Never Forget

On September 11, 2001, the world stopped turning.

The terrorist attacks on that fateful day changed everyone. I remember that day clearly. I was a bright-eyed, innocent kindergartner. I was unaware yet of how evil the human condition is. But, that day I saw evil. I saw the towers fall. I was so scared of what was happening, that my mom had to turn off the television because every time they replayed the towers collapsing, I thought that it was happening again. Over 3,000 people died in the attacks. Mothers, fathers, friends, children, and heroes were all gone in a blink of an eye. No one can deny that evil exists.

11 years later, on the anniversary of 9/11, the U.S embassy was attacked in Libya. 4 heroes died. No one can deny that evil is all around us.

It seems that almost every day there is a new murder or new mass shooting. There was a shooting in the movie theater for the new batman movie. There was the Sandy Hook tragedy. There are homicides on the news pretty much every week. No one can deny there is evil in this world. But what about a solution?

It seems that the debate has been around for ages: do you try peaceful treaties or fight the evil? In history, children learn about all the famous treaties, the battle plans, the wars, the bloodshed. Then, people start to question whether we really should go to war. What is the right course of action?

As Christians, we don't have to wonder about what our instincts should be. We are called to trust God and to pray. We should be praying for our teachers, police officers, firemen, politicians, congress, the president, etc... It doesn't matter whether you like the people in office or not. It doesn't matter whether you are a republican, democrat, or a part of another party. We are called to pray without ceasing. Evil will be in the world until the Lord returns. So, we need to pray for a revival. I'm not just talking about a revival in a local community. I'm talking about a widespread revival. A revival that ends with America on her knees. However, revival starts with YOU. Let me say that again, revival starts with YOU. It's easy to look around and blame your neighbor or the president. But we need to get right with God ourselves first. The world looks at Christians and they see hypocrisy. I've done it. I've played the holy sinner. Revival starts when we submit to God. That's when we start to be a light.

Matthew 5:14-15, "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house."

We should never forget those who died in 9/11, the attack on the embassy, the Sandy Hook tragedy, etc...we shouldn't become cold. But we need to let these tragedies fuel us to turn to the only one who can save us, Jesus Christ. Let these tragedies remind us that our days are numbered. We have so little time on this earth so we must pray and allow God to work in our lives so that revival can start with us.

"I really wanna change the world

I really wanna save your soul

But I know revival's got to start with me

I really wanna change the world

I really wanna sing Your song

But I know revival's got to start with me."

"Starts With Me" by Tim Timmons

When Trust is Faith

Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Sometimes we don't know why things happen. And sometimes we read this verse and think, "God, really? Things don't seem to be working out for my good." In the last year, I've thought that a lot. And I have had to learn to trust God...more than I ever have before. My experience of trust came in a very unexpected way: a medical scare.

Over Spring break, I went to the Dominican Republic (DR) on a Missions Trip. I had counted down for weeks to the trip. I was ecstatic. And on my 3rd day, I had a medical emergency and had to be flown home. When I got back to NY, I went to numerous doctor appointments and tests. And after each one I thought, "God, why? I was on a missions trip! I was doing good for Your Kingdom! Why?" Well, God has amazing plans for me. He knows what's good for me, even if I don't understand it. And this situation was no exception.

I want to go into the medical field. More specifically, I want to go to nursing school and then nurse practitioner school. The DR trip really made that path clear to me. Had I not had my medical issues, I would have come home from the DR ready to go to nursing school and only nursing school. But when I had to come back early to a hospital full of doctors and nurses, I finally realized what God was showing me. I had to let go. I had to trust that His plan is right for me. His plan is perfect while mine is fallible. He wants me to sacrifice my time for others, to go through 8 years of school so that I can be prepared to help medically in a third world country. Had I not been sent home early, I would have never realized my calling. I would never have decided to continue on to nurse practitioner school. Instead, I would have gone to nursing school and lived my comfortable life in the United States. 

My medical scares are still not cleared up. I have no idea what my senior year of high school holds. I don't know if I'm going to be able to get through it. I'm unsure if I will be able to handle the courseload. I'm not sure if I am going to get sicker. But it's not my job to know or to plan. My job is to trust. And in order to do that, I need to have faith that God really does work for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose. I need to have trust that is also faith. I need to lean on Him to follow in my calling. As I enter senior year, I want to have one goal: to let trust be transformed into faith for the glory of my Savior.

Taken from http://mashable.com/2010/02/24/social-media-trust/

Worn

"I'm tired. I'm worn. My heart is heavy from the work it takes to keep on breathing. I've made mistakes. I've let my hope fail. My soul feels crushed by the weight of this world."

 (“Worn” by Tenth Avenue North)

Do you ever feel tired and worn? Do you ever feel like it takes too much strength to just keep breathing? Do you ever feel crushed? I think we all have hard days sometimes. Many people feel broken in this world. They’ve been scarred by the world around them and somehow they need to find a way to deal with this imperfect world. People try tons of different escape methods from the struggles of this world. Some people try to fill the emptiness with relationships or children. Some people work or study all the time in an attempt to block out the problems in their lives. Some try alcohol and drugs. However, none of these things help with the pain. And if you’ve tried any of these coping mechanisms (or others), you would probably say the same thing. So, if nothing we do can help us cope then there must be no hope, right? Wrong. We will find hope when we stop looking to ourselves for help and freedom.

Matthew 11:29-30 says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Jesus has given His children an escape. He freely gives us an invitation to lay down our burdens at His feet and find rest. No matter what you are dealing with, the invitation stands. Maybe you have bitter memories of things in your past that keep you in bondage. Maybe you are struggling in school or work. Maybe you are finding trouble breaking a sin habit. Whatever it is that makes you weary, lay it down at the feet of Your Father, the King. For only He can set you free. Only He can mend your heart.

“And I know that You can give me rest. So I cry out with all that I have left. Let me see redemption win. Let me know the struggle ends. That You can mend a heart that's frail and torn. I want to know a song can rise from the ashes of a broken life and all that's dead inside can be reborn. Cause I'm worn.” (“Worn by Tenth Avenue North)