Miss independent

I don't know how single women survive.

I would be the hopeless romantic that the world seems to be short of these days. All the advertising is showing strong women; which I have no problem with, playing it off as they don't need a man to complete them. All they need is the company of themselves, and their families along with their other man bashing friends. I know not all women are like that, but what I don't understand is how that type of a woman can look at a couple in the park with their kids, or the teenagers in the pizza place holding hands across the table and not wish that they too had that connection with a person. To look into another person's eyes and see everything you'd hoped for. You find your prince is his shining armor who is just bursting to talk to you.
With the book I read a few weeks ago, has I've already talked about, it tells of how a woman needs to be rescued, needs to be romanced. We are strong, yes indeed. But men are the protectors, while we are the nurturers.
There's something about romance that just gets to me, right into my very being. It makes me feel alive and I can't keep the smile off my face when I hear of how a friend's boy-friend took the bus for 3 hours just to see her. Or told her that he loved her for the first time. So I'll pray for all the single women who think those feelings are a sign of weakness, of depending on another person. I pray these women find a man that can show them that they don't need to be alone, that they will take care of them, tell them that they're beautiful every morning and when they leave, tell them they miss them.

-I have to go watch pretty woman now.

My "Enemies"

I've been dealing with people lately, where I don't know how to react. I guess it's hard for me to not be around christian - like people. That looking back on it sounds so unlike the religion itself. Shouldn't I help these people see the light? Find Jesus, so they too might be saved? Well that's what I concluded. So I went to take a look in the bible on how I might go about doing such a thing. And what I got was a rude awakening. I discovered that I was going about this in the wrong way. I was trying to help these people so that I could accept them, love them.

Luke 6:27-36
27"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

So that was my slap in the face, (as some say) by God. Telling me that I should love people, sure I can try to help them, but to help them by praying and accepting who they are. If I wish to be loved and not judged I must do the same. Then I thought, what if God was like that. What if, because I am a sinner God decided he would hate me, and not accept me until I changed. Thank God He's not human.

Annette's helping me with my blog issues, ( Thanks Annette ) I'll hopefully be happy with it in a couple of days.

Why you Love Someone

It's the way their tears make you want to change the world so that it doesn't hurt them anymore..... Yet regardless if you love them, hate them, wish they would die or know that you would die without them ... it matters not. Because once in your life, whatever they were to the world they become everything to you. When you look them in the eyes, traveling to the depths of their souls and you say a million things without trace of a sound, you know that your own life is inevitable consumed within the rhythmic beatings of their very heart.We love them for a million reasons, No paper would do it justice. It is a thing not of the mind but of the heart. A feeling. Only felt.

Gone

Re did my blog, forgot to save all my links... I think I'm heart broken. I'll work on it again once I have the strength. j/k

cross

Baptism Confusion

I was listening to Howard talk today at church and he kept talking about if you accept Jesus into your life then you become a child of God. I thought that by doing that you had to be baptized first. I've personally never been baptized, maybe next summer with our church. When they say to be born again... Doesn't that mean that you've gone and been baptized, declaring to the world that you believe in Christ? And until then, are you just kidding yourself that God is talking to you? I got the impression from a book I once read that until you have been baptized, God doesn't talk to you, doesn't communicate until you have been born again. So, am I wrong here, or do I speak some variation of the truth? I do intend to be baptized, it kind of sucks I have to wait a year but maybe I need to learn more things before I do.

Under New Ownership

You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

What does it mean to not belong to myself? I can think of a few things.

It means that I should probably do a lot of consulting with my new owner. There is more to consider than just me and what I want to do; there is God and what He wants me to do.
If you’re anything like me, this makes sense until you begin to wonder over what He wants you to do in certain circumstances. It isn’t always clear.

For this we have scripture and gifted members of the fellowship to consult, but in all instances it is the attitude of the heart that is most important. It is a submissive attitude toward God that He is looking for – what the Old Testament calls a broken and contrite heart. It’s being always open and teachable because I realize my new owner has a different way of looking at things than what comes natural for me. In fact, over time I begin to realize what comes natural for me is often my biggest problem.
Instead of “how much can I get away with here,” God is looking for an “even if I’m not sure, what do I think God would want me to do here” attitude. God is not going to lead astray a humble person who is seeking to do His will.

Our new ownership also means there will be inner conflict. It used to be just me. Now I have me and the Spirit and we may not always be in sync.
In Roman 7, Paul concludes that an inner battle over right and wrong is a good thing because it proves at least that something good is going on. “But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good” (Romans 7:16). Or, in other words, he may have done the wrong thing, but at least he knew it was wrong.

