Is this place bugged?

More encouragement.
I was feeling a bit discouraged the other night, leave it to God to put something in my quiet time to give me some perspective.
Geez, it's like He watches out for me or something!

1Peter 1:10-2:12

"Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.

1 Peter 2
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone," and, "A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."


Ever have a lightbulb moment?

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy.""

In other words, don't be discouraged, focus on Jesus and the grace that is yours! "Be Holy, because I am holy"

It is so easy to be dsitracted and discouraged, but remember:

,"All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever."

When circumstances or people around you are negative it can cause you to loose perspective, "Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God." Not in the things of this world.

And lastly, be careful that you are not the one causing the problem"Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."
Do you let the things that annoy you, deter you from following the Lord's instructions? Do you sit back and critique the efforts of others? Do you wonder why things never seem to go "your way"? If so, WAKE UP! Crave what is good! Love the Lord, love each other! Love as Christ loved you. Be merciful, as Christ is merciful to you. Forgive as Christ forgives you. Be patient as Christ is patient with you. Give as Christ gave for you.

The rest will take care of itself.
"the truth in love"
peace out
Amanda

Y-M-C-A

Yes that's right
I am an official member of the YMCA
I actually have been for about a year and a half, but I never manage to have the time to go. Well, I went yesterday and today- two days in a row, and I am VERY proud of myself.
You may be wondering why I am sharing this on my blog, the short story is I am a friend/support person. I do things better when I have a friend or some type of support to do them with me.
The fact is we all do things better when we have some support.

Some encouragement, today I was reading in Philippians 1:3-11 which says:

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."

Paul is in prison with Timothy and they are writing letters to the church. His encouragement to them is simple, I pray for you knowing God will care for you, bless you and keep you. I wish I could be there, but I know you'll do great because God's grace is with you.

Paul himself is encouraged by encouraging them saying he"pray(s) with joy" He states that God's grace is with him, even though he is in jail.

I'm not sure that I could write such a letter if I was wrongly imprisoned, but I hope that I can encourage others, just as many others have encouraged me.

Goodnight
Amanda