This past week on Friday I completed my third Freedom Fast for International Justice Mission.  The goal of Freedom Fast is to give up either food or something else of importance for 24 hours as we reflect on our love of God as well as reflect on the needs of those trapped in Modern Day Slavery.  There is an importance of fasting for a growing relationship with God.  There are verses throughout the Bible that discuss the importance of fasting such as, “But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”  Fasting should not be done just to serve as creating an image of a good Christian but rather done as a way to grow closer to God.  This serves as a reminder that God is our main source of energy and main source of strength, not the food or the things that are a part of this world.  This is even why, Jesus, chose to fast for forty days, even though he was God and perfect.  

There are many people who don’t have access to food everyday.  They are essentially fasting from food everyday without the choice of abstaining from food.  There are those who are trapped in either a sex industry, working industry such as fish or brick making, where they are not allowed to have food for a certain amount of time.  Giving up food for one day, which may only be a part of what some have to experience, gives us an opportunity to be more empathetic towards those who have to experience this in their reality everyday.  There is even a verse that discusses the importance of fasting being connected with fighting for justice.  This is in Isaiah 58:6.  “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to lose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” There was a justice chosen with the sole purpose of fighting for injustice as it is such a heart connection.  

I won’t lie when I say that I wasn’t the most focused when it came to this Freedom Fast.  The event landed on some days when I seemed really busy and had a lot of events going on. It was supposed to land on Friday night to Saturday night, but then Saturday I had a wedding and I certainly didn’t want to fast while I was going to a wedding.  Therefore, I decided to start the fast early, but that night I went on a pep bus to go to the Friday night football game for my student’s playoff game.  Even though I gave up food, my heart wasn’t completely focused on the idea of praying and fasting for those in need the whole time. I was more distracted by talking with friends and students as well as the freezing cold air that we were watching the game in.  

Before I began my fasting, I was thinking about how to best work out and still complete my work out without getting dizzy.  Essentially I was thinking real hard about how to still complete my day to day activities while also abstaining from food.  I didn’t want to give up working out, hanging out with friends, etc. While that in and of itself isn’t a bad thing, at night I realized that I was so so blessed that I have a choice of when to give up food. Even though this technically was an event that was run by others, I still had the choice to change the time of my fasting to a time that was more convenient for myself.  There are those who are trapped in modern day slavery that don’t have the ability to pick when they will give up food or when they have to abstain from water or other nutrients.  They just are deprived of those needs.  Then most of them are still required to complete heavy workloads even when they are not fully fulfilled with their needs to complete work properly.  

I know that God appreciates my efforts to remember those in need and to dedicate some time and energy to giving up food in a fast meant to honor both himself and those in slavery.  I know that he doesn’t want to criticize and mark down how well I am fasting or not.  I understand that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t give it our all, but God I know is not ready to remind us of all the ways that we have done something wrong.  My efforts, money, and prayer that I did give  for this Fast for Freedom and those who are stuck in modern day slavery will benefit those in the world.   My main point is that next time I complete a fast, I shouldn’t worry about making this so convenient for myself.  It shouldn’t just be about what works the best for me.  It should be an actual giving of something hard in order to show glory to God and in this particular case to really become empathetic with those who don’t have a choice of when or when not to eat.  It can be a hard thing to do, but fasting, particularly fasting for fighting for those injustices, is important. 

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the words that are coming out of my mouth and off my tongue.  Watching the tongue of course doesn’t actually mean to watch your tongue in your mouth.  However, this does mean that a person should watch what they say and the words that are coming off of the tongue. I will be honest with everyone when I say that recently I have struggled a bit more with watching or really listening to the words that I say and use.  There are some times that I am more prone to swearing or saying words that are not the most appropriate.  I am wanting to work on this in all the different ways of watching a tongue.  

This is an important thing to think about because of even just how much time people spend talking.  If you are a person like me, then you really like to talk to a lot of people for the majority of the day.  I have a very fitting job in the fact that I am a teacher and get the chance to talk to students and my co-workers all day! There have been studies that have found that people, ,both men and women, speak roughly 15,000 to 16,000 words every day. That’s a lot of words, which does mean that there are a lot of words that a person should spend time thinking over.  There is, as we will also discuss, a lot of opportunity then for someone to use those 15,000 words for good or for pure evil.  

