May we remember what Christmas is really all about.
http://youtu.be/eVqqj1v-ZBU

“If sympathy is all that human beings need, then the Cross of Christ is an
absurdity and there is absolutely no need for it. What the world needs is not "a
little bit of love," but major surgery. If you think you are helping lost people
with your sympathy and understanding, you are a traitor to Jesus Christ. You
must have a right-standing relationship with Him yourself, and pour your life
out in helping others in His way— not in a human way that ignores God. ” -Oswald
Chambers

Sign the Petition for our sister in Christ, Asia Bibi who had the bravery to stand up for Christ and is now being persecuted.
http://www.persecution.com/public/newsroom.aspx?story_ID=NDMx

Courage and Boldness at the Heart of Christianity

Philippians 1:12-30

"Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in [the cause of] Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter [do it] out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice. For I know that this shall turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but [that] with all boldness, Christ shall even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if [I am] to live [on] in the flesh, this [will mean] fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both [directions], having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for [that] is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. And convinced of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again. Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by [your] opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that [too], from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear [to be] in me."

For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon and stars of light,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

Holy Anguish

May I live each day with an urgency to share the gospel.
Father, I pray that I will show others Your love and Your grace.
May I deny myself and take up my cross and follow You everyday.
You have changed me and lifted me out of death.
I will share my story with others about how I was dead and bound in sin.
About how You lifted me up, and now I am fully alive.

I have no right to live my life in mediocrity.
Instead may I live each day with burning passion for my King of Kings.
May I see each person as one for whom Christ died.
Oh Father, please give me a holy anguish for those who so desperately need You.

Grace

"But God who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." -Ephesians 2:4-7

Captain America

"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke

Hard to Know

Sometimes it is hard to know
What is right
What is wrong
When the world is so hazy
And we are so lazy
Oh sometimes, it’s hard to know
Because our culture has sank so tremendously low
But we can always know
By the Word Of God
He is always clear on the way we should go

-Stacie (2008)

Jostie Flicks - Sole Mates

ROFL!! This is one of the funniest videos ever!!! :P

Christ's Return

        This past week, I have really been pondering about Christ's return. It will be the most incredible event ever! I thought about how that I should long for Christ to come for me. He will come for His bride. Yet, often I live my life not thinking about how my Heavenly Prince will come for me. He has promised to return. We don't know the hour or the day, but we do know He is coming. The reason I have been pondering this more lately is because I thought of a parallel at work. The regional manager was supposed to be coming this week. We always keep the store really clean, but we especially made sure everything was in perfect shape since we knew she was coming. We didn't know when she was coming, but we cleaned the store from top to bottom. She didn't ever come last week, but we know she will sometime. That's kind of like Jesus coming back for us. He will come and we must be ready!!       Why aren't we sharing the gospel with our lost friends if we know He is coming back? Why are we living apathetic lives without passion for our Savior? What's the point of looking forward to His return, if we're doing nothing to prepare for His coming? How can we neglect Christ's coming if we can be prepared for other things in our lives? I should live everyday as if Jesus were coming back. I imagine I would waste a lot less time. I feel compelled to live my life with a burning passion for sharing the gospel. I want to be ready for my Savior's return!!!!

My Testimony

I once was lost, but now I'm found!! Was blind, but now I see!!!

I Still Will Follow

Hello my friends! I have created another blog particularly for Christian young women. I hope to edify my sisters in Christ and encourage them to live cross centered lives. I want to challenge this generation to stand for purity no matter what the cost. http://istillwillfollow.blogspot.com
Blessings,
Stacie

Prayer

"As artists give themselves to their models, and poets to their classical pursuits, so must we addict ourselves to prayer." ~ C. H. Spurgeon

The Doctrines of Justification and Sanctification

As David Platt explains it, "Justification is the gracious act of God by which He declares a sinner righteous only through faith in Jesus." However, sanctification is:"Sanctification is the process by which God transforms our lives into the image of Christ." The difference:"Justification is an instantaneous event; sanctification is a gradual process.

Justification is a one time event, not a process. Sanctification on the other hand is a process of pursuing holiness and becoming more like Christ. Of course we will sin because we are human. Yet, I believe it is only natural after being born again that we desire to be more like Christ.

I believe it is possible for a Christian to fall away, yet not possible to lose their salvation. When saved, always saved. The way I see it, if one is a believer and he or she falls away then God will bring him back to Him. If one never ever desires to pursue holiness and be like Christ, quite bluntly I wonder if they were ever converted in the first place.

