I want to show you some pictures of my closest MS-4 female cadet. Her name is Jean Kratzer and she's the awesomest in the world haha :)
22 March 2010
Hey guys! Usually, I would put up a topic and a small discussion but for today, I want to put up a trailer for a new movie coming out and yes it is a Christian movie. It wasn't played in many theatres: very rare once again. But buy it when it comes out on DVD! It's worth watching :) Enjoy the trailer!
05 March 2010
Topic: Evangelism
Evangelism can be nerve wrecking, you may get nervous, and many of us are probably praying that God isn't telling us to evangelize to anyone because it's awkward and people will look at us weirdly. But evangelism is one of the key actions that we are called to do in order to glorify God's kingdom. God wants His children brought back to Him and we are to help Him with it.
Joshua 24:15 says, "But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
Evangelism is serving the Lord our God and is one of the hardest things that we're called to do. But God made it that way so that we, His children, can depend on Him for help when we are exhausted or we just need help. If you love your friends, family, other brothers and sisters in Christ, you will depend on God 110% to evangelize to those whom you love because it's not for your own success but for God's glory.
Many but not all of us, probably got evangelized by a friend ourselves. Now it's our turn to do that. Let us not call the worldly people as wicked people but let us turn their hearts to yearn and hunger for God more than anything in this world. This will show that they are faithful and that they aren't of this world.
Do you want to make a difference? Evangelizing to someone can make a difference. It could even change their life by being turned around 180 degrees. I challenge you to try that whenever you feel like the Holy Spirit is moving you to evangelize.
Good luck and I'll be trying it too so let's do this together with God! :)
Evangelism can be nerve wrecking, you may get nervous, and many of us are probably praying that God isn't telling us to evangelize to anyone because it's awkward and people will look at us weirdly. But evangelism is one of the key actions that we are called to do in order to glorify God's kingdom. God wants His children brought back to Him and we are to help Him with it.
Joshua 24:15 says, "But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
Evangelism is serving the Lord our God and is one of the hardest things that we're called to do. But God made it that way so that we, His children, can depend on Him for help when we are exhausted or we just need help. If you love your friends, family, other brothers and sisters in Christ, you will depend on God 110% to evangelize to those whom you love because it's not for your own success but for God's glory.
Many but not all of us, probably got evangelized by a friend ourselves. Now it's our turn to do that. Let us not call the worldly people as wicked people but let us turn their hearts to yearn and hunger for God more than anything in this world. This will show that they are faithful and that they aren't of this world.
Do you want to make a difference? Evangelizing to someone can make a difference. It could even change their life by being turned around 180 degrees. I challenge you to try that whenever you feel like the Holy Spirit is moving you to evangelize.
Good luck and I'll be trying it too so let's do this together with God! :)
25 February 2010
Jesus: Your Redeemer
We all fall, sometimes hard and sometimes its minor. But it hurts either way, right? But everytime that we fall, we must get up somehow and sometimes we need someone else to help us to get up because we fell too hard or something. For Christians, when we fall, Jesus is that hand that reaches out to us to help us get back up. Unfortunately many times, we tend to try to get back on our own, thinking that we can go through this without Jesus. Let me tell you one thing: you can't.
Recently, I fell down hard and got a bruise on my knee and the back of my arm. When I fell, it hurt A LOT but luckily, I had another person there to help me get back up. Yes it was during PT on Tuesday evening. It's kind of hard to explain how it happened so I won't write it here.
When I fell, it hurt and a day later, I realized that it hurts that much when we fall due to our sins. Those bruises that I got are gonna take time to heal and go back to my regular skin color but I have to be patient. Same thing with Jesus: If you call for Him, He will heal you but it will take time and being patient is something for us to do.
Think of it this way: Jesus is our doctor but with Jesus, complete healing isn't impossible. Sometimes our bruises are so big that we don't have the strength to get up by ourselves. But if we ask Jesus to come and heal us, He will give us strength and He will remove those bruises. Don't forget that Jesus is walking with you all the time: not just for an hour or a day but EVERYDAY.
