Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Experiences....Life and Death

Hey!

Just wanted to blog....I feel like I need to, since I have so many thoughts and things in my head that I just needed to get out on paper some-how.....and not that I need this blog as a venting session, but just I feel I get more organized and just become a better person when I can journal, look as something and remember it....because to be honest if I DIDN'T write things down....I would be so confused and forgetting things left and right!!

So, the title of my blog is Life and Death....partly because my great uncle passed away this past weekend, and I just came back from the visitation last night. I have heard this question asked a million times before and today I'm asking it to myself.....Why is it that the older you get, the less you see your family, and when you do, it happens to be more at funerals and weddings than in our normal life?! I hate it!! I hate the fact that I don't get to see my family more!! Family, means everything to me...and I think it will mean even more, once I have a family of my own!! I might be crazy, but I LOVE MY FAMILY......I LOVE MY FAMILY SO INCREDIBLY MUCH....FOR ALL OF LIFE....THEY MEAN THE WORLD TO ME, THEY TRULY DO MEAN EVERYTHING TO ME......even though sometimes we all can get a little crazy....there isn't anything I would not do for any of them. I look at even my extended family uncles, aunts, cousins, and realize I am so incredibly blessed by God Almighty! I have so many incredible memories from my childhood, and at family get togethers....and even though I'm not that old.....it seems like in the last 10 years even, the family is pushed aside, and it's "every person for themselves" Are you kidding me?! I would do anything for my family, next to give my life and my possessions for my family....and then next to that there is God's family.....which I would also just about say is as close as my blood family....I see them more often that I see my real family back home....and I feel like I do have family at Stone Creek Church that have forever changed and altered the course of my life for eternity......I love them, ALMOST as much as my family :)

but anyway......I guess I just have this utter respect for my family.....my great uncles and aunts mean the world to me....they just have such rich lives and stories and have truly been blessed by God....my great uncle Charlie had 4 children, 8 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. He was also served in WW II in the Navy aboard the Attala, and also was able to DC in 2009 for an special recognition for his military service.... I guess my family is just full of people who really love each other and stuck together throughout the years! Maybe it has to do with growing up in a small farm town....I dunno, but I consider myself blessed to be in the family I am born into.....and to sit at the feet of such great and honorable people when I was younger.....I will always have a deep respect for my family, and I truly want to honor them, as I have seen first hand how family comes together and just does stuff...helps out whether big or small.......I have such a giving, gracious, and loving family to tell all the stories, I would have to write about 15 pages for people to understand....(maybe I should write a book! ha!) I totally understand the saying, when you marry.....you really do......for all it's worth, you marry into the family as well......you become a part of something much larger than yourself, your schedule and preferences change....and you do that......well at least I do....out of respect for my family......I conclude with this......Don't miss out on your own family.....Take time for your family.....You can NEVER go back in time.....time only continues to push us forward....as we look forward we are leaving a legacy behind us.....What kind of legacy am I leaving? I know priorities and things have to change the older I get.....My parents did a good job of raising me....but I want to do an even better job of influencing the people, kids, and family that will come after me........also....I think of how Jesus lived.....He lived the life of a legacy, worthy, and honorable, ONLY because he was an obedient child to His Heavenly Father....He spent time with Him.....EVERY DAY.......my greatest thing in my life I want to pass on to people, is nothing about me really, but I want people to KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that God LOVES them....that God's love in me, would be bigger than myself...that people would know they are loved for eternity!

I know this is long, but just thought I'd share with you

In His Steps,

Crystal

Monday, September 20, 2010

TALKING ON THE PHONE....

Hey folks,

My job, in the last few days, has got me thinking about the government and Jesus.....weird and strange combination, I know but, still something to blog/think about.....It is just odd to me, that to get things done at the business level, you have to go to the top, and even then, that doesn't work. In my job now I have to talk on the phone to managers/owners of different businesses in town. Which is fine, but when I ask them to do something, it's like they automatically say "OH, WELL WE CAN'T DO THAT...THAT'S DONE IN CORPORATE OFFICES...IN FLORIDA, OR INDIA....or wherever it may be....and then they give you an 800 number that puts you through an automated system, then you get transferred two or three different times to the correct person that you need to speak to, and then.....LOW AND BEHOLD, YOU GET....(drum roll please)...TA DA TA DA....THEIR ANSWERING MACHINE!!!! WOAH!!! WOW....now you have to speak to an answering machine where the person on the other line and easily delete your message or in some cases take a week to respond to you message......so this is corporate America.....what ever happened when you could walk into a business, and speak with the owner, and get things done, and not have to get the run around.....

I am SO THANKFUL AND GLAD that our Heavenly Father does not have an answering machine, or ever goes on vacation, or steps out of the office, or is to busy with other people to notice our prayers, our needs, our hurts, our desires......Our Lord CARES....truly I believe it, even if things don't work out the way we planned, or in the timing that we want it to!! It's like the Hillsong lyrics from Tear Down the Walls that say...

