Hello World! It's been a while :)
I don't know about you guys, but I can be SO LOUD sometimes. When I'm talking about something that I am passionate about or when I am fighting with someone, usually it will not be in whispers. I'm one of those people who will be very critical, sometimes, and brutally honest, sometimes :) (But believe me I have a HUGE heart for people :) ). In certain situations being like this comes in handy but when it comes to relationships it might be more harmful than encouraging.
I have a friend named Jean and I've noticed, and other people have noticed too, that most of the time we are together we are arguing, not because we are mad at each other but because we are very different, coming from different backgrounds, and we try to support our points of views. We are both passionate people and when we talk about certain things we tend to clash.
Speaking your mind is not something bad at all. We all have the right to speak up and voice our opinions, but it's not always the wisest thing to do.
Sometimes it is better to be silent.
As I read Proverbs 17: 27-28 in my devotional this morning, I noticed the common theme of silence.
"He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips he is considered perceptive."
If I'm in a situation where I'm arguing with someone, it's not wise for me to add "wood to the fire" with my words but it's my turn to be quiet and listen. After all, God gave us two ears and one mouth. There is no reason to harm a relationship because I feel like being right all the time. My relationship with Jean is worth SO MUCH MORE than my pride. Honestly, this is something I have to work on A LOT because I always want to be right, but only God is right all the time and He's telling me to be quiet...even if it's SUPER hard for me.
I encourage you today to make wise choice about when are you going to speak, or when you'll stay silent. Our relationships with our friends and family come first and in the book of James the author dedicates almost a WHOLE chapter to the words that come out of our mouths, which have more impact than we realize.
Sometimes it is better to be silent.
:)
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Monday, August 10, 2015
Who My Friends Really Are
"...Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature...For the LORD does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Sam. 16:7
As I was reading the story of David and his journey to kingship I came upon this verse. Samuel was in the process of choosing Israel's next king and I can't help but notice how human he was in his selection process. This verse says Samuel was looking at the physical appearance and stature of the sons of Jesse because normally when we think of kings we think of a man who is strong, tall, handsome, a warrior at heart; but God knows who was going to bless Israel the most and who was going to glorify Him in his rule.
Personally, I have found myself in Samuel's shoes many times, but instead of choosing kings I choose friends, people I want to hang out with and share life with. This reminds me of the time I met my best friend for the first time. God knew that she was going to be an incredible blessing in my life because He was looking at her heart but like I was looking at her physical appearance all I could think of was how nerdy she looked at the time. Like I was a very immature fifth grader we did not become friends until the seventh grade, but since then I have had the time of my life.
I look back at my high school experience and notice that I have had a great life. God has put around me people who care about Him and want to live a life the glorifies Him, who care about me and my spiritual life, and people who just want to live joyfully and peacefully in Him.
But now if you look at my friends some people might say we all look kinda nerdy (cause like 95% of my friends wear glasses but I think they look cool), we goof off way too much (because most of the time we spend together we're just laughing), and that we are REALLY geeky (because we are in love with superhero movies, comics, and books).
Sometimes the people who will be a blessing in your life do not look like superstars, but what God sees is more important than what we see.
We do not exactly look like "the perfect squad" or like kings and queens but God knew that these were the friends I was going to need in this moment in my life. I love my friends. They are the bomb.
Just like God led Samuel to choose the right king of Israel, He will guide you to the right people who will be just right for you. And believe me, with them you will have the time of your life.
As I was reading the story of David and his journey to kingship I came upon this verse. Samuel was in the process of choosing Israel's next king and I can't help but notice how human he was in his selection process. This verse says Samuel was looking at the physical appearance and stature of the sons of Jesse because normally when we think of kings we think of a man who is strong, tall, handsome, a warrior at heart; but God knows who was going to bless Israel the most and who was going to glorify Him in his rule.
Personally, I have found myself in Samuel's shoes many times, but instead of choosing kings I choose friends, people I want to hang out with and share life with. This reminds me of the time I met my best friend for the first time. God knew that she was going to be an incredible blessing in my life because He was looking at her heart but like I was looking at her physical appearance all I could think of was how nerdy she looked at the time. Like I was a very immature fifth grader we did not become friends until the seventh grade, but since then I have had the time of my life.
I look back at my high school experience and notice that I have had a great life. God has put around me people who care about Him and want to live a life the glorifies Him, who care about me and my spiritual life, and people who just want to live joyfully and peacefully in Him.
But now if you look at my friends some people might say we all look kinda nerdy (cause like 95% of my friends wear glasses but I think they look cool), we goof off way too much (because most of the time we spend together we're just laughing), and that we are REALLY geeky (because we are in love with superhero movies, comics, and books).
Sometimes the people who will be a blessing in your life do not look like superstars, but what God sees is more important than what we see.
We do not exactly look like "the perfect squad" or like kings and queens but God knew that these were the friends I was going to need in this moment in my life. I love my friends. They are the bomb.
Just like God led Samuel to choose the right king of Israel, He will guide you to the right people who will be just right for you. And believe me, with them you will have the time of your life.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
So Now They Have Rights.....mhmmm
These past few weeks have been tough fro the Christian community. There has been a lot of talk about legalizing gay marriage. So I'm going to say what I think about this:
I am a Christian. If God says it's wrong, well then I say it's wrong. Marriage is composed by one man and one woman; that's the way God designed it so that's the way it should be.
The problem is that today there is a Christian stereotype concerning this topic: Christians hate gay people. That's not true for everyone.
