Finding Me-Jesus's Life

I'm going to look at some of the things in Jesus's life  that can be found in mine. Now Jesus was in the public, talking and healing people, but Luke 5:16 describes that "Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." This is huge for me, because I feel like when I retreat to myself to pray, or just to have quiet time, that I am an outcast. In a world where there are a ton of extroverts, and most everything caters to them, it is just hard to feel different, but what I love about this is that Jesus did it. Jesus could have been healing all the sick, and spreading the good news, but he took time off to go by himself. If Jesus did that when he was alive, then I shouldn't feel ashamed when I do it now. 
Another interesting thing about Jesus life, is that he didn't come to be the hero. He instead came to serve people, and he showed this with his actions. Mark 10:45 says, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." He served his disciples by washing their feet, and he served us by dying on the cross. He lead through his actions. I find this to be amazing, because I'm not always good with words. If I can show Jesus's love by my actions, than I know that I'm serving God. I don't need to have the best language to show people's God's love. Jesus showed it by serving others, and that is what I want to do too.
Now this is only two examples about how Jesus's life can make be reflected in my life. I know that we can all relate to Jesus's life some way, we just need to read the Bible. It may seem irrelevant to the times with all our technology, and advancements, but the fundamentals are the same back then and now. 

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for sending Jesus to die for us and to serve us with his actions. Thank you for giving us the bible so that we may be able to relate to Jesus, and to start to live like him. Help me to take time to go have quiet time by myself, and not feel like a complete outcast. Help me to also serve the world through my actions Lord. Amen.

Finding Me-Ross Lynch

I have many role models, especially from the Christian Music Industry, but Ross Lynch is different. Ross Lynch is from my home state of Colorado. I find that to be very cool, especially because as I was growing up, I thought that Colorado was a talent-less place, that didn't get any respect from the outside. This was also influenced when there were singers who come to Colorado and they show up two hours later to their concert, or they just didn't show. I thought that no one had much respect for the state of Colorado. It was because Ross Lynch was from Colorado that I originally watched Austin and Ally. I was going into my freshman year of high school, and I thought that it would be uncool to still watch Disney Channel. So I wasn't going to getting interested in any new shows, but once I found out that one of the leads was from Colorado, I gave Austin and Ally a chance, and I fell in love with the series. (Now if my parents ground me, they don't ground me from the computer or my phone, they ground me from Austin and Ally.) This was important to me because it not only showed me that Colorado had talent, but it showed me that if you want it bad enough, then anyone from Colorado can make it big.
Now I am not looking to get in the acting business, but I would really love to become a great musician, or a really good photographer/ graphic designer. I have already proven that I have the talent, from the solos that I have done during the performances for orchestra. I have also taken third place in state at a photography competition. I have the talent, and I shouldn't let the fact that I was raised in Colorado, become a limitation of me being able to follow my dreams. I mean my parents aren't going to pack up and move to some other state, because they promised my brother and I that they wouldn't make us change schools, until we are done with high school, which I appreciate. But if I work hard enough, than I can get my work out there, and I may not become famous, but I'm okay with that, because I know that if I can change one persons life with my work, than I know that I have done well.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you so much, for allowing me to be born in Colorado, and thank you for someone like Ross Lynch who I can look up to. Lord, please help me not let Colorado become a limitation for me, but help me to know that I can do what ever  you have in mind for me, regardless of these imaginary lines drawn on a page to create states. Thank you for the many talents you have given me, and help me to use them to glorify you Lord. Amen.