Cause I don't need to see it to believe it..
I don’t need to see it to believe it
Cause I can’t shake this fire burning Deep inside my heart
This life is Yours and hope is rising As Your glory floods our hearts
Let love tear down these walls That all creation would Come back to You It’s all for You

We don't have to see or have life planned out where we will be 5 or 10 years from now....I believe life is about letting God direct you to go, and then me having enough courage to follow wherever He is leading me......no matter if people understand it, no matter if people like me or not....no matter what the circumstance....I believe what the bible says in James 4:7-8, 10

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up

When we Draw near to God He will draw near to us.....but notice the bible does not say WHEN WE DRAW NEAR....it just says simply....DRAW NEAR....that is what we are to do.....it is not an IF/THEN situation.......the more I live the Christian life....and follow God, and the direction of the Holy Spirit.....the more things become a matter of just plain discipline.....and dependence.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Today: Location....Starbucks...my home away from home....

So I have been reading for my ISOM classes....I've spent more time that I'd like to at Starbucks reading, and reading....and reading some more.....but I believe good things happen when you read....YOU LEARN!! HEE-HEE!! IMAGINE THAT!!! but it is good to learn none-the-less!! but anyway....why is it that when you truly read the bible, you come away different....I believe that it should happen every time when we read God's inspired Word!!!! When I truly encounter Jesus when reading the scriptures....it changes me!!! or at least I want to change, and with the Holy Spirit leading I will!! :) but I think to change anything beyond ourselves, takes what the apostle Paul had....or exemplified in the bible.....Dependence, and Discipline!! Dependence on God...and Discipline to daily walk out His Christ-filled life with prayer and devotion to Our Creator!! I need that for sure!!!

Some Quotes/Thoughts from today:

"Opportunities should be approached in two ways--to seize them and to build them"

"Communicating Christ clearly involves both clarity and sincerity. Our message is not only WHAT we say, but also HOW we say it and who we ARE!"

Believers should pray in these ways:

1. pray specifically and regularly for non-believers we know
2. pray for divine appointments
3.pray for each other

BOTTOM LINE: PRAYER IS ESSENTIAL FOR OUR CHRISTIAN LIVES, AND FOR EVANGELISM!!!! Unless God works in our hears and lives, our work will not produce lasting results!!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Just another day, Just another blog

Hey,

Just another blog,

I think the biggest and hardest thing sometimes to deal with and move on, and learn from in life, is when you feel like you've been abused, neglected, or taken advantage of. I think we've all experienced something similar at one point in our lives....and I can testify that it just hurts, plain and simple. It hurts my heart, my bones, not physically, but spiritually, in my soul....I feel like how David felt when he wrote the Psalms......I've realized that forgiveness sometimes is hard.....but this cannot be a window to immediately forgive another person and for them to have that right to use and abuse you again, either.....I've realized I have to stand my ground, so if this means I have to tell everyone no, and that I can't help them....SO WHAT!! I'm doing it now, partly for my own sanity, and can I just say that Jesus is the FIRST person who should be helping them anyway, if they are a Christian!! We should NOT have to be responsible and save their life, by giving our life and everything we have away!!!!! I also feel that if we do do that, most people are never truly grateful, or thankful, or at least do not seem to show it....I think our society has trouble showing our thankfulness to others....

In this though, I've realized to look at things from God's eyes, when I get an attitude that is not Christ-like.....How many times have I abused Christ in my life......How many times have I left Christ hanging, or blown Him off....(like doing laundry is THAT important!!) I've realized that God loves me with a GREAT, ETERNAL, PASSIONATE, EVER LASTING, UN-ASHAMED, UNFORGIVING, DEEP, FATHER-LIKE, UNTAMED, BURNING, AND AMAZING LOVE........ok now to just think about how incredibly much God loves us is just CRAZY, and almost not enough words could accurately describe His love....to truly realize God has always loved us from the beginning of time, and will always love us until the end of the age....is just unthinkable!!! BUT.....then to also realize that He loves everyone the same.....that the foot of the cross is level when Jesus looked out and saw us.....that I am no better off that the person standing next to me.....is humbling......God's love is what keeps me going.....I tell you what, I KNOW that if it wasn't for God's AMAZING LOVE I would not be alive today. LOVE is what changes things.....when you harbor hatred and bitterness inside of you, it's like drinking poison and just sitting around waiting for the other person to die!!!! IT DOESN'T HAPPEN!!! DUH!!!!!!! SO WE NEED TO STOP THIS!!! I NEED TO STOP THIS!!!! We are not serving Christ and loving others when we do this!!!!!

Peace, Love and Grace,

Crystal

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

On my mind...

Here lately there have been many things I've just noticed.....especially sin, and how it's all around us!!! I've seen many people in town, and in different countries wandering aimlessly....lost, not knowing who Jesus is, or how He can transform their lives for eternity.

I think this is a wake up call for Christians. We have a huge job to do!! We have to witness like never before....We never know when our last day will be....and I don't want to be found with a few friends, with my head in the ground, oblivious to the sin and evil that is going on in the world today. God calls us, just the same as He called His disciples 2000 years ago....But you know, the disciples, they just didn't stay in their own comforts, or witness to a few people, they were WORLD CHANGERS!! That is what God is calling us to be when we are His disciples!! Jesus said in Matthew 4:6 and Mark 1:17 "Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men!"

