Charm is Deceptive, and Beauty is fleeting

Hello there again! Only twelve more days till Christmas!! I can hardly believe it, can you?

So you may be wondering why I have a melodramatic picture of myself up there, and how it could possibly have anything to do with a lesson I learned. (I'll get to the 'hard thing' I told you about later:) 

Well, two days ago, Chloe sent me this pin, one I had pinned from my computer several months ago (that picture) on pinterest, and she said it had gotten repinned on some people's character or story inspiration boards! I am ashamed to say it, but I was very excited. A little too excited. Looking back at my thought process, you would probably visibly see my head expand. I was proud of my "achievement". What? I don't know how my mind works sometimes... so anyway I was getting pretty prideful. Believe me, not a great place to be. I started expecting myself to always look perfect, be perfect. Thankfully though, God reminded me what I was doing. Jolted me from my daydream of pride.  

I was pretty sad that I had fallen into that trap again. I kinda just moped for a little bit, but God picked me up and gave me this verse. 

                                                                 Proverbs 31:30

   "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Beauty is fleeting. It only lasts a minute. I spend time on making my outward appearance beautiful, but what am I doing to make what will last, my heart, beautiful? I read John Eldridge's book, Captivating, and it really reminded me that God thinks I'm beautiful, just the way he made me. He wants to be able to grow my faith, my fear of Him. He pursues me because he loves me. I had never thought of Jesus like that!

Okay, spent a lot of time on that... so remember last week I told you I was praying for something big, a hard thing? It came! A girl in our Life Group is looking for a new apartment next semester, and she mentioned that she would rather stay with a family. We've all been praying about this, and it looks like we will potentially be having an adopted big sister next semester! I'm excited, but the hard thing will be that Olivia will move into my bedroom. This will be hard for me, because I'm used to my own space, and having everything the way I like it! I should probably stop talking now, the rest of school calls:)
                                                                     Have a wonderful day!
                                                                              ~Avery

Thanksgiving Vacation

Hello! We are now officially back, and I have so much to tell you!
                                                               First off, some pictures:

Margo(my cousin) and her rubber band/ weapon:)

Sledding on our ice toboggan, sorry it's a little blurry, it was snowing really hard!

Shopping, before we went to see Frozen, outside the Byron Center mall!

The 'kid' table for Thanksgiving, I'm sitting next to Jackson(my other cousin), if you're wondering what he looks like:)

Bryn and I:) Most of these were blurry, sorry! We got her a Varsity Donuts shirt, and Mom got me a matching one!

                                             It was so fun, and enjoyable! But let's get to the real reason of this post:)
    So, I ask myself while I type this, what has God been teaching me lately? I have to be honest with you guys, I don't know. I'm sure I could come up with something, but it wouldn't be completely meaningful, it wouldn't be fair to you, if I'm just spouting facts about God, or worse, if I'm just saying it, but not truly learning. I don't post to try and teach you guys, when I write it down, I'm learning from my own thoughts! Most of the time I have no idea where the words come from!
 
    I did my quiet time once during vacation. ONCE. I had ten whole days, and only one, five minute moment of reading God's word and praying. It would be a big fat lie to say I didn't learn anything though, because I did! It's not worth it to sleep in for ten more minutes. Sure I had fun on vacation, but spiritual warfare and just plain fear plagued me the whole time I stayed at my Aunt and Uncles. I can't live according to God's word if I'm not in His word! This summer I did a Beth Moore bible study, and it was on Daniel. She talked about the 'Babylon mindset', when you basically just worship an idol, which in my case is myself. She said that if you're not fighting the 'Babylon Mindset', it's already overtaken you. You can't stay away from it unless you're fighting it. I wasn't fighting it, and I was worshipping myself. I can never get those days back, but I can change what I do in the future. I know what it was like, and I don't want to go back. I don't want to live a mediocre life! Last week I started re-reading Do Hard Things, by Alex and Brett Harris, and I've been asking God to show me what hard thing he would like me to work on. I have noooo clue yet! I need to keep praying, and have faith that God will answer. Next week I will post more on that:)

                                                      Thanks for bearing with all that!
                                                                     ~Avery
   

