My Best Friend

When I think of what a Best Friend is, there are a few characteristics that come to mind: trustworthy, loyal, loving, kind, encouraging, always there, and the list goes on and on. A best friend is someone who you can go to whenever and talk to them with whatever is going on in your life. Someone who you build a strong relationship with over a period of time. A best friend is someone we all desire to have.

Our name is something that means something to us whether we realize it or not. We loved to be called by our name. I know I would much rather be called Jess than Lou, and I know Lou would much rather be called Lou than Jess. We are twins, but we are two different people with our own name. When we first meet someone, the first thing we usually tell them is our name. We don't go up to a stranger and say,  "Hey! I have ten kids." Why you have ten kids? I don't know, but most importantly why would you tell a complete stranger that when you just meet them?  We usually always start a friendship and a relationship with introducing ourselves. With my experience at the YMCA working with kids, I realized that kids as well like to be called by their name. If I don't know a kids name, I usually say, "Hey Buddy!" Before I can even get the word Buddy out, they interrupt me and say, "My name is La-a! ( or insert name in here)" The first step of meeting someone and starting a friendship is telling them our name. We don't wait to tell our wife/husband our name until the minister tells us at the wedding, "you may now tell your bride your name!" We start our relationships off by telling the other our name. This is exactly what God did too. Yaweh! In Exodus, God first shares his name with Moses. "When I go to the Israelites, I will say to them, The God of your fathers sent me to you.' What if the people say, "What is his name?" What Should I tell them? Then God said to Moses, "I am who I am. When you go to the people of Israel, tell them, "I AM sent me to you." (Exodus 3:13-14) God said He is the "I AM." He didn't say, "I am the father." or "I am the coolest guy ever." He tells us that he is just the "I AM!." For one that shows how powerful and awesome He is! Also, right then God shows that he wants a relationship with us. By telling us His name, he takes the first step in starting the relationship. He wants to know you and He wants us to know Him. He is longing for a relationship with us. He wants us to call Him by his name, Yaweh! You may not see it, but he loves us enough to tell us His name.

In any relationship though, it takes two people pursuing it in order for it to be a strong connection. A husband and wife both have to sacrifice things in order to have a successful marriage (I'm not married, but I'm pretty sure that it works that way). I know with my family and my friends, the other person and I both have to reach out to the other. There are no one way friendships! It works the same way with God. We already know each others name, so the next step is pursuing the relationship. Jesus loves us (this I know for the Bible tells me so!). Our job for one is to accept His love. By accepting His love, we are showing that we want that relationship with Him. Our next job is to listen to Him and to talk Him. Just as any friendship, if we don't listen to the other or talk to them, what good is the friendship? God is doing His part. He is listening to us whenever we come before Him, so our job...to talk to Him. He wants to listen to us; he wants to answer our prayers (according to His plan of course). He wants us! All of us! We also have to listen to Him. He talks to us; He is screaming our names; He is doing whatever He can to get our attention. We need to step up and listen to Him. He knows what is best for us, and He knows what we need to do. We can trust in Him. All we have to do is listen to Him. He has given us His word, so that we may know Him and grow closer to Him. He is speaking to us through His word and the Holy Spirit. Why aren't we listening to Him? In our part of the relationship, we need to obey His word and His commandments. We must continue to seek Him. He wants to talk to us. He wants thats that relationship with us. Come near to God and He will come near to you! James 4:8 If we seek the relationship with God, we will find Him. He wants to be with us. He doesn't need us, but He wants us! He is going to do whatever He can to have us. He never gives up on us. Even when we turn from Him, He will always be there waiting for us with arms wide open!

Are we doing what we need to do in order to have a relationship with Him? What is keeping us from seeking Him? What is holding us back from having that relationship with God? Is it work? School? Family? Depression? Loneliness? In order to continue the relationship with Yaweh, we must lay those burdens down so that we may have a relationship with Him.Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28. God wants us to come to Him. God is all the characteristics that describe a best friend plus more. We can't describe how awesome our God is! We need to do our part in the relationship with Him. Maybe it's time for us to forgive those who have hurt us. Maybe it's time to lay our burdens down at the foot of the cross. Maybe it's time we surrender all to Him. He wants all of us. Not just an arm or a leg or a kidney, but all of us! We need to do our part in the friendship with God. He is the perfect Best Friend. He is trustworthy, loyal, loving, kind, encouraging, always there, and the list goes on and on. He is MY Best Friend!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=day2zcDC2bI

Truly Blessed

Wow. I don't even know where to begin. God is just amazing!

