Author: This Girl

I am a raised texan who now resides in Alaska wanting to share her thoughts with the world.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness, oh, such a thing we do not deserve. Nor do we give it freely, and yet, we receive it openly, shamelessly, as if we are without fault ourselves. My Father has shown me two things about forgiveness that I never thought of. I never even considered these thoughts until He showed them to me. May this new perspective bless you the way it has blessed my household, Amen.

1. in forgiving others and ourselves we tend to do so frivolously. Tossing it about like grain to chickens, no emotion, no sincerity. Deciding in our minds that, “This makes me right” “I no longer can have fault in this persons eyes.” Our Father says to do things in sincerity and truth. Do we think He cannot read our hearts? Can He not see our souls? Our Spirit cries out in the smallest place in our minds, and yet we cannot hear. If you were truly sold out to God you would repent fervently in sincerity and truth least your lies find you at night. Forgiveness is a gift, to be released freely upon ones fellow humans the way Christ forgives us. Forgetting our past transgressions as if they never happened. We should forgive so freely that we do not see sin, but a call to intercede in prayer for our brethren, for they did not transgress against you but agains He who made you. They will receive payment for their deeds in God’s time. Be careful brethren, for how you judge ye shall be judged the same. Forgive and forget as the Father has done for you. Bless your enemies with the blessing of forgiveness even before it is requested, for by the blood that was shed have we been forgiven.

2. forgiveness should be received as the start of a new day no matter the time of day. Forgive yourself and move on. Forgiveness amongst God’s children is the understanding that it will no longer be remembered to be used against you at a later date. If it is, forgive them as they did not forgive you in the Spirit but in the flesh. We are all at a different place in our walks with the Father, therefore some of us may trip up more often and more obviously than others. Forgive them in grace and mercy as it is not you they must answer to in the end.

May we learn by trial and error to forgive in the Spirit the way our Father in Heaven desires us to; My prayers are with you my brothers and sisters on your journey with our Father. May the Lord bless you and keep you in these times of trouble, Amen.

Sincerely,

*This Girl*

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Books I Recommend

These are a list of books that my family and I either have studied, continued to study or read as daily devotionals. I highly suggest reading these and I will put links in this page so that you can locate them easily.

“My Utmost for His Highest,” This is a daily devotional that we read. The insight that Oswald Chambers was given to past and present day circumstances is amazing.

He has answered many questions that I have long had standing. He was a preacher who followed God with all of his being. Most if not all of his books are wonderful.

Oswald Chambers lived from 1874-1917. He was married to a wonderful women who gave birth to their daughter. He had hardly any money and taught at a bible college for many years as well as doing mission work in Egypt. His wife put in print all of his teachings.

This book is a collection of his teachings at the college put together in the form of a devotional. You will not regret ready this book as it has been a huge perspective changer for me and my family.

“Maidens of Virtue” This is a book that my mom studied with my sisters and I when I was young. We did a scrapbook page for each chapter. This is a really good book for young women.

In the book it talks about virtues of Godly women. Building character, the right man for you may not be the right man for another women, praying for each other, not being materialistic, reasons to avoid things like romance novels.

These topics are good discussions for any age but they are excellent for mothers to do with their daughters. The lessons are timeless and will be helpful for many years to come.

I highly recommend that women do this study together. You can keep color coded journals, scrapbooks, do crafts for each chapter. Whatever you need to do to make the study fun for everyone!

“Morning By Morning” This is written by Charles Spurgeon, a wonderful preacher. He lived from 1834-1892. Some of you may think because he is an old preacher that his words may not hold any weight but he is a very powerful preacher. He preached with such sincerity. I absolutely enjoy all of the preachings of his that I have listened to.

We read this as part of our daily devotional routine. One of the reasons my family likes him so much is because he used the King James Bible for all of his sermons as far as I know. That is the only bible my family reads as many of the others have been changed in the name of “better understanding” and “easier to read”

“Strength for Service to God and Country” This is a daily devotional book that was originally written for people in service. Well written with good perspectives this one has been very helpful to my family.

