the heart

"And so the Lord says: These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man made rules." Isiah 29:13
As a Christian even when I am feeling distant, no one will notice because my actions don't change. But God revealed to me again through this verse that being a "good boy or girl" just isn't enough. It's actually nothing at all if your heart isn't in the correct place. It is not enough to just go through the motions of being Christian, going to church, attending a small group, or even encouraging others. Proverbs 5:23 says to guard your heart. And often we do the exact opposite, if your actions are not aligned with your heart (or vice versa) then all your doing is enabling people to misinterpret your heart. If your heart is for God, let all your actions be for his glory, not your own. The language we use is a glimpse of our heart, using sarcasm or cussing does not show that your heart is for God. Our actions are the reflection of our heart, if our actions are against God, is not our hearts? But if our actions seem for God when our hearts aren't, that is no good either. Be careful with your heart, keep people close, but always keep God closer. We seriously hold the nastiest stuff in our hearts, and often keep that filth closer than we keep God. I urge you, do not do that. God tells us not to worry, and if you trust God or even believe in him at all, how could you worry? The Bible says that the Lord can turn incredible cities into heaps of ruins, and I know it goes vice versa too. For my heart has been in ruins, and he has restored it to make it functioning again. Don't let your hearts be in heaps of ruins, you may be going through something painful, but there is never a reason to be with out joy. Joy is the presence of God in our hearts, and since Romans 8:38 states it best: nothing can seperate us from God. And if nothing can seperate us from God, then nothing can seperate us from joy. I once heard that Jesus didn't come to change the human condition, he came to change how we respond to it. Why do we block God out after so much he has done? The Israelites mentioned in Isiah saw incredible miracles, parting of the red sea; and so much more. But they continued to refuse to lt Jesus into their hearts. Are we not the same? Because we live on Earth we've witnessed God work, seen him so many times, but continue to block him out, unintentionally or intentionally. Just stop, he wants you to put your worries in a glass bottle and send it into the ocean to never be seen or thought of again. Jesus is a sponge that washes the sin away from our hearts, and absorbs all the filth and carries it himself. The world makes our heart heavy, but Jesus said himself his burden is light, wouldn't want be a burden you'd want to carry? Don't let yourself be heavy, give the weight to God who is so much stronger, and more beautiful because he wants to carry us. He saved my heart, and forever I'll want to give it to him again and again. And I need a constant reminder to tell me remember him, and to use him, to take up his burden. "What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the Lord. Who do their evil deeds in the dark! 'The Lord can't see us' they say. 'He doesn't know whats going on!'. Ho foolish can you be? He is the potter and he is certainly greater then you the clay! Should the created thing say to the creator 'He didn't make me'?" Isiah 29:15-16. Trying to hide your doubts, questions, fears, worries, or anything else little clay? He already knows. He knows your heart, he loves your heart. Why do we so oftenly try to play hide and see with God, how long do we keep him counting behind a tree until we find a good enough hiding place? But this in store when you stop running: " You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed in you. Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal rock...But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of us. Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our harts desire is to glorify your name. All night long I search for you; in the morning I earnestly search for God." Isiah 26:3-9
Don't have the desire to search for God or to obey his laws? Pray for it, pray for that desire. That is where I'd like to keep my heart, safely with God. Take time to see where your heart is, and what it is for.

"Wherever tour treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." Like 12:34

Verses that are giving me closure before camp

I need to remember that where ever I am, I should be all there. God is the greatest provider in the whole entire world, I need to trust him. And I need to be present.
"So don't worry about tommorow, for tommorow will bring it's own worries. Today's troubles are enough for today." Matthew 76:34

I need to remember to serve with out whining, I don't want to be lazy in loving/serving others.
"Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it is in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don't say "come back tommorow and I will help you"." Proverbs 3:27-28

I need to remember to seek wisdom, forgiveness, and spiritual nourishment.
"Now swallow your pride; go and beg to have your name erased. Don't put it off; do it now! Don't rest until you do" Proverbs 6:3-4

Be kind, remember that sometimes not saying anything is better then saying something, use your words to give life, not to harm it. and be genuine in your love
"hiding hatred makes you a liar, slandering others makes you a fool. too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut. the words of the Godly are like sterling silver, the heart of a fool is worthless. The words of the godly encourage many, but fools are destroyed by their lack of common sense" Proverbs 10:18-21

Don't b anxious.
"Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father's home." John 14:1
"I am leaving you with a gift-peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid" John 14:27

All of John 15...so much comfort.

god is

the plan himself.

