2013

2013

A year to remember. 

Here are some highlights/Memories 

Yes, some are repeats. 

Tremendously thankful. 

Blessed by God. 

Forever His child. 

Merry Christmas everyone. 

Reflect on his goodness to you this year. 

And look forward to the one that's coming. 

"Every good gift is from above"-James. 

{Isaac turns 6)}

{Lia and I took advantage of the Mcd's a few blocks away. There was also good quality conversations involved. Love her <3}

{Found my crazy twin. Love her. she's a keeper}

{See, we really aren't that crazy}

{Alabama Friends. Summit.}

{We thought maybe we could get a few strange looks if we went to walmart}

{We started an Awana. These youth leaders were/are amazing people. We've loved getting to know them, but more their love for Christ, and dedication to the program.}
{We had fun too}

{Even the leaders got to be competitive}

{The Michigan vacation was exactly what we needed. What a wonderful week}

{My uncle takes me shooting. We have lots of fun, and great life conversations. }
{That beautiful gun right there is my future companion. Ohhhh yeah}

{Spent lots of time with grandma this year. We love her very much!}

{Wish we could have done more bible studies with this man- Richard Owen Roberts! He is what I call a modern day prophet. I hope we have many many more meetings. Blessings to him.}

{Gotta add the Philly-Canada vacation. God's provision is incredible.}

{And I drank frappes}
{ALL YEAR}

{It was the best birthday I ever had}

{Met lots of lovely children this year}

{Played soccer with boys. Ohhhhhhh brother}

{Witnessed my first large frappe}
{It was life changing}
{Look how tall}
{Look how creamy}
{Match made in heaven}

{annndddddd i Met a couple more crazies}
{And didn't get the memo that it wasn't the crazy-face picture}
{Not a very good picture of us}
{We tried.}

{We got the best Christmas cookies}
{EVER}

{More crazies}
{Hobbit}
{Morning picture}

IT IS CHRISTMAS. 

{Went to beaches... in the winter}

{                                                

{Annual singing at assisted living. Blessed to be able to have done two this year}

{DONNA IS 20!!!!!!!!!}

{Most important- Spent time with my Lord and Savior. I grew a lot this year. My only hope is grow deeper in his Love till he comes and takes me home}

Have a blessed day and coming new year. 

"Only one life will soon be passed, only whats done for Christ will last"

~Hannah 

{A picture is worth a thousand words}

Spring, Summer and the beginning of fall. My adventures take me so many different places. Sadly, it's taken me so long to blog them. Feeling busy, is just about one of the best feelings ever. The last few months have been extremely busy. I thank God for the blessings he has given me and my family and can't wait to see what the remainder of the year brings. I will tell you this: Guys, Christmas is coming. Enough said.

(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D)

So, the highlights of spring/summer/fall. 

A picture is worth a thousand words.

{SUMMIT, March 2013}

{For Team registration day, they had this Volleyball type game. It was super fun! Each team would try to get all of their members in at the same time}

{Looking Nervous?}
-it was a great experience coming back for the piano competition. I played my classical piano pieces called Repentance, and came out with a gold medal. God is good-

{Practicing for Awana Games}

{Me and JC. You could call us the cheer leaders for bible quizzing, we were very enthusiastic... :D} 

{The GROUP. Summit was an amazing experience. As a team we got 10th place in Awana games (the top 9 got medals). The volleyball team did really well. I was also able to come home with a silver medal for the writing competition. While we had lots of 'wins', the most important blessing and provision from God was the friendships that were made. Everyone welcomed me into the group, and treated me like I was one of them. There is no better feeling then feeling welcomed <3 God's provisions were abundant this year, and I can't wait for next March}

{This may was the end of our Awana year. I'm SO proud of my siblings for what they were able to accomplish this year. With a lot of studying, we were able to finish seven books in one year. To God be the glory}

{Skating! They were brilliant to make those contraptions!}

{Ran the Sunburst 5k. I finished with a time of 27 something, I think, and Lia was like smack dab on 30. It was such a fun day, even though I had to wake up early ;) }

{We moved again this summer. Technically, house #3 in Michigan, #4 since we moved from Illinois. Yup. We move.}

{Notre Dame Summer Band! Every June I look forward to it! I'm blessed to be able to be apart of it every year <3}

{This Summer, we went to Michigan for a vacation, which wasn't really a 'vacation vacation' because we live in Michigan haha, BUT it was a vacation in the sense of  a 'relaxing event'. The Lord knew that our family needed time to rest after such busy summer. And rest we did, on the shores of Michigan, with a big black inner tube. (Or record was 5 people standing all at one for 5 seconds ;) }

{this year we were able to spend some special days at Life Action Family Camp. We were able to attend Revival week, and also use their lake for a change. This was at Sophia's birthday. Thank you Life Action! <3}

{This year our family took a vacation to Canada and Philadelphia. Sadly, I don't have pictures of Canada, because our cellphones didn't work there. But we were at another family camp, who again, were so kind to us. We were able to sing for services. Then on the way back down to Philly, we stopped at Niagara falls. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! Wow, still love that sight. Maybe I'll get a picture up in the future.
Anyways, most of our vacation was spent in Philly. AND O MY was it AMAZING. Uncle Jack and Aunt Sue were a gift from God. They were amazing hosts, and you could really tell God's hand and blessing was upon them. The last time were able to see them seemed so long ago, but we were glad to be reunited. It's pretty special when you meet such great people of Christ.} 