{Update From MI}

Hello everyone!
Many of you know that my family and I went to Michigan for Thanksgiving, if you didn't know, now you do! Excitingly though, we stopped for THREE WHOLE days at the Warner's house!!!! (Some very good friends of ours, who moved away:( ) Guys, their new house is so cool! We stayed there three days, and had so much fun! Savanna, Bryn, and I got to stay in her bedroom, while the rest of my family were in the guest room. The first day Savanna, Mom, and Dad went to Cornerstone College for a visit day, (Savanna loved it! *happy/sad dance* BUT don't freak out, she hasn't fully decided yet!) So the younger three were left with Mrs. Warner and Bryn all day!!

Us youngers spent our whole day together getting ready for a puppet show. They have an awesome staircase, and rafters right above, and it reminded me a LOT of the Sound of Music, (goat song, remember?!) So! we hung blanket from the rafters and from the stair case, and turned the stuffed animals brave enough to come on holiday with us into marionettes! (They actually worked!) Bryn and I
wrote original song lyrics to common Christmas songs, giving them titles such as 'Oh, Ornaments', to the tune of 'Oh, Christmas Tree', and 'Oh, Holy Cheese',to, you guessed, 'Oh, Holy Night'. All of us had so much fun!

On the second day we all slept in VERY late, and had breakfast at twelve! I can't go into so many details, it went so fast, but we had so much fun! On Sunday, we got up a little earlier, ate breakfast, packed the car, and then the Warner's and the DeWolf's had a family worship time. It was really fun to see how they did Church. I have never experienced using prayer books and written prayers like that! It was hard to leave, but we'll see them again soon, hopefully! Right now I'm sitting in my Aunt and Uncle's house, and this is a particularly comfortable couch! I also have to finish getting ready to go to Grandma D's, so goodbye! See you soon!

                                                        ~Avery

Idolatry

1 Corinthians 10:14

"Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry."

idolatry |īˈdälətrē|nounworship of idols.• extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone
While Jesus sat in my chair this week, he pressed this into my heart. So, in reading the definition, you might get confused, I mean, how thin is the line through revering someone/something, and idolizing them/it? I don't have the answer. What I do know I'll tell you about. Can you think of something off the top of your head that you don't think you could live without? Not the necessities, like food and water, but something that if you really tried, you would at least be alive without it. For me, a lot of things come to my mind. A mirror, the Internet, friends, and control are just a few. Jesus told me to look at my life, and see what was placed higher in my mind than him. Let me tell you this, he wasn't number one. There were many other things that I spend more time with, put more thought into, and think about more often. 
What does the bible have to say about who takes first place in my heart?
Exodus 23:33

"They must not live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me. If you serve their gods,   

                                 you will be caught in the trap of idolatry." 

Now, this might sound like it has no meaning at all, but for those of you who went to CYIA, you might remember Kevin's speech about sin in the camp? (Basically it was about not letting sin gain a foothold, because it will be even harder to destroy it.) Well, I thought this verse went along well with that topic! If you think of the "They" as the world, or sin, trying to move into your "camp" or heart, it makes more sense! Now, sin's gods will not look like the pagan gods we know are wrong! My idols aren't wooden statues, they exist in my mind. I'm pretty sure we've all been taught that worshipping Satan is wrong, but what about are own image? What about praise, and love? Some of the things we worship are good, but is anything good if it's placed in our hearts before Jesus? Idols aren't always easy to find sometimes, and sometimes you have to take it away to see what it is! Right now I need to keep evaluating myself, and be alert for anything I might worship other than God!  I need to keep spending time with Jesus!

                                                                     ~Avery

Life of Avery

This is just a test, to see if our music video will work on here! (It's one of the bloopers for it:)

So, because Chloe said I could copy her good idea, here is a recap of this Friday:)   

7:30-Oh, yeah, I have to get up on time today! Mom said we all had to be up by 8:00... (My logic in the morning is NOT so sound!) 

7:40- Now I'm ready for the day... I'll just stumble through the dark basement until I find the stairs... wait, it's dark, that means I'm up before Savanna! *fist pump* Oh lovely, upstairs is mostly dark too, that mean only Mom and Dad are up...I guess I'll just go on pinterest...