Blitzen Trapper: Furr

Yeah, when I was only seventeen
I could hear the angels whispering
So I drove into the woods
And wandered aimlessly about
Until I heard my mother shouting through the fog
It turned out to be the howling of a dog
Or a wolf, to be exact
The sound sent shivers down my back
But I was drawn into the pack and before long
They allowed me to join in and sing their song
So from the cliffs and highest hills
Yeah, we would gladly get our fill
Howling endlessly and shrilly at the dawn
And I lost the taste for judging right from wrong
For my flesh had turned to fur
Yeah, and my thoughts they surely were
Turned to instinct and obedience to God

You can wear your fur
Like a river on fire
But you'd better be sure
If you're making God a liar
I'm a rattlesnake, babe,
I'm like fuel on fire
So if you're gonna get made
Don't be afraid of what you've learned

On the day that I turned 23
I was curled up underneath a dogwood tree
When suddenly a girl
Her skin the color of a pearl
She wandered aimlessly, but she didn't seem to see
She was listening for the angels just like me
So I stood and looked about
I brushed the leaves off of my snout
And then I heard my mother shouting through the trees
You should have seen that girl go shaky at the knees
So I took her by the arm
We settled down upon a farm
And raised our children up as gently as you please

And now my fur has turned to skin
And I've been quickly ushered in
To a world that, I confess, I do not know
But I still dream of running careless through the snow
Through the howling winds that blow
Across the ancient distant flow
To fill our bodies up like water till we know

You can wear your fur
Like a river on fire
But you'd better be sure
If you're making God a liar
I'm a rattlesnake, babe,
I'm like fuel on fire
So if you're gonna get made
Don't be afraid of what you've learned

so it's always been known

that you become who ever you spend the most time with.
which reiterates the fact that i need t spend more time with jesus, after all he's exactly what i want to be

i am nothing

who am i that i could be called god's child? HIS BELOVED!
who am i that i have the holy spirit living inside me?
the spirit is the only thing that ables me, a unperfect messed up, lost something, but because of the spirit perfect and good can come out of me.
i wrote this in my diary, but it wasn't even me, i could not even take credit for something this good and perfect: "I just want to above all God. I want him to come first. Others to come second. And me to come last. The world isn't about what I'm experiencing, it's about what I'm experiencing because of God. Not because I love him, but because he loves me."
I don't want to be impressed with myself, because I should never take credit for God's work. Even if one of my friends who I've been praying for forever comes to Christ, it as not my work that he found God, it was God that revealed himself. God is soooo perfect. and I am only something, because of him.

you have to have friends that will let you grow

and you have to be a friend that will let someone else grow.
don't think anyone needs you, they don't, they need God, and you need to let them need God.
back off, God has perfect timing and plan.
your pride is deceitful

"Wherever your treasure is, there is the desires of your heart will also be." Luke 12:34

uh oh...most of my treasures are stored up on earth.

Physical attributes of God

"Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:39

God's love takes a physical form, his glory is revealed everywhere throughout the Earth, not one section has hidden from his loving grasp. "They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created. people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature. So they have NO EXCUSE FOR NOT KNOWING GOD" Romans 1:18-20. God has revealed himself to all people.

I see God's glory poured into a physical sense, little things that are metaphors and make God's existence more physical/ real to me. the Bible has so many physical metaphors to put God's glory and love for us all into retrospect. his word will ALWAYS say it better than anyone ever could, it's perfect, it's God breathed.

1. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."Proverbs 3:5. God's guidance put into a physical sense.In my car I have a navigation system. To work it you put in your destination and you just have to trust; and follow. It leads me crazy places, I feel like I'm getting farther away from my destination sometimes, I don't see what it sees. So I'll be like "no nav! I'm making a left instead of a right", and all it says is "recalculating", and it continues to direct me. As does God. He has a plan for us, all of us, no one left out or left behind. We may not understand his way, and we may choose our own, BUT OUR DESTINATION REMAINS THE SAME. God's destination for us is always were where we will end up, let us trust and find COMFORT in that.

2."I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions
among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought."1Corinthians 1:10. The importance of family in Christ put in a physical sense. Think about your family, or any family, many family ties are unbreakable. Even when you fight, even when you quarrel, your still a FAMILY. Do you see how God has supplied us with our family in Christ? Treat another believer as a brother, as a sister, as your family. Families are families because of blood or love. We are a family for the same reason, Christ's blood shed for us, and our love for him. THAT BONDS US. Just think, we will be in heaven for eternity together, a perfect family because of Christ. Even though families fight and aren't always nice to each other, it doesn't make you less of apart of the family.

3. "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."1 John 1:5-7. The physical evidence of God's glory, light vs. darkness. God is said to be light, evil/ devil is said to be darkness. Think about a dark room, you can't see, your scared, your not sure exactly where you are. Your lost just as you would be with out God's light. But someone flips the switch, and the light is instantly flooded out. You can't have light in darkness, but you can have darkness in light. Light is always more powerful then darkness. Because of light everything becomes visible and nothing is hidden. Just as nothing is hidden from God, and he floods out darkness.

4."So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became His prized possession. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him." James 1:16–18. "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are!" 1John 3:1. God's heavenly father love put into a physical sense. God is the Father. Think of your Father (or mother), and they discipline you because they love you. You may not always understand it, but it is always for the better. They always have your best interest at heart, as does God. Even when you are fighting with your parents, your never less their child. You can be mean, even hate them, but it doesn't separate you. Same applies to God, you are NEVER less of his Child, no matter how far, or how separate you feel, your not. Parents set up rules to keep their children safe, so has God. Why not take comfort in the laws of Christ, they were put their to guide us! To keep us from hurt, God has gone through life and watched hurt just as your parents have, he knows, and he wants to save you. In fact, he already has, while we were still sinners.

