Actions Speak Louder Than Words; and Faith Speaks Louder Than Actions

I think one of the most controversial terms to me is the phrase, "actions speak louder than words". While this statement is true in most situations, there are some situations that will reveal that neither words nor actions speak louder than faith.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Now, I'm not denying that this statement is true, it's just not true in every scenario. I'm sure some of you have heard the comparison that you can put a person in a garage but that doesn't make them a car - just like how you can put a person in the Church, but that doesn't make them a Christian. This is because actions don't make you a Christian. Faith makes you a Christian.

With this being said, I'm just going to go ahead and state the obvious.

WE ARE IN NO POSITION TO JUDGE ANYONE.

Being a Christian isn't about what church you attend, how many Sunday school classes you're a part of, what youth groups you attend, how many mission trips you've been on, or what percentage of your tweets or Facebook status updates are Bible verses. Yet we still impose judgement on other Christians. For example, being head of a certain ministry or attending a certain function doesn't make you any more of a Christian than someone who has a serious relationship with Christ, even if they only attend the Sunday morning service. Our relationship with God should never be viewed as a competition.

Now, I'm NOT saying that the people who do run a ministry or attend a certain amount of church functions are pretentious or anything like that. All I'm saying is that intentions are important. Don't be involved in something because you feel like you have to or because you feel like it will move you up on the "spiritually social" scale. Be involved in something because you want to and because it makes you happy.

I personally have so much respect for people who can go out there and start their own ministry or be the leader of a major church function or group because those are things that require characteristics that I just don't obtain. And that's the thing, some people don't have those characteristics. Albert Einstein once said, "Everyone's a genius, but if you judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree it will live it's whole life believing that it is stupid." Not everyone has the same gifts. Some people are meant to be more social and some people are meant to be more behind the scenes, but no one person is less than another because of their talents.

And on the other hand, I'm also not saying that we can just say we have faith and then continue living our lives as sinners. When we accept Christ, we make a commitment. The way we treat other people and the way we treat certain situations should glorify God. "Actions" doesn't solely mean how many times we attend a Sunday school class or how long we hold our hands in the air during Sunday morning worship. It can also be the way we treat each day, the way we treat each situation and the way we treat each other.

At the end of the day, we're all God's children. The way we worship is different. The way we connect and spend time with God is different, because He made us different; but the one thing we all have in common is a faith and trust in God, and that's the most important.

It doesn't matter what role we play, because in the end we all come together as God's children.

Definitions & Perspectives

I believe that you can either look at yourself as a victim, or you can look at yourself as a survivor. I believe that you can either wake up every morning and focus on the positive things in your life or you can focus on the negative. For the most part, the way you look at yourself is a choice, but it's also unfortunately impacted by the way you think other people look at you.

One of my favorite writers, Madisen Kuhn, said some things in her poem "Who are you, Really?" that have really stuck with me and have been a huge encouragement.

"you are a thousand things
but everyone chooses
to see the million things
you are not

you are not
where you are from
you are
where you're going."

Who Are You, Really? by Madisen Kuhn
Read the full poem here: (x)

At the end of the day, it is you that gets to decide your 'definition'. Sometimes you have to force yourself to see things from a different perspective in order to understand your own worth. Force yourself to look at yourself with positivity. You can't change your story, just change your perspective.

Are you a victim, or a survivor?

Christmas Giving

As we approach Christmas day, it's easy to get caught up in all the gifts, lights, and food. We tend to be a very indulgent society, especially around the holidays, so this Christmas I really encourage you to sacrifice just a little bit for someone else, in hopes that they can also have a very happy holiday.

As many of you know, I had the amazing opportunity to go to Uganda, Africa this past summer and serve with Kupendwa Ministries. The country, the people and especially this ministry touched my heart and changed my life in ways I never thought possible, and I want to help give that back to them this year.

If you are willing to help this amazing ministry, please do by clicking this link:

http://www.kupendwaministries.org/#!christmas-2013-store/c1dmu

To see a video about Christmas at Kupendwa last year, click here:

http://vimeo.com/57065151

To learn more about Kupendwa Ministries, visit their website here:

www.kupendwaministries.org

Thank you, and may you have a very, very merry Christmas!!

