I think that having kindness and goodness in our lives as Christians are amazing fruits to possess, and that they will benefit our lives as well as others! Being kind and good to others, is one way to show love to them!
I remember one time, when I was at Teen Serve my first year. That year was really lonely for me, because while everyone was talking and laughing with their groups of friends, I had nobody, and would often be sitting by myself, bored and lonely. One day, a girl came up to me, and introduced herself, and started talking to me. It was only a few minutes of talking, and I don't really remember who she is, or anything about her, but I was so incredibly blessed in that moment by her kindness towards me, when I was feeling lonely!
Being kind doesn't have to be something grand, or important! Some of the things we do to show kindness to others seem unimportant, and really insignificant, when really, our small acts of kindness can brighten somebody's day!! Just simply talking to people, and making an effort to show that you care to talk to them really does make a HUGE difference!!! I'm sure that girl that came to talk to me, had to pull herself away from her friends and people she knew, to come and say "Hi!" to the awkward girl standing in a corner by herself!
Don't be discouraged if you can't find some grand deed to show off your kindness!! Jesus said "And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water
because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose
his reward.” in Matthew 10:42. Being willing to do small tasks or chores for people, is often the best and most efficient way to show kindness!
Goodness is pretty close to the same thing as kindness! One time when I was young, my dad ran to Starbucks to grab something through the drive thru. When he got up to pay for his things, he also requested to pay for the person behind him! It probably blessed the person behind us significantly! What if you drove up to the cashier to pay, having not so good of a day, cranky about a long day at work, and stressed out, when the cashier tells you "You're coffee is paid for! The person in front of you paid for you!!" I'm sure it brought a smile to his face.
My dad,being humble, had told us at the time to not tell anybody, that he didn't want to brag, for Matthew 6:3-4 tells us "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your father who sees in secret will reward you." I guess I'm spilling the beans now, hahaha!! This story has stayed with me for years, and whenever I think of kindness and goodness, this story pops in my head!! It might not be the most fun to use your money to pay for somebody's food or drinks, but it is an amazing act of goodness my dad showed!
I just wanted to use that story as an example that 1) The small acts of kindness/goodness are the most important ones! and 2) That we don't need to proclaim our good acts to the world, that God sees what we're doing, and he will reward us!
Try to think of ways to bless someone through small acts of kindness today. You never know what they are going through, and how much you'll make a difference in their lives.
~~Katie~~
Friday, September 26, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Day Three: Peace and Patience
To be honest with you all, I'm not a big expert on peace. I can write more easily on love, joy, etc., so to warn you ahead of time, I am learning a LOT in the process of writing this!!
One of my favorite verses is 1 Corinthians 14:33a "For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace." I find me saying this to myself when I am in a state of confusion, or not understanding. When I'm not really sure what to do in certain situations, I remind myself that God is NOT a God of confusion, but of peace, and it usually calms me down, and helps me to realize I need to put my situation(s) in His hands!
I actually have a story to tell, and it may be relevant, and it may not, but it was an experience I don't think I'll ever forget. One time, I was laying in bed as usual. Now this was quite a few years ago, I was eight or nine. I was laying in bed, and Johanna (probably about 4 years old) was being really annoying, and loud and disrupting Danielle and I! Of course, my mom had to come in and settle her down, but in the midst of all the chaos around me, I felt a sudden peace. It grew in the pit of my stomach, and felt warm and nice. I was suddenly happy, despite the fact that before I was really annoyed with Johanna. The one way I could describe this feeling was---- peaceful. It was a state of peace that I had never really experienced before.
This was so many years ago, I don't exactly remember all the details, and I don't know if I was just exaggerating, or if God put peace in my heart at that moment, because I'm human and I make mistakes, but it sure felt like something from God! I don't exactly know why He would have given me peace in that moment, but it really gave me a better understanding of peace, even though I was only nine!
I think that peace is an underlying feeling or emotion we Christians should have! Have you ever just walked into a fellow Christians house and felt peace? I have! It's not something we can obtain ourselves, but through prayer, His Word, and loving God and other, we can develop this peace in our lives!
Next... patience. Patience is something that is almost mandatory to have when you have a large family. So I admit, I have a little more patience to some extent when outside the family than I would if I didn't have a large family, but patience is something that God has been working on in me!
I actually have a really neat story to tell about this. Once, me and my mom got into a discussion about prayer. She mentioned that when you pray for things (such as patience) God will bring situations in your life to practice your patience, not just automatically grant it to you! Well, I decided to test this out, and every night I would pray for patience. Always, the next day, I situation would occur were I could have used patience, but blew it off, because I'd forgotten the fact that patience was something I was working on and praying for! One night, I finally decided to ask God to send me a little reminder, or a little nudge in the right direction when He brought a situation in my life where I could practice my patience.
The next day, we went to go visit my aunt who lives in Minnesota, and sure enough, with all the excitement of traveling and seeing my aunt who I hadn't seen in awhile, I totally forgot my prayer the previous night! Later that night, we went out to a Mexican restaurant, and Danielle and I were super hungry. You know how restaurants always, always ALWAYS take forever to bring you food? I'm not kidding, this place took about 3x that long... and it wasn't even that busy in there!!!!! Anyway, Danielle and I were getting to the end of our ropes.