Read the Word and pray daily because prayer is the key to talking with Jesus. Tell him everything that's on your mind and ask him for forgiveness.
Jesus is waiting for you and He is waiting to hold you in His arms and is ready to love you and to pick you up when you fall. Won't you take advantage of this unconditional love of our Savior, Jesus Christ? :)
We all fall, sometimes hard and sometimes its minor. But it hurts either way, right? But everytime that we fall, we must get up somehow and sometimes we need someone else to help us to get up because we fell too hard or something. For Christians, when we fall, Jesus is that hand that reaches out to us to help us get back up. Unfortunately many times, we tend to try to get back on our own, thinking that we can go through this without Jesus. Let me tell you one thing: you can't.
Recently, I fell down hard and got a bruise on my knee and the back of my arm. When I fell, it hurt A LOT but luckily, I had another person there to help me get back up. Yes it was during PT on Tuesday evening. It's kind of hard to explain how it happened so I won't write it here.
When I fell, it hurt and a day later, I realized that it hurts that much when we fall due to our sins. Those bruises that I got are gonna take time to heal and go back to my regular skin color but I have to be patient. Same thing with Jesus: If you call for Him, He will heal you but it will take time and being patient is something for us to do.
Think of it this way: Jesus is our doctor but with Jesus, complete healing isn't impossible. Sometimes our bruises are so big that we don't have the strength to get up by ourselves. But if we ask Jesus to come and heal us, He will give us strength and He will remove those bruises. Don't forget that Jesus is walking with you all the time: not just for an hour or a day but EVERYDAY.
Read the Word and pray daily because prayer is the key to talking with Jesus. Tell him everything that's on your mind and ask him for forgiveness.
Jesus is waiting for you and He is waiting to hold you in His arms and is ready to love you and to pick you up when you fall. Won't you take advantage of this unconditional love of our Savior, Jesus Christ? :)
27 January 2010
TOPIC: Running the Race
Today was a tough day because of the PT test 2-mile run. Yes, not the pushups and situps but the run. Of course I got very exhausted from the situps and pushups but the run was what got me the most. It was a cold and windy and as I was running I felt as if the wind was batting against my body and I was fighting to win. At one point though, I was cramping up and I wanted to just stop but something told me that I needed to go on and finish this race.
Reflecting back to the spiritual perspective, we're running a race right now here on Earth as Christians. Along the way we may fall and get hurt but God's here to help us, redeem us, and cheer us on. We shouldn't give up and never surrender to something that God can help you accomplish or overcome.
After I finished the 2 mile run, I wasn't flattered but surprised on how I was able to finish it despite the pain I had in my body. Just like that, we will have pains during our spiritual walk with God through trials and struggles that we go through. During those times, God is our comfort and everything to help us. Brothers and sisters in Christ were given to us so we can live this life together and run this race!
When it comes to Christianity, it doesn't matter who wins but it matters that we all finish it. We have salvation once we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and that's our prize. The next time we wanna give up because it's too hard, think again and think about Jesus and what He went through for our wrongdoings.
It's hard to not wanna give up when the situation is pushing you to give up but if you give up, you are giving Satan the more advantage to draw you away from God.
I'm going to leave you with a bible verse that has helped me and encouraged me through tough times so here it is:
"For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." -Philippians 4:13-
=)
Today was a tough day because of the PT test 2-mile run. Yes, not the pushups and situps but the run. Of course I got very exhausted from the situps and pushups but the run was what got me the most. It was a cold and windy and as I was running I felt as if the wind was batting against my body and I was fighting to win. At one point though, I was cramping up and I wanted to just stop but something told me that I needed to go on and finish this race.
Reflecting back to the spiritual perspective, we're running a race right now here on Earth as Christians. Along the way we may fall and get hurt but God's here to help us, redeem us, and cheer us on. We shouldn't give up and never surrender to something that God can help you accomplish or overcome.
