Merry Christmas!!!!!
This year Christmas was very different for me but still really good. This year I got stranded in Ames due to the massive winter blizzard that dropped twenty inches of snow up in Minnesota, so I wasn't able to get home for Christmas. At first I was really disappointed that I couldn't be home for Christmas but God really has blessed my Christmas here in Ames. I went to the wonderful Christmas eve service at Stonebrook last night which was awesome! Then afterwards a group of us went to see the movie the blind side...it's such a good movie!!!!
Then today I have been able to just relax and for me this is so nice, to be able to slow down for a bit and just really be able to reflect on what has been going on in my life and also to really just rejoice and reflect on the fact that a couple thousand years ago that God became flesh and came into this world in order to save us. I hope that you all have had a very blessed Christmas and have been reminded what the true meaning of Christmas is!!
Also I watched the nativity story today...I would recommend it to everyone. It's such a powerful depiction of the birth of Jesus!!
So I leave you with a song called "I celebrate the day" by Reliant K, I love this song and its a great testament to what today is all about.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Some nuggets of truth
The following verses are some gems that have really stuck with me and have encouraged and comforted me the past couple weeks or so and I just wanted to share them with you.
"Do NOT be anxious about ANYTHING, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."- Philippians 4:6-7
"you will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you"-Isaiah 26:3
"Wounds from a friend can be trusted but and enemy multiplies kisses."- Proverbs 27:6
"Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today...The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still"-Exodus 14:13-14
" Do NOTHING out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves"-Philippians 2:3
"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him" -1 John 4:16b
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear" -1 John 4:18a
"Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." -Romans 4:20-21
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything."- James 1:2-4
"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."- Psalm 73:26
"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassion's never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." - Lamentations 3:22-24
Another gem I received a couple weeks ago out of the book David: 90 days with a heart like his was a quote from Beth Moore..."Sometimes we stand to learn the most about God from the situations we understand the least." This was a real comfort to me considering the big trial in my life that I'm going through, and have no real understanding to why so this was a huge comfort to me.
"Do NOT be anxious about ANYTHING, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."- Philippians 4:6-7
"you will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you"-Isaiah 26:3
"Wounds from a friend can be trusted but and enemy multiplies kisses."- Proverbs 27:6
"Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today...The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still"-Exodus 14:13-14
" Do NOTHING out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves"-Philippians 2:3
"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him" -1 John 4:16b
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear" -1 John 4:18a
"Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." -Romans 4:20-21
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything."- James 1:2-4
"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."- Psalm 73:26
"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassion's never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." - Lamentations 3:22-24
Another gem I received a couple weeks ago out of the book David: 90 days with a heart like his was a quote from Beth Moore..."Sometimes we stand to learn the most about God from the situations we understand the least." This was a real comfort to me considering the big trial in my life that I'm going through, and have no real understanding to why so this was a huge comfort to me.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Spring Break
So I thought I would update you all on something I have really been praying about and that was going on a missions trip this spring break or going to study in Mexico for a couple weeks. Ultimately with a lot of prayer,counsel and the direction of the LORD, I have decided to go with Stonebrook and go on the mission trip to El Salvador this spring.
I'm really excited!!
I'm really excited!!
Oneness
So this morning at church was Tim's farewell message and although it was extremely long, I got something very critical out of it. One of his main points was on the core value that stonebrook has of oneness (aka. Love and Unity) I recommend that you listen to this part of the message. One thing that really hit me from his message is to be thankful to God for the people who have hurt you. One way to look at it is that even though these people have hurt you God has used it for good to help you grow and mature in Christ, so its going to hinder your walk when you aren't thanking God for these people in your life. Just something to think about that really struck me this morning.
On another note I got this devotional in a email this morning and it really touched me and encouraged me.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Restore broken relationships this Christmas
by Rick Warren
If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you ... agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. (Philip. 2:1-2, Msg)
God sent Jesus into the world so that our relationship with God could be restored. Christmas is about restoring relationships and many of us have relationships that need mending.
God wants us to value relationships and make every effort to maintain them instead of discarding them whenever there is a rift, a hurt or a conflict.
In fact, the Bible tells us that God has given us the ministry of restoring relationships. For this reason a significant amount of the New Testament is devoted to teaching us how to get along with one another.
The Apostle Paul taught that our ability to get along with others is a mark of spiritual maturity. Since Christ wants his family to be known for our love for each other, broken fellowship is a disgraceful testimony to unbelievers. This is why Paul was so embarrassed that the members of the church in Corinth were splitting into warring factions and even taking each other to court.
He wrote, "Shame on you! Surely there is at least one wise person in your fellowship who can settle a dispute between fellow Christians." (1 Cor. 6:5, TEV) He was shocked that no one in the church was mature enough to resolve the conflict peaceably. In the same letter, he said, "I'll put it as urgently as I can: You must get along with each other." (1 Cor. 1:10, Msg)
If you want God's blessing on your life and you want to be known as a child of God, you must learn to be a peacemaker. Jesus said, "God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God." (Matt. 5:9, NLT)
Notice Jesus didn't say, "Blessed are the peace lovers," because everyone loves peace. Neither did he say, "Blessed are the peaceable," who are never disturbed by anything. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who work for peace" - those who actively seek to resolve conflict.
This Christmas is a good time to actively work toward restoring broken relationships.
On another note I got this devotional in a email this morning and it really touched me and encouraged me.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Restore broken relationships this Christmas
by Rick Warren
If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you ... agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. (Philip. 2:1-2, Msg)
God sent Jesus into the world so that our relationship with God could be restored. Christmas is about restoring relationships and many of us have relationships that need mending.
God wants us to value relationships and make every effort to maintain them instead of discarding them whenever there is a rift, a hurt or a conflict.
In fact, the Bible tells us that God has given us the ministry of restoring relationships. For this reason a significant amount of the New Testament is devoted to teaching us how to get along with one another.
The Apostle Paul taught that our ability to get along with others is a mark of spiritual maturity. Since Christ wants his family to be known for our love for each other, broken fellowship is a disgraceful testimony to unbelievers. This is why Paul was so embarrassed that the members of the church in Corinth were splitting into warring factions and even taking each other to court.
He wrote, "Shame on you! Surely there is at least one wise person in your fellowship who can settle a dispute between fellow Christians." (1 Cor. 6:5, TEV) He was shocked that no one in the church was mature enough to resolve the conflict peaceably. In the same letter, he said, "I'll put it as urgently as I can: You must get along with each other." (1 Cor. 1:10, Msg)
If you want God's blessing on your life and you want to be known as a child of God, you must learn to be a peacemaker. Jesus said, "God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God." (Matt. 5:9, NLT)
Notice Jesus didn't say, "Blessed are the peace lovers," because everyone loves peace. Neither did he say, "Blessed are the peaceable," who are never disturbed by anything. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who work for peace" - those who actively seek to resolve conflict.
This Christmas is a good time to actively work toward restoring broken relationships.
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