The Names of God- Introduction Part 1

Currently, I'm researching and studying the names of God. Time and time again I am awestruck at the sheer amazingness of their significance and meaning. I want to share what I'm learning with you all, and I hope you get as many goosebumps as me. :)
~~

Where do you run in time of need?
Where do you run when the predators of trouble, worry, and fear pursue you?
Where do you hide when your past pursues you like a relentless wolf, seeking your destruction?
Where do you seek protection when the weasels of temptation, corruption, and evil threaten to overtake you?
Where do you turn when your energy is spent... when weakness saps you and you feel you cannot run away any longer?

Do you turn to your protector, the One who stands with arms open wide, waiting for you to come and huddle in the security of all He is?

The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the righteous runs into it and is safe.
Proverbs 18:10

Is the Lord your great tower? Is His name your strong fortress in a time of weariness or attack or great distress?

But how, you ask, could His name defend me? In biblical times, a name represented a person's character. God's name represents His attributes, His nature. His name is a statement of who He is. And He has many names! Each reveals something of His power and love and purposes toward you.

The Father longs to have you know Him better, that you might "trust in the name of the LORD and rely" on your God (Isaiah 50:10).

Did you know that this was uppermost in the mind and heart of Jesus as He faced the Cross? Just before He went to Calvary, He prayed for His disciples- and looking down through the centuries, He prayed for you and me, too. His deep desire was that "they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent" (John 17:3).

This was the burning goal of Paul's life and the cry of his heart, "That I may know Him" (Philippians 3:10).

Knowing your God means everything. Everything.
It's the difference between victory and defeat.
It's the difference between rest and constant turmoil.
It's the difference between an abundant, overflowing life and a life of barren emptiness.
It's the difference between deliverance and captivity.
It's the difference between finding a refuge and living as a fugitive.
It's the difference between life and death.
It's the difference between heaven and hell.

To be continued...
~Anna

Thoughts...On the Meaning of Life

Lately, I’ve really been thinking about the meaning of life. Well, not so much the meaning of life, but who we are, and what we should be doing, in the short-, mid-, and long-term. The main question I have been pondering lately is this: What specifically separates humans from say, monkeys? Obviously, many people just say we are above them, because we can reason, we can think, we have the ability for cognitive reasoning, and so on. With new discoveries every day in the scientific world, the general accepted idea currently is that we (humans) are no better than monkeys, mice, rats, or even a lowly amoeba.

So the question is raised: If we, as Christians, are going to say that we aren’t evolved from primordial slime, what does separate us? What makes us so unique?

This is a new idea, and I am still not sure exactly how true this might be, but I think I might have the answer. I’ve really been thinking about this quite a bit, and there is a whole story behind it.

Last year, I wrote a book. The main character, a computer, has the dream of becoming a human. After a series of events, she eventually does. However, I reached a conundrum. What does separate a human from say, an android? Or in this case, she became a human, but was she a full human, with every single ability and talent as a human? Obviously, I want to put a Godly message in everything, so what is the difference between us and a really smart computer? Can a computer even be smart? What is our special, inherent ability?

I would say it is innovation. It is the ability to create, to think outside the box, to develop, to introduce. Beyond just innovation, I have also been wondering how we are to use our innovation. We have the ability to think outside the box, and if we want, even think the box out of existence! If you accept the fact that we have the ability to create new ideas, to think outside the box, what are we supposed to do with this? To what end should we be using our physical bodies, and our mental capacities?

To God’s Glory.

We are to do everything to the glory of God. Everything we do should be as unto the Lord. Whether we are taking the trash out in the rain, or cleaning the gutters, or cooking over a hot stove, or anything we do, we should be doing it as unto the Lord. Regardless of whether we like it or not, we should be doing it with all our heart, and to the fullest of our extents.

So, the next time you have an idea, think about how you might be able to use it to the fullest extents. In everything you do, do it to His glory, and remember, ideas are good! Every idea you have is a gift from God! So go out there and innovate the world!

The Love of God: Chapter 3

"Push it out!!!" My tv trainer screamed at me. "Ha, yea right, you don't know what I'm feeling," I retorted in thought.

Recently my mom and I began working out together for fun/I-can't-breath-very-well-so-I-should-probably-workout-my-body. Even though I ice skate and do a couple other sports for pleasure I realized that I was waaaayyy out of shape. After the first day my body was screaming at me. Today after I finished working out God gave me a revelation.

