My Walk with God

Hello internet searchers! As you can see, I love to write! God has given me a gift that I do not take for granted. Apparently God has had a plan for me and my writing all along, just like in Jeremiah 29:11. In November of last year, I was unexpectedly offered a job blogging monthly for a magazine. If you would like to continue reading what God has to say through my writing, you can visit me at http://www.oncourseonline.blospot.com. I would love to hear from you! Unfortunately, I can't handle writing 2 posts a month, so come check my new blog out! I just learned how to look at the stats of my blog, and I now see that some of you are from Africa, Asia, Australia, even the Netherlands! Wow. I love how God brings us all together. God bless!

Emotional Attachment

We all know what it feels like to be swept off of our feet by the "Prince(ss) of our dreams." Or so we think. In reality, the many people we fall for end up leaving us confused and often broken. As an American teenager, I see many people falling for this trap. These people find themselves attracted to someone, so they attach themselves to him/her. When this attachment occurs, all common sense is thrown out the window.

Let's say Samantha finds herself attracted to Jim. When Samantha sees Jim, she sees a loyal partner that will never leave nor forsake her for all the days of her life. Now, this may be true, but how likely is it that her view is accurate? (Especially as a teenager.) Later on, Samantha watches Jim slap a fellow classmate without reason. This terrifying scene shocks her, so she asks Jim about it. He replies with, "Oh it was nothing. Don't worry about it." Samantha can take this three ways: a) She leave Jim because of the upcoming breaches in the relationship. b) She could stay with Jim because of fear of what he will do to her, or c) She could deny that he meant to hurt the guy, and love Jim nonetheless.
Logically, the only answer is to leave the relationship. Unfortunately, many girls (and guys for that matter) either overlook or deny all warning signs for failure. Song of Songs 8:4 says,

"I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it
pleases."

According the blueletterbible.com, the Hebrew roots of the phrase "do not stir up" mean "b) (Niphal) to be roused" and "d) (Hithpolel) to be excited, be triumphant" among many other definitions. This phrase was originally written in imperfect tense.

"The imperfect expresses an action, process or condition which is incomplete,
and it has a wide range of meaning:
1a) It is used to describe a single (as
opposed to a repeated) action in the past;
...These relate not so much as to
one occasion, as to a continued condition
...3) The imperfect is used to
express the "future", referring not only to an action which is about to be
accomplished but one which has not yet begun:"

Wow! In writing this, God communicates that we should not have stirred up love in the past, we should not stir up love right now in the present, and we should not stir up love in the future if it does not desire.

In addition to this, one of the root meanings is to be exciting or triumphant. We should not go into a relationship triumphantly or excitedly if God's timing has not yet come. Really, all of this boils down to that one concept.
Ecclesiastes 3:1,5 declares:

"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: 5 A
time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, and a
time to refrain from embracing;"

No matter what we are doing, if we don't do it in God's will and timing, it will never go the way we have planned.

Lord, help us to follow in the plans You have for us. Let us be completely in You, always listening and ready to follow what You have for us, not what we have for ourselves.

Trials

Wow. Trials come, and trials go, but with every trial that comes my way, they get bigger than the last. I grow stronger in each situation, but there comes a point when I tire of being in a pit. It's the kind of feeling that tells me that I have been so deeply involved in turmoil for a seemingly long time, but I am riding the line of freedom. I smell freedom. I can sort of feel it in a wierd, agitating way.
This was revealed when I looked through my journal from last year. I went through so many major conflicts. Well, they seemed major at the time, but now when I look back at them, they were petty issues. Even so, I know that they meant something. Others don't understand how these "baby" problems can affect me so much. I desire with all of my being to make God happy and approving of my life. That often leads me to trouble.
I am so sick of letting this rediculous situation control my life. It controls how I act, how I pray, what I say to others, my mood... God has not given His Son's life so that we may have a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)
This too shall pass. I can only pray that it will pass with me being whole rather than broken-hearted. The faults that could be are obviously clear. Lord, please help me to stay right in the way You have for me. Help me not to fall to the ways of the world or of others around me, but sustain me in Your Love. For You alone are the way to peace and understanding. I trust You with my life. Here is my life, my problems, my emotions, my moods, my actions, my tears, my smiles, my everything. Thank you for the mercies I recieve every morning. Lord, You are amazing. I love You so much. Thank You for everything.

Without

Hola amigos!
I am taking Spanish II with hopes of becoming fluent by the end of my 11th grade year. While studying last year, I realized for the first time that sin (Pronounced: seen) means without. WOW! How relavent! That's a simple reminder to me everytime that I use the word "sin" that God cannot be in our sin. He is perfect and holy. Sin is blemished and ugly and unable to withstand the majestic power of God's precious name. If I want to draw nearer to the heart of God, I must hand over my sin. I must ask for forgiveness, and I must forgive myself...
That's the hard part for me. I become so guilty that it is hard for me to have compassion on myself for what I have done. I can accept that Jesus loves me enough to die for me, but I cannot accept my sinful behaviour. That's where I think perception comes in.
Have you ever heard that "Perception is reality" ? Well, to an extent, that is true. In our minds, what we percieve becomes our reality. I do this a lot: I will look at a person and automatically have a judgment about them. Most of the time, these judgments prove untrue, but I live my life based on my perceptions of these people. This gets me into trouble. Even though I usually do not personally know these people, my judgments are still dangerous. They cause coldness towards others, and they allow my imagination to run WILD! If I stay in God without the judgments, I am more likely to act like our Perfect, Holy God acts. That's what I want. I could care less about my mistakes. All I want is Jesus.
~Amy

Why read my blog?

Well, I don't really want to brag about my blog. I guess you should all read it because it's realistic. I go through the same things that others go through, and I learn from it. If you want to learn what I learn, read my blog. It's as simple as that. =] Of course, I learn these things from God. Let's not forget Him. (He is the most important.)


Special thanks to Purell Hand Sanitizer for sponsoring this blog hop.

Time to laugh!

I'm trying out this new blog hop. I'm supposed to write a joke, cartoon, or something funny. This is it. =]

Amiss

James 4:3
You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

When we ask for something, are we really asking for a good reason, or are we being selfish? We have all taken advantage of prayer by asking for material things, and although this is not necessarily a bad thing, there are times to ask God for materials, and there times when we should not. If you are praying for a Bible or financial aid, that's not what this verse is referencing. (Unless you plan on spending the money on yourself...) The keyword to whether or not you are praying selfishly is "amiss".
According to blueletterbible.com, the Greek root word of amiss is kakos. One of the three meanings of this root is "miserable, to be ill."*
What does that show you? God doesn't give us the things we ask for because we are asking to be miserable. Of course we don't say "Lord, give me this so that I can be miserable," but He knows what will happen when we get all that we want. God wants to prevent any changes in our attitude and lifestyle that may occur because of material items.

1 John 3:17
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?

If we have so many material possessions, we may no longer see a need for God. We get so caught up in what we still need, that God is totally out of the picture. No longer do we need Jehovah Jireh, our Provider. We can provide for ourselves. But no matter how many things you have, if you forget about your Creator, then you can't feel your purpose in life. You'll wander aimlessly. Have you ever noticed that the poor are often happier than millionaires and movie stars?

James 2:5
Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world [to be] rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

See? God doesn't care if you have nothing, he has chosen these people to be heirs of his kingdom. I don't know about you, but I would rather be an heir of heaven than pray to be miserable.

*-http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G2560&t=NKJV