Reaching Out

Hey God,
How do you reach out to others?

Like the people so glued to their passions that they don't see You?
Those who believe they are doing right, but aren't seeing clearly?
Those so caught up in being worldly that they loose sight of what truly matters?
Those who cannot get past the lies of the world because they are too caught up in the imaginary utopia it impossibly promises?

How can I help them?
How do you plan on teaching them?
How do you show these people whom want to change the world that You are the answer to their problems?

How do you reach them in love?
How do you answer their questions?
How do you change them?

If you could let me know, or help me somehow, that would be great. I hate seeing them practically unreachable, and my attempts always appear 'forced upon them' or 'close-minded'.

With love,
Emily

Fearful and Wonderful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhiPIFzqF7A&feature=relmfu
"I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

When I see creation, as an artist, I am jealous on a daily basis. God is SO amazing, and He only needs to breathe a word and His art comes into existence!
What He does and creates amazes me; I know there is no way anything I could ever make would ever come close to comparing to His glorious works of art.

I think about this regularly, especially when I see the colors of the sky just after the sun goes down. Yet, one thing I neglect to remember is how wonderfully made He made me. And how wonderful is that!

One thing I can't ever forget is that God created laughter. Of all things, He decided He wanted us to have a physical way to express our happiness to each other. Not only that, but He created in us so that when one person laughs, it makes others laugh too. Now lets take it a step further to say that we laugh at things that bring us joy, science has now shown that laughter produces "endorphins" in our brains, giving us more joy!
Isn't our God amazing? He created us to that when we are happy, we automatically do stuff that just makes us happier. How cool is that?! :)

You see, God loves us.
I think Christians forget that, that God loves us. He created us so that we could enjoy life, and He created us so that we would enjoy life. I mean from the very start, God wanted us to live the best life that we can live.
We just don't choose it sometimes.

God is not a lawmaker.
He doesn't lay down rules and simply sit and judge you as you line up trying to get into Heaven.
God is a father--"Abba"="Daddy".
He's a lover, with the church as His bride.
God wants to know you and wants us to know Him, intimately!

Here's where the cool part begins, especially as God's daughters:
When God created us, we were the epitome of Creation.
If you follow the path of what was Created, things just got more complex and amazing and beautiful as they were created, and the last to be formed was woman from Adam's rib.
We are God's Masterpiece.

I don't know how much you may know about art, but let me tell you about what I know about being an artist:
When I draw something good, I want to show EVERYONE.
The problem is, this world is full of people who don't always care enough for art, so if I showed everyone, they wouldn't appreciate it fully. The art isn't any less beautiful, but the people's lack of care makes the art seem less amazing. (Not to mention, it hurts to hear people casually say, "Oh, that's cool." to something you spent hours and days on.)
No, when I create my best works, I save them somewhere special, where they won't get bent or ruined accidentally. Then, I only pull it out and share it with people who show genuine appreciation for it, and in that appreciation I find my utmost joy. :)

Now replace myself with God, and replace that beautiful masterpiece with you.

God loves you. He is amazed at how beautiful you turned out, and extremely proud that He created you. He loves you.
God knows that you will be the happiest only with those who truly appreciate you and how He created you. He wants to protect you from all the "Eh, it's alright."s and the "Oh, sweet."s in life!
He wants you to hear every "Wow, that's amazing!" and "So beautiful!!" that you deserve to hear from everyone!

This is why He says to us to save ourselves for the right someone.

God's not some fun-sucker, trying to make our lives boring; He's a majestic God who wants you to have the best life you can have.

And He knows what's best for you; He's the Creator after all, isn't He?

Faded Vision

It's been a while since I've written something for here, and I think I know the problem.
I've been losing sight of Jesus.

At the end of last summer, I had fallen heads over heels for His love and for Jesus, my amazing Savior who loved me even though I was a sinner. Now, that love has faded slowly away into maybe a liking of some sort that is by no means what God wants from me...

I can see everyday how I try slightly to worship God and be good, but I've been lukewarm and I simply don't live up to his standards. I wonder if it is because I don't suffer, or because I haven't fallen into sin recently, but I know that Paul says we should never sin just to receive grace more.

I've taken a closer look at my prayer life with God, and it's not very strong, I must sadly say.
I think maybe a couple times a week, when I'm noticing the distance between me and God, I'll pray to Him before I go to sleep, and if I'm awake enough and my Bible is close at hand, I'll read a random passage, think about it for a minute, pray, then sleep.
I seriously wonder how I got this way, when I used to fall asleep with the Bible in my hands or under my head every night because I was reading and fell asleep, and when I used to read chapters and books at a time rather than verses and sections.