After I finished the 2 mile run, I wasn't flattered but surprised on how I was able to finish it despite the pain I had in my body. Just like that, we will have pains during our spiritual walk with God through trials and struggles that we go through. During those times, God is our comfort and everything to help us. Brothers and sisters in Christ were given to us so we can live this life together and run this race!
When it comes to Christianity, it doesn't matter who wins but it matters that we all finish it. We have salvation once we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and that's our prize. The next time we wanna give up because it's too hard, think again and think about Jesus and what He went through for our wrongdoings.
It's hard to not wanna give up when the situation is pushing you to give up but if you give up, you are giving Satan the more advantage to draw you away from God.
I'm going to leave you with a bible verse that has helped me and encouraged me through tough times so here it is:
"For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." -Philippians 4:13-
=)
26 January 2010
From now on, I'll be putting up certain topics and also tie it in to my own experiences along with bible verses and etc. Hope it encourages and convicts you! :)
TOPIC: Forgiveness
You told your friend a secret and she swore upon her life that she wouldn't tell anyone. But one day she was dared to post up a secret about you on a public blog where all the kids can see the posts. You find out about it and you get pissed off! What's even worse is that your friend doesn't feel bad about revealing your secret to the world. You break this friendship with her and determine that you will never ever forgive her for what she did to you.
Forgiveness. It's easy to say but the HARDEST thing to do. I'm pretty sure all of you have been a victim or have been the person to reveal the secret in a situation like this. I've had to ask for forgiveness and even asking for forgiveness was a hard thing to do.
In Matthew 18:22, it says, "Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." Jesus is basically telling us to forgive every time! Not only that, in Matthew 18:35, it says, "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." Not only is Jesus telling you to forgive every time but with a sincere heart too!
Wow, that's pretty hardcore, isn't it? But check this out, God can only forgive you of your sins if you forgive others for the wrongdoings that they committed onto you. You MUST forgive others so that you can be forgiven for all your sins.
At a youth group winter retreat last December, Pastor Hwang (our senior pastor) spoke on the first and only night that he was to speak. He told both the parents and the children that everything that has happened in 2009 will be forgotten and in 2010, you'll start on a brand new slate with a pure heart (paraphrasing).
That's exactly what many of us should do. Let go of your past because you need to focus on the present in order to fulfill God's will and be successful in the future. Letting go of your past includes forgiving those who hurt you. It also means that you need to pray for your enemies or those who hurt you so that they may be redeemed and become a changed and more Christ-like person just like yourself.
I'm an older sister to a younger brother who's in the second semester of junior year, 16 years old- 17 in May. We have both gotten into arguments (verbal more than physical) and there have been times when I got blamed for something that I didn't do by my parents. During those times, I had hatred in my heart towards him and told myself that I wouldn't ever forgive him for getting me into trouble. I didn't even think that I needed forgiveness from him for bashing on him during our arguments. Through the winter retreat, I was able to ask my brother for forgiveness as I cried and hugged him. All he did was to hug me and pat me on the back saying, "It's okay Sarah, it's okay." That night, I was able to let go of all the arguments I had with him. Although we still argue from time to time, our relationship has always been great. I've realized that I have to stop saying stupid things that aren't true to my brother.
This big burden came off of my heart and I was set free because I had asked someone for forgiveness, whom I loved. Don't you want that sense of your chains breaking apart and let God work inside of you?
Forgiving is hard but I challenge you to reflect on your list of family, friends, classmates, and see if you need to forgive anyone or if you need to be forgiven by someone. That doesn't mean that after they forgive you or vice versa, that you keep on holding a grudge against that person because it says to forgive each with sincerity.
In Karen Kingsbury's novel, "Oceans Apart" the story is about forgiveness and second chances. The one quote that really stuck out to me, even when typing this blog entry is the one said by the little boy:
"Love happens when you forgive." =)
TOPIC: Forgiveness
You told your friend a secret and she swore upon her life that she wouldn't tell anyone. But one day she was dared to post up a secret about you on a public blog where all the kids can see the posts. You find out about it and you get pissed off! What's even worse is that your friend doesn't feel bad about revealing your secret to the world. You break this friendship with her and determine that you will never ever forgive her for what she did to you.
