"They (The Jewish leaders) called the apostles in again. They beat the apostles and told them not to speak in the name of Jesus again. Then they let them go free. The apostles left the meeting full of joy because they were given the honor of suffering disgrace for Jesus"
Wow!!!! Let's back up a little. In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the disciples followed Jesus, left everything behind right there and then when Jesus came to them and asked if they wanted to join him. After listening to Jesus' teachings for awhile, and following him and witnessing miracles suddenly he was taken and suffered and died on a cross. Afterwards, the apostles go, and preach and share the Good News, after seeing what the leaders did to Jesus. Just a brief summary.
So after ALL that drama happened, they were overjoyed when they got beat and spoken to harshly (I assume) by the leaders who killed Jesus, and could easily do so to them as well.
You know, when I was reading this in Acts I did NOT see it coming. I was shocked!
Imagine all the tiny things, we can overjoy in if they were happy with their punishment. Imagine if we could have joy in every single chore because Jesus died for us. In the bible, it says that we, Christians, are going to be hurt by the teachers of the law or people in authority of us. We see many examples of this in the bible, and the apostles are a great example of how to treat this kind of situation. They were so faithful to Jesus to the end. The story of Jesus dying on the cross is the nost told and the story people look at in awe. I think we should look into the apostles lives and books they wrote after Jesus died and honor that as well. "Wow" is what that verse is.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
A Spring Poem
Spring is awakening from the long winter rest
Little birds are chirping, in their nest
Bright sunlight shines through the blooming apple tree
All of this beauty for me and you to see
Dew in the morning, clinging onto grass,
The fresh spring smell, has finally come, at last
The bright green grass, and the blooming pink flowers
Such a beautiful day, especially this hour!
The big blue sky, cloudless, and sunny
The foals, the calfs, and the little baby bunny
Are all being born in this special season
Everything in spring, is all so pleasing!
Little birds are chirping, in their nest
Bright sunlight shines through the blooming apple tree
All of this beauty for me and you to see
Dew in the morning, clinging onto grass,
The fresh spring smell, has finally come, at last
The bright green grass, and the blooming pink flowers
Such a beautiful day, especially this hour!
The big blue sky, cloudless, and sunny
The foals, the calfs, and the little baby bunny
Are all being born in this special season
Everything in spring, is all so pleasing!
Friday, January 13, 2012
"I love her"
Well, this was acually a while back, but one time, after a long grocery shopping trip I was getting some bags to put in the cart. As I was grabbing it, I looked up, and across from us was a lady who had no ear, just a little bump. Well, I thought "Wow, I wonder what happened, it looks kinda weird." After I thought that, immediately God told me, "I love her". As I thought about it, I realized that she is God's child, no matter how her ear looked. And like any parent would, he loved her. I suddenly felt compassion for her, and said a short prayer. I'll always remember this experience.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The Birth of Jesus: Poem I wrote :)
A poem I wrote about Jesus being born..... :)
Jesus was born in a manger fast asleep
Laying next to the horses and sheep
Mary and Joseph looked at him in awe
That little baby was a king that they saw
And all through the night a bright star shone
To show three wise men where to go
Bringing each a gift of myrrh, frankincense, and gold
For the newborn king to behold
An angel came during the night
And said to Joseph "Do not fright
But go to Egypt, and stay there and hide
For baby Jesus, King Herod has spied"
When Jesus, our King had grown
He did not make himself known
But made himself humble
He never made mistakes, did not even grumble
He made the biggest sacrifice of all
One that all of us can recall
Jesus was born in a manger fast asleep
Laying next to the horses and sheep
Mary and Joseph looked at him in awe
That little baby was a king that they saw
And all through the night a bright star shone
To show three wise men where to go
Bringing each a gift of myrrh, frankincense, and gold
For the newborn king to behold
An angel came during the night
And said to Joseph "Do not fright
But go to Egypt, and stay there and hide
For baby Jesus, King Herod has spied"
When Jesus, our King had grown
He did not make himself known
But made himself humble
He never made mistakes, did not even grumble
He made the biggest sacrifice of all
One that all of us can recall
Friday, December 9, 2011
Worrying and Meditating
