Life Is War

I am still not sure what to say about the shooting on Friday. It is shocking that a person can look at the faces of 20 children and shoot them. I don't care if he was mental, that's not an excuse to have no value for life, especially one of a small child.

And I am also in shock at the speeches Barack Obama made. I don't know if I should trust it or what to make of it and if he meant it, I don't know if I can trust that he is going to follow through.
Regardless of his good or bad intentions, what he said was true. We have to change. All of us. I cannot express this enough, people have been too lenient for far too long. Our society has gone insane, we embrace sin and indulge in the things we want. We get caught up in our own little worlds, unaware of the bigger story.

That argument you had with your coworker isn't going to matter in eternity. The outfit you wore to that gathering that didn't match? That won't matter either. The mess your kid spilled on the kitchen floor today, the fight you had with your parents yesterday, even the loved one that passed into Heaven last week--none of it matters in an eternal perspective. The man who shot all those people was angry over an argument he'd had the day before, and that's how he decided to deal with it. Sounds like ungratefulness and lack of reality to me.

If we don't change, this will continue. People get violent because they don't think the consequences are that large, and they think that only their feelings matter and no one else's. We all must stop looking at ourselves except to see what needs to change, and the rest of the time? For crying out loud, just love each other! There is no reason for any of this. There is a huge difference in simply disagreeing with someone and/or disliking them, and flat out hating them. That is what leads to these kinds of things happening. Stop hating the person, and start hating what they do! That is what will bring others to the truth, is when we show it to them in a loving way instead of treating them like they should know better, like they are the scum of the earth for not seeing it your way. If they aren't in ignorance, we must still be patient.

Life is not ever going to be easy, Jesus guaranteed that.

Life is war, and we are supposed to fight for our souls and for each others'. We are all called to serve God and each other, no matter what that may require. And when we are down and wounded, we can call on God to help us. Always. And if we refuse to trust God and see that...it's only downhill from here.

We just have to stop. That's all it requires. If we keep doing the same thing, we will keep getting the same result. Nothing changes until we do. Get over yourselves and your problems, we only have a short time on this earth and we have to make the best of it. Life is war, so get up and start fighting. And not each other, our war is with the unseen.

Goodnight everyone.

Lacey Sturm's Ransom Note

Better Days

I hear the popcorn popping. Dad whistling. My mom laughing. My favorite singer on The Voice (Cassadee Pope) singing on the television. I see the lights on our tree, Libby's pretty face, and I think, "Is this real?"

Dad has a new job, and he is like a changed man. You can tell the weight has come off his shoulders. I saw my best friends last night, and I love them to death. Kelsey is even getting into fashion, and she can totally rock the vintage look. My little sissy is growin' up!
And miss Kimberly..precious child. She makes me smile every single time I look at her.

Last year, I posted that all I wanted for Christmas was a chance to find better days. I can say honestly that this has been a very, very tough year. I can't believe we made it. Out of all the pain, the anger, the struggles, depression and even death of loved ones, God has still managed to bring me better days.

Yes, I know, we don't have long till the world "supposedly" ends. Which, by the way, is scheduled before my 16th birthday!! No fair!

Anyway, I thank God for better days. And here is a shoutout to the many people I know who are going through tough things in their lives-

Do not ever give up, my friend. If you are reading this, I know that you doubt you may ever make it, but I am telling you that if you stay patient and push through, you will. God will be there for you every single step of the way. He may not fix it, he is not a genie in a bottle. But he will work everything out for good to those who love him, even the ugliest things. Those things that are glaring in your face and you can't see past them. Addiction, fighting, cancer, strained relationships, financial troubles..whatever it is, let God take it. Just throw it. He is just simple, it is people that complicate it. He will give you truth no matter how hard it is to take and will love you through each and every thing.
I love you. Don't give up.


(Note: sorry this is secular, I couldn't find the Christian version. Lyrics are unchanged, I previewed the video.)

A Link For You!

Read this. So well said! I can relate for sure.

http://chelsgentry.blogspot.com/2012/11/dear-reader.html

Untangle

Yesterday I was putting up our Christmas tree and all the branches were tangled and matted from being in a box all year and, as a lot of you probably know, fixing all those branches to look realistic can be highly frustrating!!
While I was getting impatient, mom walked in the living room and I exclaimed, "You see this, mom? This is my life! Full of stupid, complicated branches for me to untangle!" her answer was something along the lines of, "Yup, mine too."
I know that I should be thankful this week, but as more things mount the less thankful I feel. I thought long and hard about this whole "thankfulness" deal.
What was it about anyway? What good did it do? Would it really hurt to tell God thank you even though I am not doing okay right now? I mean, since when did Jesus ever complain about his life? If he could do what he did for me, who am I to gripe about my problems?
But then I wondered...if he wants me to thank him...then he must have a reason. What was the reason? Did he just like hearing how great he is? Not that he isn't great, but I would have a hard time trusting someone with that attitude, whether they were aware of their amazing ability or not.
I came to the conclusion that he wants us to thank him because its simply the normal thing to do. What do you say when someone does you a favor or gives you a gift? You say thank you.
God has done a lot for us. Waaaay more than we deserve. So whether our branches are still tangled or if they are beginning to straighten out, we need to praise him in spite of our circumstances. Not because he wants to take from us, but because he knows it will increase our joy and get our focus off of our problems and back on him, where we can be content with what we have. And with him, we have a lot.
In the meanwhile, he will help us untangle the branches.
Happy (late) Thanksgiving everyone!

Build You Up

It's amazing, so amazing how I've survived this road...

Feel the fever, I can feel it down inside my soul...

And I will be the one to build you up, I'll build you up...

..Be the one to never doubt, I'll never doubt, oh...

Can you see how, can you see how far we've come, it's such a miracle...

Everything is, everything is clear, and...

..You are such and wonder and I..

Will be the one to build you up, I'll build you up..

Be the one to never doubt..I'll never doubt...

I'll be the one to hold your hand, I'll hold your hand...

Be the one to understand..

Yeah I'll understand...

Be the one to build you up, I'll build you up..

I'll be the one to never doubt..

I'll never doubt..
I'll never doubt..

Our God Is Greater

Okay so, just so everyone knows, I absolutely love my Jesus. He is more amazing than I can even describe. Lately, I have found myself falling more in love with him and wanting to talk about him constantly. I'm sure some of my friends are wondering what the deal is with me. Haha!

This has honestly been a really, really tough year. I have had a lot of low points, and right now my dad just said that the shower has no warm water.

Yikes..I hate plumbing problems.

But our God is greater than all of our "issues". He can handle anything, and we can cling to him when we need it most.

And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?

Haiti

Hey everyone! I have an update!

Its big news.

You ready for this?














...Are you sure?



Okay I'll quit messing around...












...


I'm going on a mission trip to Haiti in April!

It hasn't quite sank in yet, but I'm excited all the same. I'll be going with people who've already been, so it's a little less nerve-wracking..but I would appreciate prayers in the preparation and fundraising. Thanks all!