Thursday 27 May 2010

Personal Evangelism...

I have an exam on the above subject tomorrow morning. Soo... Instead of studying it, I thought I'd blog about it ^_^

How often do we as Christians share our faith with those around us? It's something I've been feeling quite challenged about recently. Especially to my non-Christian friends. What I find difficult to determine is at what point you should confront them with their need of salvation - on a friendship level, are you a witness through the way that you live your life and then a verbal witness when the opportunity arises? Or should we be more forward in creating verbal opportunities? Much prayer needs to be given in seeking the LORD for opportunities - we cannot create an anxious thought in a soul out of Christ... It must be the work of the Holy Spirit.

Do we have faith that God can answer our prayers concerning bringing those we love to Himself? Do we pray believing that He will hear and answer those prayers, believing that we will have families united in Christ, and that our dear friends will one day know the Dearest of Friends?

Food for thought indeed.



"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."

Tuesday 25 May 2010

“I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it.”

^^ Pretty much sums me up! =)

So, today I read a quote by Ms. Hepburn, and subsequently "googled" it and found a whooooole page full of them! Some of them just hit the nail right on the head. Inspiring =)

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

If I get married, I want to be very married.

It's that wonderful old-fashioned idea that others come first and you come second. This was the whole ethic by which I was brought up. Others matter more than you do, so 'don't fuss, dear; get on with it.'

Monday 24 May 2010

On Insecurities, etc.

It's strange the way certain things happen to you that make you remember the past. For instance, today I remembered how insecure I used to be, and apparently still am - although not to the same degree. I think it's a girl thing, not to be happy about the way you look or to feel inferior to pretty much every other person you know. There is so much pressure to look *just* right. If you don't fit the requirement, sorry, you're out.

But I was thinking about it in the light of Scripture... We are each one fearfully and wonderfully made... Why do we let others affect the view we have of ourselves, when we are made righteous in Christ, and have eternal security through Him with God?

It's true that man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh on the heart.

As discouraged as we might get about other people judging us by our looks, as worried as we might feel that others might not accept us, we ought to remember that God cares about our hearts, and whether we are upright before Him - it doesn't matter whether we fit the "perfect" category in looks, we need to fit the "perfect" category in heart, mind and soul. We can only do that through Christ, and the help of the Holy Spirit.

My desire is to live a life that is glorifying to God and honouring to Christ, no matter what others think. I know that in my head and my heart, but I now need to pray about not caring so much about what other people think...

"The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe." Proverbs 29v25.

Friday 21 May 2010

The Hiiiiillls Are Aliiiive..... (8)

I feel so LIBERATED!

Apart from my liberty in Christ of course :-)

I came out of my Greek exam approximately 3 hours ago, and boy was it a GOOD feeling! I don't have another one of those bad boys to worry about until Christmas. It wasn't necessarily the feeling that I had done well... More the freedom you feel when you realise you don't have to religiously memorise vocabulary tables, conjugations of verbs and declensions of nouns during every spare moment the day sends your way...

I just want to SING!!!

I think there are 10/11 more exams to go, so maybe I'll save the singing for a while.

There isn't a great deal about my life that's bloggable at the moment, what with college, exams and studying etc.

I have a few posts that I'd like to work on, so maybe there will be something intellectually stimulating on here soon :-) I'll let you know how it pans out.

"My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."
2 Corinthians 12v9-10

Wednesday 19 May 2010

Excuses, excuses...

Remember how I said I would blog "tomorrow night"? Well, that would have been Saturday. I had good intentions, honestly.

However, by the time I arrived back at college, the internet had gone kaput. It remained MIA for 4 days. FOUR WHOLE DAYS. Without facebook, or e-mail access! Just me in my lonely college room in the middle of nowhere... Feeling sorry for me yet? ;-)

So there is my excuse for not blogging *that* time. I think it's fairly acceptable.

The praise service was really good - Lovely Friend and I watched Oklahoma on Friday night... Weird, weird musical. Give me Calamity Jane any day... *sigh*

Then on Saturday, we watched the ENTIRE 4 hours of North and South, with this guy ^^^^ as the leading man... A picture speaks a thousand words, so I'll leave you to consider which 1000 would go with him ;-)

My Greek exam is on Friday afternoon - please pray for me :-/ Mrs. W keeps saying "The LORD won't do for you what you can do for yourself." and as much as I know that that is true, I need a Divine miracle over the next 36 hours to help me remember all of the stuff I'm supposed to have remembered!

The light at the end of the tunnel turned out to be just that :-) praise the LORD for answered prayer, however long it takes! He continues to provide, and is faithful to help in time of need!


Some particularly encouraging verses that have comforted my soul this week:

"O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps... Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."

"The LORD hath given, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."

What a comfort! To know that the LORD is Sovereign over all - to know that whatever happens to me is in the purpose of God, whether it is to encourage, to comfort, to chasten or to draw me closer to Himself :-)

I'm excited about the future. I'm excited about now.

Friday 14 May 2010

A Mini-Mishmash

Ok, so the words "blogging" and "epic fail" are pretty much synonymous with me right now...

The past 6 months have been pretty rough, I've got to be honest. But the light at the end of the tunnel is getting bigger! Which either means that it'll all be over very soon, or I'm going to be squished by an oncoming train in the near future...

Let's be optimistic, shall we :-)

So, tonight I go to the Lisburn Annual Praise Service, and stay over at one of my loveliest friends' houses. Excitement!! Greek exam in one week, and counting. Words cannot describe how I'm feeling about this, so we'll suffice with a keyboard mash:

"hwfguifg;isud;cgi;gfwduhsu'gwUFIDSGHBDFCXHIOEV qhfvdsf"

There you go.

Right now, I'm going to go for a cycle! Six miles of hills? I say bring it on!

Tomorrow, I intend to blog properly for the first time in a long while, and hopefully I can keep some sort of discipline to it :-/