I never really looked at the world around me or the people in it, but here recently God has just opened my eyes and shown me how much he has blessed me in my life. He has surrounded me with such awesome friends who I love with all my heart. During my time of depression, He has just blessed me with such great encouragement. I'm honestly just speechless right now! God has pulled me out of my dark time, and I have been filled with soooo much joy in my heart. I can't praise Him enough with what He has provided me. We serve a God who loves us even when we turn from Him. He never gives up on us. I'm sitting in awe right now trying to express in words how great our God is, but words cannot even come close to describing it. As I grow in my faith, God is continuing to open my eyes to the world around me. Everywhere I look I see God. He created everything, so everything is His. I will praise Him rain or shine, night or day, mourning or happiness. God is good all the time!

Adopting Costa Rica

Ever since I took Spanish I my sophomore year in high school, I have been obsessed with Costa Rica. One of my goals in life is to be fluent in Spanish and travel to Spanish speaking countries. My Spanish I teacher was from Costa Rica, and throughout the semester we studied the culture, looked at pictures, and learned all there is to know about Costa Rica. I decided that one day I was traveling to Costa Rica!

In my room I have a giant Costa Rica flag hanging on the wall that I got from my friend's dad's flag company. My mom told me she liked it, and I told her (jokingly at the time) that I was moving there after I graduated. I began joking about it more and more.

During this past semester, my faith has grown so much. My prayer life has grown, and my eagerness to share my faith has grown. As I am growing in my faith, I have felt this calling to become involved in some mission field. I had been praying for God to show me where he wanted me to go, and one day I looked at my flag and heard God say, "Hey! Why don't you make going to Costa Rica after graduation a reality instead of  a joke?" I was then determined to move to Costa Rica after I graduated. I was set on moving there, and my thoughts were consumed of when I was to go to Costa Rica in the future. I began getting more and more excited about how God was going to be use me and the great things God had planned.

I was reading Radical by David Platt (if you haven't read it, then I strongly recommend you do). The book focuses a lot on the Great Commission. Go out and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. Surely I will be with you to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20. At the end of the book there is a challenge  that last a year that Platt gives the reader. The challenge has five parts to it, and one of the parts is "Praying for the World." This part of the challenge is when the reader prayers for every country in the world over a year. When I was reading the section about this challenge, God spoke to me again. I heard God say, "Why are you going to wait till after graduation to spread my name to Costa Rica?" It got me thinking, "I am so excited to be going to Costa Rica in 4 years, but there are people there who don't know Christ who won't be in Costa Rica in 4 years (because of whatever happened to them, unfortunately), and they won't get the chance to experience eternal life in Heaven because nobody went and told them about Christ." After reflecting on what God had told me, I began praying immediately for the people of Costa Rica, the missionaries there, and just for the country itself. After this I decided that because I can't be in Costa Rica physically to spread the Gospel I am going to be praying for those there and supporting the missionaries who are there.

I decided that I was going to adopt Cost Rica as primary focus of my ministry, though it is not my only focus of ministry because Christ commanded us to go to ALL nations. I plan on supporting the ministries there, and I am praying for Costa Rica everyday. I know God has great things planned for Costa Rica, and I am praying that I have an opportunity to one day go and be able to share the Gospel in person.

God has great things planned!

Life is a Fairy Tale

I was watching Tangled tonight with my mom and two sisters (yes, I said two sisters, Lou and Sister Bear Liz), and it was actually a really funny movie. It was your typical Disney fairy tale where you have the evil person, but then the good guys live happily ever after. Predictable ending, but still a really good movie. I will admit though that I did ponder the question, "What if life were a fairy tale?" Well in all reality, life really is a fairy tale.

In every fairy tale there is a always the evil witch or the evil person. In life that would be none other than Satan himself! He is constantly tempting us, deceiving us, and pulling us from God. As I was watching Tangled I saw how the evil mom tricked Rapunzel into thinking she was caring for her and doing what was best for her, and it got me thinking that Satan does the same thing with us. I know in my life Satan is always trying to manipulate me and hide who he really is from me so I will turn from God and follow him. In the beginning with Adam and Eve, Satan tricked Eve into thinking that the fruit that God forbidden them from eating was actually okay to eat (Genesis 3). The devil is always out to get us in life, and constantly gnawing at us trying to get us to deny our Heavenly Father.

