The Shoe is One Year Old!

   So, it is the anniversary of my blog and that got me thinking about all the posts I have done so far. You know, it is funny, when I think about how I used to be scared to share my thoughts. Then I realized that God had given me a gift for writing. He gives us all gifts; and if we do not use them we can lose them. Honestly, when I was younger, I was not really a fan of writing down my feelings or my thoughts. But, as I grew up, the words just started to pour out of me and I wondered why. That’s when I discovered the gift.

   I began to use my gift. I wrote a few books but I never showed them to anyone, at least, not until they were done. See, when I wrote it felt like a part of me was being poured out onto the page. I was sharing some of my experiences, problems, and emotions in my books. I did not want anyone to know the real me. Then I had an experience at Camp Yolijwa where I realized that it is okay to show others the real me. So I began to share my books with a few friends; and I opened up more to them. It was a great feeling but, after going to Lancaster Bible College, I realized it was not enough.

   I began to have these thoughts and ideas come into my mind. I started forming my own worldview. I realized that there are a lot of lost people out there who need to hear the word. And I began to think to myself “how can I spread the word more?” So I started a blog because I realized that there may be people out there who need or want to hear what I have to say.

   I once had a very good friend of mine tell me something I have never forgot. She was giving me advice on life and it finally opened up my eyes to a solution. I thanked her from the bottom of my heart and she said “whatever you heard that helped you did not come from me, it came from God." I did not really understand how she could say that, until now. I look back at my posts and I’m astounded at what I have said. Sometimes I have no idea where certain things I talked about came from. And then I realize that it did not come from me; it came from someone greater than me.

   So, what talents/gifts do you have? How are you using them? 

   Romans 12:6

Labor Day: Faith in Working

   When I think about Labor Day it makes me think about work. Then that makes me think about money, which I’m not a fan of but that’s for another blog post. Then I think about everything I have to do with that money and the time it’ll take me to do what I need to do. I get stressed then tired and I need to lay down. True, on Labor Day I don’t usually have to work but still.

   So my question is why do I feel that way? Isn’t work supposed to be a good thing? I mean Colossians 3:23 tells us to work for the Lord. Proverbs 13:4 tells us that we need to be diligent and not sluggish in our work. If we do not work then we cannot survive; therefore, we cannot tell others about our faith in Jesus Christ. Which leads me to think about Faith.

   Why do we do what we do? Yes, society wants us to work because it makes our country grow. But, I do what I do for the Lord. I do everything I can because of my faith in Him and for His glory. But what is faith? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary faith is “strong belief or trust in someone or something.” All it takes for us to gain eternal life is for us to accept Christ into our hearts and have faith in Him. But, how do we show that we have faith?

   Most of you have probably heard the argument about faith and works. James 2:26 says: “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” That makes it seem like we need to work in order to gain eternal life; but that is not what this passage is saying. In order to show that we have faith in Jesus Christ we need to follow him. In order to follow Christ we need to listen to him and follow his commandments. How do we follow his commandments? We do that by reading the word and following it. Which means, that people will know we are Christians by how we act and what we do. This is why the faith without works argument is so important. We can have faith in Christ and not do good works; but then that means we are not listening to our master/God. Thus, we do not have faith in him.

   So on Labor Day I want you to think about work. I know right, this girl is making me think about that place on my day off. Yes, I am; because I want you to think about how you treat your job and how you act when you are there. Would your co-workers say that there is something different about you? Do you put your heart and soul into what you do? Are you a servant when you are at work? Can people tell that you have faith in Christ by your works?

   James 2:26, Colossians 3:23, Proverbs 13:4

A Successful Team

   So, some of you may know that I have decided to play soccer again this season. I have enjoyed playing soccer for fourteen years of my life. But, if there’s one thing I have learned from playing soccer it is that it is important for a team to work together.

   So how do people work together? It seems like a simple question with an easy answer. But that is not the case. There have been many teams that I have been on which I did not feel like I belonged on the team. There were different reasons each time like all the drama, people not including me, people not encouraging me, and so on. But, over the years I realized there was something in common with each of the teams I did not feel like I belonged on. People did not form relationships with one another. They did not want to get to know each other.