"Is sanctification permanent?" Yes, from the moment Christ saves someone, sanctification is a process. It will not be made complete in this world. (1 John 1:8-10) (Romans 7:18-19) The great paradox is that although we have a sinful nature, we should strive to become more and more like Christ. Sanctification is running towards holiness and saying, "Because Christ died for me, I want to be more like Him! I want to behold His glory!" It's a way of life that demonstrates though none go with me, I still will follow!! It's not a drudgery of avoiding sins because it makes one more righteous. No, it's a transformation that God does, just like in justification. (1 Thess. 4:3-7) Our righteousness is as filthy rags to God. It is only by His grace alone, we can behold His glory and be conformed to the image of Him.
Here's a quote from John Murray on sanctification: Indeed, the more sanctified the person is, the more conformed he is to the image of his Savior, the more he must recoil against every lack of conformity to the holiness of God. The deeper his apprehension of the majesty of God, the greater the intensity of his love to God, the more persistent his yearning for the attainment of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, the more conscious will he be of the gravity of the sin that remains and the more poignant will be his detestation of it......Was this not the effect in all the people of God as they came into closer proximity to the revelation of God's holiness?

Walking in the Light

Imagine that utter darkness is all around you except for the candle burning brightly, providing light for all to see. The darkness doesn't overpower the light. Rather it intensifies the brightness. In our lives, why does the darkness overpower the light? Shouldn't we allow our light to burn brightly? Sometimes, we experience a melting candle flame.

My candle was burning brightly, but slowly when the winds came, the flame dimmed somewhat. Slowly, it lost its brightness and eventually only a small flicker remained. I tried to carry my candle with me to church and places where I was comfortable doing so. Yet, when I succumb to the world's enticing, I would hide my candle. This form of molding into the world started out as subtle as gossiping, selfishness, and materialism. Satan was attacking me right and left with His lies and doubt. I didn’t realize how I spent less and less time truly knowing and spending time with my Savior. As days flew by, I would continue to leave my candle hidden away; it became safer and easier to not take it out anymore.

The candle wax dripped slowly and steadily on the carpet, unbeknownst to me. The darkness seemed to be reaching out to swallow me up, but the world didn't seem to care about my dilemma. Rather, it seemed to have its grip on me and I felt as if I couldn't turn around. When I discovered the effects of my melting candle flame, I imagined it was too late to burn my flame brightly anymore.

So, I decided to never take my candle out again. I closed my eyes to what effect this would have on others or on the inner sanctuary of my heart. The wax continued to drip off the candle until only half of the candle remained. It only served as a reminder of the darkness that engulfed me. The flame was slowly dying and I could no longer see anything but shadows.

Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

I fell on my knees sobbing in the darkness. Why did I ever stop shining my light for Christ? When did I allow the world to dim my candle? Through tear stained eyes I looked up to see a shadow of someone picking up the remains of my candle. He set it in the middle of the house and began picking up the remnants of the melted wax. I heard him whisper, “My child, I am the light of the world. He who follows me will never walk in darkness. I love you." As he spoke these truths to me, the room filled with light and the darkness quickly left. The shadows no longer loomed and my candle was no longer dim, but it was shining brightly. Oh, what a renewed passion I had for Christ!

I hurriedly wiped my tears away, but I couldn't keep the tears of joy from flooding down my face. The darkness had escaped. All I could see was light. It overwhelmed me that I could shine my light to this dark world. I walked boldly everywhere I went, holding my candle high. Its flame was beautiful, burning brightly for all to see. As the rain fell strongly upon it and the winds howled around me, it did not dim the flame. My light shone boldly because of Jesus Christ. He helped me resist the temptations of the world. Although I would still sin, I purposed to be more like my Savior because in him was freedom, joy, and peace.

The passion of serving my Christ is a journey of telling my world about the Savior that overpowered the darkness. For, He is the One who took my melting candle flame and replaced it with His light, love, forgiveness, and joy.

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." -1 John 1:7

God's Blessings in Everyday Living

God is good. All the time God is good. Oh how much God has blessed me!!! I could never thank Him enough for all that He has provided for me....The best family ever! Awesome friends! The list goes on....I don't deserve any of the things God has blessed me with, but yet He chooses to bless me because He loves His children.

God has really revealed to me how much that I should see Him through my everyday life. In mundane tasks, I can see God. When I work at my part-time job, I can work my hardest for the Lord. I can be cheerful to customers because Christ gave me joy. I can have a strong work ethic because I am working for the Lord and not for men.

Oftentimes I always complain about homework. I love college, just not the homework part. Why am I not always thankful that I have the opportunity to go to college? That I have the capacity to learn and hunger for knowledge. Why do I not remember when I am studying long hours for a test that I am not alone? I don't have to drown in self-pity because I have a long paper to write. I can use my writing to glorify Him. Every detail of my life reveals God working in me. Yet, I am often too busy to even notice.