8:00- Oh good! Mom is out in the kitchen! Now I can eat breakfast! I help Mom get packed, and collect the food she'll need in Kansas City, and eventually Savanna comes up. 

8:30- Mom and Dad are ready to go, and we all get our goodbyes and instructions. Bye bye! I know they'll have fun...

8:45- Now for school, today I'll be diligent because Mom isn't here... (really) Okay, so there were a couple trampoline breaks, and some snack breaks, but I got most of it done! 

12:00- Yes! Finally lunch! Now I can read... shucks, I have no new books:( Time to visit the bookshelf, of all the books I already read...

12:30- No time for school now, I have to get ready for Bright Lights! Well, maybe a little bit too much time! 

12:40- Well, back to school, we don't have to leave until 1:00! 

1:00- Now we can go! First we have to drop Sam off at Emily Weddle's, of course we have to stay a little while and talk! 

1:20- Now off to Bright Lights! (I can't really recap the whole thing, but it was fun!)

4:00- We return to Emily's to pick up Sam, and again stay to talk...

4:45- Time to make dinner! I start my gluten free pasta, I don't know how much to put in, so I guess... all of us kids do our chores and dinner prep. 

5:30- Sam decides we're going to have a fancy dinner. He and Savanna go to the grocery to pick up some 'glutinated' pasta. 

6:00- We are all  super dressed up and ready to begin! (Pictures will hopefully come next week:) We pour our cherry 7up into the wine glasses that we hope aren't too valuable... and begin our fancy dinner! 

6:30- We are busy talking laughing, and drinking soda, mostly talking about who would be who if we were Lord of The Rings characters! Olivia and Sam tried to convince me I am a mountain troll, their  reasons were that I'm bald, fat, and stupid... ?? I told them I was not. If you are wondering, I'm the One Ring, irresistible to all mankind. (There's a saying for you Beth!)

7:00- We all clean up dinner, and then wait for Savanna to finish piano practice, and dished out dessert!    

We all tramp downstairs to watch the new movie Monsters U. We all loved it! 

8:30- get ready for bed.... so tired... can't function....

9:30- Okay, time to stop reading! Lights out. 

Hope you enjoyed reading about my day:) 

~Avery

Motivation

So, volleyball is officially over for me! This year has been a blast, I couldn't have wish for a better team! Well, the sad thing about volleyball is that I don't get to see my friends every day, but I won't be as busy! This year I've given myself a challenge to not stop working out when volleyball is over, last year I was pretty "in shape"... not to Mrs. Marteney standards, but for me:) I stopped working out though, and I lost a lot of weight... not so good. This year I'm more motivated, because I know that I don't want to repeat last year! So, I've finally started running, my goal is four miles by christmas, I don't exactly know how that will happen, but my mind is set! (Trust me, it doesn't seem like much, but for me, after two miles, it seems like a lot!) Sam and Olivia want to work out with me too, so I lead them in "fun" twelve minute ab workouts, they haven't given up on me yet!! 

So, why is this post titled 'Motivation'? Well, today I wanted to talk about something that's been bugging me lately. Who am I working out for? Am I doing this for myself, God, or other people's opinions? Like I said at Bright Lights, (for those of you who go:) I want to be perfect, but am I doing this to be perfect, or for good reasons? I don't want to get sucked into the sinful thoughts of being perfect again! Remember how I said I needed to accept God's grace in my life? Well, this is part of my life! This is a hard question for me to answer. I'm praying for God to work in my heart, and as I run, I pray God would help me run for the right reasons! I've decided that I'm running to stay strong. 

Sorry for the short(er) post, this is a slightly hectic weekend:) 

Feel free to ask me about my running, I need some people to keep me on track other than myself:)

                                                                              ~Avery

Character Sketch!

Today is story day! I'm going to write a character sketch for this dude down below:) 

Liam slouched through the hallway of his middle school, trying to ignore the whispers of the girls, and the teasing laughter he knew was directed towards him. Sure, he might not have as nice of clothes as all the other kids had, and he was new, but was it so bad to wish for at least one person who didn't laugh at him? Liam scowled. Even the teachers seemed to have a made a pact together to hate him. He knew he wasn't the easiest student, he just couldn't seem to pay attention while they talked. Doodling them falling into volcanoes and alligator infested swamps might not have helped them like him... Liam sighed. 

