Wednesday, August 19, 2009

New following-friends!

Hello my blogging buddies!

I just wanted to let you know that I have some more followers!
They are...
The beautiful Leah, from A Day in the Life... I was really inspired by her latest post, and encourage you to check out her blog!
The amazing and inspiring Kelsey, from Chapstick, Cameras and Crowns. Last night I sat down and read through every blog post she has ever written - and I had so much fun and really got alot out of that... So, I encourage you to do the same!
The lovely Marrissa, from A peek into my life. Her latest post is called 'Short Answers', and is really quite funny! Go and take a look!
And, the fabulous and encouraging Rinarinarina, from Something most Modern! I am sure that you will love her latest post, which is 'On Quiet Time'...

Please, check out these girls blogs, and leave them some love!
Thanks lovely people!
xoxoxoxo

Read more...

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Living a Life that Counts

I know it isn't Wednesday, but I have really felt to share this...

Monday 17th August, 2009

Living a Life that Counts

Matthew 6:34 – Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Exodus 9:16 - But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

Isaiah 49:4 - But I said, "I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the LORD's hand, and my reward is with my God."

Today is the Tomorrow we worried about Yesterday.

We are not guaranteed that we will live to see tomorrow. Nowhere are we promised that we will get married, have kids and grow old. And yet, we expect with all certainty that tomorrow will be there for us. We presume that we will live long enough to find that special someone, settle down with a family and spend our grey-haired years in a rocking chair.

But it doesn’t always happen this way.

Everyday, all over the world, lives are cut short. People, mostly children, are dying because of the sin and selfishness of our world. There is a food crisis in so many countries - people starving to death, or becoming ill from eating rotten food.
Even in the plentiful countries that many of us live in, there is still hurt, pain, and suffering. People still die undeservingly. Car accidents - drunk drivers. Depression - suicide. Drug overdose.
As I type this, my heart is unsettled. Why do we live in a world so full of pain? Becuase of sin. But what are we doing to change this? What cause are we standing behind? Are we even trying to make a difference in this world?
If you were to die tomorrow, would your life have counted?
Right now, our challenge is this:
Will I put aside ME - the things that I want, MY dreams, MY comfort - and pursue HIM?
Am I willing to give up being popular on earth to be a valuable part of heaven?
What am I going to do to change even the smallest corner of this world?
Is my focus on me, or am I focused on God? Is He my first priority?
Do I live in such a way that I am sharing God's love and making a difference everywhere I go?
IF I DIED TONIGHT, WOULD MY LIFE HAVE COUNTED?


(Please comment your answers to these questions)

I'm not pointing fingers at anybody - I struggle with this each and everyday as well. My answers would be:
1) My soul is willing but my body is weak... As much as my heart's desire is for 'me' to die and for Christ to live and reign in me, that isn't the way I live all my life. It has to change. It will be radical - I will probably look pretty strange, even to other Christians. But it is what I have to do.
2) I figure - I'm not popular, but I seek to be. I want people to like me and to have friends. But, what is better - the acceptance of God, or that of people? Makes me think about what it is that I really want...
3) What am I doing now... While it may not really seem much, I guess helping out in the children's ministry at church is part of that... as is my writing and singing. I really need to think more about this...
4) I know that I focus on me more than I should... that is going to change though! I am determined to make God my first priority!
5) Again, I wish I could whole-heartedly say 'Yes!', but I know that this is a constant struggle and issue... I'm working on it!
6) ... I want to say yes, but I'm not sure...

Let's change, and live in such a way that we can say 'My life counted!'

Read more...

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Relying on God

Wednesday 12th August 2009

Relying on God

2 Chronicles 14:11 – Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, “LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O LORD, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you.”

Isaiah 50:10 – Who among you fears the LORD, and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.

1 John 4:16 – And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. Go dis love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

Life is not always a bed of roses. It is not always like a piece of smooth dark chocolate. Sometimes it seems that life is not that smooth yacht ride you thought you got on – turns out it is actually a really big rollercoaster.
More than often, things happen in our lives that we wish didn’t. Dad might lose his job unexpectedly; perhaps your pet dog who you had lived with for your whole life suddenly passes away; it might be that your house is turned to dust in a freak bushfire which sweeps through your state.
Though these things are not fun, and don’t seem beneficial at the time, they have a purpose. God will never put you through anything you cannot handle. But do you know what? He doesn’t want you to try to do it all on your own.
When times get tough, it is not the bag of chocolate that we should turn to for comfort, it is our Bible. When we don’t know what is going to happen, don’t ask your friends for advice, or think that the newspaper horoscope will spell it out for you. Turn to God in prayer and ask Him and listen for the answer. If you suddenly find yourself drowning in a puddle of worries and woes, rise above that and worship your Saviour with all you have – because no matter what He is worthy.
In the book of Proverbs, we are told to not lean on our own understanding but to trust in God’s wisdom and turn to Him for direction in our life. But how often do we do that? Even in little choices, such as what we wear, we still need to ask ourselves what God would say about this.
So, we know we need to rely on God – not only in the bad times though, but in the good times. It can be hard to remember God when we are on the mountain top, or on the crest of the rollercoaster, but we have to. Our life, no matter what, needs to revolve around the wonderful love and goodness of our Heavenly Father. Even if it is hard, we need to worship Him because He is good and above all things.
The challenge to us now is this:

Will I put everything aside to know
and rely on my Father,
no matter what?

Things to think about (please comment your answers):
- What areas of my life am I holding onto and not letting God have control in?
- Where do I need to rely on God more?
- What things do I rely on now that I need to remove so I can rely on God more?
- What practical step am I going to take now – today – to rely more on God?

God bless you all as you rely more on Him!

Read more...

