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!

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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