Preparing to : turn the world upside down

As I was doing my morning Bible reading, I came across something interesting in one of the books I'm using as a small devotional. Because I don't want to paraphrase what I read, I'm going to write out what I thought was verry interesting ;)

*“There is nothing more important than believing that you can, and this is really one of the supreme messages of the Christian faith. Whoever you are, whatever failures there may be in your life, mo matter how difficult and dark the future, you still can. Jesus looked into the face of a group of very ordinary men and told them that they could conquer the world. They believed Him and set about doing it. The Bible refers to those men as “these that have turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6).”

When you face failure, disappointment, etc., do you feel like giving up? Do you feel as if you can't accomplish anything?

**“When we get the idea that we can't succeed in life, we won't. But if we bleive we can succeed, we will. We need to tell ourselves, We can.”

Remember my post entitled Is“impossible” in your vocabulary?? If you haven't read it I encourage you to read it after you finish this post.

If we say we can't do this or we can't do that, then we automatically set ourselves up for failure!

Let's strive to be the Christians that the Bible talks about in Acts … let's turn the world upside down! Let's believe the words of our Savior when He said that we can conquer the world!

In HIS grace, Alisha

*this text came from When You Graduate by Charles L. Allen and Mouzon Biggs. It was from the chapter entitled Believe You Can pg. 29 : 1^st paragraph

**this text came from When You Graduate by Charles L. Allen and Mouzon Biggs. It was from the chapter entitled Believe You Can pg. 30 : 1^st paragraph

Preparing to: set the world on fire

Since April 3^rd, 2013 my life has belonged to God! I'm truly set free from all the past sin in my life {praise God Almighty}, but is it only about being saved? Is that what life as we know it all about? Does our Maker want us to only pray, “God forgive my sins, and come into my heart”? This is what most Christians today think! God wants to us to draw close to Him, so He can draw ever more close to us. If the Christian's life isn't about only being saved then what is it about? What does our Father desire?

At 19 I have finally found out for myself what my Father desires...the One who gives us life, desires for His children to be close to Him. It's not just about praying the “prayer of Salvation” and then attending church every time the doors are open. If that's not what it is all about, then how do you become close to our Father?

You start by prayer! Prayer is one important key element in the devout Christian's life. This is a way to communicate with the Lord. Talking to Him on a daily basis ... two times at least is a good start in order to become closer to Him. “Two times a day, when am I supposed to pray to the Lord two times a day?” How about the first time you pray, is when you get up! The first few things you should grab in the morning are your Bible, prayer journal, and any devotional you use. You shouldn't grab your Ipod Touch, cell phone, lap-top, etc. right when you wake up (I constantly struggle with this =/), and leave your Heavenly Father on the back burner of your life! And the second time is...can you guess? How about the second time is right before you go to sleep?

The next step to be ever more closer to Him is Bible reading! This step is crucial in your walk with God. How else is God supposed to speak to you if you aren't in the Word and aren't spending time in prayer? You don't need to read the entire Bible in one sitting {it has been done}, you just need to start your day out in the inspired Word of God. Start by reading a Psalm & Proverb correlating to what the date is. For instance, recently I read Psalms 13 and Proverbs 13 because the date was March 13. Then little by little add in a book of the Bible that isn't too long, for example Micah {if you read a chapter a day, you'll finish it within the week}. Or Jude {you'll be able to read that in one sitting}. Bible reading is a crucial element in the life of a believer!

The last step is application! This is the key element in the Christian faith, and will help your faith blossom like you can't imagine. Our Father doesn't want you to read something and then forget it...He wants you to apply what you read to your life. Whenever you read a verse, and you are able to apply it the same day you read it...take the challenge and try doing what the verse says! Not only is this the best way to grow in your faith, but it is also a wonderful way to be an example to others, and being set-apart for His glory!!

This very last step correlates to the step of application...a willing heart! God can't use you if you aren't willing to change the way you live your life. This is another common problem in most “Christians” today. They aren't willing to die to the flesh, and flee the youthful lusts {1 Tim. 5:22}

 

Sweet young ladies, be willing to change for the Good! Allow God to make you, who He wants you to be!

In HIS grace, Alisha

Are you thankful for your dad?

Memory Verse:

...but bring them up in the nurture

and admonition of the Lord

{Ephesians 6:4b}

Our Father above gave us our earthly daddy for a specific reason. Even though we may not see it or understand it now, the Lord did it for our protection.

• How do you show your dad that you love Him?

• Think back to the last time your dad protected you. Looking back now, are you thankful that he did?

• What other vere(s) can you think of and memorize, that will help you remember that your dad will protect you?

List ten ways your daddy has protected you

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You are more than welcome to copy this post for your personal use only.  

I wrote all these out on a piece of paper and taped it to the front inside cover of my journal ... so I have a constant reminder of how blessed I am to have an earthly protection :)

In HIS grace, Alisha

February recap + March goal

Blog more – I am very pleased at how much I posted last month. Granted it wasn't daily … but that's okay … my goal isn't to be a daily blogger. My goal is to not let this blog get silent haha … I despise when I have a silent blog.

Learn how to play “I'll Fly Away” on the piano – I accomplished this … whoot whoot! My timing still needs work (as is with all the songs I play) buut I can cross this off my list ;)

Teach myself a tad bit of image design – I have indeed accomplished this … and I'm verry proud of myself lol. Now I just have to improve this area … ugggh (that means I have to be patient lol =P)

Read Proverbs – again … I'm very pleased as to how this went. Everyday of the month, I would read the daily Proverb and see if I could apply it to my life. Proverbs 17 really spoke to me :)

Journal more – I have to slap myself with this one. As I did my morning Bible time, I took out my journal so I wouldn't forget. Well … then I would kinda tell myself “I don't need to journal today! There's nothing to journal about anyway!” Oh Alisha … when will you learn!?

