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

intelligence, Wisdom, and tomfoolery

7-12-16

'Ello, 'Ello ladies and gents. Hope we're all doing well today :) woke up at 6am, i'm on coffee, so I'll do my best to stay on topic as much as possible LOL. We are in proverbs 10:13-14. I read these two lines and then i just kept reading these same two lines over and over again. Why it stuck with me, i have no idea. maybe someone out there needs this, maybe God's going *hinthint* *nudgenudge* and it's just flying over my head. Anyways...hop on to it!

So in the first part, 'Intelligence speaks words of wisdom'. We all have that one friend(that's kinda like that little voice in the back of your head that likes to tag team you). "don't do that", "you know it's dumb idea", "well what if we did it this way instead...", "you might not wanna hear it, but here's my two cents". Next, is 'but fools must be punished to learn their lesson". Again, we all have that one friend! "naw man it's good"*broken appendage*, "how would you know? you ever done it?!"*grounded for a month*, "here! hold my beer! watch this y'all!"*cue sirens*. The intellects, were really good in school. They learned quickly, helped other who needed the help, so long as it wasnt that guy who took their lunch money(is that still a thing now? i've been out of school a while lol). But really, even then, that intelligent person would still help that bully. probably cuz they knew they'd be their boss one day and could pay them back after biding their time...anyways....so yea intelligence. it's a good thing. Be it intel for the FBI, or computer tech, teacher, counselor, etc. You're gunna have to have the intelligence on a subject(s), to be able to give sound, wise advice, to the 'fool' who's off singing, *cyndi lauper voice* "girls, just wanna have fun" or that other one who reminds you of spongebob.

Next verse, "wise people are quiet and learn new things, but fools talk and bring trouble on themselves". Pretty plain and simple. You have your quiet people in class, or work, and then well...then you have those guys. The ones you wanna laugh at but dont cuz you know the boss or teacher will be right around the corner any second. Like this one guy i use to work with. He'd go back in the warehouse, and make a cubby hole in between boxes to take naps in an extremely 'i wouldn't of guessed some one was sleeping in there' fashion. I'd laugh a little, and i was that person, 'dude, you really shouldn't do that. you're gunna get caught one day and get in some real trouble if you dont end up fired'. 'nah, it's good, i wont get caught, now go on newbie before i do get caught' would be his reply, eventually, only looks would hold our routine convo. Back then i was, in fact, new to the job, and i was a huge people pleaser, and i firmly believed 'snitches get stitches'. So i just went about my own work, ignored him, and just watched, Some people might of say i jyinxed him tell him every time, 'you're gunna get busted. I promise it wont be me who says it, but you're gunna get busted. you should probably quit and actually work man". At this time, a few weeks had passed, and i'm just getting more and more agitated with his laziness, cuz we're having to pick up his slack. But i kept my mouth shut, and just kept working. After a while, he did get busted finally. Apparently this is something he did quite frequently, so when he was busted, he got fired. I usually am pretty quiet, i observe, learn quick, and i wont really socialized too terribly much until i know my job well enough to start multi-tasking. When i learn what needs to be known, and do it efficiently, i then start observing people more, and i turn into that intellect we spoke of earlier who would be 'wise' on occasion. "why do it that way? why not this way?", "i dont think that's a good idea. why dont you handle this situation this way instead?" I had a friend, who would do some not so very smart things..like he got taken home in cuffs a couple times. So after the third time, of trying to help him, i just quit..i was still there for him, like a good friend would be, but when he spoke about being in trouble, and how he wont do it again, only to end up doing it again...well..i just kinda sat there. One day it came to, "ok kac, throw me a bone...there's this thing going on, and i really wanna go, but i really dont wanna get in trouble again. help me out here" and i'd answer him. "i'm tired of you being in trouble. so listen up cuz i'm only saying this once. That's a terrible idea, you know d*** well it is! honestly, you shouldn't be asking if it's a good idea, because i know you know!" i'd start, and he'd sulk a bit like a scolded child going "i know, but i'm just not that smart most the time. i just wanna have fun', and i'd reply with something along the lines of "shut your mouth. you are smart. you just ignore the little voice in your head and you do it anyways. If you know or think it's a bad idea, it probably is. which means you shouldnt do it. when you can come to terms with that, and get your head out your behind, you'll understand how much easier life will be. you can be smart about things AND have fun at the same time" and with that i'd give him a hug say "i love ya like brother, i dont like seeing you hurt or in trouble, I've said my peace...the rest is up to you love." and we'd go off to whatever it was we were doing. I took him a few more years and i believe 10 days of jail time for it to finally all sink in.

