LIVING ♥ LOVE*

Book Review: Reggie by Reggie Dabbs

2011-05-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

I was really excited to read the book REGGIE because I heard so many awesome things about it. Reggie is currently a motivational speaker and travels around the country to different schools sharing his story and letting kids know that they ARE important and worthy of love. Unfortunately, Reggie's own story doesn't start out too good when he finds out at 8 years old that he is adopted, his mother had him when she was 16 after already having 3 kids. Reggie's adopted parents are his mothers high school English teacher and her husband, they took him in when he was a baby and raised him along with their other son. Reggie's message is filled with hope that rose out of destruction. He had a very hard childhood even after the adoption and suffered with many troubles at school growing up. He found hope in God and depended on Him while he took the steps to change his future. This book is broken down into 10 chapters which each give an account of Reggie's own life and also an encouraging message from him. At the end of each chapter is a section full of questions which are also great for small groups and discussion. Reggie's story is just one of many changed lives as the result of trusting in the Lord! God is working through him now in schools all over, and this book is another tool and testimonial that can share the message of hope that so many people are longing to hear. This book challenges you from a different perspective and Reggie writes with his hilarious, straight up matter-of-fact personality and uses flashbacks from his own life to show that "you can't change your past, but you CAN change your future!"

~ I have received this book free from the publishers through BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program.

Book Review: Thirty-One Days of Power by Ruth Myers

2011-05-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed this book Thirty-One Days of Power by Ruth Myers very much so. It is a small book that packs a lot of wisdom and wonderful scriptures to strengthen your prayer life. Each daily devotional had multiple scriptures to help engage me in being an overcomer and realizing that we are in a spiritual warfare, but that our God is bigger than anything that comes against us! It helped me to learn about living in the victory of Christ! Often times I apply the principles found in this book to my daily life. It has a strong emphasis on grabbing a hold of your spiritual victory and living it! Ruth Myers covers many topics such as putting on the armor of God, speaking the scriptures, and casting out the enemy. All scriptures used in each devotional have a reference so that the reader is able to look up the specific verses used from the Bible. I would reccomend this book to anyone who would like a daily devotional but may be on a busy schedule. I found myself reading these messages and prayers out loud, they have immensely helped me to affirm my faith in our victorious Lord! Knowing Gods victory in your life can help you every day in every circumstance!

~I got this book free thanks to Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing

Prized Posession

2010-09-28T15:47:00.000-07:00

What is your most prized posession?
Something very precious and valuable to you? Something you protect and cherish? Something beautiful and amazing to you?

All of htose words and more describe what the God of the universe thinks of you! You are HIS prized posession. James 1:18 says "He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. We are his creation and prized posession." Break that verse down, it's amazing! God CHOSE to create us by His word (Genesis 1) which is the truth. He created us with divine purpose and not one of us is here by accidant. A small scripture holds such a huge truth! God has intended for you to be here and chose to make you the way you are! No person is perfect but in God's sight every single one of us are.

Wilderness Trip 2010, Enjoy the Journey!

2010-09-12T14:59:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a crazy, challenging, eventful, amazing experience! Class of 2011 at Portersville Christian School (my school) had the opportunity to "camp" in the Allegheny National Forest for 3 nights and 4 days. I have to admit that I wasn't thrilled when I considered this trip because sleeping under a tarp, no showers, and peeing in the woods isn't really my thing. Before we left, my Bible teacher Pastor Charles told us to "enjoy the journey" no matter what. To my surprise it wasn't terrible and we made some hilarious memories, God really moved in our class during this experience and it's impossible to explain being there but I will point out the main highlights from the trip:

~Cook Groups. We wanted to get to know the people that we don't really know during this trip so we made groups with those that we weren't that close with and a chaperone. These groups came together for each meal which we had to cook ourself and prayed together each night and really bonded and got to know eachother on a new level. We had to work together to hang our food bags in a tree so that the bears wouldn't eat it. It was a hilarious challenge that we completed after every meal. My cook group was a blessing for the trip.

