Relationships Part 2.

Ever heard someone say " he completes me?" I think its safe to say that majority of girls say this & not so many guys but you've heard it right? Or maybe you've even said it yourself. Maybe you haven't said it but your relationship might say otherwise. Before I continue, let me just say once again, everything I write I have learned myself. I'm not an expert on this or anything so don't judge me (: I don't want to appear as a "know it all" because I don't. I'm learning new things everyday.

The truth is nobody can complete you, only God can. If you go looking for a person to complete you then you're always going to fail. We all know those people who always seem to have a boyfriend/girlfriend right after another. Those people who can't be content with being single & honestly I thought I was like that for awhile. After I got out of a 3 year relationship I didn't know what to do with myself. I never tried to just be with random people but whenever I talked to guys I never understood why I just felt unfulfilled. I thought being single was terrible but after about a month I realized that there are plenty of good things about being single until the right person comes a long.

God finally showed me that he's the only one who can fulfil me. I kept waiting for this perfect guy to come along who was gonna be so much better than all the others & we would have this happy relationship & it would all be okay. God showed me that it's him that I needed. God is the only one who can be there for you EVERYDAY/ALLDAY & NEVER let you down. God is the only one who won't hurt you. Once I learned this I was happy being single. I wanted a boyfriend. I still want to get married eventually & share my life with someone but I know that he's not perfect. He's going to let me down & there's going to be times when we don't agree on everything. That doesn't mean that you should just pick anybody by any means because of the fact that they are going to let you down. It does mean that you follow God & that you rely on him. You put God FIRST. Not your boyfriend/girlfriend or anyone else for that matter. You can't put your hope into a relationship that may or may not last but God will always last. If you don't last then atleast God is there for you when it's over. You will find more contentment with being single because you don't rely on a human for your love/care. It comes from God. You're always going to be let down if you're looking for someone that doesn't exist. What you're looking for is God & I know because I was looking for him too (:

Anyways this is it for now. Hope it helps. Thanks for reading!

Relationships.

I feel like I have a lot to say about this but I'm not exactly sure where to start..

Okay let's see.. one of the biggest things that my friends have always come to talk to me about is relationships, I guess because they are one of the things that cause a lot of conflict & they just want to talk about it. I always try my best to help in whatever way I can so heres maybe some advice that I actually told a friend today..

I'm not an expert on relationships & I'm not claiming to be one so before you go & say anything, lets clarify that. If I have learned anything from my relationships in the past, its that you can't change anyone. Period. I know you might be thinking, yes I can. No. I'm sorry but you can't. Only God can change people. I'm talking about real genuine change. I believe that some people do make some progress because of someone else but they have to do it themself & they have to do with God's help. You can disagree with me if you want & thats fine but if you do agree with me then heres what else..

I thought I could change someone at one time. I don't think that I ever said well I'll change him & it'll all be okay but I thought that if I tried getting him into church & talked to him about Christ all the time that maybe things would be okay, I'd convince him not to do certain things & he'd become a christian & we'd live happily ever after. Can you believe I thought that way? Ha. Well looking back I can't. It didn't happen like that at all. We eventually broke up, mostly because we just didn't want the same things at all. Its hard to be with someone when they don't see 90% of the way you see things. Its not that I didn't like anything about him or that he was this horrible person, I just didn't want him doing some of the things he did. I wanted him to follow Jesus. I just wanted him to see things the way I did. When it comes to relationships you want a partner, not a project. That has really stuck with me because it's true. You might be thinking thats silly that I was like that & it was, but I know that theres other people out there right now thinking the exact same thing. Truth is if you don't like the way the person you're with acts, the way they do something, something they believe, then its probably best to just not be with them.

Second thing.. one of the BIGGEST things I see, & trust me I am guilty of this myself, is the whole controlling thing. It kinda goes a long with changing somone but not exactly. SO back to this guy that I tried to change. Not only did I want to change some things about him, I didn't like all the girls he talked to. I know you know what I mean. You get upset, jealous because your boyfriend is talking to this girl & you really don't want him talking to her, or guys you don't want your girl talking to these guys so you tell them to stop & maybe they do & maybe they don't. I think its safe to say though that you shouldn't have to ask them to stop. You shouldn't have to feel like they're doing something wrong behind your back. One of the things I learned is that they are going to do it no matter what, whether you tell them or not. I know it seems like simple truth but I just didn't get it. I got too caught up in how I felt about him to see what was infront of me. If a guy/girl really wants to be with you then other girls/guys don't matter. People don't just stop doing something because you tell them to, they have to realize its wrong & it doesn't hurt to tell them you don't like it but if they don't or it seems like they just said they'd do it but they're not then consider if you really have an honest relationship or not.

