A verse that inspire hope and a promise for the future:
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:12-14
I just love this part: "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize..."
I press on.
Toward what is ahead.
Sometimes I feel like we can dwell on the past so much. We have regrets that we keep reliving in our mind's eye. But we have so much more than the past. We are forgiven, and we can move on from what is behind.
Something that I want to work on is looking at the positive things that I have now and the positive things that will come instead of looking so much at the regrets of the past. An approach I used so much was that I focused on what I needed to get over more than focusing on what I was going to do in the future to live a victorious life through Christ. I am not perfect, but I need to concentrate on Him and the blessings I have received through Him. Because at the end of it all, the Bible says that I will receive the prize. So why do I keep looking back at yesterday? It's time for me to press on and take hold of my future that is promised in Christ.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Unanswered
Sometimes when I see and hear about all of the sickness in the world, I don't understand. I am confused. Why do some people get very sick and some don't? Why does one person have one disease and a different person have another disease?
Sometimes I think about all of the unknown answers for diseases. People are working constantly and putting forth such great effort to find the answer. Day after day. Month after month. Year after year.
Then I realize that while we are constantly searching for the answers with extremely complex chemical formulas and advanced technology, God already knows. He knows every nook and cranny of our our internal makeup and knows which cells are being affected and why; He created every single bit of us. He knows what will happen even before we feel the first pain. Think about the size of the smallest part of our body. An atom is .3 nanometers which is the same as .00000003 cm! That is just crazy to me. There is just so much in life that we can't see and that we can't understand. But I just don't think we are meant to understand.
I don't know why people get sick. I don't know why some people seem to have it way worse than others. All I know is that God is omniscient. He is all-knowing. And all-capable. He is God. And I don't think He would let his children go through something if He didn't have a reason for it. We may not know what it is, but He does.
Though humans are imperfect, worn down, and not meant to live forever, I am very grateful that our spirits are! I try to put things in perspective by thinking that life on earth is literally the blink of the eye compared to eternity. If our life is a drop of water, eternity is all of the oceans combined. If our life is the moon, eternity is the universe. And it's even bigger than that! It is very difficult for me to comprehend, but I try to remember that life here is just a microscopic sliver of our life in Heaven. So tonight, I will rest on the promise that He has a plan far bigger than I could even imagine, and I trust that He is in control of it all.
"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:26)
Sometimes I think about all of the unknown answers for diseases. People are working constantly and putting forth such great effort to find the answer. Day after day. Month after month. Year after year.
Then I realize that while we are constantly searching for the answers with extremely complex chemical formulas and advanced technology, God already knows. He knows every nook and cranny of our our internal makeup and knows which cells are being affected and why; He created every single bit of us. He knows what will happen even before we feel the first pain. Think about the size of the smallest part of our body. An atom is .3 nanometers which is the same as .00000003 cm! That is just crazy to me. There is just so much in life that we can't see and that we can't understand. But I just don't think we are meant to understand.
I don't know why people get sick. I don't know why some people seem to have it way worse than others. All I know is that God is omniscient. He is all-knowing. And all-capable. He is God. And I don't think He would let his children go through something if He didn't have a reason for it. We may not know what it is, but He does.
Though humans are imperfect, worn down, and not meant to live forever, I am very grateful that our spirits are! I try to put things in perspective by thinking that life on earth is literally the blink of the eye compared to eternity. If our life is a drop of water, eternity is all of the oceans combined. If our life is the moon, eternity is the universe. And it's even bigger than that! It is very difficult for me to comprehend, but I try to remember that life here is just a microscopic sliver of our life in Heaven. So tonight, I will rest on the promise that He has a plan far bigger than I could even imagine, and I trust that He is in control of it all.
"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:26)
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
La Luna
A few hours ago, my family and I watched an amazing Pixar short film called La Luna. I don't think I've ever seen such a cute little movie. In such a short time, the film captured so many beautiful emotions and images: reflections, glowing light, family, and more. I loved how I felt like I was the little kid in the film, experiencing the same new and wondrous things. For around 7 minutes, I was in another world where life was warm, accepting, and full of hope. Maybe someday I can create something similarly beautiful. A story? A drawing? A song?
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
The Christmas Story
Around this time of year, it can be easy to get caught up in all of the busyness. With shopping for presents, wrapping presents, decorating, cleaning, visiting with family and so much more, sometimes the real reason for this season gets put on the back burner. Though all of these things are great and important, I don't want Jesus to be on the back burner this year. I want to make sure to thank Him and remember the amazing reason that He was born. :)
(This video is just too cute) :)
(This video is just too cute) :)
Thursday, September 27, 2012
And Live!
I remember singing this song (Come to Jesus by Chris Rice) during VBS at my church when I was volunteering as a group leader this past summer. The children watched a video with hand motions as they sang the song, their sweet little voices ringing into the air.
As the song played, I remember looking around at the children in the room and just being absolutely overwhelmed with such emotion at the sight of rows of wonderful, innocent little children raising their arms up to Jesus.
I don't know how to describe the emotions I felt as I witnessed such an amazing experience. It was a once in a lifetime experience; a moment captured in time. I never want to forget it. And I am SO GLAD I could be a part of those children finding out what it meant trust and follow Jesus.
As the song played, I remember looking around at the children in the room and just being absolutely overwhelmed with such emotion at the sight of rows of wonderful, innocent little children raising their arms up to Jesus.
I don't know how to describe the emotions I felt as I witnessed such an amazing experience. It was a once in a lifetime experience; a moment captured in time. I never want to forget it. And I am SO GLAD I could be a part of those children finding out what it meant trust and follow Jesus.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
“Real life is a funny thing you know. In real life saying the right thing at the right moment is beyond crucial. So crucial in fact, that most of us start to hesitate for fear of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. But lately, what I’ve begun to fear more than that, is letting the moment pass without saying anything. I
think you deserve to look back on your life without this chorus of
resounding voices saying, I could have, but it’s too late now."
-Taylor Swift
-Taylor Swift
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Understanding Faith
Hi, everyone. As I was reading my Life Application Study Bible, I came across this great side passage in Romans, so I thought I would share it. Hope you find it helpful :)
"We must be very careful to understand faith as Paul uses the word because he ties faith so closely to salvation. It it not something we must do in order to earn salvation - if that were true, then faith would be just one more deed, and Paul clearly states that human deeds can never save us (Galations 2:16). Instead, faith is a gift God gives us because he is saving us (Ephesians 2:8). It is God's grace, not our faith, that saves us. In his mercy, however, when he saves us, he gives us faith - a relationship with his Son that helps us become like him. Through the faith he gives us, he carries us from death into life." (Pg. 1881)
"We must be very careful to understand faith as Paul uses the word because he ties faith so closely to salvation. It it not something we must do in order to earn salvation - if that were true, then faith would be just one more deed, and Paul clearly states that human deeds can never save us (Galations 2:16). Instead, faith is a gift God gives us because he is saving us (Ephesians 2:8). It is God's grace, not our faith, that saves us. In his mercy, however, when he saves us, he gives us faith - a relationship with his Son that helps us become like him. Through the faith he gives us, he carries us from death into life." (Pg. 1881)
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