~Rock Climbing. We were put into small groups to hike a 1/2 mile to get to the rock climbing area. Each group had designated compass holders and we were taught how to correctly use a compass to find our way in the woods. Our group got their first and we helped direct the person that had to have a blindfold during this. The biggest challenge for myself was climbing to the top. I thought I could handle it but when I got stuck in a crutch and there was nothing to hold on to I got very frustrated and wanted to give up. Everyone encouraged me to keep going and guided me throughout the climb. I still don't know if rock face climbing is my thing but it was an awesome day and many people conquered their fears. God used this challenge as a major opportunity for so many of us!

Nightly Campfires. Every night at dark we circled the camp fire and came together and just talked it out. Mr. Harbison our 'director' proposed us with challenging questions about our class, ourselves personally, our relationship with God, and our relationship as a class. We all let down the walls we had up and became unified as a class but more like family. It's SUCH a blessing to have every person in our class genuinely love eachother and encourage eachother. So many highschools don't have such a wonderful connection to know that they can go to eachother for anything and they will always be there for eachother. Many people asked forgiveness from eachother and healed old problems. We also went around and said who inspired us that day and why. It was so impacting watching God move in the hearts of my classmates.

Worship. There's just something splendid about having worship around a campfire with a guitar. Our main song for the trip was Healing Begins by Tenth Avenue North. The lyrics are so true.

Friday Night Prayer. We prayed each night, but on one particular night, Friday, our small group came together and each prayed for one another. Each person said what they needed prayer for and we just went around and prayed it out. You could seriously tell that these people genuinely cared for you. The power of prayer is so amazing!

Devotional Time. We took a long hike on Friday during the day and split up to have alone time with God out in the wilderness. It was so refreshing just sitting on a rock in the forest in the complete silence just being still and knowing He is God. It's not too often we have an hour to do this without distractions around us.

The Rave Cave! The craziest thing that happened over the trip was probably finding the "rave cave." The guys came across this 2 by 2 ft. hole that you literally had to shimmy though and crawl down a skinny hall and it opened up to a huge room where everyone could stand up. We named it the rave cave because our entire class fit into it and had a party. Someone beat boxed and shined thier flashlights and we just had a full out dance party. Inside of a cave in the ground. It doesn't get much more epic. There's a video for proof :)

The Wilderness Trip turned out to be a very interesting, eventful, and impacting experience. The fact that we were all out there gross, no makeup, no showers everyone the same. Just worshipping God in nature was amazing and God has bonded our class together as a family. I know that God has placed me here in this school, this class for a purpose. And i'm just enjoying the journey.

I challenge you in your own life. If I can survive in the wilderness for 3 nights and 4 days doing crazy things, then you can survive the challenges and troubles in your life. It won't always be easy, there will be challenges, burdens, irritating bugs, and sometimes you'll have to climb above that rock in your life, but you WILL make it! You'll come out in the end a little scratched and bruised, but with great memories and hilarious stories ;) ENJOY THE JOURNEY.

People Change, God Doesnt.

2010-07-23T18:16:00.000-07:00

"He will judge everyone according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers." ~Romans 2:6,7

Am I the only one who is extremely bothered by what the teens in our culture are involved with? Some of the things that people are doing in thier daily life are just appauling to me. I feel like an old person when I say that, but some of my best friends (or who i thought were my best friends) who I never ever thought would do some of these things are doing them. My heart's broken for all of these lost people and our call is to help them come back to thier creator! It's hard not to judge people like this sometimes but if we didn't know the truth, where would we be? Sometimes it will cost us our reputation, social life, or even friends in order to make the right decision. God is the judge of everyone. Serving Him and keeping our hearts in the right place guarantee a happy walk with God, and a spot in heaven. God wants all of His children to know Him and we're lucky enough to be His hands and feet and reach this generation that is becoming so lost... Remember how blessed you are to know the truth, and be free of the patterns of this world!