Read Ezekiel – hahaha … yeeeah … this didn't get accomplished =/ I got to chapter 20 and then forgot that I was reading it :(

Exercise 4x a week – this went better than January … but I wasn't real consistent. I would go for a week, then forget a week, for a week, then forget a week, and so on. So I'll say that I got 50% of this done (is that allowed??).

Learn how to speak Tagalog – I got some easy phrases down, buuuut I really need to work on it more! I put a hold on a couple books on learning Tagalog, buuut I still haven't gotten them (they're still in transit). I really need to learn how to pronounce some of the difficult phrases … Google, here I come =P

What happened in February :

The very beginning of the month, my missionary friend + some of his friends came to visit / sing / and speak at a couple different churches.  It was great to see everyone + meet new young adults who share the same beliefs/convictions as I do :)

My missionary friend + I played an impromptu duet (I played piano while he played guitar) for offeratory ... it was super fun :)

Mom made the necessary preparations for our upcoming trip in a couple weeks ;)

I became really comfortable with image design ... in fact, when I get back, I am creating a personalized save the date for my dear friend + her man :)  #soexcited!

I got a DIY project completed ... whoot whoot :)

:: Do a photo shoot

:: Go on a road trip

:: Take a break from blogging for about 2 weeks

:: Journal more

:: Finish Ezekiel

This month is going to be somewhat busier than last month.

Mom, Rhey, and I have a big trip coming up. I have decided to take a two week blogging break during that time – I think it's a well needed break :) My blogging break will begin March 18^th and end March 29^th . However I won't be posing anything until April 1^st … that will give me time to get posts ready, photo's edited, and my April goals all sorted out :)

For those of you who text back and forth with me … I will be unavailable until the 29^th or the 30^th.

Where are we going? Hmmmm … well … ya know, I may just leave that a secret until I get back ;) Yeeah that's what I'll do … I am gonna leave that a mega secret until the 1^st of April :)

So for now … y'all take care :)

In HIS grace, Alisha

Is "impossible" in your vocabulary? :: March 2015 challenge ::

Do you have a deep desire to accomplish something that will greatly affect the Kingdom, but you're told that it's impossible, or you tell yourself it's impossible? I will admit that I do have a deep desire, and I've been told that it's impossible, and I even tell myself it's impossible sometimes.

When we first learn how to talk, we copy what our parents say. They say “say 'mama'” we say “mama”. When they say “say 'daddy'” we say “daddy” the best we can. Pretty soon they won't need to tell us what to say. We start to repeat what our loving parents say, good … and yes, even the bad. One of the words you'll eventually learn is the word … impossible.

“Alisha, my parents decided when they got married that they would never say something is impossible.”

That is great news! Even if you never learn about the word through your parents, you'll still learn about it through friends, school (we have to learn how to spell it eventually, music, etc. As you get older, you begin to understand the context in which to use the word. And eventually, you begin to use the word in sentences cuz it fits.

Is it wrong to use the word “impossible”?

Not it's not wrong to use the word … but using the word can undermine one's faith and make you feel defeated. The Bible says:

“All things are possible to him that believeth.”

Mark 9:23

If we look in the Bible, we see that Jesus never used the word “impossible” one time. This word was absolutley and completely out of His vocabulary.

If we believe that God can do everything, then why do we even say that something is impossible? The Bible says:

“Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Matthew 19:26

As a Christan who is trying to immulate Christ, are you going to keep “impossible” in your vocabulary? Or will you eliminate the word from your vocabulary?

I have a monthly challenge for you …

for the month of March, I challenge you to refrain from using the word impossible. When you feel the urge to say it, remind yourself that Christ never used the word. Quote Mark 9:23 or Matthew 19:26 out loud. As Romans 10:17 says “so then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

At the end of March/early April, I would love to hear how this challenge went for you :) I will post how this challenge went for me in the post with my March recap/April goals.

In HIS grace, Alisha

Awk + Awe :: take one ::

So many blogs I read do an "awkward + awesome" post ... and I really enjoy reading them.  I have decided to give it a try since my life consists of really awkward and awesome moments lol :P

So here we go .....

:: Awkward ::

When your aunt mentions that you need to go to college, and your cousin (who's currently in college) speaks up … and you are tired of telling them that you don't feel God currently calling to pursue a degree, so there's just an awkward silence that lingers until you finally answer them with your stock answer.

Talking to a wonderful lady at church and getting information from the last church business meeting, and she all of sudden starts talking about a topic to which you don't wanna show any sort of emotion.

Finding out that your missionary friend will be coming to visit while you're on the upcoming trip, but you don't want to show sort of emotion … cuz your missionary friend is a guy and you don't want the other person to misconstrue any of your emotions.

Texting a dear friend and realizing you text the wrong friend … then having to explain your “duuuh Alisha” moment.

When your mom has the Ready Whip can and decides to squirt it up your nose (love you Mom!).

Sending a text to the wrong person in your contacts that you've lost 19 pounds and they respond with “good for you! Congrats! Uh Alisha are you sure you meant to text me and tell me??”

:: Awesome ::

Finding out that your adopted-by-heart-big brother is tying the knot this summer!

Finding out that your dear friend is getting married this October!

Getting a text from your missionary friend, telling you that she's thinking about you and praying for you.

Finding out that your two missionary friends are being supported by your church. Insert feelings of excitement / happiness / joy.

Having family fun with the Ready Whip can :)

Getting on the scale and realizing that you've lost a total of 19 pounds! #whootwhoot :)

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What awkward + awesome moments happen in your life?  Leave a comment ... I'd love to hear them ;)

What did you think of this post?  Leave a comment and let me know ;)

In HIS grace, Alisha