Finding Me- Frozen

I am behind the trend of what is popular, but I had recently watched frozen, and like everyone else who watched it, I am in love with it. My favorite character is Elsa, and if you have been reading this series you could guess why. I do find that I have somethings in common with Elsa. (No I don't have power to freeze things so don't ask)
Like younger Elsa, I used to be outgoing and I would love to interact with people. Then something big occurred in our life that changed that. Afterwards, Elsa locked herself in room, and I cut myself off from most of my friends. But the difference here is that Elsa went and hid to protect the people she loved. I went and hid to protect myself from the people who loved me.
Through out the movie of Frozen, the viewer goes on this journey with Elsa as she has to face the fact that the people she was trying to protect was actually hurting them. By cutting herself from Anna, she creates this space between them, and in Anna's attempt to fix it, Elsa actually hurts Anna which is what Elsa was trying not to do. When I cut myself of from the people who are trying to help, I have actually hurt myself. By creating a distance from the people who love me, it is hard to find someone to be there to help me.
Another concept from the movie that I cling to is the one of "conceal, don't feel." Acting like everything is fine, builds up. I have kept so much to myself, and last week I just let it go. I got my math test back, and it wasn't close to the score I wanted, and I failed the test. I broke down in class and I let everything out. I found that when I let people in, they are there to help me. I had people help me with the test corrections, and they did all they could to just cheer me up.
At the end of the movie, it is explained that love can thaw a frozen heart. It was love, that thawed Anna, and it was love that help Elsa thaw the snow that covered the whole kingdom. When I was able to let the love of my close friends back into my heart, I became happier, I had more love to give. Fear has the ability to stop you in your tracks, and it can cause you to turn away from every thing you know. Love, can overtake fear, and it can make things new, and whole, and beautiful again.
To sum this up, I tried to protect myself, from the people who loved me by cutting them off. I let fear enter and rule my life, when instead I should have let love in.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the movie, Frozen, because it was an incredible movie. I pray Lord that I won't let fear be the ruler of my life, but  I would let love in to feel and consume my heart. Thank you for putting such incredible people in my life Lord. Amen

Finding Me-Hamlet

Now if you looked at the list that I laid out Sunday, Hamlet might be the most uninteresting work that I'm going to go over. I wouldn't discredit it yet, because there is actually a lot of amazing detail that was in Hamlet. One of the biggest aspect of Hamlet, was this idea of action verse thinking. Hamlet was a thinker, while his foil*, Laertes, was a man of action. Both of their fathers were murdered, and back in the 1600's it was honorable to kill the man who killed your father. (We no longer do that in modern society.) Laertes immediately went to go kill the man who killed his father, as soon as he found out about his death. Hamlet on the other hand was told to go avenge his fathers death, but instead of taking action, he thought about it. Out of these two characters, I am most like Hamlet. I may be told to do something, but I will probably do more thinking on the topic, then actually doing what I was told. This is a big problem when it comes to sharing the gospel because, I think about everything that could go right and wrong, and I eventually talk myself out of doing anything. At the end of Hamlet, four people died, and it was partly due to the fact that Hamlet was thinking about ways to avenge his fathers death, and he wasn't actually doing it. Don't get me wrong, thinking is needed, because Laertes was going to kill the king, not knowing that it was Hamlet who accidentally killed him. I need to find a balance, between action and thinking in my life, because right now I'm leaning a lot to the thinking side of life.

*Foil- A character who goes through the same events as the main character, but what he does as a result of the events, is different.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for giving me such a lovely mind that loves to think. I pray Lord that it wouldn't get in the way of taking action, and doing what you are telling me to do. Help me to use my ability to think be glorifying to you Lord. Amen.