{The Lord provided for us to go see NOAH at the sights and sound theater. ITS WAS SPECTACULAR! Highly Recommended! We saw Joseph last year, and this year it was Noah. Whew. Talk about Christian Broad Way.}

{We were able to sing and attend Church at Uncles Jack's ministry. It's a church program for ex-convicts. We really felt the Lord's presence there. My dad was able to preach the gospel to these men, and it was all together and sobering yet amazing experience} 

{Lia's face describes it all. Ya'll ever heard of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives from Food network? Well this was one of those triple D's and man was it amazing. Hands down best Philly Cheese steak EVER! Highly Recommended, DON'T SKIP it if your in town.}

{Ohhhhhh boy. Well Awana takes up a good deal of summer, huh? Well this year, I was able to Start an Awana Clubs at my church. It was amazing to see the Lord provide opportunity and volunteers. He is SO good. So after a good deal of summer planning, I was ready as a commander to lead the club. We had our first week last week, and it was fantastic. We expected 25 kids and got 40!! As you can imagine it was a crazy night, but it was lots of fun and again, to God be the glory.}

{And Lastly, to close with Soccer. Soccer has been a huge part of my life these last couple months. Our girls season, we only lost ONE game, making it a 20-1 record in the past two years! During that time, I really began to love the sport of soccer, and would practice on my own outside of the season. This Summer, I went with my bestie to a soccer camp hosted by the Chicago fire, while doing VBS with her too! The things we learned were great! We were able to spend basically the whole week together which was awesome. :) So then, we decided to join the guys team this fall. So, despite what this picture may look like up there, its actually guys soccer even though you see us four girls up there, haha. Our guys season needed a little help this year, so me, Rachel (bestie), Grace (bestie sister), and Emma (soccer girly), all decided to help out. This season, we haven't really been winning...but we've all improved as a team :) We have a tourney this saturday, which I'm really excited about!
We also all play pick up soccer games at Life Action camp every week, and that has been SO awesome too! Such a blessing to have such great friends. I've met so many new people this summer its just crazy, but God provides in all ways. I'm just happy he chose this summer to really bring me close friends <3}


And so that's my catch-up, picture worth a thousand words, long post. <3 Hopefully more to come soon!

"There is nothing I can do that would make God love me more, and nothing I have done that can make him love me less." -JD Greear 
Have an awesome day and remember to do everything for HIS Glory!
~hannah 

[Christ's Glory]- The glory of Christ

  I just started a book called the Glory of Christ yesterday night. It's by a man named John Owens who was a puritan pastor. What I loved about it immediately was that it was very raw kind of style. That's how the puritans were.  Now I'm reading the easy-to-read version and it's still raw, so yay for good translations.
  There are so many different ways that different writers approach preaching the gospel. I find it very interesting. I think as we do read different Christian books we should branch out more and have a variety of authors, who have the same doctrinal beliefs.  Christ can work in us in many different ways and from different angles.

   Anyways, I wanted to share with you some of what I read because it's SO beautiful! And it's on the glory of Christ. Just think for a moment how much you know about the glory of Christ? You know enough, because preachers always talk about Christ and his glory. But what weight have you put in it, for you personal life? Do you often think about the glory of Christ?
   My family used to do West minister Catechism (which we should have continued ;), and the first questions was, "what is man's primary purpose?"
   The answer to this, one that I love is "Man primary purpose is to glorify God and enjoy him forever." Now that's beautiful!
    What does it mean? Just glorify God in our actions only? Enjoy him forever?
  
  Now, back to the book, it said, "The greatest desire that Christ expressed in his prayer [on the cross]  was that his people might be with him to behold his glory. (John 17:24)"
   
   I certainly never thought of it like that. I suppose that I never really thought about it at all. But just take a moment to think, if that is his greatest desire, has he fulfilled that in us? Have we beheld the glory of Christ? Are we searching to behold the glory of Christ?
  
    He is not concerned that his disciples should merely see how glorious he was, but that the beholding of his glory might bring encouragement, strength, satisfactions and blessedness to his disciples.
 
    Think about it.
   I'll just end with that so that perhaps we might ponder what we have heard and really prepare our hearts to behold the glory of Christ.
   ~Hannah

[Missions] -The Gospel.

  I'm sure you've heard a lot about missions and missionaries. I'm pretty sure you can't go to church and not hear about one, one time or the other. I've never thought of myself as someone who would go to the end of the earth and tell Christ to the milllions who don't know him. I'm mean, sure, if God called me there and I felt a leading I would go, right? Well this chapter I'm reading from the Gospel was about urgent missions, and God was able to convict my heart on the subject. This particular story pertains to the fact that there are millions of people who have never heard about God.