The book of James is a great book to read when wanting to read about how to watch the tongue.  One of the first verses in James that speaks of watching the words that we say is James 1:19-20 which says, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”  This verse packs a lot of wisdom.  A person should be willing to listen to the other people who are talking. This is of utmost importance when there is an argument or a break in harmony that is starting to come about. This is because when we don’t listen, we often don’t understand what that person really is wanting to say.  We can misunderstand the situation and get mad at something that we really should not have been getting mad at, at all.  The other thing is listening provides a lot of wisdom.  When we spend time trying to listen and learn from other people, we grow a lot as people.  

Another verse is James 3:10 is, “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.”   Our mouths can do doal things.  They have the ability to lift people up and empower them.  However, it also as we have said many times has the ability to bring people down and give curses to people.  This even includes gossiping or hoping that they have terrible things done unto them.  It is a scary thing that the body part that can be so pure also has the ability to be so evil and destructive.  It almost shows that if vile words come out of a person’s mouth, then that is almost in and of itself tainting any of the good things that come from the mouth coming forward.  I try to think of it like a water spigot.  If it is clean, the water will be more likely clearer, cleaner, and more pure.  The same goes for the words that are coming out of our mouth and how maybe tarnished or made unclean it has in the past.   Of course, we do by all God’s glory have the grace of Jesus that does make our mouths clean, but this verse should still serve as a conviction as to how we use our mouths.  

The last verse that I wanted to highlight in regard to the tongue is, “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.” James 3:8-10 I love this verse.  I love this because I think it best showcases that while the tongue is a small piece of the body, it does have a lot of power.  As we have seen, the tongue has a lot of power to give pain, suffering, gossip, and curses.  However, it also has the great amount of power to send a lot of blessings to the people around us.  It also is the thing that we get to give the Lord praise with.  This praise can also set a fire throughout the entire world to love and honor the Lord.  That is amazing that again such a small body part has such amazing power.  

Even though the mouth is a very small body part and can often be forgotten about, it is an incredibly important body part.  We speak those thousands of words, and we don’t always spend time reflecting on whether or not those words were destructive or uplifting, gossiping or worshipping, speaking with hate or speaking with love.  My challenge for myself as well as for anyone who is reading this blog is to start watching those words that are coming off of your tongue.  Are they words that you are happy that God is listening to or is it words that you would rather not share with the Lord? God has blessed us with this body part.  (Thank goodness for that, because I again really love to talk!) Clearly God does have great plans for us to use with it.  I pray that we all find amazing ways to use it, even when it can be hard.  

Something that I have said multiple times throughout my life, even amongst my blog is the importance of having compassion and showing that compassion to one another.  However, if I am honest I never really thought that much about what compassion actually means by looking at the real definition of the word.  The definition of compassion is, “sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.” In lay man’s terms as I would define it is to spend time listening to the thoughts and concerns of others while also finding ways to best help them in their situation.  Even though it is not your problem and it may not have anything to do with you, there is love for that person that they want to alleviate their problem or pain.  

This relates to a verse that I recently read in my devotional of Proverbs 31:8, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”  I believe that this verse really goes well with compassion.  This is because this verse doesn’t just talk about listening to someone, but this verse talks about speaking up for those people.   This verse also points out that just because their problem might not have anything to do with you and helping them won’t necessarily help you, you still reach out because it is just simply the right thing to do.  This can then eventually someday be impactful for you as some day in the future, you may need to have some compassion shown to you.    

There are so many people in the world who sadly don’t have the exact ability to stand up for themselves.  There are people who have some disabilities where they will not be able to speak for themselves.  There are those who are poor, and even though they may have a voice, it is not often heard in a world that prioritizes the rich.  There is also, of course, something that is always on my heart of those that are stuck in human trafficking and modern day slavery.  They don’t have the ability to speak up themselves either.  They can’t stand up to their traffickers and their slave masters.  Even though I am blessed that I have never experienced this kind of injustice, that doesn’t mean I can’t have compassion and show empathy to the people who have experienced this. 

