So my last post, when I reread it, did not make sense.  I didn’t really put across what I was trying to say at all.  When it comes down to it I meant not that God depends on us, because we should depend on him (of course), but more that he believes in us. 

Believes in us in the way that when we don’t believe in ourselvesthan he’s the one we should go to for support and love and guidance.  Instead of reveling in our own failures, we should turn to God and see our failure as an oppurtunity to do what he has planned for us to do.

I’ve learned, especially this week, that God does have a plan.  This week so far has been nothing but dissapointment for me.  I went to work a Missions Project and had to go home after one day due to illness.  I was looking forward to helping out more, and getting sick just seemed to ruin all my plans.  I was mad at God, knowing that he wanted me to go but mad that he would ‘take it away from me’ like that.

But I’m trying to rely on him and trust in him.  I know he has plan for me despite all the setbacks.  Faith is something we all need to have.

Belief

Do you believe in God?

It’s a very easy question to answer, isn’t it?  It’s a yes or no question.  Either you believe in God or you don’t.  But what does believing in something/someone mean?

I think it means trust.  Trust and existance.  If you believe in God than you should believe, of course, in his existance, and also trust him and his plans for you.  Love, I think, is another vital part of belief in God.  You should love God through believing in him.

But did you know that God also believes in you?

He made you in his image, confirming your existance.  He trusts us to try to trust him, and he loves us.  He loves us more than anything.

So next time you’re having a hard day, remember not only that you believe in the Creator, but also that he believes in us.  Think about that one for too long, and I promise you will have an incredibly happy day.

Well.

I am bad at that blog thing.  My blog obviously has a mind of its own and loves to try to make my life miserable.  But oh well!  I’m trying!

I wish I could say that this post has a point…but it really doesn’t.  I have a lot on my mind and I need to sift through it all and try to figure out what it all means before I even try to write anything of significance.

So I hope everyone’s days are going amazingly well.
And that is that.  :]

Because You are Young

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”
     1 Timothy 4:12

I dedicated myself to learning this verse for the week, since I’ve started to memorize scripture.  I felt like it was the perfect verse not only for me, but also for my generation.  So many people look down on us because our generation is one of laziness and sin.  But if we, as Christians, set an example for other teens as well as adults in everything we do, then we could – seriously – change the world.

I feel like it’s up to us to change the world.  We can all change the world by the way we live and by what we do – we are not too young.

One huge example would be Zach Hunter, a 15 year old modern abolitionist who has dedicated his life to free slaves around the world.  He started when he was only in 7th grade!  He’s even written a book (that I plan to buy and read ASAP), and has started a movement among people everywhere. 

So why can’t we, whether we be older or younger, change the world like he has?  It doesn’t have to start off being a huge organization.  We can change the world be simply being nice to someone, forgiving an enemy, or volunteering somewhere.  If we can change one life, that life will in turn change another life.  Soon it will start a chain reaction that will take the world by storm.

Let’s step up as young people and change the world through our speech, our life, our love, our faith, and our purity!

First Thing

So this morning I got up pretty early, ready to start my day and get things done.  I didn’t have to work today, so it was a relief to sleep in an extra hour or so.

I went downstairs and immediately went to the computer.  I checked my email, obsessed over my Facebook (as always), checked my blog, and checked other sites I’m on.  It was while doing all this that I came to a startling halt. 

Why? 
Because I could almost see God shaking his head.  I could hear his disappointment.

Why is it that when we start our days most of us start off checking Facebook or watching TV for the latest gossip, saving God for the last moments of our day when we hurriedly take out our Bibles and read two verses, saying an incomplete prayer as we drift off to sleep?

Shouldn’t God be the first thing in our lives?  Shouldn’t we wake up and immediately praise him – thank him – worship him for the great things he has done?  Shouldn’t we pray for our day to be full of his glory and our choices to be led by his Word?

It makes me sad that I’m sitting here, on the computer the first thing in the morning.  But no more will I do this.  From now on I think we should all try to make God first and everything else second.  Facebook should not come before God, and neither should anything else.

Transition

I think the hardest part of coming back to God is the transition.

It’s hard because you still want to act like you did before, and people treat you the exact same.  They don’t know that you’ve changed yet, so they expect someone different.  It’s hard for me because I’m living for God now, and if I tell people that they’ll be confused.  They’ll bring up things in my past.  I don’t like my past.  I wish it weren’t there.

I know I shouldn’t care, but I’m human.  I’m weak by myself – only strong through him, through God, that’s for sure.  Change is something I am not exactly good at, but I’m going to have to change.  I’m not going back to that place where I was before.

My past is behind me, and I will let it worry about itself.  I will not worry about anything.  I will fight for what I know and trust, because I know God has a plan for me.

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a Hope and a Future.”

Starting it All Off

How on earth do you go about writing your first blog post?

I’ve had blogs before, of course, but none of significance.  And I do want this one to have significance.  Significance in the way that it makes people think through reading and makes me think through writing.  I want to challenge myself and other people as well as furthering my relationship with God and improving my writing skills.

For those of you who don’t know me – which is basically everyone! – you can call me Jacklyn.  Yes, I am taking a chance on here and using my real name.  I’m tired of being fake, and if someone I know happens to stumble upon this then…well, so be it.  I used to be a person with all these secrets and all these things held back, but I’m tired of that.

I’m ready to Do Hard Things.  On that note, though I am on the Rebelution forums and was persuaded to start a blog through there, I have not read the book.  I’ve been searching for it at bookstores and they are all sold out!  Me = not pleased.  But I’ll be patient for now.

About me?  I’m a concert freak thanks to my old youth pastor, who threw us into many Christian concerts here and there.  You name them, I’ve probably seen them in concert.  My favorites include Sanctus Real, Skillet, and Flyleaf (who I have yet to see in concert).  Secular music tastes include Paramore, The Rocket Summer, and Fall Out Boy (my guilty pleasure who I’ve tried to back away from lately).

Um…well, I’m 16 years old.  I consider myself a ‘new Christian’ because I’ve just recently come back to God.  I had some…issues?  I guess that’s what I’ll call them.  I’m trying to hang on for good this time, and hopefully through updating this blog I’ll keep myself on track.

I’ll start off each blog by writing what I’ve read in my daily Bible readings or something I’ve seen online or something someone else has said.  Prayer, too, is one inspiration – a big inspiration I should try to be better at.

So enough rambling from me!

Welcome to my blog and I hope you enjoy the posts to come.  :]