Thursday, April 28, 2011

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Friday, April 22, 2011

Good Friday

   Today is Good Friday; the day that Jesus died on the cross. Every time I read about this in my Bible or hear it discussed in Church, I get something new out of it. I would like to share with you this beautiful passage from Isaiah:

"Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken,
as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins;
upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,
by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all."

   We have all failed God's standard and ALL of us deserve to burn in hell forever. However, by the unimaginable grace of God, He sent us His only Son, Jesus, to pay the price for our sins. Jesus was beaten, spat on, pierced with a crown of thorns, bloodied, bruised, crushed, and shamed all for us. All for sinful, sinful, us. Why did Jesus do this? Why the cross? Why couldn't He have just come down to Earth, lived a perfect life, then died naturally? Wouldn't that have been enough?
   The price for our sin was so shockingly high, that living a perfect life was not enough. There had to be payment, there had to be justice, there had to be suffering. Jesus, the Lamb of God, chose to bear the immense pain, the humiliating shame, and the sin of the entire world just so we could go to Heaven to be with the Father. All the sins of the world were taken upon Him, so He could provide a chance for us to receive salvation.

"Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and who would have thought any more of his destiny? When he was cut off from the land of the living, and smitten for the sin of his people, a grave was assigned him among the wicked and a burial place with evildoers, though he had done no wrong nor spoken any falsehood."

   In all the beating, blood, and suffering, He did not utter a single word. I find this incredible; here, the King of Kings who controls all of the angles in Heaven, who is Master of the wind and waves, and who could destroy the entire Earth with fire and brimstone with just one word, was silent. Jesus' love for us was so great, that He refrained from using His divine power and let the Roman soldiers lead him to the cross. Amazing.
   I ask that you meditate on these verses from Isaiah today. Ask the Lord to open your heart and reveal things to you about Himself as you celebrate Good Friday :) God bless you, my dear readers!!

A Bit on My Life Lately...

   I apologize for not posting very faithfully! My family and I spent all this week in Utah, so I didn't have time to log onto my blog.
   Only after a week of being back from Spain, my family planned another adventure; this time to the desert land of Utah. We had some sweet friends who blessed us, and let us stay with them in St. George. While we were there, we went to see the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, and a few other places. Since Utah is virtually all desert, I didn't think that I would enjoy it that much. Surprisingly, however, I found that the desert has a very unique kind of beauty. The towering red rocks, the variety of colorful plants, and the lovely bright blue sky made for a picturesque scene!! So lovely! I will be posting pictures very soon :)
   Last night, I went to a reunion for all the people who went on the trip to Spain. We all made discs with about 100 of our favorite pics and shared them with the group. It was so good to see them again, I miss them so much!!
   Today, I have a chemistry midterm to finish. Science is definitely not my forte, so I would appreciate it if your kept me in your prayers :)
Have a wonderful rest of the day; God bless you, my dear readers!!

  

Monday, April 11, 2011

A Tribute to Good Music

   While in Spain, our leader - Mrs. Harmon - sat next to each me on the bus to Segovia. On the drive, we started to talk about classical music. After discussing our favorite classical composers, she introduced me to a multinational operatic pop group called, Il Divo. She let me listen to one of their songs on her iPod, and I immediately fell in love!
   My favorite song (so far) that they sing is Amazing Grace. Even if you prefer more contemporary music or prefer hard rock, I ask that you please take a moment and listen to these outstanding gentlemen perform Amazing Grace. Enjoy!!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

A Little Bit on My Trip

   On Wednesday, my grandparents and I landed in San Francisco; arriving home from our wonderful trip. I'm still trying to figure out how to download pictures onto my computer, and when I do, I will be blogging about my trip. We traveled all over the southern part of Spain, and never hit the northern area. Nevertheless, my trip was timeless and I will never forget it!!
   My grandpa teaches as a school called Keyes to Learning Charter School. At that school they have a travel group who plan and attended various international trips. Since my grandpa works there, he was able to travel to Spain with the group. Thankfully, he and my grandmother generously invited me to go with them. I was sooo excited when the Lord opened the door, and allowed me to go!
   There were eight people in our group altogether; Mrs. Harmon, (who led the trip), my grandparents, Meg, Joslyn, me, and the boys: Kam and Ben. On our trip, we all became really great friends and got along splendidly :) I miss them so much!
   The weather was good most of the time; it was chilly a few days and rained once. Most of the days, however, we were blessed with good weather. The food was very interesting; they make a rice/seafood dish called "pialla". It is a popular dish in Spain that everyone tried except for Ben and I. We decided to be a little crazy and order lamb brain omelet and stewed bull tail instead...I know, gross. It wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be; the tail just tasted like fatty pot roast and the brains kind of tasted like eggs and other nasty things I can't even describe. I'm glad to say that I tried it, and will never be having it again :)
   I will post some more later once I get some neat pictures onto my computer!! God bless you, my dear readers :)