Finding Me- Austin and Ally

For the TV show that I will look at, I chose Austin and Ally. Besides the fact that it is my favorite TV show airing right now, I can really relate to the character of Ally Dawson.
One similarity between us, is that we both are smart. In the beginning of the series, Ally is talking about doing homework, or managing all her clubs, especially in the episode, "Kangaroos and Chaos." In my life, I am normally doing homework, or volunteering for a club I am in. As the series progresses, we see Ally become more balanced between her homework and her friends. In the episode, "Zaliens and Cloud Watchers" Austin tries to let Ally experience some of the things he liked, and she had a blast doing something out side of school. We do see Ally still help with the Glee Club and in the newspaper, but there is a balance between that and hanging out with her friends. This year is my senior year, and I am finally figuring out the balance, like Ally has between school, and your social life. I wasn't the person to go to the mall to go shopping, but I tried it with a close friend, and it was fun. Before Homecoming this year, a group of girls and my brother ate dinner together and then we went to the dance, and the whole night was a lot of fun. It is about just finding that balance between school, and social life.
Another thing that we have in common, is that we both have some sort of journal. Ally has her songbook, and I have a journal where I write down all my crazy ideas that I would like to accomplish someday. We both keep what is inside a secret until it is fully ready to be shared. Ally keeps her lyrics in there which then become songs for Austin. I write down my project ideas for digital arts, or some lines to a poem which then I work on to create a final project. It is our way to form our ideas, and shaping them until they become reality.
A similarity between us is that we both have a fear of "performing." While Ally Dawson has stage fright, I have a fear of performing in small groups or one on one. I love being on stage in front of a crowd, but when it comes to interviews, or speaking to a small group of people, I try to find a place to hide. Often in my school's bible study, we break into small groups and we ask questions about what we have learned. I know the answer to most of the questions, but I'm too scared to actually say it out loud. My reasoning, is that in a small group, you are so close to the other people, you can see there disapproving looks. On stage, you have the lights, and that makes it hard to see past the first row, so I can't see if any one is disapproving of what I'm doing and it doesn't effect me.
The big difference between Ally and I, is that she has overcame her fear. She is now singing on stage, and having a blast. I on the other hand am still afraid to talk one on one. I try and I practice, and while I have improved some, there is still along way to go. One of the big reasons that I believe that Ally overcame her stage fright, is that she had good friends by her side, and they encouraged her alone the way. I do have friends, but I don't necessarily communicate to them where my weakness are so they can encourage me. They can all see that I'm not social, but if I don't ask for help, or at least talk to them about it, then they can't help me. I can overcome my fear of talking to people, like Ally over came her stage fright, but I need the support group to help me.

To summarize what I talked about, I am working at being more balanced between school, and my social life. I make great use of a journal to write down my ideas to make them reality. I also see where I need to improve, and how my friends are there to help me along the way. I know that I'm not exactly all, because she is a made up character, but it was good to reflect on her strengths and weakness and see how my strengths and weakness compare, and how to improve on my weaknesses.

Dear Heavenly Father, 
Thank you for the TV series Austin and Ally. Thanks for the journal that I keep, because it really has helped me to keep track of my ideas, and keep track of the process to make them reality. Lord, I pray that you will help me to utilize the friends who you have put in my life, so that I can overcome my fear of talking to people. I can't thank you enough for this series. Amen.

Finding Me-Intro

So I’m am doing something a bit different this week. Instead of posting on just Wednesday and Saturday, I am posting a blog every day of the week. I have a week long series called “Finding Me.” Today is just an intro to this series.

For this series, I’m going to be looking at a TV show, a book, a movie, and a role model. I have chose a specific example to each category. I’m doing this because I can relate to some aspect of each example I picked. As the audience, we tend to like things that we can relate to. The movies that we watch over and over again, there is normally something in there that you can relate to. So this week, I’m going to look at things that I relate to and how they shape who I am. I am then going to close on how my life can relate to Jesus’s life while he was here on earth. I am ending with a conclusion of what I have learned, because I’m learning from this whole experience. I challenge you this week to find thing that you can relate to, and use it to find you you are.

Week Schedule

Sunday-Intro

Monday-Austin and Ally

Tuesday-Hamlet

Wednesday-Frozen

Thursday-Ross Lynch

Friday-Jesus’s Life

Saturday-Conclusion

Dear Heavenly Father,
As I enter this new series, just help me to find out more about myself, and help me to inspire people to dig a little deeper in who they are. Amen.