"Whheeeenn are they gooinnng to beee heeerrreee??? They are taking forever!!!"
Danielle complained, as she held her growling stomach.
"Yeah-"
I started to agree and chime in with my complaint, when my aunt patiently responded. "Right now, we need to practice our patience. God brings moments like these, so we can learn to be patient throughout our life" Suddenly, my prayer last night came rushing back to my mind, and I wasn't so starving anymore. It was still hard to remain waiting to last 15 min. before they finally came with our food, but with my little reminder of my patience I was striving for, I was somehow able to concentrate on becoming patient.
I learned two important lessons that night. 1) I am NEVER going that Mexican restaurant AGAIN!! (Hahaha, just kidding. :) ) 2) God always answers our prayers in His own timing, and that I have a looong way to go before I have perfected the act of patience. :)
Now, this whole story was over a span of about 3 or 4 months, so don't expect to ask God for a reminder, and for it to happen every time!! (Trust me, I've tried, haha!!) I've learned that God works in ways that are the most efficient in His timing, even when it doesn't seem convenient for us, He knows the qualities we are striving for, and if we are really devoted enough (cause He sees our heart!), God will bring opportunities in our lives.
I'd better get on to more about patience, I've been rambling on about my story and prayer, haha!! Honestly, I am probably the least patient person ever. I probably would be even less patient, if I didn't have a large family that requires me to learn to have patience, and that test me on this quality specifically, daily! So, me writing this is mainly me trying to learn more about the subject of patience, and change this in my life!
Philippians 4:6 states: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
We need to patiently wait for His timing in our lives, and to pray!! I think one of the best things to do, is to look to Him and not towards our earthly possessions... easier said than done, I know, hahaha!! I tend to get anxious and overly excited about things! But this is one of the things God has been working on in my heart!!
Proverbs 15:18 says: A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. and James 1:19 agrees:
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
It's really easy when you're frustrated, preoccupied, or even doing nothing at all to respond to siblings, parents, and sometimes even friends with harsh, or sharp tone/attitude. This is the biggest area of patience for me, that I need to work on in my life. It's not easy to respond patiently with a humble and loving attitude, especially when you're having a rough day! It takes a lot of patience, and even self-control to regroup yourself and to tell yourself "It's okay. Calm down. There's no need to get frustrated, rude, or cranky!"
Like I've been mentioning, I don't have it perfect. I am working on obtaining peace and patience, so this post is more of me trying to encourage myself and you guys, that you're not alone, and to keep trying!!
I congratulate you on making it this far in this lengthy post. I hope you enjoy!!
~~Katie~~
One of my favorite verses is 1 Corinthians 14:33a "For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace." I find me saying this to myself when I am in a state of confusion, or not understanding. When I'm not really sure what to do in certain situations, I remind myself that God is NOT a God of confusion, but of peace, and it usually calms me down, and helps me to realize I need to put my situation(s) in His hands!
I actually have a story to tell, and it may be relevant, and it may not, but it was an experience I don't think I'll ever forget. One time, I was laying in bed as usual. Now this was quite a few years ago, I was eight or nine. I was laying in bed, and Johanna (probably about 4 years old) was being really annoying, and loud and disrupting Danielle and I! Of course, my mom had to come in and settle her down, but in the midst of all the chaos around me, I felt a sudden peace. It grew in the pit of my stomach, and felt warm and nice. I was suddenly happy, despite the fact that before I was really annoyed with Johanna. The one way I could describe this feeling was---- peaceful. It was a state of peace that I had never really experienced before.
This was so many years ago, I don't exactly remember all the details, and I don't know if I was just exaggerating, or if God put peace in my heart at that moment, because I'm human and I make mistakes, but it sure felt like something from God! I don't exactly know why He would have given me peace in that moment, but it really gave me a better understanding of peace, even though I was only nine!
I think that peace is an underlying feeling or emotion we Christians should have! Have you ever just walked into a fellow Christians house and felt peace? I have! It's not something we can obtain ourselves, but through prayer, His Word, and loving God and other, we can develop this peace in our lives!
Next... patience. Patience is something that is almost mandatory to have when you have a large family. So I admit, I have a little more patience to some extent when outside the family than I would if I didn't have a large family, but patience is something that God has been working on in me!
I actually have a really neat story to tell about this. Once, me and my mom got into a discussion about prayer. She mentioned that when you pray for things (such as patience) God will bring situations in your life to practice your patience, not just automatically grant it to you! Well, I decided to test this out, and every night I would pray for patience. Always, the next day, I situation would occur were I could have used patience, but blew it off, because I'd forgotten the fact that patience was something I was working on and praying for! One night, I finally decided to ask God to send me a little reminder, or a little nudge in the right direction when He brought a situation in my life where I could practice my patience.
