I hope everyone is having a great father's day! I'm sure if my sister and I didn't just have our teeth taken out we'd probably go mini golfing or something with our dad, but instead we are all enjoying a happy evening together at home, which is just as fun! ;-) God Bless!
Everyone's always telling me to "have Grace," but what does it mean? That's when I started doing some research. This is what I found. God's/The Bible's definition of Grace:
Grace- an underserved favor of gift; the underserved forgiveness, kindness and mercy that God gives us.
The Synonyms:forgiveness,charity,mercifulness.
The Antonyms:animosity,enmity,disfavor.
Okay, so what it's saying is, if someone hurts you in any way you should have Grace; show mercy, and forgive them. Sometimes it can be hard though, what do you do then? Then you need to talk to God. Tell Him about it and ask Him to help you forgive.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
When you are going through a difficult time and wonder where God is, remember that the teacher is always quiet during a test.
Love is a beautiful thing, but sometimes can be very difficult. You have to love friends, family, even enemies. And that's a lot to think about!
Rule #1: Love must be sincere.
Rule #2: Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
Rule #3: Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Rule #4: Honor one another above yourselves.
Rule #5: Never be lacking in zeal (eagerness; strong desire), but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Rule #6: Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.
Rule #7: Share the Lords Truth- Reach out
Rule #8: Live in harmony
Rule #9: Do not be conceited
Rule #10: Overcome evil with good
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:9-21
I recently read a blog post about how short shorts should be. At first I was kind of disappointed with what they said because I thought my length of shorts was long enough, but who wouldn't be upset about that? Anyways, it said your shorts should be about two inches up from your knee. So the "shorts" their talking about is like mini capris. That's almost two times the length of my shorts now!
So the next time I wore my shorts, I paid attention to everything. And guess what? When I sat down, they scrunched up to an inappropriate length. So, it took me a while, but I finally agreed with what they said in that post. I want to be God's little girl, and the first line of business is perfecting modesty. You may be thinking, how can changing my clothes help me in my relationship with God? Well it can, and I'll tell you why.
God only wants what's best for you and me, and this is the best place to start. God made your body for your husbands eyes only. Not for everyone to see. When I walk down the street and I see a girl wearing shorts too short, I shun them. But not on purpose! I try to be nice but it's hard to not look at those spots when passing people, and it's even harder to talk to them. Girls, that's not how to get attention!
Being modest doesn't mean you have to wear ugly clothes, it doesn't mean you have to wear skirts all the time (unless you want to), and it certainly doesn't mean you have to cover your entire body like a body shield. It just mean to cover the private parts. And they make beautiful clothes that do that!
She was driving last Friday on her way to Cincinnati On a snow white Christmas Eve Going home to see her Mama and her Daddy with the baby in the backseat Fifty miles to go and she was running low on faith and gasoline It'd been a long hard year
She had a lot on her mind and she didn't pay attention She was going way too fast Before she knew it she was spinning on a thin black sheet of glass She saw both their lives flash before her eyes She didn't even have time to cry She was so scared She threw her hands up in the air
Jesus take the wheel Take it from my hands Cause I can't do this on my own I'm letting go So give me one more chance Save me from this road I'm on Jesus take the wheel
It was still getting colder when she made it to the shoulder And the car came to a stop She cried when she saw that baby in the backseat sleeping like a rock And for the first time in a long time She bowed her head to pray She said I'm sorry for the way I've been living my life I know I've got to change So from now on tonight
Jesus take the wheel Take it from my hands Cause I can't do this on my own I'm letting go So give me one more chance Save me from this road I'm on Oh, Jesus take the wheel
Oh, I'm letting go So give me one more chance Save me from this road I'm on From this road I'm on Jesus take the wheel
My little brother is a perfect example of how 'where there's a will, there's a way." It's funny actually, when you tell him that he can't play with mommy's books for example, and block any possible entrance to them, he WILL find a way to get them. I'm not even kidding, he is determined to get those books. (lol)
This is what God wants you to do, he always wants you to be able to find a way to him. He always wants to find ways to what is good. He always wants you to be happy. And to be truly happy means to always have God by your side and on your mind. He loves you, and you love him. So never stop looking for Him, don't let anything stand in your way.