       Even if he hated school, going home was worse. He thought that Dad never would forget him, but he had. Liam stepped into the bus, ignoring everyone. Why Dad? Liam thought, Why did you have to forget me, you gave up on me and left! Liam felt hate surge up in him. You had no RIGHT. Now I'm all alone, Dad, nobody cares about me! Liam stared out the window, a hollow aching in his chest. He remembered his old life, so different from now. How he would play football with his dad in the front yard every evening, them help him make dinner. He would tell his dad how school went, and ask him questions about everything, anything, and his dad would tell him. He thought they had no secrets, but Liam had obviously been wrong. One morning he had woken up, and all he had left of his dad was a note saying his mom, the mother he had never met, would pick him up at 11:00. 

As Liam walked through the door of his house, his mom looked up. 

"Hi honey,"

she said, 

"I cleaned your room today, I thought it looked a little messy."

She smiled and held up something that looked like meatloaf. 

"Hungry?"

Liam shook his hair in front of his eyes and shrugged. Inside he was panicked. She went in MY room? Cleaned it UP? How could she? I won't know where anything is! She'll have seen my paintings!! 

Liam ran to his room, and sighed. Everything was clean. All his clothes were in the drawer, his bed was made, who knew my bed was so big?  Sunlight streamed in from his picture window, lighting up the far corner of his room. No, NO! She had seen his studio, all his paint was in a row, even arranged in a rainbow! All his paintings were piled neatly on his desk, and on his easel was a lone, white canvas. Liam hugged himself. Dad would never have done this. He never forced me to show him my artwork, he RESPECTED ME! Liam felt a yell of frustration rip from his chest. He grabbed his brushes and sloppily slid his paint closer to the canvas. He knocked the canvas to the ground as one sob after another shook his whole body. His angry tears mixed with his paint as he worked, faster and faster, not caring where the paint went. Late into the night Liam worked, and he began to calm down, until he finally fell into a merciful sleep. 

Lily walked down the hallway to Liam's room. She didn't know how long she could go before she worked up the courage to tell him about his father. She knocked softly on his door. He needed to eat. 

"Liam?" 

No one answered, and Lily carefully opened the door. No one was on the bed. There was one light on, a lamp on Liam's desk. 

"Oh, Liam." 

Tears welled up in Lily's eyes. Liam lay sleeping, tear stains mixing with paint on his face. His paintbrush was still in his hand. Lily looked at the painting and choked down a sob. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The colors of his paint worked together, and mixed so wonderfully that the picture seem alive. It was herself that smiled from the canvas, herself, with the inscription 'mother' underneath. 

Liam slowly opened his eyes to see Lily, tears streaming, as she quietly said to herself, 

"If only you knew Liam, you'd understand."

Thanks for reading:) 

~Avery

Judging God's Law

Sorry about the picture... isn't Jake cute though? 

                                                               James 5:11-12
                "Don't speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God's law. But your job is to obey the law, not judge whether it applies to you. God alone has the power to save or to destroy.
                              So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?"


     This verse really spoke to me this week! These past couple years I've really struggled with being judgmental. I judge people before I've even met them, only from what people have told me about them! I don't give people a chance to grow on me, and as Mr. Darcy says, "My good opinion once lost is lost forever." (Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen) As I said in the last post, I don't give grace.  This verse really convicted me of how wrong this is!

     This verse says that if I criticize and judge others, then I am criticizing God's law! This is a heavy thing to think about. When I judge someone, or criticize them in my mind, I'm criticizing God's law! After all, He's the one who made them how they are. Now think for a moment with me, would any of you agree that I know better than God? (I hope not!) Who am I to even think about pointing out something wrong with God's law. Yet, whenever I judge someone, even if it's just the split-second thought 'I'm better' I'm judging God. Uh-oh. Aren't you glad for God's unending mercy!

