Remembering the Pain

John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
Hello, everyone! I would like to share two poems with you written by two fellow bloggers about Memorial Day and the pain. Not to say that we shouldn't have fun on this day to celebrate our freedom, but we should also remember the cost of our freedom. Thank you Jesseca Dawn and Rebekah Eddy for letting me share. I also thought that this verse was fitting for the occasion: 

Jesseca Dawn's poem:

"No greater love"

The bombs are exploding, the smoke is thick

Yet still they press on, retreat they won't

Then suddenly, a soldier turns

for right beside him, he hears a moan

He drops down to the ground, his younger brother lies there.

Then reaches out with the gentlest of care

"We'll go home together, I'll not leave you here."

He doges the explosions as best he can

Before dropping his brother down onto the sand

"You'll be safe here," he looks back and yells

just before he hurries back into the fight.

One year later, the younger brother kneels

beside the grave, where his older brother now lies.

A tear slips from his eyes and rolls down his cheek.

"You saved my life, you gave your all.

You are my hero, the only one I'll ever seek."

He salutes, then stands. He'll go home alone.

Yet a part of him will remain in that battlefield, far, far from home.

And here is the poem from Rebekah Eddy:

This day we take to honor

those who answer freedom’s cry,

Those nameless thousands over sea

who for our lives did die.

Greater love has no one

than laying down his life,

For those he loves the most,

his children, friends, and wife.

Those wives who now are widows,

those kids who lost their dad.

Those ones who lost a brother

and friends that they once had.

Jesus did the same thing,

when he came down to earth,

Becoming man while still our God

through his humble birth.

He also gave His precious life

and saved the human race,

By giving us a chance to live

 and one day see His face.

Those ones across the ocean,

those ones across the sea,

They show what Jesus gave

when he died for you and me.

15 Minutes

What fills your days? School? TV? Texting? Games? Email? Blogging? Sports? How much time do you spend on each of these subjects in one day? And how much of your day does God get? Do you give Him some time each day praying and reading the Bible? Do you give Him 5 minutes a day? Super, He loves to hear from you! What about 10? Even better! 15 minutes? More? Now, compared to how much time other activities take up, does God get that much of your time? I am not criticizing any of these activities; I believe that there is a time and a place for each one. My question is, does God get some of your time?

Ideally, Christians should be in a constant conversation with God. "God, can I do this?" "Sure." "God, can I go to that party?" "No." "God, can I check my email and write up a blog post now?" "Okay." "God, thanks for this food!" "You're welcome!" "God, I'm ready and still to just listen for you." "Thank you."

God is a part of our every minute. You can breathe, read, see, and your body is reproducing cells every second. God is always there, but do we give Him time to just speak with us? God should be a part of every minute of our life. We are constantly having to make choices, and do we make those alone, or with His help? Psalm 1 says "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked . . . but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night." Not only should we be talking to Him, but we should set aside some time each day to read the Bible. Some might read it before bed, while others might study it in the morning. The important thing is not the time of day, it is simply getting into the Word and asking Him what He wants to show you. Maybe He will have you start reading the Bible cover-to-cover. Maybe He will point out a specific passage to you. Ask Him. Talk with Him. Study His Word. Obey Him. Give Him a part of your day. Start by just giving Him 15 minutes. Right now.

How Should a Christian Act in Hardship?

Here is a post that a friend of mine, Rebekah Eddy, did on her blog, Rebekah's Remarks. Thanks for letting me share this touching post about loss and what it means as a Christian!

Sometimes God does things we don't understand as humans. Things that make us ask "why?" When the sun is shining and everyone is happy, it's easy for Christians to heave sighs of contentment and say, "God is in control." But when the storm clouds roll in, covering the sun and pouring sorrow, pain, and loss down on us, our true faith is tested. Suddenly we begin praying more, reading our Bible, asking others to pray for us. Songs and verses we've sung or read all our life take on whole new meanings when we see them in a completely different light. Just a few days ago, one of my [Rebekah's] Christian friends who had just found out in April that she was pregnant, went into her doctor for an ultrasound and had her worst fears revealed: the precious life she had been wanting so badly to bring into this world had been taken to heaven instead. There was no baby, no heartbeat. When I heard about this happening, my first reaction was anger, and I immediately asked God "why?". I demanded answers for thousands of other questions which also stormed through my mind. By taking that precious life before it came into our world, He had thrown not only the young parents-to-be into deep sorrow, but also the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and church family. Wouldn't it have been so easy for Him to let it live and keep everyone happy? But we don't understand. God is God, and He knows best, even when we think WE do. He IS in control, no matter what the circumstances. Despite the sorrow, the anger, the tears...God knew what He was doing, and He did it (believe it or not) for our best. But even when we know this-even when we understand that we can never comprehend God, and that He always knows best-it doesn't mean we don't feel the hurt, the pain that accompanies such a loss. We still cry, we still ask "why?" But there is an answer to why God allows pain and sorrow into our life: it brings us closer to Him. The trails we go through can make us better Christians if we let it, and it helps us help others when they go through the same loss we did. . . . God is in control. He loves us no matter what. He knows what He's doing, even if we don't. Whatever He does is for our best.