This book also has many wonderful perspectives. At some point it talked about the thought that if we had spent more time raising good men we wouldn’t have all the problems in the world that we have. That daily devotion I believe was call “Good men on mules or bad men in planes.” I could be wrong but that is the what I remember it being called.

I will add more books later, let us just start with this as I do not want to overwhelm anyone.

take care brothers and sistersin Christ.

Sincerely,

*This Girl*

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Grow Where You are Planted

Do you remember the term, “The grass is greener on the other side?” It’s kind of funny don’t you think? Why would you think the other side was greener, or even better? Maybe because we were taught to think this?

I was driving through some beautiful scenery when my eyes laid upon the road before me, I chuckled to myself. The road laid straight before me and yet, on either side of the road was very different colored grass on the right than what was on the left. On the right was a brighter more vibrant dark green whereas the left was a much lighter almost tan green.

Now logic would say the grass on the right is better. Any person who knows anything about grass knows that the brightest, darkest green typically means healthy. So why would any one want to go to the left?

I like to think of people like plants, every plant needs something different. Some need more sun, some less water, some need more iron in the soil. So in other words we all need something different. The cactus rose needs the more dry, hot environment. An ivy typically prefers partial sun. The bible says, “Grow where you are planted. For all you know the dry tan grass may be your environment. So be at peace in the Lord and grow where you have been planted.

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Free of Sin?

Yea, shall we ever be free of sin? Is there not a point in Christianity that we sin no more? That we are tempted no more? Nay, I say. For not until our Father descends from the clouds can we say that we are truly free from the influence of sin. It is our ever present persecution to be questioned, taunted, and teased by the world. They wonder why we do not strive for power, riches, and freedom from our Christianly duties. “They are too religious they say.” “They are not like us.” “Why not have some fun, you know you only live once?” Fellow Christians strive for your purity in Christ by letting go of your fleshly desires and giving up to His will. How much more do I have to give up you may ask. Well, this is a question I have been hard pressed in asking myself daily. The answer is, EVERYTHING! You have to let go of it all; Your plans, your career, your desires, your family, your riches, your love, your time. All of it must be released to the heavenly Father in order for Him to guide you in the way He wilt have thee go.

So let go, let God. In the words of Moses…

…Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day:…

Exodus 14:13 KJV

The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

Exodus 14:14 KJV

And in the new testament Jesus says…

…Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me…

Mark 8:34
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Is God the center of your life?

Dear friends,

This is a silent prayer, a request to self examine thyself daily. To ask God this question. “What do you want to do now?” Let Him answer, is it to work on your responses towards other people, your mindset towards someone, your selfish attitude towards what you want instead of what God has for you.

This has been a hard few months for me. The self examination is key to getting closer to God. He cannot fill a cup that is already full. He cannot teach anything to someone who has decided they are fine the way they are. Do not settle for second best. Do not stop at lukewarm. Do not stop being/doing what God has asked of you because of other peoples opinions. We are not to discuss spiritual things with those of the flesh. Do not hold back, follow God when people hurt you, when your friends leave you, when your family shuns you, when humanity turns it’s back on you. For they turned their backs on Him before us. May we band together as brothers and sisters in Christ, may we encourage each other in this time of need; God never said following Him was easy, stay strong and in prayer so that the Father may communicate with you and tell you when it is time to move, Hallelujah, Amen!

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Follow God…

Searching, waiting, looking for what the Father has for us through our own fleshly lens is never a good thing. “God has a plan for you.” This is something every christian has heard at least once in his or her lifetime. Go left says one thought, no go right says the next thought. Feelings amount to nothing in the spiritual realm. How you feel about anything pertaining to Christ means nothing. And yet we chalk so many things up to a feeling, a gut instinct. When will the children of Christ find their answers through the scope of our father given to us through the spirit he has placed in us? The strength to do the right thing does not come from us but from God, the decrement from the Holy Spirit and the tenacity to carry it out through constant prayer through Jesus Christ. We must fight dressed in the armor of God through the power of the triune God. Prayer and Fasting is the Key to a life with Christ. We should want of nothing other than this, exactly what God has for us. Our joy comes through the Lord, not our accomplishments, not our feelings, not our friends, not our family, and not our things.