Showing compassion doesn’t have to be an extremely big or eventful experience.  It can be showing compassion to someone who is having a bad day.  Even if you have not experienced the type of bad day that you find someone else has, that doesn’t mean one can’t listen or show compassion to that person on that day.  You still have the chance to be the person that is there for them.  This can be done through a simple compliment, a heartfelt note, or a simple act of service for someone that you love or care for.  

There was recently a quote that I found that says,“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”  This is an awesome quote from the legendary Anne Frank.  People don’t need to wait in order to change the world.  Any day and everyday we could choose to change the world and make it an overall better place.  A person doesn’t need to have a grand plan in order to decide to start changing the world.  A person just has to decide to make the simple kind gestures, acts, or words that can uplift someone to change their world.  

What is the way that you can best make the world a better place on this very day that you are reading this?  What is the thing that you can do that can make someone smile, laugh, or just in general help them out in a significant way? Is there a person that you feel it would be good to help out?  There will most likely be a pull in your heart at the direction that you feel is best to go and to help them.  I feel, especially because of this year and everything that has happened, there should be a use of more compassion in the world.  I feel there are many people in the world who are very desperate for compassion, for love, for kindness, and for just general positive interaction.  My challenge for you this week is to reach out to that person.  Leave that kind note, help them out in the way that you need help the person that your heart is pulling you to help.

The definition of forgiveness according to Psychologists is as “a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group who has harmed you, regardless of whether they actually deserve your forgiveness.”  Easier said, It is letting go of resentment and anger against someone. While this sounds very good to let go of the anger and the hurt that someone has done against oneself, it can be so hard at times to forgive those that have wronged us.  For myself, it is very hard for me to forgive someone when the person isn’t apologetic.  If they are sorry and apologize, it is very easy for me to forgive people.  This also could apply to a person who maybe still hates me or is still mad at me.  I think there are times that I feel that I can only forgive when the other person is in the same place of forgiving me as well.  

There are some great benefits, however, for forgiving.  The first one being that it is a Godly command.  God wants us to forgive our neighbors.  Ephesians 4:32 writes, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”  It can be hard to remember to love everyone, especially those who have hurt us in major ways.  However, God has forgiven us, even though we all have done something that is against him.  We have, sadly, at one time or another hurt God or a piece of God’s creation in some way.  We have most likely hurt someone’s feelings, yelled at someone, and made fun of a person who is a piece in God’s creation.  Not only did God forgive us, but he even created a plan to make us completely clean in order to go to heaven, by sending his son to die on the cross for our very sins.  These very sins that he was and is willing to forgive.  

Another benefit to forgiving someone is that it can help with our own mental state.  I know that I personally have held a grudge against someone and that only made me angry or upset when I would think, see, or hear about that person.  I was and am still the one that sometimes holds on to that negative energy when I could choose to get rid of it.  I have tried my best to learn that I need to forgive in order to help cure my soul and cure my mind.  There is a very famous saying that says, “Forgive but don’t forget.” This was a saying that I was taught when I was younger.  The idea is that I should forgive those who have hurt me but not forget the problems or the situation that happened. This isn’t done as a way to remember the bad things in order to hold this over another person, but as a way to learn from the negative situation and problem whilst still forgiving the person that was a part of that situation.  

The other thing is the relationships that could be repaired and created amongst forgiveness.  For example, Joseph in the Bible was able to forgive his brothers after they sold him into slavery.  He was even able to find it in his heart to help them survive by giving them a surplus of food while the nation of Egypt was in a drought and famine.  Joseph then says, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”  Joseph could even see that even though he was hurt by his brothers, it was a part of God’s plan.  He became the second most important person in Egypt after the Pharaoh and saved multiple lives by creating a plan through the famine.  I am not saying that it is always going to be easy to forgive those that have hurt us.  It will definitely be hard to start thinking about those things as blessings as opposed to curses.  I am not going to be here to ever say that it is something that is easy and something that we can do easily.  However like all pieces of our lives, God uses those experiences even with people who have wronged us for our own good.  

There are a few people personally right now that I am struggling to forgive.  There has been quite a bit of pain that has been put on my family and myself this past year, and I am struggling to forgive those people who have caused that pain.  However, God may have used those situations for my good.  I just don’t know it yet.  I hope this is an encouragement to anyone who also has someone or something they are struggling to forgive.  It isn’t easy, and I don’t think that anyone finds it easy.  However, God is in complete control and will work all things for his good.  He also shows us the best example of forgiveness when he forgives us.  We can continue to follow his example.

