encouraging each other to spend time with God, and to keep up our relationship with him! This is something I had needed in the past week. I needed people to ask me how I was doing spiritually, I needed people to ask me about my relationship with God.
Hebrews 3:12-14
Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters.
Make sure that your own hearts
are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.
You must warn each other every day, while it is still "today," so that
none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened
against God.
For if we are faithful to the end,
trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed,
we will share in all that belongs to Christ.
As my days without God went by, what I noticed was how I was slowly turning away from God. I had very few thoughts about him, and I was immersing myself into worldly things. I was becoming more and more obsessed with whatever drama or movie I was watching, and I chose to do worldly things instead of godly things. It is incredibly easy to fall into this trap! That's why the bible says, "You must warn each other every day." Do you guys see how important it is to keep God in our conversation and actions every single day?
So... How should we go about doing this? Well, something I have personally decided to work on, is asking people how they're doing spiritually, or asking them how their relationship is going with God. Is it not important to check up with our brothers and sisters in Christ? I was trying to think of why I had never done this before, and I realized... It's because many people will act uncomfortable when we ask them this question. I never want to make people feel uncomfortable, so I think I've been avoiding this question. But, we need to be asking this question! We need to talk about God!
Conversations about God should not only take place at church, or at bible studies. They should take place anywhere and everywhere! I hope you will begin to ask your brothers and sisters in Christ how they are doing spiritually. I'm going to do my best to talk about it too. Also, if anybody ever asks you, please don't say, "Oh, it's good." or "It's fine." Yes, it may be good, but we need to elaborate! Go in depth about it! Open up to others about your relationship with Christ! Tell your brothers and sisters in Christ what he is doing for you, so together we can grow! Honestly, I learn so much every time I have a christ based conversation with my brothers and sisters. So, what's stopping us!? Why aren't we talking about this with each other?!
Another thing we should start doing, is meeting up with one another to read the bible together, to grow together and to pray together. I'm really eager to start doing this with my brothers and sisters in Christ! Just reading the word and praying together... How much growth and changes there will be in both of our lives! I'm not saying this should be a one time thing. Oh no, this should be continuous! We should do this as often as we can! For it says in Matthew 18:20:
For where two or three gather together
as my followers, I am there among them.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. So, if two or three of us meet, and study the word and pray with one another, then that means Jesus is in that place with them! And if Jesus is there, then wonderful things MUST be happening! So, once again I say, why aren't we doing this!? Of course, we will always find excuses to why we aren't able to do this. We might say, "There's nobody interested" or "I don't have time." There are millions of excuses we could come up with, but none of them are good enough! There is not a single reason on earth that can justify not having fellowship! So, if you say you don't have time, well, make time! If you have time to be on Facebook, if you have time to watch tv, if you have time to sit there and do absolutely nothing, then you definitely have time to meet up with your brothers and sisters in Christ to read the word and pray together!
Don't let laziness overcome you. Don't let it even take a part in your life! Don't let those lazy thoughts get into your head like they did in mine... I will pray for you! I will pray that we will all meet up together to learn more about God. That we will seek to do his will! That we will never ever turn away from him! So together, let us be faithful till the end!
- kjoosaurus out!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
The Perfect Person [5/22/12]
Hello! kjoosaurus is now checking in =P
I had quite a blessed night tonight! I was able to attend the youth group at my church, and the message that was spoken was great! Once again, we spoke about love.
Love, love, love. Such a vast topic. We could talk about it for days and days and days. So, I will be talking about it again today and I would like to share a bit more about what I learned about love. I got the amazing opportunity to lead a small group today, and I hope the girls in this group learned something from what I said, because I definitely learned a lot from what they said.
The message told today was very interesting, and perfectly relatable to my life. There was something that was said, and it just meant so much to me.
I find that something we worry about a lot is who we're going to end up with. We're always searching for our life partner, and I'm sure many feel like the search will never end! But why do we put so much energy into this? Why must we find that life partner right now? I mean, I'm only 19. I'm still young, but I find myself searching for people that could be potential candidates. Not everybody is like this, but I think I could safely say that many of us are.