Now, when you want to follow someone, do you rush ahead of them to cut them off in line to the bathroom, or the water fountain?!!! NO!! (only small children do that!!) but what do you do if you follow someone, especially if you are following someone where you have never been in down-town Chicago?? You don't rush ahead for sure...because you would probably either get lost, or get into an traffic accident!!!!

But so many times I think I have rushed ahead of God, and looked back to be like "UMMM HELLO, GOD....WHERE U AT??!!" and He's stopped and made a left turn like 5 miles ago, and I kept on going straight like a know it all!! We have to get behind God and His vision, His purpose, His calling on our lives, and then follow Him closely, like if you were to follow someone to the crime scene, and all you had to go by was their footprints!

We have a job to do....."Come, follow ME and I will make you fishers of MEN!"

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

I feel a....blog coming on!!! :)

Hey!!

I feel like I could blog and talk about this day, and so many things that happened, both good and bad, it would take like 4 or 5 pages to tell....but I will try to summarize.....

My life verse for today: Philippians 2:3 Do not be selfish: don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

I think a lot of today has to deal with being selfish, and wanting things for selfish motives and reasons. I think all I need to know is that I am a sinner, in need of a savior, Jesus Christ. In the bible Philippians 2:5-7 "You must have the same attitude that Jesus Christ had, though he was God, he did not think of equality of God as something to be cling to, Instead he gave up his divine privileges and was born as a human being, When he appeared in human form he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross."


Jesus was Self-less, not Self-ish I think selfishness is the root of a lot sins we commit today....we steal, cheat, lie, attack others, have anger, bitterness, envy, and pride issues, because we are selfish, and want to make ourselves look better than what we are, or we truly don't know who we are, because we don't look to God as the source of our identity from the get go.

Ok I confess.....My feelings were hurt. I feel left out, not belonging to any group or anything....so you think...no big deal, so what, get over it......and you're right for thinking that....ya know that's just life, people hurt you, whether on purpose or by accident.....but still they hurt you.....and sometimes when it's friends....it takes a while to let it all go, and look at the person, not based on anything previous....to truly forgive and forget.....all I can say is that throughout my life I need a lot of people to forgive me, because I've made many many mistakes, many things I have said wrong......and the only thing to do...is to forgive....I have to do my part to make amends, to admit I am wrong, to say I'm sorry....and to repent. but that in case: It is easier said than done.....but I truly believe that in order to forward in our spiritual lives we must learn the lesson of forgiveness. Lack of forgiveness creates a crack or hole in our spiritual walk with God that will continue to grow until it is mended or taken care of. Jesus....help me to learn the power of true forgiveness.


Genesis 50:17

This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father." When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

Forgiveness is something we need to do: As Joseph's brother did in the bible, humbling as it was.....we are do that to others, weather they need it or not, whether we feel like it or not.....better to forgive sooner than later.....As God has forgiven us, so we should forgive others.....I know it is easier said than done, but better done than not done. Lord forgive me of my selfishness today!!!

Over and Out,

CH

Monday, August 9, 2010

Realizing things about life a little at a time today :)

Hey folks!!

I'm blogging again. I feel like maybe I should be blogging more, and I would but I don't have my computer around or internet access to do so, at the moment I am thinking "ohh, I should blog about this..." but ok here goes about today's story. Let me first preface though, I just came back from Japan not even a week ago, still a little jet lagged, (everyday I want to take a 2 hour siesta) hee-hee!! but I have applied for over 6 teaching jobs, waiting to hear back, and so I had an interview for one of the jobs here, and I think it went ok. I don't think I'm the best at interviews, but it is over now....but the story I want to share happened just before my interview. I was talking to my sister on the phone in the parking lot (probably people driving by thought I was a little weird, but anywhoo...) and I was like just pray for me right now! and she did, and then I was a little less nervous about the interview, and then I said something, I don't even know where it came from....I think Pastor Grogan has said this before, but I said it out loud to my sister.... "ya know I'm working for Jesus if I get this job or not....whatever I do, I gotta work for Jesus....because I was just talking to her about how I wanted to just share Jesus' love and his salvation with other people, doing ministry full time, that's where I think God is leading me, that is my heart's cry, I truthfully want nothing else in life.....but when I said that to my sister, she was like "yea you're right!" and I can't even explain the confidence I had come over me, like this peace, that everything would be alright no matter what, no matter if everything in life came down on me!!

I have to be working for Jesus wherever I am at, like at church, at school, at my job, in class, cleaning the apartment, to be working for Jesus, and do things right and do them with excellence. I want excellence in all that I do for Jesus, not just a little work here, and a little there.....dude...Jesus deserves my best and so do other people, and my job, and everything else in life. Jesus has given me new life, and I am do be a steward in ALL that I do, and do it unto the Lord....the bible says in Galatians "whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God!" DUDE!!! JESUS IS THE SWEETEST THING!!!!!!!! :)

Over and Out,

CH
aka pdiddy
aka pudd