     In the middle of the verse it says that my job is to obey the law, not judge whether it applies to me. So, what does the law say? Well, Jesus said the most important commandment was this, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself."  So, if I'm focused on God, my thoughts will be less likely to drift into judgment, and my mind will be filled with his holiness! As I think about how he says 'Love your neighbor as yourself' , would I think the same about myself? I may judge myself, and that's also a sin,(I won't talk about today) but it's in a different way. I wouldn't want someone to judge me the way I'm judging them, I wouldn't want other people thinking they were superior! I cannot begin to imagine how broken-hearted God must be, with all of his children running around judging their  siblings in Christ, pointing out the little speck in others eyes, while they themselves cannot see because of the log in their own! how merciful, how patient, how wonderful is He! I praise God that even though I cannot possibly be even close to perfect, he made a way, through Jesus. He has poured out his lavish love, and grace into me, and I have the chance to share it! I pray that God can use me, that he will work through me to show mercy, that I will be a place of rest for others, because I don't look on their outside, like human nature is inclined to do, but look on the inside, like God does. I want to rely on His mercy.
 
                                                           With love,
                                                              Avery


                                               

God's Infinite Grace

                                                                      Acts 20:24
                        "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me- the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace."

                    Well, first, an update:) I'll give you a good thing bad thing, *wink at the Marteney's:)*

Good thing: I've been connecting with my siblings a lot better! We finally found something we're all  

 excited about, a climbing tree! 

Bad thing: I've had a really hard time excepting God's grace for me, and others. 

                       I've been struggling with accepting that I can't be perfect all the time, and I won't 

always get what I want! My sinful nature wants to be the best, look the best, feel the best, and do 

everything just the way I want. Sometimes I don't want the plan God has for me, because I think mines is 

so much better, because I can see it. But won't God's plan be so much more exciting?! 

        

                                                                 Luke 12:29

                       "Do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it."

          Well, I don't have to worry about what I will eat or drink, but I can substitute those words for 

'image' and 'how I preform at volleyball games', or any other thing that I set my heart on. Jesus specifically

says do not worry. I was, and am worrying, instead of accepting God's grace, and accepting that God is 

all knowing, and he has the best plan for me! 

     Sometimes though, it's not only me who I need to ask for grace for. (sorry that was a weird way of 

saying it...) I like to be in charge, and when someone isn't doing what they are supposed to, BAM! I turn 

ultra drill master! For some reason I have to know why they aren't doing something, what they should be 

doing, and if they have nothing to do while others are working, then you can be sure I'll find something 

for them to do! This is one of the reasons relationships with my siblings were getting strained! No one 

likes to be bossed around! Plus, when I'm worried, and not accepting God's grace for myself, they don't 

get any of it! Don't even try to imagine how bossy I get! 

 

     So this week I need to accept the grace given to me, and ask for more of his infinite grace, so that 

God can work through me. 

                                                Good bye for now! I'll try to do another story thing next week:) 

                                                        (- -) Avery (sorry, the tiny guy is just so cuuuute! I had to make him:) 

                                                       <)  )~

                                                          / \

                

A Little Different Today...

So, I wanted to do something different today, so I'm going to write a scene with these two characters!

+

The chatter of seagulls fought to drown out the sound of thousands people, splashing, talking, and littering. In general,  making themselves a nuisance. A man dressed in what I'm sure you would not call beach apparel, leather pants and a linen shirt, sat on the huge rocks overlooking the swimming area. The man sighed. The one day he had a chance to meet with the sea, it was crowded with people. He stood up  to find a better place to sit. Alone. After wandering along the rocks for many hours, he began to tire. He slumped down to the hot sand, wiping his brow with his arm.  Then something moved below him. Someone small in a striped tank top ran up and down the rocky beach. The man stayed still. He didn't want to talk to anyone, even if they were only three feet tall. Then the girl looked up. She saw him. The girl scrambled as best she could up the sand dune, struggling. The man realized she was crying, sobbing more like. So hard in fact, that when she had almost reached the top, she fell, face first into the sand. 

The man winced, and ran to the girl. 

"Come now, wee lassie, what could be the matter with you?" (*Note. This is in a scottish accent!*) 

The girl took his hand as he helped her up. She looked up at him with her big tearful eyes. 

"Sir, I think I'm lost."  