Read this story from the Author:

   I heard a story several years ago about a man who was driving his car down an interstate outside of Los Angeles late one evening. A significant earthquake rumbled through the region and so the man pulled his car over on to the side of the road to wait it out. The earthquake was severe but over after a few seconds. So, the man pulled his car back onto the road, took a left onto a bridge and began to cross over. About halfway across the bridge he noticed the taillights of a car in front of him disappear. he stopped his car, got out, and realized a section of the bridge had falled out during the earthquake. The cr in front of him had driven into the chasm, at full speed, plunging nearly 75 feet into the warer below.
    The man turned around, and realized that several more cars were headed toward the break. He began to wave his arms frantically. People driving across the bridge outside of Los Angeles at 3 a.m are not likely to stop for what looks like a crazy person on the side of the road, and so he watched as four cars drove past, plunging to their deaths below.
     He then saw a large bus coming toward the break. He made up his mind that if that bus was going off the bridge, it had to take him with it. So he stood in the path and waved his arms. The bus honked its horn and flashed its lights, but the man would not move. The bus driver got out, saw the danger, and angled the bus so that no more cars could go past.
      What would you have done if you had been that one to discover the break in the bridge? You probably would have done just what that man did--passionately plead for people to stop.
      People in the world who do not know Chrit are headed fora  destruction far worse than that presented by the fallen bridge. Millions more are headed there now.

    I love the comparison here, because its explains it in a way that most of us can understand. Sometimes you just need that clear explanation and than finally there's LIGHT! YOU UNDERSTAND.
    I hope you understand why I shared this story with you. I put myself in that position and for a moment I was there. I mean, what if a family with four kids was going to go over that bridge? What if there were seventeen older people in the bus? I would definitely wave them down in any way I could.
    But lets raise the stakes here. What if I knew that they were not saved, none of them? What if I knew that they were going to meet their maker if I didn't step in front of that bus?
    Friends, I am urging you to consider this! There are millions of people out there who don't know about Jesus Christ and you might even pass them wherever you go. It doesn't all have to be foreign missions. There are a billion people right here, right now, that need Jesus Christ. So I urge you to ask Jesus to show you a way to share him with other people. And at the very least I urge you to pray for those souls! Brothers and Sisters, let us step in front of that gap and share Jesus. What kind of disciples are we if we do not share Jesus with the world?
     Be encouarged, and share Jesus. His name, His glory, His power, His love, His light should be spread for all to see and hear. Let us be a part of that calling today, whether by prayer or action.

   "As you have been to me, so will I be to others." -JD Greear

~Hannah

[Continuing in Faith-Abide in Jesus] -The Gospel

   Have you ever started something and then stopped in the middle? For me the best example would be in school. I'm ahead in my classes, and I think, 'well maybe I'll just do one more'. Then I look at the homework, and how many pages it has, and I think 'well maybe it can wait till tomorrow.' Ever do that? I laugh sometimes, because, hey, doesn't everyone? It just kind of what we do, whether in school, or something else we wait.
   Unfortunately, in faith, this also happens. We don't necessarily wait, but we stop or slow down. Perhaps we're not as enthusiastic. Then guess what happens? We turn around, and oops, we sinned a lot. We notice our behavior has shifted downward, our relationships with people aren't as good, because why? We started waiting, sitting, or whatever you might wish to call it. Once we learn an incredible truth and live it for a couple days, we can't stop there.
   I am very bad at this myself. I tend to get on these really big spiritual flurries and then it slo--o-oows d-o-owwnnn. It's a very bad habit. And then what happens? I feel so empty because I've lost sight of Jesus. I'm driving on a foggy rode, and the light I was following went out. Then I feel afraid, and I'm more prone to sin.
    What should we do? 
     Simply: Abide in Jesus.
  Greear says, "Abiding in Jesus means reminding ourselves constantly that there is nothing we could ever do that would make God love us more, and nothing we have done that can make him love us less."
   I know I've quoted that a million times. If we examine it though, it will wow! us every time. Greear also says, "You must dwell on this great truth daily, sometimes hourly. Sometimes every minute......Why so often? Because again, you are hardwired for works-righteousness. When you're not deliberately thinking gospel, you've probably slipped back into self-justification mode."
   Yes, friends, it's that easy. The moment we take our eyes off the road, what happens? We crash. We crash spiritually every day.
   So I encourage you, fix your relationship with God! No matter who you are, there is always something that is between you and God. Something that takes him away. Whether it's this large black spot in your life, or tiny spects, its worth fixing. Should we not endeavor to fix everything, for the Christ who gave everything? We'll only ever be content in life, when we are abiding in Jesus.
   Again, I encourage you, Abide in Jesus. Keep going! Don't stop here, and say I'm done. Push through and live the life worthy for the King. Only in Him can we do this.

   In Christ, there is nothing I can do that would make you love me more, and nothing I have done that would make you love me less- JD Greear

~Hannah
  

[Transformed by the experience of Jesus]- The Gospel.

