small dipped cone.

Has your mind ever been wandering and you just think of how many people there really are in this world? In thinking about this, have you ever thought how limited your connections are, or how very few people you truly know... or how very few people truly know you?

Today I had this revelation sitting eating my lunch at the mall. I went to the mall by myself to return something and ended up hanging out there for a couple of hours. I was just wandering aimlessly, eventually I grabbed something the eat and sat down at a table with a book I had just bought at barnes and noble. At one point I looked up and realized just how many people were around me. There were about 40 people (parents and kids) in line for the merry-go-round, about 10 people in line at subway, about 10 people in line at A & W, not to mention all the people sitting around me at tables, the people climbing the stairs, taking the escalator, in the other lines, and shuffling in and out of all the stores in the mall. Everyone seems completely oblivious to everyone else there, with the exception of those that they were there with. Then I got to thinking, if there are this many people in one mall in Grandville, Michigan... how many people are there in malls across the county, or across the state, or across the US, or across the world. And that was just thinking of all the malls!! After I finished my lunch I sat there reading my book for a while longer and then decided I wanted some ice cream. So Dairy Queen it was. I was the 8th person in line at Dairy Queen where I waited while getting walked around, walked in front of, and in one case walked into by many people until it was finally my turn to order. So I told the girl my order. A small vanilla cone dipped in chocolate. I paid and stepped to the side so that the next person could order while the girl in the back made mine. As I was waiting I turned to think more about how many people there are in the world. I was kind of zoned out but after she called my order twice, I realized she was talking to me. "Small dipped cone" was how she addressed me. I was no longer Amanda. I was "small dipped cone."

How impersonal have we gotten?

Sometimes I feel like I am just a number in this world. One thing that scared me about going off to a big college was that I would be "just a number." Then I came to Grace where not only was I not "just a number" but I was recognized as a person with a story. I was not "small dipped cone" I was Amanda. So the two boys in front of me, were not just numbers 6 and 7 in a line for ice cream. I don't know their names, but God does. God knows every person who was in every line I saw today. God knows all the people who were going in and out of every store today. God knows the hearts of all of these people. God knows everything about them, right down to the number of hairs on their head. God wants a relationship with every one of them.

This week has been kind of rough for me. It has been great too though. I have transitioned into a new roommate, so it is going to take some getting used to as far as the way she likes things. I have been getting up earlier than I have for the past three months. I have been immersed in God's word twice daily among my other reading. I have lost a job. I have made some new friends. I have had some hard conversations. Joe and I had the opportunity to talk to some youth pastors about going to speak at their youth group which was both exciting and scary. But through it all I have realized that God knows my heart and he knows what is going on even when I don't. I need to trust more in him and beleive my lies even less.

At the job I just lost I was not Amanda. I was number 84065. That was my identity. I was just a number. But God has shown how much he truly loves us. He tells us that we are his children and that he cares for us. He knows everything about our lives and that is so spectacular.

Today I am not a number. You are not a number. I encourage you to get out and meet someone today, find out something new about an old friend, and just experience life as people meant to care for people. Let someone else know that they are not just a random number, let them know they are cared about and loved.

Be Blessed. Be Honest.
Amanda

Blessings Among Pain!!!

Have you ever thought, “God why does this continue to happen to me?” We go through the struggles of life and we give them to God.

We completely give them to God, but yet they seem to keep on coming back. They seem to not understand that God has taken care of them.

I know that I’ve found myself saying this to myself many times. I’ve been so confused so many times. I’m like “God! This is yours now. I’ve given this to you. Why does it keep on coming back bother me?”

I wonder if I’ve had the wrong perspective this whole time. I wonder if God kept those struggles in my life so that I can be more BLESSED?

Blessed.

That’s an interesting word to use when talking about problems in our lives, or struggles that we face everyday. But I believe that God wants us to view these problems as blessings.

Think about it.

Looking back at my own life I don’t know where I would be if it wasn’t for the hard times that God allowed me to go through. I probably wouldn’t be pursuing youth ministry. I then probably wouldn’t be at Grace Bible College. Which would mean I wouldn’t have grown in my faith as much as I have.

God had a plan when I was going through those seemingly impossible times in my life. When it was happening there’s no way I would have guessed I would be where I am today, but God knew, and I doubted His perfect plan for my life.

Another blessing that has come from my own struggles has been the opportunity I’ve had to be able to witness to others because of our common bond of brokenness. God blessed me with brokenness and struggles in my life so that I can better help others feel like that they are not alone. We all have had some sort of pain in our lives and there’s no better way to use that pain than to allow it to be used by God!

So I challenge you to find your struggles as blessings today. Think of them as opportunities to defeat satan by bringing God the glory.

Just Being Honest,
Joe

Brokeness and Sunsets!

Lately I’ve been talking with a friend who is going through some amazingly hard times in his life. His future has totally changed and he has lost a big part of his life. As I talk with him though there seems to have such a peace about what he’s going through. He even says to me that “If all of this wouldn’t have happened some of the greatest things in my life right now may have never happened.” He has had a great support group surrounding him and he has turned to God amidst all this adversity. He knows that all of this is happening for a reason and that even though it’s hard there has been some great beauty brought forth from it.

The way he is handling all of these oppressions reminds me of a sunset.

Even though the sun goes down and loses its heat, it brings beauty to the sky around it. It’s a much prettier sky when the sun is setting than when it is at its highest point. That seems to be the case for my friends as well. Even though this isn’t the highest point in his life and he isn’t feeling that “hot”, he is leading a much more beautiful life in Christ.