Forgiveness. It's easy to say but the HARDEST thing to do. I'm pretty sure all of you have been a victim or have been the person to reveal the secret in a situation like this. I've had to ask for forgiveness and even asking for forgiveness was a hard thing to do.
In Matthew 18:22, it says, "Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." Jesus is basically telling us to forgive every time! Not only that, in Matthew 18:35, it says, "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." Not only is Jesus telling you to forgive every time but with a sincere heart too!
Wow, that's pretty hardcore, isn't it? But check this out, God can only forgive you of your sins if you forgive others for the wrongdoings that they committed onto you. You MUST forgive others so that you can be forgiven for all your sins.
At a youth group winter retreat last December, Pastor Hwang (our senior pastor) spoke on the first and only night that he was to speak. He told both the parents and the children that everything that has happened in 2009 will be forgotten and in 2010, you'll start on a brand new slate with a pure heart (paraphrasing).
That's exactly what many of us should do. Let go of your past because you need to focus on the present in order to fulfill God's will and be successful in the future. Letting go of your past includes forgiving those who hurt you. It also means that you need to pray for your enemies or those who hurt you so that they may be redeemed and become a changed and more Christ-like person just like yourself.
I'm an older sister to a younger brother who's in the second semester of junior year, 16 years old- 17 in May. We have both gotten into arguments (verbal more than physical) and there have been times when I got blamed for something that I didn't do by my parents. During those times, I had hatred in my heart towards him and told myself that I wouldn't ever forgive him for getting me into trouble. I didn't even think that I needed forgiveness from him for bashing on him during our arguments. Through the winter retreat, I was able to ask my brother for forgiveness as I cried and hugged him. All he did was to hug me and pat me on the back saying, "It's okay Sarah, it's okay." That night, I was able to let go of all the arguments I had with him. Although we still argue from time to time, our relationship has always been great. I've realized that I have to stop saying stupid things that aren't true to my brother.
This big burden came off of my heart and I was set free because I had asked someone for forgiveness, whom I loved. Don't you want that sense of your chains breaking apart and let God work inside of you?
Forgiving is hard but I challenge you to reflect on your list of family, friends, classmates, and see if you need to forgive anyone or if you need to be forgiven by someone. That doesn't mean that after they forgive you or vice versa, that you keep on holding a grudge against that person because it says to forgive each with sincerity.
In Karen Kingsbury's novel, "Oceans Apart" the story is about forgiveness and second chances. The one quote that really stuck out to me, even when typing this blog entry is the one said by the little boy:
"Love happens when you forgive." =)
25 January 2010
Hello there :) It's Monday and right now all I have left on my school schedule is PT with our St. John's ROTC program. How's your day been??
This blog has really helped me ever since I started because I'm able to express myself and no one can't say anything about it, haha. What do you do to express yourself everyday? Does it show Christ-likeness or non Christ-likeness?
I discovered that even just as people, we need to stay positive and be optimistic even when it's raining or when we're fighting our own storm inside. We want to promote love and happiness and yet we look gloomy and depressed on rainy days.
Optimism is always the way to go and I've told myself that a million times already and yet I get gloomy and all depressed when it rains. No worries though, once you find out that you are acting like that, you can fix it and start being optimistic now! :)
One of my friends from high school wrote that she's gonna miss my bubbly smiles and that it made her day whenever she passed me through the hallways. We were never really close but just had a classmate-classmate relationship and it occurred to me now that one smile and sign of optimism can really change someone else's day. It's that simple.
Won't you make a difference in someone else's life through your optimism? Don't be afraid to show it. We need more optimistic people in this world (excluding world leaders).
Have a great rainy day! :)
This blog has really helped me ever since I started because I'm able to express myself and no one can't say anything about it, haha. What do you do to express yourself everyday? Does it show Christ-likeness or non Christ-likeness?
