Sermon-based poem

Good morning, lovelies. How are you today??

So here is a poem I wrote, I really like it. I got the inspiration from my pastor’s sermon yesterday, and also my youth group yesterday morning <3 :) Enjoy ;)

When the world seemed to drown,

I would call on my God.

The rain-it seemed-came down and down.

I hid in my abode.

My sin-it was a cloak

I used to hide away.

I distanced me from other folk

And got worse every day.

But then I heard a voice.

It whispered through the rain

It drew me near without a choice.

Said “you won’t be hurt again.”

It said to me, “My child,

Your sin is for the past.

Your chains are gone, so sing a song:

For you are free at last.”

When I’ve done my faithful part,

And all the world doth swell,

I know this now with all my heart:

My God does all things well.

And hence forever more,

I’ll reach the golden shore.

And then, at last, my Lord will pass

And love me nothing for.

Then, joy shall reign again.

We’ll see the face of God.

No sin, no cross, no pain, just cross.

And love shall come, my friend.

My sin-it was a cloak.

I used to hide away.

But now I sing to other folk

“When God found me that day”

Unashamed of the Love of Jesus Christ

Hello, my lovelies.

I just want every single one of you to know, I am a christian. If you don’t like that about me, then please feel free to stop following me or checking my blog. I don’t want to lose followers, and I would prefer that instead of unfollowing me, you would simply read through what I write and decide whether or not you think that what I believe is true. But also please refrain from insulting me.

I believe in the one true God, and I will never stop believing in him. You can speak badly about him, or me, or my friends, but nothing you say or do will ever change what I believe.

I appreciate your opinions, I really do, and I would like nothing more than to speak to you about why I believe in God. I do not speak badly about any of you, but I would just ask that in return, you would not insult me, speak badly about me, or give me a bad reputation among the members of the internet, or among those in real life.

Please and thank you.

God bless.

Have a wonderful weekend.

9/11/2014

It’s 9/11, folks. I would ask you to take a minute to send up a prayer for the families who were targeted by the planes.

The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks launched by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda upon the United States in New York City and the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. The attacks killed almost 3,000 people and caused at least $10 billion in property and infrastructure damage. Four passenger planes were hijacked by 19 terrorists to induce suicide-attacks. Many were hurt, many were killed, and the effects struck millions.

“Before the Twin Towers collapsed, an estimated 200 people fell to their deaths from the burning towers, landing on the streets and rooftops of adjacent buildings hundreds of feet below. To witnesses watching, a few of the people falling from the towers seemed to have jumped including the person whose photograph became known as the Falling Man. The NIST report describes the deaths of 104 jumpers, but states that it likely understates the total number. The sight and sound of "one, two, three, four [jumpers], smashing like eggs on the ground" horrified and traumatized firefighter and police witnesses. The jumpers' death certificates, like most other victims', states the cause of death as homicide from "blunt trauma".

Some of the occupants of each tower above its point of impact made their way upward toward the roof in hope of helicopter rescue, only to find the roof access doors locked. Port Authority officers attempted to unlock the doors but control systems would not let them; in any case, thick smoke and intense heat would have prevented rescue helicopters from landing.

Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., an investment bank on the 101st–105th floors of One World Trade Center, lost 658 employees, considerably more than any other employer. Marsh Inc., located immediately below Cantor Fitzgerald on floors 93–100 (the location of Flight 11's impact), lost 295 employees and 63 consultants. Risk Waters was holding a conference in Windows on the World at the time, with 81 people in attendance.

John P. O'Neill was a former assistant director of the FBI who assisted in the capture of 1993 World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef and was the head of security at the World Trade Center when he was killed trying to rescue people from the North Tower. An additional 24 people remain listed as missing.

The average age of the dead in New York City was 40. The dead included eight children: five on American Airlines Flight 77 ranging in age from 3 to 11, three on United Airlines Flight 175 ages 2, 3, and 4. The youngest victim was a 2-1/2-year-old child on Flight 175, the oldest was an 85 year-old passenger on Flight 11. In the buildings, the youngest victim was 18 and the oldest was 79.”

I ask that you would think for a few minutes about all the families. Just to let them know that they are not forgotten.

I know going through hard times, it may seem like God is not there, and like He is just sitting up there, watching all the bad things happen, but I just want to remind you that He is there, and He is watching, and He is doing something. Everything that happens happens for a reason. It might seem like He is just laughing at you-trust me, I’ve felt it myself. But He’s not. He cares about every single last one of us, and He sheds a tear every time we do.

God bless the 9/11 victim families.