   In order to have an amazing soccer team, leadership team, work team, or whatever team there is you need to have relationships with others. If I did not know how the people on my team played then I wouldn’t know what to expect out of them. I also would not know if something was wrong with them. See, people on my old teams did not seem to care about me if something was wrong with me. Because of that, I did not feel like anyone cared about me.

   We need to get to know one another in order to be successful at whatever we are doing, if we are on a team. We also need to listen to one another. One major problem I’ve had in the past with teams is that people think we are just there to play soccer. Yes, we are there to play soccer; but we also have other things going on other than soccer. People on my teams did not get to know what was going on in each other’s lives. Sometimes there are issues in people’s lives that impact how they play soccer. But, people wouldn’t know that unless they asked that person or knew that person well enough.

   You may not be on a soccer team; but I know for sure you have had to work with others or will have to work with others in the future. Do you know the people you work with well enough to know when something is going on with them? Do you have relationships with the people you work with, or are you just going through the motions? Do you care about others the way that you would want them to care about you?

   Philippians 2:4, Galatians 6:2, 1 John 3:17

Moses: A Life Changed

   I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: change is a difficult season to be in. But, we are always in that season. I was reminded of this the other day when I watched The Prince of Egypt. It is an old Dreamworks movie about the story of Moses. The movie is one of the reasons why Moses is one of my favorite Bible stories. But back to the point, I was looking up the songs on YouTube the other day and I found one video that put two of the songs together: “All I Ever Wanted” and “Let My People Go.” That got me thinking about Moses’ story.

   “All I Ever Wanted” happens right after Moses finds out that he is a Hebrew. It shakes him up because everything he’s ever known to be true was a lie. So the song talks about what he wanted in life. He doesn’t expect much out of life other than to live comfortably in the palace. Because, his older brother will eventually be Pharaoh.  The problem with Moses’ view is that he was focusing on himself and what he wanted, not God's will. So then, we all know that, Moses runs away. Eventually, God speaks to him through a burning bush. God tells him to go back to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to let His people go. Which, leads to the next song in the video.

   “Let My People Go” is Moses’ message to Pharaoh. What I find interesting is in the song Moses says that he wishes that God had chosen another to be Pharaoh’s “foe.” In the movie, Pharaoh is actually Moses’ brother. It tears Moses up to know that he has to oppose his brother, but he does what God tells him to do.

   The interesting aspect of these songs is that it shows how Moses’ priorities changed. The first song, “All I Ever Wanted,” is all about what Moses wants. He doesn’t really care about anyone else, especially the Hebrews, until he learns that he is one of them. The second song, “Let My People Go,” is all about Moses following God’s lead even though it is difficult for him to do. Changing can be difficult but, as Moses’ life shows us, it is worth it in the end. Moses was a stronger leader because he followed God.

   So are you following your own selfish desires or are you following God? If you are following your own desires are you willing to change in order to be better?

   Link for the video:

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp5VsqVOu5s

   Romans 12:2, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Matthew 16:24. 

Rescuing the Damsel in Distress

   When you think of a Disney Princess what do you think of? She is someone who either has a problem or is rich. She is someone who is strong in her own way, could be the daughter of royalty, and could be married to a prince. One other thing I think of is a damsel in distress.

   I don’t know about you but whenever I watched the old Disney princess movies I would think to myself: “why do these girls need men to save them? Why can’t they just do something for themselves?” But, now that I’m looking back, I realize each Disney princess had their own strengths.

   I mean, think about it. Cinderella worked so hard, went to a ball, wasn’t looking for a prince but he found her. Belle did not let others choose who she would be, she did not follow the crowd, she did not marry Gaston even though she could have had a comfortable life with him, and she gave the Beast a chance when she could have chosen to ride him off like everyone else did. Tiana was willing to work hard to see her dream come true, she did not just expect someone to do her work for her, and she saw that there was a difference between what she wanted and what she needed (basically I see her story as what we want vs. what God has planned for us, in other words God always gives us what we need). There are so many more examples; but it is important to realize that, because the princesses have strengths, they also have weaknesses that they need rescued from.