Why is it that I don't see God in every single detail of my life? I tend to think He only cares about the "big" stuff. NO! God is showing me that He cares about every tiny detail of my life! He orchestrates everything....so why do we think He doesn't care about every single detail of our lives?

Today, I had to give a 5-7 min speech in my Communications class. I was really rather nervous at first. I am not a huge talker in front of people I don't know. For those of you that do know me personally, that's probably a shock. Just kidding. ;) Anyways, I don't like speaking in front of people and when I do, I talk too fast and my hands shake. Well I decided to give my speech about Time Management. I included things about how God is my first priority so the biggest amount of my time should be spent on what is most important to me. I also included a Bible verse in my speech and talked about how that God has given us these days on earth to glorify Him. I want to use my days effectively and quit wasting time. God is continuing to show me alot about not wasting my life.

When three o'clock came and Communications started, I was really rather nervous. I prayed that God would help me and a peace washed over me. I was no longer nervous at all. A few people gave their speeches and then a Baptist preacher got up and gave a speech about the Bible! He explained how the Bible is a road map for life and how it will never let you down. He shared Scriptures and invited people to read the Bible everyday. How awesome is that at a secular college! What shocked me again was that right after him a youth minister got up and gave a speech about knowing the Lord. He shared Scriptures and encouraged people to get saved! Remember how I said these were 5-7 minute speeches...My lost friends in that class got to hear the gospel for 10-14 minutes. Some people I know in that class might not ever step foot in a church....yet here they were at class hearing about Christ. I couldn't stop praising God for how he works!!! It is just incredible!! I got up and gave my speech next and I felt an overwhelming peace. I wasn't nervous, and I easily talked 5-7 minutes. It just showed me once again that I should God is in control and He is absolutely amazing.

God really is showing me that He is there with me at all times. When I experience joy, He is smiling. When I am suffering for Him, He wipes my tears away. Every single day, no matter what I am doing He is with me. For example, when I babysat tonight and played school with the five year old, I saw God's joy in him. His eyes gleamed with excitement over learning the numbers 11-40. If we were all that excited about learning and counted it a joy to learn! I smiled when I thought about how the baby I was watching had no worries. He would just mess my hair up and giggle. Then, he would go back to crawling and playing with his stuffed animal. If only life were so simplistic and we, as adults, didn't make things so complicated.... Children take pleasure in small things. Honestly, we shouldn't have worries either. Because we have a Savior that says, "Come here my child. Abide in me. Know me. Rest in me."

Yet, why do we struggle so hard to step back and just be still? Why is it so hard for us to trust God wholeheartedly? This abandonment for God is joy. It is experiencing the most amazing peace. It is an overwhelming sigh of relief that we don't have to have it all figured out.

"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." -Romans 8:31-34

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." -Isaiah 40:31
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."- Romans 12:2

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."-Romans 8:38-39

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." -2 Corinthians 5:17

The God-breathed Book

The Bible is for certain inspired. It is literally the very breath of God transferred to man on paper. It is His love letter to us, His guide book for life, His plan of redemption laid out, the gospel foretold, and truths conveyed in each and every word. All of Scripture is inspired by God. When we move from this belief, it is like building our house on sinking sand. How can we follow a Savior whom we don't think His Word is entirely true and profitable? Believing the Bible is truly inspired by God is based on faith, but it also has proofs backing it up.

There are different ways that people reject the inspiration of God. Most of the people I know that don't believe that God inspired the Bible, believe "parts"of the Bible are true. They don't believe God inspired them and gave them the words to write. They just think the authors wrote the books like any other author. They think of it as just their account of what happened....This belief rejects that the entire Bible is true and can lead to belief that it is instead a mixture of truth, historical documents, mistakes, and allegories.

I think that they hold to these beliefs because they can accept what they want to from the Bible. If they don't like certain verses, they can claim they weren't true. If they are able to convince themselves and everyone else that only certain parts of the Bible are true, then they can pick and choose what they want to accept. If they don't like the fact that God created the world in 6 days, then they can say that that was just an allegory and there was no possible way that God could created the world like that. Or they can justify that God may have used evolution to create the world because they don't believe in the literal interpretation of "day" in Genesis.

Feeling they are not accountable to a Holy God is another reason for rejecting the true inspiration of God. This may not be the reason for all who choose to not believe in verbal inspiration. However, ultimately that is what one can draw from not trusting the inspiration of God. In denying that every single word of the Bible is truth, it provides an escape for following God with complete obedience to His Word. No matter how one reaches the conclusion that the Bible is not the inspired Word of God, then they feel they are ultimately not accountable to God. If they don't believe He even cared enough for them to write the Bible, then how can they trust the Bible? How can they find strength to obey God's commands in Scripture if they believe "parts" of the Bible are true? How can they trust God's promises? How can they share the gospel if they can't have the confidence to know that God wrote out His plan of salvation for us?

