Music, a way of worship

I love to listen to music, anything from classical music all the way to death metal. But lately God has been showing me that what you listen to comes out in your attitude and that some of the secular music I was listening to was bring out a side of me that I didn't want. So over the past few days I have been downloading alot of new music for my I-pod and taking some of the more heavier depressing music off. I realized when I was looking through my ipod i had mostly secular music and not much when it comes to music that glorifies god. Now, Im not saying we should stay away from secular music, but its good to get some positive and uplifting music into your mind... And most of the secular music I was listening to was NOT that. ok, I know what you are thinking... "oh great! now we get all the praise god music and not the fun music with the cool beat.: haha, I have been there, but have found some music sounds really cool, awesome beats, and also isnt all depressing. Feel free to take alook at some of the names below.

Jump 5

TobyMac

Barlowgirls

Zoegirl

Out of Eden

MXPX

Rebecca St.James

Why does God allow suffering?

This has been a questing I have been struggling with for quite some time now. Why does He allow things like depression? Its been over 4 years now that I have been struggling with depression. Over the past two years It seemed to get worse and am now on some meds to try and help me. It seems like there is more suffering right now then Joy.

Last week at bible study we were told as homework to write down a question you want to ask God then go to the bible to find the answer... I chose to ask why he allows suffering, since this is something I have been struggling with daily. This is what I found out.

Romans 5:3-4 " We can rejoice too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance, And endurance develops strength of character and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation"

1 peter 4:1-2 " So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God."

2 corinthians 1:4-5  "He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ."

Job 36:8-10  If they are bound in chains and caught up in a web of trouble, he shows them the reason. He shows them their sins of pride. He gets their attention and commands that they turn from evil.

I dont think that all suffering is from God, some of it is from our choices we make, the consequences of our actions. God gave us free will and lets us learn from our mistakes and hopes we will come to him. When I was looking up the verses I noticed that alot of the times it speaks of people suffering and why we suffer is because we suffer for christ, and it builds us up and makes us stronger. It may not be pleasant, but In the end we will rejoice from our suffering. hmm.... One of the verses says that Christ comforts and helps us in times of troubles so that when someone else is going though the same thing we can be the same comfort that christ was. The more we suffer in Him, the more God will comfort us. This is a hard thing for me to grasp because I am tired of suffering, I hate this depression, I want my life to be "normal" again, but we have to hold on to the promise God has for us  "For I know the plans I have for you; Declares the LORD, plans not to harm you, plans for good and not for evil, plans to give you a hope and a future."(Jeremiah 29:11)

Make your own personal spot, a quiet place to think, a time to get comfy with God.

sooo, are you bored with sitting in the same old place? Find it boring to do devotions, senery too dull? Why not make a place in your house "you place", that you can get away to and feel comfortable and enjoy your quiet time with God? For example,  Me, I love fuzzy pillows and blankets so, I have made my own little "corner" in my room that has a nightstand table, tons of pillows, blankets, and a funky light to make it comfy. Also, in that corner I have some of my favorite bible verses and pictures posted on my wall, but not just on any ordinary paper. I chose to use black paper and colored Jelpens to spice it up a bit. I find it makes my quiet time alot better, more personal. Why not get cozy in a nice nest of pillows, grab your bible and notebook, and have a hot cup of coco and chill with God. When you feel stressed out, need some alone time, a quiet comfy corner is an awesome place to go to.

One Creative way you can have your quiet time with God.

Now a days people are so use to multitasking to get things done on time, life is so busy, and for some it seems too overwhelming. When life is going so fast, we need to chill a bit, and "be still" before god, taking time out of our day to spend with him. Im not talking about like hours and hours, maybe just 10-15 minutes day .For me, I find that taking time out of my day and having my "quiet time with god" helps me alot, and makes the day go alot smoother. I usually have a time set aside in the morning when I get up, that way I know Im not going to be tired. Before I write down how I choose to do spend my "quiet time", I just want to say that when you find a way to spend time with God, what ever it might be, try to make it part of your daily routine, do it in the same spot, same place, and remember, dont think that you need to spend alot of time at once.Dont stress yourself out,or make it more of a "I have to do this" rather then a "I want to do this". Have fun!

Here are two methods I use in my daily time with God.