The next day, we went to go visit my aunt who lives in Minnesota, and sure enough, with all the excitement of traveling and seeing my aunt who I hadn't seen in awhile, I totally forgot my prayer the previous night! Later that night, we went out to a Mexican restaurant, and Danielle and I were super hungry. You know how restaurants always, always ALWAYS take forever to bring you food? I'm not kidding, this place took about 3x that long... and it wasn't even that busy in there!!!!! Anyway, Danielle and I were getting to the end of our ropes.
"Whheeeenn are they gooinnng to beee heeerrreee??? They are taking forever!!!"
Danielle complained, as she held her growling stomach.
"Yeah-"
I started to agree and chime in with my complaint, when my aunt patiently responded. "Right now, we need to practice our patience. God brings moments like these, so we can learn to be patient throughout our life" Suddenly, my prayer last night came rushing back to my mind, and I wasn't so starving anymore. It was still hard to remain waiting to last 15 min. before they finally came with our food, but with my little reminder of my patience I was striving for, I was somehow able to concentrate on becoming patient.
I learned two important lessons that night. 1) I am NEVER going that Mexican restaurant AGAIN!! (Hahaha, just kidding. :) ) 2) God always answers our prayers in His own timing, and that I have a looong way to go before I have perfected the act of patience. :)
Now, this whole story was over a span of about 3 or 4 months, so don't expect to ask God for a reminder, and for it to happen every time!! (Trust me, I've tried, haha!!) I've learned that God works in ways that are the most efficient in His timing, even when it doesn't seem convenient for us, He knows the qualities we are striving for, and if we are really devoted enough (cause He sees our heart!), God will bring opportunities in our lives.
I'd better get on to more about patience, I've been rambling on about my story and prayer, haha!! Honestly, I am probably the least patient person ever. I probably would be even less patient, if I didn't have a large family that requires me to learn to have patience, and that test me on this quality specifically, daily! So, me writing this is mainly me trying to learn more about the subject of patience, and change this in my life!
Philippians 4:6 states: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
We need to patiently wait for His timing in our lives, and to pray!! I think one of the best things to do, is to look to Him and not towards our earthly possessions... easier said than done, I know, hahaha!! I tend to get anxious and overly excited about things! But this is one of the things God has been working on in my heart!!
Proverbs 15:18 says: A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. and James 1:19 agrees:
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
It's really easy when you're frustrated, preoccupied, or even doing nothing at all to respond to siblings, parents, and sometimes even friends with harsh, or sharp tone/attitude. This is the biggest area of patience for me, that I need to work on in my life. It's not easy to respond patiently with a humble and loving attitude, especially when you're having a rough day! It takes a lot of patience, and even self-control to regroup yourself and to tell yourself "It's okay. Calm down. There's no need to get frustrated, rude, or cranky!"
Like I've been mentioning, I don't have it perfect. I am working on obtaining peace and patience, so this post is more of me trying to encourage myself and you guys, that you're not alone, and to keep trying!!
I congratulate you on making it this far in this lengthy post. I hope you enjoy!!
~~Katie~~
Monday, September 22, 2014
Day Two: Joy
Joy is one of my favorite fruits of the spirit! Just the word alone resembles a spirit of happiness, and can bring light to a dreary day. Joy is also one of the most intriguing to me too, because I think one of the greatest treasures we can find being a Christan is joy!
Now, joy and happiness are actually not the same thing. Almost, but not quite. Happiness, is more of an excitement, energy, or in the moment feeling of joy! It doesn't last, it doesn't make us feel better after it's all said and done. Joy is true contentment in life, no matter the mountains and valleys God brings us in our life, and is truly an admirable fruit of the spirit to have.
Out of joy, we can have happiness throughout our life in the ups and downs, but having just happiness alone isn't enough for us as Christians. Even atheists can be happy when life is going good, there's no problems or complications, you have good people in your life who aren't causing any problems, poverty isn't an issue. But, when poverty does strike and people come in your life who hurt you, and cause strife and confusion in your life, we need to have constant joy!!
I'm definitely not saying do not EVER be sad! God gave us that emotion for a reason, just the same way he gave us anger. We need to embrace that that's who we are as humans, but don't need to drag it out and feel bad for ourselves, because then it becomes bitterness, discontentment and self-pity, and at that point, it IS a sin. People grieve and mourn, when life gets difficult and that's okay. Even David, a man after God's own heart, as God Himself declared, mourned in Psalms 69:1-3: "Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God."
He goes on like this for the whole chapter, until the last few verses: "I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. For the Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein. For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein."
In this section, he's proclaiming the goodness of the Lord God, and giving him the glory and credit, rather than wallowing in self-pity forever, and ever. In other Psalms, when things are going great for David, and life is pretty good, he still gives praise to God continually, and doesn't just forget Him in moments of happiness and prosperity!
James 1:2-3 states: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
I actually have a story about the apostles of Jesus when they showed this verse through their actions, and this story has really amazed me!!
Acts 5:40-42 tells us:
and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.
