Spain!!

I don´t have much time at all to write, but I wanted to let you know that I arrived safely, and am having a great time :)

Final Words...

   "I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand.The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore."

 - Pslam 121

   This Pslam makes me picture someone embarking on a new adventure. When the psalmist wrote, "I lift my up my eyes to the hills..." I picture a hiker looking up to the colossal mountains; mentally preparing himself for the journey ahead. As he prepares, he doesn't assure himself saying, "I can do this! I'm going to do his!" He acknowledges that he cannot climb the towering mountains without help from the Lord. I imagine him saying, "Alright Lord, I want to climb these hills, but I can't do it without You. Please help me!" It reminds me that the Lord is going to be there wherever I go. Whenever I read in my Bible that the Lord is going to be with me, I usually picture His mighty hands reaching out for me to grasp. When He is near me, I know that He will protect me and preserve my soul. I can't wait to see what awaits me in Spain!! God bless you, my dear readers.

Adios Mis Amigos!

   One of my favorite things to do, is travel. Every year, our family likes to take one vacation and go somewhere neat. However, I will be embarking on my own exotic trip, without my immediate family.
   Tomorrow, at around 2:30pm, I will be boarding an airplane to London! After a 10hr flight, I will land in London, then shortly after, take a plane down to Madrid!!
   My wonderful grandparents (thank you again!!) decided to take a trip to Spain for twelve days, then invited me to go with them. After my parents prayed about it, they agreed to let me go :) So exciting! (thank you again, dad and mom!!)
   While we are there, we are going to see the Roman Aqueduct at Segovia, Madrid's Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor, Alcazar Castle, visit the Mediterranean Sea,  Columbus' resting place, and a few other historical places. Also, we are going over to Morocco for a day and are going to climb the rock of Gibraltar! I am particularly excited about this because I really enjoy hiking and climbing :)
   We were required to read a few articles/books on Spain before our departure. Besides studying the facts Wikipedia has, I have also been reading Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. In this epic tale, the cities and towns of Spain are often talked about. The windmills in La Mancha, which is one of our touring sites, are a big setting in Don Quixote.
   I won't be taking my laptop to Spain, but from my past travels, I know that a few hotels and airports have computers where you can log on to check your email, check the news, etc. If I do happen to stumble across one and have a few moments to spare, I will definitely be blogging, and letting you all know what I will have been doing! If not, I will blog about all my adventures when I arrive home :)
  With that, adios mis amigos!!

- Emma, if you are reading this, know that I got your phone call and will call around 4ish tonight :)

 

Delighting in our King

   "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and he shall bring it to pass."
                                                        - Psalm 37:4 - 5

    There are many material things that I want. A short while ago, I was constantly feeling unhappy with my amount of possessions. It seemed that I never had enough to be fulfilled. When I read this verse, I thought that if I started to pray more and do my devotions, the Lord would bless me with all the petty things that I wanted.
   After a few days of actively reading and consistently praying, I realized that my selfish desires for trivial objects slowly started to fade away. Instead of always being ungrateful for my clothes, and being critical about the way that I looked, I took off my dark, blinding shades and put on God's crystal clear glasses. When I changed my perspective, my entire attitude began to morph from ungrateful to grateful. I looked at the things around me, and began to feel thankful and content.
   I'm not saying that new possessions are wrong. In fact, I myself dream of owning a car someday! :) However, when we start to grow unappreciative for the things God has blessed us with, we can be assured that something is not right in our lives.
   God didn't give me what I thought were my true desires. Instead, He changed my heart, to match His. Reflecting on this, I realize that the Lord gave me a new desire; so I could be more like Him. I know that God freely grants a new heart to all who ask! God did not grant me what I originally asked for, but never in a million years would I return what He gave me instead; perfect peace and contentment.
   Ask Him to change your heart today, so that the true desires of your heart may be fulfilled!

This Day is God's

"For God is my King from of old, working salvation in  the midst of the earth. You divided the sea by your strength; You broke the heads of the sea serpents in the waters. You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces, and gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness. You broke open the fountain and the flood; You dried up mighty rivers. The day is Yours, the night also is Yours; You have prepared the lights and the sun."
                                                                                             - Psalm 74:12 - 16 (Emphasis added)

   God is powerful and mighty; each and every day that we wake up on, is a gift from God. The beautiful sunshine amidst the storm is a gift from God. Today, this brand new day, is a gift from God. I ask that you who are reading this, pause a moment and thank God for all the glorious things He has graciously blessed you with. Dedicate this day to Him, and commit yourself to His will today. :)
   God bless you, my friends!!

A Few Thoughts on Church This Morning...

    I like to think of Sunday mornings as a fresh start to the week. It is very rejuvenating to worship, listen and learn from the sermon, and fellowship with other believers. This morning, my Dad spoke on our liberties as Christians. It is important to remember that although we possess freedom in Christ, we have to set limitations. Just because we have freedom, doesn't mean that we have the liberty to flirt with sin. 
    Also, we have the freedom to set up personal limits for ourselves. It may be alright for one family to have cable, but the Lord may not allow that in another family. It is very easy for us to crown ourselves as "the measuring stick", and judge our fellow neighbors according to our standards. Jesus Christ and His perfect standards are what we should measure ourselves and anything else by. 
    I teach a "girls only" class on Sunday mornings during the second service. About a month ago, we finished the book of Esther, which ended up being a blast! The girls (and me too :)) learned so much about her life as queen, and her remarkable bravery. On some weeks, after the lesson, they would act out the Bible passage while I read from the Scripture. They really, really enjoyed taking turns being each of the different parts from the story, and learned very much. On the last day of our Esther study, we made a time-line of the significant events in Esther's life and hung it up in our room. It turned out lovely, and we plan to do it when we finish our study of Job.
    In our Job study, we are learning about trusting God, even when times are very difficult. Today, we talked about Job's friend, Bildad, and how he constantly talked down to him. In all this, Job neither cursed or dishonored God. We spoke about the importance of being good friends to our neighbors, and resisting the council of the bad ones. 
   I can't wait to see what the future weeks hold! :)

Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

Welcome to my little corner of the world! :)
I decided to start blogging so I could discuss current events of the day, and talk about Bible verses that I have read. The purpose of this page is not to speak solely about myself, but to exemplify the things that God is working in my life. My prayer, is that my blog would be edifying to all who read it. I close this "ribbon-cutting" post with the verse I have chosen as the theme of my blog: "But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Your works." -Psalm 73:28