  What produces change? I've always wondered that.
  I hear preacher say all the time 'it's all about the change' or 'to be a Christian, you have to change.' CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE! That's all I heard. Every hear that?
   Well, there were lots of ways to change. Pastors say, 'you have to stop drinking' 'you have to come back to church' 'you have to apologize to whomever you hurt' 'you have to stop sinning' 'you have to pray so hard that you don't sleep till you change.'
    Wow, that's really tiring. Oh, wait, when we're tired of Churchy stuff, that means somethings wrong. However not the wrong you might think. All those statements above, well, you should be tired of hearing something. When your tired of hearing something, that means you haven't been getting fed the right information. All those statement are like good food being thrown into the trash. Once you see them in the trash, their immediately tained.
    But wait? Aren't those things semi-good? NOT WITHOUT JESUS. A lot of the time, if you go to church, the pastor will assume that you know he's talking about everything in the context of Jesus right? You'd hope so. But half of the time, we come to them saying, 'hey I'm not a good person now, I pray and everything, WHY do I feel empty?' And then they say you took a misstep. Somewhere on the road you did something wrong. You didn't mean it when you repented, you sinned all week. IT GOES ON AND ON.
     Well, guys, here in this wonderful book I found the answer. You are not changed by the command of Jesus, but by the experience of Jesus. It may seem simple, but look at it. NOW, let's first straigten one thing. 'Experience with Jesus' has to be properly defined. I got to reading an article about the Passion Conference in 2011. I've never been to it, I frankly didn't know it existed, but thats just me. Anyways, I watched this video of Kim Walker-Smith, a woman who spoke there, and the commenter on the page he said, "Kim Walker-Smith claims that she spoke with Jesus, that He cuddled her, and that she saw God the Father. And while she acknowledges that such visions are not regular occurrences, she nevertheless indicates that she’s had multiple encounters with Him.One wonders how many people sitting amongst that large crowd left disappointed that night that they had not “encountered”. <----- THIS IS NOT EXPERIENCING JESUS. I don't know what she encountered but it wasn't The Maker of Heaven and Earth. The two times in the Bible that man encountered God the Father, they were struck down, terrified to speak, and stunned. They were not cuddling with God. Again, as the commenter says, we all walk away wishing we had that experience.
   This is the answer folks, and listen to it carefully. Gospel Change is the Spirit of God using the STORY of God to make the BEAUTY of God come alive in our heart. THIS is experiencing God. The Spriti of God making Jesus' Story SO BEAUTIFUL, that God comes alive in our heart. This is so important. Now it is essential to obey the commands of God, Greear says, but the power of transformation doesn't come from them.
    So I encourage you to experience God BY appreciating his wonderful story and sacrifice. Not by bumping into him on the side of the street. Wouldn't it be so wonderful to have no fear or disstisfaction or pride? Don't you want to feel the true change? Let's pray to God the Father that he would reveal his TRUE grace and mercy, and we will be changed.

[embracing your new identity] -The Gospel

  When we have a change of heart, we begin to become someone else. We become a new identity. We were once villians, and now we are creating a new identity for ourselves in Christ.
   What is our new identity? Who are we? We are Christ's Children whom he approves.
   Preach the gospel to yourself. You must tell youself that because of Jesus you have the absolute approval of the One whose opinion really matters.
   Now, a new identity is not something that just comes naturally. It's like Avatar, having a whole new body to deal with. We are not perfect when we have our new identity. It takes breaking in. That's growing in Christ. It's a process. The Author says, spiritual progress is: "To grow in awareness of the depths of sin God has saved you from is growth in the gospel." When we grow in awareness of the the depths of sin, we are embracing the new identity. We have to stick with it!
   This process is so hard these days. There are trillions of distractions. The world doesn't agree with our change of identity. You are fighting just to keep your head up, and it get's tiring. That's why the Author says that we have to daily feed ourselves the gospel. You see, to all of these emotions--fear, insecurity, false-confidence, despair, worry---we must preach the gospel. The gospel takes care of all our problems, it will help push the distractions away!
 
   So, we simply must abide in Jesus, and we will become our new identity in Christ. I love this: "You must dwell on this great truth daily. Sometimes hourly. Sometimes every minute. It is the only way to drive out fear, unbelief, and temptation. Why so often? Because again, you are hardwired for works-righteousness. When you're not deliberately thinking gospel, you've probably slipped back into self-justification mode.......The moment we take our eyes off of the gospel, those rodents of self-righteousness and self-condemnation spring back up.
    Do you see how easy that is? We just naturally want differently than what we've been given. We need to daily embrace the truth of the gospel. It is hard, but our King wants nothing less. We must try our best to please him.
    How do we stop this temptation?
    We must embrace the truth: God's acceptance is given to us, in its entirety, as a gift we receive by faith, to the praise and glory of God. Make you home in that awareness. As you do, you will aboud in fruitfulness.

    In Christ, there is nothing I can do that would make you love me more, and nothing I have done that makes you love me less- JD Greear.

~Hannah

[Satan's A-game (conviction part 2)] -The Gospel

  So, now we know that there are two kinds of convictions. Maybe we've realized that sometimes we have the wrong convictions. The ones that lead us to despair and sorrow. Or maybe the ones that lead us to pride.
  So how do we distinguish them?

  ....both Satan and the Holy Spirit will point our your sin. But they do so in entirely different ways and for entirely different purposes. I've heard it said like this:

   Satan starts with what you did, and tears down who you are. The Holy Spirit starts with what Christ has declared over you, and helps you rebuild what you did.

   Satan beats us down with our failures. Jesus calls us up into our identity. Jesus starts with the perfect state He has purchased for us by His death and usesd the power of His ressurrection to bring us into conformity with it.