Okay... wow.. have you ever gotten in trouble before? Most of us have, haha!! How many times have you left after being lectured full of joy and cheerful?? Ummmm.. NEVER!!! I know I haven't! Especially being proud of being worthy to be persecuted and looked down upon the Pharisees for Jesus Christ. This is true joy in the apostles when they were preaching the good news to everyone! The joy in their hearts from serving the Lord Jesus shines still today as we read passages such as these, and can be encouraged in our life to be joyful!!
To be honest with you, being joyful is one of my greatest struggles in life. Being happy? Pshh.. that's easy... but when things aren't necessary going my way, or the easiest in life, I don't always have that constant joy to lift me up... and do you know why? Because it is literally impossible for us humans to obtain joy by ourselves. It doesn't matter how hard we try, it's not something our sinful natures can do. That's really discouraging, isn't it?
Now, here's the good news, by God, we can have joy in life. God is such an amazing, merciful, spectacular God, and the only way we can really have true joy, is through our Savior, who shone a light to the world through the joy he brought others, and displayed Himself. If we truly love the Lord God, our Creator, then He will give us joy in our times of need. Through seeking and thoroughly knowing His Word, prayer, loving Him and loving others, and obeying the commandments that He has given us, we WILL find true joy!!!
I really hope this post has uplifted and encouraged you through your walk with God! Continue to seek God and learn more about Him!!
~~ Katie~~
Here are a few good links to songs/articles about joy that I like!
http://www.faithgateway.com/25-bible-verses-about-joy/#.VCBFgRawW0o (( I haven't read this one completely yet, but it looks really REALLY good!!))
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av3thaKk3Ac
Now, joy and happiness are actually not the same thing. Almost, but not quite. Happiness, is more of an excitement, energy, or in the moment feeling of joy! It doesn't last, it doesn't make us feel better after it's all said and done. Joy is true contentment in life, no matter the mountains and valleys God brings us in our life, and is truly an admirable fruit of the spirit to have.
Out of joy, we can have happiness throughout our life in the ups and downs, but having just happiness alone isn't enough for us as Christians. Even atheists can be happy when life is going good, there's no problems or complications, you have good people in your life who aren't causing any problems, poverty isn't an issue. But, when poverty does strike and people come in your life who hurt you, and cause strife and confusion in your life, we need to have constant joy!!
I'm definitely not saying do not EVER be sad! God gave us that emotion for a reason, just the same way he gave us anger. We need to embrace that that's who we are as humans, but don't need to drag it out and feel bad for ourselves, because then it becomes bitterness, discontentment and self-pity, and at that point, it IS a sin. People grieve and mourn, when life gets difficult and that's okay. Even David, a man after God's own heart, as God Himself declared, mourned in Psalms 69:1-3: "Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God."
He goes on like this for the whole chapter, until the last few verses: "I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. For the Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein. For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein."
In this section, he's proclaiming the goodness of the Lord God, and giving him the glory and credit, rather than wallowing in self-pity forever, and ever. In other Psalms, when things are going great for David, and life is pretty good, he still gives praise to God continually, and doesn't just forget Him in moments of happiness and prosperity!
James 1:2-3 states: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
I actually have a story about the apostles of Jesus when they showed this verse through their actions, and this story has really amazed me!!
Acts 5:40-42 tells us:
and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.
Okay... wow.. have you ever gotten in trouble before? Most of us have, haha!! How many times have you left after being lectured full of joy and cheerful?? Ummmm.. NEVER!!! I know I haven't! Especially being proud of being worthy to be persecuted and looked down upon the Pharisees for Jesus Christ. This is true joy in the apostles when they were preaching the good news to everyone! The joy in their hearts from serving the Lord Jesus shines still today as we read passages such as these, and can be encouraged in our life to be joyful!!
To be honest with you, being joyful is one of my greatest struggles in life. Being happy? Pshh.. that's easy... but when things aren't necessary going my way, or the easiest in life, I don't always have that constant joy to lift me up... and do you know why? Because it is literally impossible for us humans to obtain joy by ourselves. It doesn't matter how hard we try, it's not something our sinful natures can do. That's really discouraging, isn't it?
Now, here's the good news, by God, we can have joy in life. God is such an amazing, merciful, spectacular God, and the only way we can really have true joy, is through our Savior, who shone a light to the world through the joy he brought others, and displayed Himself. If we truly love the Lord God, our Creator, then He will give us joy in our times of need. Through seeking and thoroughly knowing His Word, prayer, loving Him and loving others, and obeying the commandments that He has given us, we WILL find true joy!!!
I really hope this post has uplifted and encouraged you through your walk with God! Continue to seek God and learn more about Him!!
~~ Katie~~
Here are a few good links to songs/articles about joy that I like!
http://www.faithgateway.com/25-bible-verses-about-joy/#.VCBFgRawW0o (( I haven't read this one completely yet, but it looks really REALLY good!!))
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av3thaKk3Ac
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Day One: Love
1 Corinthians 13:13
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Mark 12:31
"The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'. There is no other commandment greater than these"
Luke 6:35
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and evil.