Today in Chapel, my wonderful friend, Kristian, spoke on God's love for us.
He spoke from the heart about how we don't consider what love God has for us often enough. How Jesus, someone God truly treasured, came down and was torn apart, beaten, spat on, nailed to a cross, and murdered, so that we, the murderers and criminals, could walk free.
How crazy is that?!
He also said that sometimes we think of God and Jesus as separate, with different loves--Jesus's seemingly more caring and compassionate--when in reality, Jesus came to show God's love for us. The love that we see Jesus give, THAT is God's love he has for us!
Kristian pointed out that all Jesus did was show people love. He showed love to people whom in our day would be the emo kids and goths... but all we did was try to kill him for it!



Then he referred to this video that the school watched back in November on God's love.
I have only gotten the chance to see this once(with bad quality--I could hardly see or hear it!), so I'm posting it here and watching it again to try to renew my faith in Christ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjSio8jur2Y

We are the ones on this train, going by, living our short lives, and most of us never even realizing what God did for us, to save us, to keep us alive.

"For God So Loved the World that He Gave His One and Only Son, that Whoever Believes in Him Shall Not Perish, but have Eternal Life."
- John 3:16 (NIV)

♥♥♥

Praise Him, Not Me

You may see me,

And you may think

'She is holy'

But that's not me.

Some say I have it good with Christ

But that's not what I see.

I am weak.

I have sin.

We all do.

Like Paul,

the older I am

the worse it gets.

Do I need God?

Y E S.

So this is me

After I was freed:

Still slipping in sin

Stuck in mud

I couldn't see.

Something needed to change.

I gave up.

I cried.

I died

To myself and my ways

And I became His

So that He

Could work through me.

When I gave in to sin

He overcame

When I fell

He took over my life

and became my strength.

You see,

I am a sinner

Jesus saved me

I have no muscle

Jesus was my victory

When He declared

"You shall sin no more"

Fighting the devil

Was no longer a chore

So when you see me

Don't say,

"Oh how good is she"

Because there is no way

I could do a thing without God

For He is the strength

That you see in me.

Praise Him alone

--not me.

"Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens."

-Psalm 148:13 (NIV)

Reminders

I must admit, I am scared of who I am. A lot of times when I look at the girl I've grown to be, I become terrified that who I am is not who I want to be, and I can't do anything to fix it. That is the one thing that I find hardest about being a Christian:

I can't fix myself, and I know it.

All of us have to trust in God's plan and do as He wants and constantly move toward Him. It's a great thing knowing that He can heal us and take care of us perfectly, but it is also equally as painful.

I like to think of it a bit like a video game. You know those boss challenges that you just love battling through, but no matter how hard you try, you can't get past the big guy. And so your older sibling offers to help you pass it so that you can get onto the next level.

What do you do? Give the controller over to them t help you proceed, or do you selfishly, and hopelessly, try and try again without success?

Most of us are unwilling to admit defeat, just like we are unwilling to pass up our problems to God. It's more logical to give it to God, but part of all humans tells us that we've got to try to do things on our own first.

It's an amazing thing when I come across someone who is able to give themselves up to God. Usually, those are the people I respect and admire. But even then, those people tell me it's no walk in the park.

If there's anything I've learned in the past year, it would be how easy it is to fall into the lukewarm-Christian trap. God gets you out of a rut, and you say, "Okay, I'll leave it all to You, then," but as time draws on and nothing is really happening, you slowly say, "I can do this!" and you slip back into the controller seat. As a result, when trouble starts piling back onto your life, you start to bend and break under the weight, forgetting to give your life to God until it's almost too late. It is a tough and painful cycle, but we all get caught in it so easily!

Last Friday for Chapel at our school, we did a lesson on a man named Patch Adams, who wanted to be a doctor that actually cared for his patients. He had 10 Daily Actions that he would follow, and so my Co-chaplain and I challenged ourselves to follow it. For the whole week, we tried to obey his list as best as we could, and it actually makes a difference in the way your day goes!

(If you'd like to see his list, it is here: http://www.patchadams.org/Patchs_prescription_10_everyday_actions)

During the week, I tried to smile all the time in the hallways, sing out loud with my friends, and I even gave someone a shoulder rub once. For a while, I have been experiencing some back pains, that I think were actually muscle spasms. They hadn't ever been anything too bad, so I never worried about them, but on Friday, the last day of doing the list, it intensified so much that it hurt when I simply walked somewhere. But even though I was in pain, I kept smiling, because I had said I would. I was determined not to give into my own feelings so that by smiling I might give someone else a good day (smiles are contagious you know!).

It was surprisingly humbling to do that. Normally, I will give in to my emotion and just frown, simply passing by everyone in the hallways; but to put aside all of my own feelings that were natural, physical, bodily emotions and responses, and to give my all to God and others--just amazing!

I cannot promise anything, but to live by a set of guidelines like these could help improve your everyday life and keep God in your driver's seat. I suggest creating a personal list, and putting it somewhere you'll look at at least once or twice every day.