If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (The Message Bible)
If I sing but don't have love
I waste my breath with every song
I bring an empty voice, a hollow noise
If I speak with a silver tongue
Convince a crowd but don't have love
I leave a bitter taste with every word I say
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
If I give
To a needy soul but don't have love then who is poor?
It seems all the poverty is found in me
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
Oh, let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
When it's all said and done
When we sing our final song
Only love remains
Only love remains
Let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
This weeks challenge is to be a servant of the Lord, listen to what God wants you to do, and do it. :-)
The Servant of the Lord
Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver.
He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.” But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.”
And now the Lord says— he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength— he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
This is what the Lord says— the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel— to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: “Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
Don't know how it is you looked at me and saw the person that I could be Awakening my heart Breaking throughout the dark Suddenly your grace
Like sunlight burning at midnight making my life something so Beautiful, Beautiful Mercy reaching to save me All I need you are so Beautiful, Beautiful
Now there's a joy inside I can't contain But even perfect days can end in rain And though it's pouring down I'll see you through clouds Shining on my face
Like sunlight burning at midnight making my life something so Beautiful, Beautiful Mercy reaching to save me All I need you are so Beautiful, Beautiful
I have come undone But I have just begun Changing by your grace
Like sunlight burning at midnight making my life something so Beautiful, Beautiful Mercy reaching to save me All I need you are so Beautiful, Beautiful
Like sunlight burning at midnight making my life something so Beautiful, Beautiful Mercy reaching to save me All I need you are so Beautiful, Beautiful
Monday, May 19, 2014
Romans 12:2
The Message (MSG)
Place Your Life Before God
12 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
I tried to cover my shine I've tried staying in the lines I, I, I don't wanna hide No, not tonight
You, you, you want me to take my light, light Fit it in your box, right? I want you to look me in the eye, eye, eye, eye
Ready or not Here, here, here, here I come I'm about to show you where the light comes from Oh, oh, oh ready or not Here, here I come This is who I am I won't hide it I'mma take it all over the world To the young, to the old, every boy and girl Ready or not Here, here I come I'mma show the world where the love is
I'm not ever selling out love A love out loud is what it's all about Giving everything to see the lost get found Yeah, it's going down
You, you, you want me to take my light, light Fit it in your box, right? I want you to look me in the eye, eye, eye, eye
Ready or not Here, here, here, here I come I'm about to show you where the light comes from Oh, oh, ready or not Here, here I come This is who I am I won't hide it I'mma take it all over the world To the young, to the old, every boy and girl Ready or not Here, here I come I'mma show the world where the love is
[LECRAE] I refuse to keep this buried deep inside of me Yeah this little light of mine, it's time to let it shine a bit 'Cause there's no point in hiding it It's everything I am The source of all my hope And it's the reason why I stand And I pledge allegiance to be somebody real There's no more holding it back I'm showing them how I feel 'cause love is more than a word It's a noun, and a verb, and hiding it is absurd Ya heard
Ready or not Here, here, here, here I come I'm about to show you where the light comes from Oh, oh, ready or not Here, here I come This is who I am I won't hide it I'mma take it all over the world To the young, to the old, every boy and girl Ready or not Here, here I come I'mma show the world where the love is
I know these challenges haven't been what they used to be, and I'm sorry. This is easier for me though, since I'm still learning too. But hopefully someday I will go back to daily challenges, and those challenges will be real challenges again. I hope these new challenges work out well for all of you too. Thank you so much for understanding. :-) And here is a poem I wrote, hope you like it.
I am a servant of the Lord,
My job is to be patient,
To encourage others to love Him,
And to help the Lord's people when they need it,
But patience is exactly what I need.