All of these verses are great examples of love. Honestly, by God's Word, and by my own findings in life, I think that love is the greatest action we can do in God's kingdom, and to further glorify our Creator. 1 Corinthians 13:2 says "And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing."
This verse is saying we can have EVERYTHING we want, we could understand the bible thoroughly, rattle off verses after verses we have memorized, and have crazy amazing faith, but if we don't do this in love, then it has no purpose. We are speaking empty words, not practicing what we preach, and doing this is NOT how we should show others our Christianity!
When we go out into the world to preach the gospel, people aren't going to listen to our "great sermons" or "powerful speeches". That won't change their mind or hearts for that matter. They will watch to see how we love the world, love fellow Christians, and they will sense a radiance of love coming from our hearts and mouth. We need to make sure we love with our hearts, and the rest will fall in place. The words we speak, the thoughts we think, and the way we approach others.
1 John 4:8 tell us "Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.". That's pretty powerful!! We could study His Word daily, pray to him all we want, and if we don't love, we know nothing about God, because God IS love!! When Jesus came down to this earth to die for our sins, He did it out of love!! Not because we even came close to deserving that amazing sacrifice he made on the cross, but because He loves us, and rejoices in His children!! The best way to show others around us is love!!
Okay, so now we all know we basically NEED love to be a part of the kingdom of God... but how DO we love?1 Corinthians 13:4-8 has some REALLY good guideline on how we should love others!!
Love is patient and kind. How many times are we patient and kind when one of our siblings decide to spill water on your new dress? How are we patient and kind when our parents say "Not right now!" to something we really want? Being loving would be to have the right attitude, and realizing that it's okay that you have water on your dress, because what really matters is your love between you and your sibling, not a little accident, and that your parents know best for you when saying "Wait!" or "No!".
Love does not envy or boast. Okay... how many times have your seen your friend with those cute shoes that are just to DIE FOR??? Or you see someone with more friends than you? It's really easy to feel envious over an insignificant earthly object (such as shoes) or to look at someone with many friends, and to think that they have it all. In these situations, showing love to one another would be to truly care for them, and understand how you would feel in their situation. Feel happy for them!! Don't feel envious, realize that they're a person too, just trying to make it through life as well. It is the same for boasting. When you try to feel superior to other people by bragging or boasting, we are not truly loving them as Christ did. Apply Mark 12:31 in these situations (listed above).
I'm not going to go on about 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. You get the point. Try to think about the rest of the verse and apply it to your life. Love is such an important key in being a Christian!! I can't stress this enough in this post!!
Also, as a side note... I don't have everything perfect. I don't perfectly love others as I love myself. As typical human nature goes, I am selfish. It a constant battle to work and strive for, and this is exactly what I am trying to do when I write this blog post.
And remember "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," (Matthew 28:19)... And do it in LOVE!!!
~~Katie~~
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBvDiXCVkzwAnd here's a song about love that I really enjoy listening to by Kari Jobe.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Mark 12:31
"The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'. There is no other commandment greater than these"
Luke 6:35
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and evil.
1
Corinthians 13:4-8
Love
is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or
resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the
truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things.
Love never ends. As for
prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as
for knowledge, it will pass away.
All of these verses are great examples of love. Honestly, by God's Word, and by my own findings in life, I think that love is the greatest action we can do in God's kingdom, and to further glorify our Creator. 1 Corinthians 13:2 says "And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing."
This verse is saying we can have EVERYTHING we want, we could understand the bible thoroughly, rattle off verses after verses we have memorized, and have crazy amazing faith, but if we don't do this in love, then it has no purpose. We are speaking empty words, not practicing what we preach, and doing this is NOT how we should show others our Christianity!
When we go out into the world to preach the gospel, people aren't going to listen to our "great sermons" or "powerful speeches". That won't change their mind or hearts for that matter. They will watch to see how we love the world, love fellow Christians, and they will sense a radiance of love coming from our hearts and mouth. We need to make sure we love with our hearts, and the rest will fall in place. The words we speak, the thoughts we think, and the way we approach others.
1 John 4:8 tell us "Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.". That's pretty powerful!! We could study His Word daily, pray to him all we want, and if we don't love, we know nothing about God, because God IS love!! When Jesus came down to this earth to die for our sins, He did it out of love!! Not because we even came close to deserving that amazing sacrifice he made on the cross, but because He loves us, and rejoices in His children!! The best way to show others around us is love!!
Okay, so now we all know we basically NEED love to be a part of the kingdom of God... but how DO we love?1 Corinthians 13:4-8 has some REALLY good guideline on how we should love others!!
Love is patient and kind. How many times are we patient and kind when one of our siblings decide to spill water on your new dress? How are we patient and kind when our parents say "Not right now!" to something we really want? Being loving would be to have the right attitude, and realizing that it's okay that you have water on your dress, because what really matters is your love between you and your sibling, not a little accident, and that your parents know best for you when saying "Wait!" or "No!".