   It seems like Disney Princesses are weak when looking at the movies. I mean, in almost every movie, a prince has to come along and save the girl. Some examples would be: Ariel needing rescued from Ursula, Rapunzel needing rescued from Mother Gothel, and Aurora needing rescued from her deep sleep and Maleficent. But, when I thought about it, the girl needing rescued isn’t such a bad thing. It just proves the message that we need each other. We need to be willing to ask for help when we need it. That is why I see the Princesses needing rescued as a good thing. For those of you who still need convincing about weaknesses being a good thing look up 2 Corinthians 12:9.

   One final thing I want to point out about princess movies is that there is always one underlying theme: love. Whether it is love between a prince and a princess, between parents and a princess, or between a friend and a princess love is a major theme. While the world will not admit it, this proves that we need each other. Humans need to feel loved and need to help one another. God designed us that way. He wants us to love each other no matter what; and to help one another. God also wants us to love him; because he loves us and created us.

   So how do princess movies relate to us? We need to look for the lessons in our lives and the stories we know. We need to use our strengths for God’s glory. We all need rescued every once in a while. Even if we don’t want to admit it, we need help and love. We also need to love others and be willing to sacrifice ourselves, just as Jesus sacrificed himself for us. Which leads to my final point: we need to be rescued from this world. Jesus died on the cross for us so that we could be saved. We just have to accept him into our heart.

   2 Corinthians 12:9, Matthew 22:36-40, Colossians 3:23-25

   P.S. I realize that some girls in the image I have used are not princesses; but all the girls in the picture needed rescued from problems.

A Jimmy John's Story

   “Hello, welcome to Jimmy John’s.” That is a sentence I say at least fifty times whenever I work at Jimmy John’s. I love working at JJ’s. But, something happened at JJ’s the one day that made me think "she needs to get out of her comfort zone."

   There are four different managers at JJ’s. And, that day the main manager was trying to train another manager, we will call her Betty, because they are planning to open another store. The boss told Betty that she needs to learn to tell others what to do. Betty yelled “No!” I was so surprised by her outburst I looked back at her and she said “shut up,” in a joking tone. But, I could tell that she was still uncomfortable. Why do you think she was uncomfortable? I’ll tell you why: she was doing things outside her comfort zone.

   I’m the same way as Betty. Unless I know someone really well, or I actually know what I’m doing, I’m not comfortable telling people what to do. However, sometimes we are required to do things we don’t want to do. If we never do things we aren’t comfortable doing we never grow. See we can have people believe in us; but if we don’t believe in ourselves then we will never learn or grow. I believe in Betty; and I believe that she will be a great store manager when she believes in herself like everyone else does.

   So are you going to step outside you comfort zone so that God can teach you new things; or are you going to stay stagnant and never grow to the point where God can use you?

   Joshua 1:9, 2 Timothy 1:7

How Do You Define Yourself?

   What defines you? That’s the question that Lizzie Velasquez was asking during her speech. She was once called the “world’s ugliest woman.” She found out that people were calling her that in High School. Can you imagine that? Think back to when you were in high school. What would you have done?

   But, Lizzie does not let what people said about her define her. Lizzie thought about fighting back and yelling at those people who said mean things about her. But, she did not. Instead, she took all the mean comments that people said and turned them into positives. She set goals that she wanted to reach in life; and let those comments build her up rather than tear her down.

   She decided to define herself, rather than let other people define her. Most of what she says is great. However, there are certain things she forgets in her speech. Mostly the fact that even when we define ourselves problems arise. It doesn’t matter what others think about us. It matters what God thinks about us. We need to find our identity in God. Our identity is that we are children of God. If we do not believe that, all hope is lost. Also we cannot judge others by their outward appearance. God looks at the inside and so should we. We are to show love to everyone no matter how they act or what they look like.

   Another thing Lizzie talks about in the video is she says that you are in the driver seat. You choose your own destiny. And, I guess, if you are talking about that in a worldly way that is true. However, I have found that things only work right in my life if I let God sit in the driver’s seat. When I try to take control of things and do things my own way problems begin to arise in my life. I’m not saying that problems won’t arise when God’s in the driver’s seat. What I am saying is that if God is in the driver seat, and I trust that he knows what he is doing, I know I can handle any problem that comes my way.

   The video is very good. And, I find it amazing what this woman has gone through. The link to the blog where the video is at the bottom of the post.

   1 John 3:1-2 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

http://hellogiggles.com/lizzie-velasquez-documentary/2#read