Because of this eagerness to find our life partner, I find many of us jumping into relationships too quickly. We don't always consider why we're going into a relationship. We don't think about whether it is love, or lust. We just want that person who will always be there for us; that person who will be by our side! In many cases, I know we can become very lonely. In our loneliness, we don't think before we jump into a relationship, because we are craving love so badly. But shouldn't God's love be enough for us?
I always forget about that. God's love is enough, and when the time is right, he will provide me with the perfect man.
Today, in our small groups, the other leader and I asked the girls why they choose to jump into relationships so quickly. The answers I got were varying, interesting and a bit shocking for me to hear.
One girl said, "I use relationships to make other people jealous."
Another girl said, "I think you need to date around to make sure you know what your type is. You need to know what boys are like before you settle down with one of them."
And finally, another girl said, "I think relationships are something we should be careful about. Think about it like a chocolate bar. Every time you're in a relationship, you're giving a part of yourself to that person. Therefore, it's like they're taking a bite from your chocolate bar. The more times you let people have a bite of your chocolate bar, the less you will have. So, if you give too many people a bite, your husband will only have a little piece of the chocolate bar left!"
This last answer really made me think. Wow. Once I finally get married, I want to be able to give my husband everything. I want him to have that complete chocolate bar, and not just a piece of it. Therefore, I should wait for the person God has set aside for me, shouldn't I? I put so much time and energy into looking for a relationship. But I should be waiting until God tells me I am ready. Because, to be completely honest, I know I'm not ready right now.
On God's time, we will get this relationship we are all searching for, but it will be the perfect time and the perfect person for us!
Have a lovely night :)
- kjoosaurus out!
I had quite a blessed night tonight! I was able to attend the youth group at my church, and the message that was spoken was great! Once again, we spoke about love.
Love, love, love. Such a vast topic. We could talk about it for days and days and days. So, I will be talking about it again today and I would like to share a bit more about what I learned about love. I got the amazing opportunity to lead a small group today, and I hope the girls in this group learned something from what I said, because I definitely learned a lot from what they said.
The message told today was very interesting, and perfectly relatable to my life. There was something that was said, and it just meant so much to me.
I find that something we worry about a lot is who we're going to end up with. We're always searching for our life partner, and I'm sure many feel like the search will never end! But why do we put so much energy into this? Why must we find that life partner right now? I mean, I'm only 19. I'm still young, but I find myself searching for people that could be potential candidates. Not everybody is like this, but I think I could safely say that many of us are.
Because of this eagerness to find our life partner, I find many of us jumping into relationships too quickly. We don't always consider why we're going into a relationship. We don't think about whether it is love, or lust. We just want that person who will always be there for us; that person who will be by our side! In many cases, I know we can become very lonely. In our loneliness, we don't think before we jump into a relationship, because we are craving love so badly. But shouldn't God's love be enough for us?
I always forget about that. God's love is enough, and when the time is right, he will provide me with the perfect man.
Today, in our small groups, the other leader and I asked the girls why they choose to jump into relationships so quickly. The answers I got were varying, interesting and a bit shocking for me to hear.
One girl said, "I use relationships to make other people jealous."
Another girl said, "I think you need to date around to make sure you know what your type is. You need to know what boys are like before you settle down with one of them."
And finally, another girl said, "I think relationships are something we should be careful about. Think about it like a chocolate bar. Every time you're in a relationship, you're giving a part of yourself to that person. Therefore, it's like they're taking a bite from your chocolate bar. The more times you let people have a bite of your chocolate bar, the less you will have. So, if you give too many people a bite, your husband will only have a little piece of the chocolate bar left!"
This last answer really made me think. Wow. Once I finally get married, I want to be able to give my husband everything. I want him to have that complete chocolate bar, and not just a piece of it. Therefore, I should wait for the person God has set aside for me, shouldn't I? I put so much time and energy into looking for a relationship. But I should be waiting until God tells me I am ready. Because, to be completely honest, I know I'm not ready right now.
On God's time, we will get this relationship we are all searching for, but it will be the perfect time and the perfect person for us!