Love does not envy or boast. Okay... how many times have your seen your friend with those cute shoes that are just to DIE FOR??? Or you see someone with more friends than you? It's really easy to feel envious over an insignificant earthly object (such as shoes) or to look at someone with many friends, and to think that they have it all. In these situations, showing love to one another would be to truly care for them, and understand how you would feel in their situation. Feel happy for them!! Don't feel envious, realize that they're a person too, just trying to make it through life as well. It is the same for boasting. When you try to feel superior to other people by bragging or boasting, we are not truly loving them as Christ did. Apply Mark 12:31 in these situations (listed above).
I'm not going to go on about 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. You get the point. Try to think about the rest of the verse and apply it to your life. Love is such an important key in being a Christian!! I can't stress this enough in this post!!
Also, as a side note... I don't have everything perfect. I don't perfectly love others as I love myself. As typical human nature goes, I am selfish. It a constant battle to work and strive for, and this is exactly what I am trying to do when I write this blog post.
And remember "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," (Matthew 28:19)... And do it in LOVE!!!
~~Katie~~
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBvDiXCVkzwAnd here's a song about love that I really enjoy listening to by Kari Jobe.
Friday, June 6, 2014
Appendicitis
Hey guys!!
I'm writing this post for all you out there who are wondering how everything went, or if you're just curious to see how everything happened, and I'll give you a fair warning, it'll probably be length-y, but I'll also have a smaller summary on my Facebook page. :)
Anyway, it all started Wednesday morning when I woke up feeling a bit nauseous and my stomach had some pains. It didn't start out too bad, but I stayed in bed until about 12:00 which is odd for me (not for Danielle, of course, haha, but I'm normally more of an early bird.) I woke up, took a shower and felt much better from when I woke up, but at 1:00 when my parents left with my grandparents to watch the younger kid's Tae-Kwon-Do class. I started feeling even more nauseous and lay on the couch for awhile before I went upstairs to rest. My stomach was hurting, but I thought it was bloating or gas, but it still felt a bit different, but I kind of expected it to fade out or something like that.
After awhile, I ended up have diarrhea and throwing up a lot, so I guessed that I had caught a stomach bug, or even had food poisoning, but my stomach was still hurting throughout the whole process, but I guessed it would go away over time, and that it was just a part of the flu, or even a sign of having food poisoning. We thought it odd that nobody else had the same symptoms or even any kind of sickness close to what I was having, but I had been out and about a lot over the past week, so we thought that I may have gotten something from somewhere else or, like I said earlier, food poisoning.
Anyway, Wednesday went by, and I was slightly uncomfortable with the pain in my stomach and nausea and had a very restless night, waking up every hour. On Thursday I stayed in bed for about until 10:00, only because it felt uncomfortable to try to sleep, and didn't feel very nauseated at all, but still noticed my stomach pains. I spent most of the day sleeping on the couch, or when I felt better, sitting at the dinner table chatting with my grandparents, or making sure I didn't get dehydrated by drinking lots of Gatorade, water, or Sprite. I still hadn't had much of an appetite for food though, and only snacked on 5 or 6 Cheese-Its.
I was grateful that my mom brought home some Mylanta which helps with indigestion, bloating or a sour stomach, and it helped a little bit. I rested a lot on Thursday, and during the evening I lied down and watched Hunger Games with Danielle and my uncle, Asa. I think during that period of time was when my pain became increasingly more noticeable, because afterwards I had a really hard time walking because of the pain, but ended up still laying in my bed and sleeping for an hour.
My parents knew I was having more pain, and knew for sure they were going to take me into the doctor's office the next day, but told me to MAKE SURE that I let them know if I need them to take me to the hospital during the night, and they also made sure that Danielle slept in the same room as me just in case she needed to get them. At about 1am, Danielle, being the awesome sister she is, woke me up and told me I was whimpering in my sleep, and asked if she needed to get my parents. I agreed, and they quickly came, and also looked up the symptoms of appendicitis, and they all matched up pretty well. The ride to Urgent Care was slightly painful with all the bumps in the road, but I made it there, and some wonderful nurses took excellent care of me.
I ended up having to take CAT scan, and it took about an hour to get the results back, but at that point they were sure it was appendicitis. I started taking some anti-biotics and some medicine to help with the pain, and felt much better after that. They had me take a ride in the ambulance to get to the Children's hospital for my surgery. Believe it or not, it took from 1:30am through 6:30am to get my antibiotics, take my CAT scans, get my results from the CAT scan and get a ride over to the Children's hospital.
I waited in the hospital for about another four and a half hours before my surgery actually started, and in between had many vital checks, medicines through IV, and also wonderful visitors!
The surgery was said to last about an hour, and the last thing I remember was laying on the table with a mask pushed to my face and then I woke up in the Recovery Room feeling very dazed and with very blurred vision. I know my concept of time was way off, because my dad came in to see me and it felt like three minutes, when really half an hour had flown by! I also had some crazy dream-ish things every time I closed my eyes, lol! I guess they would be considered daydreams, but it was still very strange, hahaha!!! :)
I was in a bit of pain after the surgery, but I quickly got medicine and lots of rest to feel better. :) It looks like I am going to be here at least through Monday, since my appendix was at the stage before rupture during surgery and they need to be sure that I don't get an abscess. If I don't, I'll be back home after the weekend, and If I do, then it might be another week here. :)
So... if you live in the Omaha are, I definitely will not mind visitors! :) I'll just be here at the hospital!