The word of God guides us in the way we should go. These scriptures are the start of a long journey for you if you are willing to take it. Be in the word, fast and pray. Demand to not be ignored by God. Restle with him like Jacob did, dance for him like Daniel and do His bidding like Paul. Have faith like Noah, stand steadfast like Job. Look for him like Ruth, have patience and wait for him like Esther. Follow His word, He will make the right decisions, not you. May these scriptures encourage you and set you on a path with God that will never be tame.

14. For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15. And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but not him which died for them, and rose again… 20. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, wait you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity.

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I have the fight of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envied not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seekers not her own, is not easily provoked, thinkers no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faith: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I spake as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

1 Corinthians 13

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Romans 1:16-17

But rise, and stand upon they feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which though haste seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee: Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Acts 26:16-18

Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.

Acts 18:9-10

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Turning the Tables

I used to hide this belief from people. There might be others out there that have done this as well. It is that kind of belief that either makes friends, makes enemies, or makes people think you are crazy. I believe that Satan and Demons exist, not the kind of belief that is “oh well they were around once” No, I believe that they can mess with you in many ways, I believe that they can posses a human and control their actions. I believe that they can wake you up in the middle of the night, I believe that they lead us away from God with the news, books, devices, TV, etc. The media is their most useful tool, and yet God still let us make it all.

I want to tell those of you who agree with me, how to turn the tables on these nightmares, these attacks, the people you see, and the demons. I am not trying to sell you something, and if you do not believe, then it will not work. This is for the people who have already accepted Jesus as their Savior, God as their Father, and the Holy Spirit as the Power of God. This is for the people who need to know how to defend themselves against the whiles of the devil. It is something that most people who believe on Him take for granted. The same way a man who can’t walk wishes he had treasured the times his legs did work. This is healing, it is prayer… it is devotion… it is love… it is a full surrender of your being to the Father.

You must pray as if you have never prayed before. Thank him for everything, including the little things. Beg him for protection, do not go to sleep until you have peace. Even if it keeps you up all night. Wrestle with God, be sincere, be willing to wait for your answers, tell him your troubles, your feelings, your emotions. There is never a worthless sentence in prayer. You will never get to know him if you do not let him deal with every side of you. You have to be vulnerable to his words, sight, understanding, rebuke, and love. Hold nothing back. Let your heart burn and the tears run, scream, yell, sing, do what you must to get it out. But in all things regarding prayer, start on your knees. You must surrender in honesty and sincerity. God cannot take hold of a man who holds onto his character, pride, opinions and so on. Ask him to block your mind off, to turn off the thoughts, to make things repulsive to you or appealing to you. You can literally ask anything of him. So do it, fight the enemy with it, take him down with the help of our Father.

There is something else I must add to this… when you surrender you must give up everything of yourself. What you want in life, how you imagine your life, you have to give up of yourself so much that you no longer love yourself; you love God so much that you allow him to change you into what he wants you to be. This is a really hard thing for one to do. I would know, as this was the reason it took so long for me to come to God of my own free will. I loved myself, I still struggle with this sometimes. Something we should remember when doing this are these words that apply to many things…

Before you heal someone, ask him if he’s willing to give up the things that made him sick.

Hippocrates

You see, you have to be willing to give up the root of the issue, (Self). Paul was writing to one of the churches talking about the foundation of our belief (Jesus Christ). He was talking about the fact that we believe Jesus rose from the grave, that you have to die and be born again as he was, in water and in Spirit. In this chapter “1 Corinthians 15” Paul made these two important points about dying, He said, “I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.” 1 Corinthians 15:31. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:22 Paul is also not the only one who has talked about the flesh needing to die daily and how we are brought to life in Christ. C.S.Lewis said something of a similar nature concerning this…

Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.

