Why don't we witness?

It looks like y'all had a hard time to choose which one was harder about the 3 questions I posted. Although, the majority of you chose #3, witnessing to the ones who aren't saved. Yes, that is very hard for me too. We all think, "Oh, I need to be able to hold a conversation. I don't know how to start. I get too nervous. I'm so busy right now Lord, why me, why not her or him. I'll do it later, or if you really want me to do this then bring the person to me." Do some of those remarks sound like yours? I have done this a few times. A guy or girl will walk by and I will purposely shut my eyes because I don't want to do this right now. It sounds awful, because it is awful! I have had so many opportunities to do so, but every time I make the next step butterflies enter my stomach or a big gulp enters my throat and I starting sweating and I say, "I'll do it next time." But, what if there isn't a next time? What if that next time were too late?

I had a really great chance to spread the gospel around 2 years ago. It was as if the Lord gave brought this person to me for that very reason. The most dumbest person could of guessed it. Did I do it, no! Oh, as I now look back, I'm ashamed more than anything. I was standing in a group of guys and one of them asked me, "You're different but cool, hey you're family and you are Christians, right?" All I said was, "Yeah." That right there was the perfect chance to tell this lost guy. Another scenario was with a young girl, I spoke the truth out. She was all ears, I did it for the first time and felt so good, I obeyed the Lord, I didn't ignore his voice this time, and nothing was going to stop me. Did she talk to me afterward? No, she didn't dare to face me, she felt convicted but sadly, didn't want to take the change. However, I did what the Lord wanted me to do. I really admire those who aren't shy about speaking about God. We shouldn't be, but why are we?


We are intimidated because most of us worry about what others thinks about us. Whether it be our clothes, appearance, attitude, actions, words, and the list goes on. A lot of teens don't even speak because they are afraid of getting embarrassed by the other peers. I have had it happen to me. I will get darts from all directions shooting at me, I can either run for safety, or call out to the Lord to help me and speak his words of wisdom. One of my New Year resolutions was to witness to anyone around me. We are going on the 31st day of this year and have I done it? Honestly I will tell you, no. No I have not. I am ashamed, what will take for us Christians? Romans 1:16 says: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. " That is the answer. What are we ashamed of, what will be our excuse now?

All over we hear about, "Be the light!" "Let your light shine!" Place this fish on your car so everyone will know you are a Christian! Yes, yes, and yes. We can do that, but speaking to the person is where I tongue goes -----. Blank. There's nothing in it when we want to do it. Did you actually know that when we don't witness to the lost we are disobeying Christ. It is our duty, we should do it with a full heart. Giving it all to him. "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise." (Proverbs 11:30) Jesus commanded us to go out make men, women, and children believers. If we don't set our mind to it now, we will never do it.

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

God promises to be with us at all times. He will. Sometimes we feel alone, but no, he's by your side wherever you go. Sharing the gospel with lost ones will give God the glory and it will give us confidence and it will strengthen our walk with the great God. This is the best message ever. You may not even know how many are seeking for this message, to be loved by one such as Jesus. We are just too selfish and embarrassed perhaps to speak it out. Hold on with me, the next post will be "How do I start a simple conversation with a nonbeliever and switch it over to the gospel?"

Quick being scared or whatever your reason may be, we need more Christians, more followers of Christ. Winning souls brings us closer to the Lord and it will save a man, a woman, or a child, and possibly a gerneration from hell-from the evil!

My friendship!

Hey y'all!

Thanks for all the previous comments. I really enjoyed looking and reading through each one. I will get my post up soon (the question with the most comments). As of now, I'm pretty busy, because my best friend came for a visit. We've been having a great time. Her friendship is just something I don't want to loose. If any of you have ever read Anne of the Green Gables, then you'll know about a friendship. Anne is definitely me, all the way through, and then Erica, my friend is Diana. It's pretty plain as day too see. It's amazing to have a family as I do, a God who I can trust and love, and then a friend who is loving, caring, encouraging, and raising you up. I have a video I want to share with y'all. Some may think it's a bit odd, because the movie "Lord of the Rings" is not what everyone believes, but I personally wanted to post it up. There's nothing violent or scary, it just shows a friendship even in a rough time. If none of you know the story, I'll give you a quick glimpse of who is who. Frodo is the one who has brown hair and is always looking burdened and Sam, his brave companion is the one in blond hair. They are going on a far journey to destroy a ring. That's all I'm going to give you. Erica is like Sam, raising me up when I'm down, either physically or mentally, and I'm, well, like Frodo. Even though they're guys, it's still shows many similarities. I have at the time an injured arm and my friend is being the one like Sam, raising me up! When I'm down and hurt, she'll raise her arm out and lift me up. She's a total Sam, brave, and yet is full of compassion. If she had too, I know she would even carry me (literally) and do the most to keep me strong and my face lifting high! She says, "It's fun to raise you up, Mr. Frodo (me)!" Take a look at the movie. And I won't be offended if y'all don't look at it. Each family has different believes about it! Till later....

Which one will you choose?

Why haven't I been posting? Well, I got an injury on my left arm. I went sledding Sunday afternoon with a whole bunch of friends and to my surprise, I went on with someone and then my sled got under my arm and dragged it. I tore something under my arm and I believe I have sprained it. I got a sling on to support it, that's all that's working. A few nerves got pinched so that's where all the pain is coming from! OUCH! At times it's fine, and now again, it's beginning to hurt. I just have to wait about 1 week to 10 days!

I'm going to give y'all three choices to choose out of. When you have thought it over, just leave a comment to your honest answer! It can be anonymous too!

Out of these three, what do you find the hardest to do?

1. Ask for forgiveness to family or friends.

2. Leaving everything behind and following JESUS no matter what.

3. Witnessing to the ones who aren't saved.

The one which was commented the most, that is what my next post will be about! Good idea?!

Another blog to follow!

Hey girls and guys! I have this really GREAT blog to give y'all to check out. You can't leave a comment, but just reading the posts is enough. This girl is from my favorite place in the world and just about 15 miles from my previous home town. She's been my friend for some time now and we are no longer just friends...no longer just best friends...we're practically sisters. Yes, we even fight at times! :) Erica, has been coming to my blog over the past 8 months perhaps and she has been talking about getting a blog together and finally she took the moment and did it! The latest post, "Beautiful" is absolutely, well the title says it, 'BEAUTIFUL! Take a minute or two and check her blog out. She just started it about 1 week ago. Since you can't leave her a comment, leave a comment on my blog (this post) and tell her what you think about it! She's a normal girl like us all, well, can we even say 'normal' anymore, what is normal by the way?! She loves the Lord with all her heart, and is a one of those friends who listens to everything you need to say. I guess her blog title explains it all, "Southern Maiden", yes, the south is the best!

Here is the link, http://www.mysouthernsky.blogspot.com/ .

Seeing Jesus through a four year old!

Last night I was talking to my 4 yr. old sister, and I often have conversations like this one with her. I think they are so cute, but yet the truth. Look at what she answered me! Just for your info, my name is Nessa (she calls me that), and then hers is Izzy.

Nessa: Hey Izzy, what do you think of Jesus, who is he, and what does he do?

Izzy: He's my friend, he loves me, he's just the best Jesus, the best in the whole world!

Nessa: Ok, what else?

Izzy: He makes people see, he makes, um, um, me and others walk, he gives me and others eyes, and he helps me talk. Oh, and he makes me clean, really clean and white!

Nessa: Wow, he sounds great! What happened when he died on the cross?

Izzy: The Romans were really bad, very bad to him, they hurt him, but Jesus rose again. He woke up, and he lives in heaven now!

It's pretty amazing how a little child already knows the beauty of Jesus Christ our Lord. These are moments you want to treasure. She knows that he loves her, that he cares for her, and that he is the light. I read a story this morning in a book from Ray Comfort. There was this little girl, age 8, she had such a knowledge and love for Jesus. A man came up to this little girl and knew her strong faith and mocked her and said, "Little girl, do you know that Jesus is just like Santa Clause-fake! He's not real!" That can hurt a child's faith and love for Christ. We all need to be careful with our words, Christ is the ultimate, and when little children speak of him in a righteous and beautiful way, that is so amazing and touching to know they love him and have faith!

Jesus, however, said, "Let the little children come to me, and stop keeping them away, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people like these." Matthew 19:14 (ISV)

Surrendering to the Almighty!

Are you surrendering everything in your life to God? Are all your dreams in his hands? Are you holding onto somethings? Is it all in his care, in his arms? Or are you having problems with letting things go? Do you fear that some of your dreams aren't going to ever come true? Do you have an issue to leave it all up to God and giving him all your cares? Do you not want God to have everything in your life, to lead you everywhere?

I have many, many dreams, perhaps too many. Many of them are dear to me and some are just there because I'm young! I want to be a midwife, live on a farm/ranch, marry a cowboy, have many children, be a musician, etc. The list goes on and on. For a time I was imagining all of my dreams talking of this and that, thinking of this, and so forth. I was forgetting to place God first, giving him all the dreams. Surrendering it all. I remember when I rededicate my life to the Lord for the second time before. Then, soon after I got convicted by the Holy Spirit to let go of all the dreams. I can picture you the day out I did that. I was at church, kneeling at one of the prayer benches, I cried. I never have experienced that before. I gave God my heart, my life, my dreams, my all. I was surrendering everything I had, I cried from the bottom of my heart. I was being selfish, I didn't want to let it go at first. I wanted to keep it all. It wasn't until I realized that I want someone else to share these dreams with me, I couldn't trust none other but the Lord God. My heart poured out on that prayer bench. Things I hadn't thought of came up and straight out to God. Past sins, past regrets, everything on my heart went directly up to my friend!

Surrendering means to yield ownership, to relinquish control over what we consider ours. When we surrender to God, we are simply acknowledging that what we "own" actually belongs to none other but HIM. At times our life will just crumble, it will fall and crush into pieces. There's only one thing we can do...surrendering. Everything inside of us will be relieved, we will let out those held back tears, start a new beginning. However, when we leave it all to ourselves, it seems like we are in charge of our life, God is there, he is in power, but still something still lingers on and it's "mine!" Don't try to run the picture in life, be the second man and let God be the first.

I have a friend, and this friend often tells me how she doesn't want to let go of her dreams. She surrenders to God, but deep down she has some very precious dreams to her and she is so afraid that she doesn't want them to perish. She clings to those few dreams as her jewels. Many of us have dreams, and we don't want them to go away, we wish everything that they will come true. Although, we know it's the right choice if we leave it all at the cross. What "right" are you clinging to, even though deep down inside you know you'd be better off if you gave it up? Giving it all to Christ is the best thing you can do. You can actually live free. You can have a free life, you don't have to worry about this, or that. Think about it. A lot of girls worry about marriage, "What if I don't marry, what if the man I marry isn't the man I want, what if this man isn't good looking?" What are we to worry about? Why should we worry about things like that? Looking into the future is another, but surrendering to Christ is not only a MUST, but a WANTING to! You may not be happy about it right now, but in the bigger picture of life, you'll be glad you chose to surrender to God.

A crush...wrong?

Hello!

I'm sorry that I didn't get the long anticipated post out sooner, but with the Holiday and plus I woke up yesterday morning with some pretty bad body aches, too painful to type on the computer. So, all that slowed me down!

Alright, I'm going to tackle the question, " Is It OK to Have a Crush on a Guy?" I'm really thankful for all of those who left a comment. They were much appreciated and really helped me think what I should post about. As the first step, lets take a look what the word crush means. Now, there are many definitions to this word, but the one which fits best to what I'm looking for is, "temporary love of an adolescent." Temporary means, "lasting, existing, serving, or effective for a time only; not permanent." Does that already explain a lot to you? This is what I'm getting from it. Why start a crush, when they are ALL practically just temporary. In our days, a crush lasts maybe a few weeks, perhaps, a few months, or maybe almost a year. Ok, a crush is NOT a bad thing. There are many stages a crush can be placed in. First, you see a guy and your heart reaches out (a.) he might be good looking, or (b.) he has a nice personality. The good looking type is not the right thing, there may be a guy who is looking good on the outside, but deep down he is ugly. His heart is rotten, and then what counts, just the looks or the character? My mom has always told me, "don't look on the outside of someone, that person will be old someday, and then the heart is what counts, the personality!" That is true.

Another problem is when you are constantly thinking upon this guy, your thoughts can go further than you intend to, and often they go out of control. Thoughts such as, "marriage, children, house, etc." can all be thought of and that is when a crush is getting WAY out of hand. Danger takes place when you think the future with this guy. All things need a balance, and when things get out of line, it's wrong! If you think of this guy as being helpful in the church, helping the sick, the needy, being a great follower for Christ, loving his sisters and brothers, and honoring his parents, then this is fine. It's when you plan your wedding and so forth. It's all normal to think about your future husband, however, controlling your thoughts can be one of the greatest blessings!

Remember that the most important thing of all is to be content with whatever God wants to do with your life. Perhaps you will get married. Perhaps you won't. As long as you are doing what God wants, then you can be happy and content. You should never allow thoughts about romance and marriage to control your life. You should be willing to serve the Lord in whatever way He wants you to serve, single or married. Your goal in life is never to find "Mr. Right." Your only goal in life is to love and obey God.

Having a crush brings a lot of misery, it wastes your life, it hurts your heart, it can bring holes in a relationship with family/friends, and most of all it can destroy your walk with God if you're not careful! As young adults our minds and body are often misled in the wrong way. We can at times be quickly turned away, especially when a young man comes into the picture, all of our common sense can leave us. It is a normal reaction, but we need to know when and how to turn off those thoughts. Just because you see a guys you might admire doesn't give you the right to fall and develop a senseless crush. You need to stay strong and block out all thoughts which will lead us to sin.

I have had many times where I will see a guy and think,"Oh, he looks cool, or he's pretty neat!" But then deep down, I know that this young man may just seem 'cool' doesn't mean his life is 'cool' or he doesn't respect his mother and father, and I WANT to be treated with respect. I know that the Lord doesn't want me to fix my thoughts upon a man who isn't in the Lord's will. Just because everyone will say it's normal to have those feelings when you see a young man, doesn't give you any excuse to fall!

A big help to guard your heart from a crush is prayer. When a man comes in your life or in your way and if you find something you like about him which isn't right, pray immediately to Christ. Ask him to take away your thought about this man, quote scripture when a nasty thought comes, or sing a song of praise to God. I often think and say to myself, "How could I have been so foolish and like this guy? Or how could I have done that?" I have cried many times in prayer asking for forgiveness, a crush doesn't get you anywhere. The world will tell you it's all NORMAL. It's not! It may be a normal reaction, but it's not normal to get into the next step...flirt. That's when things need to stop! Flirting is a game of purposely wasting your purity! Pray Psalm 51 in your deepest hour, and cry out to your best friend...JESUS!

Welcome 2009!

Happy New Year!

Wow, does it feel awkward that another year has begun? I was talking with a friend earlier and she was saying how she's not ready for this New Year. She said it came upon too fast, I'm not prepared! I kept thinking, what are you not prepared for? Well, as I have thought about this I have come to the conclusion that there are many new things approaching for us this New Year. A new president is the first thing, and then many more will arise as the year continues on. For many this 'new' 2009 sounds very scary and different. Something in them is telling them, "Wait, I'm NOT ready!" It may be a different year, but I WILL take each day as a new blessing from the Lord. Many are already saying on the radio, web pages etc. how 2009 will bring only disaster and worry. Lots of people are already concerned what this New Year will bring. A lot aren't ready to let go of the 'old' 2008 and move onto the 'new' 2009. They want to hold on to the past and not forget. We are to forget our past mistakes and move on. I'm ready for a fresh new start. Putting the old behind, the past, and opening up this new chapter in life, the New Year, a new day, a new month. Just think positively and giving each day to God, thank him for the blessing it is that we are able of having another YEAR! Join this New Year with faith, trust, and joy that God will do something outstanding in your life!