The year 2020 for me, like most of you in the world, has been very rough.  It has definitely been the longest year of my life.  A little less than two months ago, I lost my grandpa, and now my dog, Kaiser of 4 years, was hit by a car and has passed away.  I am so defeated and worn out from this year and especially from these past two months.   I am grateful though for the time that I had with Kaiser, and I am also so happy and blessed to have this blog space where I can write from my heart about my dear dog.  

Kaiser was the kindest dog that a person could ever meet.  He was never angry.  He was only happy and full of love.  This was for anyone that came in the door.  He was often one of the dogs that I would go to when I was the most upset.  He could always make me smile, and there are so many videos and pictures that I have of him that make me laugh.  I know that for both me and my parents, we have a Kaiser sized hole in our heart as we mourn the loss of this great dog.  

The second part of the verse in Job 1:21 says, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”  I think there are often many times, for myself included, that I think about God as taking things away.  He took my grandpa from me, and he has now taken my dog from me.  I don’t always focus on that first part.  The Lord gave me my grandpa and in particular MY grandpa, not with the personality or love as anyone else’s grandpa.  He then gave me my dog Kaiser with the wonderful personality that he had.  He gave me such great blessings, and although it hurts so much, it was time for them to be taken away.  

I am not going to make it sound like I accepted this right away.  I won’t deny that when I heard about Kaiser, I threw a temper tantrum.  I was like a child yelling at a parent about their favorite toy being taken from them, or a high schooler having their phone taken away by a teacher.  (I’ve seen that a few times before, being a teacher).  I swore and cursed.  I screamed, and started to punch the wall.  I also am really struggling with my anger at the person who hit my dog.  This isn’t because I think it is all their fault, but I am mad that they didn’t stop and they didn’t say anything.  I am struggling a lot, and I never want to make it sound like I never feel these different emotions, but I don’t know what I would do if I was dependent on God during this time. 

This is also a reminder to me that I shouldn’t take anything for granted.  Less than two months ago, on August 9th my grandparents, including my papa, were at my house scratching and loving my dog Kaiser.  Less than two months later, those two are both gone from me.  This changed my life quickly.  However, this is a reminder for me to never take for granted the dear friends, students, family members, and my other two dogs that I have in my life.  They have all been given to me by God.  I don’t know when he will need them back, but I want to make sure that I loved and appreciated them for the time that I had them.  

There are so many verses about being grateful that I have shared in the past, but another one is Psalm 1:9, “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.” I need to always remember to love everything that I have been given and thank God for them.  I was given such a wonderful papa and a wonderful, loving dog.  I had that dog for four years as he made me laugh and smile.  I still have the best mom and dad, loving grandmothers, aunts and uncles, a job with students that I love with my whole heart, and two other loving dogs at my parent’s house.  I will continue to sing praise to God, even through this intense pain.  

Kaiser was so full of energy, and he loved to exercise.  He loved to run, and he would often go on runs with my mom.  My only hope now is that he is running around in heaven.  I hope that he is spending time with my grandpa, and that my grandpa is giving him some scratches for me.  I also hope that he is running around and spending a lot of time with everyone, maybe even Jesus.  I have to imagine that Jesus would have loved my dog. He would know that he was a special one. I hope that he is jumping and sniffing everything that is up there.   I loved you Kaiser, and I always will.  Be in peace up there, buddy.

The picture below was taken last December by my papa of me and my dog Kaiser.

Recently, I have been asked by a few people if I have lost weight.  It’s a pretty great feeling even if I don’t know if I have really lost weight.  One thing that I wanted to mention first is that I didn’t necessarily try to lose weight this year.  My main goal after last year after having another knee surgery was getting back into shape.  I just wanted to be able to do the things that I could before I had the knee surgery.  I wanted to work out full throttle again.  Because I had been down for so long, I understood how great it is to be up and doing exercise again and therefore I was grateful and hungry for the opportunity.  

Then this year at the beginning of 2020, I set some fitness and health goals.  I never set out to lose a set amount of weight.   I wanted to be able to run 750 miles, squat 150-160 pounds (which I have achieved this year already) and bench 110-120 pounds.  I also made a goal to start cooking enough for two meals, so I try to eat less at supper time in order to save some food for lunch the next day or supper the next night.  (I hate cooking, so I am trying to do it less). Because of this, I have been working throughout the year on these goals.  I never thought about losing a single pound.  I never thought about counting calories, restricting myself on foods, and how many calories I had to burn each workout.  I am exercising by fulfilling my goals, and trying to eat less at supper.  

I have also learned that I just love exercising! I know, there are not a lot of people who say that.  However, I have found that I obviously love running and biking, (these were things that I already did know, of course,) but I have also rediscovered in this last year how much I love lifting weights.  I really especially love leg day.  I love doing squats because I feel strong and powerful, and I love the feeling I get when I get done with a long and hard workout.Therefore working out is a time for me to de-stress, play my music really loud, and do something I really enjoy.  It is always important, therefore to find those exercises that a person really enjoys.  I can not tell a person to start running for working out if that is something that person really hates.  

Another thing was that I just started to have a lot more confidence.  I had accepted this year how I looked.  Would I have liked to change a few things about my body, absolutely, but I learned to accept and love myself just as I am.  This reminds me of the verse from Psalm 139:13, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”  God took time to create each and every one of us, so therefore we are completely unique, beautiful, and loved.  He didn’t just chop us together, but he specifically made decisions about how we look.  I started to realize that I was different and unique.  I started to realize that I was beautiful in my own way, and I started to walk around like I was unique.  Even if I hadn’t lost any weight or inches, I may just seem more confident and therefore better.  

Therefore, my best advice and piece of wisdom that I want to give anyone out there who may want to lose weight is to first decide to make lifestyle changes.  It is important to try to find the exercises that you really enjoy.  This could be running like myself.  This could be lifting.  This could even be kickboxing.  (I have many friends who have really enjoyed doing this exercise).  Make this something that you look forward to everyday, and that is maybe even stress-relieving.  Are there going to be days when this is hard and don’t want to work out? Absolutely, but at the same time, there will still be an overall desire to keep improving every time that you go to exercise.  

The next thing is to set fitness or health goals.  Have a goal to take care of your body.  The Lord created your body, and like in all things, he does want us to take care of it.  In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” It should not just be about losing certain pounds, but rather about eating right, exercise, and living the right away.  I am not saying that one can’t set a weight loss goal, but it is more about taking care and loving yourself.  

My last piece of advice is for you to realize that you are fearfully and wonderfully made by the one and only God of the universe.  That is definitely something to celebrate and love about yourself.  No matter what size you are, no matter if you are heavier set or lighter set, God loves you just the way that you are.  This confidence will help impact your working out and eating goals as well, I promise!

Since I have become a teacher, I have started to notice the stereotypes that follow many teachers in television and movies, specifically in teen shows and movies.  They may seem as though they are the mean adults that sometimes work hard to ruin the main character (a high schooler’s life).  Why does it seem as though there are so many of these bad examples of teachers out there in pop culture? Why does it seem that teachers are often the villains as opposed to the helper for the protagonists?  Granted, I understand that this is for comedic value, but I still can’t help but think about how this stereotype may sometimes impact teachers and students relationships.  

This is something that really started to bother me.  I guess it is because I am now a second year teacher, and I don’t like the idea of being seen as a villain in children’s shows. The teacher in the shows often tries to keep the students in line through detentions and multiple punishments while not trying to understand all of the problems that are happening with those students in regard to relationships, friendships, and familial problems.  As a teacher I want to be able to connect and be there for my students.  I want to try to understand their problems even if I really don’t understand their problems.  I don’t want to be seen as a villain to my students. I want to be seen as the teacher that will support and love my students, especially when they are struggling through something.  

This also often reminds me of the verse, Colossians 3:12 which states, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.”  This is a very simple verse, but it is great to discuss the big words that are in it.  It is good to genuinely love kindness.  Yes, I do believe that there are times that it can come in tough love.  I work with high schoolers, so there are definitely moments when I know they can be better then they are sometimes showcasing.  However, that doesn’t mean that tough love should come all the time.  There needs to be the moments of showing kindness and really taking the time to know and care to my students. 