So, In closing, Intelligence=wisdom, acting/being foolish=rough life. I'm sure you've all seen it. The two friends or  couples who are complete opposites? When i see these funny little couples, even in my own life, i'm like, 'i bet that's how my angel and God feels sometimes'. Where you're being told time and time again, 'that's not a good idea, how bout you do this instead', we ignore it, do our own thing anyways, and then comes the facepalm and the smack on the back of the head with a, 'i told you so'. Sometimes, it takes one time for a foolish person to catch the hint, sometimes it takes longer. Then we have the small percent that knows for a fact, and just does it anyways cuz 'it's the only life i know' and they end up getting themselves permanently in jail or killed. Best thing we can do is just pray about a person or ourselves. Pray for a discerning spirit on how to handle a certain situation, or that a certain individual gets smacked by the spirit, or God, for a wake up call to turn their life around. There's only so much us humans can do for another. The rest would be up the Holy Spirit and God himself. Have a blessed day y'all :)

Lying, Honesty, and Integrity

7-2-16

Time and time again, you'll here me say, 'we're not Jesus' and/or 'we're human'. This is definitely one of those times, so insert that remark where you see fit. Todays topic has actually been on my brain a bit. For multiple reasons. Some personal events that happened, my kids, concern of the world type things. Honesty and integrity. You would think they're one in the same, but there is a slight difference. Honesty is just 'yes, grandma, i took a cookie out the cookie jar' or, if you have children, you know exactly how honest they are lol. Integrity is more ethics and moral compass. It's what makes you go, 'It'd be better to tell the truth', or 'oh hey, i found a wallet, i should turn that in so the owner could find it' type stuff. So as you can see, while they're linked to one another, they're actually different. Then lying, well, who likes to be lied to?

Honesty is such a very fragile thing. A single lie can cause so much distrust. When you lose trust due to lack of honesty, be it with friends, family, or at work, it's usually VERY hard to get back. There's a song i absolutely love by Francesca battistelli, it starts Truth is harder than a lie; the dark seems safer than the light; And everyone has a heart that loves to hide. Those few verses in the beginning of that song hold so much truth. It is easier to just lie. But when you start start lying, it gets increasingly harder especially keeping up with what lies go with what to keep people from knowing you're lying. According to proverbs 16:13, "righteous lips are a delight of a king, and he loves him who speaks what is right. Another verse, proverbs 12:22 states, "lying lips are an abomination to the Lord". I don't know about y'all, but i hate being lied to, I hate lying period. I don't even like 'white lies' all that much. Yea they're 'good' when you're planning a surprise party or something, but even a half truth is still a lie. Because, you aren't telling the complete truth. As you keep lying, you try to keep more to the shadow, or 'under the radar', cuz you know if you came out 'into the light' all those things you did would end up coming out at some point. But as you hide, you harden your heart. You try so hard to keep up all these walls and barriers, and it's not very fun. Especially when you're put in a spot to break down those walls you had for YEARS and encased and infused with the strongest metal in world. It's a very painful barrier to overcome. Like any parent, i'm tryin to so hard to keep my children from going down that painful road. While some of the things they say are sometimes cruelly honest, i still hold it in reverence, cuz i don't want them to lose that pure honesty they have. If you were to meet my family, or my friends, they can tell you how brutally honest i can be. We just have to work on tact LOL. anyways. While lying and such is easier, It's so much better to be honest. Cuz then, you have nothing to hide. You can walk out 'in the light' with your head held high. When you keep to honesty, you'll be held by a not only a higher standard that sets you apart from others, but,  you gain respect and be seen as reliable on many different levels. You'll become more of a 'go-to' person by friends and workers. People would rather come to you and seek advice on things when they know they'll get an honest answer. Even if that answer is, 'no. that's a stupid idea! why would you even ask that?!'.

