Strengthening Relationships with God and Friends

God has been teaching me a lot lately. He's been teaching me to trust in Him and just altogether lean on Him. The disciples did just that. Even literally. In John 13 verse 23: "Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved."

When I came across that verse, it was evident to me that Jesus had a real relationship with His disciples. They weren't just His 'posse'. They were His friends that He truly loved and hung out with because He enjoyed their company. We have to lean on our Creator and lean on each other. When one of our friends stumble, we've gotta pick them back up and lean them against us and our God. It's important to keep good company around because you want others that will influence you in a good and positive way. Ones that won't just sympathize but will actually remind you of why you're here and of God's grace and love. Don't be afraid to speak up when your friends are doing something you know that God doesn't approve of.

One time I was in the car with my dad and two of my friends. We were talking about how the devil tries to attack us. That's when my dad said that once my mom was reading a book, and in it, it said that if the devil is attacking you continuously but you run to God every time he attacks, then he'll stop attacking you in that area of your life because he doesn't want us running to God. We have to remind ourselves and our friends of that because if you run to God for EVERYTHING, you become stronger in Him and you don't feel alone. That's how I feel. God has been teaching me to always run to Him for everything and I don't feel alone. I feel like I'm always on stable ground.

My pastor has been preaching about this a lot lately; that in the Bible it talks about Shadrach, Meshach, Abendigo, and Daniel. They stood up for what they believed in. They decided to influence others instead of compromise their standards. And the best part is, they stood TOGETHER. In Ecclesiastes 4:12 it says, "Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken." There IS strength in numbers and we ARE our brothers' keepers. So I just encourage you all to be there for your friends and help lead them along the right path. Ask them how they're doing and if they need any prayer for anything. It'll strengthen your relationship with them and God. And when they see how pure your love is for them, they'll begin to see God's love for them. :)

Trusting God ----- Hold My Heart by Tenth Avenue North

Today this song has really been speaking to me. I've loved this song for a very long time but there are a few times when it just really hits the heart and I can hear the trueness in the singers voice. I encourage you to listen to it. The name of it is Hold My Heart by Tenth Avenue North. I was looking up music for this song and I came across their website. The writers said that they wrote this when they were going through some rough things in their lives. This song is based off of Psalm 13 and like David, they decided to trust in the Lord even when He didn't seem to be there because they know He was. Psalm 13: "How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorry in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; lest my enemy say, 'I have prevailed against him'; lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved. But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me."

How long must I pray
Must I pray to You
How long must I wait
Must I wait for You
How long 'till I see Your face
See You shining through

I'm on my knees
Begging You to notice me
I'm on my knees
Father, will You turn to me

One tear in the dropping rain
One voice in a sea of pain
Could the Maker of the stars
Hear the sound of my breaking heart
One life is all I am
Right now, I can barely stand
If You're everything You say You are
Would You come close and hold my heart

I've been so afraid
Afraid to close my eyes
So much can slip away
Before I say goodbye
But if there's no other way
I'm done asking why

Cause I'm on my knees
Begging You to turn to me
I'm on my knees
Father, will You run to me

(Chorus)

So many questions without answers
Your promises remain
I can't see but I'll take my chances
To hear You call my name
To hear You call my name

(Chorus)

A Child's Mind

I think the reason why the Bible tells us to accept Jesus as a little child would is because a child's mind is open and endless; nothing is impossible to them. But as we get older and people tell us that there are things we can't do we start to get skeptical. As life goes on we have troubles and failures and as soon as we fail, that thing is crossed off our list of things that aren't impossible. We don't keep our creativity and imagination. We start to think logically and out of fact not faith. When in fact faith is what keeps us going. We need to accept and trust in Jesus just as a little kid would. Because to them nothing is impossible and for Jesus nothing is impossible. The human mind is put in a box. We can only grasp certain things. People say that there's no God because it's impossible for someone to have no beginning, no end, and to create everything. But think about this for a minute: God was here first. God created US. Not the other way around. We have no right to say whether it's impossible or not for Him to exist because if it wasn't for Him, we wouldn't exist. If we were capable of creating a person, giving it life, and that little person started to say that it's impossible for us to exist we would think, "How would you know? I was here first and I created you. Whether you exist or not, I still do. Without you I would still be alive but without me, you wouldn't be." So let's stop questioning God about the things He's capable of doing and just trust in Him. He created everything so why wouldn't He be able to change it? If we create a line of dominoes and only the first part works for us, we can go back and change the layout of the second part to make it so it all works out in the end. So can God. The Bible says that all things work out for good of those who love Him. He created everything little step in time and nothing happens by chance. He's the creater so let's give Him all the credit and put all our faith and trust in Him! :D
Matthew 18: 1-5 "At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, 'Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.'
If you have any questions or need any prayer, I'd be happy to help you. :) Just let me know! :D

Special Moments

Special Moments are the times when we have intimate conversations, the most fun, and just altogether amazing things with the people we love the most. We all wish we had more of those special moments. That we could just have them every time we see the people we most cherish because we want to get closer to them and enjoy their company more. The only thing is, those moments are the most rare and that's what makes them so special. If we had those moments everyday, then they wouldn't be special anymore. It's frustrating when those moments hardly come at all because then we're not sure if they're real. And longing for those special moments when you feel so alone-well, that's when they seem the most precious to us. So how do we be content? Let's give God our time and our Special Moments-because unlike people, He's always there to share them with us. And that's the only time we'll be truly happy. :)