I should also want to show compassion in every way that I can.  I think the way that I can show this is through really listening to my students.  Sometimes, they are going to have problems that I am not going to think are that big of a deal, but it will be a big deal to them.  They may be going through a dramatic problem that I may find silly, but it is very real and painful to them.  It is hard for me at times to remember what it was like to be a teenager and in high school (even though it really wasn’t that long ago).  However that will be the main way that I can best create good relationships with my students.  

Humility is something that is often lacking in our society, and definitely through people that are in charge.  I don’t always have to be right.  In the teenager’s shows, the teacher character hardly ever admits they are wrong.  They always put on an air of being right.  This will never create a good relationship between teacher and student.  Another thing is that the teacher needs to be willing to serve their students.  This can be through obviously looking to help them with their homework, even if it isn’t the homework that it is for your class.  I may not know everything that there is to know about other subjects, but I know enough to where I can help them.  

Patience is another great virtue to have as a teacher and in really any profession. This can be hard because I am sometimes dealing with students who are giving an attitude or are not listening to me.  However, I have found that keeping my cool with my students, while hard, creates the best situation.  Also, it is not necessary to fight every battle.  Even if it is not necessarily something that you like or want in a classroom, there are just some situations and some times where it is just not worth the fight of your rules to fight with the student. There are times that you also need to know that it is not always you, and that there are some stressful situations that just make a student act not like themselves.  

The best example of a teacher in a show though, I believe was Mr. Feeny in Boy meets World.  This show was one of my favorites growing up.  Even though Mr. Feeny every once in a while was the character that was getting the gang of teenagers in trouble and was seen as crabby, old teacher. However,  there was never a doubt in his student’s minds that he didn’t care about them. That is why we see him go from their middle school teacher, all the way up to teaching them in college.  The show wanted to make sure that they showcased his relationship with the students all the way up.  Mr. Feeny knew how to be patient with his students when they made mistakes and got an answer wrong, but he still knew how to push them to be the best people they could possibly be.  He got to know their interests and was always willing to help them with any situation that they could possibly run into.  The main point of this blog is that if you are an educator or work with people of any kind, it is always important to be like Mr. Feeny and follow Colossians 3:12.  

Recently I was given a coloring book that includes verses, and this is how I was reminded of the beautiful verse of Psalm 42:2 that says, “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”  This verse is beautiful, and it also serves as a big reminder as to how we should live our life.  This reminds me to ponder the reasons that I am a Christian.  Is it because I was told that it was the right path by my family, and I don’t want to upset them?  Is it because I feel as though I will only be a good person if I am a Christian? Or have I decided to become a Christian because I love God that much?  That should be the main reason that I am a Christian, not for any of the false reasons that I listed before.  This is something that I need to spend more time pondering and reflecting on.   

This verse reminded me of one of my all time favorite books, “Desiring God,” that also happens to be by one of my favorite authors of John Piper. I really truly believe that this book changed me and especially how I viewed Christianity.  Don’t get me wrong, I have always loved going to church.  I would often be the one making sure my mom and I went as opposed to the other way around. When I went to college, I knew that I wanted to be a part of a college ministry. However, there were times that I feel I really only wanted to be a part of this Christian ministry because it is the only thing that I have ever known and done.  Then I read this book, and I was reminded that God is my first love.  Being a Christian is more than just following rules and going to church.  It is more about serving and honoring a God that loves me unconditionally. The quote that really stuck with me is, “God is most glorified when you are most satisfied in him.”  God doesn’t just want us to read the Bible because we have to but because we want to.  This would be like if we are giving someone a present for their birthday and then telling them that we only got it for them because we felt we had to as opposed to finding something we knew they would enjoy and thinking of them enough to buy it for their birthday.  

What are some ways that a person should know that they are thirsting for the Lord?  One way to show this thirsting for the Lord is through praise.  Worship music is a great chance to let the lyrics and music allow you to honor the glory and the majesty of the Lord.  I will be honest that I am not the best at always listening to worship music.  There are many times that I would rather listen to pop and rap music.  However, I have found that through this time of sorrow of everything that has happened in 2020, I need that worship music to remember the good and consistency of God, even when the world is not.  There is another psalm that really captures the essence and the importance of worship songs and that is Psalm 100:2, “Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.”  This idea of praise can also, of course, be shown through our time of prayer.  It can be very easy to pray for the things that we want, but it is incredibly important that we spend time in prayer praising God for all the great work that he has done in the world and in our lives.  