Difference in Words

I am giving you a warning now, today's post is going to be a English lesson. We were talking one day in our Bible study, and at the end we were given the task of finding the difference between purpose and calling. From what I found, purpose is the reason or motivation of why you are doing something, while calling is a job that you do. They are not interchangeable, and even I have been found guilty of thinking that they are one in the same. If you are Christian then our purpose is to bring glory to God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." That sentence describes our motivation behind everything we do, and it is to bring glory to God. Calling is the job that you do, weather it be a teacher, or an engineer, or the CEO of a company. The members of Casting crowns were called to work at their own churches, but they were also called to form a band and write such amazing songs for people. That is their calling. They do everything that they do to glorify God, and that is their purpose. 
I just want to make you more aware of the difference between these two words, because understanding the difference may help develope other understanding of God and yourself.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Help me to understand the difference in these two words. Help me to serve you in all I do, because that is my purpose. Help me understand what your calling is for me, because it is different for everyone. But knowing that I have my own individualized calling is refreshing to know. Thank you Lord for that. Amen.

P.S. I'm doing a series everyday next week, to give you a heads up.

Standing Firm

Many of us know that as Christians, we are suppose to stand firm in our faith. We shouldn't bend under the weight of what the world has to offer. But we often do compromise our values for what the world has to offer. We lie to our parents on where we are going just so we can go to a party. You might lose your virginity just to keep the boy/girlfriend that you finally got. You may cheat on a test in school just to get the grades you need. It is so easy to fall into the trap of this world, but that isn't what God wants us to do as followers. God doesn't want cowards who aren't going to stand up for him, he wants people who are going to stand with him through thick and thin.

At our small groups were were going over this idea of standing firm and we looked at a couple of stories from the book of Daniel in the Bible. The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is the first one in the book of Daniel. (3:13-30) A brief summary of the story is that the king at this time, Nebuchadnezzer, made a gold statue to be worshiped every time an instrument was played. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, disobeyed this order and they kept on praying and worshiping God. The king found out, and he ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be thrown in the furnace that was heated seven times hotter than before. The second story we talked about was Daniel in the lions den(6:1-28). The summary of Daniel is that Daniel was a high ranking officer to King Darius. Daniel was an honest man, and the king liked Daniel. The other officers didn't like Daniel so much because he was good, so they attacked his faith by telling the king to write a decree that would put anyone in the lions den, if they prayed with in the next thirty days, to anyone but the king. The king agreed, and the decree was made. Daniel didn't change how he prayed and he prayed three times a day, so he was arrested and thrown in the lions den.

The thing is, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and Daniels story didn't end there. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were saved from the furnace by an angel, and they walked out without a single burn. King Nebuchadnezzer saw what happened and made a decree that if anyone had something bad to say about the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, then they were to be cut up into pieces and their houses turned to rubble. In the lions den, and angel kept the mouth of the lion closed so that Daniel wouldn't be eaten, and when King Darius saw this, he made a decree saying that people must fear and have reverence for the God of Daniel.

Here we have two examples of people who were faced with the choice to stand firm to God, or to go with the crowd. The consequence for standing firm was death, but they stood firm and God saved them. Not only did they show that their God is mightier than anything in this world, but it lead to decrees being passed to honor their God. Most the time when we are challenged to stand alone, our lives aren't at stake, but it might be our popularity, or our friends/dates, or whatever you value, but God can give you so much more for standing with Him. You just have to trust that He has a plan for you that is going to glorify him, and not completely destroy you.

Dear Heavenly Father,
I pray that you will stand by me when I face persecution in my life Lord. I also pray that you are close to the people who are facing death becasue of their faith. I pray that you will be with them, and that you give them strenght to face everyday. Let them know that they will be rewarded greatly in heaven for the persecution that they face. Help me to share my faith, and not hide behind the fear of persecution becasue, you want people who will stand for you. THank you Lord for everyday that I live Lord. Amen.