I hope that the pain you are experiencing in your life will become as beautiful as the setting suns sky. That you will see the positive things in your life each and every day. That you would turn to the Creator of your life for the answers that are missing in your life. That you would never give up on life. That you would allow the people in your life to help you get through whatever it is you are going through.

You are not alone!

Let your pain turn into a beauty that the world can’t ignore.

My Flag is turning WHITE

Lyrics to Surrender Saved My Life :
I have had enough,
buying ashes with my love
I don't need this
I'm pursuing counterfeit
I'm worth so much more
than this
I don't need it
I don't need it

My flag is turning white
I need Your hope tonight
For the first time
Surrender saved my life

When will all this end?
Must I open up again?
I don't need this
Healing hurts a little more, but I'll be stronger than before
Yeah, I need this,
I know I need this

Keep my eyes focused, You are the long run
There's no time for giving up
We'll make it
We'll make it

Surrender Saved My Life [This Beautiful Republic]

I just did one of the hardest things I may have ever had to do. I forgave someone who wronged me. It was eating me up inside. For a couple of years I have thought that I had fully forgiven this person, but when I took a step back I realized I was just saying that I forgave them, in a very weak attempt to make myself believe it, in hopes that some day it would become reality. Today is that day. But I couldnt just tell myself that I forgave this person. I had to tell the person. I had to write them a letter/message/note whatever you would like to call it, and I told them that although they hurt me, I was forgiving them. I couldn't let what this person had done have control over me any longer. I have found freedom through forgivin someone else. I know that this journey may still be rough, but with God as my strength I can make it. I waved my white flag high and proud today to surrender this situation to God.

Is there someone you need to forgive today?

Ephesians 4:32- Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ forgave you.

be blessed. bless someone.
Amanda

so whatcha think?

So how about this for a logo?

Little Things

This last week I've been challenged to help others I wouldn't normally help. I can sense the Spirit pushing me to do this or that, and every time I get that feeling I start to think, "I can't do much for them. There's such a need, but I can't do much for them." I start to feel like I can't do anything for this cause of that cause because I can't completely make their problems go away.

But then these last couple of days I've been challenged to think about the little things. I was challenged to think about how if we all did something small there would be great change in the world. We don't all need to be doing these huge things that take up our whole lives. Think of how much we could effect the world if we all did things in our own community that would bring glory to God. Even if it is just helping out in the nursery at your church or making cookies for an elderly couple that you know.

All God needs is our obedience to make a difference in this world. Are we going to obey God's call to us as believers to be a light to this dark world???

I would suggest you all check out this amazing organization that is bringing everyone together in making a difference in this world. Check them out. They've been such an encouragement in my life and I'm sure you'll be challenged as well.

http://www.i-heart.org/


Just Being Honest,
Joe

Let's change the world.

I'm finding it hard,
hard to take
Mistakes we have made
Ignoring the ones
that we hold dear
Out of selfishness

All these things distract
our eyes and steal our time

Why do we keep fighting, but saying everything's alright?
We all see the same things why can't we stand side by side?
United together, we can change the world

I'm learning to take the smallest steps, and making a way
Can You take anymore?
Can You stand by while our world crashes down?

Be the spark,
forsake your pride,
set things right

Why do we keep fighting, but saying everything's alright?
We all see the same things why can't we stand side by side?
If we have each other, we can change the world

Change The World- This Beautiful Republic

This song says so much. I feel like today, as a day that the world mourns the death of two great american icons, today is a day that gives me even more passion to change the world. The death of Michael Jackson has made me wonder how many celebrities truly know who Jesus is and what he did for them. I am fairly certain that Michael Jackson did not know Jesus, but I can't know for sure, only God knows that. But the thought of a man who revolutionized the music and dance industry and culture completely, spending a Christless eternity just really saddens me. His death makes me wonder, how many people in this country and in this world have put Michael Jackson before Jesus. As I watched the news today I saw Michael Jackson fans gathering outside the hospital where he was pronounced dead, I saw people gathering at his home, I saw people gathering at his childhood home, I saw people who literally worshipped this man. There were people talking about the impact that Michael Jackson had on their lives. It made me wonder what it would be like if we could or even would talk about Jesus on television or the radio like these people were talking about Michael Jackson. On a couple of radio stations the DJs were having a time where they opened up the phone lines for people to call in and tell stories about how Michael Jackson and his music had affected their lives. What if we sent videos to the public tv station or called into the secular radio station to tell them about how Jesus has affected our lives... they wouldn't play it. Our country and our world has our values and morals all backwards. We as the general public or general society worship people who woship things. When that happens, we begin to value the same things that our idols worship. Things like money, pride, power, and appearance.

Can You take anymore?
Can You stand by while our world crashes down?

I don't want to stand by and watch our world fall apart, watch it crash. Our world needs to realize the power given us through Christ. We as Christians need to live Christ out, especially in times like this. I am not saying we need to shove religion down people's throats, I am saying we need to be the body of Christ. When the body comes together and works together we can change the world. Christ is the head to our body and the head holds the brain. When the body works together that means we let Christ decide what we need to do, we just have to listen to what our brain is telling us and go do something about it instead of just listen. We need to live out our faith; we need to love; be honest with people; share life and care for those who are just going through life with no purpose and no direction.

Be the spark,
forsake your pride,
set things right

Let's change the world... what do you think?

Tonight I begin by praying for the family and friends of Michael Jackson. I also pray tonight for the family and friends of Farrah Fawcett.

Good night my friends.
Amanda