Patience & Prayer

2010-07-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

32 Better to be patient than powerful;
better to have self-control than to conquer a city. ~Proverbs 16:32

Lately, God has really been showing me a lot about being patient and waiting for His timing. There's a lot of times in life that we're going to have to wait and be patient when we don't want to. As teens and young adults we want immediate results but in most cases that won't happen. Recently I got my whole life stolen at Cedar Point (as most of you know) well not my life, but my phone, sunglasses, digital camera, and coach wallet filled with my identity (license, soc security, insurance, cash..) I was seriously shocked that the last ride of the night someone jacked my stuff! Speed sprinting from the Maverick to the front of the park security is not fun, let me tell you. I became so impatient with the security officer and was having the hardest time keeping the mind of Christ. I felt like I was going to blow up on him at any minute. Not to mention i wanted to tackle every pedestrian carrying a blue draw-string bag on thier back. That night I got over it. Yes, being phoneless sucked and whats the point of having a purse with nothing in it? But I got over it and gave it to God. I know He cares for me and wants me to be happy, so why did a Lord-loving girl like me get stolen from?

I believe this was a lesson of patience for me. I waited on the Lord and trusted Him. I spoke positively over the situation and kept reminding myself that material things can be replaced and no one can steal my identity or stalk me because God is always protecting me, and everything evil bows to Him. How awesome is it to have authority over our lives?! Almost 3 weeks later I recieved a package in the mail from CP. Enclosed was every belonging that I had lost except my phone and cash in PERFECT condition. God is sooo amazingly good and His power and love never ceases to amaze me! Prayer and patience can definitely change any situation, no matter how long the period of waiting will be, just trust your Father and worship Him. He's already pulled through for you!

It kinda reminds me of the song While I'm Waiting" by John Waller.
While i'm waiting, I will serve you while i'm waiting...
I will worship while i'm waiting...
I will not fade I'll be running the race...even while I wait...

Impact Summer Camp!

2010-07-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

It was a blessing to attend Impact Summer Camp this year in Hillsdale, MI. It was my second time at camp and I didn't expect to compare it to last year, each camp was unique and both impacted me in different ways. This year God reached my heart on a different level, I cant really explain how as i'm still trying to unravel what God impressed on me while I was there. Honestly, last year I felt the focus of camp was more on myself while I was there, (myself recieving the Holy Spirit, myself getting healed, myself being led to altar calls, etc.) It was definitely a great time for me to recieve all that God had for me as one of His children. But this year I went to camp as a much more mature christian. I loved the theme of camp which was re-charging your heart and Josh Joines gave great revelation into what it truly means to love and renew your heart. I enjoyed the first night service but by the second day I felt a little strange, like why didn't I feel led to the altar every time like pretty much everybody else did? Why did it seem like everyone was being amazingly changed and I wasnt?

I continued to check my heart about this. I figured I better get things straightened out because camp only comes once a year and I wanted to be overflowing with what God had for me by the end! Soon enough I figured out just what the problem was. I was limiting God! He had me there for an important purpose just like everyone else. I realized that all week, I had really helped some important people in my life along in thier walk with God! God used me to encourage and help so many people while I was at camp. I also saw the fruit of my labor, the past year was such a year of training for me and I had been merciful and compassionate in some hard situations but at camp God freed the souls of some people that I had been praying soooo hard for all year! I couldn't stop praising Him for everything He has done, and will continue to do!

Josh Joines was excellent while speaking on true love and compassionate hearts towards others. He said "compassion is not a feeling it is an attitude inside of us (from Jesus)" We already have the gift of compassion inside of us, we must practice that constantly even when we don't feel compassionate because feelings don't matter. I think what hit me the hardest at camp was that we need to live out what we believe every day because He shed every drop of blood for us! Think about it for real! Jesus knew he was going to be crucified and that it would be intense, terrible pain and suffering to go through so that we would be right with the Father. He got nails drilled through him so that we can LIVE! He died so that we wouldn't have to go to freaking hell! I don't deserve that...nobody does. But He had so much compassion for us that He didn't care what it took to save our lives so that we could have freedom and joy and peace. Psalm 147:3 says that God heals the brokenhearted. He heals our hearts and re-charges them so that we can continue to love Him and love others. Camp was such an encouraging experience, I know I will definitely take what I learned and have it in my heart to express outwardly every day of my life, hope you do too! :)

Impartation - Preparation not Correction

2010-06-20T17:44:00.000-07:00

There's really no proper way to put how awesome impartation was this year! I vaguely remember anything from last years conferences, but this year I went expecting lots -- and that's what I got! God is so good. I'll just highlight the main points that I really enjoyed from impartation:

Walk in the light God has already given you and you will go far!