Have a wonderful Thursday <3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6jkY6SlTi8

Future Family Resolutions

Hey, everyone! So I was thinking about marriage and my future husband (someday) because...yeah. I’m a teenage girl and look forward to that kind of thing ;)

Just so you all know:

Yes, I am single,

No I am not looking as of now ;)

I just like weddings :)

Anyways, back to the actual topic: I was sitting on my family;s lovely purple couch and thinking about weddings and kids and stuff and thought “Hey, my and my future husband need to like...make resolutions and stuff…” so I made a list. I call it “Nineteen Things.” And the subtitle is below. Enjoy ;)

“Future Family Resolutions”

1. Do your best to make things fair, but teach the kids that sometimes life just isn’t.
2. Music and stories: read, tell, sing, listen.
3. Keep the house clean even when you don’t feel like cleaning. Find fun ways to do it so that you can teach your kids to crank the music to get it all done fast. Teach the kids that work is why God made us. ;)
4. Second Chances (YES PLEASE!!! Teach and give!)
5. Don’t make things to eat the no one except you likes. Accept criticism, but not whining as far as food goes
6. Recreational events: Swimming, fishing, hunting, story time, movie night, anything to get us all together (preferably pick one night a week when no one is allowed to plan anything because it’s family night)
7. Encourage everyone to read (and just entertain themselves in general)
8. Playing outside!!!!! Bikes, play swords and shields or bow and arrows, wrestling with dad, hiking swimming, swings
9. Be a good example in everything. Religion-wise, attitude-wise, and modesty-wise. Clean, read, dance, exercise, be healthy, have fun, play outside, be crazy ;)
10. Teach true beauty
11. Daily Devotions (family and personal)
12. Listen!!!! Whether it be to both sides of an argument, or causes of a bad day, make a point of always listening.
13. Find ways to make them listen up when you need their attention (I have found that saying “Clap once if you can hear me” and building up the claps until everyone is doing it is very efficient ;) )
14. Let the kids know that they can be whoever and whatever they want. We are all identified by Christ. Be a janitor for Christ, be an author for Christ...etc. (even a princess! Just find an eligible prince to marry ;) )
15. Teach them good manners (also find ways to make it fun)
16. Make them tithe and save
17. Teach senses of humor to everyone without unnecessarily hurting someone’s feelings by teasing.
18. Show that you love your husband. Show affection in front of the kids so that they know how to someday treat their own spouse.
19. Date Nights: Have one at least once a week. Just because you married him/her doesn’t mean you have to stop dating. Also, keep dressing up for him/her! *see previous sentence*

So there you have it. That’s my list, now I challenge you to make your own list of “Nineteen Things” to do to keep your future-or current-household in line, and accountable.

I would love to read your list of Nineteen Things! Please please email me! I would love to hear from you! Please push the subscribe button to the side of your screen, and I hope you enjoyed this post. Have a wonderful day.

Blessings!! <3

Isaiah 50:7

Suicide Post: TRIGGER WARNING

Hello, my lovelies :)

So I saw a post on the social media the other day-Google Plus-that struck me as very true. I don’t know if any of you struggle with depression, but the page Project Happiness posted something that really spoke to me.

“(Warning, the following may contain dark and triggering information and lots of ranting, only read if necessary and if read, read to the end. Viewer discretion is advised. I'm going to lose a lot of followers for this....)

I can't tell you how sick it makes me. This whole romanticism of mental illnesses and scars. It's very disturbing. Thousands upon thousands of dark and sickening posts of scars, blood, and darkness. You all complain that you're depressed and you want to be happy but you don't do a freaking thing about it. You embrace mental illnesses. You write poems about the voices inside your head and how you think you're a demon and a monster. You embrace cigarettes and blades and complain that you aren't who you used to be. You complain that you won't be happy. You overdramatize the whole situation. You think you're misunderstood. The whole thing is disgusting. You fill your own mind up with sh!t and make yourself worse. I come across so many posts about romanticizing these things. They disturb me greatly. Do you even know what you're doing? You're embracing a mental illness. That's not something to be embraced. You're choosing to be this way. Yeah, well, some of us don't. Some of us want to be happy. You complain about that and then keep romanticizing the very thing that will kill you. You don't want to die. You want to be saved. But you're so pessimistic about the whole thing you won't allow yourself to be. Y'all complain the you killed the happy person you used to be. No, no you do didn't. They're trapped inside you. They're still there. They're just chained up. You have the key. You just won't believe they're still there. You think you're rotten and twisted beyond recognition. Yeah? You're not. You're wearing a mask. And you put it on. Society, is pretty messed up. But every single person believes they're part of the whole rebellion. Everyone does. And I guess we all are. Society won't change though. There are people who are kinder and wiser than others, there are people who are more caring and knowledgeable than others, there are people who fit in more and look the image and for the bill more. And that's the whole thing. Y'all think you're misunderstood and the only ones who know what you're going through. Honey, that's bull. There are so many people who understand. There are so many people who care. There are so many people who get it. You're not alone. You choose to isolate yourself and then complain about it. And I understand...