I discovered that even just as people, we need to stay positive and be optimistic even when it's raining or when we're fighting our own storm inside. We want to promote love and happiness and yet we look gloomy and depressed on rainy days.
Optimism is always the way to go and I've told myself that a million times already and yet I get gloomy and all depressed when it rains. No worries though, once you find out that you are acting like that, you can fix it and start being optimistic now! :)
One of my friends from high school wrote that she's gonna miss my bubbly smiles and that it made her day whenever she passed me through the hallways. We were never really close but just had a classmate-classmate relationship and it occurred to me now that one smile and sign of optimism can really change someone else's day. It's that simple.
Won't you make a difference in someone else's life through your optimism? Don't be afraid to show it. We need more optimistic people in this world (excluding world leaders).
Have a great rainy day! :)
23 January 2010
Hello everyone! Wow, it's been so long since I've blogged...sorry! :) Today is Saturday, finally! Whew, it's been a long three days because of college...it's stressing but don't worry about it too much if you're not in college yet.
My textbooks are thick and huge and ugly (because they're for school). ROTC isn't too bad but I have to get used to wearing my uniform more now that the semester started.
I've been progressing with God but honestly, I've sinned and I've been grieving because of what I did wrong. But as each day passed by, I saw more of God's everlasting love and grace surrounding me. I've been scared and had instances where I've had nightmares and I did cry but my sister in Christ, Sienna, encouraged me to keep on reading the Bible and to pray.
There's this short statement in which I didn't really consider until I started fearing about small things in this world. "Love drives out fear" was the statement. I pondered about it and kind of reflected upon my situations. I never really understood it until then. I learned that not just love but PERFECT love drives out fear (*wink- Jesus).
Have you ever feared about anything and never realized that God was right next to you wanting to help you?
If you haven't, try and stop focusing on your problems and when they do occur, try and let God be the first person to know about it (even though He knows already). God wants you to trust Him and He wants to be the best friend and Father that can contain an honest relationship.
God did give you brothers and sisters in Christ to turn to but He gave up His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us for our sins. He wants us to decrease our dependence on therapy and friends but to increase our yearning to tell Him everything.
I'm going to challenge myself to do that this upcoming week. Won't you join me in seeking God with your all and calling out for Jesus for redemption?
God is yearning for our attention so let's give Him the attention He deserves from us :)
God Bless!
In Christ,
Sarah ^^~
My textbooks are thick and huge and ugly (because they're for school). ROTC isn't too bad but I have to get used to wearing my uniform more now that the semester started.
I've been progressing with God but honestly, I've sinned and I've been grieving because of what I did wrong. But as each day passed by, I saw more of God's everlasting love and grace surrounding me. I've been scared and had instances where I've had nightmares and I did cry but my sister in Christ, Sienna, encouraged me to keep on reading the Bible and to pray.
There's this short statement in which I didn't really consider until I started fearing about small things in this world. "Love drives out fear" was the statement. I pondered about it and kind of reflected upon my situations. I never really understood it until then. I learned that not just love but PERFECT love drives out fear (*wink- Jesus).
Have you ever feared about anything and never realized that God was right next to you wanting to help you?
If you haven't, try and stop focusing on your problems and when they do occur, try and let God be the first person to know about it (even though He knows already). God wants you to trust Him and He wants to be the best friend and Father that can contain an honest relationship.
God did give you brothers and sisters in Christ to turn to but He gave up His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us for our sins. He wants us to decrease our dependence on therapy and friends but to increase our yearning to tell Him everything.
I'm going to challenge myself to do that this upcoming week. Won't you join me in seeking God with your all and calling out for Jesus for redemption?
God is yearning for our attention so let's give Him the attention He deserves from us :)
God Bless!
In Christ,
Sarah ^^~
05 January 2010
Today's devotional is about: Dependence on God= Success
But it wasn't about us depending on God to help us with what WE want. It was about depending on God in order for His will for each one of us to be fulfilled.
The first time I read the devotional, I got confused. God was willing to help me with whatever I wanna do? But I read it the second time and I realized that it was to fulfill God's will, not ours.