C.S Lewis

You cannot rely on God and yourself, light cannot live in darkness. So to do what C.S.Lewis has described, we have to do what Paul has told us. We cannot truly be in a relationship with God if we do not give up ourselves unto death. I pray that God gives you all understanding of this and guides you on the path that you should go. May you all have a blessed weekend, I look forward to talking with you next time.

Sincerely,

*This Girl*

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Chaos

Hello my friends,

I wanted to reflect with you all today on what God said about fear and worrying about tomorrow.

Ye shall not fear them: for the Lord your God he shall fight for you. Deuteronomy 3:22


 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Mathew 6:25-34

There has been a lot of things going on in everyones life lately. Whether it be emotionally, physically, mentally, family related, work related, or even government related. God reminds us that he has a plan for us.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

He has called us for his purpose, he has a plan for our lives. We are not to fear anything, nor are we to wonder what will happen, but to have faith that he is God and that he will take care of every situation.

C.S. Lewis once said, “Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ, and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”

We cannot make it through this life or any other without him. We desperately need him so much that even the man who know nothing searches for something to give him peace. But the only thing that will give you true peace is Christ. Paul mentioned in the bible that he dies daily. He had to sacrifice himself to God’s will daily because our flesh likes to forget that we gave up and gave it to God. It is only human nature for us to turn back to the alter and pick up the burden we had once laid down at the cross.

As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. Proverbs 26:11

That is us. Constantly turning back to our sin. Fear and worry is a sin if not laid before Jesus’s feet in prayer and asking for forgiveness. C.S. Lewis also said, “Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.”

So in this I ask that we all reflect, and stay in prayer. That we may make it through these hard times with Jesus by our side. I pray that God get the glory for my life and all of those who give theirs to Him. Amen

Sincerely,

*This Girl*

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Fake Christianity

I have been struggling with a few things lately. Quiet a wide variety of things, But I must say though, I think the hardest thing that I have been struggling with lately are all of these people who either say they are a christian or say they know/love God. You can tell by their fruits that they don’t really love or even know God.

Wondering which one you are? A christian who truly loves God or one who just says they do. You shouldn’t be questioning yourself, God does not want us to doubt. But if you do wonder which one you are, answer these questions…

What did God do for you today?

He saved you, from what?

He woke you up this morning?

While yes that is a miracle in itself you are not listening to the question. What did God do for YOU today? God woke all of us up today, God saved all of us when his son died on a cross. My Gods testimony is everlasting, he should be such a big part of your life that he did everything for you today, and the day prior and the day after today!

My next question is, how often do you talk to Him?

I do not mean talking to Him while you go about your day, I mean getting down on your knees and talking to the One who created you. Talking to Him should be the highlight of a christians day, we get to speak to our Father, why aren’t we happy about that? If you do not talk to Him, do you read His word? And no, reading it while in church does not count. I do not care if you go to church every time it is open, that is not gonna build your relationship with God, not your one on one relationship. You have to do that. You have to sacrifice your time and your wants to have a relationship with Him.

For those of you who know what God has done for you and yet still won’t close the gap between you and God, shame on you. I see thousands of people almost every day looking for something, that they have no idea what it is that they are looking for. Yet here you are with the answer and you won’t take the leap. Shame, on, you. My heart hurts thinking about the time I wasted not coming to Him, even when I knew the answer. The only thing standing in my way was myself. I was my own worst enemy, and still am.

Brothers and sisters this is an illness in the heart of christians. Just like Paul wrote, “You have forgotten your first Love”. My father once said that a christian who says they are a christian but does nothing in Christ is a poor human trying to get fire insurance from hell! Jesus warns us to not build our houses on sand and yet so many of us do, sometimes we even do it without knowing we are doing it.

