Having a faith like Bethany Hamilton

So it has been quite sometime since I have been up here. I have been doing some personal devotions and have been taking notes. This is some stuff I came up with tonight! Comment and let me know what you think.

I’ve had a verse stuck in my head ever since I heard it in the movie soul surfer, and it has become my life verse because it reminds me that even though we don’t understand Gods plan he does in fact know what he doing. Its Jeremiah 29:11. It says for I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Bethany Hamilton grew up in Hawaii and at a very young age began surfing. At age 14 she was attacked by a 14 foot tiger shark which severed her arm. Two weeks before the accident Bethany asked God to use her in a miraculous way, and little did she know that because of the attack she would be able to reach people all over the world with the good news of Jesus Christ. Just one month after the attack she was back in the water and then won a surfing competition. Since losing her arm, Bethany’s story has been told in hundreds of media outlets and she has been recognized with numerous awards, public appearances, and various speaking engagements. I’m sure that when Bethany first lost her arm she did not see nor realize Gods plan, but because she kept constant faith, God used her in a mighty way. What if we all had a faith like Bethany’s? What could we do for Christ? Are we maybe too nervous to ask for Gods help in fear for what he will do?

In order to have a strong faith we must:

1.      Develop a relationship:

·         2 Corinthians 13:15 says “Examine yourselves: are you acting according to faith? Test yourselves. Can you assert that Christ Jesus is in you?”

·         I think that this is a good verse because sometimes we all need a little examining. We have faith in everything if we think about it. We have faith in a chair every time we sit in it. We have faith that our house is still standing even though we are far from it. So why can’t we have faith in God. The person that made us, created us, and gave us life.

·         In order to have faith in someone we have to develop a relationship. We need to pray, have private time with God and even surround ourselves with Godly things not worldly things. Such as music, friends, shows.

2.      Practice Faith:

·         1 Peter 5:9 says “Stand your ground, firm in your faith, knowing that our brothers and sisters, scattered throughout the world, are confronting similar persecutions."

·         We as Christians need to practice what we preach. When someone is doing wrong we need to stand up for what is right. In order to have a strong faith to withstand big trials we have to practice faith in small things. At age 10 I started playing piano. I think I may have been the worst piano player of all time, but with practice I became better. This reminds me of having to practice small faith so you can get better and stronger in big faith.

God doesn’t expect us as humans to be perfect and have a super-sized faith. I’m pretty sure that’s why he wrote the verse Matthew 17:20. It says Jesus said to them, "Because you have little faith. I say to you: if only you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could tell that mountain to move from here to there, and the mountain would obey. Nothing would be impossible to you. I researched how big a mustard seed is and found out that it is one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter. That’s a pretty small faith. So maybe if we have a little faith and trust that God knows what he is doing he can do mighty things through us. Even move mountains.

Its your life..what will you do with it?

I really became inspired to do this post from  Francesca Battistelli's song "Its your life". It really describes the point im at in my life right now. I feel like God has closed the door on every path I try to take but he is constantly opening new ones. I still havent decided on what college I will attend when I finish up my 2 year basic degree..I havent even figured out what I want to do with my life yet. Im always having someone asking me what my plans are and what I want to do but I have no idea. I've been praying about it really hard lately and although I havent had a specific answer like I really wanted from God he has just let me realize that I am only 18 and he will give me the answer in his time...not mine. I believe that everyone has a purpose on this earth and even though I dont know what my specific purpose is yet I know that while Im waiting I just need to keep following God and doing what he has for me to do in this particular moment in my life because just as it says in the song the world is watching us....so lets live a life for Christ and make him proud.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wys94IR7MFM

Living for Christ when no one else will.

So this week has been pretty hectic! Between being sick, doing school work and working on cakes its been busy so i havent had a chance to blog and i have seriously missed it! So its time to catch up. So recently me and my boyfriend both became burdened for kids and teenagers that dont have a church to go to and are not saved but live right across the street from the church we go to. We decided to start putting up flyers and having days where we go out and witness to kids in our neighborhoods. We hear about missionarys in foreign countries and it got us thinking why go to a foreign country when their our people around us that are not even saved? Also we really feel like having a strong big youth group makes all the difference. We went to a youth camp this summer and were on fire for God that whole week but coming back to a youth group thats small and dont really care about living for God and it was hard. Its discouraging to not have people around you that are just so in love with God and you feel like your the only one. I recently visited a youth group and when I walked in the came up to me and hugged me and when I went up to the alter they came up and prayed with me. You could tell that God was really in their lives and in that place. I have found myself becoming discouraged with the feeling that im the only one but came across this verse that really has helped me out....and its Philippians 2:14-18 and it says "Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me." Although we are in a warped and crooked generation we still need to stand firm and live by faith. Even when no one else around you is doing the right thing you can because you have God on your side. I hope this has been just as encouraging to you as it has to me!

Learning to have patience!

God has really been trying to teach me to have patience today! (or maybe he was trying to show me what little patience I do have) haha Between getting up late and rushing to school, to burning cookies and forgetting about homework thats due tonight my patience has been ran thin. So to calm down my nerves I decided to go on biblegateway.com (awesome website by the way) and see what God had to say about patience. The verse that came up hit me hard....its Proverbs 19:11 and it says A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense. This verse really showed me that I dont have patience which means I dont have wisdom. So if your running out of patience or are in about 10 million hurrys just step back relax and count your blessings :)

Newbie

Hey everyone!
So obviously Im super new to this blogging thing. Im used to facebook and twitter but recently got inspired to start blogging! I hope you enjoy my post, I hope to share some of my funniest moments and even some of my lamest moments! I also wanted to start this blog to hopefully inspire you with what God has taught me through the day whether through his word or just life experiences!