Living it Out

This is a paper I had to write for English earlier this year and I wanted to share it with you tonight. It is something that has now changed my life.

Giving My Life to Christ

The story I am about to tell is of the time I gave my life fully to Christ. It happened on my confirmation day on May 19th 2012.

    After a day of celebration, laughs, happy tears, and catching up with family and friends, I went into my room to be by myself for a little while. I was given a book of encouraging words, stories and advice written by friends and family as a gift from my parents. I started to read all of the amazing things written to me as I listened to an uplifting album by Britt Nicole (a Christian song writer). I remember that the note I was reading was from my sister. It was saying that I was so, incredibly blessed to have the family and friends that I did. That all of them have, in some way or another, helped me learn more about Christ and His love for me. I thought to myself at that point “oh my gosh! God has given me all of these blessings in my life. He loves me SO much that He gave me life, He created me with His hands in my mother’s womb. He wanted me on His earth to learn about and to love him and teach others about His unfailing love.” Then I heard the song that was playing in the background. It was talking about the glory of the Father and His love for us even though we are sinners. Tears started falling like a waterfall out of my eyes. I was overwhelmed with Christ’s love. I felt Him right there with me. At this moment, the words of the song sang “how many years did You plan this moment here, to show me how you love me?” I wanted then, to live my life fully for Christ as best I could, despite being a sinner, to thank Him for all He had done for me and given me.

    I thought that I would act differently right away after that, that somehow I would magically change into a different person. But it took a long time. It has only been in the last year and a half that I have really felt the Lord working in my heart and strengthening my faith. But it was worth the wait and I hope to never lose this faith that was given me at my baptism.

    I hope this story has blessed those who read it. I want this story to be a witness to the power of the Lord and what He is capable of.

His Creation

I love Fall so much! It's the season for over-sized sweaters, Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks, tights, boots, dark nails and lips and a beautiful landscape. I think God has fun with this time of year. He shows us His handiwork and reminds us that He is the creator of this world.  I am reminded of this each and every time I go outside! I don't have to look for His work, it's right there in front of me, for me to enjoy and to give praise to my God! If He takes to time to make our surroundings beautiful, I know I can trust Him to take care of my day-to-day problems and plans. That's the kind of God we have! One who cares for those little things, not just our big problems or our big plans, but those little things. Giving a little, unexpected time to get those things done I didn't think I would have enough time for. Boosting my self-esteem by a few complements from random people at school, a sunny day with no cloud in sight :) etc. Our God cares about us so, very much and He wants to show us in every little way He can. He says "hey look guys! I'm right here, look what I did for you today! Just what you needed. Don't worry about a thing!" My Grandma has a little piece of paper on her bathroom mirror that says "Good Morning, this is God. Don't worry about anything today. I don't need your help, I have everything under control." I think that's a really good daily reminder, sometimes (more times than others) it's what we need. Thank God for all of His little blessings He gives you. It's just His way of telling you how much He loves you!

Sorry for not posting in a while! I have been really busy with school and catching up on life. :) It's good to be back!

Melody :)

Take a Little Time

Sometimes it's hard to find the blessings of this life in all he stuff that goes on weather good or bad. In all the business  of the day we can hardly set aside a second for a breath let alone some time to think about the little things that go in a 24 hour day. But when we have those super full, stress-filled day, we need to take a couple minutes and think about those little ways the Lord never fails to provide for us. I mean, come on, Jesus died on the cross and spent His whole life healing and witnessing for others. Nothing He did was for Himself. The least we can do is thank Him for our daily bread that He never fails to give. I know that when I think of just three blessings a day, my perspective changes, I am not as selfish, I am more positive and have a different outlook on how my day really was. Even if I had a so-called horrible day, when I think about those few blessings, my day doesn't look so bad. God is always there and never doesn't know what we need in a day. All we need to do is take a little time to thank Him for it.

My Happy Place :)

With all of the stress, excitement, hurt and loss, there is something that I always go to (besides prayer) and that thing is music. I have loved music ever since I can remember. I love to sing, play flute, play around on the piano and perform. Music makes me feel safe, calm and relaxed. I listen to it constantly. Music is my happy place! David in the Bible was known for his musical ability to sing as he did for King Herod, and God has always praised His creation of music as a beautiful thing used to praise Him. 

I enjoy a whole bunch of different kinds of music from old hymns to Eminem (rap). But there is definitely a difference in how I feel depending on what kind of music I listen to.  When I listen to rap or just overall pop music, I enjoy it and I'm happy but at the same time it makes me feel sick and if I listen to too much it takes it toll. When I listen to Christ-honoring music, I feel a sense of cleanliness and safeness. When I listen to good music like that I know I am doing something right. It makes me feel closer to God and He really speaks to me through it. It reminds me that He is really RIGHT there with me. 

Music is a gift from God. He created it for the purpose of worshiping Him. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with listening to pop, but I have to be honest. When I listen to pop, or to really any kind of music, it effects my attitude and personality. If I listen to too much inappropriate, swearing music, I am going to find myself thinking about those things and saying those things more. Trust me, this happens to me all the time and then I know it's time to take a break from that stuff and listen to some quality music for a while and kind of cleanse my mind. Know how to listen to music. Pay attention to what your listening to so that you can reflect a Godly personality.