"When you think about a problem over and over in your mind, that's called worry. When you think about God's Word over and over in your mind, that's meditation." -Rick Warren , The Purpose Driven Life
Last night at Youth Group I was wondering why my mind wasn't on God, and why I was so distracted. I just ignored the fact thinking "Oh well... I guess maybe I'll concentrate better next week." The things I were thinking about were school tomorrow, what I was going to eat that night, my weekend, my Friday homework, and basically worrying about things that needed to get done in the future. Like I said, I was wondering why I was so distracted but I just ignored that fact. I didn't realize it then but I was replacing my thoughts about God, with worry. God said to me sometime during worship "The reason why your not focused on me is because of worry." He reminded me of the book I am reading the Purpose Driven Life. The quote I wrote at the top of the page espeially stood out to me. I then just stopped thinking about any thoughts that had to do with what was going to happen in the future and I completely trusted Him. That was one of the times I felt the most closest to God. I realized how good it felt NOT to worry about things, and during that time, I completely surredered that part of my life to Him. I was able to meditate on Him and His Word more.
Last night at Youth Group I was wondering why my mind wasn't on God, and why I was so distracted. I just ignored the fact thinking "Oh well... I guess maybe I'll concentrate better next week." The things I were thinking about were school tomorrow, what I was going to eat that night, my weekend, my Friday homework, and basically worrying about things that needed to get done in the future. Like I said, I was wondering why I was so distracted but I just ignored that fact. I didn't realize it then but I was replacing my thoughts about God, with worry. God said to me sometime during worship "The reason why your not focused on me is because of worry." He reminded me of the book I am reading the Purpose Driven Life. The quote I wrote at the top of the page espeially stood out to me. I then just stopped thinking about any thoughts that had to do with what was going to happen in the future and I completely trusted Him. That was one of the times I felt the most closest to God. I realized how good it felt NOT to worry about things, and during that time, I completely surredered that part of my life to Him. I was able to meditate on Him and His Word more.
Friday, November 11, 2011
The Magic Fish
I had a science assignment to make up a constellation and a story behind it since we were learning about stars.....
One day a little boy named Tom, decided to go fishing. He left a note on the table. "Out fishing at the lake". Tom's mother was very poor, and they could only have one meal a day, because food was so much money. They lived in a cottage near a lake where Tom went fishing to regularly. It was about an hour's walk, and so when Tom got there, he was exhausted. He sighed and sat on a rock. The little boy flipped the rock over, found a worm, and set the rock back in place so he can sit on it again. All day the boy waited, with the pole in the water, and by the time the sun was setting, he was ready to go home. Just before he put his fishing equipment away, he felt a tug on his line. "Oh boy!" he shouted and pulled up the rod. Sure enough, there was a fish on the end. After he put his equipment away, he ran all the way home. "Mother! Mother!" Tom shouted running through the house. When he bumped into her the little boy said "Look at what I got!" She gasped and said "Tom, this isn't just an ordinary fish! If you go put it back the water, he will start to swim away. Before he is gone say, Fish! I did a kind deed for you! I set you free! Please come back and give me a wish!" The boy did so, and when the fish started swimming away, he said "Fish! I did a kind deed for you! I set you free! Please come back and give me a wish!" The fish started to swim back, but his fin got stuck in some reeds! "Oh no!" Tom cried, and rolled up his pants and ran in the water to where the magic fish was. He pulled, and pulled and pulled! The fish was really stuck! When he gave one last tug, the fish was free! Except he went flying in the air, and never came back down. Tom slowly trudged home, and told his mother the story. "I think I'll go to bed now" the disappointed boy said. When he got to his bed, he looked out the window beside his bed. Outside, Tom saw a perfect view of the stars. He saw a pattern of six stars that looked in the form of the fish. "Fish" Tom said "I wish I could have breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day." With that being said, the exhausted boy turned over and fell asleep. The next morning, he woke up, and the empty cupboards were filled with food, and would be for the rest of their lives. "Thank you, fish" he said with a smile on his face. So now, everyone can wish on the star of Tom's fish.
