BE-YOU-TIFUL

A good friend of mine did a couple of posts in her blog about being who you are and praying for those you may not like too much. She is SO right!!

Acting one way with one group so you can "fit in" and then acting a totally different way with another group to "fit in" will cause MAJOR problems. Those groups come together and they see who you are, or should I say aren't, and you'll walk away with a big fat nothing. Be who you are, God made everyone different for a reason. All we have to do is prayerfully seek God and find out who we are in HIM! Remember, if you've asked Christ into your heart then you are a child of God. When people see who you are in Him, and how you act, that might be the only bible they ever hear or see. The only testimony they ever witness. We are amazing works of God and special in every way. Psalms 111:2 says,  "The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein."
Be YOU. Because you are BE-YOU-TIFUL!! Ecclesiastes 3:11 says "He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end." EVERYTHING is made beautiful in HIS time, not yours....His plan for your life is perfect!!! You're NEVER alone, He is with you ALWAYS. :)

~Beautifully Created 4 Christ~

~Psalms 34:18~

Curve Ball

God has a way of throwing you curve balls in life. Sometimes those curve balls hurt and cause you to cry for 2 hours. Those curve balls may even seem like a raging storm inside, but God has ways of showing us that these curve balls are the next chapter of our lives, He shows me a lot of times through other people.
The beginning of the next chapter of my life can seem so blurry, like God is leading me somewhere, but that place seems so out of reach from where I stand. Psalms 111:3-4 says,  "His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever. He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion."
God is sovereign. He is in control of every chapter. He has a plan for every chapter. Even when it hurts and is hard to see, He is there waiting, faithful, never changing, to heal the hurt, ease the pain and remind me that I'm not alone and He's there to comfort me. Psalms 62:8 says, "Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah".
As a new chapter unfolds before me He reminds me in little ways that He loves me with an everlasting love, and that will NEVER change like my life is always doing.
So, I'm learning to embrace life as God gives it to me, because His plan is perfect. If we dwell on the hurts in life it will hinder us from seeing the countless blessings God has given.

Blessings by Laura Story

~Beautifully Created 4 Christ~

Psalms 62:2

10 Day Challenge - Day #10

We made it!! :)


Day #10.Share The Love:
Mark 16:15  "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
Share God's love with someone. "Go ye forth" doesn't mean you have to go half way around the world to tell someone what Jesus did for you. What this is telling me is, GO ye forth into Walmart, into Dairy Queen, to your neighbor's, the mail man, and share the love of Christ with them. Anywhere!! God brings people in and out of your life, and we don't know where there going when they die, so why not share with them the AMAZING gift God offers to everyone?? So, when your waiting inline at a store or at work. Share the love.

10 Day Challenge - Day #9

Tomorrow is the last day of the 10 day challenge!!! I hope this has been helping you!

Day #9. Forgive Without Punishing:
Colossians  3:13  "Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye."
Forgiving someone is a lot harder than it sounds. When someone has wronged you, or done something to hurt you the first thing to do is pray and ask God to help you forgive that person. With God's help we can do anything. What is forgiving without punishing? Here's an example of forgiving THEN punishing, when one of my siblings is trying to get on my nerves on purpose, I've done that before too, I tell mom and they get in trouble, they say sorry and I forgive them, but then I try to take revenge or get even. That's the WRONG way of doing it. We should forgive 70 times 7! That means we need to keep forgiving, like Christ forgives us.      
God said vengeance is His, not ours. I know it's hard and we'll most likely fail, A LOT, but we have to try our best and let God do the rest.

~Beautifully Created 4 Christ~
~Colossians 3:16~

10 Day Challenge - Day #8

Day #8

Day #8. Trust Without Wavering:
Proverbs 3:5  "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."
God is in control when you're going through a storm, through the calm, and through whatever it is that's between. You see, when I lean on my own understanding I get so stressed it's not even funny. I make myself sick worrying about stuff that doesn't even matter. We can only see a small, tiny, minuscule, minute part of God's plan. God can see the WHOLE thing!! Isn't awesome to know that God, who wants the VERY BEST for you, know's exactly what's going to happen and He has a PERFECT plan for you!! So, trust Him and stop worrying!! It's all good!! In Him we can have peace, even in the most violent of storms.