5. God's simple provision because of faith put into a physical sense."Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon (old testament very powerful king) in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." God is the ultimate provider, if this verse doesn't explain the physicallity of his provision, then I don't know what does.

6."Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.I will praise the LORD all my life;I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.Do not put your trust in princes,in mortal men, who cannot save.When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;on that very day their plans come to nothing.Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,the Maker of heaven and earth,the sea, and everything in them the LORD, who remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.The LORD sets prisoners free,the LORD gives sight to the blind,the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,the LORD loves the righteous. LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow,but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.The LORD reigns forever,your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD." Psalm 146. The physical feeling of being with God, and how much he must love us. You know those moments when you feel God and it just completely overwhelms you with joy? those moments are HUGE, they consume you and free you for days. If you feel THAT MUCH joy because of God in a second of feeling him more than usual. can you even fathom what being in his presence will be like! In heaven, ah what a prize! We'll get to walk among our God whom we sought after here on Earth, and that will be HUGE. I can't even imagine the joy and perfection his wholly presence will bring me.

7."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. God's love/ gifts to the Earth in a physical sense.Maybe it's just me, but the ocean is so beautiful and SO HUGE. I can see how wildly God loves the Earth if he would put something SO BEAUTIFUL on Earth. Which leads me to wonder how much more beautiful heaven will be!

8. The physical evidence of God's strength, as said by Jesus "Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock" Matthew 7:24

9. A physical metaphor of how easy it is to get lost walking towards God, as said by Jesus."You can enter God's kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it" Matthew 7:13-14

10. A physical metaphor of how big faith and prayer is, as said by Jesus. "Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, 'May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe you have received it, it will be yours." Mark 12:22-25

11. a physical metaphor of importance to stand out because of our love for Christ."Salt therefore is good: but if even the salt have lost its flavor, where shall it be seasoned?" Luke 14:34-35 Salt can lose its flavor, when it gets wet and dries nothing is left but a residue. When Christians blend into the world to avoid the cost of standing for Christ, they are like salt with out flavor. Just as salt preserves food and flavor, Christians preserve the word and good in the world.

There are so many ways God shows his love, and evidence of his existence, physically, emotionally, scientifically. Let us recognize all the good and perfect in the world and thank him for it. Everything good and perfect was created by him, through him, and we need to give it back to him. God's reality kicks my butt every time. So madly in love.

BIG aspirations

1. I want to be more gentle, i feel so ungentle.
2. I don't want to be misleading, i don't want anyone to be confused about who I belong too. I've noticed that I only show my heart for God sometimes, through little actions, encouraging others, or actually talking about him. And that is wrong, my heart should be showing all the time! It should always be obvious that I am wholly in love with Christ! And that is where I become misleading. Being sarcastic or rude jokes to make people laugh, that is completely misleading, that does not show how much I love god or people.
3. I want to be more obedient. I was talking to a friend and he talked about how obedient he is to god in little things, like when the holy spirit leads him to take a homeless man to coffee, or to pray with someone. And I thought, wow I hinder my spirit to be more humanely acceptable. I want to be obedient to God, I've been praying for my spirit to call me places, and to tell me to do things that I might be scared of, but out of love and obedience to God. He gave my this body to work for him, eyes to see people in need, ears to listen, a mouth to speak, he gave me everything. I could at least give to him as much as I can. There has been times where I am totally embarassd to bring up God to someone, but I feel like I am really supposed to encourage or talk to them in someway, and I have. I have served God before myself, because I should not be proud. It really hits me in Acts when Paul makes a speech after being beaten and he says "I can leave humbly knowing that I preached boldy about the word of God". I always ask myself, would I be able to say that? Am I doing God's work were he calls me too, even in my own home? Not always, actually rarely. I'm not going to glitterfy, or not preach the message because of my own pride, even if people hate me for it, Jesus was HATED, KILLED, BEATEN, and he continued to preach the message (of course I'll do so with caution and grace). But I just want to be obedient to God, no matter what labels come with it.
4. and lastly i want a real consistency with all these things, and I want more consistency in my time and praying/talking with God. I need consistency
5. I also really want to be overcome with joy and positivity, as I should be because I have God in my life! I know I will never get over his love for me, never, and that should always be something that knowing, SHAKES ME INTERNALLY. But I want to spread joy. There is so much negativity literally POURED into people's life, have you noticed facebook? People pour their emotions into status's, what if instead of pouring your back, you poured in love and something joyful! I want to bring in excitement and positivity into facebook, and peoples lives.
6. I would rather be known as gentle, humble, god fearing, stupid christian girl, or anything bad or good anyone could call me. Then pretty, popular, funny, or dateable. I really want to be recognized by my love and actions rather then what i look like. And thats something I need to live in. I also need to work on putting others before myself, it's not about me, it's not even about you, it's just about God. He gave me life, he is my life, and thats the life I want to live: one only for him and only because of him.