Theres just soo much to say bout this that I could keep going but I think I'm going to end with this for now. They're might be a part 2. We'll see :) if you read this then I pretty much love you!

btw, happy new year!!

A Mess of thoughts

Why is it that when we get on facebook we are quick to 'like' status' bout drama & other things but not so much about Jesus? Or when we're happy the first person we tell is our boyfriend, or our bestfriend? It's not God. One of the things I've really been working on is putting God first, in ALL circumstances. It's easy to forget about God when we think everything is going right because thats when we feel like we need don't need God. We're quick to be like "God I need you" when times are rough & when bad things happen to us/people we love but thats it. How often do we go to God first when we're happy? It just doesn't happen that way most of the time. I know I'm guilty of this too.
Its about a relationship with God & thats pretty insulting, don't you think? No one likes to be used. You don't only talk to your best friend when somethings wrong. No, you talk to them all the time & you spend time with them. God wants that too. By praying, going to church, & reading the bible is all ways that you can spend time with God. Or.. it's easy for us to be like God, help this & help that & do this & do that but all we're basically doing is telling God what we want & not that it's always bad to pray about things you want but I've learned a lot from the past that-- I don't & won't always get what I want. God has the plans for me & I'm continously learning to submit to what he would have instead of what I would have.

Well these are some of my thoughts for the day.. I might add more later or something but for now this is it.

Reasons why I follow Jesus.

1. He died on the cross for me.
2. He was beaten for me.
3. He conquered sin.
4. He conquered Satan.
5. He is perfect.
6. I love him.
7. He loves me uconditionally.
8. He keeps his promises.
9. His ways are better than mine.
10. He will never leave/forsake me.
11. He made Heaven for me to live with him.
12. He answers prayers.
13. He knows everything.
14. He is everywhere at the same time.
15. He is my Savior.
16. He was human like me.
17. He had feelings just like me.
18. He never gave into temptation.
19. He teaches me how to live.
20. He gave me the Holy Spirit to help me.
21. He protects me.
22. He outcasted demons.
23. He healed the sick.
24. He walked on water.
25. He feed the 5,000.
26. He turned water into wine.
27. He is Mighty.
28. He is powerful.
29. He created me.
30. He inspired the bible.
31. He has plans for me.
32. He never changes, he is the same everyday.
33. He saved me from my sin.
34. He forgave/forgives me.
35. If he starts a work in you, he will complete it.
36. He deserves to be worshiped.
37. He gives me strength.
38. He helps me through hard times.
39. He has changed me & is continuing to change me.
40. He is real.
41. He made everything.
42. He is simply amazing.
43. He uses everything for his glory.
44. He is better than any sin.
45. He is eternal.
46. He is holy.

I'm sure there's more but I'm gonna stop here.. (: might add more laterrr.

Lord forgive me...

I know that I have hurt God the most & this one of the 'note' pages on facebook for forgiveness so I decided that I would do this one...

HeavenlyFather,

forgive me for the times that I get preoccupied, for the times when I feel like doing things my own way & do not stop to think about what you would have me to do.
Forgive me for the times that I can't seem to love someone else. I know that you love & have created everybody but sometimes I don't see people the way you do. The times when I gossip because some people just aren't easy to love.

Forgive me when I worry because I know that I have little faith by doing so. Forgive me when I don't pray as much as I should or read my bible enough because I've found something else that I think would be better use of my time. I know that spending time with you is the most important thing though. Forgive me when I am grumpy & impatient, forgive me when I'm not a very good witness to someone else because of something I did or said. Forgive me when I procrastinate on things because I know that it doesn't glorify you.

I thank you for loving me because I know you didn't have to. I thank you for always forgiving me even though I know I don't deserve it. I thank for sending your son to die on the cross because you didn't have to that for us. We deserve to go to Hell but you loved us so much.

Music.