Another thing that shows the thirst for God is our love for God’s word. Yes, we can read God’s word without pure love.  I have definitely done this.  I have, at times, read God’s word out of duty as opposed to the pure love of it.  Reading the Bible is something that I try to dedicate to everyday but at the same time it is important to remember that you are reading the word of God, and that is completely special.  Something I have found is that for me personally I actually do like to do my Bible study in the morning before I go to school.   I think the reason for this is that in the morning I am so much more ready to learn and take in information. When I get back home from teaching, I am not very motivated to learn or to read.  I am more interested in watching T.V and listening to music.  Therefore setting aside that time in the morning has helped me remember to love God and his word! I am reading the word of God. 

The beautiful thing about this concept is that there aren’t really any rules.  The rules, the regulations, and the tasks that many Christians do such as reading the Bible, going to church, worship songs, and prayer is incredibly important, my whole concept is that there is a thirsting for God that can be different for each person. We are going to make mistakes.  We are going to have ups and downs.  However, it will be so much better to grow from the grace and the pure love of God if we really, really, really desire to know and love God.  

A few weeks ago, I talked about how my grandpa, papa, passed away.  This was something that was really hard for me.  The weekend after was really hard, especially because it was so unexpected. However, something I tried to do that first weekend was remember some of the good times I had with my papa.  (That was also why I made sure to write my blog about my papa right away).  I tried really hard and was fairly successful to stay grateful and joyful, even amidst my personal tragedy.  I  even found a t-shirt of mine that my mom gave me that said, “Today, I am grateful.”  I made sure to wear it that weekend to serve as a reminder to stay grateful for what I had with my papa as well as the many things that I still have.  

The Bible has quite a few verses, specifically in the Psalms that state to “give thanks to the Lord…”   Psalm 118:1 is one of those verses that says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” What a beautiful and simple verse! There are times that I believe I get to thinking about all the things that I want from the Lord.  I want him to cure me of my anxiety, I want my family to heal, I want some people I know that aren’t Christians to become Christians.   Now I do believe that God loves to hear these deep thoughts of ours.  He wants to know where our heart is and what the desires of our hearts are, but at the same time , we should always be aware of the things that the Lord has already done for us, and the surplus of objects that he has given us.  

In college, I was challenged to write down five things that I am grateful for everyday in a journal.  I started writing these down in a little black journal that is solely filled with dates and the five things that I am grateful for that day.  I developed the mentality of, “If God took away everything you didn’t thank him for, what would you lose?”  This has made me think of a lot of things that I am thankful for, even when they are really, really, small things, and the things that I take for granted on a daily basis.  I one time wrote down that I was thankful for water bottles.  This, of course, also includes big things such as thanking him for a successful surgery and my family members.  

There has been quite a bit of research that has shown that gratitude can definitely improve psychological health as it can help decrease depression and stress as well as help sleep better at nights.  Because one is thinking about how blessed they are or the things that they are grateful for, there are less of the problems plaguing one’s society laying on the mind.  I am not here to say that writing down things you are grateful for will cure anxiety and depression, but it is something that has helped many people to work through their anxiety and depression. Besides that, there is more research being done to see if being grateful will increase a person’s physical wellbeing.  The science isn’t out yet, so I can’t say that keeping a grateful journal will help people become physically healthy, but there is some connection that research has found that says those who keep a grateful journal have reduced stomach aches, nausea, frequently less headaches, and clearer skin.  

Similarly to being grateful, the Lord tells us many times throughout the Bible that we are to be filled with joy.  Many times people want to assume that joyfulness is the same thing as happiness.  I would argue that while happiness is an emotion that is similar to joyfulness, it is not the same thing.  The joy we have in the Lord is not even comparable to worldly happiness.  Happiness is easily persuaded.  We aren’t always happy or in a good mood.    Being joyful is a daily choice that isn’t always easy. This joy isn’t filled with things of this world, but rather what the Lord has provided for us. 1 Samuel 2:1A says, “The Lord has filled my heart with joy; I feel very strong in the Lord.”  Again, when my grandpa died,  I couldn’t stop crying, and I was definitely not “happy,” in a traditional sense.  However, God has filled me up with everlasting joy.  This joy includes my love for my grandpa.  That joy stayed even as I was in deep sorrow.   

