Why Jesus?

9-21-16

For the longest time, like most, I had wondered why should I believe in a guy who sent his own son to be murdered and lets all sort of other bad things happen. Why when he could so easily just make everything rainbows and unicorns. 'Oh, sweet baby Jesus...Kacie..what are you going on about today?' you ask? well, sit down and lemme tell ya a story!..or two lol.

I had gone and hung out with some new found friends. They explained the 'life cycle', so to speak about salvation. They did so in 3 bubbles that all connected to each other. The first bubble was God. In this bubble was God's perfect plan, with all his creation, rainbows, unicorns, puppies and kitten type things so to speak. Everyone was gunna be happy, have never ending lives, love, all the good things we all wish the world would be. What happened was when God created us, he made us extra special. He gave us the gift of free will. He wanted us to CHOOSE Him. The only real rule back then was not to eat from a specific tree. But do to free will, and the temptation from satan the slime ball, we failed what I considered to be 'the test'. That gave birth the broken, rocky bridge of sin, that leads to bubble number 2, darkness and the suffering of the world. In bubble number 2, we have all the worldly things we all try to do all by ourselves. Sometimes after an extremely hard struggle we succeed, sometimes we fail, sometimes it seems like a never ending battle. Relationships, finances, car issues, lying, drug abuse, etc. Try and try as you might, when it seems like everything is going great, you just get sucked back in again in the same cycle. To break that cycle, There's bubble number 3, Jesus. He came to earth as a man, went through all the trials and tribulations any person would ever go through. He kept his head up, kept his faith, fully relied on God setting the perfect example. Then, later on, He took on all of our sins and buried them with himself on the cross. Rose again, and ascended to heaven to be with God. Jesus became, for lack of better wording, our sympathizer on our behalf so we could still gain access to God and His kingdom, plugging the gap between God and the darkness we created ourselves.

"But why Jesus? Why couldn't he just plug the gap in himself? If we screwed up so bad, why would even care what do?". I asked myself the same thing, and it led me to Hebrews 2:5-18. Those almost exact same questions were asked here. It's our own free will that allows to choose God or not. Over time people kept slowly taking God out of the picture. He had already promised long ago to Noah, that he would never just 'reset' the earth again to make a point of people's sins. Instead, He sent his own Son. Not just as God's son, but as an everyday man, to walk the earth as we do. As a man to fully understand all the temptation, trials, and tribulations we go through, and to set an example and remind us how God wanted us to be originally. Even with all the temptations, knowing death was coming his way, Jesus held fast, kept believing in God the Father. Even with everything going on, he held his temper, unless you really messed up(he plays no games. Especially not with Gods temples), he didn't worry, he was always at peace even among the chaos. With doing that, when Jesus died, he took with him all our guilt and shame, so we still had the chance to change and become sons and daughters of God.

As I like to say, we're not Jesus, we aren't perfect, we will mess up. Sometimes more than we like to admit, and I'm no different than any other tom, dick, or harry. Before I let God in my life, I was always angry, stressed, had more than my fair share of depression issues, and at on point, I would worry myself so much I started having panic attacks about almost anything. After I let God take the reigns in my life, I've been anxiety attack free for almost 4 months, I rarely get depressed if only for maybe a week(and it's been improving more), any worry I had that list is extremely minuscule. I have had prayers answered time and time again, I can't even begin to describe the amount of peace and love I've encountered in such a short time. When I start to feel overwhelmed, now I just take a deep breath, pray for God's help and guidance, and I return back into peace as I watch everything fall perfectly into place reminding me He IS in control and will do anything for His children. Recently, there was a point where I wasn't sure if we were gunna be able to eat and pay all of our bills at the same time. I let it get the best of me. But the day before our bills were due, I took a deep breath and looked back on what God had done for us so far. So I prayed. I woke up the next day fully at peace and found out we got paid a day early. That same day with our grocery budget, I went to the store, and they were having a mega sale. I was able to get almost a whole months worth of groceries and stay slightly UNDER our budget. That extra bit I hadn't used, saved our hides the last 3-4 days before the next pay cycle was coming around. By the skin of our teeth, and I know almost completely loath sandwiches after 3 days straight of them almost, but God took care of us. There were car issues where the mechanics knocked some of the price off just because which made our repair bill affordable, there were a couple other issues where the car just seem to 'magically' fix itself. I've been able to help friends, even strangers. After more carefully reading, I realized the Bible isn't so cut and dry. There are so many layers to dissect and learn from that help with any type of issue you may have to help you stay strong and pull through. And all it took was "Lord, I believe your Son came and died for me, I accept it and I accept you. I need your help. Just show me or tell me what to do and I'll listen". I listened, kept praying, reading, and learning. All you have to do is believe and pray to accept him in your heart and stick to it.

