Master of the Arts

Once again, this post is going off of the message given in the service this morning. Ive heard these thoughts a thousand times, but today i gained something different out of the words. Once again, Ill share the notes i took and then reflect on them:
      
                  This world was meant to replace God. God is the greastest artist. How is there not a God? God has already made everything and man tries to copy what He's already done...but they fail. What the world has to offer is nothing compared to what God has made for us already. Art is not my life. Satan wants is to take me aways from God, but now I can use it against satan and make my passion bring me closer to God. We were made to enjoy our hobbies and talents but not to "live" for them. Who cares about what i dont have (material things)?! the reality is in Jesus. If you enjoy something worldly, try the Holy Spirit! Enjoy that! Dont think about what you dont have, enjoy what you do have...Jesus!! How great is our God?! It doesnt mean we wont have hurt or pain in our life, but we have God our Savior always there for us. Ask yourself, where is your heart? is it in the world or for God? The more we spend time with God, the more we laugh at what once held our hearts. Look to Jesus, the author and protector of our faith.


                 So my notes kinda jump around all over the place. Ill start from the beginning and make my way through.
                 God is the master of the arts. Master artist. He created this universe before anyone stepped on the earth. He created man. Look around you. How can there not be God?! From painted sunsets to tiny earth worms, God created it all! Alot of ppl dont appreciate nature, but how can you not?? Therefore, we being "man", taking after God's image and likeness, try and copy Him. Yet no matter how talented we are in the arts, we all fail at even coming close to God's artistry. I, myself, am an artist. People tell me i create beautiful works of art, yet in comparison to God, i fall extremely short from His perfect work. Now, satan being the evil one he is, tries to convince me that no other work can compare to mine and that art is my life. Art is not my life. For some ppl, they say a sport is there life. Well, its not. God made me an artist, He made other ppl athletes. We must not make our talent our life, but rather use our talent to draw us closer to God Himself.
                  We are in the world but not of the world. If you like material things such as shopping, or money, or friends&gossip, try something else for a change. Try something greater and more satisfying than material/worldly things. Its called the Holy Spirit! Our communication with God! God has SO much more to offer than what the world offers. Believe me...
                  So heres the question: where is your heart at? is it in the world? or is it with God? aka do u treasure and find pleasure in worldly things more than you communicate and treasure time with God? For example, I used to find comfort in shopping. Every time I was sad, id shop to make myself feel better. Now I look back on that and laugh. No longer does shopping fill that hole in my heart. My loneliness can only be filled by none other than God himself. 
                 On a personal level, once again, I will reveal to you now that I am a perfectionist. Ppl claim their ocd and being a perfectionist all the time, but if anyone knows anything about being one, its me. No, I didnt diagnose myself as one, actually my driving instructor did. And then I did research on it, wrote a paper, and found out I was one. Anyways, so being the perfectionist I am, comes with pros and cons. I am always wanting what is good and "perfect". So the good thing about that is, knowing God is the only person who is perfect, I am always, in a sense, striving for Him. The bad thing is, along the way, worldly things get in my path that seem "good and perfect" and distract me from my ultimate goal: striving for a better relationship with my Savior.

renewed faith

           This past sunday morning was just awesome. usually im too tired to pay attention to the message in church, but this sunday was different. i was wide awake and soaking in every little bit i could get out of the message. to make this easier on my self, im just going to share with you the notes i wrote on my paper instead of trying to put the notes into somewhat understandable paragraphs:

                     Sometimes the Lord takes us places we are unfamiliar with and we dont know how to respond. the world tells us to go contrary to where the Lord wants us to go. Follow the Light! the Lord knows the situation, He knows what He's doing. Follow Him! go further with Him. sometimes we may not know where the Lord is leading but as scared as we may be, just trust and follow Him. He'll bring you into something youve never seen before so you can see the glory of God. we cant change the situation, only the Lord can. Rejoice! "I Am here for you". even if you are suffering or you dont know where you are going, or something tragic has happened "I Am the resurrection and the life". (nothing else, no material thing, no person besides the Lord can "bring you back to life"). Dont have selective hearing. sometimes we go to other christians for help or people who know the Lord better (should i not go to them anymore??). is He taking me on my own journey, one others arent familiar with?

         Those are my notes that filled my paper sunday morning. it was really amazing what went on in my heart on sunday. i was shocked. recently, i went through a tough situation with someone, and my first instinct was to keep fighting for our friendship. i thought that was what the Lord wanted me to do. but the more i fought His will, the more He "fought" back. sometimes what you want isnt what God has in store for us. something may seem worth fighting for in your eyes, but in His eyes, He has a completely different plan for you. once i realized that and surrendered, most of my pain and suffering ceased. this entire experience for me was new. i always asked why He would put me through something like this, but now i know that (sometimes we put ourselves in these situations) but most of the time, He's just taking us on a new adventure. isnt that cool?! yes some adventures are painful (like my last one) but each adventure He takes me on just draws me nearer to Him.

         My prayer for you is that if your in a situation completely foreign to you, dont give up, dont pull away from Him. He knows exactly what your going through and He will be there right with you the entire time. you will make it through! and never stop praying :)

shooting stars

        For all of you out there who have never seen a shooting star and therefore do not believe in them, im here to tell you to just believe.
        The first night i spotted one was one of the best days (or nights) of my life. my friend and i were lying out in this small open field in the middle of no where ohio during JHC (church camp) just gazing at the stars and chatting. let me tell you, star gazing in the country (where you can actually see stars) should be on your list to do before you die. i hever realized how big the sky actually was, or how open it was. it was truly amazing. we both spotted the first shooting star together. now, when you actually see one, its crazy. at first neither of us believed it was a shooting star. we both thought it was a figment of our imagination. but after seeing 3 more within an hour, we concluded they were real, a true gift from God to the hopeless.
        After two years without seeing a shooting star, i started to question my belief in God. dont get me wrong, i completely love and believe in Him with all my heart now, but there was a time recently (a time most everyone goes through) where i began to question things. well, tonight was one of those awesome God given nights where all my questioning came to a halt. once again, i spotted a shooting star. some might say that it just so happened i looked at the sky at the right time. but i honestly believe it was a reminder from our Creator that there is no need to question Him. just believe, have faith, and wholeheartedly trust in our loving, awesome Savior.

my first post

So ive been toying with the idea of starting a blog for awhile, but never actually started it til today. Then i was wondering what my first post would actually say and what my other posts would say as well...blah blah blah. Lets just say, theres going to be alot of randomness/sharing of personal thoughts and fears. but thats what a blog is for right? i decided my first post is going to be about music:
         to understand me and my selection of music, you have to know one thing: im a Christian. not just one of those ppl who says theyre Christian. i try and live out Gods plan for me every day. to be honest, i love my church more than anything and id rather be there with my friends than any other place on earth. for gosh sakes i grew up there! anyways, on to music.
          ive been enjoying one song more than others lately. its called "please dont let me go" by group 1 crew. i replay that song on my ipod over and over everyday. its so uplifting! its one of those songs that just inspires you to do about anything (including starting a blog lol). when i hear this song, i imagine myself up on stage singing the girl part of it. theres something about being on stage, lights shining in your closed eyes, mic infront of you, and just singing from your heart. im not talking about musical or performance singing (srry theatre ppl), im talking about being up there for worship singing (im in my church "band"). singing from the heart, surrendering, and being filled with the Holy Spirit is one of the most awesome feelings ever.
           so i encourage you, if your ever feeling down or completely unmotivated, listen to this song. i can almost promise you youll feel 20x better.