The man smiled, grabbed his pirate hat, and settled it onto the girl's sandy hair.

"Well lassie, we're a team. You see, I'm lost too, although I think it's a fair guess that I want to be, where you did not." 

The girl lifted the big hat slightly off her head so as to seem him, and giggled. 

"Why do you talk funny?" 

"I don't talk funny, you do." 

"No I don't!" 

"Yes yeh do!" 

"Don't!" 

"Do!"

 The man crossed his arms and faked a hmph. 

The girl did the same. 

"Can I be your friend?" 

the girl asked,

"I've never met a pirate before. I always thought they would be mean," 

The man laughed, the most joyful, jolly, happy laugh you will ever hear. 

"That's the first time been told I was a good pirate, lassie, would you like to be my mermaid?" 

The girls eyes widened. 

"You could turn me into a mermaid?"

The man shook his head solemnly. 

"No, you see, mermaids don't take kindly to uninvited guests. You see, my last one changed her mind and decided to leave, and I need a new one. I think you would be a good choice." 

The girl squealed and proceeded to do a happy dance. Then she asked him to help her look like a mermaid. He helped her put seaweed in her hair, and make bracelets out of seashells. All the while the man coached her on how exactly to look like one. The girl had so much fun she forgot she was lost, until the sun started setting. 

"Mr. Pirate?" 

she asked, 

"where is your ship? Could you take me back to my parents? Last time I saw them they were in the swimming area, they work at the ice-cream shop there. I wish I had never gotten lost."

The man turned, and sadly said, 

"You really wish that? That it was like you had never been lost?" 

Then the man began to sing, a song the girl had never heard before, it was deep, and it sounded something like the waves, crashing against the rocks.  

It slowed, now it was more melodious, like the waves, gently     

rolling onto the sand, and then off again. Her eyes began to flutter, and the last thing she remembered was the man saying quietly, 

"Don't ever lose your imagination, lassie, don't forget the sea, don't ever forget me, your pirate, who was good." 

Lexie woke up the next morning in her room, and she remembered nothing. 

Finding Peace

James 1:3-5 

"For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you, he will not rebuke you for asking."

Those verses have been such a comfort this week! This week I've really been feeling the temptation to be critical of everything. In other words, I lost my joy. Let me tell you, it's not fun. I got caught in my pity-party trap. But James 1:3-5 pulled me out. I realized that when my faith was being tested, it wasn't something I should worry or fret about, it was something to rejoice in! When my faith is tested, my endurance has a chance to grow! I hadn't really thought of it like that before. I mean, you're always told the hardships will come sometime, but I always thought of them as far off. In a Beth Moore bible study I was doing earlier this year, she said you have to answer the hard questions before you're in the situation. For example, do you think it was a spur of the moment decision for Shadrach, etc. (you know who they are:) to stand up for their God? No! They knew they would stand up for God, no matter what, and they answered that question before they were thrown in the fire. No second chances there. 

All right, so the title is finding peace, and I thought the picture described my position. I felt dry, like I wasn't very connected to God. But when I turned around and asked for wisdom, I felt alive again!! So I'll get back to the question of future. I want to decide beforehand what I'll do in tough situations, or just in the face of temptation. I want to train my mind into the habit of trusting God, and not letting myself get sidetracked. 

Thanks again for reading! 

Avery

The Strengths of Being Weak

            All right, I would like to draw your attention to the picture right up (^) there. When you first look at it, it's a tree in a rock. Cool. But, if you look closer, you'll see that the rock doesn't look like it's always been cracked like that. During the course of that trees growth, it could grow around the rock, and would have died without the sunlight. Instead of giving up, it pushed little by little, probably for years, and finally cracked the rock over top of it!