He is the Word. He is the life. Satan is out to attack Christians and make them believe that the Bible was not the inspired word of God. If Satan can make one believe that lie, then the gospel, the plan of redemption, Creation, and every promise in the Bible becomes in one's mind nothing more than a nice story. Believing the Bible is the inspired word of God is absolutely crucial in one's walk with Christ.

2 Timothy 3:16. "All Scripture is inspired by God...." The word "inspired" literally mans, God-breathed. How incredible is that!? I can trust what God tells me in His Word about the Bible being totally inspired because I can trust God. He will never fail me. His Word speaks to me and changes my life, and I know He is changing the lives of others through His Word.

Also, the fact that He used 40 people over the course of 1500 years to pen Scripture and nothing in Scripture ever contradicted each other is proof in itself that God breathed the words he wanted to be in the Bible.

“Of the many influences that have shaped the United States into a distinctive nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible.” -President Ronald Reagan
“We account the scriptures of God to be the most sublime philosophy. I find more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history whatsoever.” -Isaac Newton
It's just absolutely crucial to our faith to know that Scripture is God-breathed. It is His love letter, His guide book for our lives, and every single word is truth. It is reliable, profitable, and is radically changing my life.

The American Drought

We're dry like the grass from the drought
Send Your rain
Don't withhold a drop
We are thirsty and broken
How we need to hear Your voice
We're thirsty for You God
Like a dying plant, we are slowing fading
The leaves are turning brown
Send Your rain, Father to drown us out
Let revival fall on this place
Lord Jesus, America is in a desperate awful drought
We fall on our face and cry out for revival
This nation needs You
We have turned our back from you
But oh how we must humble ourselves to You, to turn from our wicked ways
Turn America upside down for You
Revive us
Revolutionize our culture
Transform us to Your likeness
Like the leaves that turn brown we are fading
Oh Lord, stir our hearts and convict with Your Spirit
Send the rain
Jesus, please send revival upon us
We look up to You and pray

-Stacie (2008)

Nutrition with Martha Mahinsky

Haha Yet another hilarious Jostie flick

Sovereignty of God

God amazes me more everyday that I live upon this earth
I am so small and cannot understand His ways, yet His Sovereign will is perfect
Sometimes He gives and sometimes He takes away
He has absolute control over everything even though we can’t understand His ways
His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways
The God of the Universe challenges us with situations in our lives
It may involve suffering, but He knows what will make us stronger
Once a Child of God we can never be plucked out of His hand
He holds us in the palm of His hand and we are safe in Him
Although the world may be crashing around us, we have a refuge
His Sovereign Will is not always what we expected.
No, it’s more than we could have ever imagined
Every piece of our lives fit together to support God’s plan for our lives
It is as if our lives are an essay and the things that happen to us all support God’s thesis statement
The paragraphs flow perfectly together; each of them having their own purpose in the story
The climax of the story is that God has done a radical work in our lives
He sent His Son Jesus so that we would not have the deserved condemnation placed upon us
Instead He chose to give us life and the gift of salvation
This is the most amazing event that has ever happened in all of humanity
That Jesus Christ came to earth to shed His blood and die on a rugged cross
So that we would not have to be condemned
I cannot even begin to comprehend this kind of love
What kind of love takes the place of one who is supposed to pay for the punishment of sins?
What kind of unfailing love opens up His hand to take the nails?
It is only the grace and love of Jesus Christ that paid the price for our sins
We did nothing to deserve this overwhelming gift of grace and forgiveness
Yet God offers this gift of salvation to us for free because He loves us
His Sovereignty declared that we would need a Savior in order to have communion with God
So God gave us His only Son so that we could be able to have everlasting life
So that we would have fellowship with God and die to our old sin nature
This overwhelming grace and unfailing love only leads me to rely on my Savior
Why couldn’t I trust that a God who gave up His Son for me would have the best plans for me?
How can I not believe that everything in life happens for a reason regardless of whether we
understand it or not?
God’s sovereignty is the most beautiful demonstration of unfailing love
His grace is unsurpassable and His mercy is unfailing

-Stacie (2011)

Jostie Flicks - Cooking with Martha

Hahaha If you have always wanted to learn how to make a PB&J sandwich, then this video is for you. :P

Mr Bean - Asleep in Church

Bahahahaha Nothing this entertaining happens at my church....I'm assuming that's a good thing. ;)