Proverb a day

This Is pretty simple, Try reading a proverb a day, no more, no less. The book of proverbs is very practical all about life. By reading a verse each day it gives you something to chew on and think about.  When praying, try praying for understanding and insight.

Coloring method

Unfortunately lots of times we end up highlighting our favorite verses or ones that stick out to us, but when you go back to them they dont really mean anything because half your bible is highlighted the same colour. well, this method will help you make the verses you underlined have more meaning afterwards. All you need is a bible and some coloured pencils.

When you find a verse you like, try to colour code them. Often I will spend a time reading a section which might be around 6 verses and go back and read it again, this time putting in the right colour code to match it.

1) Gods will/Commands of God--->Green

2)Promises of God---> Orange

3)Qualities of God--->Purple

4)Prayer---> blue

Also, In some verses I put little symbols. For example, I have one for spiritual warfare, its a cross with lightning, or a heart for verses that shows Gods love.

Ways to describe Jesus

All though out the Bible Jesus Is mentioned, but I never realized how many ways He is described as. I desided one day to go through the bible and write down all the names that describes Jesus and who he is. It amazes me at how much I found out and how many ways we can describe Him. 

Names For Messiah

Wonderful God.- He is Exeptional, distinguished
Counselor- He gives the right advice
Might God- He is God alone
Everlasting Father- He will never die, never leave us, and is God our father
Prince of peace- He rules with justice and peace, he is high above us

Different names of Jesus

The alpha and the omega
The Beginning and the End
LORD
The almighty one
Son of Man
The First and the Last
Son of God
Witness
Creator
Lion of the Trible of Judah
Heir to Davids Throne
Lamb
Shepphard
Christ
Faithful and true
God
The Word of God
King of Kings
LORD of Lords
The bright mning star

Fear can be a good thing and a bad thing

Fear can be a good thing and a bad thing. ok, take walking in a dark alley in the middle of the night. You might get scared and start to think " what happens if someone is out here and want to mug me?" well, that is Justifyed fear. Of course you are going to worry, your out by yourself in a dark alley. It can be dangerous walking by yourself late at night. But what if you were in the alley in the middle of the day with lots of people walking there dogs and smiling and chatting to eachother and you start to worry about getting mugged, you cant take your mind off of the thoughts and the whole time you walk you are getting more and more scared. Thats unjustified fear. you know that Its light out, and lots of people are having fun, you should feel safe, but your fear is getting the best of you. For about four years I have had anxiaty attacks and I would totally feel spaced and start  to freak out.. my fear gets the best out of me, expesulay when Im around a big crowd of people, my mind goes so fast, worrying and thinking that people are judging me or if they look at me what are they thinking. When ever I have fear about something I try to think of verses to read that help me out and give me some comfort. Here are some of my favorite verses that I have eather memorised or have posted around my room.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” ( Philippians 4:6-7)

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged,
for the LORD yout God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9)

Dousing lies with truth about God

So many times I have seen people (incuding me!) believe lies or therories they have heard about who God is. It is so easy for us to get caught up with saying things like " God doesn't care about me" or " If God is supose to be a father to me, then count me out if he is anything like my dad!" Many times we go to God like he is some sort of Slot machine and pray to him and expect that he will just get us what we want. Who is God? well, God is defenetly not a slot machine! He is loving, and slow to anger, and cares about us so much. Nothing is greater then Him. If we put our trust in God nothing is impossible to overcome. Yeah, it may be hard and you will continue to make mistakes, but we are all human. The lies I beilive about God were that He doesn't care about me or see the pain I am in. That was a big one for me. But as I started looking through the bible it became more clear to me that what I though was true, was just a lie, and that he does love me. Jeremiah 29:11 says " For I know the plans I have for , Declares the LORD, plans not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. 
I was looking through the bible and found some good verses to fight the lies of who satan tries to tell us God is.
As we continue to pray and read the bible, we will learn more about who God really is.

Turn on your computer, grab a cup of hot cocoa, and come prepared to get some food for your soul.

so, I have desided to make this blog sorta like a daily reflections journal/ devotional time. I have been been doing alot of reflecting, on my walk with god, and in life in general. Why dont you grab a nice warm drink, get cuddled up in your favorite fuzzy blanket and enjoy reading...