Right Now Somebody Needs A Reason To Believe

Lately I have been learning a lot about my non-believer friends from what they tell me. I am glad that they tell me things so I can pray for their salvation, but I think there comes a point where the information they give me about what goes on in their lives completely freaks me out. I love it when the Lord speaks through me to my atheist friends, and when I see God speaking through another Christian. It is awesome! I just think lately I have been filled with a lot of doubt because of a lot of my friends' apathy about the Lord and the bad decisions they make. I feel the Lord has placed a lot more people who hate Him in my life than ever before, and right now I am just really trying to be the example He is calling me to be. I am really trying to fight off this doubt because God can do anything. I know that these people are completely able to love Him, but they are so blind about their choices that they do not see the purpose or self-benefit in doing so.

Too many times I am too focused on myself and my life that I completely forget to pray for the lost, and I want to change that. God wants us to share the good news with everyone and to not let fear or doubt get in the way of doing what we're called to do.

"You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake" 2 Corinthians 4:5

Not Because We Like It

"They take pictures of the mountain climbers at the top of the mountain. They are smiling, ecstatic, triumphant. They don’t take pictures along the way, cause who wants to remember the rest of it? We push ourselves because we have to, not because we like it. The relentless climb, the pain and anguish of taking it to the next level – nobody takes pictures of that, nobody wants to remember, we just want to remember the view from the top, the breathtaking moment at the edge of the world. That’s what keeps us climbing, and it’s worth the pain, that’s the crazy part. It’s worth anything"
-Grey's Anatomy

*Random Updates

-Last Thursday my dad, sister katie, and i went to Wooster, OH, to the Children's Home of Ohio on a missions trip with WRCC. Originally my mom and sister, kelly, were supposed to come too, but kelly had a 24-hour flu.
On all day Friday and Saturday morning the crew worked on cleaning up the ground and adding mulch. The band Sing, Love, Sing! came on Saturday afternoon and the kids loved it!
Sunday morning we cleaned up the place WRCC stayed in, took a group picture outside, and drove home. I had a great weekend and got close to a lot of people :) I wish we would've had more time with the kids at CCHO, but they had a unique schedule that could not be tampered with. We only got to be with them for a little bit. We didn't go to Church on Easter Sunday, which was weird, but all together i have had a great weekend.
-I am waiting for my cousins to come from North Carolina and Delaware.
-I am working this week, which is awesome because i need money for CIY.
-Friday i am going on a trip to Purdue :)

And i feel like SB is almost over because i haven't really been home :( yuck

When I Look at You...

I don't understand how anyone in the world can not see God.
His beauty is revealed in the sun.
His beauty is revealed in the clouds.
His beauty is revealed in the ocean.
His beauty is revealed in flowers.
His beauty is revealed in the sound of a piano.
His beauty is revealed in the strength between lovers.
His beauty is revealed in babies.
His beauty is revealed in all human life.
His beauty is revealed in a sweet little kitten.
His beauty is revealed in a warm night under the stars.

His beauty is everywhere. The people who rely on their own knowledge and
who search for things that only put holes in their hearts don't see it.
They think Christians are stupid because they don't understand.
They are blinded in a world full of beauty by hate.
How sad.

The Friday Night Jive

*

What an amazing turn out! I had a lot of fun and I enjoyed dancing with every body. I wish NHS dances were this much fun.. I guess they have some competition :)
I think that people are turned onto grinding and all that nasty trash because they don't have to use much of their brains. Once you get basic swing down it's not hard. If only everyone would give it a chance..

I really wish I would have taken dance when I was little. I would love to take more dance lessons now. :)

Anyways, I know this is exactly a week late, but thanks to everyone who made FNJ possible. I hope next year we do something at least half as wonderful :)

I'm Awake! I'm Alive! Waking up, Waking up -*Skillet*

This week has been a different one. I've been forced to adjust to being busy every night (Monday-Thursday) with school and church stuff. Maybe forced was a bad word to use ("responsible to attend" is a little bit better of a choice) anyways... it's not that i don't want to be involved in these things.. i have a lot of fun (except in the SAT prep class). I'm just not used to it, i guess. I'm so familiar with having a lot of time to do whatever i want before homework is started or devotions are done. Gosh college will hit me hard.

This week has been tiring, distracting, random, and selfish.
Devotions became a routine. Facebook became a disturbance. Homework became a burden.
Blah, blah, blah.
This always happens to me when there are a lot of wonderful things to look forward to, and I get so excited about them that i forget about focusing on what's most important.

The future has stolen my thoughts wayyyy too much.
Annoying & stessful things like driving, SAT/ACT, college, grades, & money have worried me.
Wonderful & exciting things like the friday night jive, missions trip, purdue visit, prom, & summer vacation have kept me anxious.
Everything in my head is everywhere right now.

The awesome dude who wrote Crazy Love shook me awake a little bit by saying,
"WORRY implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives."
I should probably write that on a post-it note and keep it in my locker or something because i get too wrapped up in STUPID "what ifs" and freak out that i'm going to die young or something.

Then with the great things that have been happening an Ecclesiastes verse came back to me.
"Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions, so their conclusions will be wicked madness; they chatter on and on. No one really knows what is going to happen; no one can predict the future" Ecc 10:13-14

HELLO, Erika, you've been screwing up all week.

So, prayers would be appreciated. I am focusing on feeling joyous/thanksful for God's blessings and calm about God's guidance/decisions about my future. At the same time I'm also trying not to be obsessive over worldly possessions and to spend more God time.
And what a coincidence that My Future Decided by Hillsong came on my playlist as i was typing that. Haha, God is clever.

Now i must go back to reading Crazy Love. I saw the quote about worry and immediately posted a blog. The chapter is yet to be finished. Let's see if the end of the chapter sparks another blog post.

We Were Made To Be Captivating While Being Captivated By Our Creator

Just finished the book Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge.
FEMALES, if you have yet to read it.. hop to it!
it's amazing! <3 it has changed my perspective on Christ
and it's a great read! Now I'm reading Crazy Love and watching
a long 14 minute video with the fun-loving author talking
about happy stuff :)
In English I'm reading Huck Finn and it's a hilarious book.
The End