Short rant

   You know what bothers me? When people tell you how not to pray. They say things like "Don't be vague" and "You shouldn't pray for patience or wisdom because of Ephesians 1:3 (Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.) Instead, you should pray that God would help you use the wisdom you have."   Ok, so I know that it's good to be specific in prayer. I mean saying "God, please bless everyone I know and keep them safe, Amen." is not very.... You know what I mean. But at the same time, what if I want to pray for people who have cancer, but I don't know anyone who has it. Should I really make a huge effort to be specific in that case? Or is it ok to simply say "God, please heal those who have cancer, and give them the strength they need."
   And when I am unsure of what to do in a situation, I am going to pray for wisdom! If I feel like I'm going blow up at someone, I am going to ask God for patience.
   Sometimes it's a good idea to try something new like using the ACTS method of prayer (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) every once in a while. But when you are paying more attention to following "rules for prayer" then what you're actually saying to God, there is a problem.
   Sometimes when I pray, I just tell God about my day. I tell him what I enjoyed, and what upset me. Other times I'll beg for something I really want such as healing for my sister, or salvation for a friend. And other times, I'll thank him for some blessings that stood out to me during my day, and pray for some people who come to mind. I don't think any of the ways I pray are wrong, and I don't think it's wrong if someone prays differently. No one but you and God know what goes on between you and God.
   Seriously, if you yourself are being convicted to pray differently, then do so. But when people tell me it's wrong to pray a certain way.... I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut.

~Melody

Honesty

   This past week I have been away at church camp. Pastor Ricky wasn't speaking on honesty, but I kinda learned what honesty is through some events that took place.

1. Without honesty, a game is no fun. You tag someone, and they deny it and run away. Doesn't that just ruin your day? It's your word against theirs, and you know it's not worth it to fight it out. So you try to forget about it, but in your head you are calling them the scum of the earth. ;)

2. If a prank is played on your cabin, it is as good as lying if you don't tell them that you played a prank on them first.

3. Your honest opinion is what come to your mind first. Vocally expressing that opinion is not always the best idea.

~Melody

A wonderful thought.

   I had a huge realization hit me last Sunday. It is kinda sad that it took this long.... So I was sitting on the balcony of my church, day dreaming. (When I should have been listening to the sermon hehe... oops.) I was daydreaming about heaven. I was imagining walking on a path leading down to a lake, surrounded by flowers, with Jesus by my side. I was imagining having a church potluck in heaven (I have no biblical basis for that) and seeing everyone I love at my church, in their glorified bodies. I was imagining seeing my sister, run across a field without a hurt or a pain, with color in her cheeks, and a body that is not just skin and bones. And then it hit me.... Those things are actually going to happen. I WILL see my sister healed. It was such a wonderful thought!

~Melody

Is there harm is staying too shallow or going too deep?

   This is going to sound horrible, but lately I have been bored at youth group. My youth pastor doesn't seem to be excited about what he's teaching. And he has been going rather shallow theology wise. I had a friend come to youth group tonight, and she told me afterward that she didn't like how shallow he was. I was thinking about that, when my other friend pointed out that he used to go a lot deeper when we asked more questions. On the other hand, I feel like he thinks going too shallow is better than going too deep. I personally prefer theology that is hard to comprehend to really shallow stuff that no one can challenge you on. I stopped asking questions when I realized I was asking for the wrong reasons (I wont go into that.) But now that I look back, he went a lot deeper when I asked questions. There were never any awkward silences when he asked a question and no one answered. So I think we really need to take more of an interest in the messages.

~Melody

Build your life around God

   A quote that has been on my mind lately, is one I read in the book "When God Writes Your Love Story" by Eric and Leslie Ludy. She said "Don't build God into your life, build your life around God." I really like that quote because often I find myself reading my bible when a few spare minutes come into my day. Or praying whenever I am walking, or riding my bike, or just sitting around. When really, I should be setting aside time to read my bible and pray, and mold the rest of my day around that. This doesn't mean I shouldn't pray whenever I have a spare moment, or read my bible when I have spare time. But I have been working God into my day, when I should have God be the center of my day, and fit everything around that.

~Melody

Forgiveness

   Last night I made a mistake. A horrible mistake. I allowed myself to get all worked up about something, and ended up almost ruining a friendship with someone I don't know very well. What bothers me the most is that God told me, not to do it. I could feel that it would turn out badly, and for some reason I didn't believe it. Then I wished a thousand times that I hadn't been so stupid.
   I was sorry afterwards, and apologised to this friend, but even though she said she forgave me, she kept pointing out all the ways I did wrong. I kept apologising and she kept saying that she forgave me, then pointing out another way I did her wrong and how much I hurt her. Eventually she told me to stop saying sorry. I told her that I would stop saying sorry when she forgave me. Even though she is a "christian" she had no concept of forgetting being part of forgiving. She kept insisting she had forgiven me, and then bringing it up again. But she was just using empty words.
   Forgiving someone when they have wronged you is really hard. I mean truly forgiving them. Letting go of all resentment in your heart, not seeking revenge, not attempting to make that person feel bad about what they did.... It's hard. But if you do not forgive someone, they are not forgiven. God says "As far as the east is from the west, so far have I removed your sin after I forgave you." God tells us that when he forgives us of something, it is gone. He will never bring it up again and hold it against us. I am so glad, because if he used all the things he has forgiven me for against me, that would be horrible.

~Melody

The Rich Fool

   Today at youth group, my youth pastor was teaching on Luke 12:16-21. He gave some funny examples a little later, such as:

"So lets say that someone, after they die, says to Jesus 'look at all the clothing I have accumulated! I have spent my whole life trying to look my best, and spending all my time and money getting the trendiest styles!' And Jesus will say 'well you may have had that, but that is puny compared to MY closet.'" (at this point we were all laughing and a few of us managed to choke out "just how biblical is this analogy?")

   And then he said something that really hit me. But first I have to explain something. So That day I had been comparing myself to one of my closet friends all day. Basically because she is better than me at everything I excel at. Better at piano, better at dance, and soon to be better at horseback riding. And I was thinking about how I needed to work on getting better at some of my abilities. And so at youth group, My youth pastor said "Our abilities and talents in sports and such, are going to amount nothing when we get to heaven." And as I was thinking about that, I felt the Lord speak to me and say "She may be better than you at playing the piano, but all I really care about if is you praise and glorify me with your music." It doesn't matter how good I am with horses, it is going to mean nothing in heaven. It doesn't matter if I'm an olympian in gymnastics, it is going to mean NOTHING when I get to heaven. If I spent my whole life becoming an olympian, then died, all that time would amount to nothing.

   I was very humbled by that.

~Melody