Thanks for enduring through this long blog post... I congratulate you for getting this far, lol!
Sorry if the grammer isn't the best or if I have some run-on sentences. I tried to fit as much info as I could in this post!
Thanks guys!
~Katie
I'm writing this post for all you out there who are wondering how everything went, or if you're just curious to see how everything happened, and I'll give you a fair warning, it'll probably be length-y, but I'll also have a smaller summary on my Facebook page. :)
Anyway, it all started Wednesday morning when I woke up feeling a bit nauseous and my stomach had some pains. It didn't start out too bad, but I stayed in bed until about 12:00 which is odd for me (not for Danielle, of course, haha, but I'm normally more of an early bird.) I woke up, took a shower and felt much better from when I woke up, but at 1:00 when my parents left with my grandparents to watch the younger kid's Tae-Kwon-Do class. I started feeling even more nauseous and lay on the couch for awhile before I went upstairs to rest. My stomach was hurting, but I thought it was bloating or gas, but it still felt a bit different, but I kind of expected it to fade out or something like that.
After awhile, I ended up have diarrhea and throwing up a lot, so I guessed that I had caught a stomach bug, or even had food poisoning, but my stomach was still hurting throughout the whole process, but I guessed it would go away over time, and that it was just a part of the flu, or even a sign of having food poisoning. We thought it odd that nobody else had the same symptoms or even any kind of sickness close to what I was having, but I had been out and about a lot over the past week, so we thought that I may have gotten something from somewhere else or, like I said earlier, food poisoning.
Anyway, Wednesday went by, and I was slightly uncomfortable with the pain in my stomach and nausea and had a very restless night, waking up every hour. On Thursday I stayed in bed for about until 10:00, only because it felt uncomfortable to try to sleep, and didn't feel very nauseated at all, but still noticed my stomach pains. I spent most of the day sleeping on the couch, or when I felt better, sitting at the dinner table chatting with my grandparents, or making sure I didn't get dehydrated by drinking lots of Gatorade, water, or Sprite. I still hadn't had much of an appetite for food though, and only snacked on 5 or 6 Cheese-Its.
I was grateful that my mom brought home some Mylanta which helps with indigestion, bloating or a sour stomach, and it helped a little bit. I rested a lot on Thursday, and during the evening I lied down and watched Hunger Games with Danielle and my uncle, Asa. I think during that period of time was when my pain became increasingly more noticeable, because afterwards I had a really hard time walking because of the pain, but ended up still laying in my bed and sleeping for an hour.
My parents knew I was having more pain, and knew for sure they were going to take me into the doctor's office the next day, but told me to MAKE SURE that I let them know if I need them to take me to the hospital during the night, and they also made sure that Danielle slept in the same room as me just in case she needed to get them. At about 1am, Danielle, being the awesome sister she is, woke me up and told me I was whimpering in my sleep, and asked if she needed to get my parents. I agreed, and they quickly came, and also looked up the symptoms of appendicitis, and they all matched up pretty well. The ride to Urgent Care was slightly painful with all the bumps in the road, but I made it there, and some wonderful nurses took excellent care of me.
I ended up having to take CAT scan, and it took about an hour to get the results back, but at that point they were sure it was appendicitis. I started taking some anti-biotics and some medicine to help with the pain, and felt much better after that. They had me take a ride in the ambulance to get to the Children's hospital for my surgery. Believe it or not, it took from 1:30am through 6:30am to get my antibiotics, take my CAT scans, get my results from the CAT scan and get a ride over to the Children's hospital.
I waited in the hospital for about another four and a half hours before my surgery actually started, and in between had many vital checks, medicines through IV, and also wonderful visitors!
The surgery was said to last about an hour, and the last thing I remember was laying on the table with a mask pushed to my face and then I woke up in the Recovery Room feeling very dazed and with very blurred vision. I know my concept of time was way off, because my dad came in to see me and it felt like three minutes, when really half an hour had flown by! I also had some crazy dream-ish things every time I closed my eyes, lol! I guess they would be considered daydreams, but it was still very strange, hahaha!!! :)
I was in a bit of pain after the surgery, but I quickly got medicine and lots of rest to feel better. :) It looks like I am going to be here at least through Monday, since my appendix was at the stage before rupture during surgery and they need to be sure that I don't get an abscess. If I don't, I'll be back home after the weekend, and If I do, then it might be another week here. :)
So... if you live in the Omaha are, I definitely will not mind visitors! :) I'll just be here at the hospital!
Thanks for enduring through this long blog post... I congratulate you for getting this far, lol!
Sorry if the grammer isn't the best or if I have some run-on sentences. I tried to fit as much info as I could in this post!
Thanks guys!
~Katie
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
God's Mighty Power!
We had an amazing Youth Group night tonight! :) I really felt God's peace, and it really encouraged and uplifted me. I had a few thoughts on my mind that I wanted to share, so I am going to blog about it!
