A Split Second Flash!

Last night I was watching a thunderstorm, with lightning flashing down in fast little electric spurts, and the noise of thunder afterwards, there is nothing like a good thunderstorm!

And as I watched the lighting flash and disappear again, I thought about how opportunity often flashes by in the same split second intervals. Sometimes we only have seconds to act before it disappears!

The opportunity to tell someone about their salvation, the opportunity to tell someone you love them, the opportunity to get down on your knees and pray, and so the list goes on and on!

When I think of opportunity, I often think of our Lord Jesus! He had the opportunity to leave out suffering for us! He could have walked away you know! He is GOD! But the fact that he stayed shows us just how much he really loves us!

Have you experienced a split second passing to do something right?! I know I have! As we learn to watch for them, we can pounce on them when they present themselves! I hope that I will continue to learn to pounce on split second opportunity! Don't pass up a split second flash, lunge for it, and don't let go! Thanks for reading and God Bless!

My random post!

This is going to be my most random post ever, so don't let your jaw drop open too far!

First off, yesterday was wonderful! I got along with my family better than I have in months! I am talking to the Lord more often, and he is blessing me with patience! The ability to be humble isn't there yet, but getting closer! I went to my grandparents and spent a full afternoon clay shooting, which was a blast! And then I went off to work a 5-12:45 shift, which surprisingly, was also great! (even though I had to chug some coffee in order to stay awake) And now I am also a graduate! I have finally crossed the thresh hold of my last year of high school, WOW!

The Lord has revealed so much to me in the past week, and I am so grateful to him for being patient with a stubborn child like myself! I know that through him, I can be made truly beautiful on my inward appearance! But if I am not willing to submit to my Lord, how will I ever progress through his loving guidance?!

I can see now how foolish I have been, and I pray I never go back to that point in my life! You fellow readers are such a blessing to me, and I have learned much through your friendship, as well as through God's word and personal guidance! I pray that you have learned something through me like I have learned through you! I hope you will continue to read, and follow, and comment on my posts, and enjoy my pictures and adventures through my young life! God bless you, and keep reading!

The Peace of God!

For the longest time, I was always stressed and upset, cause nothing would go right, and I was constantly in an argument with someone! I was so tired of life, and responsibility, I just wanted to quit!

But then something wonderful took place! At the beginning of this week, I got down on my knees, and I gave it all to the Lord, my worries, my love, my thoughts, and let him take the wheel of my life!

It was like a great burden being lifted off my back! I was no longer carrying a yoke all by myself! I was walking side by side with the Lord, and he helped me with my burdens! My heart is light and happy, and now I no longer wake up with a headache! I praise God for being so patient with me, for now I have finally given up trying to do things on my own!

I can tell you, now that I have experienced it first hand, there is nothing like knowing that God is fully in control, and you can just relax, and listen to God's word of instruction, and you take on this lighter burden! God knows every thought, every wish, every hardship I go through, and I am eternally grateful, that he cares so much about me! Now, I no longer wonder if I will get married or not, I don't wonder if I'll have enough money for college or not, and I don't fear what lays around the corner, cause God knows, and that's all I need to know! I wanted only to share this joy in my life with you my fellow readers, the Peace of God, is something we all have purposely turned from when we don't let God into our problems! Thank God, that he is patient! Thanks for reading and God bless!

To talk to Him!

I want to talk to HIM,
No matter where I turn,
And at my every whim,
I want so much to learn!

You know you can talk to HIM,
Day and night, just pray!
Don't wait until your heart is full to the brim,
Just talk to him, night and day!

My heart is heavy this day,
Every struggle, an ache in the soul,
And on my knees, I don't know what to say,
But from my heart my words do pour!

You know you can talk to HIM,
Day and night, just pray!
Don't wait until your heart is full to the brim,
Just talk to him, night and day!

In my sorrows, if only I knew,
That as soon as I talk to HIM,
My life is made new!
I with my mouth I will praise HIM!

You know you can talk to HIM,
Day and night, just pray!
Don't wait until your heart is full to the brim,
Just talk to him, night and day!

On my knees I cry,
LORD why did you die?
Die for the soul that at your feet does lie,
Why for me? why did you die?