If you are not sure where to start ask God. Any question you have, ask God. Plead to God, wrestle with God. He says, “You have not because ye ask not”. Ask of him and he shall give unto thee. He is there for you and always will be. Prayer is our greatest weapon against the enemy, use it! Learn to weild this weapon so that you may become strong against the enemy. Even I am still learning just how great this weapon truly is.

Now there is something you need to understand. No one is perfect, even me. Just like in pilgrims progress, there will be worldly people sent to turn you off your path, just like Worldly Wise Man tried to turn Christian onto a different path; and just like Christian, if you fail, ask for forgiveness, and once you are forgiven, get back up and go at it again. God is merciful and very forgiving. I made a mistake sometime of about a year ago… There was a child who was a client of mine, He said that God would never forgive hime, that he was “too far gone” and “had done to many bad things”. I never had the courage to tell him, (against my admins wishes) that he was never too far gone and that God would understand, and forgive him if he truly wanted it. I regret not saying this to him, I tried but my fear shut my mouth. I still pray that God will send a man better than me. Please, do not fear what men will do unto you, fear what God will do to you. God forgave me for this horrible sin. I still look back on it, sometimes I cry. But I gave that burden to God and now it no longer rests on my shoulders. All it is now is a sad memory and a painful reminder.

Our God is a wonderful God Amen? If he can forgive all of my sins and more, then He is truly worthy to be praised. May the church say amen.

Sincerely,

*This Girl*

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Let God Guide You

What would life be like if we lived in a place with peace, no conflict, harmony, sustained healthy living styles and people who act & think alike.

Would we learn new perspectives or thought processes? Would we hear about different coping strategies & ideas? Would we have convictions over personal beliefs that were built off of physical experience or someone else’s opinion? Would we work together to solve problems or sit around accepting a life with no toil? Would we be able to help a brother in need, or learn by trial and error? Where would the sophisticated grace that comes with years of life spent and ruff long trials go? Would elegance and patience be a virtue anymore? Would our children understand that good things come from hard work? Would love be cherished or resented? In all of our intelligence we would lose understanding because we gain nothing but words of people who claim they are wise. But how can you be wise if you gain no understanding from the powerful attempt at something well worth it.

My friends, God has made everything the way it is for a reason. God has always allowed us to choose what we want in life, even though he knows the best way. We are the ones who continue to be hard headed, stubborn, foolhardy and an all together large scale calamity wrapped in a snowball effect from our series of wrong choices. And yes, while life would be easier to have someone to blame like Adam or Eve for example. That as well would be a foul decision for would we have done any better. Current day people might say “well, God did not give us enough of a description as to what would happen if we ate of this fruit” or “I would never have chosen what Adame and Eve chose, I am much smarter than that.” Clearly, those of you who thought these things are much more superior in your thought process. Sense you are so much higher intellectually then I should be able to naturally assume that you considered the fact that a God like our Father did not owe us an explanation for anything. He chose to even tell us that we should not have eaten it. But like any foolish child we decided to test the boundaries. Trust me, we found the boundary. Not that that discovery stops us from testing it. If only we had learned from our earlier experiences and just did what God asks us to do. But no, we keep taking matters into our own hands thinking they are safer there and will be dealt with justly. I must say, for all of us who have thought this way before we are sorely wrong and will pay for our decisions in life.

All I ask of you all is that you start to consider the outcome of your choices. Make sure you are in complete acceptance of them before you make your decisions in anything. Ask God to guide you daily, he will do so. Only if you are sincere and truly honest in your wishes. Ask him regularly. It will come slowly but surely. I have faith that, sense we do not live in a world as described above, that you have the capability to learn from your mistakes and let God build on the foundation of your life. I pray that you all have peace and happiness in your future happiness with Christ. Amen

*This Girl*

The post photo was taken by a coworker when visiting a glacier in AK.

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