 Proverbs 28:6 says, "greater is the poor who walks in integrity, than a rich man who is crooked in his ways", and Proverbs 10:9 "whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his way crooked with be found out". Integrity is like the meat of the soul. It's what shows your character. It's also that sometimes annoying voice in the back of your head that sings, "you shoooooouldn't doooo thaaaat", or says, "probably should of kept your mouth shut on that part', or 'smack them upside the head and murder their soul with love and truth cuz they need some help right now'. Or something like that. Everyone's voices are different. QUIT LYIN! YOU HAZ VOICES TOO! why do you think you talk to yourself? lol, I promise i'm only slightly crazy :D. Anyways lol. At this point, i'm gunna run a few scenario's out there. I feel like with examples i can better put integrity on the spotlight. Billy really wants to go out and play, but he had to do his home work first. 'MA! can i go play now?' 'you finish your homework?' in this case, the choices are simply yes or no. Integrity dictates saying 'no' finishing your homework, and then hope there's time left in the day to go play. But Billy really wanted to go play and said 'yes'. Later, when he was actually doing his homework, he got caught, and is now in trouble. His integrity and honesty are now compromised. So now, next time Billy says he's done with his homework, his mother checks after him due to his damaged character. Another example, personal at that. I had my kids at a park and i found a wallet. I picked it up and rummaged through it like any nosy woman would. At this point some of you might be groaning, but hang on. I rummaged through it only for the debit cards..stop thinking bad thoughts about me, that hurts T-T...I turned the cards over, called the 800 number on the back, and had all his cards frozen, then i gathered my 2 children, and went to a police station to turn it in. At a old job, I tried helping out someone with their job, and my boss came over and asked if it was me who had done it. I said i helped as best i could cuz so and so was busy and i just wanted to help. While they thanked me for being completely honest and showing great integrity, teamwork, work ethic and such, I didn't do it correctly, so now it was gunna take a little longer for the job. I immediately apologized and asked to be shown the correct way to do it so i could fix help fix the situation at hand to help cut down on the workload i had mistakenly added. I learned quickly, and workhorsed through that mug. Even with the mess up, still help cut down the time of the job. So when i had a person try to slander my name, i was able to keep my head up high and just brush it off. My character and integrity wasn't going to be compromised. As soon as it happened, people nearby who knew me, immediately called that person out and defended me. It's people who slander and try to cause issues, that pave way for crooked advances in life. Sometimes they get blocked on spot, sometimes they end up being big time CEO's before they fall on their faces. Like that Pharama guy who was making it impossible for cancer patients to afford a certain medication and is now in jail for fraud. In 2 Corith 8:21, "for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord's sight, but the sight of man". The way in life is not paved easily for those who lack integrity, honesty, those tiny little voices. They crawl and claw their way up stepping on others in their path. But when we do what's of good integrity, While sometimes it might be a snail crawl at first, soon after it's by leaps and bounds we advance. The advance may be small steps at a time, but it'll happen. That one that crawled and clawed, when they fall on their face, they'll be back at the bottom of the barrel, and have to start over again IF they can. While the one who remained in good integrity, has more options and room to grow and advance if desired. Don't get me wrong, having really good integrity can be extremely hard in times. Especially when you have to admit you were wrong about something or did something wrong. Acts 24:16, "so i always take pains to have a clear conscience towards both God and man". Even when it's admitting to dear ol grandma that you stole the last cookie with out asking.

Hatred vs Love

7-1-16

Hatred vs Love

"Hatred causes arguments, but Love overlooks all wrongs"- Proverbs 10:12

That single verse, has so much i can say right now. My brain is pretty much exploding with all sorts of thoughts, I'll try not to go overboard lol.