You know you can talk to HIM,
Day and night, just pray!
Don't wait until your heart is full to the brim,
Just talk to him, night and day!

Now on my knees I understand,
Why my LORD did die,
Not for family, home, or land!
But for my sins, I cannot lie!

You know you can talk to HIM,
Day and night, just pray!
Don't wait until your heart is full to the brim,
Just talk to him, night and day!

O LORD I praise you,
For loving me so much!
You died because you knew,
That without you we would not live much.

You know you can talk to HIM,
Day and night just pray!
Don't wait until your heart is full to the brim,
Just talk to him, night and day!

Praise the LORD, I can talk to the FATHER!
I will fall to my knees most anywhere,
What other people think is not a bother,
I will only think of HIM, and up in heaven I will stare!

By Shotgun Girl

Beautiful Change!

A fresh graduate, a young life about to take wing, and yet so much is wrong in her life. She finds herself on "painful ground." And she doesn't know what to do!
Do you ever find yourself in this kind of rut in your life? I am old enough to leave my home, and go experience the world for the first time, but there are some things that need to be fixed! I don't get along with my siblings, I don't always get along with my mother, and whenever I try to be different in my life, with patience and love, everyone knows which buttons to push to unveil who I truly am, like eating frosting off of a burnt cupcake! I desire to be beautiful on the inside! That my family will love me, even during my struggles to learn to be fully mature in my actions, words, and deeds! I don't want to fear what my friends will find if they go to my family and ask what is Rachel really like?! I want them to hear, I am a woman of God, striving to be a loving, honourable, gospel spreading Christian! But that isn't going to happen without change! How do I change? Every time I try to change, my shallow buried bad habits are unearthed when I am pushed to anger. What can I do?! I want so much to change, to be a truly beautiful person in God's sight, but without him, I am lost!
God is the only one who can bring about beautiful change in a sinner! I am a horrible sinner, and I need God's forgiveness everyday! The only way I can continue, is if I humble myself before God, and give myself to him, like clay that is ready to be formed into a beautiful clay jar by the hands of the potter!
True beauty comes from a humble loving spirit of a person who has God's love! Someone in which God lives and shines through! My desire is to change for the right reasons! Not to make a name for myself, but that so the Lord can look on me, a sinner, and say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant!" I write this to myself, but I pray that you learn something through my experience! Let us all strive for Beautiful Change! God bless and thanks for reading!

I can't find the time!

"I knelt to pray but not for long,
I had too much to do.
I had to hurry and get to work
For bills would soon be due.
So I knelt and said a hurried prayer,
And jumped up off my knees.
My Christian duty was now done
My soul could rest at ease.....
All day long I had no time
To spread a word of cheer
No time to speak of Christ to friends,
They'd laugh at me I'd fear.
No time, no time, too much to do,
That was my constant cry,
No time to give to souls in need
But at last the time, the time to die
I went before the Lord,
I came, I stood with downcast eyes.
For in his hands God! Held a book;
It was the book of life.
God looked into his book and said
'Your name I cannot find
I once was going to write it down...
But never found the time'"

By unknown author

To Speak of Things Eternal!

In this life we are surrounded by duties, jobs, responsibilities, distractions, and entertainment. Sometimes we just can't seem to concentrate on one thing!
As Christians our most important responsibility is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ! But our one excuse is that we can't find time to do it! I just received an email from a friend with this poem in it, and I want to share it. I have posted it separately from this post.
This poem is really convicting, about how when we don't do what needs to be done, so that others might receive eternal life, how would it feel to have that turned against us! True, we don't always have the courage to share our faith; we fear rejection so much, or the laughter of others that we really just want to shut up and be quiet! But Christian, we can't do that!
Its easy to say,"I am a Christian" when your surrounded by Christian friends and family, but what about when your surrounded by unsaved co-workers, friends and family?! You just going to let them perish?! We need to step up Christian, and do our calling, or in the end, when we stand before God, our not having the time to share our faith, will be turn on us, when God "forgets" to put our name in the book of life! So Christian, Speak of things Eternal, and have your name written down in the book of life! God bless and thanks for reading!