       Would you say the tree was incredibly strong to crack the rock? It's my opinion that the tree itself is not that strong. I think its perseverance cracked the rock. So in other posts I've mentioned how I feel like 'I need to be able to do it all'.  Well, obviously they haven't disappeared instantly. And they won't. So this week, God has been reminding me of my weakness. Okay, I already see it enough, more like reminding me of what I need to do with my weaknesses. First verse:

                                                    1 Corinthians 2:3
                      "I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling"


   So, the part that really hit me about this verse is that the person speaking actually came to God.
First thing to do with my weakness: Bring it to God. Second verse:

                                                     2  Corinthians 12:9a
      " But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." "



   Wow. Second thing to do with my weakness: After I've brought it to him, rejoice! God's grace is sufficient, his power is made perfect through my weakness! Last verse:

                                                         Hebrews 11: 33-34a
  "By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength." (This verse is talking about the Judges in the Old Testament)


This one is my favorite. Girls, this is what I want to do! I just love how it says that by faith these people ruled with justice, escaped death by the edge of the sword, doesn't that just spark you adventure nerve?!
Everything about that verse is beautiful, and then at the end, God throws in this message, and it hits straight into my heart. "Their weakness was turned to strength" Their weakness wasn't turned into strength by themselves, God gave it to them with his grace, because they had faith. So what I can never be strong by myself, it would come to an end so quickly! I rejoice in my weakness, because that means God can work through me! That way people can see God's strength!  I have to have faith. That's what he reminded me, while sitting in my chair.


                                                     With love,
                                                        Avery

                Does the business of life ever get to you? Are you tired of trying to be the perfect friend, sibling, role-model? You might be just plain ready to quit, ready escape all the hassle. But here's the thing, you'll never really escape from all the worry, despair, and anxiety that comes from living on this earth. Sorry to burst you bubble, but it's true. Because we have sinned, and continue to sin, this world is not going down the success road! The world is constantly berating us with demands to be perfect, and for us home-schoolers, to be a genius, and still be a wonderful sibling too.


      So what do I do in response to this? Well, you probably know the right answer to this question, but besides that, when we embrace our flesh, what do we do? We WORRY. I WORRY.

                                                              WOR-RY
                     'To give way to anxiety or unease; allow one's mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles.'
                                         (Oxford American Dictionary)

   We dwell on our difficulties. Basically, when it doesn't look bright, we don't even look up. We stare at the cold hard pavement and run into a pole. So,  how do I choose to be content, to trust God? (That's the opposite of worry) I have to choose to be content, I have to choose to trust in Him! I need to look away from my difficulties, from my problems, and look up. Into God's face. Even rainclouds are beautiful, when you take the time to look at them, instead of the rain.

But the choosing is hard. Habits are hardly broken in a day! I need Jesus' strength and forgiveness every day, because sometimes looking at the ground is easier. But if I'm only looking at the ground, or my difficulties, my problems, I don't have time to be generous to my friends and family, I don't have time to be kind and gentle, christlike. I want to be like Christ. Christ didn't worry. Christ looked to the heavens, He looked up, and thanked His Father. He didn't worry. Girls, we can't be truly Christlike until we set our worry aside. When we start looking up and noticing other people have problems too, not just us, we give other people a picture of Christ. Remember, Jesus' grace is always there for you. We won't get this completely right, but we'll never stop hitting poles until we choose Him. 

With love,

Avery

      So, this week God has really been showing me how I treat my family. He's really revealed how much I neglect, or even take for granted what He has really given me! I'll start out with this: My family is the awesomest ever!!!! Here are a couple pictures that I thought described my family well:) (So, in the pictures you must realize that my big sister isn't in them, because she's the photographer!)

                                      There's my brother Sam and I, we like to come up with random games that involve running and high danger risks!

My younger sister, Olivia, (in the blue shirt and blond hair...) is just learning how to fly!

                              There's me, doing what I loooooove to do, READ!

         Sometimes, I feel like being dramatic, and convince myself I'm alone in my feelings :(

 <= that's actually my friends brother, Blaize:)

                                But they always show up to brighten my day!

             SOmetimes I'm a little embarrassed of them, such as when they do that! (up there)

        But I love to put my feeling behind me and dance with them!!!




    Okay, so after those pictures you might get a better picture of who my family is:) So, to what He's been teaching me. This last week I noticed how I was a little touchy, easily annoyed. Then we went to TX, and I didn't really have a chance to be annoyed, too much to do! Now that we're back, though, and we're trying to settle into a school schedule, it's much more obvious how bossy I really am! Now each morning I'm trying to add into my quiet-time a couple of minutes of praying for patience. I don't want to miss opportunities to become better friends with my siblings! I only have Savanna for one more school semester, I don't want to squander it on petty arguments!


