Thank You Jesus

There is a lot about me and my life that is imperfect. Let's face it. There's a lot about ALL of our lives that isn't perfect. The good thing about that (and yes, there IS a good thing about that) is that Jesus loves us anyway. 

Don't worry, I'm not going to get all preachy, and try to convert you to my religious beliefs, but the Bible does say 

Like I said, I'm not going to preach to you, but I do want to take a moment, and share my faith. What you choose to do with it, is entirely up to you. I do hope, however, that you'll take my words, and this glimpse into my faith, and actually get something from them. A wise man (the same wise man I've mentioned before) once told me "You may be the only Jesus some people will ever see ..".  I didn't quite understand what me meant at first, but I do now. Some people in this world, even in our own country, will never know the love of Jesus. They'll never know the peace that comes with having faith in Him. I can only hope and pray that my life (even though I know on most days it isn't) is a good enough representation of my faith in Christ, enough for others to see.

One of the hardest things about faith, is that it relies on just that. Faith. You can't physically see God (but if you take a look around it's hard not to),  and you can't physically hear God (but if you listen close enough, you might hear Him speaking to you in other ways) but it's hard to deny Him.

There is so much awesome in that verse. Think about it for just a minute. Take away all of the evolution mumbo-jumbo that we're taught in school, and just let this verse sit in your brain. God created the heavens and the earth.

God created.

God.

It all comes back to God. Before God created, there was nothing. It's hard for our human mind to fathom that, at least it's hard for MY human mind to fathom that. All God had to do was speak the words, and it was. I believe this, because I have faith. Of course, there's scientific proof that evolution is the way we, and our planet came about, but I use the word proof very lightly. I don't know about you, but I certainly do not believe that I'm the human I am, because my ancestors used to be apes. I don't believe that two atoms collided in outer space, and created a perfectly habitable planet for human, animal, and plant life. I don't believe for one moment, that it happened in any other way, than the way the Bible tells me it happened. Why? Because I have faith.

According to Dictionary.com, Faith, is defined as follows;

1. Confidence or trust in a person or thing
2. belief that is not based on truth
3. belief in God, or in the doctrines or teachings of religion
4. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc
5. the system of religious belief
6. the obligation of loyalty, or fidelity, to a person, promise, engagement, etc
7. the observance of this obligation; fidelity to ones promise, oath, allegiance, etc

Faith, very obviously, has a lot of sides. You have faith in your partner that they're going to remain faithful and honest. You have faith that your sports team is going to make to, and win the championship game. Do you have the same faith in our Creator? It's hard, I know. Like I said before God isn't available, in-person, to give us that assurance. That's part of faith. Trusting that even though you can't see Him, knowing that He's there. 

I got this quote from my Bible, and it couldn't be more fitting

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" - Jeremiah 29:11

Does the weight of that affect you? I know it does me. God knows the plans for our lives, long before we do. What seem like insignificant moments, really aren't. There's a purpose for them. 

I know a lot of people will take issue with the four words 'not to harm you' that are in that verse. I know a lot of people, myself included sometimes, that take all the bad moments in their lives and say 'Why is God punishing me? What did I do wrong?' Our God is not a God of punishment and pain. He's not a God of vengeance. He's a God of peace. A God of understanding. A God of hope. We just have to trust in Him, and allow Him to work in our lives, and everything will be OK. 

We all have anxieties in our daily lives. Whether it be from the stressed of money, to work, to our children it's there. Anxiety and stress don't have a prejudice in who they choose to overcome. The great thing about having Faith in God is knowing that we can give these stresses and fears and anxieties to Him. Sure it might not seem like an immediate solution, but I'm proof. There have been things in my life, especially recently, that I never would have gotten through if I couldn't have handed them over to God. He took them. No questions asked. He's helped me move on and get past what was troubling me. It may seem silly to some, but to me, it's more. My faith is my saving grace. 

I know that I was born imperfect, and that nothing I ever do in my life, will allow me to attain perfection. But that's OK. I don't have to be perfect to be loved and cherished by God. He knew me, and His plans for me, before I was even born. Being a child of God is part of who I am. It's part of the fabric that makes me, me. 

Like I said before. What you take away from this post, is entirely up to you. I just hope for one thing. I hope that my faith shines like a beacon in the night. I hope that my love for God, and the love that He has shown to me, is evident in my life. I hope that I was that bit of 'Jesus' for you, while you were reading this. I don't pretend to know everything there is to know about the Bible. I surely don't. I do know, that with God in my corner, nothing at all is impossible. Nothing is outside of my reach. I hope I made that clear here. 

Until Next Time ... 

Friday Favorites

Apparently I'm in a list making mood.  The last few blog posts have been lists of my favorite movies and television shows.  I'm going to attempt to make a list of my favorite songs  albums.  I think that might be a bit easier.

This one might take a bit more work, and an extreme amount of patience on my part, since I absolutely LOVE music, but I'm going to give it a go, and see what I come up with.  You definitely might not agree with some of these, and these are in NO way, shape, or form my ONLY favorites. Think of these more like, my comfortable fall-backs.

There's never a bad time for Madonna.  She's iconic, as is her music. La Isla Bonita, Like A Virgin, Material Girl .. need I go on? Anybody who is anybody has heard at least ONE Madonna song in their life, even if you didn't know (and if you didn't how could you not?!) it was Madonna.  It's definitely a classic.  One that will be around forever.  Check it out on iTunes or Amazon!

Don't judge me, but I LOVE *NSYNC.  I have (yes, I still have) every single album.  I'm trying to decide which one is my favorite - but it's SO hard!  I guess I'm kind of breaking the rules on this one. But hey, since I made the rules for this list, I'm allowed to break them.  Right?  Of course, right. Of course I love the ballads, cause I'm a girl, and I believe they're singing these songs directly to me, but I also like the upbeat songs too.  I don't think they could sing anything I WOULDN'T like.  I guess this means I'm an *NSYNC junkie, which I'm completely fine with.

This album, changed me.  I remember when I got it, and first heard the song 'I Want Your Sex'.  I had NO idea what the song was about, and I didn't care.  All I knew was that I loved it.  George Michael was my everything for a very long time.  I had 'Faith' and I would have been completely fine with him being my 'Father Figure'.  Looking back, I was probably all of 7 or 8 years old when this album came out, and I can understand now (that I'm a mother of girls) why my mother hated me listening to it, and singing along.  Loudly.  In my defense, it's just music, and music is universal.

I was going through a phase when this album came out.  It was the only thing I listened to for about 6 months.  Back to back.  Over and over.  In my car, in my bedroom radio, if I had a way to play it, it was playing.  I fully admit to overplaying it, and ruining it for those that had to live with me, but I don't regret it.  It spoke to me.  My favorite track on the album was 'Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning)', and 'Everything You Want' held a very close second.  I honestly can't say enough good things about this album.  I think I just might fire it up on iTunes right now!

The first is always the best.  Most definitely the case with Mariah Carey's albums.  Her first is my favorite.  Granted, her second, and third are also favorites, but there's something about the first one.  'Someday', 'I Don't Wanna Cry', and 'Love Takes Time' .. LOVE!! Her style changed a few years down the road, and I kind of lost interest, but this album will always be one that I love.



There I go again, stopping with 5.  It's not even an even number, but somehow, it just feels right. OK. Now it's your turn.  Here's what I want you to do ..

• Tell me what you think about my picks
• Tell me your favorite albums are
• Let me know what you think I should listen to, that I might not be. 

Until Next Time ..