It's true that some people, christian or not, will hate gay people or any time of person that is different from them. Personally, I do not hate people who believe or do things differently than me. People should be loved and cared for. God did not tell us to love or neighbors only if they were like us. He just told us to love our neighbors. Period. That includes everyone around us disregarding their ethnicity, moral or religious belief and background.
During high school I had a gay friend and a bisexual friend. Yes, I talked to them every day, I studied with them, I hung out with them, went to parties with them and I was there for them when they needed me. They knew what I believed in and what I stood for but we still had a lot of fun together. Now that we went our separate ways, I still keep them in my prayers. The seed of the gospel was planted in their hearts through my actions and through school. My job is done but it's up to the Holy Spirit to transform them.
Honestly, Christians are called to love the sinners, not the sin, and to plant the seed of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the people around them, but that's all we can do. We do not have the power to transform; that's up to God.
So, if you are gay, yes I could be your friend even if I'm not like you.
And God loves you, but not your sin. He yearns to be with you and give you life like never before.
And life with God is worth more than the freedom this world can give you.
I am a Christian. If God says it's wrong, well then I say it's wrong. Marriage is composed by one man and one woman; that's the way God designed it so that's the way it should be.
The problem is that today there is a Christian stereotype concerning this topic: Christians hate gay people. That's not true for everyone.
It's true that some people, christian or not, will hate gay people or any time of person that is different from them. Personally, I do not hate people who believe or do things differently than me. People should be loved and cared for. God did not tell us to love or neighbors only if they were like us. He just told us to love our neighbors. Period. That includes everyone around us disregarding their ethnicity, moral or religious belief and background.
During high school I had a gay friend and a bisexual friend. Yes, I talked to them every day, I studied with them, I hung out with them, went to parties with them and I was there for them when they needed me. They knew what I believed in and what I stood for but we still had a lot of fun together. Now that we went our separate ways, I still keep them in my prayers. The seed of the gospel was planted in their hearts through my actions and through school. My job is done but it's up to the Holy Spirit to transform them.
Honestly, Christians are called to love the sinners, not the sin, and to plant the seed of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the people around them, but that's all we can do. We do not have the power to transform; that's up to God.
So, if you are gay, yes I could be your friend even if I'm not like you.
And God loves you, but not your sin. He yearns to be with you and give you life like never before.
And life with God is worth more than the freedom this world can give you.
Monday, January 19, 2015
It's ok Not To be Good at Something
I'm the type of person that likes doing the best they can at everything I do. Whether it's something I have never done before or something that I d every single day I need to do my best. I guess it's just something personal but I know there are other people like me out there. This is for you. :)
When I can't get something right I get really frustrated with myself. I think one of my worst pet peeves is not being able to do something I want to. This usually happens to me during soccer practice r when I am practicing yoga at home. I can't run fast enough or I didn't hit the ball quite right or I fell while doing headstand. There are things that I can't do right. At least not yet. This is the part where I need to have patience with myself. And that's the thing: I really don't have patience with myself.
Throughout the years I have learned that it's ok not to be go at something that you want to be good at. One of my friends beats herself a lot if she can't do something right and this just causes her to be upset and self-conscious of very simple things that we shouldn't be upset over. I just think that we cannot waste our emotions over some things that don't deserve our tears. As much as want to be good at calculus, I'm not really. Last semester I passed with a 76. As much as I want to be good in AP English my grade will never go higher than a 95. As much as I want my GPA to be a 4.00 it's always going to be a 3.8.
And it's ok. We all have to come to terms with our limits. We can try to accomplish something as much as we can but it is God who puts our limits.
I have another friend who I really good at everything. She works really hard to accomplish those things though. It doesn't matter how much I try, I'll never be as good as her in soccer. Here is when we can avoid jealousy. I don't need to be upset because of that. I know that each time I go to soccer practice I try my best and that has toe enough for me. Jealousy is a waste of emotions.
God created all of us for different reasons and with different talents. We are not going to be good at all the things we want to be good at because God didn't make us like that. And that's ok. We will all find something we are good at.
When I can't get something right I get really frustrated with myself. I think one of my worst pet peeves is not being able to do something I want to. This usually happens to me during soccer practice r when I am practicing yoga at home. I can't run fast enough or I didn't hit the ball quite right or I fell while doing headstand. There are things that I can't do right. At least not yet. This is the part where I need to have patience with myself. And that's the thing: I really don't have patience with myself.
Throughout the years I have learned that it's ok not to be go at something that you want to be good at. One of my friends beats herself a lot if she can't do something right and this just causes her to be upset and self-conscious of very simple things that we shouldn't be upset over. I just think that we cannot waste our emotions over some things that don't deserve our tears. As much as want to be good at calculus, I'm not really. Last semester I passed with a 76. As much as I want to be good in AP English my grade will never go higher than a 95. As much as I want my GPA to be a 4.00 it's always going to be a 3.8.
And it's ok. We all have to come to terms with our limits. We can try to accomplish something as much as we can but it is God who puts our limits.
I have another friend who I really good at everything. She works really hard to accomplish those things though. It doesn't matter how much I try, I'll never be as good as her in soccer. Here is when we can avoid jealousy. I don't need to be upset because of that. I know that each time I go to soccer practice I try my best and that has toe enough for me. Jealousy is a waste of emotions.
God created all of us for different reasons and with different talents. We are not going to be good at all the things we want to be good at because God didn't make us like that. And that's ok. We will all find something we are good at.
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