YOU HAVE THE CHOICE TO CHANGE ANYTHING IN YOUR LIFE!!!

This is extremely overlooked. So many people over implicated the whole thing. You don't want certain people in your life because they're jerks? Leave 'em. Feel like you're alone? Talk to someone. Feel like you're misunderstood? Open your eyes and look around, more people than you think. Want to not be stuck in the past anymore? Move forward. Want to get through this? Make that decision and make the choices for getting help. Want to be happy? Stop embracing mental illnesses and wake up. Realize it's unnatural and you're only making yourself worse. And do things you enjoy. Want to heal? Sort through your feelings, breathe often, don't harm yourself, and move forward. Want to get over someone? Realize this: if they were supposed to be in your life they would be now. Want to stop self-harming? Throw away everything that can be used in that way. Scars aren't beautiful. They're wounds. It's the person itself that is beautiful.

I understand that some of these choices aren't so easy, but know that you have the choice to change anything about your life whenever you want. You have the power to do that. Pick yourself up. Brush yourself off. And move the hell on. You Are Not Defined By Your Problems Or Mental Illnesses. Romanticizing Them Does NOT help.”

I am sorry if any of this was offending or if it triggered anything, but I just thought that this was worth posting.

Thank you for reading.

Stay beautiful.

God bless. <3 :)

The Worst Feeling

    Hello, gems. :) So I finally finished that story I was working on, "The Way I See It". I hope you all enjoy it. I certainly enjoyed writing it. :) Thanks, lovelies :)

You know what the worst feeling is? The worst feeling that God ever created is not being loved. Being lonely. Having the person you love the most suddenly leave. No explanation, no talk, nothing. Just loneliness.

Everyone thinks they deserve love. When they get left behind by someone who they cared about, they are automatically angry. That person “didn’t know what they are missing”. Our friends comfort us with much the same things. “He is a jerk”, “She doesn’t know what she is doing”, “One day, he’ll come back to you and realize what he left.”. They comfort us by making us feel better about ourselves when maybe we should have been thinking about what we did wrong. People tell us-and thus we tell ourselves-that we did nothing wrong. It is someone else’s fault. Sometimes it is no one’s fault.

The way I see it, it’s not always someone’s fault. Sometimes that is just the way it was supposed to happen.

+

    Elli stood in the library, books clutched to her chest, butterflies dancing in her heart as she waited for Bennatt, her best friend and boyfriend. In her right hand, she tightly clutched a pocket knife that he gave her for her 17th birthday. The handle was made of petrified wood, and it shone every time she tilted it into the light.

    They were meant to meet up today, he had told her last night over a telephone call that he had a surprise for her.

    When the door opened, and the little bell jingled, her heart beat a little faster in anticipation. Then, he was there. Bennatt. His red hair and green eyes, his forever laughs and strong arms. He grinned at her and shoved a lock of hair out of his eyes. Elli bit her lower lip, and smiled a little. He strode up to her and gently took the books out of her arms. “Time Between Us” and “Time After Time” by Tamara ireland Stone. She had read them already, but they were her favorites. She had to read them again.

Bennatt wrapped his arms around her waist, careful not to touch her any lower than that. She threw her arms about his neck and giggled. The librarian glared disapprovingly at them and shoved her black glasses higher up on her nose.

Bennatt put his face next to her ear. “Shall we take this outside?” Elli smiled and nodded. He took her hand and led her outside, slipping her books underneath his arm as they went past.

When they got outside, Elli wrapped her arm around his. “I believe I was promised a surprise...?” Bennatt tried to hold back a smile, and failed. “Were you now? I don’t remember making such a promise.”

    “Well, maybe it was my boyfriend...he always makes me happy...I should call him...” he laughed that musical laugh that he always did when she teased him. She bit her lip again, and leaned forward to kiss him. He met her halfway, pulling her into him, dropping the books gently to the ground beside them. He gripped her hand and smiled as he drew his face down her neck.

    “C’mon.” and he pulled her along, Elli laughing all the way. He pulled her back again across the intersection, not stopping for lights or other cars, resulting in several angry honks around them, but Elli and Bennatt were still laughing, enjoying the crazy of it all.