A Person's a Person, No Matter How Small

I've often had to remind myself to not get too political on my blog, because when politics and religion combine, I tend to get extremely defensive over what I believe. However, this topic in particular I felt very...inspired by, I guess, and thought I would sit down and share my thoughts with you.

Last night as I was scrolling through my twitter feed on my phone, I noticed that #PrayToEndAbortion was trending. I've always been intrigued by politics, so seeing that trending sparked my interest. As I scrolled through some of the #PrayToEndAbortion tweets, I was amazed at what some people were saying.

"It's not 800 B.C. anymore, the Bible isn't an 'essential' book. Get your head out of the past and into the future."

"Haven't had time to #PrayToEndAbortion because I've been too busy praying to end idiotic anti-women trends."

"If you tweet #PrayToEndAbortion and actually believe in it, your parents should have aborted you." 

"#PrayToEndAbortion has got to be the most stupid trend I have every seen on so many levels."

"An egg is not a chicken. An acorn is not a tree. A silk worm is not a dress. A fetus is not a person."

"While your praying to keep suppressing women's rights, kids are starving and dying. LIVE kids. Actual humans."

"Trends like #PrayToEndAbortion are the reasons why society/the world is moving backwards, instead of forward."

"It's kinda sickening to see #PrayToEndAbortion trending when there are so many more important things in this world that need ending."

Those are just a few examples of actual tweets that people had posted last night. I was almost in tears as I scrolled through these. It's hard to read through these things and keep your focus on God. It's so easy to fall into a state of anger and confusion. Why does God allow things like this to happen? No one may know for certain, but in times of anger and confusion, the best thing to do is just to turn to Him. So I did a little bit of research in the ONLY essential book.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5

"Have nothing to do with false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty." Exodus 23:7

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of this earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:13-16

"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple." 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

I don't know about you, but for me, hearing and reaffirming myself of God's truths is so freeing. I'm fragile - fragile to the point where the arrogant words of strangers behind a keyboard can ruin my day, but hearing the words of The Lord, the one who created the earth and every being on it, calms me. There are thousands of opinions, but only one truth.

I highly encourage you to take 33 minutes out of your day and watch this video, and maybe an extra minute to share it. It's amazing how opening a person's eyes to the other side of the story can be so powerful.

"I've noticed that everyone that is for abortion has already been born." - Ronald Reagan

There are still some things I question about abortion and why on earth it would ever be legal. Why is it that if you kill a pregnant woman it's considered a double homicide, but abortion isn't considered murder? You would think that somebody would realize that that's unconstitutional and do something to fix it, but still we find ourselves in situations like this, being ridiculed for our faith and what we believe and being told that what we know as the truth is wrong.

Look at your life and make a mental list of everyone you know that was adopted. Now imagine if that person's parents had aborted them, what would your life look like? It would be different. Even if only in the slightest, it would be different. The reason it would be different is because everyone has a purpose. Every human being has made an impact on someone else's life in some way - and nobody has the right to take that away.

Regardless of your religion, ethnicity, age or occupation, we all have one thing in common: we have a purpose. God knew us before we were even conceived, and He has a plan for us.

"A person's a person, no matter how small."

5 Things I'm Thankful For

Since today is Thanksgiving, I thought I would write a post about some of the things I'm most thankful for.

1. My parents. Two of the funniest, hard working, amazing people I know. They always go out of their way to make sure that I'm happy and healthy, and I couldn't be prouder to call them my parents. They never fail to put a smile on my face and make me laugh when I'm feeling down. They taught me to always stick up for myself and what I believe in. They taught me that no matter what, family comes first, because friendships may come and go but family is forever. They taught me if you really want something, you have to work for it instead of sitting around waiting for it to happen. But most of all, they taught me that strength is a choice, and that I could either wake up every morning and think of all the things I've lost, or I could wake up every morning and be grateful for all of the things I still have. I love you mommy and daddy (:

2. My sister. We balance each other out. She's crazy, outgoing, and adventurous whereas I'm timid, quiet, and reserved. She's my best friend; always has been and always will be. She taught me to "play to win", and that other people's doubt can be turned into motivation. She's always there even when I feel like no one else is. She has such an impact on my life, whether it's the little things like driving with the windows down during the summer, singing at the top of our lungs and honking as we drive by golf courses or the more serious sister-to-sister conversations we have, she always manages to brighten my day. I LOVE YOU SISSY POOP. (aka Lys)

3. Our Country. Even when it seems like our countries leaders might not be making the best decisions, we have to remind ourselves how blessed we are to be living in a free country where we can practice our religion freely, without the fear of being imprisoned or even put to death because of the God we believe in.