Love

Love is that warm feeling round the heart,
Its that decision to always care,
That person you wish never to be apart,
Its that thing that you give, hope and share.

HE has always loved you!
So much HE was willing to die,
HE showed you love anew,
And love at the cross does lie.

Love is the dedication,
The vow you take on your wedding day,
Love is a sweet confrontation,
Between a couple of GOD it will stay!

HE has always loved you!
So much HE was willing to die,
HE showed you love anew,
And love at the cross does lie.

Love is that first child born,
Through love it was conceived,
The love is clearly shown,
As you raise the child to believe.

HE has always loved you!
So much HE was willing to die,
HE showed you love anew,
And love at the cross does lie.

Love between two together,
As they promise to grow old, together forever!
And separate they shall never!
For love has bound them together!

HE has always loved you!
So much HE was willing to die,
HE showed you love anew,
And love at the cross does lie.

Love never dies!
Love never fails!
Cause love does not lie,
But leads you through life's trails.

HE has always loved you!
So much HE was will to die,
HE showed you love anew,
And love at the cross does lie.

Give your love to GOD!
Unconditional is the key,
His love is never odd,
But is the deepest kind of love for me!

I will give my life to HIM!
For HE has done so much for me!
I will not follow my every whim,
But into HIS loving arms I will flee!

By Shotgun Girl

Light in the midst of failure

Well, we have established that I have failed in my responsibilities, so now what?
The biggest temptation when we are having problems with our responsibilities is to stop trying, to just give up! Well, believing that things can't change, and not even trying, is just a recipe for more failure! Yes, I know you don't feel like doing anything, and it just seems pointless to try, but that is where we are wrong!
God is looking down at us, willing us to get up and try again! Cause truly, we can only succeed with God's help! As I try to pick myself up, and reestablish my standing in my responsibility, I have to remember that God is with me, and that with him I will never fail! The Bible tells us that all things work together for good, not that everything is good, but that it will all work together for good!
There is a purpose for everything that happens in life, even though sometimes you won't like what is happening, its doesn't mean it won't lead to something better! You might even be tempted to hate, or blame during your times of failure and struggle, but that is when we need to get down on our knees and beg God to help us be pure, even in our anger.
No one is perfect, and no one knows everything, except Christ! By following Christ's example, we learn patience, love, and we are slow to anger! By striving for Christ, the rest falls into place! All we need to do, is follow him!
So let God's light shine, even in the presence of people who believe your a failure, cause God will never give up on you; so don't give up on the people around you! I pray one day I will be of help instead of being a failure! Thanks for reading and God bless!

Spring time joys

When winter's grip has loosened,
On the earth's cold bare ground,
And the melted snow has lended,
Its water to rain a fresh new sound.

A deep breath you take,
In the smell of life anew,
You walk around the lake,
The water melted you knew.

Green things begin to grow,
The robins return once more,
You smell the flowers that you know,
And you look for whats in store.

A morning dove sings,
The smell of cut grass the wind brings,
This beauty seems to be made for kings,
But of God the creatures sing!

The days grow longer in light
And the nights shorter in dark,
And the crickets chirp with delight,
And on a branch does rest a lark.

These are spring time joys!
For once a year it comes,
Its fun for girls and boys,
This beauty is what the world becomes!

By Shotgun Girl

Failure

Have you ever felt like you can't do anything right? That everything you do just seems to make your situation even worse?
I thought today instead of telling everyone what needs to happen, I'll just tell myself, and you get to listen! Yes, its true that we all feel like failures at some point in time, things just don't seem to stay the way you want them too, and you can't do anything right with anyone, everything we do is gone through with a fine tooth comb, and it just doesn't add up! When am I going to be enough? How will I ever do what is right?!
It wasn't until God opened my eyes last night that I began to understand. There is nothing I can do to make my life better, by myself that is! I am the mess, and God is the organizer! Without the organizer, the mess will never get picked up, it just stays there!
I don't want to be a mess anymore, I want to be someone who can do things right, through Christ who strengthens me! I don't want to be a failure, but a blessing to all! There are times when I look at my friends and want to ask, What do you see in me? I am a mess!!!! I don't get along with my mom, I don't get my house work done when I should, I procrastinate, I fight with my siblings, and I am behind in school! But God is still here with me, why is that? I write this in the hope that one day, I will no longer be a failure, but a success through Christ!
But truly Christian, I never want it to be said that I am an awesome person, when there is so much to work on! I don't deserve praise cause I have not earned it! And I don't want you to think that I am that "perfect person" who knows what to say, and knows what to do all the time! I have only listed a few of my defaults, I could probably make a pretty big list of what is wrong with me.
I love you all so very much! Thank you so much for reading and learning with me in this blog! God bless you!