Hello!

sorry for the lack of posts. The past 3 weeks some sort of super virus had swept through my house. We're all feeling insanely better :). I should have a new post up later today or tomorrow morning. As you can imagine i have more decontamination to do and errands that desperately need ran. 

Death of Christ

9-1-16

Yep! It's happening! Not only cuz I was lead to it, but because it wasn't the same story I ever recall hearing. I was lead to read both Matthew and Mark. While similar, there are some slight variations. Different tales, some almost exact, leading up to the death of Christ. But even the story of his death was slightly different. Obviously, people need to go other places. After all, Jesus would send out his followers to other places to help spread the good word and work. I also wanna make mention depending on feelings, IDK bout y'all, but I can get upset to a point where I can miss up to a whole paragraph of words spoken to me, it might have also had a part in the variants. I suppose that this would probably be more along the lines of personal thoughts/wants some q&a time, but honestly, I'm not sure. All I know for a fact is I read  it, wrote it, now I'm sharing with you all.
If you look in the book of Mark, It's the story we've all been told, he was betrayed, was picked for death over Barabbas, beaten to please the crowd, put on the cross and rose again. The only thing I don't recall being mentioned was his trial among the Jewish leaders, they had people lining up to lie about Jesus to find something to kill him for, and how they began the beatings right then and there before sending him to pilate after they found 'evidence' for reason to kill him. They slapped him, punched him, and spit on him after they blindfolded him. saying 'If you're the real Son of God, who hit you' but he just sat there silently.

Matthew, on the other hand, is tells it a little differently. Starting at Matthew 26:57-68, like in Mark, Jesus was brought before the leaders, people told lies. The 'evidence' mentioned earlier were two people (I assume the ones from the temple in John 2:19) told the council ' This man said HE would destroy the temple and rebuild it in 3 days'. Now, in John 2:19, that's not what he said. He said, "destroy the temple and I will rebuild it in 3 days". He didn't say *I* will destroy the temple, also, it goes on there stating he wasn't actually talking about the temple itself, but HIMself, not that they knew that part or cared to understand. But those twisting of words, are part of what 'did him in'. The icing on the cake, so to speak, was when they asked him if he was truly the Son of God. In which, his reply, 'Yes, i tell you, in the future, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God. And the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven'. Here they took it as an insult to God himself and then proceeded to blindfold and beat him.

In Matthew 27:3-5, unlike mark, this chapter states Judas actually felt like a horrible person(which he should feel that way) and tried to give the money back stating 'I sinned. I handed over to you an innocent man'. The priests of the temple refused it, saying, pretty much, they don't accept 'blood money' and that it was his problem to deal with. Judas threw the  money at them, then left, and hung himself.

Little ways down, we get into the part where the people choose a prisoner to free by order of pilate. Matthew 27: 15-25, Pilate, as we all know, pinned Jesus up against Barabbas. A well know, extremely horrible person. Here's the difference here between this book and Mark. In Matthew it says, Pilate's own wife had a dream and warned pilate not to 'mess with that man' for he did nothing wrong(v.19). But the *priests* were telling everyone in the crowd to pick Barabbas to go free. As we know they did, Pilate asked 'why?' only to be answered with 'kill him on the cross'. Pilate then WASHED his hands, and said 'I will not be guilty of this man's death!' and the crowd replied 'we will take responsibility. You can blame us AND our children".