Is there ever a servant who can give me patience,
Is there ever a servant who can help a poor lost one like myself,
Maybe a servant is not whom I should seek,
But the Lord, King of all, could help me.
Yes, yes it is Him who I must go to,
It is He who I can trust,
For he has helped my ancestors,
So I know He will help me.
-Amy Kathleen
This weeks challenge is to pray. I know, you've done it a million time before, how will this somehow be different than any other time. Well, this weeks challenge isn't just to pray, but to really pray. Pour out your hearts to the Lord, it's all He's ever asked for. :-)
Come set Your rule and reign
in our hearts again.
Increase in us we pray.
Unveil why we're made.
Come set our hearts ablaze with hope
like wildfire in our very souls.
Holy Spirit, come invade us now.
We are Your church.
We need Your power in us.
We seek Your kingdom first.
We hunger and we thirst.
Refuse to waste our lives
for You're our joy and prize.
To see the captive hearts released.
The hurt, the sick, the poor at peace.
We lay down our lives for Heaven's cause.
We are Your church.
We pray revive this earth.
Build Your kingdom here.
Let the darkness fear.
Show Your mighty hand.
Heal our streets and land.
Set Your church on fire.
Win this nation back.
Change the atmosphere.
Build Your kingdom here.
We pray.
Unleash Your kingdom's power
reaching the near and far.
No force of Hell can stop
Your beauty changing hearts.
You made us for much more than this!
Awake the kingdom seed in us!
Fill us with the strength and love of Christ.
We are Your church.
We are the hope on earth.
Build Your kingdom here.
Let the darkness fear.
Show Your mighty hand.
Heal our streets and land.
Set Your church on fire.
Win this nation back.
Change the atmosphere.
Build Your kingdom here!
We pray!
Build Your kingdom here.
Let the darkness fear.
Show Your mighty hand.
Heal our streets and land!
Set Your church on fire!
Win this nation back.
Change the atmosphere!
Build Your kingdom here!
We pray!
I am so excited to say that I have been awarded (for the first time ever) by Hannah! Thank you so much Hannah, this is so exciting ;-)
Rules: 1. Thank and mention the name of the blog that belongs to the blogger who nominated you. 2. List 11 facts about yourself. 3. Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you. 4. Nominate 5 bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers. ( You can't nominate the blogger who nominated you. ) 5. Mention the bloggers who you nominated with a link to their blog in your post. 6. Ask the nominees 11 questions. 7. Have fun!! 11 Facts about me: 1. I just got a new touch screen computer on Wednesday :-) 2. I highly dislike anything sugary 3. I have six siblings 4. I love Arizona 5. I don't like snow very much 6. I love people 7. I love Jesus <3 8. I've always wanted to eat a whole watermelon by myself (cut it in half and eat it with a spoon :-) 9. I'm a hoarder :-/ 10. (See fact from above) I get it from my mom who gets it from my grandma who gets it from her dad (my great grandpa) whose still alive :-) 11. I've always wanted to be awarded ;-) Hannah's questions for me: 1. What is your favorite hymn? Right now it's Thrive by Casting Crowns 2. Do you consider yourself to be an introvert or an extrovert?
Introvert3. Could you go 24 hours without social media? Definitely. 4. Would you rather watch FOX news or CNN? Neither. I think news... and TV is bad for you. 5. Do you like reading biographies?
Sometimes 6. Take this quiz and see which Disney Villain you are. ( I'm the Evil Queen from Snow White, haha. ) I got Maleficent. How'd that happen? lol 7. Would you prefer to sing or dance? Dance. I like to sing but I'm not good at it. 8. Would you prefer watching Singin' in the Rain, or Seven Brides For Seven Brothers?