My Best Friend

What is a friend to me?
Someone who stands by my side,
And gives me comfort in my need,
And without a friend I cannot abide!

A true friend HE is to me,
For do you not know?
HE died for me on Calvary!

A friend will stand by me,
No matter what I may have done,
They are not ashamed to be seen with me,
With a friend I will never be shunned!

A true friend HE is to me,
For do you not know?
HE died for me on Calvary!

A friend will cry with me,
They will never leave me alone,
And they don't care what other people see,
For they are my best friend, their heart has shone!

A true friend HE is to me,
For do you not know?
He died for me on Calvary!

I would die for my friends,
For they have loved a sinner like me,
So no matter what time I spend,
To show a love they will see,
To their needs I will tend,
Because they have loved me!

A true friend HE is to me,
For do you not know?
He died for me on Calvary!
He is my Best Friend!

By,
Shotgun Girl

STOP! DON"T! QUIT IT!

I am sure we are all very familiar with the words used to make us stop doing whatever we are doing. We have heard it all through our childhood and early teen age life! And it only gets better when we become an adult and have kids, now WE are telling them to stop it instead of the other way around!
And there is probably a vast number of reasons why we were told to stop doing what we were doing, whether it was something gross, something dangerous, or something wrong, it just deserved a reprimand some how! I am sure when you were younger you hated being corrected, that you would just sooner be right than wrong.
Well, God speaks to us through our conscience everyday! Sometimes we may try to block out the warning in our minds, but he just seems to get louder with each attempt! STOP! DON"T! QUIT IT!
Every time we want to do something wrong, our mind is just screaming with God's warnings! I have met many people who have put a stone wall around their conscience, and do whatever they want, with no guilt! And your thinking, how could they do that?! The answer is alot of inner turmoil and struggle! Cause even a supposed "bad person" has the feeling that what he is doing is wrong! But they won't ever admit to that! Sometimes, keeping a strong image is more important to people than a clean conscience!
But in my past experience, having a clean conscience feels so much better! Part of my comfort comes from the fact that I am a child of God, and he helps me through everyday life, even through those times when your conscience is screaming, STOP! DON"T! QUIT IT! God doesn't want to see you go where you shouldn't, in fact his heart aches for those who have walled up their conscience!
Christian, don't block your conscience! Your conscience is like the "mother board" of your morals, the difference between right and wrong! And God governs that!
The next time we hear that screaming in our head Christian, we need to run in the opposite direction! God doesn't want us to sin, and until we learn to follow Christ and NOT our sinful desires, we will hear those words, STOP! DON"T! QUIT IT! ringing in our conscience! Thanks for reading and God bless!

Hey look I can speak!

Have you ever thought about how special it is to be able to make a sound that makes sense? The ability to communicate is so special, and we use it every day, and take it for granted that we can speak!
God created the vocal cords so that we could make a noise, to sing and speak, and he made the tongue so we could form words and make them come out clearly. How special it is to sing praise hymns to God! How special it is to speak to God in prayer!
If we just lost the ability to speak, would our life be easier even with everything else? No it would be worse! We wouldn't be able to call for help when we are in trouble, we wouldn't be able to tell someone that we love them! And the parents wouldn't be able to scold the kids!!! At this point some of the younger generation is thinking....hmmm maybe we should try that sometime!
But truly, the ability to speak is a special gift God gave us, as part of being different from the animal race. So the next time you speak to someone, bless them with that voice that God gave you! Everyone needs to know that using speech to cause pain, is the worst way to use it! And just for fun, when you do talk to someone, just randomly say, Hey look I can speak! Cause we really are blessed with the ability of speech! Thanks for reading and God bless!