One day a little boy named Tom, decided to go fishing. He left a note on the table. "Out fishing at the lake". Tom's mother was very poor, and they could only have one meal a day, because food was so much money. They lived in a cottage near a lake where Tom went fishing to regularly. It was about an hour's walk, and so when Tom got there, he was exhausted. He sighed and sat on a rock. The little boy flipped the rock over, found a worm, and set the rock back in place so he can sit on it again. All day the boy waited, with the pole in the water, and by the time the sun was setting, he was ready to go home. Just before he put his fishing equipment away, he felt a tug on his line. "Oh boy!" he shouted and pulled up the rod. Sure enough, there was a fish on the end. After he put his equipment away, he ran all the way home. "Mother! Mother!" Tom shouted running through the house. When he bumped into her the little boy said "Look at what I got!" She gasped and said "Tom, this isn't just an ordinary fish! If you go put it back the water, he will start to swim away. Before he is gone say, Fish! I did a kind deed for you! I set you free! Please come back and give me a wish!" The boy did so, and when the fish started swimming away, he said "Fish! I did a kind deed for you! I set you free! Please come back and give me a wish!" The fish started to swim back, but his fin got stuck in some reeds! "Oh no!" Tom cried, and rolled up his pants and ran in the water to where the magic fish was. He pulled, and pulled and pulled! The fish was really stuck! When he gave one last tug, the fish was free! Except he went flying in the air, and never came back down. Tom slowly trudged home, and told his mother the story. "I think I'll go to bed now" the disappointed boy said. When he got to his bed, he looked out the window beside his bed. Outside, Tom saw a perfect view of the stars. He saw a pattern of six stars that looked in the form of the fish. "Fish" Tom said "I wish I could have breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day." With that being said, the exhausted boy turned over and fell asleep. The next morning, he woke up, and the empty cupboards were filled with food, and would be for the rest of their lives. "Thank you, fish" he said with a smile on his face. So now, everyone can wish on the star of Tom's fish.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Elise's Missions
Yesterday, while I was upstairs reading a book, my mom was handing Elise my necklace I left downstairs, and saying "Go give this to Katie". Of course, she didn't expect much from Lisey, she just planned to guide her to me and encourage her to give me the necklace. Well, Lisey grabbed the necklace and ran to the stairs, saying daydee (katie) over and over again. When I heard her, I put my book down and listened. When she got to the top, she ran over to me, and held out the necklace. I said "Thank you", grabbed the necklace, and gave her a big hug, which she managed to squirm out of and ran away laughing. I laughed too, thinking of how lucky I am to have her! :)
A few days ago, I was standing by the island, doodling on some paper. Lisey was in the other room, playing with all the shoes. Johanna was with her, and when Lisey pulled out a shoe (which was mine) Johanna said, "That's Katie's shoe " Elise ran off to where I was, saying daydee, over and over again. She handed me the shoe, and ran back into the living room, and the same process happened over and over again, until there was a small pile of shoes on the island. Elise finally got distracted, and played with some dolls. :)
A few days ago, I was standing by the island, doodling on some paper. Lisey was in the other room, playing with all the shoes. Johanna was with her, and when Lisey pulled out a shoe (which was mine) Johanna said, "That's Katie's shoe " Elise ran off to where I was, saying daydee, over and over again. She handed me the shoe, and ran back into the living room, and the same process happened over and over again, until there was a small pile of shoes on the island. Elise finally got distracted, and played with some dolls. :)
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