Sometimes He pushes us to places we don't want to go. Whether that's a missions trip, a full-day 24/7 schedule, a break from friends, whatever. We don't like it and we usually let God know it, kind of like me and my trainer. But, also like my trainer, God doesn't stop when the going gets tough. He will often push us past the point we think we can go. Why does God do this? For one simple reason, He wants us to quit. Now don't loose me here, God wants you to give up trying on your own. He wants you to rely on Him, not on yourself. If your like me, you probably enter a hard time with a little (ok, a lot) of pride strapped to your back. You feel in control, and you like that feeling. It's easy to stay in that position. But as I said in my last post, God doesn't want us taking the blue pill, He wants us to step outside our "comfort" zone and take the red pill.

Now if this is all relating to you, that's not a bad thing. Just like working out, moving out of the easy lane is helpful and builds out bodies both physically and spiritually. Another thing, as you go through this time you are probably going to accumulate a lot of anger at God. GET THAT OUT. God understands what your going through. God doesn't get offended, He forgives you, and the WORST thing you can do is let that anger bottle up inside you. Give that anger to God. You can scream into a pillow, cry it out, work out (one friend of mine plays football to get it out), sing at the top of your lungs (my favorite way) or whatever other way God gives you that OBVIOUSLY doesn't involve hurting someone or yourself! NOT ALLOWED!!! God wants you to push though this last chance work out. Cause guys, it literally is our last chance. We are living in the end times. It's not a joke, it's the word of God. We need to be prepared to meet Him when He comes! So trust God through this hard time, God is trying to be your trainer and help you. He only does it because He loves you. You can make it, God says you can and I believe you can.

Well, back to the gym, :) Blessings and prayers go with you all!
Tess :)

Ephesians 2:9-10

So i was in the dressing room while i was shopping the other day and a song came on that i knew and loved, so of course i started singing it. a lady came out of her stall thingy and told me that i had a beautiful voice. i said "thank you" but it got me thinking...

Its easy to take compliments and not think about it. but honestly, nothing we have comes from us or anything we have done. in Ephesians 2:9-10 it ways "Not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

Now the "not of good works, lest anyone should boast." part is saying that we have don't nothing to acquire anything we have, whether it is looks, talents, qualities, or a position you are in, it all comes from God.

My mom told me a story once about her friend from when she was younger. she met her friend again a couple months ago and her friend was telling/bragging about how she had started as an intern in this company and worked herself up to where she was the co-manager or something. now that is pretty impressive but she was telling it like she had done it all on her own, but quite simply, it was only by God's grace that she was where she was.

The last part of the verse says "which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." when God created us he gave us each a unique group of talents with a special purpose in mind. he gave them to us so we could use them for His glory, for His righteousness, but unfortunately that is not always what happens.

So in conclusion, its easy to get all cocky about ourselves but always remember that its all from God. keep asking God to help you use them for His glory. there is my rather long piece of wisdom for the day...

Miss. Bailey

Lessons from a wee one...

Today is my nephew Mikey's birthday! And because it's his birthday, I'm gonna share something related to him...

So a few weeks ago, my family took a trip up too Cape Cod for one of our friend's wedding. It worked out so that my sister, her husband and their two kids, (my nephews) rode up in the van with us. I had the amazing privilege to have nephew number 2, Mikey, sitting next too me the entire way up and back. It was during this time that Mikey, my now one-year-old nephew taught me a little bit about life and how to trust someone.

The main lesson he taught me was how to trust properly. His personality is such that if he has the few things he likes, he is very happy. In fact, he is so happy you would think he had just eaten an entire cookie bowl. I'm still not sure what it was though, but something about the 11 hour car ride seemed to bother him a bit. He seemed slightly scared about the whole experience, especially for such a long duration.

His solution?

Grab my hand. Seriously. That's all it took. So for probably 80% of the trip, I was holding my nephew's hand, and making sure he knew he was safe and secure. It was because of this that he knew he could sleep in peace, and he didn't have to worry. Every so often, I would put my hand back in my lap, and usually no more than 30 minutes later, he would wake up, start clawing on my shoulder, and continue to do so until he had my hand again.

It was while all this was happening that I thought of how we are with God. All it took was to let Mikey hold my hand, and he would just look up at me, giving me the most adorable smile ever. As I sat there holding his hand, I thought too myself, "Why don't I have someone to hold my hand?" But then I thought, "wait a minute, I do!"

Isn't it amazing that we do have someone we can just grab hold of, and know that everything will be okay? We can have trust to know that He is so much bigger than us, and will protect us if anything goes wrong. He'll clean up after us, He'll insure that we have food to eat, and He'll make sure we have everything we need to sleep. In short, He can be everything I was to my little nephew. Mikey knew that as long as he was holding on too me, he was safe, and in the same way, I know I am safe as long as I just hold onto God's hand.

So that is the main lesson that my nephew has been teaching me. Trust. To give everything up too the Lord. To know that I can just depend on Him, and place all my troubles and problems in His care, and He'll take care of them better than I can. He'll clothe and feed me, give me a place to lie my head, and make sure I have a shelter. But more than that, He made sure that I have eternal life. He went above and beyond the call of duty, and insured that I had everything I would ever need.

