Psalm 27 #joy

Lately I've been thinking a lot about joy.  Many people ask the question, "What is joy?" but most peope ask the question, "How can I FIND joy?"  The real answer to that is through Christ. No amount of money, no present on Christmas, no person in your life will satisfy you, or bring you happiness like God will.  Lately, I'e been a few of the Psalms for a camp u north that my church youth group goes to every year.  I've been finding that even though it's time consuming to memorize, it's something I want to do more because it brings me joy.  It's one thing to be comforted by reading verses from God's word, but to commit them to memory and to know them, repeat them over and over, your mind being attached to them...it's a comforting, joyful feeling.  The past 4 years I've memorized, because of my attitude, my heart, my priorities; memorizing verses had been a burden. Now, God has changed my attitude to be joyfu, and now I find memorizing bible verses to be fun.  I just finished memorizing Psalm 27.  In verse 1, the Psalm says:

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

This verse shows us we have nothing to be fearful about. Nothing to worry about! I have a problem with worrying.  I worry about tons of things, even crazy things that no one would imagine but me.   This verse reminds me that God is in complete control. What reason do I even have to worry?

The Psalm goes on, and in verse

You have said, "Seek my face."
My heart says to you,
"Your face, Lord, do I seek."

This verse reminds me to seek His face, always. There's nothing better out there, nothing else will bring me happiness, joy, contentment ,provision. All I need to do is trust Him, and to seek after Him.

Well, I'm going to start memorizing Psalm 32.  I'll probably write about that Psalm next. :)

Anger ?

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
-Matthew 5:22

How many arguments happen daily?  How many of them do I feel bad about?  The basic fight/argument in my life is mutual exasperation, followed by sincere, exhausted apologies.  Then, everything is fine.  Except, when I get to Heaven, I'll be judged because during that fight I was neither following God's commands nor displaying Christ-like behavior. I think I need to meditate on this verse, and ask God to remind me of it the next time I get upset with my brother; or anyone for that matter. 

Cast your cares upon the Lord

Do you ever feel like you're about to give up?  You're broken to the point that you're going to cry?  I feel like that sometimes.  It's natural for me to.  I can't handle anything without God. 
Right now with all this schoolwork, I am close to giving up.  God laid Psalm 55:22 on my heart, which says "Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall."  Or, 1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."  He loves me & never wants me to have to face anything alone.  He is with me as I am typing this, and He wants me to trust Him and give Him the burden. 

Amy Papillon

Tonight was Amy's last night with the youth group, and though I haven't known her too long, I still want to share some things I love about her. 
1.  She is so humble. She serves in so many areas, but not once have I heard her complain about it.  I didn't even know that she served in so many areas until Katelyn brought it up tonight. 
2.  She genuinely loves everyone in the youth group. She really cares about what we're doing, and takes time to question us about our walks & in general, our lives. 
3.  She's so encouraging.  She knows what to say, and besides being plain encouraging, just knowing she cares and is praying for me encourages me. 
4.  She has a real love for the Lord.  She doesn't play any games when it comes to church, and God's love shines through her. 
5.  She's not afraid to share her struggles with us, which in turn builds us up and encourages us. 
6.  She is so gifted.  Musically, athletically, in leadership, and so many more areas. 

I'm going to miss Amy being with us on Wednesdays & Sundays, but I know that I'll have so many more edifying & encouraging talks with her. 

Easter

What do you think about when Easter comes around?  When I was little, it was always the Easter Bunny, candy, eggs, and Family Circus Easter!  My parents did a good job bringing Jesus into the picture, but I kind of pushed Him back out.  This Easter, it was different.  I feel like I was putting more into perspective what He did for me.  My family and I watched "Passion of the Christ" on Friday night, and I don't think I have ever cried so much & so hard in my life.  Just seeing the sacrifices He made for me was so hard to watch.  He was spit on, beaten, whipped, laughed at, and then nailed to a cross to suffocate...and all for me.  Every time the whip cracked down on His back, that was me sinning.  Yet, through all that, all He said was "My heart is ready."  He could have come down from the cross...but He knew what He had to do.  In the end, it was accomplished. 
My God loved me enough even then, to do that for me.  ♥