Hatred, hostility, dislike, rage, enmity, disgust, there are lots of alternate ways to express hate. Unfortunately, this is something most Christians I, and some others (which causes problems when speaking of God to others), run into. We aren't here to spread hate and discord among everyone. Especially through our own congregation. When the hate for something comes into play, we start judging. if you've read one of my previous posts you'll know judging isn't our thing to do(but right now we're not going back into judging lol). Now, we can hate evil things til the cows come home. Even in psalms 97:10, it starts off with "hate evil" then goes on with "protect followers save them from evil people". The last part in my opinion would be more like, someone who would purposefully get you off track with God. As far as "hate evil", well, you can hate it, but you shouldn't hate that person. We're all human, we've all done something 'evil' in our lives. Told a lie, watched something we shouldn't have, broken some sort law(sometimes on many different levels), etc. Evil has a variety of faces(but perhaps that's something to dwell on for another time). Prime example of hatred, and i really do hate bashing on people, but, Westboro baptists. I'm sure we're all way to familiar with them. I'm sure not all of them like that, or the ones who weren't left and found a new church idk. But, how much hate for something or someone do you have to have, to boycott someones funeral? I'll just stop that right now, cuz I'm deeply disappointed in westboro's behavior and how they call themselves Christians. That's now how a true christian acts.Anyways...Hatred causes all sorts of issues. It'll cause gossip, judgment, fights, racism, prejudice, even something as bad as murder. I mean, we still have people thinking slavery shouldn't of been abolished, that just because someone is gay, or doesn't believe the same thing as themselves are wrong, evil, 'damned to hell', has mental issues, etc...it's messed up. Hate is just....for me, wrong on so many levels. I guess mostly cuz of how the world is now. Yes, we're suppose to hate evil things, but it seems to have expanded not only to evil things, but to the individual people themselves..

I have friends, even now, that may or may not believe in God, some are gay, bi, straight, transgender, does drugs, doesn't do drugs, different religious beliefs, and i don't care. I only care about them as a person. Not to sound like a hippie, but, you gotta spread the love man! Not that kind of love!! that ones only for your spouse! Love, affection, fondness, endearment, etc; like hate, love also has many faces. All throughout the bible it states to love one another. even a commandment(mark12:31), love your neighbor as  you love yourself. luke 6:31, do unto others as you would have done to you. luke 6:35,love your enemies, lend to them without expecting anything back". Jesus was all about the love. He didn't care if someone was a thief, a prostitute, gay, a murder, he loved everyone just the same as the guy next to him. He cared for EVERYONE with all different kinds of background. He didn't spread bigoted hatred, he only showed love and compassion for everyone. Even if he didn't agree with something someone was doing, he loved them just same. It's like with your own children(or students). They may mess up, they may end up taking a wrong turn somewhere, but you still love them regardless. You show the same love as the first time you met them. Even before you got to meet them. Yes, you were unhappy with what they did, or the decisions they made, but you loved them just the same. Same as with God. Yes, we mess up. we're human, we're GOING to mess up. No matter what we do, as long as we are truly sorry for what we did, he'll forgive us, just as we would our children. Even IN sin, while he hates that sin, he doesn't hate US, he still loves us very much. "above all, love each other deeply. because love covers a multitude of sin" 1 peter 4:8. Even growing up, I had a variety of friends, christian, not christian, very not christian. But i still love each and every one of them all the same. My view of them wont change. Because they're still who they are, and I'm still me. We never treated each other differently or acted a certain way just because who we were around. I didn't believe in the "don't hang out with them, those are bad people, they don't believe in God. They'll make you stray from God's path" mentality. Granted I did cuz i was a huge people pleaser  and just wanted everyone to get along and be happy, but you don't have to have it end up that way. YOU choose, how YOU behave, what YOU do, all by your onsies. It's up to YOU to fight those temptations. It's not so and so's fault, it's not the music, movies, or books you read that determine who you are and how you act. That's all you, you, you, you, and YOU! Honestly, This world would be so much better with more love(now i really sound like a hippie lol). But really. It would. Yes obviously there are always going to be consequences to actions. As it should be. By no means am i going 'oh you murdered someone? OK i still love you just don't do it again" and give a little pee pee smack. No.  If you mess up, you mess up. I might still love you as a person, and sometimes, it'll hurt to love you. but all the same i will. YOU, i wont love what you did, are doing, what you plan to do, things that are against my personal beliefs, but YOU, i'll still love.  1john 4:7; 'dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God'

have a blessed day guys :) i could probably drone on and on but think i kept it decently short and to the point enough to express my feelings on the matter. Til next time!!