One of the things that I have learned over the past year is that what you listen to does matter. I use to think that music was harmless. It has a good beat so why not listen to it? If you think that way, well I did too.
As a christian I felt as if God was convicting me of this. 400 songs on my ipod & pretty much none of them were christian songs. I thought this is really wrong. How can I be a christian & not even listen to songs that lift Christ up on a regular basis? I'm not saying that ALL secular music is bad. I mean Taylor Swift is pretty awesome, I really like her music but its about being careful to what you listen to.
I started listening to Lecrae, Tedashii, & some other christian rappers & I thought wow, this is good stuff. Why should I listen to Lil wayne or Lady Gaga or whoever if I can listen to them with the same type of beats but just different lyrics. I get tired of hearing about sex, weed, and money in songs. If you're a christian & you love Jesus then why would you listen to a song that talks about how money is great & you'll do anything to get it? Or why would you listen to a song about sex when you know they're talking about it in a way that is against the way the bible talks about it ?
I don't say this because I've got it all figured out or because I'm smarter.. I say it because I struggle with it too. Music is one of the easiest things to fall into temptation with. Songs on the radio, songs in movies, and they have catchy beats. They are so easy to get stuck in your head.
Songs represent people and it seems like basic knowledge but Katy Perry use to sing christian / gospel music, but now she doesn't & theres more artists like that but now she sings.. well you know what she sings now. The point is some of her songs aren't too bad, like firework, there's nothing wrong with talking about how someone makes you feel & how they are special but from a big picture sense, I don't want to listen to that because she walked away from christian music. She'd rather sing for herself than sing about God. I have a problem with that. I'd rather listen to a song about how I have 99 problems & Jesus is going to solve them.
This is kind of a mix up of thoughts but its just something that I feel strongly about & I just thought I would share :)

If God is good, then why do people go to Hell?

I have heard people ask this for a long time & I decided that I would blog about it. Hell is a hard subject to talk about though. You may not want to believe that it is real & you may not want to believe what I'm about to say but for those who have had this question & want an answer this blog is for you.

We see from the bible that :

-Hell is a place of tornment (Luke 16:23)

-Hell contains fire that will never go out ( Mark 9:43)

-Hell is a place of intense sorrow (Matthew 13:41 & 42)

-Hell as a place of eternal punishment ( Matthew 25:46)

The first thing that we can see from the bible for a reason that people can go to Hell is because God is holy & we are not. Holiness is a part of God's character. God is perfect & he is the standard for what is right & wrong. So because God is holy, he can't have anything to do with sin. Most of you know the story of Adam & Eve, since they both took the apple & ate it we see that they could no longer be with God in the Garden of Eden. None of us are perfect. We lie to get out of things, we cheat on tests, only think of ourselves sometimes, & the list goes on. We change our minds but God never changes his. He is the same today, tomorrow, & many days after that. God is holy but he is also love. (1 John 4:16) The fact that people go to Hell might not seem fair to us but we are not holy like God is and we don't understand God or just how holy he is. So, those who refuse his salvation an eternal consequence.

God is eternal and he us for eternity. It is hard to understand but God has & always will be there. There was never a time when he didn't exist. In Ecclessiates 3:11it says that he has put eternity into our hearts. We were made to have a relationship with God, but our sinfulness gets in the way. Hell is a reality because of the fact that we are sinful.

So that doesn't exactly sound like what you want to hear? But God made a way out (John3:16) God loved us so much that he sent his son to die on a cross for us. So there is a way out. Maybe there is only one way but atleast there is a way. Because we were all sinners God could have sent us all to Hell right away because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) but he didn't want that. He wanted us to be with him. Wow, do you know how amazing that is? Someone LOVES us so much that he would give up his son to die on a cross, to be beaten, have spikes go through his wrists & ankles, his legs were broken. He was in complete agony but he did that for me, & for you. The reality is that God doesn't reject people, people reject God. He could force us to worship him & allow us to get out of Hell but then he takes away our free will. Just like you want friends who want to be your friend because you are a great and worthy of being friends with God wants the same thing. He wants us to freely worship Him. He is a loving God and allows us to choose for ourselves. It is up to us whether or not we choose to accept God's free gift of salvation.

In my opinion I am so thankful that there is one way at all. God has done so much for us, why can't we worship him? because he is worthy of our praise! & God doesn't want anyone to go to Hell. I hope this helps (: