Butterfly

 

Pity Parties

I have been quite determined to throw myself a pity party lately, and God seems quite determined not to let me.
Every time I attempt to feel sorry for myself, He gives me dose of reality and truth, and it stops me in my tracks.

Let me give you an example of today's "party".

There's been a lot of spiritual warfare going on in the lives of people around me lately, and it seems that God has been using me a lot recently to help fight in other people's battles. Be it through prayer, searching the scriptures, counsel or service.
And honestly, there is nothing better than being used by God. I am extremely thankful for all the opportunities God's presented me with to be an earthen vessel for Him. :)

But all this battle causes a lot of emotional and spiritual exhaustion. I got tired.
So yes, I had the nerve to feel sorry for myself. "I've been doing a lot with serving God! I've worked hard! Don't I deserve a personal pity party?" I told myself.
I was just building myself up to make it seem like I've been doing way more than I actually have, and I was giving myself all the credit, when that belongs to God.

And as soon as I started down that path, you know what the first thing that popped into my head was? "Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." And, "Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you."
My intentional reaction was to be frustrated. I didn't want an answer to my problem, I just wanted to complain and build up my ego.

But I know well enough that it never serves to be frustrated with God when He shows you the truth, and when He gives you what you need instead of what you want.

God wanted me to lay down my pride, humble myself, and put my problems into His hands.


You know, the more you learn and memorize God's word, that more difficult it is to make excuses for your sin, which can be frustrating. But it's also an extremely good thing, because the end of the those things is death. But now we have our fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. (Romans 6:21-22)

Where were you, Jesus?

Have you ever prayed for something and it seemed that nothing was happening, or things just continued to get worse? Or has something bad ever happened, and you wondered where God was?
In John 11:1-44 we hear the story of Lazarus.
Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, were good friends of Jesus.
While Jesus was up beyond Jordan (a good ways away from where they lived in Bethany), Lazarus became very ill. Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus, hoping he'd come and heal Lazarus. But when Jesus received the message He waited two days before He came. By the time Jesus had arrived Lazarus had been dead for four days.
Every one kept saying, "Jesus, if you had been here, my brother would not of died." And "Couldn't this Man who gave sight to the blind, prevented this man from dying?"

But Jesus had a purpose in waiting. When He received the message that Lazarus was sick He said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." -John 11:4
And before He went to Lazarus He said to His disciples, "Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there so that you may believe."
Though Lazarus had been dead four days, Jesus had them roll the stone away from the tomb, and called in a loud voice "Lazarus! Come forth!" And Lazarus came out of the tomb! Jesus raised him from the dead! 

Jesus waited to come to Lazarus for a reason. He could of simply healed Lazarus while he was sick, and prevented him from ever dying. But by waiting and raising Him from the dead, it was undeniable that Jesus had done a miraculous work. Because of it God was glorified and many believed in Jesus. 
If Jesus had simply healed Lazarus it could of been explained away. "Oh, He wasn't as sick as he looked." But you can't explain away somebody being raised from the dead after days.

When our prayers aren't answered the way we expect or want, we sometimes react the same way people reacted to Lazarus's death. "Jesus, where were you? Why didn't you stop this from happening?"
But God's ways are way above our ways, and so much better. We can only see a tiny, little speck of the picture, while God can see the whole thing.
We have to trust God, knowing that He knows what's best.

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God,  to those who are called according to His purpose." -Romans 8:28

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. "For as the heaves are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." -Isaiah 55:8-9

-Allie

Drawing! :)

 

Hi everyone! This is my attempted portrait of Peeta Mellark. A lot of my free time has gone to finishing him, these last few days. 

Anyways, that has absolutely nothing to do with anything, I just wanted to share. :)

God, Above All Else

Hello! :)

This picture is of the apron I just sewed for my two-year-old cousin. Isn't it cute? 

Over the course of this summer I got seven orders for aprons, and today I finished the last one! I went to deliver it, and my costumer had company over who happened to see the purple-butterfly apron, and asked me to make another for her grandaughter. -So I now have an eighth apron to sew. Plus a dress that has to be done by the end of the month, and a felt, children's story Bible that I have to make. This all on top of writing a murder mystery script for my birthday, writing a sermon for my youth group, helping my mom write lessons plans for children's church, starting up school again, and starting drivers-ed soon! 

I'm completely over whelmed with busyness.

But this is the way my entire summer has been (as I've mentioned in previous posts)...and I've learned some important lessons about being busy.

Everytime I make plans or take on another project, it means me sacrificing something else in my day. Sadly, one of the first things to go was my Bible reading and prayer time. And believe me, that makes a big difference in your day.

Ephesians 5:15-17 says, 

"Be very careful then, how you live- not as unswise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."

We're supposed to be very careful of how we're using our time...And not that any of the things that I listed is wrong, but should anything be taking priority over God?

Luke 10:38-42 tells about the story of Mary and Martha:
"As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!'
'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'

Martha, like many of us, was so concerned with all of the busyness of life, that she neglected what is truly important; Jesus.

"But seek first His kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." -Matthew 6:33

So, I encourage all of you to seek God first. All of us go through times of extreme busyness and times of empty sqedules. Be sure that your priorities are straight, and that God is first, above all else.

God bless!
-Allie

Drawings! :)

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted since Easter...It's been a crazy summer. And it will continue to be crazy until the end of August. Even now I don't have a ton of time, so I'll keep this short. I just wanted to share some of my drawings with you. :) Most of these (besides the last one), I made last year.

1. Elvis Presley

One of my first portriates, aside from a picture I tried to do of me and my mom. :)

2. Some cute lion cubs. :D


3. Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the USA.

It was my brother's idea to draw him.

4. (Sneak Peek!) Captian Jack Sparrow...in progress.

Half of his face is finished...I'll post the finished product when it actually is finished. :) 

That's it for today! I'll write again (hopefully) in about a week! :) 
Have a great week,
Allie

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! :)
I love this day. Not just because of the basket full of sugar I get, dressing up in my best clothes and going to church, and then having a big ham dinner after. -All those things are great and tons of fun! But the reason I love Easter is because of why we have Easter...
We've all sinned. There's no denying that. You all can probably think of something wrong you've done this week, today...probably within the last hour! Yeah, you might be considered a good person. At least by the world's standards. But God doesn't go by the world's, He goes by His. And according to His word, there is none who are good. All fall short of the glory of God. And because God is perfect, He's also just. Which means that our sin has to be paid for. It can't go unpunished. And the punishment is eternal death.
So...we all deserve death.
Sounds pretty depressing, right? We're sinners and we deserve to die.
Well, now's where the good news comes in! The Gosple! :)
See, God is also a loving and merciful God. And He loves us so much, He came and took our place.
Jesus, completely pure and innocent, died the death of a criminal on the cross for us. He took our punishment, paid the price for our sins, so we can be free from our sin! Debt paid in full.
Seriously, just think on how amazing that is. Really think about it.
We've rejected God, scoffed at Him, mocked Him...yet He still loves us? We continually sin against Him, over and over again...done some awful things...yet He still would die for us?
But God's love is unconditional. It's not dependent on anything we do.

So, Jesus had died. But Easter, when He ressurected is what brought it all together. He rose from the dead, He's alive! :D And then He went to heaven and is preparing a place for us.

It's just so incredible. It amazed me everytime I think about it, and I'm totally awestruck.
And yet, there's people who reject this gift. Decide it's not good enough and there sin, with it's temporary false pleasure is better. And then there's people who just don't know. They haven't been told.
That's why we need to be constantly telling people about Him. It's truly a matter between life and death, and it's our jobs to be spreading the Gosple. Nobody but yourself can make the decision to follow God, but we can tell people about Him. God will forgive anybody, if they are truly sorry. All you have to do is ask Him.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. You can message me on SD or post it in a comment below!
Also I would love to hear about what you've done this Easter, and your favorite parts of Easter, so you can comment below for that as well!

God bless everyone, Happy Easter!
-Allie