I'm not sure what that is. :-/ But Singin' in the Rain sounds better. 9. Do you like Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby better? Sorry, I don't know what that is either. :-/ 10. If you are listening to Pandora, what channel are you most likely listening to? Casting Crowns :-) 11. Are you glad that you were nominated for the Liebster Award? Definitely. Okay, according to the rules, I have to pick five nominees... How could I ever choose?: 1. Meggie and Taleisha at: Unfading Elegance 2. Brooke at: Silver Linings 3. Tinyde at: Tinyde's Life 4. Tane at: Fifth out of Ten 5. Gracie at: Gracie's Adventures And my questions for the five nominees: 1. If given the choice to go to Africa, would you go? 2. Which would you prefer, Pizza or Spaghetti? 3. Have you ever watched Once Upon a Time? If so, who's your favorite character? 4. What's your favorite movie? 5. How many followers do you hope to someday get on your blog? 6. What's your favorite Bible verse? 7. What's your favorite Bible story? 8. What's your favorite book? (Other than the Bible) 9. What do you want to be when you grow up? 10. What's your favorite subject in school? 11. Are you sad we're finished? (I am)-: I hope you all have a bunch of fun! God Bless, Amy :-)
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:25-26
Here in this worn and weary land Where many a dream has died
Like a tree planted by the water We never will run dry
So living water flowing through God we thirst for more of You Fill our hearts and flood our souls With one desire
Just to know You and To make You known We lift Your name on High Shine like the sun make darkness run and hide We know we were made for so much more Than ordinary lives It's time for us to more than just survive We were made to thrive
Into Your word we're digging deep To know our Father's heart
Into the world we're reaching out To show them who You are
So living water flowing through God we thirst for more of You Fill our hearts and flood our souls With one desire
Just to know You and To make You known We lift Your name on High Shine like the sun make darkness run and hide We know we were made for so much more Than ordinary lives It's time for us to more than just survive We were made to thrive
Joy Unspeakable, Faith Unsinkable, Love Unstoppable, Anything is possible Joy Unspeakable, Faith Unsinkable, Love Unstoppable, Anything is possible Joy Unspeakable, Faith Unsinkable, Love Unstoppable, Anything is possible Joy Unspeakable, Faith Unsinkable, Love Unstoppable, Anything is possible
Just to know You and To make You known We lift Your name on High Shine like the sun make darkness run and hide We know we were made for so much more Than ordinary lives It's time for us to more than just survive We were made to thrive
(Sorry, I'm having troubles putting photos in at the moment, so bare with me)
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:16-21
In our world we sin,
as soon as our world has begin,
only two got that chance,
and never did we get to glance
back at our past
to undo what we cast.
All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands. 1 Samuel 17:47
But if only we knew,
what we do
goes on record forever.
If we got along,
if we worked together we'd be strong,
because at that moment we'd know,
God is the true strength and He is what sews us together.
The way a sinful person thinks leads to death. But the mind controlled by the Spirit brings life and peace.Romans 8:6
If only they knew,
what they could do,
if we all worked together to spread Your Word!
(Poem by: Amy Kathleen)
Happy Mothers day to all the lovely mothers out there! :-)
First off, I want to apologize for always being so late on my posts, and secondly I want to ask for a review/rate/vote kinda thing. To do this you can email me (at Amy.livingwater@gmail.com) or comment on this post or vote on the poll saying what you like, how I can improve my posts, days that would work best for me to post the challenge, prayer request, and things like that. Thank you! And now to the challenge. (This one is a little different, try to find 17 books of the bible in the next paragraph)
I once made a remark about the hidden books of the Bible. It was a lulu, kept people looking so hard for facts, and for others it was a revelation. Some were in a jam, especially since the names of the books are not capitalized, but the truth finally struck home to numbers of readers. To others, it was a real job. We want it to be a most fascinating few moments for you. Yes, there will be some really easy ones to spot. Others may require judges to help them. I will quickly admit it usually takes a minister to find one of the 17, and there will be loud lamentations when it is found. A little lady says she brews a cup of tea so she can concenrate better. See how well you can compete. Relax now, for there really are the names of 17 books of the Bible in these sentences. (One preacher found 16 books in 20 minutes. It took him three weeks to find the seventeenth one.)