We know the painful yet joyful events thereafter, but here's something in Matthew that wasn't said in Mark. Matthew 27:62-64, that the priests and the Pharisees ordered guards to stand watch over his tomb for 3 full days. They thought the followers would steal Jesus' body and lay claim that Jesus had risen. My thoughts essentially on this is them pretty much saying, 'ok, well after 3 days, if he's still in there then we were in fact right and would no longer have anything to worry about if they made a mistake or not', despite what had happened and was seen as Jesus gave his last breath. We know of course that he had risen after 3 days and went to see his followers and then ascend to heaven. But, over in Matthew 28:11-15, After Jesus had risen, those guards who were guarding the tomb went told the Pharisees that Jesus had in fact risen as he said he would. The Pharisees PAID these guards to keep their mouth shut and to tell everyone that Jesus' body was just stolen, which it seems even now is still believed.

That's all for today, I'm now being called to 'investigate' baptisms. So expect to hear something soon! Thanks for reading and if you have anything to add, any questions, or if there was something else I may have missed please feel free to drop a comment. I would love to talk with you guys :) have blessed day. 

It's Not Easy

8-17-16

Psalms 43:1-5(ERV)
defend me, God. Argue my case against those who don't know you. Protect me from those evil liars. God, you are my place of safety. Why have you turned me away? Why must I suffer this sadness that my enemies have brought me? Send your light and your truth to guide me, to lead me to you holy mountain, to your home. I want to go to God's altar, to the God who makes me so very happy. God, my God I want to play my harp and sing praises to you! Why am i so sad? Why am i so upset? I tell myself, "wait for God's help! You will again have a chance to praise Him, your God, the one who will save you."

No one said following God was easy. Jesus himself, when he first sent out his disciples(Matthew 10:16+), that it would not be easy. But, it also said not to for God is with you. Some days are easy, some days you may feel like you have been battered either by others or even yourself, causing a feeling of spiritual depression. You ask God to defend you, to keep you safe. He does, sometimes at a certain moment, it seems like he doesn't, but later down the road we do. We feel angry, upset, sometimes abandoned. But God is always with us every step we take and even when we stop to try to catch our breath.

It's hard. Especially if it's a loved one you're having a 'battle' with. Even with strangers, it can be almost as equally challenging. Those who don't know God, or those who say they do but twists God's words or just lie, trying to completely destroy your beliefs and faith. Sometimes you don't have an 'answer' and you're left there feeling defeated. The words they say sting like a fresh wound. You seek God for shelter, to feel safe, to have him help you wipe your tears, comfort you. It hurts and it sucks.

At one point or another, you'll even hurt so much as to wonder if God is there or if he really cares, even though you know he is and he does. Losing friends, loss of a loved one, being shunned by others, being asked 'If God really cares, why doesn't he just stop all these bad things from happening?'. We've heard, seen, even asked about God's character at some point in our lives. Sometimes, for those hard questions, we may not have an adequate answer if one at all. We ask God to defend us, to give us the right words to say, and it seems we get no answer, so we feel as if we were either dismissed or just forgotten.

All we want to do is be in God's presence, happy and safe. Sometimes even we do so, it still hurts to a point where you swear you can hear your own spirit cry out in anguish. Even though you can feel God there, you still feel alone.  You ask why you're so upset, only to be met with silence. You keep 'telling yourself, "wait for God's help! You will again have a chance to praise Him, the one who will save you.'". Sometimes even then, you hear another voice crying out, "why can't I reach them? Am I not good enough? Am I doing something wrong?! Why won't you help me?!" and you feel like you just get buried further.