  I know I've been convicted by Satan. Because I have been sorrowful over my failures. What happened right after that? I went to pity myself and despair. I mean what could I do? I'm this dirty rotten filth who every time they are cleaned goes and lays in the mud again. I was focusing on that part. Not the part that I was being continually cleaned and I could learn to become cleaner. Maybe that's what your feeling today. So overwhelmed with your sin and the sin around you, that you despair. But I encourage you, to hope in Christ. Pray in Christ. Live in Christ. You will find peace that will lift every burden no matter how heavy they are. It's a promise to us, if we live in him.
   Another point I wanted to iron out, that really encouraged me, was when he started talking about the differences in speech that we should hear. For example, Satan says, "Look at you. Look at the conditions of your circumstances. Look at how poorly you're living." Ever heard that voice? I have. After the 'poor living' part, I proceed to mentally name all the bad things I did in the past week. How can God love me? The greatest mystery of all.
   And then there was what God said, "You are My beloved child. I am well pleased in you. Now live that way." I cried at that part actually. You know why? Because I have never, in conviction, looked in the mirror and seen God's beloved child. It was so sweet and new to me, just out of this world. Then he says 'I am well pleased with you' ?? I just...I never thought that in my sins and living, God could be pleased with me. I always thought I had to prove something. Like, I'm sinning but look at me, I'm trying. But those words...'I am well pleased with you, my child.' I mean...wow. The God of the universe is pleased with me and my imperfections, and He's still willing to be my Father.
   We should be shaking at the Grace we have received, because its undeserved but it's the one of the most beautiful senses we have. Knowing His Grace.

   In Christ, there is nothing I can do that would make you love me more, and nothing I have done that makes you love me less. -JD Greear

~Hannah

[Satans A-game (conviction part 1)] -The Gospel

 When I think of satan tempting us, I think of him having all these sins and idols at his disposal. Day to day he throws one of the other at us, and we catch them, like dogs playing fetch. Well, in this section of the book, we get to look at this a whole new way. He does tempt us with idols and bad lifestyles, but he has something more subtle that he uses.
  Do you know who loves to push us to evaluate ourselves according to how well we've done? Our enemy, Satan. Satan, believe it or not, loves to convict us of our sins. That;s one of his names--"accuser of our brethren" (Rev. 12:10 nkjv). One of Sata's most effective weapons, I believe is making us forget the identity the Father has declared over us in Christ and basing our sense of approval on how well we've done.
  I didn't expect that coming. Immediately I did a self scan and thought of all the times that I had been convicted and tried to judge which ones were God grace and which one's were satans triumph. I think we all should do a self-scan, because we don't realize what we do. It's like being a major in evolution and you switch over to God's side of science because of something you found. Although you know that God's way is now right, whenever someone mentions something your brain immediately goes to evolution. That's just a small peak at what are brains are actually hard-wired to do. Most likely, we've never even thought of conviction any other way than being about God. But no, Satan can convict. And when he does, it's harsh.
   .....Satan's favorites sins: pride and despair. Pride leads to hardness of heart toward God and hatred of others. Despair leads us to depression, fear, and indulgence in the lusts of the flesh. This is a cycle he loves to have us in. Both start with unbelief of the gospel.
    I encourage you to pray today about what you have heard. Let's examine ourselves for pride and despair. I know I was the guilty party in both of those sins. It's just the way we are. But there is always hope in Christ. Pray today to the Maker of Heaven and Earth. Spend time walking with him. When we do, it will start to produce in us a longing for God, and a seed of belief in what he has done for us.

   In Christ there is nothing I can do that would make you love me more, and nothing I have done that makes you love me less. -JD Greear
 
   ~Hannah

[The Gospel gift]- The Gospel

Chapter 3 starts out like this:

 How does God feel about you, right now? And how do you determine that?

   Well, first of all, let's think about the question. How does God feel about me? Well, I like to think he thinks of me as a poor struggling creature who needs his help, which partially, he probably does. But a lot of times, in general, during the week I measure God's feelings for me by what I do. For example, I feel like we're on an "okay" basis if I got everything done, did a great bible study, helped around the house and generally didn't think anything bad. Of course, there is no perfect day, but when I have a good day I think that it's again, "okay".
    On the other hand, when I have a bad day, when I'm impatient and procrostinating I feel God isn't as happy with me.
    I'm sure we all have a few of those instances, and so did the author. He goes on to say, "If I hadn't done a good job at being a real Christian, I felt pretty distant from God." When I feel distant from God, it's because I know I'm trying to hide something. Or I'm in such a bad mood I don't want to talk to God. That's when I feel distant. I like this example, because it happens to so many of us "When I came to church, I had no desire to life my soul up to God. I was pretty sure He didn't want to see me either. I could feel his displeasure---His lack of approval. That's because I didn't really understnad the gospel. Or, at least I had forgotten it.
    I think many of us feel that way and at least once have gone to church thinking God wasn't happy with us, or we weren't happy with him. I'm guilty. What I do, is I take my brain into this wonderful world with clouds and get this rock solid face on. I ignore my responsibility of worship and just think away the time. You know what? It just leaves me more upset, more angry, and more empty.
   I'm glad I'm not alone it in. NOW I understand that I've misunderstood the gospel. And what do I do at the bottom? Start moving up with the help of Christ.
   It goes on to talk about the gospel. I realized again that moment I was missing acceptance when I read, "When I receive that grace in repentance and faith, full acceptance becomes mine." For so long I haven't understand that I am accepted. I had to write it down, highlight, and read over to be comfortable with the idea. That's where pride and despair had taken me. In the book, he mentions Christ's sacrifice, and the wonderful event of Calvary. He goes on to say, "That means that God could not love me any more than He does rightnow, because God could not love and accept Christ any more than He does, and God sees me as Christ."
    I encourage you to take that in, especially the last part. Because of what Christ did on Calvary, God see's us as Christ. Many of you know this, but have truly accepted it? I didn't at first, but I'm beginning to. It's such a wonderful thing that we can't even comprehend it.
   I'll close with this: "Right now, if you are in Christ, when God looks at you --regardless of your situation--He sees the righteousness of Christ. If we really believed that -- not only with our heads but also with our hearts-- it would change everything in our lives."