Renew

My brother showed me this video over the summer and it is very well done. It tells the gospel of Jesus Christ, but it does so in a way that makes sense to the modern man in a developed country. If you are a Christian than you know the gospel, but some times in our faith we forget the foundation of what we believe. We fall into a regular routine with God, like go to church on Sunday, pray when I need it, and then just continue with your life. We all need a reminder every once in a while of what we believe to reinvigorate our relationship with God. So I pray that you watch the video and that it helps your relationship with God to be more than a routine that you mindlessly follow.

Falling Plates
http://www.fallingplates.com/

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this day that you have made. I pray that I can break this routine that I have created when it comes to having a relationship with you. I want to be more than someone who is a robot when it comes to having a relationship with you. Help me to grow closer to you, and to break this cycle that I have created. Amen.

Break

I am sorry, but I have had to much going on to write a post for today, I will have a post up for Saturday. Thanks for the understanding.

God is Good

If you have been following my recently, than you know that I have been going through some struggles, especially in math. I wrote a poem last Wednesday about surrendering to God. Well I did surrender everything to God that week, and let me say that it actually works.  Psalms 9:10 says,
"And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you." When you put your trust in God he will never leave you. It is just taking the first step to trust God.
I want to share some of the blessings I have received over the week once I placed my trust in God to show that he is there.
-First, I had a throbbing foot pain that made it really difficult to walk. I prayed that God would heal my foot, and slowly he did heal my foot. Now I can run, skip, and walk with ease.
-Second, my field hockey had a really tough competitor (they have been undefeated for three years) to play, but we tried our hardest to only let six of their goals in, which was better than when we played them in the first game. (It was 13-0) We also spent time together as a team and watch a movie because our season is ending.
-Third, my math grade went up enough so I could watch one episode of Austin and Ally. This made me really excited.
-Lastly, it is homecoming week for me, and I had fun dressing up, going to the pep rally, and the football game with some of my friends. (The dance is tonight.)
These are just some of the great things that happened when I surrendered to God. God is out there and he will take care of you, all you need to do is surrender.

Dear Heavenly Father, 
Thank you for always being with me Lord. I surrender everything to you and I pray that you will use my life for your glory God. I know that you have my best interest at heart Lord, so I give everything I am going through to you God. Amen.

Love to Learn

For this post, I would love to start off by describing a scenario for you. Imagine that you are a famous musician, dancer, actor, or what ever you would like to be. You are playing a sold out arena for millions of your fans. During the show, you make a mistake, and it is very clear that you have messed up. Someone in the audience saw your mistake, and for that you deserve to die. you take a bullet in the chest, and you collapse on the ground. Your most devoted fan jumps on stage, and they try to save your life. The only way for you to survive is for your fan to die for you. So they die and you can now live. You didn't know this fan before hand, so wouldn't it be natural to find out who they are, and who their family were, and how many friends they had. Wouldn't you try to figure out as much as possible about this fan who just saved your life?

Now, this will probably never happen. But this scenario reflects your relationship with God. You are famous in God's eyes. If you have heard the song "He Knows My Name" by Francesca Battistelli, then you have heard how much God adores you, and how you don't need to be famous on Earth, because you already have your number one fan. Another thing is that no matter how much you mess up, God is still going to love you. Romans 5:8 says, "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." We totally mess up every day, but God still died for us. If an artists makes too many mistakes, than they start to lose their fans. But God isn't going anywhere. His love is constant yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and tomorrow." He still loves you no matter how much you mess up. 

Now the questions that I asked earlier need to be answered. most of us would want to learn as much as possible about the fan that sacrificed their life for yours. The thing is that when it comes to our faith, we don't tend to want to find out as much as we can. Sure we can just Facebook the family of the fan to see what they were like. But God gave us his word, the Bible, to learn all we need to know about him. He died on a cross for our sins, so shouldn't we at least read his word. Shouldn't we give him the respect to find out about him, after he willingly died for us. I know that it may not always be exciting, but the more you learn, the more you act like Jesus. 