Eventually, the pain and feelings subside. You look back and you see your answer as you stay in God's presence and pray. Maybe you were putting worldly things before God. Maybe you were being a hypocritical Christian instead of a real one. Maybe you needed another growth spurt in your spiritual life before you could manage the task you wanted to accomplish. Just like we do our own children, God waits for us to stop having our tantrum, to finally be still and quiet enough for Him to actually speak to us and to really listen to what he has to say. At this point, we finally catch our breath and feel God lift us up back on our feet. We praise Him even more and we can feel our spirit joining in with us. You no longer get that abnandoned feeling, you feel closer to God than ever and keep walking with your head high. You keep following God's will and when it's time you'll be given the perfect words to reach others. 

Sower's and Seeds

8-8-16

Today's fun-filled word comes from Mark 4:13-20. I know I've heard this passage once in my 26 years, but apparently, it's a common passage to know or be told. It speaks of farmers sowing seeds, how some fell on the path, some in rocky soil, and some in the soil that the seeds are supposed to actually be anyways. The farmers are like our pastors, and the seeds, everyone else spirit wise. As for the terrain, the path would symbolize the people kept away from or discouraged  from receiving God's word. The soil would symbolize the people who get fired up and all 'yea! good sermon! I'm gonna go help spread the gospel!' then something happens to where they don't among other things. The 'tilled' soil, where the seeds are supposed to be naturally, is the best place for the seeds due to easy growth, being able to flourish properly, and produce good fruit.

It's the 'farmers' job to sow the seeds, much like our pastors who are to 'sow' the word of God into the people. Also, like the farmer, when the seed is sown, they hope and pray the 'seed' takes root and will thrive to where it can produce on its own. After the 'seed' has taken root, it's the 'farmers' job to take care of nurture the plant to the best of his/her ability to promote optimal growth and harvest, but again, both a farmer and pastor can only do so much for their 'seedling' and again hopes and prayers for continued growth. As for the 'seeds' that didn't take root, all that can be done is to try and try again as many times as it takes.

As for the 'seeds' growth, like people, the environment is pretty crucial to the process. Which brings us to terrain 1, the path. The path is always trampled on by others, by animals, seeds are eaten by birds. In spiritual terms, these people are always under attack and even the thought of trying to 'sprout' seems to make everything else worse in their life, or they just don't wanna hear about it at all. In this terrain, it's very difficult, most cases it seems almost impossible, to grow here. Neighbors always strung out, parents drunk or gone from home 99% of the day, you try to pray or you get in a church once and you come home and then next thing you know parents are getting divorced, you're neighbor o.d.'d, taken from your family, it's almost like you're living in hell for some people, and for them, for me at least it seems, it's harder for them to accept anything concerning God.

The next terrain is the rocky soil. Here usually you might grow a plant, but it's mostly just 'weeds'(spiritual trouble you having issues facing but try to hang in there) and 9/10 the weeds will eat away the life force of your plant. But here it's a little easier to flourish than the latter, as long as you keep your weeds in check. But, usually, the people who's 'seeds' are in this terrain(which is probably like 90% of everyone) barely hang in there if at all. These sproutlings are all "yes preacher! go head" then when they get home they're promptly reminded about their bank account, fight over something stupid like a tv show, or who's turn it was to clean what, etc., and the weeds grow and they stop focusing on God. They're more concerned with how to get more money, how to just try to take on the world by themselves that they forget the preachings about how God is always there for you and will always find a way to not only provide, but give you more than you already had. This terrain is also what I consider the twice a year people. Rocky terrain means shallow roots, the only way for anything besides weeds to flourish here is to build strong roots(have a church family) and be diligent in your 'weed pulling'.

The last terrain is like the holy grail of soil(you found your church home). When a 'seed' is placed in the proper environment it grows and flourishes by leaps and bounds. The farmer helps you sort through the 'weeds' of life, helps 'fertilize the soil' with God's word and takes great pride watching his 'crops' grow and 'produce their own fruit(going and ministering to others bringing them to church with them). These people learn to thrive and flourish no matter what scenario is thrown their way, holding their heads high, smiling as often as possible, absorbing God's word, and acting on it.

Most cases, especially after a big move to a new city or even a new country, it's hard sometimes to find good soil again. Some, it's easier for others, some not so much. With that said, I just wanna say no matter the environment, it is always possible, even on a 'path' for plants to grow. Plants can grow in the desert. Grass and other plants can crack through concrete if they're hardy enough. All it takes is a good 'root system'. In a place i use to live, i had rocky soil to garden in in real life. I planted a zucchini plant and that thing wanted to live, it *made* its roots strong and pushed rocks aside to go deeper and anchor in, I was honestly shocked it actually grew, let alone give me anything lol. As long as you have the mindset to stay strong no matter what, keeping your faith, believing God will pull everything together, and have a good system you can fully rely on to help you make strong roots, anyone can flourish anywhere. Keep absorbing, keep growing, keep getting stronger in faith, always believe God has your back.

Temptation and Self-Control

7-26-16

     Let's face it. We all have issues. Especially with temptation and self-control. Yes, some people are better at handling it better than others, but at some point, we all muck up. Shopping sprees, buying the newest video games, rescuing too many strays causing financial strains, bawling your eyes out while trying to convince your spouse to let you work a street corner just to keep all of the said furbabies(I HAVE ISSUES OK?! and no I never actually did it), super sales online or in your favorite store, sexual tensions, drinking after being sober, list can go on about thinks we're tempted with. I just wanted to give some general everyday happenstances and a personal bit of temptation.

     This brings me to topic #2. Self-control. With temptation comes exercising self-control.WAY easier said than done in most cases. Shopping when you just had a little one for example. "Aww! this would be so adorable on my baby! Oh, this too! And that, and this..and oooh look at that! How precious!" and then looking at your bank account. From here you have 3 choices: Put some back so you're funding for bills doesn't get cut into, or debating whether or not you can take a hit on a late payment. OR, depending on the price, asking dear old grandma to get it instead, cuz we all blessed to know the spoiling love of a grandparent lol. Or in my case mostly, to just let a stray keep roaming the streets if it seems healthy and not in actual need of help or not. I've come up with all sorts of excuses to try and bring them home. It's hot, it's cold, they look lonely, they need lovin's, I'll find them a new home, I want a new fur baby to add to my collection cuz 3 isn't enough lol, but it's a baby and I don't see the mama around, "I don't care if it bit me and I had to get a tetanus shot I wanna keep it! It can be our guard cat!" LOL(yes, I'm slightly crazy. I know >.>). Debating on eating that cake even though you're on a diet, taking the day off from your exercise regiment or not. Again, lots of scenarios I could go through.

     Apparently, though, especially when someone loses total control to temptation and lands themselves between a rock and hard place; they like to blame to God. "If God didn't want me to have it, it wouldn't have been offered to me", "God knew I couldn't handle the temptation, but he shoved it in my face anyways! look at what he did to me!" blah blah blah. Yea, sounds stupid, doesn't it? "God could have just made me walk away so it's all his fault!". Even before I started my little venture into my bible studies I thought this thought process was stupid. Aside from being told, albeit jokingly, everything was my fault, I was a very firm believer everyone was responsible for their own actions. That person who blamed others for their own predicament is trying to just justify their action somehow and trying to get handouts to fix the problem they themselves caused. James 1: 13-14 says, 'let no one say when tempted 'I was tempted by God', for God cannot be tempted with evil, nor will he tempt anyone. But each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his own desire.' and then in James 4:17, 'so whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.'.  When you feel tempted, 'pray that you may not enter into temptation'(luke 22:40) and that God gives you the strength and self-control you need to overcome it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 "no temptation had overtaken you that is common to man. God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." is a great verse to remember. Yes, we may be allowed to be tempted. It's what will make us become stronger and learn how to better handle any obstacles that come our way, but He will never give us more than we can handle. Sometimes we get bent so much we *feel* like we're fixing to break, but God know's we can handle it, and sometimes it gets that horrible, because we've been ignoring him, and that's the only way he knows for sure he'll get our attention. Pray and have faith. Yes, unfortunately sometimes the outcome is still grim in some cases, but even in our worst moments, if we believe, endure and have faith, you can still give complete glory to God and do his work, and go out with a bang, touching so many other peoples lives in the process. Having also, self-control to handle the situation to best of our ability with God's help.

     We have to have self-control. I know it's hard, I'm no saint either! Self-control, prayer, and faith God will help us overcome temptation, is how we BEAT temptation. Proverbs 25:28, ' a man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls", 2 Timothy 1:7, 'for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control'. Every day, we are tempted somehow. Not by God, but by the devil. "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, know other suffer the same suffering throughout the world. After you suffered a little while, the God of all grace, will himself, restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you", 1 Peter 5:8-10. In the book of Ephesians, chapter 6 starting at verse 10, everyday 'put on the armor of God'. Jesus essentially exiled himself to the desert and kicked the devil like a tin can and every temptation showing his self-control. Yes, yes, we are not Jesus, we can and will mess up from time to time. But because of Jesus going through temptation, he understands our sufferings and mediates to the Father for our forgiveness on our behalf when we ask. Granted if you go 'oops! sorry!' and immediately going back to the same routine and not actually being sorry or trying, he'll pretty much just ignore you til you've truly had enough. But that's another story for another day. Something else that will help is a good support system. So extra 'Jiminy crickets' in a sense. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says 'bad company ruins good morals'. When you have friends constantly leading you down the wrong path, it's time to cut ties. At least for a little bit, unless you have the self-control to overcome their temptations. I have friends of all shades. We very much respect each other boundaries. But when any of us needs help, we're all there for each other be it a simple inquiry on bible verse, a reality check, needing a prayer, a simple 'is this a good idea' inquiry we're all there.

     So yeah, we're all tempted, we all suffer. But, with self-control, God, prayer, faith, anything is possible to overcome. Add in some good friends to help you stay straight, that's icing on the cake. God put's temptations, struggles, people, all sorts of things in your life. Not out of spite, not to make you hurt. To make you grow, become more mature, learn to fully rely on him and remember that " I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"(Philippians 4:13) no matter what wrench the devil throws at you in life.

Stress, Frustration, and Faith

7-22-16

             Good morning my dears! It's been a while. Guess I was in another one of those 'seasons'. What's a season you ask? well, lemme tell ya...It's not fun. This lovely young man, explains it better than I ever could. I seem to cycle through the 'winter' phase frequently as of late. It's extremely stressful and very frustrating. I'm sure it doesn't help that when it starts, I can almost immediately notice it and then, like most women(or it might just be me), start racking my brain thinking I did something wrong. So then I stress out trying to figure it out, I pray, I apologize, I pray some more...and I get no dice. Or at least, it feels that way. I start getting so bent out of shape, that only can I not think straight, I end up closing *myself* off from God. Then I freak about how stupid I was being and the whole slew of other womanly stuff. Maybe it's just me lol. I have no idea. So if anyone else is out there, male or female, and you get like that, please let me know I'm not alone! LOL.

             So what we're going to go over, hence the title and my little rants are stress and frustration and how to handle it. Well, try? It's still a very big work in progress for me which is why I seem to get stuck in 'winter' mode quite often. If anyone knew me or knew a family member that knows me, it was very easy for me to get bent out of shape. Between timetables, having my things in a certain way, my personal space tends to be that of what one would call 'organized chaos', and the rest of my house thanks to the Kon Mari method and my mother, needs to look like it came from a magazine and all sorts of other minuscule things, I would get wound up tighter than a wind-up toy. I believe these are also known as control issues? But I've improved quite a bit I think. I still like my timetables, but it somethings happens that destroys said plan of the day, week, or month, I can now just go '*sigh* ok...' and carry on, adapting to it how I can. Over the course of a few minutes and some dedicating praying, I just go "ok God, So can't do this right now. it's slightly irritating, but I'm done having my little tantrum, here's my deep breath, you pick the right time. I'm not going to dwell on it anymore, not going to fret or fuss. You take it, I wash my hands of this" and I just go on my merry way. I try to do this in all aspects of my life. Frankly, the fact I get so easily wound up irritates me more than anything.