   In Christ there is nothing I can do that would make You love me more, and nothing I have done that makes You love me less.-JD Greear

 ~Hannah

[The Gospel Prayer]- The Gospel

   This next part of the series is on what JD Greear has named the Gospel Prayer. I want to note that in the text he clearly explained this is not any kind of incantation that will bring you favor with God, and it also not trying to replace the Lord's Prayer. He says, This prayer is simply a tool to help you train your mind in the patterns of the gospel. The point is not the prayer; the point is thinking in line with the gospel.

    With that said, it's a wonderful prayer. It's really helped me, and what I like about it, is that it's steps. For me, steps are very helpful.
    Now he goes in depth by chapter on these four parts, but I'm mentioning them now for familiarity reasons. Also, it's something great to have even if you hear it 100 times. The first part is something I've been quoting at the bottom of my posts. It's just so beautiful!

     The first two parts lead us inward, helping us to renew our minds in God's acceptance of us and the value of that acceptance to us.
     1. "In Christ, there is nothing I can do that would make You love me more, and nothing I have done that makes You love me less."

     2. "Your presence and approval are all I need for everlasting joy."
 
     Part 3 of the prayers has us consider what responding to the grace of the gospel looks like. Understanding God's generosity toward us should lead us to radical generosity toward others.

   3. "As You have been to me, so I will be to others."

   Part 4 of the prayer helps us see our world through the lens of the gospel and moves us to audaious faith. If the cross really does reveal God's compassion for sinners and the resurrection reveals His power to save them, then our prayers on their behalf should be audacious and bold:
 
   4. "As I pray, I'll measure Your compassion by the cross and Your power by the resurrection."

   Woah. How wonderful. When I first read this, it washed over me. Then I started to think about it, and now I'm still thinking about it. I'm concentrating on the first step right now, because I know that I really have to believe it move on. Believing may seem the easiest, but everyone has seeds of doubt. Until we crush those we cannot move on.
    JD Greear ended the chapter saying, "I've prayed this prayer every day now for the last few years. You know what? It's finally starting to sink in."
    It may take time, it is a process but in the end we will be filled with the joy of Jesus when we have faith in him. I encourage you to read the prayer and access how it applies to you. It really helped me.
 
    In Christ, there is nothing I can do that would make You love me more, and nothing I have done that makes You love me less. -JD Greear

~Hannah
     

    

[why religious change doesn't work-part3] -The Gospel

  JD Greear makes great points here. I really hope you can soak them up. While point 2 really got to me, point 3 makes a good contender along with point one :)

   Why Religious Change doesn't work:
  
   #3. The insecurity of always wondering if we've done enough to be accepted causes resentment of God, not love for Him.

    As martin Luther, the great Reformer, noted about himself, my fear of God's judgement was producing a hatred for Him that was driving my heart father and farther away from Him, even if my actions looked, on the surface, more godly.

  I think every Christian in this world can connect with this one. Again, it's so powerful!
  I think all people in this world wonder, to whatever God they have, if they've 'done enough'. So many search for a purpose in this world. For some it's 'have I done my family name justice' or 'have I done America justice with my actions' and 'have I done enough to be happy with myself.' With Christians a lot of the times its 'have I done enough to make God content or happy'. Theres no shame in admitting that sin. We all have that insecurity. We're all, you could say, exposed that mind set. I love the point he makes. That feeling that makes you resent God. To the human brain we want to say, rather 'we long for God, and we're said we can't get him.' No, we resent God. That's the root of it all. We just resent him for it. We're angry, as silly as it may sound, that we're not in charge of the world, and therefore we don't like whoever is in charge.
  Some may say, 'okay that make sense...now what?' Well, like any other insecurity what do you do? Will sitting in Church overcome your insecurity of God's authority? No. We need to change. How do we change? We beg God to change us, because CHANGE only happens we find ourselves loving and resting in God. That's because True love for God cannot from when we are unsure about His feelings for us. We cannot fully love God if we don't know He loves us. Love came into the world, because he loved us first, AFTER Christ, we loved him back. So we have to KNOW he loves us. It sounds simple, but it's so hard. We cannot fully grasp his love for us, but we can get to a managable level with the help of Christ. I'm telling you, I was bothered with this for a long time. I just didn't understand his love, which was stopping my love for him.
    When our salvation depends upon our righteous behavior, our righteousness will be driven by a desire to elevate ourselves in the eyes of God. This is not love for God; it's self protection.  
    It's hard not to want to elevate yourselves in the eyes of God. I have problems with that too. And it just stings to know that I've been building this massive structure of self-protection. I mean, it's what I've been doing this whole time! Only NOW do I actually understand.
   I'll end with this quote which is so richly beautiful. Really think about it, and really grasp it.
   The gospel reawakens us to the beauty of God and overwhelms us with mercy. Our behavior changes because we change. Until that happens, all religious changes will be superficial. Even if you force yourslef to act right, you heart will be going in the other direction. This is the doctrine of total depravity.
 