Genesis 2:18
The Lord God said, "It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
God is getting somebody ready for us! We will find this person when the time is right. We will find this person once we are ready and once they are ready. So, while we wait, we should invest our energy into our relationship with God! I'm definitely no relationship expert, but I do know that the most beautiful relationships ever are the Christ based relationships. And to have this Christ based relationship, we must get to know Christ first!
Have a lovely night :)
- kjoosaurus out!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Complete Trust [5/21/12]
Hello!
So, for the first time in my life, I had God speak to me through a sermon! There's been a lot on my mind recently, and I have been stressing out way too much because of it. I let myself get overly stressed out and very distracted. All I could think about was how to fix my problems, and how to resolve things. I was not at peace, and I was having a very difficult time focusing on God.
But God reached out to me and provided me with words of comfort and guidance! The topic of the sermon on Sunday was called "Trust God and Do the Next Thing." It was extremely helpful to me, and I was very excited to share it with you all!
I'm not going to share every part of the sermon... Just the part that meant a lot to me! Otherwise, this post would be a very long one.
So, for the first time in my life, I had God speak to me through a sermon! There's been a lot on my mind recently, and I have been stressing out way too much because of it. I let myself get overly stressed out and very distracted. All I could think about was how to fix my problems, and how to resolve things. I was not at peace, and I was having a very difficult time focusing on God.
But God reached out to me and provided me with words of comfort and guidance! The topic of the sermon on Sunday was called "Trust God and Do the Next Thing." It was extremely helpful to me, and I was very excited to share it with you all!
I'm not going to share every part of the sermon... Just the part that meant a lot to me! Otherwise, this post would be a very long one.
Psalm 121
I look up to the mountains-
does my help come from there?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!
He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not
slumber.
Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.
The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your
protective shade.
The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.
The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
The Lord keeps watch over you as you come
and go,
both now and forever.
God is always watching over us, and keeping us from harm. It is God himself who is standing beside us! So, there should be no need at all for us to stress out over our problems. God is always watching, and he is guiding us! One of the most important points I learned was that we must live our life for Christ, and we must entrust our whole life to Him! There is absolutely no need to worry. There's no need to cause ourselves harm by thinking we are alone in our problems, for God is with us! He is by our side, and he is helping us!
Isn't it great to know God is keeping us from harm? This passage really comforts me because it helps me realize that I am never alone, and that God cares so much about us! I love the last bit, "The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever."
He is with us right now, and forever. How great he is!
Whatever might be stressing you out right now, whatever obstacles you may be facing... Just give everything up to God! Let's just focus on obeying God, and everything else will fall into place! He will always provide for us. :)
Thank you for reading this post! Here's the song I listened to while writing this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvTg2WFTHyE
- kjoosaurus out!
Isn't it great to know God is keeping us from harm? This passage really comforts me because it helps me realize that I am never alone, and that God cares so much about us! I love the last bit, "The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever."
He is with us right now, and forever. How great he is!
Whatever might be stressing you out right now, whatever obstacles you may be facing... Just give everything up to God! Let's just focus on obeying God, and everything else will fall into place! He will always provide for us. :)
Thank you for reading this post! Here's the song I listened to while writing this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvTg2WFTHyE
- kjoosaurus out!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Armor of God [5/20/12]
Good evening everybody!
Is there anything you are afraid of? I've noticed that most people are afraid of spiders, the dark, roller coasters, dying, etc. Well, to be honest, I just listed most of the things I am afraid of. It used to be impossible for people to tell me scary stories, because if they did, I would spend the rest of the week in fear. I couldn't watch any scary movies, because I would start being very paranoid, and check behind all the doors, etc.
You see, I am a person who is very easily scared. But, why do I let these things scare me?
This has been on my mind for a while because of a conversation I once had with a friend. I admire this friend very much because she does not seem to fear very many things. But, as I've been thinking, I've come to realize how I as well should live a life without fear of such things. What do we have to fear, when the Lord is on our side?
Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
Why do we let so many things strike fear in us? I find that many of us try to ignore the fact that Satan is truly alive and scheming things to make us fall, and the reason why we try to ignore this is because we are scared. Satan does many different things that may make us feel scared. He may send demons our way to strike fear in us, but there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of! The Lord is on our side, and yes, there is always a spiritual battle going on, but we have the armour of God that allows us to stand firm!
A few days ago, a friend told me, the Devil can bark, but he cannot bite. He can try to scare us all he wants, but because we have God on our side, he can't do any real harm to us! Praise the Lord for this!
Ephesians 6:10-17
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
We are given the armor of God so that we may fight this spiritual warfare! When we have fear in our hearts, we are also doubting the strength of our God, and this gives Satan an advantage. We must never doubt our God, and we must always keep in mind that Satan is continuously trying his best to attack us. He will try many different things to strike fear in our hearts, but we must continue to rely on the strength of our God!
A commentary I was reading online said this, "Resist him, and he will flee."
Isn't it wonderful how powerful God is? What we must do is resist what Satan throws at us, and he will flee. The power of God helps us with this! We really aren't alone; God is always watching over us, guiding us, and protecting us! How great he is! Let us stand together with God! Let us not be afraid of Satan's tricks, for the Lord is with us! Amen? AMEN!
Thank you for reading my blog today! Hope you had a very lovely night :)
- kjoosaurus out!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
His Temple [5/19/12]
Aloha!
Today, I would like to talk about something God has given to us; this thing He has given to us is something we often fail to take care of, myself included.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Today, I would like to talk about something God has given to us; this thing He has given to us is something we often fail to take care of, myself included.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
In many ways, we do not glorify God with our body. This body we have... It isn't ours! It belongs to God, yet we somehow manage to take such bad care of it. This world is filled with so many things that we can fill our body with, and destroy it. I am so guilty of this. Living in such a comfortable lifestyle makes it even more difficult. I have access to all of the food I want, I can drink anything, I could even smoke if I chose to. Everything is just a few steps away.
Have you ever gone out to eat, and stuffed yourself until you felt like you were about to burst? I used to eat like this every single day. For every single meal, I ate until I could actually feel my stomach expanding. Therefore, for the next meal, I could eat more and more. I always ate foods that were unhealthy too... I had a major sweet tooth. Now that I think of it, I was a very greedy eater, and this greed inside of me was damaging my body! I ended up having to see a specialist to help me with my eating habits because they had gotten so bad. The specialist did help, but as always, asking God to help me did the most. God doesn't want us to damage our bodies. Our bodies are a temple!
If you owned a temple made of stone, I'm sure you would take very good care of it. Would you let it crumble? Would you personally bring it down, stone by stone? I don't think you would. If you were given a stone temple from God for the Holy Spirit, I'm sure you would make sure it was in perfect condition. If I had the money, I would hire gardeners, cleaners, maintenance, and all other things! If I didn't have the money, I would do my best to clean and maintain it myself! This should be the same for our bodies because our bodies ARE a temple!
I believe it's very important to take care of our bodies. We must do our best to keep healthy by exercising, and eating the right amount. Something we must be careful of is making sure we aren't doing this all for the vanity. This is a trap I quickly fell into. I used to be extremely self-conscious of my body, and this made me want to be skinnier and skinnier. But it's funny, because I never got near my goal. Only when I have been exercising and eating healthier with God and the Holy Spirit in mind, have I lost any weight.
Our bodies should also be clean of any sins! Because God and the Holy Spirit are pure, the temple the Holy Spirit resides in should be pure as well, should it not? The temple should do nothing but the work of God... The temple should be taken care of. Eating unhealthily, drinking excessively, sexual immorality... You know what you're doing. Why do we purposely damage the temple of the Holy Spirit? I hope you begin to think of how you're going to take care of this temple. I know I still have a lot of things to change in my lifestyle. Everyday, I'm still doing things I shouldn't be doing, but let's all work on it together!