Hard To Gain, Easy to Break

I think a very large problem in our world today is trust. People lie left and right. Weather it's a white-lie or a big one, lying is an everyday occurrence. Just look at social media; celebrities lying to each other and to their fans, media reporters lying about celebrities, shows like Pretty Little Liars (have to admit I binge watch that show though :/). Lying is everywhere and we are told to think of it as normal, and something you gotta do when the circumstances call for it. Well, I have had my fare share of lies being told TO me, and I telling them. As a teenager, lying is how we talk to our parents too many times. Saying we are going to be place A when we are really going to a party or hooking up with someone or just not really going to place A. I remember multiple instances when I lied to my parents and how horrible I felt and how much I hurt them. I can't imagine my own child not telling me the truth even if that truth will hurt a little. When a lie is told, it will just lead to bigger problems. In the show Pretty Little Liars, that is exactly what happens in EVERY episode. One lie builds on top of another and yet another, and sooner then you think, you have people getting hurt and friendships being broken. Every time I lied to my parents, it took a long time to gain that trust back. It's like for every time a I lied, I had to prove my trustworthiness twice or three times that much. When I have been lied to by my friends, there are some things I can't tell them anymore because they have told other things that I said not to. I don't want to have to keep things from my friends, but if they keep on telling things they shouldn't, or hiding things from me, what else can I do? Trust is SO hard to keep and SO easy to lose. But remember the consequences of lies and the blessings of truth when you are faced with which one to tell.

Modesty

In this day and age, it seems that modesty if falling through the cracks. When I go shopping for clothes, I shouldn't have to look so hard to find shirts that don't show all the girls or pants that don't show the exact shape of my (non existent) calf muscles. Personally, I would feel very uncomfortable in most clothing offered to teen girls now-a-days. I believe that when girls dress immodestly, they are telling others that they don't respect themselves. Now that isn't always the case. Some girls are only looking for that little bit of attention that they don't receive from home. But what is really "hot" I guess you could say, is a girl who is so confident in herself, that she doesn't show her body off to the world. In 1 Timothy 2:9 it says: ⁹ likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, ¹⁰ but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. We need to focus on what people see on the inside rather then the outside. When it comes to getting attention of the opposite gender, I was told by a guy that one of the biggest things guys find attractive in a girl is their confidence. I am not just saying that. Real stuff from an actual guy! They don't really care what you wear. Obviously they are going to look at you if certain things are hanging out of your shorts that shouldn't, but that's not where they find your worth. God has created guys to be very visual beings. So we don't need to lead them into temptation! That's just torture to them. They really don't want to see that, but their sinfulness leads them to and it's so easy to do when us girls are just flaunting in front of their eyes like "here is my body, take a look but no more". We need save ourselves for our husbands, respect the guys, and most of all respect ourselves. 

In His grace,
Melody 

Divorce

My Pastor, today preached on divorce. He used the passage from Mark 10, specifically verses 1-16. In this passage Jesus was being asked by the Pharisees what He thought about divorce. As my Pastor said, Jesus answered their question with another question. Jesus asked them what Moses had taught them. Well Moses didn't make the most wise choice by letting the Israelite's divorce. Jesus answers them with that same thing. That Moses was wrong to let them do that. Jesus refers back to Genesis when he says "that a man shall leaves his father and mother and be untied to his  wife and they shall become ONE flesh...what the LORD has joined together, let no man separate."  
Divorce is a very ugly thing. One of my best friends is going through it right now and the pain, and hurt, and sadness she has to go through is unimaginable. Divorce is a very selfish thing. It breaks apart families. I have heard from some divorcees that they believe the divorce will be good for the children. That's a HUGE lie. Just ask any child who has gone through it and they will tell you that it was hell (pardon the language). Children need BOTH parents in the home. They need that foundation otherwise later on in their life they won't know how to do marriage the right way. 
In Ephesians 5:23-29 Paul reminds the Ephesians of how Christ has established marriage like He and the Church: Ephesians 5:23-For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Ephesians 5:29-For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church. Can you imagine one day Christ just saying "I don't feel like taking care of the world so I am going to separate Myself from them"? That is technically what divorce is. When you get married, you don't just promise to your spouse or the people at the ceremony. You promise to God. The One who defined marriage. Now that is one promise we need to keep. "Marriage is not contract or something we take lightly" (marriage litany). 
Now I can't just leave you with law law law. After all, the law is nothing without Gospel. So in the last verses of Mark 10 (13-16) Jesus reminds us that those who have committed the sins of divorce and adultery are still loved and forgiven! In fact, those people need Christ's love more then anything. For them to repent, they need to know that they are not hated, they are loved and already forgiven. They can turn their lives right around and start new. Christ's grace gives us that second chance and to do life His way the next time around. So for those of you who have made these mistakes. You're forgiven and redeemed by your Creator in Heaven! He loves you all so much. For those who are victims, hang in there. Christ has you in the palm of His hand and He will not let you fall!

Peace and love to you! Thanks for over 400 page-views. I can't believe what the Lord has done with this blog! Melody :)

Purity

In this world today it is SO hard to live a pure life and have a pure heart. Without even trying we are surrounded by inappropriate, ungodly, gross things. Music, movies and social media are a large part of that. Now don't get me wrong. There are a lot of good things that come out of those. But they get worse everyday. As a high school student I see it everyday. I am faced to be involved in inappropriate conversations and decisions. The Bible speaks to us about living a pure life countless times. Some of my favorites are Psalm 24:1-24 specifically verse 4:⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.⁵ He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. As God's children we need to stray away from what is ungodly. We need to think if God wouldn't approve of something, don't do it, say it or think it and He will bless our choice. Philippians 4:8:⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹ What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Focus on things that are positive. Things that lift us and others up and that strengthen our faith and we will live a blessed and joyous life. Also 1 Timothy 4:12 ( this is one of my absolute favorites!):Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Stand up for your faith! Make those decisions contrary to the world. Stand out for your Saviour!