In Tangled, Rapunzel and Flinn had many obstacles to face in order to reach their destination of seeing the lanterns. In my life, especially recently, I have had to face so many obstacles that had potential of stopping me from seeing God. No matter how close I think I get to God, there is always something that gets in my path. Just as in any fairy tale, there is something that stops the princess from having her prince charming. In life the devil tries to stop us on our path with God, and he does anything he can to make us turn and run in the other direction. The journey for the fairy tale characters is never easy; just like how our walk with God is never easy.

Hate to say it, but someone always dies in a fairy tale, but soon to be born again by a kiss from their "true love."  Well, life is pretty much the same way; except we don't physically die. "For we have died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives." Romans 6:4 Though our death is not one of physical death, but one of spiritual death, we were still born again through our true love, God. No, we don't die a tragic death, and no God doesn't come down from Heaven and give us a kiss so we have life again, but when we ask Jesus Christ to come into our hearts, our old, sinful lives were put to death and we were revived by Christ.

Every fairy tale has a "happily ever after" ending, and so do we! As we are born again, God offered us a fairy tale ending by giving us eternal life with Him in Heaven. "For a great reward awaits you in Heaven" Matthew 5:12. Just as the prince and princess end up married and living the perfect, happily ever after, we too will have the "happily ever after" ending when we return to our Father and have eternal life with Him!

So next time you catch yourself wondering what life would be like as a fairy tale, just remember that life really is a fairy tale, and we are soon to be rescued by our Savior Jesus Christ.

Living in Sins

As my prayer life has grown dramatically over the past semester, I have been praying more for forgiveness for all the sins I have committed in my life. Every time I have prayed I have asked for forgiveness over the same sins over and over again. I have flashbacks to when I sinned, and I relive that moment over and over again. A lot of people think about the past, but with depression, you LIVE in the past. I am all the time thinking about the things that have happened in my life, the people who hurt me, and the sins I committed. I constantly think of the question, "how could God love me after all I have done?" So I find myself asking for forgiveness for those sins every time I think about them (which I probably ask for forgiveness for the same sin 543 times a day); hoping that 1/543 times I ask for forgiveness that I will actually receive it.

I was reading a book by Max Lucado called God Came Near, when I came across a chapter called "He Forgot." The chapter was talking about how God forgives us for our sins, but then he forgets about them. In Hebrews Chapter 8 verse 12 it says, "And I will forgive their wrongdoings, and I will never again remember their sins" This struck me hard. Why am I asking forgiveness 543 times for the same sin? God forgot that sin, so why can't I forget I did it? God forgave me for that the first time I asked him then he forgot about it. I found it pretty awesome how loving our God is that even though we turn from him, he still loves us enough to forgive and forget!

I also find myself questioning, "Why can't I forgive those people who hurt me and forget about what they did?" I can't change what happened in the past, but I sure enough can face how I react towards it. Why can't I forgive someone who hurt me when the One who created me forgives me when I hurt him? I have always heard to forgive those because God forgave us, but after reading this chapter by Max Lucado, God really slapped me in the face and showed me what it really meant. Over the past 19 years, I have been living in the sins I have committed in the past, living in those times of hurt, and thinking about those who have hurt me, but after seeing how God forgives me and forget the sins I committed, it finally started sinking in that I need to forgive those people that hurt me, forget the sins because God forgave me and forgot them, and to learn from that and strive to be more like Him. I was once living in the past, but now I am living in the moment, and searching for God's face in all that I do.

Worry Wart

I will admit, I do consider myself a worry wart. I worry over EVERYTHING. Whether it is dealing with money or food, past or future, something that could happen or even couldn't happen, school or home, whatever it is possible to worry about, I worry about it. I am the biggest worrier of all time!

This semester, my worrying has reached a whole new level. I have worried about school, friends, family, and most of all my depression. I worry about what is going to happen to me, who is going to want to be around me, what am I going to do with myself, and how will I know if the medicine will work. I constantly worried over everything and constantly stressed over everything. This affected my health because every time I really start to worry and stress, I get sick on my stomach, so I am not feeling a 100% most of the time. People have always told me not to worry, but thats like telling the sun not to rise tomorrow; I have to worry. That's what I do.

