Focus

I have a HUGE problem with focus.

I am very easily distracted when it comes to spending time with God, and that's just not right. I'll start out fine, then my phone will buzz, or I'll think of something "better to do", or I'll just not be in the mood. Am I the only one who finds these excuses disgusting?

That's just pathetic! He's THE LORD OF THE UNIVERSE. How on Earth do I think I'm important enough to have something better to do than to spend time with Him?! How can I not be in the mood to talk to Him whenever I KNOW that He'll make any and all worries fade away into nothingness? I'm just so ungrateful sometimes, it repulses me.

Anyways, I come to any readers I have with a plea for help. I would like to ask for some prayer. I need help to stay more focused. I need to get my rear in gear, and work on strengthening my relationship with God. If you(assuming that there IS a "you") could just say a little prayer for me, I'd be much appreciative.

♥, A.

Difficult...

So I was reading something that a friend of mine had wrote, and I could really relate to it.

She wrote about how hard it is to stay focused on God. She talked about how it's sometimes hard to stay true to Him whenever you feel as though you're not getting any reply. How sometimes, you have to wonder if Christianity is the real deal or just another phony religion.

I went through the EXACT same thing has she is now. Sometimes it IS hard to keep the faith in your religion. Sometimes you can't help but wonder if you're not wasting your time. It wasn't until one day at camp that I became 100% reassured of who I am and what God does for me.

God has ALWAYS been there for us; We're the ones who choose not to acknowledge Him. It takes true time and effort to learn how to listen better to Him. I used to think having a quiet time was just another common practice, but it's actually very super helpful to have. I believe God has shown me a lot through them, and I definitely feel closer to Him.

It's sometimes hard to keep your senses open to Him. It's hard to stay focused, and it's hard to keep from questioning some things. But in the end, it's all worth it. God will always be there for us, no matter what. If we stray, He's still there, holding our hand, trying His best to guide us back to Him.

God loves us. No matter how down we get, or confused, or even angry, He's still there for us. We just have to try our best to keep praying strong and to keep our ears and heart open for anything He may have to show or tell us.

♥, A.

Amazing...

Last night, I was praying to God. After I was done and went to sleep, I had a dream that a friend of mine, God(who, in the dream, was nothing but a shiny white silhouette), and myself were sitting at a table. I was still praying to Him, but I was talking more like I was talking to a dear friend. While I was talking/praying, my friend leaned over and hugged God, and God hugged her back, but still while looking and listening to me.

It was such a nice and peaceful dream! It was like the dream was there to remind me that God can listen to more than one person at once and cares about every single one of our needs.

Not only that, but once I got on here to share my little dream, I seen that an interesting verse had popped up. I JUST now looked it up, and look what it says!

Psalm 111:4 "He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; The Lord is gracious and full of compassion."

Wow! Lord, thank you for reminding me of how wonderful You are and how infinite Your love is.

♥, A.

Interesting...

Coincidences are a funny thing. According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, a coincidence is...

2 : the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection; also : any of these occurrences.

That's all find and dandy for those of the world who believe in accidents, but I don't. I believe everything happens for a reason.

For some reason, a certain verse has kept popping up today. Here it is.

Revelation 21:4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

As I said, I believe everything happens for a reason. As I read more verses after that, I saw some pretty powerful words. This one verse really stuck out to me...

Revelation 21:8 "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

Wow. That's some serious stuff. How can people read stuff like this and not be scared senseless? If I didn't know Jesus, I'd sure as heck get on it, just because I wouldn't want to take my chances on ending up in a lake of fire and brimstone. It's a second death, people! Most people don't want to die once. Who wants to die twice, just to end up in such a horrible place? Why would anyone choose a fate such as that when God offers us the chance to live again and to be with Him in eternal happiness?

It's just some really interesting stuff to think about.

♥, A.

Just a thought

I am so unworthy.

I really am. I've been faltering in my time with God, and I have no right to. "Too busy" is such a sorry excuse to use for many reasons. I'm too busy to thank God that I have yet another day to live? I'm too busy to thank Him for all the many, many blessings He's given me? I'm too busy to just stop and stand in awe of His greatness? Never should I be "too busy" for God.

It's because of Him that I've had so much going on in my life lately. He is the One who has allowed me to meet and have some amazing people in my life. It's because of Him that I live such a blessed life. He takes the time to bless me and to care for me. It's only fair that I should take the time to properly thank and worship Him.

Dear God, thank you. Thank you for all that You do for not just me, but every single one of us. Thank you for listening to me. Thank you for guiding me. Thank you loving me. Lord, I thank you for putting such precious people in my life. Each of them as helped to shape me into who I am today. Thank you Lord for my amazing family, my friends, and for Ryan. Thank you for all that You do. You are so worthy of praise, and I pray that You will continue helping me to grow closer to You. In Your name I pray, Amen.

Just a small thing...

As some of you may have noticed, I have a random Bible verse thing on my blog page. Well, I read the one it showed before I refreshed the page and it got me to thinking. Here's the verse.

These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.~Matthew 15:8

Wow. How true is that for most of us? This is what they're talking about when they say someone is only "lukewarm". If we want to properly serve God and make Him truly happy, we have to be willing to surrender our hearts to Him. In other words; Don't just talk the talk, but walk the walk as well!

Sorry this is such a short post! The next one I plan on writing later today will be much longer.

♥, A.

My Church

I've just realized that I made my church sound pretty lousy in This Is My Story.

It's not a lousy church in the least, and neither are the people there! It's sort of hard to explain without sounding like I'm just a brainwashed groupie, but I'm going to try anyways.

The church I go to is one that is thoroughly enjoyed by those who attend it. They preach good messages, the music is great, everyone is always willing to help one another, and the fellowship has gotten MUCH better since I've started going. I absolutely ADORE our youth leader(who also happens to be the pastor's wife). She is one of my favorite adults to talk to. She loves each and every teenager in the youth group, and she's constantly thinking up things we can do together. Not only that, she also teaches us so much about God's Word and seems to know exactly what needs to be talked about.

The youth group is amazing. We're all friends(though maybe not all of the time. we're still human), and we've all got our roles we play in the youth group. We've got the quiet kids, the obnoxious kid, the know it all, the peace makers, the outgoing group, the one who's always there for you, and we have the visitors. Together, we make up a pretty great youth group, and I'm glad to be part of it.

I think the youth group has gotten more open to new comers over the years. Before, it was just a very small handful of kids going, but now we have around 16 to 20 teens who attend regularly. With so many new people coming and going all the time("going" mostly meaning "leaving for colleges"), we try to make the most of what time we have with each other. Whenever we have anyone new come, there's always a group of us ready to welcome them.

Now, I know I said earlier that I had felt tricked into salvation by one of the guys in the youth group. Well, I did, but I still thank my friend greatly for inviting us to that hayride, because that night started a series of events that has led me to where I am today. I don't think he thought of it as trickery; He was simply trying to help a friend.

While I do think we could try to do more for other people and I don't always agree with what is said there, I still believe it's a really good church with some really good people.

Just thought I'd clear that up a bit!

♥, A.