This made me thinking of the ambitious plans I had for my future: becoming a lawyer and maybe even joining the National Guard/Army. It makes me even more confused now that I don't know if this is what He wants for me.
Maybe it is, maybe it isn't but prayer is definitely the best thing when it comes to your future and the path God wants for you. I don't know what God wants me to do: maybe pursue a career in journalism- writer/anchorwoman or maybe even a lawyer. But until then I will continually pray.
Pray and ask God to show you His will for you.
Seek and you will find it.
But it wasn't about us depending on God to help us with what WE want. It was about depending on God in order for His will for each one of us to be fulfilled.
The first time I read the devotional, I got confused. God was willing to help me with whatever I wanna do? But I read it the second time and I realized that it was to fulfill God's will, not ours.
This made me thinking of the ambitious plans I had for my future: becoming a lawyer and maybe even joining the National Guard/Army. It makes me even more confused now that I don't know if this is what He wants for me.
Maybe it is, maybe it isn't but prayer is definitely the best thing when it comes to your future and the path God wants for you. I don't know what God wants me to do: maybe pursue a career in journalism- writer/anchorwoman or maybe even a lawyer. But until then I will continually pray.
Pray and ask God to show you His will for you.
Seek and you will find it.
04 January 2010
Happy Monday!
How was your day? For me, it consisted of working on my transcript of my 2nd Christian movie (just for fun) and working out at the gym. Another thing that I started to do was devotionals.
The devotional that I'm using is called, "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young for every day of the year. Today's devotional talked about trusting in Jesus.
Honestly, trust is a big issue for me because I've had past experiences where I had others betray or take advantage of my trust with them. From then on, I knew that in order for me to trust someone, it's going to take a lot on their part to prove it to me that they're worth it.
But it's different with God.
When I wrote in my journal tonight, writing a letter to Jesus, I knew in my heart that every time I said, "I trust you God," that I didn't mean it. Tonight, I prayed for that courage and guidance for me to acquire or to trust in Jesus because God is always faithful. In relationships, especially with the one with God, trust is a huge part of it. I didn't realize but I had an epiphany that the reason for my constant worrying was due to my lack of trust in Jesus.
I want to stop worrying so much every second of my life.
I want my relationship with God to improve.
I want to draw nearer to Him.
I want to be able to have that one relationship where I can be completely honest and not be scared that I'll get into trouble.
I want to trust in Jesus.
Do YOU want to trust in Him?
Do YOU believe that He will surround you and guide you?
I want to believe and desire for all this and therefore, I prayed and will continue to pray for trust in Jesus and for the exodus of my anxiety.
Jesus is awesome :)
How was your day? For me, it consisted of working on my transcript of my 2nd Christian movie (just for fun) and working out at the gym. Another thing that I started to do was devotionals.
The devotional that I'm using is called, "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young for every day of the year. Today's devotional talked about trusting in Jesus.
Honestly, trust is a big issue for me because I've had past experiences where I had others betray or take advantage of my trust with them. From then on, I knew that in order for me to trust someone, it's going to take a lot on their part to prove it to me that they're worth it.
But it's different with God.
When I wrote in my journal tonight, writing a letter to Jesus, I knew in my heart that every time I said, "I trust you God," that I didn't mean it. Tonight, I prayed for that courage and guidance for me to acquire or to trust in Jesus because God is always faithful. In relationships, especially with the one with God, trust is a huge part of it. I didn't realize but I had an epiphany that the reason for my constant worrying was due to my lack of trust in Jesus.
I want to stop worrying so much every second of my life.
I want my relationship with God to improve.
I want to draw nearer to Him.
I want to be able to have that one relationship where I can be completely honest and not be scared that I'll get into trouble.
I want to trust in Jesus.
Do YOU want to trust in Him?
Do YOU believe that He will surround you and guide you?
I want to believe and desire for all this and therefore, I prayed and will continue to pray for trust in Jesus and for the exodus of my anxiety.
Jesus is awesome :)
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