1 Timothy 6:11-16

"But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of Faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen." - Timothy 6:11-16

I thought that I would share my final thoughts of the day before I hit the sack :) In this beautiful passage, I love the picture that Paul accurately paints of Christ: "...the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power..." Do you realize that God is so Holy that no man can look upon Him and survive? It is wonderful to know that a God as powerful as He is, chooses to love us! The very voice that called Noah, speaks to us. The very hand that calmed the Red Sea, holds us. The same God who can completely devastate an entire army by merely speaking, is the exact God who zealously fights for us. We serve a glorious and majestic God!!

When We Fail

At times, we as people go through seasons in life where we feel greatly discouraged. We feel that whatever we put our hand to ultimately fails. When we speak, people are left offended and indifferent. Wherever we go, trouble, failure, and calamity faithfully follow. Maybe we're caught in sin, or received a bad grade on a test. Perhaps we unintentionally made a careless mistake that greatly complicated a situation. In some situations, it feels like we have failed so miserably, that it is impossible to be made new and forgiven. We desperately want to escape the world of constant failure, but we haven't the strength. How do we loose the iron chains that bind us to our despair? How can we break free from the feelings of guilt that ensnare us? How can everything be "just as it was" again?

   Cry out to Jesus. Only He, in His mighty power, can release us from such feelings. With just one word, He can destroy the shackles and break the iron bars that pin us to our sadness. We may feel that we have committed a sin that permanently separates us from God or dramatically weakens our walk with Him. However, know that although we sin, God's love is always abounding and His love never shortens.

   Truthfully, nobody is perfect. It is our nature as fallen human beings to sin against God every day, which is why we so desperately need a Savior. God's unending love for us is a tremendous gift, so be sure to never, ever take it for granted. Do not deliberately sin, knowing that Christ will forgive you anyway. God honors a repentant heart, and if you do something you know you shouldn't, knowing that God will forgive your actions, you are not truly sorry for your sin. Jesus Christ forgives those who are truly sorry for their sins and are moved to a degree of sadness because of what they so thoughtlessly did. If we are treating the mercy of God like a common vending machine, then we treading upon His grace. However, there is hope :)

   What if we are truly sorry for our sins, and feel hopelessly trapped in guilt? In the film Amazing Grace, I am always touched by the line, "My memory is fading, but there are two things I remember very clearly...I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior." No matter how many sins we have committed, no matter how many terrible things we have thought, said or done, and no matter how many mistakes we've made, we are never too far gone. If we have a truly repentant heart, Christ is always ready to receive us with open arms, remove our guilt, and make us new.

   Although you may have failed God, He still loves you and desires to forgive you today :) Today, make your heart right before Him; remember, Jesus Christ willingly took all your sins, short-comings and failures to the cross. Come to Him with an honest, repentant heart and with a heart of joy, He will forgive you!! How exciting to know, that Jesus bore all of our mistakes and faults for us. With a heart abounding in love, awe-struck wonder, and adoration, I say "Thank you Lord!" 

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9

As Summer Closes...

   At last, after nearly three weeks, I am posting!! Thank you so much for bearing with me and my non-updated blog; life has been full of busy happenings as summer vacation comes to a rapid close. My family and I have taken a couple trips, as well as welcomed our cousins from Texas into our home for a week. With all the restless (yet wonderful) events taking place, it has been nearly impossible to steal away and dedicate a few precious moments to my blog. This long-awaited post is dedicated to my five favorite events that took place this summer: 1. Seeing my cousins from Texas 2. Going to Patrick Henry College 3. Camping 4. Competing in Tennis 5. Vacation Bible School

   My Uncle and Aunt have five children and the oldest is only six years old. Hearing the sound of high-pitched voices, seeing tiny shoes scattered throughout a room, and washing off small stubby fingers after each meal became very pleasing. Having small children around the house again was really enjoyable :) All five of the children are precious and have really sweet hearts. They stayed at our house for a few days, then we all packed up and went tent camping at my grandpa's large ranch. Having my mother's side of the family all staying together at once was really special. After sleeping under the stars for a few days, my cousins left California and flew home to Texas. I can't wait to see them again!

   About four days after getting home from the ranch, our immediate family re-loaded my Dad's truck, and headed to the hills for our second camping trip of the summer. Lake Alpine - where we camped - proved to be the perfect place to wind down before school and all its academic rigor begins again. We hiked, swam, played games, laughed, and greatly enjoyed each other's company. I truly have no greater friends than my parents and siblings! Unfortunately, we forgot to bring our camera, so that camping trip will be remembered solely by the mental pictures we snapped :)

   Over the past couple days, I have been organizing my textbooks, school schedule, and my cluttered desk in preparation for this coming Monday. It is hard to believe that summer is already over; after all, didn't school just end yesterday? The classes I will be taking are: Algebra 2, Spanish 3, U.S. History, English, Violin, Tennis, World Music, and Piano. This semester, I will really be focusing on expanding my knowledge of music and (hopefully) dramatically enhance my skills as a violinist. Please post in a comment the courses that you will be taking this year; I would love to know!

   Every summer, my tennis team and I have the opportunity to compete for the state title. Our team placed second in our local league,  which earned us a spot in the semi-finals at Clovis. However, we were narrowly defeated by our opponents on the first day of the competition. Even though our team didn't win, I am so grateful that we had the opportunity to make it to the semi-finals and grow stronger together as a team. Next year, our goal is to win :)

   Our church stretched Vacation Bible School out across five weeks and held it every Thursday night during that time. I oversaw the "Bible Memory" station where I selected, then taught the children memory verses each week. The kids competed against one another in a venture to see who could memorize the most portions of scripture. I felt so blessed and privileged to be able to work with the children who had eager hearts to hide God's Word in their hearts :) To check out photos from this event, click here.

   As my beloved summer vacation comes to a close, I thank God for the many wonderful memories that these few months will forever hold :) Now it is time to confidently sharpen my pencil, complacently sit at my desk, and courageously begin my junior year. God bless you, my dear readers!!