1 John 1:5 says that God is light. We (mature believers) have a sufficient amount of light that God has already given us! Since Jesus is in us all we have to do is walk boldly in faith and expect Him to multiply! He will DEFINITELY show us the fruits of our labor if we just trust in Him. We have wisdom and God's word in our hearts, we know what we have to do. God will bless us for obeying him in everything we do. Doers of the word get results!

Sin and judgement is violation of light

As much as we all would like to believe were perfect good people, we all get caught in small lies sometimes. Keith Moore definitely gave me new perspective on this when he talked about it. Lies and deciet are nature of the devil! Even the smallest thing is breeding grounds for the devils work in our lives, honesty and humbleness can steer us clear of that path. I'm challenging myself to never lie, even when it comes to the small things just honor God and do everything with excellence! Somebody gets saved, the devil just lost one!

He can take a little and do a lot with it!

So often Christians have great desires in thier heart but fear actually acting on them. Either fear of rejection or failure, etc. We MUST remember that the spirit of the Lord is on us and has already anointed us! Whenever we humble ourselves before God, our great creator, He will always bring grace into the situation and change will come! It's sooo amazing to know that nothing is impossible with God! We have already overcome any challenge in our way because God is on our side and we choose not to yield to anything besides Him and His word. BE ACTIVE IN YOUR SPIRIT, NOT PASSIVE If we are constantly concious of our spirit, we will always be led in the right direction and deepen our relationship with God. Don't let things capture you! Confess redemption, freedom, and deliverance everyday!

The last night of Impartation after Keith Moore spoke I got a personal revelation to John 7. The Lord showed me this passage and I knew it was time to act on something that I had been dealing with ever since I was saved. I approached the situation with confidence and boldly went out in faith. God was already there working, and the joy and peace that came out of it was just amazing! I'm noticing the grace of God working actively in every area of my life. Living for God is such an amazing adventure! I definitely benefited from all the insight that impartation brought, I hope everyone else did too!

Hit up Doug and Keith:
http://www.dougjones.siteblast.com
http://www.moorelife.org

Silly emotions, my God is bigger than you!

2010-02-18T17:45:00.001-08:00

"Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything." ~ 1 John:19-20

I feel like throwing something against the wall right now, very hard. That's what inspired me to write this post :). As much as we don't want to admit it, we all let emotions rule over us sometimes. They can be great when theyre positive, but when they're negative they can really mess with our mind. I recently saw a teaching that really spoke to me about this particular subject:

The speaker gave an illustration of a little boy standing on the edge of a diving board, heart pounding, everything in that boy pointing him to go back. The boy is at the very edge...the more he thinks about jumping the more his mind and emotions are saying turn around now. He's about to have a breakdown. But then the boy looks down. His mom is smiling at him with open arms ready to catch him when he jumps, encouraging him to keep going. The boy has faith in his mother so he jumps in and overcomes the negative emotions telling him he couldnt do it.

If you think about it whenever we are in times of struggling, anger, or frustration, God is there telling us to keep going! When we're on edge and it's taking every fiber of being in us not to burst, we have a God reaching out to us with open arms. God has created everything in this universe and beyond, he is so much bigger than this stupid useless emotion that is holding us back from bigger things. I hope this illustration was as encouraging to you as it was to me.

Just remember God is always on your side supporting you no matter what. Does it sometimes seem like when you pray its just routine and God is not really there? Unfortunately I think we all have times like that but his omnipresence is always there. Just imagine every time you pray you're kneeling at the throne and God is waving you over saying "i love you, come talk to me!" His love is relentless and ours should be too.

Our Awkward Generation

2010-01-05T15:12:00.000-08:00

I've noticed, and i'm sure you have too, that "awkward" seems to make its way into almost every conversation or situation. It's usually unavoidable and can come by means of silence or words. We say awkward/odd things, we text eachother while were in the same room, and we spend hours living computer generated lives (facebook, twitter, farmville, etc.), we seem to connect better with people online rather then face to face. Is it that we are afraid to get to know someone because we don't want anyone to truly know us? It may be a scary question to ask yourself.