   In Christ there is nothing I can do that would make you love me more, and nothing I have done that makes you love me less -JD Greear


~Hannah
   

[why religious change doesn't work-part 2] -The Gospel

  Point two was the point that convicted me the most. For me it was like 'Hallelujah, someone in this world actually knows what I'm feeling.' That's no exaggeration.

Why religious change doesn't work:

 #2. When our acceptance is based on our performance, we exacerbate two root sins in our heart: pride and fear.

   The exposure of our nakedness implanted in us a deep sense of fear. We sensed that we were not acceptable as we were (which is true), so we felt driven to do something to make ourselves more acceptable to God. But whatever we think makes us better than others, we feel proud about, and that leads us to more sin.

   Over reading repentance and The Gospel, I've noticed a lot of sin in my life. Before, honestly, I didn't think I was a very prideful person. I've known people who had major pride issues they've admitted to, and I just never thought, 'Oh I'm prideful.' You know how everyone feels like they have this ONE GREAT sin that needs work on. They're sorry for it, they know they are wrong, they want to change. On the otherside are these little foot sins that just there, and we repent of them occastionaly but they are The One Big Sin. That's how I've thought for a long time. Believe me when I tell you, I never thought my big sin was pride. I still don't like to think that, but I know I'm in self-denial. Pride is a huge sin. And it was there and as the quote said, it just led me to 1 million foot sins. I've tried very hard to get approval and for a sinner I'm pretty good. But I've never been satisfied. All this time I was thinking: What do I do? I mean I'm following the steps. I have to realize my sin, repent and blah blah. But nothing was happening. I just felt worse and worse, because I  realized that it was the approval that I was trying to gain just wasn't coming.
 Of course, on the other hand, when we don't feel like we measure up to others, we despair. I realized then and there that I was in a hole of despair. I had all this sin. That moment it was almost awkward because I was so happy that I figured out that I was in despair. I was focusing so much on my sin, and trying to win back approval, I was missing everything.
   This quote was finished the job: While performance-based acceptance thrusts us into a cycle of pride and despair, acceptance by God's grace produces the exactly opposite fruits. The assurance of God's presence and approval takes away our sense of nakedness and our craving of their approval.
   Eureka! I found it! I finally knew that what I was missing was assurance. It's good to realize sin, but it will KILL you without grace. I didn't know the extent of God assurance of grace. And that was just a wonderful thing.
   So I encourage you, don't let yourself rest in your performance. I promise you, you will despair if you do so. We just need to sit back and bask in grace, because without grace there is no joy to be found. The Lord is a God of Wrath, but his grace is enough to wash that away so that we can have an intimate relationship with him.

   In Christ there is nothing I can do that makes You love me more, and nothing I have done that makes you love me less- JD Greear

  ~Hannah

[why religious change doesn't work- part 1] -The Gospel

    Here is the brunt of chapter one. It comes in three parts, and I figured I'll do them each separately.
    Blue Parts taken from -The Gospel by JD Greear.
   
    Why Religious Change Doesn't Work:

   #1. Religious activites fail to address the "root" idolatries that drive our sin.
         At its root, our sins are driven by the fact that we desire something more than we desire God. Religious change targets the acts of sin without addressing the idolatry that prompted that sin in the first place.

    Let's think about that. First, Idolatry is the root of all of it. NOW: Religious activies. Let's name a few: Church, Youth Group, Seminars, Small Group, Fellowship, Communion, Baptism. These are all religious activies. PLEASE understand, these are no BAD things. These are very good things we are commanded to do. With that said, we can't look at them as ACTS. Your sin nature will want to do that. If you get baptized, that doesn't mean all your idols go away. If you take communion, that doesn't mean your really worshipping, in fact, your mind could be wandering. Going to youth group won't protect you from idols. A week ago I would have said 'Seminars, Church, Youth Group, and fellowship with believers can address the root of your idols.' No. Here what they do: they open up the door for you. If the door is open, does that mean I have to go in it? No. Which leads to this conclusion: Only God can address the root of your idols.
     So, then, what is True Religion? True Religion is when you serve God to get nothing else but more of God.
    This takes a lot of work, and may seem impossible. It still does sometime. We want to want more of God, but sometimes we just don't see how. I mean, if I told you to bite your finger off, you probably couldn't, even if you were facing death. So it is simple: We must strive to want God. It's going to take hard work and pain, but thats what Jesus did for us. Yes, it's easier said than done. REMEMBER: with Christ, all things are possible. He promised us that.