Our bodies should also be clean of any sins! Because God and the Holy Spirit are pure, the temple the Holy Spirit resides in should be pure as well, should it not? The temple should do nothing but the work of God... The temple should be taken care of. Eating unhealthily, drinking excessively, sexual immorality... You know what you're doing. Why do we purposely damage the temple of the Holy Spirit? I hope you begin to think of how you're going to take care of this temple. I know I still have a lot of things to change in my lifestyle. Everyday, I'm still doing things I shouldn't be doing, but let's all work on it together!
Thank you thank you for reading this post today! I hope your day is full of joy!
- kjoosaurus out!
- kjoosaurus out!
Friday, May 18, 2012
Living by the Spirit's Power [5/17/12]
Good evening!
I'm not sure about you guys, but as I was reading this passage, I caught myself nodding my head in agreement with it. Do you see all of the acts of flesh that are listed? Before I came to Christ, I was guilty of almost all of them. I had to look up dissension in the dictionary, and it means strong disagreement. I giggled a bit when I read this because before I came to Christ, I argued with everybody! It didn't matter whether I actually agreed with them or not, I always looked for arguments. It's kind of weird now that I think of it. Why would somebody want to argue with people? Well, I'm not sure WHY I wanted to, but I did.
It's not only this quality that I possessed. I was also a very, very jealous person. Actually, it is still something I struggle with, and jealousy is a very annoying quality to possess. It prevents you from doing a lot. It is a very difficult quality to have in a relationship, and jealousy can lead to many destructive things. I'm so grateful to have met Christ, because He has truly been changing me in this way!
Something that I have recently come to realize is that there is always a war going on. Yes, we may not be able to see it at times, and we may not be able to feel it at times, but it is always happening. As children of God who have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we are still going to struggle with our flaws and our imperfections, but we will no longer be dominated by these things because we now have the strength of the Lord on our side!
It is not enough to stop these acts of flesh, but we must also seek the fruit of the Spirit!
Today, I had a special request to write about Galatians 5:16-26. The bible always puts me in a state of awe when I read a passage and I see how relevant and true it is when applied with my own life!
Galatians 5:16-26
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
I'm not sure about you guys, but as I was reading this passage, I caught myself nodding my head in agreement with it. Do you see all of the acts of flesh that are listed? Before I came to Christ, I was guilty of almost all of them. I had to look up dissension in the dictionary, and it means strong disagreement. I giggled a bit when I read this because before I came to Christ, I argued with everybody! It didn't matter whether I actually agreed with them or not, I always looked for arguments. It's kind of weird now that I think of it. Why would somebody want to argue with people? Well, I'm not sure WHY I wanted to, but I did.
It's not only this quality that I possessed. I was also a very, very jealous person. Actually, it is still something I struggle with, and jealousy is a very annoying quality to possess. It prevents you from doing a lot. It is a very difficult quality to have in a relationship, and jealousy can lead to many destructive things. I'm so grateful to have met Christ, because He has truly been changing me in this way!
Something that I have recently come to realize is that there is always a war going on. Yes, we may not be able to see it at times, and we may not be able to feel it at times, but it is always happening. As children of God who have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we are still going to struggle with our flaws and our imperfections, but we will no longer be dominated by these things because we now have the strength of the Lord on our side!
It is not enough to stop these acts of flesh, but we must also seek the fruit of the Spirit!
Romans 8:5-8
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires;but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
We must always be seeking the Spirit. God will be pleased once we have a mind governed by the Spirit, and why wouldn't we want to anyways? I can personally testify that being closer with the Lord has made me a million times happier. Inside, I am at peace for the Lord is with me. Of course the battle is always occurring, but the Lord continues to have an obvious presence in my life that is not only visible to me, but visible to others as well. With the Lord, we find true joy, love, and peace! So, why shouldn't we seek him?
I want to hang all of my sins and acts of the flesh on the cross. The struggle is present now, but soon, they will be gone! I know many of you are struggling as well, and I will be praying for you! If any of you have any struggles you want to share with me, please do! I will pray for you!
May you feel the presence of the Lord by your side every single second of your day. May you know He is always with you. He never leaves us alone! :) The Lord is great, is he not? He brings us true joy, love and happiness! With Him, our struggles are nothing. Nothing at all! Praise Him!
Have a good night everybody!
- kjoosaurus out!
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