He pulled her through the old church doors, past the stained-glass windows portraying Mary holding her child, and up to the very top floor. Hundreds of people lined the walls, but silence reigned. He smiled at her, and gripping her hand, knelt on one knee and said “I  have been with you for two years now. We have seen the world together, and shown loyalty and love beyond anything anyone has ever felt. I am asking you now to take one last leap of faith with me, Elli Michaels, will you marry me?” He pulled out a ring that was silver, embedded with metal foliage so lifelike that she thought it could have crumbled. The diamond on top sparkled in a hundred dazzling colors, blues and pinks and purples and whites spun around in the center.

Elli’s eyes teared up and she placed her hands over her mouth. Tears ebbed their way down her cheek and she nodded slowly. She pulled him up from the ground as he slipped the ring onto her finger and into her arms, to enfold him in a deep kiss. “Yes, Bennatt Gold. With all my heart.”

+

    Two years later, Elli was sitting alone on her couch, eating her lunch, a novel in her hand. She smoothed her hand over her stomach and sighed, “Don’t worry, Alex, Daddy will be home soon.” she grinned down at her soon-to-be-daughter. Even as she did so, she heard her husband’s heavy footsteps approaching the door. Her mind wandered back to their wedding day. Everyone had been there. It had been perfect. Her dress bejeweled with blues and sparkling hues to match her ring. When they finished the “I Dos”, Bennatt made a speech for her that had put all other weddings to shame.

    “When I first saw you, I had no idea who you were. All I knew was that you were an angel in disguise and no one else could see you but me. After a few months, I began to understand that God had sent you to me to guard me, to help me through the hard times, and to sing my song. Elli, you are my beautiful angel, and I don’t know how I ever could have lived without you. I love you with all of my heart.” The Pastor thought it was so nice that he skipped the rest of the ceremonies and told him to kiss the bride.

    Ellis sighed at the memory, and looked up as her husband walked through the door. After two years, he still greeted her every friday with a bundle of blue and red flowers. He did so now, setting them aside to free his arms to embrace her. She laughed and kissed him gently on his soft lips.

    “Hello.” he said, muttering against her lips.

    “Hi.” she replied, grinning.

    “I have a surprise for you...” he pulled her gently into another kiss.

She laughed as he slipped his hand into hers. Two years had passed and still, she was as in love with him as she was when they were in middle school. In a way, she was more in love with him.

He pulled her out the door and across the road, dodging cars and taxis, ignoring the frustration of the world around them.

+

    Elli didn’t know where she was.

    It was dark

    It was black

    She was lost

    Where

    was

    Bennatt?

She opened her eyes, and before she knew it, another blanket of warmth pulled her again into its sickening embrace.

+

    Elli glanced around at the room around her, and was immediately blinded. White walls. White curtains. White bed. White sheets. Her head hurt. Her arms hurt. Her mouth was dry. She glanced around and noticed a glass of water on the stand next to her. She reached for it, and when she closed her fingers around it, they refused to work and the cup shattered on the cement floor. A woman rushed in and shoved her hand into Elli’s chest, forcing her to lay back down.

    “It’s okay, honey.” her thick southern drawl dripped out of her words. “just lay back down, there. Everything’s gonna be okay. Do you know where you are?”

    A hospital. Elli shook her head as if doing so would get rid of the reality that she knew was there.

    “You are in Mercy Hospital. You were in an accident. Do you remember what happened?”

    No.

    She pulled out a clip board and began to scribble furiously. She scanned the page with her aquamarine eyes. “You were...” she paused “going across the intersection, and someone crashed into you...well...they were about to...” her eyebrows went up. “You were with someone else, weren’t you? A boy? He threw himself in front of you. He got the worst of it. Don’t worry. You’ll be okay. Just some bumps and bruises, and a mild concussion.”

Tears stung Elli’s eyes.

    “And...the baby...she’ll be okay, too.”

    “Can...c-can I...” her throat was too dry. She couldn’t speak. The woman left with a sympathetic smile and returned a few minutes later with a glass of water. When Elli was hydrated , she tried again. “Can I speak to him? Where is Bennatt? I want to see him.”

The woman seemed hesitant. Elli tried a different approach. She took a deep breath. “What’s your name?”

She smiled. “Anna.”

Elli nodded. “Anna...Please...I need to see him. He is my husband. We’ve only been married two years. Please.”

The woman opened her mouth and then closed it again. Anna bit her lower lip. “I’ll see what I can do.” She exited the room, pausing for a minute at the door.

Several minutes passed and no one entered her room. She occupied herself with counting the ceiling tiles and trying to guess how big the room was.