One thing to know before I start, is that I absolutely love Kari Jobe's song, "Revelation Song". To me, it has so much meaning, and gives me chills every time I listen to it (in a good way! ;) ) This, fortunately, was played by our awesome worship team, and I loved every minute of it!
A few lines really stood out to me, two of them being "Flashes of Lightning, Rolls of Thunder", and "Jesus, Your Name is Power" In the way it is sung, it is proclaiming God's mighty power, and his breathtaking works of art on the earth He has given us!
These lines made me remember a chapter of Psalms that is sometimes called "Psalm of the Thunderstorm". :) This Psalm reads:
"Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
One thing to know before I start, is that I absolutely love Kari Jobe's song, "Revelation Song". To me, it has so much meaning, and gives me chills every time I listen to it (in a good way! ;) ) This, fortunately, was played by our awesome worship team, and I loved every minute of it!
A few lines really stood out to me, two of them being "Flashes of Lightning, Rolls of Thunder", and "Jesus, Your Name is Power" In the way it is sung, it is proclaiming God's mighty power, and his breathtaking works of art on the earth He has given us!
These lines made me remember a chapter of Psalms that is sometimes called "Psalm of the Thunderstorm". :) This Psalm reads:
"Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!” "
~Psalm 29
This Psalm really emphasizes God's mighty power over the earth! A beautiful and admirable attribute to our powerful King of Kings! In the process of searching for this Psalm when I was reminded of it, I also came across another scripture that made me bear in mind an unforgettable experience I had with Danielle and my dad. :)
"When the waters saw you, O God,
When the waters saw you, they were afraid,
indeed the deep trembled,
The clouds poured out the water,
The skies gave forth thunder,
your arrows flashed on each side,
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind,
your lightning lighted up the world;
The earth trembled and shook"
~Psalm 77:16-17
Notice that I italicized "your lightning lighted up the world". This is the part of the verses that really stood out to me. :) All the verses really were about my experience, but for some reason, this one especially stood out to me. I'll clue you in on my story now. :)
One time there was a storm. The normal type of thunderstorm, with lightning and thunder (of course ;) ) and heavy rain. It was at nighttime, so the windows flashed and contrasted the dark outside.
After the storm had somewhat "passed" over us, we had strolled out to the deck to watch the lightning.
The sky somehow "shone" a brilliant, deep, majestic purple, with black complimenting the ends of the sky. All around us, fluorescent lightning randomly emerged from the heavens, branching out and disappearing. But it wasn't a situation in which every once in awhile, a deep, thunderous roar would signal the approach of a single branch of lightning.
The night was silent, and the crickets were beginning to chirp again. It was still, but you could feel the energy of nature at the same time. All across the sky, lightning bolts continually flashed, as if God Himself was composing it. In fact, it was EXACTLY as if the Lord was putting on a beautiful show for us to enjoy His beautiful works. It was random, but at the same time... not... haha, if that makes sense.
The silence and peace also added to the effect, and we all truly enjoyed it. We went inside before it ended, because just when it seemed like it would stop, it would continue stronger. My parents were worried about us getting shocked by lightning, and us staying up too late. I don't know how long it went on for, but it was still going on when I went to sleep. It was truly an amazing experience.
It astounds me, that a Creator so unique, and mind blowing would want to be with us and know us! :) That He would send His Son to die for us... and not only us, but for our sins.
So tonight I want to just take the time to thank our Lord for his stunning acts, and his desire to be with us, as sinning human beings!
Monday, February 4, 2013
Humility (Part Two)
In the bible, it shows us MANY examples of how to be humbe. There are people to obeyed God's word, willingly, and showed humility in some of the hardest situations. The first one I want to talk about is Mary. This is what happens in Luke 1:30-38
"But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the
angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. "
How would you feel if an angel asked you to give birth to the Son of God? Scared? Nervous? I know I would! Mary is the perfect example of humility in this situation! We should say, "I am the Lord's sevant" just as she did to every situation, no matter how hard it is to do. I know I really struggle with doing this.
Another great man of the bible is John the Baptist. He knew of Jesus coming, and clearly made it known that he is worthy, and that Jesus was much greater than him. Matthew 3:11 says
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
John the Baptist was humble by not thinking he was the greatest, and that is what made him seem so great! You see how humility makes you the best? Later, Jesus asked him to baptize him. John did, but not with pride. With humility. John was a great man.
"But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. "
How would you feel if an angel asked you to give birth to the Son of God? Scared? Nervous? I know I would! Mary is the perfect example of humility in this situation! We should say, "I am the Lord's sevant" just as she did to every situation, no matter how hard it is to do. I know I really struggle with doing this.
Another great man of the bible is John the Baptist. He knew of Jesus coming, and clearly made it known that he is worthy, and that Jesus was much greater than him. Matthew 3:11 says
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
John the Baptist was humble by not thinking he was the greatest, and that is what made him seem so great! You see how humility makes you the best? Later, Jesus asked him to baptize him. John did, but not with pride. With humility. John was a great man.
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