    In Christ there is nothing I can do that make You love me more, and nothing I have done that makes you love me less. -JD Greear

~Hannah

[Functional Saviors]- The Gospel

   Functional Saviors might sound confusing at first. We understand Functional God's kind of immediately. Functional Saviors, on the other hand, is like what? A Functional Savior is a lot like a Functional god. They both take away something and replace it with God. Personally, funtional savior is more discreate. Rather, its harder to notice than a blatant idol thats out there.
   JD Greear starts this section with Adam and Eve. He says, "The first sensation Adam and Eve had after the thrill of eating the forbidden fruit was the sense of their own nakedness..........The early church fathers (guys like Gregory of Nazianzus and Athanasius) explained that prior to their sin Adam and Even had been clothed in the love and acceptance of God........So what did Adam and Eve do about that sense of nakedness?..........They made themselves "coverings of fig leaves" and hid from God. Their clothes mad them feel more acceptable..........We have all been on the same quest ever since. We try to cover the shame of our nakedness by establishing our worthiness in some way."
   Don't you agree? We have been trying to cover our mistakes ever since! WE are using THINGS to make us feel worthy so that people might forget what we really are. Remember, God never forgets, and He is never in the dark. He knows everything. Yet still, as sinners, we tend to think he doesn't so we are okay living normally.
   Here's some quick examples of functional saviors. "....:we're smarter; we got into a certain kind of school; we have a good job and make lots of money; we're a good parent; we're more faithful in our religion than others." These are just precious few that he names. But listen, this goes on naturally in our heads. I think deep down if everyone really looks, there is a sense of this inside them. We just feel such pride in our accomplishments we forget our helplessness. I know I'm in the guilty party. I can recount hundreds of times when I saw someone, I was jealous, and I said 'well I can do this, and they can't' I'm sure we all do that sometimes. But thats just a functional savior that takes the place of our own unworthiness.
   I like the point he made here, "For most of us, life is like one big Survivor episode where we are trying to convince God and everyone else why we are not the ones who should be thrown of the island. The things we use to esablish our worthiness, can be called "functional saviors"."
   As sinners, we want to see ourselves as a success. Functional saviors just add to that. Functional saviors can also be looked at as pride. We never want to be at the bottom. As long as there is someone lower, we're okay.
   With God, we don't need to establish our worthiness. That's what Christ did, and to rob Christ of that glory is a horrible tradgey. We can be worthy WITH Christ. So let us not have functional saviors. Let Christ be our ONLY savior as he truly deserves. When we KNOW that we are worthy before God IN CHRIST we will have a rest from this functional gods and functional saviors.

   In Christ there is nothing I can do that could make you love me more, and nothing I have done that makes you love me less- JD Greear


   ~Hannah

[Functional gods] -The Gospel

   Functional gods aren't normally a term we use for idols, but they are one and the same. Functional gods makes us sound like heathens who worship dolls, rather than just people with idols. STOP! That's it. #1} We are heathens and we worship things that might as well be dolls. { This is not a fun truth to come by. It kind of unsettling if you really thing about it. But really, what do you value? I mean do you value your life? Your life is a good example of an idol, at least for me. I tend to think of what makes me happy, what is the easy route (especially in school), what happens when I die, what I will do tomorrow. THATS life. That can be an easy idol. And whats the difference between life and a doll to God? I mean we are putting both before him. It's like rocks or snakes? Are snakes worse because they are alive? NO. They are both shameful in the eyes of the Maker of Heaven and Earth.
   Another example, "You worship whatever it is you deem most essential for life and happiness." That is taking out life, and bringing someother kind of rock. What do you think is most essential to life? Your RELIGION? Your FAMILY?Your JOB? Your MONEY? These are the common ones, but there are many more. We can't have anything but God be the rock of our life. We have to fully worship him ALL the time. It's easier said then done, I understand. But why not start the process now? Why wait?
    "When something becomes so important to you that it drives your behavior and commands your emotions, you are worshipping it." Whew. Big blow. We generally don't like to say we worship our idols. More like, 'we really enjoy them, in a wrong way and we're changing' kind of ending that with in an upbeat. BUT, obviously we DO WORSHIP idols and we are ashamed of admitting it. I love his point here when he says, "The Hebrew word for 'glory' (kabod) literally means 'weight'." If there was a scale or your life, one side was God, and the other was idols, which one would be heavier? I am horrified to admit, for me it would be idols. My scale would be a no brainer. I'm sure most peoples would. That is something that we are allowed to have sorrow for. I encourage you to look at your 'scale' today and measure it honestly. Do idols weigh more than God? Let us repent today of our wickedness, and our bowing down and worshiping idols. The Repentant People will not be ignored by God.
    AND guess what? HIS GRACE is enough. Amen? Grace plunges the other side of that scale and than we are whole again in Christ. But let's not get grace and than tumble down and than get grace and tumble down. Let us rest in his grace and grow in Him.

    "In Christ, there is nothing I can do that could make You love me more, and nothing I have done that makes you love me less." -JD Greear

~Hannah