My challenge for you this week, (whatever week you are reading this) is to try to write down five things that you are grateful for.  This can be done in the morning, right before bed, during lunch, whenever.  This can also be a list of notes in your phone, in a journal, a sheet on the fridge, anywhere.  Maybe you will discover that this exercise is one that you really enjoy and start to make this your own healthy daily habit.  Gratefulness can uplift our spirits and keep up the joy that we have in Christ alive and well in our bodies.  I pray that you will find a great deal of gratefulness, and the Lord will continue to fill your heart with Joy.  

Harmony is important, and this is something that seems to be lacking in the world today. It seems to me that all people see on the internet and on the television is people not living in harmony with anyone, specifically those of opposing political or religious views.  I believe because of that, there is a great importance of looking at our word, Harmony.  I usually consider myself a pretty harmonious person.  When I took my strengthsfinder survey, I received Harmony as my third highest strength out of 40 options of strengths.  Therefore, I would say that harmony does mean a lot to me.  However, I don’t think throughout my entire life, I have lived with the “best” or healthiest harmony.  There are times that I avoided conflict at all cost, and still do.  I would rather just walk away from any problems as opposed to discuss it.  Now, I do think that there are times when this is a healthy choice, but there should be times when I should consider talking about my problems with people so myself and the other person/party can harmonically fix the problem.  Because of that, I wanted to take a look at what the Bible has to say about this word of Harmony.  

The first verse that I wanted to highlight is Romans 14:19, which is, “So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.”  Let us always pursue peace and harmony.  I picked this verse because I believe this is something I need to practice.  I actually want to really highlight the ending of “mutual upbuilding.” As I have mentioned, there are times that I try to avoid any conflict.  I am like a turtle in that when there is conflict, I would rather hide in my shell and avoid any confrontations.  However, while again that can be good in some cases, there are times that it will not help a group grow.  There are sometimes times when the question/conflict that you have and want to mention is stifling to the group, and the group needs to become aware of this problem to help the group grow and prosper.    

The second verse that I want to bring up is Colossians 3:14, “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”  The main ingredient of creating harmony is love.  This again may seem simple, but it can at times be difficult, really difficult, to show love to those that you are disagreeing with.  However, even when we are having these disagreements, love can fix/build those bridges of disagreement.  This love best comes from Jesus.  People can live in their best harmony when they are in agreement and in harmony with Jesus Christ.  This is explained in Romans 15:5, “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus.” Here is the reminder that we will always achieve our greatest harmony when we are in Christ to complete that.  

The last set of verses that I wanted to bring up is Romans 12:16-18.  These verses say, “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”  There are going to be times when sadly, we won’t be liked by everybody.  We may have tried to do whatever we can to repair the relationship, and it may not always be enough.  This can be the times where we may want to act as though we are the ones that are correct and may even try to get people to be on our side.  We may talk bad about the other person or gossip about them. Even if it is hard, it is in our best interest to not repay that evil or disagreement with someone with more evil of our own. Whatever you can do, do your best to achieve peace with one another.  If there is disagreement with another, but that is because of the other person refusing to make harmony, then it is up to them.  It is now their job to create harmony with you and the situation.  

There are times when harmony is incredibly hard.  There are times when we may have frustration and general disagreement with another person or group.  This is sadly, a part of life.  However, as we can see, there are many references in the Bible that call for Harmony.  Harmony and peace is something that God prioritizes, so when those moments arise, we can take those verses as to how to achieve that harmony.  God gives us his peace and therefore we can send that peace, therefore harmony, throughout the whole world.  Sometimes we can grow from disagreements as a way to grow as a group or individual people.  We can do that especially if we care about staying at peace on our end and rely on God’s peace and harmony.  

I leave you with this final thought.  In Psalm 133:1, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” It is good when we have unity and harmony with one another as opposed to disagreement and no unity amongst people.  It is a grand thing to work hard for.  Let us all do our parts to create the unity amongst people.