Here's my short list that I will have up in my locker:

Emily's 5 Reminders

1. Never stop smiling. Ever.

2. Make someone else's day. Ask them how they are doing, or simply say, "Hello!".

3. Give someone a hug who looks like they need it; don't say a word about it.

4. Always have a song to sing, and sing it everywhere.

5. Pick a random person and pray for them.

So create your own list. Start with something short and sweet, and then if you think of other things, add onto it. Make your list have to do with serving others, and it will help bring you to God.

Do you have a list? I'd love to hear what it is!

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." (Ephesians 3:10)

College (Part 2)

Prayer works!

After posting about my troubles with finding the right College, things became so much clearer to me!

I am pretty dead set on Graphic Design now. I absolutely love to do it, and I am figuring out what to do with it as well as what I'll want to learn about Graphic Design in order to do the things I see God planning for me. (:

I still am not sure which college to go to, but I have more hope knowing that I will go into Graphic Design. I almost want to get started right away!

As far as colleges go, I still would love to go to a Christian college, so I opened up my options a bit. I'm re-thinking going to my sister's college, because as long as she knows it was my own choice because of the college itself, I will survive seeing her every once in a while. After two years of college, I know she'll change enough to make her survivable around, and at some point, we need to grow together, right?

I'm also keeping open the other Christian college open as an option, since a couple of my friends are going there, and I am going to look for even more colleges to possibly attend. I'm not as afraid as I was before because I know that God is in charge of the world, not me!! If I go to a college that isn't Christian, I will still be on God's side.

I will keep praying and I hope you pray that wherever I go is where God leads me to go, and whatever I do is what God wants me to do.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside still waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." (Psalm 23)

Music

One of the biggest questions Christians have been asking in regards to how much we are "In the world," is what types of music can we listen to?

It has split churches before (the Church of Christ doesn't believe in instrumental music), and it can create rifts in between relationships. Some get "persecuted" by their peers or even by adults because of types of music they listen to.

I would like to propose that what type of music you listen to does not matter. It does not matter whether music is A capella or screamo; music is music.

No, what truly matters is the message.

The message comes from the whole entire musical picture that the piece presents. It involves the words, the tone of the music, and how it affects your feelings. Usually, you can tell what the message is by the lyrics, but sometimes you need to make a personal judgement on how it affects you.

It can change with some people how music affects you. For example, I am really weak when it comes to "secular"(or "worldy") music, but my best friend does good enough with it that songs without a bad lyrical message, she can listen to without being drawn away from God. For her, it's a party mood, or it's just an innocent having fun mood with an interesting beat; but sometimes for me, it can bring back inappropriate thoughts, which can build up inside me and cause me to sin. So test yourself and make sure that what you are listening to isn't taking you away from Christ.

Now, if the message has nothing to do with Christ, then what is it about? Is it about you? Is it about loving a boy or a girl? Is it about partying when the sun goes down?

"Sin" is a part of our nature, not an act, and the middle of sin is "I". When the world revolves around you, your desires, what you want, and when you want it, that is when sin occurs. Adam and Eve fell because they thought they could do things better than their own Creator, not because they ate an apple that God didn't want them to eat. Be careful and always purge yourself of any sign of selfishness that puts you in God's throne; and that will be the determining factor for the music you choose to listen to.

As disciples of Christ, our biggest goal is to become more "Christ-like" every day. As we work towards that goal, all the other problems we face get solved. If you ask, "Well what about how we should worship?", the answer would be, "How Jesus worshiped." And if you ask, "but how should we treat sinners?", the answer is always, "How Jesus treated them." And so this is why we wear the W.W.J.D. (What Would Jesus Do?) bracelets, because all of our questions are answered by how Jesus dealt with things and acted towards people. Keep all of this in mind when you are choosing your music too. "What would Jesus be listening to? Would he smile at me and sing along, or would he look at me with sad eyes full of love as he hangs on the cross? Would he be ashamed of me in front of the Father?" (No pressure, if he's accepting, you don't need to doubt it; but you do need to make a choice.)

Music has a big influence on how you treat people and on how others see you. I know I get made fun of for avoiding what we call secular music, but somewhere in their brains, they begin to understand that I do this for God, and not just because "it's a sin." Listening to music really isn't a sin. "Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean'." (Matt. 15:10b-11) But how far are you willing to follow Jesus? Will you settle for following with only half of your life, or will you give it your all?

I strongly believe that Jesus calls us to give it our all, or he will deny that he ever knew you (Matt. 7:21-23). Even Paul (in Galatians 2:11-14) rebuked Peter, one of the Apostles, for being two-faced. It may be impossible to truly mimic what Christ does, but that can’t stop us from trying our best!!!

So if you want to be true about your faith, be careful about what you are listening to. Be sure that nothing turns you away from God even for a moment, and love Him with all of your heart(emotion), soul(decision maker), mind(thinker), and strength(body).

~♥