4. A warm house, a kitchen full of food, running water, a bed, two family vehicles, my cell phone, and a television. Things most people in our country consider 'necessities', without realizing that an immense amount of people in this world don't have a single one of those.

5. God's Grace. Through all of my failures and with all of my faults, God has never and will never turn His back on me.
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Now obviously these aren't the only things that I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for every single wonderful thing God has blessed me with in this life and just thought I would share a few of those with you. Happy Thanksgiving!

Accepting God's Grace

Over the past few weeks at church, there has seemed to be a common theme. I don't know if this is supposed to be the main thing I'm taking away from all of this, but it's definitely the thing that's been sticking out to me the most, and I just really wanted to share my thoughts on it. That theme has been grace. It seems as though all of our Sunday school classes and all the sermons have something to do with grace; even if it's in the most subtle ways.

A couple of weeks ago, our Pastor said something in church that really stuck with me. He said,

"Only if you own and understand the depth of your sin can you fully own and understand the depth of God's grace."

We cannot fully grasp God's grace if we can't even fully grasp our sins yet. Being a Christian is a constant hamster wheel of trial and error. We must repent of our sins in order to be forgiven, we cannot continue to live a life of sin just expecting that God will forgive us because that's His job. If we do not acknowledge our sins and repent and ask for forgiveness, we won't be motivated to change the way we are living. Recognizing your own sin is necessary in order to accept forgiveness from God.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

"Being free from your sin can be as simple as knowing the truths of scripture and accepting them."
-Pastor Don Roe

Christ does love all of His children - and it's because of that love that He can't stand to see us stumble and fall in our walk with Him, but trials bring perseverance and we can learn through our hardships. Even if you are a Christian, you can still face temptation; it's whether or not you fall into that temptation that dictates whether or not you sin. The Christian life is not living by your own feelings and desires, but by living by God's truth and by faith in the Word of God. As Christians, we must constantly be reminding ourselves of the truths of God's Word, as to not fall for the "truths" taught by the people of worldly nature.

"For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge the duties of your ministry." 2 Timothy 4:3-5 CEV

"...this is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:3-4

"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Galatians 5:24

God's grace is undeserved. We have done nothing to earn or deserve the grace that God pours on us. With that being said, we cannot continue living our lives in sin waiting for God to give us His weekly grace because it doesn't work like that. So many people have become so accustomed to living their lives according to what they desire that they forget what they're on this earth for.

God cannot continue to be placed on the back burner.

Learning to 'Be Still'

It's been about three months since my life changing trip to Uganda to serve with Kupendwa ministries - which seems impossible because I still feel it was just last week that I returned to the states.

Today, as I was working on my school work I noticed my Africa journal on the corner of my desk, I haven't read through my journal since we arrived back to America, and today I decided to read through it again. As I sat on my bed reading through each days entry, I felt as if I had never left. I could still taste the posho and the beans and the strawberry juice and ginger tea. I can still smell the fresh Ugandan air. I can still feel what it was like to stomp around in a giant pile of mud as we prepared to help rebuild a woman's house. It feels as though it's only been a day since I left that wonderful country.

I often heard people returning from missions trips that they "left a little piece of their heart there" but I've never experienced that feeling until now. I know that I left not only a little piece of my heart in Uganda, but a GIANT piece of my heart in Uganda. It's something really special when you can still channel those feelings and emotions you felt months ago.

These past few months haven't been easy, and it seems as if The Lord is throwing everything my way to test my faith, but going back and reading through my journal, I remembered that God is faithful, and God delivers. God had plans for every single one of those Ugandan mothers, and He took those women and told them, "I love you, and I am going to help you. You just need to put your faith in ME." and they did, and they were pulled out of the situations they were in. I have no doubt that TODAY was the day I was supposed to pick up that journal and read through it again. On a day when I looked at my life and felt like I was about to fall apart, God reminded me that He is bigger than EVERYTHING, and He will pull me through it all if I let Him.

I can't wait until the next time I get to go to Uganda and leave yet another piece of my heart with them. God, my life is in your hands, I put all my trust in You.

"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." -Exodus 14:14