Spoken too quickly?

Okay, so a few days ago I announced that I was going to stop blogging for a while. Well, today I am feeling like there is no way that is going to happen. Why? Cause I love it too much and miss you all heaps.
So, I'm going to come up with a plan...
How about once a week posting? I don't just want to be posting random things... so I think I will just post on Wednesdays each week. It'll probably be a fairly lengthy post, to catch up on everything, but how does that sound?
And the whole reason I was stopping in the first place was cause I was wasting too much time on the net doing stuff that really was just not worth it in the long run.
AND! If you notice me around alot on a day which isn't Wednesday, get mad at me, okay? As hard as that may sound, I just need to cut back my net time HEAPS and focus on more important real-life things. So, tell me to get off the net if you find me hanging around alot, alright?
Thanks girls and guys, you are the best!

Read more...

Monday, August 10, 2009

Bye Bye Bloggy World...

Today is a rather sad day. For a number of reasons...
The one concerning you, my bloggy buddies, being this one.
I'm going to have to stop blogging.
For now, anyway.
You see, there is some stuff going on in my life right now that I need to take time to sort out.
I guess, as much as I love blogging, and think it is an awesome thing, I just can't keep it up right now. :( I need to stop, gather my thoughts, focus more on God and get my life back on track. Sound like a good plan?
I will miss you, blog-buddies! I hope to still be able to stop by and read your blogs, and comment from time to time... I just don't have time to write here...
I won't be deleting it, so please come back and remember all the fun times we have had!
God bless you beautiful people!
(oh, and I will still be regularly checking in to Nancy Rue's blog, RL girls! Don't worry...)
xoxoxoxoxoxo

Read more...

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Followers! :)

More new followers!

The wonderful Victoria (or VicVic!)! Come and see her blog here.
And... Jessica! Come and read her own blog here.
And... Ms. Sarah! Her blog is here.
And, lastly for now... ShannonDBR! Click here for her blog.
Thank-you lovely ladies for following! Pray that you are all blessed here!

God bless you, my bloggy friends!

Read more...

Tagged by Emii...

This is really cool... Emii made up her own tag post, and has tagged all girls! So here goes!

random thing's bout me
1. Who are your two favourite singers? Michael W. Smith and QuadPod, which is my youth group's band (and I might be joining!) :)

2. Your second favourite outfit? Jeans... Red/White striped jumper... Boots!

3. Your FAVOURITE outfit? Skirt, t-shirt, ballerina-ribbon sandals...

4. The Bible verse you think about the most? Hmm. That's a pretty hard question.. especially
considering I made it up! I think that the one I think about the most is Psalm 4:8, " I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, o Lord, make me dwell in safety." Because I don't think that it applies only to when you're going to sleep.

Cuz God is always with us, keeping us safe. Of course, another reason I probably said this one is because I memorized it. There is one at the back of my mind, about God always being with us.. that's the one I think about the most, except I don't even know where that is :S

5. What's your favourite series of books? The Elsie Dinsmore series, by Martha Finley.

6. What's your favourite type of Bible? I mostly use the NIV, buy sometimes I like to use the NKJV.

7. What are you going to do after you finish this tag? English... Shakespeare!

8. What was the last thing you did? English... Shakespeare!

9. Would you rather be rich or famous? Rich. cause I could give it all away and use it for good and God - being famous isn't really worth much in the long run...

10. The last movie you watched? High School Musical... lol, it was on TV this morning!

I tag... anyone who has a little brother!
God bless!

Read more...

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Linking up!

Hey girls and guys!
I was reading over at Lynnette Kraft's blog (click here) about an awesome idea she had to connect and encourage Christian ladies (sorry guys!) through blogs. So, without further ado, here is my contribution!

10 Charming, Wonderful and Interesting things about ME!

1. I love books - any type of books. Short, fat, long, big, pictures, lots of words, hundreds of pages, or chunky board books. I love 'em!

2. If I am sad, I will cry. If I am happy, I will cry. If I am really confused and don't know if I am happy or sad, I will cry.

3. My favourite time of year is spring time - my birthday season and MANGO season! (I <3 mango...)

4. My all time favourite movie is... The Sound of Music.

5. If I could do only one thing with my life, it would be LOVE OTHERS. I wanna be a mum and just love on people and show them how much God loves them.

6. I can't remember the last full-priced, brand-new item of clothing that I bought... it might have been some underwear... (I'm a op-shopper!)

7. If there is one thing that I really don't like - it would have to be butcher's shops. They smell REALLY bad, and there are like bits of dead animal everwhere... ewwww....

8. I have only ever left my home country once. (FYI, I live in Australia, and went to Fiji, for a missions trip, last year.)

9. I would love to marry someone with an accent... one day! Probably not soon, as 16 is a little young in my parent's books, but hey! Soon...

10. I love love love love love love love love love love love love love love GOD! :)

SOO!! Please remember to check out Lynnette's blog (here) and join in the linky, get-to-know-you fun!
God bless you beautiful people!
xoxoxo

Read more...

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

This whole button thing...

Hey all!

Well, as some of you would know, I made myself a button (scroll down... it's in the sidebar) and THEN I realized that it was too BIG! So I made another one which is smaller :) and will fit into your sidebar!
SOOOO, apologies go out to Emii, Libby and Miss Raquel who had already put up the button... you'll need to change it!

And, if you would like to know how to make a button, here is the link to the tutorial I followed.

God bless you all!

Read more...

To the lovely Miss Raquel...

Miss Raquel...

:) Heya! My blog email is...
justagirl4god-blog[at]hotmail[dot]com!
Feel free to email at any time... I'd love to hear from you! (anyone, that is, not just Raquel!)

xoxo

Read more...