           Well, this past 'season', It was brought to my attention that I was starting to get back into that old stress over stress over stress issue I have by the dear Lord the past 2 weeks. At this point, I was just so wrecked with myself, I finally sat still long enough to breathe and well, be still. I finally heard that little whisper in the back of my mind that I had been wanting to hear again. "Stress" and "tired" is what I could hear. The past two weeks I had been running myself into the ground, barely forcing myself to even stop and sleep. So, I looked up some bible verses on stress, and frustration, and it clicked that I don't need a timetable to get it all done. It's ok to stop and 'smell the roses' so to speak. Matthew 11:28-30. When you start to feel worried, stressed, overburdened, frustrated, tired, Just pray and lay it all at his feet...and leave it there! Philippians 4:6-7, *in my Bob Marley voice* 'don't worry bout a thing, cuz every little thing, is gonna be alright'. Pray, give thanks, don't get anxious or overwhelmed. When you pray, and just let him take the reins, the overwhelming peace you feel it's dumbfounding. It's like the feeling you get after you finished that incredibly hard project you were given to finish in 2 days for class...except like 10x better lol. Luke 21:34, we really should be careful on what 'freaks us out' and 'weighs us down'. In the end, if you let it overwhelm you, it really does feel like you're in a trap. It's not a fun experience.

            When it comes to being frustrated, which I am aware they both go hand in hand, I have found countless verses to try and remember also. While stress is more white rabbit's "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!", frustration is, for me, more like 'crap, there's a test today! ok, I got this' *looks at test and braindumps everything*. You can't think straight, or hardly at all depending on the level you're at. Deep breaths don't even seem to help any as you try to reanalyze the situation. I have 4 verses lined up: Isaiah 41:10, God is with us and will help us overcome our stress, fear, worries, he's always with us. John 16:33, Jesus overtook the world. Not even death itself could stop him. With that kind of father, why should really fret? human nature yea, but with the constant reminder of this, it definitely helps ease the load. 1 Peter 5:7, He cares for us. He WANTS us to lay down our worries, our troubles, our burdens, our happiness, our tear, everything. All He wants for us is to spread His word, show love, humility and have peace. And lastly, Philippians 4:7, the unexplainable peace of God. When you give everything to Him, the peace and security you feel is...well...unexplainable. It's almost like when you were a kid, and you were scared so you ran to be comforted in the arms of a parent..but somehow..it feels more peaceful than that.

           All we have to do is pray and have faith.Undeniable faith.James 1:6, believe with all your heart, other wise, you just get all wishy washy. Mark 11:24, Pray and you shall recieve. Believe it and it WILL be yours.  All it takes is even a little faith, be it, graduating school and going to college, starting a new job, learning how to adult, etc. John 11:40,  believe in God and you will see Him move before you. Matthew 17:20 even with the faith the size of a mustard seed, God will help you move mountains that are set before. The more faith, the more peace, the more you grow closer to God by leaps and bounds. Soon, looking back, what you thought was a mountain, was just a grain of sand compared to the power of God. You learn to just completely trust him, and that no matter what, He will bring you through whatever storm you face, and He'll bring you out of there shining brighter than you could imagine. Mark 10:27, with man, it's impossible. But with God, ALL things are possible. So, If you've been feeling like me, or know someone who's been in this 'rut'. I hope this helps you all some how.  Have a blessed day <3