She heard someone outside. Looking back, she saw it all. It was her first date the night he came to call. And her dad said “Son, haver her home on time, and promise me you’ll never leave her side.” he took her to a show in town. She was ten feet off the ground. They  held hands and the whole time a smile was lighting up his face, stealing away her breath. She remembered the night they fell in love. He was walking her home.

Her ears again went to the people outside of the door. Someone-a Doctor, she assumed-said “This could be his last night.”

Anna said “Oh. Should we tell her now, or should we wait until the morning to find out?” Someone finally came in. He was tall and handsome and his eyes reminded her of Bennatt. Anna stood in the doorway while the man entered.

“I take it the nurse asked you if you remember what happened?”

Anna nodded solemnly. “Just...tell me what happened. I want to know what happened to my husband.”

The doctor sighed, and stood a little straighter. He looked slightly haggard, as though the day at the hospital had been hard on him.

“You are the wife of Bennatt Gold?”

Elli nodded painfully, wincing at the movement.

“I am sorry to say, your husband had suffered a severe concussion. There was bleeding in his brain, and he had several broken bones. I am sorry...he didn’t last the night.”

Elli couldn’t hear anything. the lights had gone out, she was in the darkness, but she didn’t care. She screamed. She screamed so loud and so long, she didn’t  know any other sound. A wail filled the hospital. She vaguely heard the nurse running toward her saying “Please, ma’am. Shhhh...please, Elli, please.” The doctor caught her and held her back. Elli reached into the pocket of her hospital gown. Someone had placed her knife there. She flipped it open. She heard Anna yelling at her to stop, still held back by the perhaps crazy doctor. She clutched the blade in her hands, sending blood all over her and the bed. Then, Bennatt was there. He stood behind the doctor. He didn’t come near her, but she felt as though he was so close. He held his finger to his mouth, and then told her to drop the knife. She gently laid it down on the floor. He moved closer to her, and gathered her up in his arms. “I will always be with you, Elli, my love.” He kissed her carefully on the cheek and then rose and disappeared.

Elli sat calmly on the hospital bed, and asked the doctor when she might be discharged. He smiled, amused and said “As soon as you want.”

Elli wanted to rest for a bit, so she lay down for a few hours. After a little bit, a woman and a man entered.

“Hello, I am Dr. Salas. Myself and Ali here will be taking care of you until you think you are ready to leave.”

Elli peered into the corner of the room. Anna and the doctor stared back at her, smiled, and held their fingers to their lips.

 

 

Thanks all for reading. :) Love you all  <3

God bless.

 

True Beauty

Hello, my darlings :) Today’s word is “Beauty” You all know, I think what true beauty is, so I am not going to go spouting quotes and stuff about how “Inner beauty is better than outer” because you already know that. I just want to say a few things about this.

1. Mirrors and scales do not define you. No matter what people say, they do not define you.

2. You do deserve love and happiness no matter who you are or what you look like.

3. never give up.

I know this is a short post, but yeah :) Thanks for reading, lovelies :)

God bless <3

True Happiness

Hey, guys, so I am super sorry that I haven’t posted in awhile. This month is birthday month. Literally all but one of my siblings have their birthdays this month, and mine was last week, so I have been a bit busy.

Anyways, so for the last little bit I have been struggling to find inspiration, so I finally found this internet page that literally only has 365 words that are inspiring to people. So I decided that each time I blog, if I can’t find inspiration to do anything else, I will just go down the list and talk about the next one. So the first thing on the list is “Happiness” so today I am going to talk about happiness. :)

So just now, I looked up what the definition of “happiness” is according to the average mind.

The results shocked me. “The state of being happy”, “Living a good life”, “Good fortune”, “pleasure”, “The act of having meaning”.

Don’t we already have meaning? The bible says that we are made in God’s image. That is our meaning. That is our identity. That is who we are. “Good fortune”, “living the good life”, and “Pleasure” are nothing.

Why is everyone under the impression that we have to find out who we are? All my friends have always told me that middle school is about “finding out who you are”. Yeah, in a sense, that is true, but on the other hand, no it’s not. Our whole life should be based upon finding out who God wants us to be, and focused on being that person.

Ephesians 2:10

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

So if real happiness is finding out who we are, or knowing what our meaning is, then we should always be happy because even before we were born, we had meaning.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Psalm 139:13-16

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

Searching the bible, it seems to me that all God wants us to do is love him and prove to others how much he loves them.

True happiness is pleasing God.

Thanks for reading, I hope that it was helpful to you!!! I actually had a lot of fun doing this one, and thanks a lot to whoever made that page of the 365 words that are inspirational. I learned a lot from this, and I hope you did, too :)

Thanks again.

Blessings <3