I have someone to hold my hand.

Do you?

The Love of God: Chapter 2

"Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead... only try to realize the truth."
"What truth?"
"There is no spoon."
"There is no spoon?"
"Then you'll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself."
- The Matrix


I recently had the distinct pleasure of watching the incredible movie The Matrix. Now, I am able to understand and love science, so this movie blew me away. However, God brought along with it a really interesting idea.

Before I watched the movie, my dad asked me the famous question, "will you take the red pill or the blue pill?" Sometimes we put so much trust and energy into this world, our "Matrix". We put on masks, we play parts, we make people happy (teachers, parents, friends, siblings) and at some point (only you know when ;)) you go to sleep only to wake up the next day to do it again. It's hard to break this pattern, but taking the red pill is exactly what God calls us to do. His word says that we are not of this world, we were created to serve Him in His kingdom.

Sometimes God has to tear us out of our own little world in order to see what is really important.

My friends are probably the most important thing in my life besides my faith. Sadly though, I still struggle with putting God first. At one point in my life I had a friendship that consumed my entire life. This girl was everything I wanted to be, pretty, admired, talented, and confident. I swiftly let go of God and set this friend on top of the throne of my heart. Eventually God broke up our friendship and my 12 year old heart was devastated. I was just feeling cool, feeling worth loving and now it had all collapsed. Yet through all the pain, God led me to the place where He was all that matters, and all I wanted was Him.

Maybe your going through a time like this, you feel like quitting and don't understand what God is doing. Keep holding on. God will come. He loves you and He is strongest when we are weakest. "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might," Eph 6:10. Even if you don't understand, keep seeking God. This rough patch might just be God's way of saying I love you.

Always praying,
Tess :)

P.s.
Here is a song I wrote once that I felt I should share, hope you find God in it,

I told You that rain was all I could see
You told me that You were right in front of me
I told You I was crying myself to sleep
You said to let go and accept Your peace

You taught me to cling to You
and I learned to love this truth

That even when the mountains are falling down on me, you're still good,
Even when the dark is creeping into my soul, you're still there,
And even when I don't understand why you do the things you do, you're still God and I'm still here………..
in Your arms.

You say to start here and trust that you know best
I say that this is crazy and I'm just one big mess
You say to jump and believe Your word
You're breaking my heart but somehow I'll learn

That even when the mountains are falling down on me, You're still good,
Even when the dark is creeping into my soul, You're still there,
And even when I don't understand why You do the things You do, You're still God
and I'm still here……..
in Your arms

In Your arms the rain is outside my window
In Your arms I can see rainbows in the distance
And even though I don't understand why You do the things You do
You're still God and I'm still here

And even when the mountains are falling down on me, You're still good,
Even when the dark is creeping into my soul, you're still there,
And even when I don't understand why You do the things You do, You're still God
and I'm still here……..

and I'm still here………

In Your arms

Enjoy Life ~the way it was meant to be enjoyed!

Ok, here are some random thoughts I've been thinking about.... This is kinda the stage I'm at right now, so I could really use prayer in what I'm sharing... :)

Life can be mundane, so we think. We sometimes compare our lives to those around us those who you would think are "enjoying life" right now... with worldly things that only bring enjoyment for the present.

Who says that we can't enjoy life??.... I read once that an observer of the Christian faith said "You Christians seem to have a religion that makes you miserable. You are like a man with a headache. He does not want to get rid of his head, but it hurts to keep him to keep it. You cannot expect outsiders to seek very earnestly for anything so uncomfortable." This really made me think... sometimes in my Christian walk I struggle so much between what I know I should do, and what I want to do.... it makes me very unhappy. It doesn't have to be this way!

But I serve a God who is faithful who cannot and will not let me go! He is every moment teaching me to grow in His grace. I am learning that I must live a life of continual surrender... until everything, in my physical and spiritual life is His. If I am a lump of clay given to the potter, how else can the potter work with the clay unless it stops asking questions, arguing, and struggling against the will of the potter? To let him work in my life I must have complete trust and faith in Him.

We, in Christ are the only ones who can enjoy life to the fullest! You and I were made to live life to the utmost it could be, What could bring more fullfillment than having a reason to live.

Life is a vapor, enjoy it to the fullest! We have this moment, not the next, God gave us today, but only He knows what tomorrow holds for us.

How to enjoy life (the real way)

• Purpose to love and seek God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12.30, Luke10.27, Matt. 6.33) 
• Surrender COMPLETELY! Trust and have faith in Him, for the present and the future. 
• We were made in the image of God to glorify Him, Build everything around God make Him the reason why you live 

Live for His glory! and Remember He Loves you!
~k