     Practicing handeling disagreements will also be helpful for the future! If I don't learn how to go to someone and ask their forgiveness, how can I think I'll magically learn as soon as I get married? Every choice I make in these years will affect how I see my future, and what will happen in my future! Of course, this doesn't mean I have to worry constantly about my choices, but it's good to keep in mind what is coming!

All right, last thing! Like the mirror up there, I need to reflect Jesus! I need to treat my family the way He treats them, with love, mercy, and kindness! I need to ask for Jesus' strength everyday, while He's sitting in my chair:)      


                                               Thanks again for reading!
                                                      ~Avery

     Here I am again!:) So, for what Jesus has been teaching me lately, while sitting in my chair, look up. (At the picture) Sometimes I feel like this window. Cracked. Unable to withstand the pressure.
(The window actually cracked from temperature change:) I know I feel imperfect a lot, and this week Jesus has really spoken to me about this. I was telling Jesus how I'm mad that I'm not perfect, and this is what He told me: First, He wants me to go to Him for strength.
                       
                     Psalms 16:1-"Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge."

     One of the things I tend to do is rely on my own strength. I think I can do it on my own, I want to do it by myself! I keep doing it, even though I know the results. Every time I end up failing! I need to remember that Jesus isn't trying to test the limit of my strength, He's calling to me, He wants me to turn to him and ask Him for what I need!


     Second, He never called me to be perfect. True, the Old Testament Law does make it so we have to be perfect to be forgiven, but because Jesus died for me on the cross, because He gave his precious blood for me, and I have asked Him to forgive me, He is my intercessor! If I get it wrong, He isn't wrathful, He forgives! Jesus' blood covers my imperfections. Jesus wants me to seek Him, He doesn't want me to worry about what others might think if I'm imperfect, or what will happen if I don't have everything "together". All I have to do is pray, to acknowledge Him, praise Him, rejoice that I don't have to be perfect for Him to love me! I need to fill my mind with His commands.

                     Psalms 119: 96-" Even perfection has its limits, but your commands have no limit."

       Third, Jesus is a jealous God. He doesn't want to share us. He doesn't want us to worship any other god! My idols may not look like a buddha, but they do exist. Sometimes they might be a feeling, like success, or it might be a state of mind, like accomplished, or just happy. Even if it can be good, it's not good if it's placed in front of God. I need to repent daily of how much I do this, but the first step in doing this is to learn to recognize that that is what I'm actually doing! ( Don't think I'm an expert at this guys!)                


            Thanks again for reading! Feel to comment and share what Jesus tells you while sitting in your chair!                        
                                             Until next time!
                                     -Avery

A little bit about me...

Well, this is me:) I'm Avery DeWolf, and I love chocolate, and anything sugar!

I don't really love to cook, so this blog will definitely not be a food blog! I'm 14, and I'm home-schooled. My family is decidedly weird, and we're okay with that:) I'm a Christian, and I love to spend time with the Lord! Now, to the title. 'Sitting in My Chair' may sound strange, but to me it means something other than strange. In the morning, when I'm seriously groggy, I have two choices: to go back to sleep, or to spend a few minutes with Jesus. I like to imagine Jesus sitting in the chair next to my bed, eagerly waiting for time spent with me, (hence the name:) It reminds me that Jesus really is waiting for me, beside my bed. Thinking of it this way helps me remember how little of my day is devoted to Him. So...I took ten minutes, but how much time would I take for my best friend if she was sitting on my bed? It reminds me that although I might get caught up with the things of this world, (how I look, what other people think, how I'm doing in school, what I do with my time) it all will fade away some day, am I going to remember that someone complemented me on my hairdo 5 years ago? I need to continue to set my goals higher, to spend time with Jesus, for time spent with Him is where true joy blossoms. This blog will mostly be what Jesus taught me, while sitting next to me  in my chair.  I hope you enjoy reading with me! I'm excited to share with you! 

I also hope you'll stick around, this blog will do through many renovations, once I get my tech-smart sister to teach me how to use blogger:)

Sincerely,

Avery