In the past week though, God has been working in me to teach me not to worry that he has everything under control. He is showing me that there is no point in worrying. "Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not! And if you worry can't do little things like that, what's the use of worrying over bigger things?" Luke 12:25-26. In Sunday School at First Baptist Blowing Rock today, we talked about worrying. We read over The Parable of the Rich Man, and talked about how worrying doesn't accomplish anything. There is no point in worrying over food, money, friends, family, anything in life because God will provide us with what we need.I have told you all this so you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows, but take heart, because I have overcome the world." John 16:33. There is no point in worrying about life and my depression because Jesus Christ has overcome the world and is taking care of me. He will provide me with the things I need, so there is no point in worrying about anything. He is also teaching me not to worry about the future. "Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring it's own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." Matthew 6:34

God knows the future and has a plan for us, so what is the purpose of worrying? Worry is only doubting God. I was reading out of my devotion book, My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, and the devotion was about in uncertain times, we must be certain in God. We must stay certain in God and know he will provide in those uncertain times (when we worry). There is no point in worrying about what is going to happen in our lives, but we need to focus on God. Our two purposes in life are to know Him, and make Him be known. "Our purpose is to please God, not people." 1 Thessalonians 2:4. We are on earth to please God, so if we remain faithful to Him, he will provide for us, so there is no point in worrying over little stuff. In all reality the earthly possessions we have and the times of worry and sorrow are nothing compared to what we have in eternal life that we are given through Jesus Christ (Romans 8:18).

I'm not saying I am complete done with worrying, but God is teaching me everyday that there is no point in worrying about my life, but He has all control of what will happen to me. I'm trusting in God with everything that happens, and I know he is going to provide for me!

Letting the Seed Grow

My dad works at a farm and garden store that he took over from his older relatives, so I guess you could say that farming and gardening is in our family tree (I tried making a pun just for you Lou, but I'm not as nerdy as you, so it's not that good). As I grew up I watched my dad and brother take care of the garden behind my house. I watched him and my brother plow the garden, plant the seeds, water the seeds, and care for the plants. With each passing day, the seeds began to grow, and the roots began to dig deep into the soil. Once the roots were firm within the ground, the plant began to make its breakthrough of the surface. The continuous care of my padre and hermano helped the seeds produce beautiful tomatoes, cucumbers, cantaloupe, and different kinds of fruits or vegetables (whatever they are). I always laughed, and still do, every time my mom came in the house after picking a tomato and getting so excited about how good it looked. The hard work that my family put into the garden was rewarded with the beauty of the produce.

My job was to plant the seed in your hearts,
and Apollos watered it, 

but it was God, not we, who made it grow.

1 Corinthians 3:6

As Christians, our relationship with God is just like the seeds we plant in our gardens. We must first prepare ourselves to let God grow within us and to grow closer to Him. Next we need to plant the seed by letting God become the center of our lives and accepting Jesus Christ in our hearts to become our Lord and Savior. The next step is taking care of that seed, so that its roots may grow. We can do this by obeying God's commandments, studying His word, talking to Him, and seeking Him. As we take care of that seed of our faith (not letting anything destroy it), the roots will begin to grow.

Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the trust you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done. 

Colossians 2:7

We need to let our roots grow deep within God. Just as a plant needs firm roots in the ground, as Christians we need to let our faith grow deep into God and His Son Jesus Christ. Having firm roots in God and his Son allows us to be protected from those temptations and sin that are trying to break our relationship and pull us from God. We need to stand firm in our relationship with God, and we need to seek Him in everything we do.

I am the vine; you are the branches. 

Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.

For apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15:5

When the roots are firm in the soil, the fruit will be produced. In our faith, after our roots are firm, our lives will begin to reflect one of Christ. We will begin to produce much fruit just as Christ tells us in His teachings. We will live the lives our God wants us to live, and begin to share that fruit with those around us, so that they may plant their own seeds of faith in God. We will begin to draw closer and closer to God; having a strong relationship with Him. Our roots will be firm in God, and nothing will be able to separate us. Nothing can destroy the beautiful fruit that we produce since our roots are strong in Him.