~Beautifully Created 4 Christ~

10 Day Challenge - Day #7

Here are the challenges:

Day #1. Listen Without Interrupting
Day #2. Speak Without Accusing
Day #3. Give Without Sparing
Day #4. Pray Without Ceasing
Day #5. Answer Without Arguing
Day #6. Speak Without Pretending

And now....

Day #7. Live Without Complaint:
Philippians 2:14  "Do all things without murmurings and disputings:"
In everything we should have joy.

 Usually things go a lot better when you're not mumbling to yourself about having to do that thing your mom or dad told you to do. Having a good attitude make any job go faster and makes it easier. I've been learning this lesson a lot lately it seems like. Having a good attitude about anything helps, even if you don't like the situation or it's not going  how you planned. We always have to remember that God is in control of everything. We don't know what the future hold, but we know who holds the future. A good way to have a good day is to start your day off with prayer, and pray without ceasing.
One thing my mom says like when we're in the kitchen working, or doing school, or working outside, or just if we're busy. Something will come up, like someone will need prayer, my mom tells us to send up a "flare prayer". My mom has been a really awesome example of living without complaint. She takes on jobs without grumbling. I know no one is perfect and neither is my mom, but she has been an amazing example of what a good wife and mother is.
So, go out there and live without complaint, in all things have joy because Christ loves us, died for us, and is coming again for us!! :)

~Beautifully Created 4 Christ~

~Jonah 2:9~

10 Day Challenge - #6

Day #6 I'm running out of things to put before the challenge!


Day #6. Speak Without Pretending:
Ephesians 4:15a "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things..."

Jesus' love was never pretend, He never had false love for anyone. He didn't speak without love. We are to grow as Christians in Christ, but if we have not love we are nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says, " Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 
  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." In this passage when it says "charity" it means love, and of course, when it says "love" it means love. But what kind of love does it mean?? I was wondering what charity meant and looked that up and here it means love. But, I wondered what type of love it meant. Well, it's agape love. I looked up the definition of agape love, and here it is. Agape Love- selfless love from one person to another without sexual implication (especially love that is spiritual in nature). That's UNCONDITIONAL love. Love is a very important concept. Seriously!! Look at Christ. HE IS LOVE. He willingly gave up His life because He loved us, with unconditional love. I don't know why He would love someone like me, let alone die for me, but He did. I still haven't figured out why He would do that, I fail Him so much. He doesn't love me only if I follow Him, or if I read my bible everyday, memorize verse, help with VBS, or praying. No, He loves us no matter what. He loves us when we're angry at Him, when we're hating someone,  when we turn our back on Him, when we refuse to forgive, and when we say no to the Holy Spirit when it's tugging on our hearts to repent. His love is without condition.
The love He has for us is AMAZING!! We will never be able to give the kind of that God has for us because we are flesh and blood. But God wants to do our best and let Him do the rest.

~Beautifully Created 4 Christ~
~Joshua 1:9~

10 Day Challenge - Day #5

It's day #5!! We're half way there!! :) 

Day #5. Answer Without Arguing:

Proverbs 17:1  "Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife." 

This is a big one for me. I have trouble a lot with arguing when there is no need. It hurts relationships you have with whoever your arguing with, especially your siblings and parents. This challenge is another one to teach us to keep our mouths shut, and think before we speak. Take a breath, count to ten, pray, sing, do whatever it is to calm down. For me that's hard because I have a temper and will say stuff I don't mean, and regret it later. If you are like me and fail all the time with this one, the thing we need to do is humble ourselves before God and ask forgiveness, and then go to that person and do the same. It's harder than it sounds, but it's worth it. Ephesians 4:26 says,  "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:".  So, let's try answering without arguing. :) 

~Beautifully Created 4 Christ~  

10 Day Challenge - Day #4

Day #4!! We're almost have way there! Remember to add this challenge to the other 3 days. :)

Day #4 Pray Without Ceasing:
Colossians 1:9  "For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;"
I love this challenge, because prayer is our communicating with our heavenly Father! I've written about not ceasing to pray before, (click here to go to that post). Always find time to have a time of prayer. I find it helps the day go smoother, even in the midst of a storm. Pray without ceasing, never ending, non stop. When life is rough PRAY, and when life is going awesome PRAY. God can see the big picture, and He's always faithful, even when we're not.  When we have a burden the only way to have peace is to lay it at the feet of Jesus. And remember we have not, because we ask not.

Have fun!