Consider even the Son of God whose joy was always to do the will of His Father in heaven, who in the garden of Gethsemane cried out after sweating blood over it, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (Luke 22:42).
It used to be easier. It used to be just me left to the whim of my desires. But all that has changed. I am not my own anymore; I have been bought by God at a high price – the blood of Jesus – and He has a plan and a purpose for me as my new owner.

Now if I could just stop trying to take myself back!

-John Fischer

God's finishing Touch

Ok so I haven't posted in a really long time, and the weird thing is, I wasn't gone anywhere so I really have no good excuse that I can think of. I decided a little while ago that I needed some time to try and figure a few things out about myself. I'm reading a book that Erin lent to me and it's amazing. It's called Captivating and I personally believe that every woman should read this book. Men could read it too I suppose, but they might be better off reading the one by the same author that was designed for men; Wild at heart. Anyways, this book I'm reading is all about a woman's soul and how God is just waiting to romance us. When I first read that part I felt a little embarrassed, I mean God is actually sitting up in heaven trying to woo me?

I read about the story of Adam and Eve. The part I like best is when we go in depth and it says that God did not finish his work with Adam but with Eve. Woman was God's finishing touch. They were both put on earth to be the image of God, but in different ways. Adam was the image of God's strength and powerfulness. Now in strong, they don't mean that every guy has to have rippling muscles and gorgeous abs. What they mean is the strength to never give up, to pursue and to be present and believe in the people they love. Eve was the image of God's beauty.The very essence of a woman is beauty. And in this we do not mean that women need to look like they belong in Hollywood, but that a tenderness and vulnerability comes out of them, a peaceful heart that makes that woman so alluring and inviting, and beautiful.

I've struggled with these facts, and that God is waiting for me to give him my whole hart so he may share his own with me. I don't really feel completely beautiful ( the way I have just described ) but its something I pray for, I pray for God's grace to flow from within me.

Ranting about Disney

In Beauty and the Beast, Gaston sings about how he's so strong, and juggles a bunch of eggs and drops them down his throat one by one. As they go down they make that distinct gulping noise that I love so much. All in all, we realized that without Disney movies to inspire and influence us, we wouldn't be who we are today. Without the Lion King we would have no pride, and would never be as determined to do whatever the hell we want. Without Snow White we wouldn't know how to clean. No A lice and Wonderland and we probably wouldn't even like tea. And without Aladdin, with Jasmine's bouncing cleavage, and the seductive subliminable messages, we would have no sexuality I'm sure. So, therefore, imaginations are clearly made of the Walt Disney magic we grew up with and admired.
-Ryanne Biggs

Love And Fear

Emotions only have two categories. Did anyone know that?
There's fear, and love. In relationships; not just romantic, but all relationships, 95 percent of them are based on fear, while only 5 percent are based on love. They have characteristics that make up each relationship. Love has no obligations. Fear is full of obligations. When it comes to fear, whatever we do is because we have to. We expect other people to do things because they have to. As soon as we have an obligation, we resist it. And that's when we start suffering. Love has no resistance. We do things because we want to. It becomes a pleasure, we have fun with it.

Love has no expectations. Fear is full of expectations. With fear we expect that we have to do things. And we expect other to do the same. It's why love doesn't hurt while fear does. We expect something, and if it doesn't happen we are hurt- it isn't fair. We blame others for not meeting our expectations. When we love, we don't have expectations. if someone doesn't do something, because they don't want to it's not personal. It's not important anymore. We don't feel hurt because whatever happens is okay.

Love is based on respect. Fear doesn't respect anything. If I feel sorry for you, it means I don't respect you. It's like saying, you cannot make your own choices, I have to make them for you. If I don't respect you, I will try to control you. Love is ruthless, it doesn't feel sorry for anyone. It has compassion. Fear is full of pity. It feels sorry for everyone. You feel sorry for someone when you don't think they can make it. Love respects you, it says "I love you, I know you can make it. I will give you a hand if you fall, you can do it, go ahead." That is compassion.

Love is unconditional. Fear is full of conditions. When it comes to fear, they say I love you if you let me control you, if you are good to me if you fit the image I make for you. With love there is no if I love you for no reason I love you the way you are, you are free to be the way you are.

No one has the right to change us. If we are going to change it is because we want to.
-What kind of relationships do you have?