Thank you, Rebekah, for listening to the Spirit's voice to post this! I know that many will be touched by it! We need to always remember that God is in control and He knows what is best for us even though it may not seem like it at the time. He loves us so much—we are His masterpiece! Even in the hard times, in the loss, in the pain, He is there. He is Emmanuel—God with us. In those times of trial, remember this and trust Him. Let your light shine through the darkness to all those who do not have Jesus to climb to. 






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Faith

Faith is hard. I mean believing in something you cannot see or feel is difficult. Even air and gravity you can at least feel. But you can't see any of those things. Still we know they are there. At first we believe what others tell us and eventually experience them for ourselves. If that is so then why do so many Christians struggle with faith of God. Mostly they say I don't see God or I don't feel him. For years and years we hear that he is real but sooner or later we give up. That is it... we give up. We need to look for Him ourselves. Rarely do we find something we are searching for without looking for it. Once you start looking you will realize he is there and has been there all the time. The devil does try to hide God. And most of the time God doesn't show himself with big flashes of light or world storms. He does through small miracles and will talk to you if you are listening. And just like air or gravity we may not see him directly but we can see his work. We can breath and last I checked I can't float to space. Other people might not want to find faith because they have seen the worlds pain and mistakes, blaming God. That is just a result of sin. I love God-sightings, little things we notice God did. They could be seeing a rainbow to having someone healed. Soon you will see God so often doubting seems silly. Many people don't have faith just because they have never looked for it. Think of your best friend. If you fell would they catch you? Probably. It's not just Faith here, its also trust. Do you trust God? That he is there, that he will take care you, that he will catch you.. Not even friends are perfect but God is. Have you even tested Him. Have you ever tried to see Him. God wants to know him but if you don't believe fully it is hard. As I said before faith is  hard but if you don't try you will never know. All you have to do is try!

By,

Marci

About Me

Hello,

 A couple of months ago Bethany asked me to write a post about me. Unfortunately I have not gotten around to it or any others until now. I have been crazy, busy over the last couple months and I can't wait for summer. But here it is, hope you like it and more posts will be coming soon...

So I am going to tell you a little about myself so you can relate to me and Bethany more. It is probably going to be a lot, but anyway I am 14 going on 15 in a little less than a month. Being the oldest of 3 kids my parents are learning how to cope with a teenager And I am learning how to cope as a teenager. I am homeschooled which I love. When I am not doing school I am either drawing, reading or writing. Currently I am writing a novel which is coming along slowly but I think it's turning out great.  On the drawing level I am a artist. I tried just about every kind of Art there is. But having stuck with pastel, graphite and computer graphics keeps me busy. I love Manga but it's not my best art. My dream job is working for Disney as a animator. Amazingly that dream is becoming reality. I also love music. I play acoustic, electric and bass guitar and want to learn drums and piano. Archery is also another pass time.  

As for my personality, people say I am shy but only until you get to know me. I am a personality geek and love trying to figure people out. I am a INFJ on the Myer Briggs personality test. I am an Introvert but a lot of people get introverts wrong. No I do not lock myself in a room for days:) I DO need to recharge after a long day though. I am very much inside my head and a daydreamer. When I was younger I knew something about me was different and now I know I am the rarest kind of personality out there. My moral is different is good. Be yourself God made you this way for a reason.

I think that's about it I hope that this blog will help you become closer to God and put him first over everything else.

 By, Marci

Fun Facts about me...

My favorite color is purple and number is 13, I live on a small farm with lots of animals,  Favorite subject in school is Art, I am half Middle eastern, My full name is Marciella, I love Owl City.