~Beautifully Created 4 Christ~
~Isaiah 1:6~

10 Day Challenge Day #3

It's day #3!! Have you seen an improvement yet?? If not you need to stop and make sure your heart is in the right place and pray for God's help. We can't do this on our own. :) My point of doing this challenge is to challenge us to love deeper, to love our families, and everyone else no matter how they treat us.

Day #3 Give Without Sparing:
Proverbs 21:26 "...But the righteous give without sparing."

Luke 6:29-30  "And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again."
Everyone can be selfish, especially me. A lot of times I can be selfish when with me family but not with others. I'm not sure why that is, but our families are the ones who love us and will be there through thick and thin.

So, now we have Listen Without Interrupting, Speak Without Accusing, and now Give Without Sparing.
This has really been helping me. I hope it is helping you also. I'll be praying for ya'll.

~Beautifully Created 4 Christ~
 ~Philippians 1:6~

10 Day Challenge Day #2

10 Day Challenge day two for 1-7-13. Remember each day we ADD the new challenge to the one's before. And by the way, I love this picture. It perfectly pictures tomorrow's challenge!

Day #2. Speak Without Accusing:

James 1:9 "...Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry."

This goes right along with day #1, Speak Without Interrupting . We first speak without interrupting, and when we've done totally awesome not interrupting whoever it is we are talking too, weather it be you mom, your dad, one of your siblings, a telephone sales person (we all know how aggravating those can be), or just some random person you meet, we then start accusing them. We may not realize it, I know most of the time I don't realize it when I'm doing it because I'm in the habit of it. I'm in need to learn how to keep my mouth shut, take a deep breath, and think about what I'm fixing to say and how it's going to sound. Is it going to sound like I'm accusing the person of murder? I have to remember, would Jesus be talking to a person like this? So, my challenge is speak without accusing. Pray and ask God to help you think before you speak. Have fun and God bless!

~Beautifully Created 4 Christ~

10 Day Challenge

Okay, I'm turning a pin on Pinterest into a 10 day challenge.
Why am I doing this you may ask? Well, I'm home schooled and I love being with my family all the time. I also have some friends I spend a lot of time with too. But sometimes it gets tense and stressful. Sometime I tend to say stuff I don't mean or just get ticked off for no reason, cut people off when they are trying to speak to me, and just get down right moody and irritable. This Challenge is to help us remember that we love our families and friends and that we're suppose to be slow to anger. I have a temper and a lot of times it gets the better of me, and to change that, it starts with the little stuff. So, if you would like to prayerfully join me on this 10 day challenge that would be awesome! Love as Jesus loves. It's a life long journey of living for Christ, showing His love, and it's harder than it sounds. Believe me. Each day we'll add a new challenge. So, let's get started. :)

Day #1 Listen Without Interrupting:
Proverbs 18:24 "...But there is a friends that sticks closer than a brother."
Listen first before you go off on what you think they are going to say. I do this all the time, and usually they are going to say something other than what I thought they were going to say. It's a hard habit to break, but with God ALL things are possible. So, pray and ask God to help you. That's why I said to prayerfully join me in this challenge!

Radical

I've been called a “Radical Christian”, or “Jesus Freak”, some think all I do is serve God and never fail. They say I’m a good person. I listen to this and try to explain, but usually they don’t listen and think I’m trying to be modest. If only they could see my heart as God see’s it. He see’s every dark corner of my heart. Every bad thought, every attitude towards my parents, every lie, every gossip, every lust. He knows everything I do when no one is looking, every word out of my mouth towards someone, every joke I laugh at, every person I don’t stand up for, and every time I don’t stand up for Him. 

I hear them say, I’m doing good stuff for God, and you’re a “Radical Christian”, but they don’t see what God see’s. I fail. I’m a sinner. I don’t deserve to be called a “Radical Christian”.

God sent His Son to die for sinners. 1 Timothy 1:15b says, “…That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” I'm SO thankful God loved a sinner like to enough to die for me. I will never understand how much love He has for us.

God has called me to serve Him. He died for me, God made manifest in the flesh, was nailed to a tree, the least I can do is live my life for Him.

 I want to hear God say to me, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” 

God given me a burden for ministry that I’m not qualified for, that’s I’m not worthy of, and that I can’t do. But God does NOT call the qualified, He qualifies the called. His strength is made perfect in my weakness. 

I've been saved by grace through faith, and it’s not by any works that I have done. But though the perfect blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. It’s through Him, and ONLY Him, that I have eternal life. This life I will live for Him, I will fall, but God will be there to pick me up again.