Dear Heavenly Father, 
I know that it is important to read your word Lord. I just find it hard to find time, or even find interest sometimes to read and learn. Please give me a heart that yearns for your word, because you did die for me and my sins and you are always going to be a fan of me, through the good and the bad. Thank you for being so constant in my life when my life is changing moment for moment. Amen.

Stressed

Let me start of by saying that this wasn't the post that I originally had in mind for today. I had this really good post on how I was going to relate something I learned in my Theory of Knowledge class to our faith. But we all know that life gets in the way and we can't always do what we planned. I am keeping this post short because I have so much else I need to do that is just not getting done. If any of you read my blog last year, than you know that around this time last year I was super stressed out, and so far this year is exactly the same as last year. So I am posting the links to those articles, because you don't always need to write something new, but you might needed to remember that is God was there for you then, he is still here for you now. The verse below is a common verse that we look to in times of stress. I'm not going to write how I interpret the verse, but I want you to interpret it for yourself. Thanks for your patience and I will try to get as much done today, so I write the post I wanted to for Wednesday. 

1 Peter 5:7 says, "Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you."

Posts to go to:

I'm Still Standing Here-8/31

http://thekaitlynshow.blogspot.com/2013/08/im-still-standing-here.html

Tests-10/5

http://thekaitlynshow.blogspot.com/2013/10/tests.html

God's Will-10/9

http://thekaitlynshow.blogspot.com/2013/10/gods-will.html

AHHHH!!!!-10/19

http://thekaitlynshow.blogspot.com/2013/10/ahhhh.html

Peace-10/30

http://thekaitlynshow.blogspot.com/2013/10/peace.html

Stumbling-11/16-MUST READ

http://thekaitlynshow.blogspot.com/2013/11/stumbling.html

Asking-12/28

http://thekaitlynshow.blogspot.com/2013/12/asking.html

Semester Review-1/22-MUST READ

http://thekaitlynshow.blogspot.com/2014/01/semester-review.html

I Surrender-10/1/14-Born from all that is going on this year. MUST READ

http://thekaitlynshow.blogspot.com/2014/10/i-surrender.html

Dear Heavenly Father,

I know how stressed I am. i pray that you will step in to my life so that I may find peace in this storm. I need you right now so please be close to me, and help me every step of the way Lord. I need you right now. Amen.

I Surrender

I wrote this poem during a really stressful time in my life, and it is really good and I hope you enjoy it. If you are going through some stressful time in your life, I pray you find comfort in this poem.

I look up.

Everywhere I look I see

Red.

Weapons surround me.

The opponent,

Stronger than a pack of lions.

Me.

All by myself.

No weapons,

No one to back me up.

But I have to fight,

For I can’t afford to lose.

The opponent knows well my weaknesses.

They bury me in ten feet of homework.

They yell worthless every time I miss a ball on the field.

They whisper that I will never be as good as anyone I look up to.

They stress me out to the point where I make myself sick.

But I can’t give in.

I fight and fight

But for every step forward,

I take ten steps back.

I back up farther and farther,

Until I am in a corner, stuck

But I continue to fight.

The opponent feeds on my fear.

They get stronger while I get weaker.

I am losing everything I have.

But I keep going and going

And going and

Going,

Until

I SURRENDER!

But then everything stops,

I see a hand reach down.

I look at the face of my savior.

“Take my hand” he says.

I take his hand.

We land in a nice clearing.

“What took you so long to surrender?”

“Why didn’t you step in sooner?” I ask

“I would have but you were stuck in your ways.

You were persistent in fighting this battle.

But don’t you know I have already won the war?”

I now feel guilty.

I can’t do this all by myself.

I look up to see him fading.

“Wait what if I need you again?”

He smiles and says,

“For I am always with you.

All you need to do is surrender.”

And with that he was gone,

But I felt him closer than ever.

I surrender.