We have the newest fashion trends, we have the most advanced cosmetic surgeons, and we (America) have enough money to feed the world twice. We have more today than the world has ever had, yet we still choose to be empty and insecure. We are the awkward, non-committed, insecure generation. I don't know about you but i'm sick of it! We should be a generation of change! I think i've really been learning about people and thier fears. I think this awkwardness stems from people being afraid of real relationships. Some thoughts:

1.) Maybe because the divorce rate is higher than the marriage rate (over 50%). These days, kids see so many failed models of love and relationships and fear the same thing for thier lives.

2.) Maybe because we're so rich, others are out for our money and material things rather than our personalities.

3.) Maybe because we are so cosmetically enhanced, we don't believe other people like us for who we are but instead what we look like. We find ourselves tricked into these mindsets often.

Maybe. It seems like many people around me are afraid to be vulnerable. They would rather be cold and put up a wall, or take control of each situation to their benefit...usually because of the fear of rejection or being forgotten. Do you find yourself doing that? I know i catch myself doing it sometimes. This is what creates the perfect environment for "awkward" to fester in. So what's the answer to all of the "awkward" and what can we do to avoid it? This leads to bigger questions: what are these fears and what can I do to make it better? This might be blown out of proportion and deep thinking but I think sometimes people get so wrapped up in the ways of the world and lose sight of the most important: God. To be honest I've been here and there, done this and that to make myself happy. Before I knew Christ I would let my friends influence me, party, blow money carelessly, extreme diet, and try to walk in Paris Hilton's footsteps...all that stuff makes you feel more empty. The great thing is that God will leave you with real fulfilling joy and an amazing purposeful life! And when you know you're here living for something bigger than yourself, it's easy to let people in and love again.

So challenge yourself to let down that awkward guard. Talk to someone you wouldn't normally talk to, or be the one to start conversation when you're standing in a group of people doing the "awkward nod." The bible says to love your neighbors, building relationships with good people can bring awesome joy in your life. I hope you have some food for thought now :)

God is writing my life story.

2010-01-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

There is someone very important to me, someone very real and my life revolves around Him. He is my best friend (James 2:23), my father (Psalm 68:5), and He loves me so much that He sent His son to die in my place for my sins (Romans 5:8). I don't have to be afraid or worry about anything because His perfect love drives it away (1 John 4:18). I have a big future ahead of me and I'm going to make a bigger impact than I know because He has it all planned out (Jer. 29:11). He gives me strength in everything I do, whether it's going to school and taking a hard test, going on a run that's all uphill, or dealing with others in a hard situation (Phil. 4:13). I'm young and can still do amazing things! (1 Tim. 4:12) He leads me through dark and stormy times and I know He will always be there when I hit the valleys of life (John 8:12). I can still be happy when my friends, parents, or other people mock my choice to follow God because I have a great reward waiting for me in heaven. Jesus dealt with the same thing (Luke 6:22,23). Life is hard and there are constant battles, but He already overcame the entire world! (John 16:33) In every opportunity God has given me in my walk with Him, I have taken it, and these opportunities have taken me amazing places! (Matt 7:7,8) It is on my heart to go into ministry and pray for His guidance (Matt 9:37,38). No one, not even satan can separate me from Gods amazing love (Romans 8:31). I don't understand everything God is doing in my life, but soon I will (1 Cor. 13:12). I don't need to compare myself to others, the mirror and the scale don't mean anything because God is my divine creator! (Gal. 6:4). My friends are my brothers and sisters in Christ and I am SO thankful that we can motivate and encourage each other ♥ (Hebrews 10:24). I love my mentors and leaders so much for keeping me accountable and kicking my butt if I screw up (Hebrews 13:17). I am using my spiritual gifts in all areas of my life to fulfill God's will for my life and serve in the lives of others (1 Peter 4:10). I'm living this life for one reason and one purpose: FOR HIM! He died for me, so I will live for Him. (Rev. 21:4)

AMEN.