Cup of Thoughts

How great is the love of the Father  that we're called the children of God Abram, a man whose years almost exceeded a century's, was surprised by the presence of God. Abram being in the presence of a Holy God fell facedown as God spoke to him. God made a covenant with him 5 chapters before this point. The covenant He speaks now is entirely different though. This covenant was so certain, God changed Abram's name to Abraham and his wife's name Sarai to Sarah. So that it would be an everlasting reminder of the promise. 'Your name will no longer be Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations. I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you. ' Genesis 17:5-6  Abram means "exalted father." Abraham means "father of many." 'God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai, for Sarah will be her name. I will bless her; indeed, I will gi...

Oftentimes we look for beauty in all the wrong places. What defines beauty? This might become a deep topic but bear with me. I googled ' beautiful people ' because I was simply curious about what the world defines as beautiful. Here is a collage I made with the images I found. I'm sure you may have found beauty in the pictures above. And yes, they are all beautiful. But what makes them all beautiful? Is it their eyes? The way they are staring into the camera lens? The way they are photographed? Is it merely their looks? Recently, I've been chasing after beauty like it's a cure for the way I look. Beauty is not a cure. We all want to be  that girl . The girl who doesn't have to wear makeup to look beautiful. The girl who laughs as if there is no worry in the world. We want to be the girl who has a witty sense of humor to impress other people. We want to be as skinny as the girl beside us. We want to have a better physic. We want to be in a r...

I got to travel to Fort Wayne, Indiana again for a mission trip! This year 2 new guys came along with us. There were a total of 18 people (adults + kiddos) . We packed everything into our new little trailer Saturday, June 23rd. Came to church Sunday morning and then after my Pastor got finished preaching, we went to eat the meal some of our sweet church family made us. Once we ate, we piled up in the church van and headed north. My youth pastor, LD (Larry David), appointed us to be more accountable on this trip. Which meant that we each had an important role to play. Some of us got bathroom duty, and sous chef, and then some of the veterans in the group were responsible for giving away Bibles and motivating the rest of the group to hand them out (that was me!). That plan turned out really good. Everyone knew what their job was, and whoever was finished with theirs helped the person that wasn't done. We stopped right before Cincinnati for a bathroom break. ...

I know we've all had that lecture before.  "You need to wear longer shorts." "Put some leggings on!" "Go change that outfit." "You're not going out of the house like that." Most of the time our answer is, " but everyone else is wearing it ," or " it's in style. " It's so hard shopping for modest clothing as a girl, I know. I've wandered around Forever 21 trying to find something that will at least cover my belly button. Even though it's hard to find, it's worth it. Trust me, do not conform to the world's average. Because the world's average is wearing party clothes and attracting sin wherever you go. The world says, " wear what you want to wear, nobody cares ," " if you have the body, show it off ," and "the more skin you show, the tighter your clothes are, the more guys will chase after you ." Don't believe those lies. People do car...

I'm about to work my last shift at Dinner Bell. Last night it really hit me that all of this was coming to the last page. I've been there since April 2016. Wow. Just thinking back on how much I have truly grown and learned so much because of my first job. I remember my boss now, calling me then, asking if I was interested in working as a hostess. I just got back from our 1st Out West trip. I didn't really have any plans for another job, so I said: "that I'd pray about it." And I did. One evening while I was there with a group in the back, I asked the lady at the counter for an application, which is now a good friend of mine. She is is a recovered addict and is now the manager. I love her sweet soul and passion for Jesus. We've had many heart-to-heart talks over the years and exciting adventures together. My first day, the Owner's sister was working with me and made me a list of all the things I need to do with helpful tips and encouraging...

In honors of Father's Day, I'd like to share with you the letter that I have gathered up using scripture from your Heavenly Father. My Beloved Child, I know everything about you. When you were still in your mother's womb, I knew exactly who you would be before you were born (Psalm 139:13). Before your parents even chose a name for you, I had already called you Mine (Isaiah 43:1). And now, every day I am right there with you, walking ahead of you and protecting you. You are never out of my sight. I even know what you say before you even speak it (Psalm 139:3-10). You have stolen my heart (Song of Solomon 4:9), and I have created so much just for you; relationships, food, mountains, oceans, sunsets, animals, trees, flowers, (Genesis 1:28-29). When you asked for my forgiveness through Christ, I forgave you once and for eternity. I will never hold anything against you (Psalm 32:1-2). Even now, there is nothing that could ever make me stop loving yo...

Worship is such an important necessity in our relationship with Christ. In fact, the Bible actually says that we are commanded to worship the One True God (Exodus 20:4) .  Worshiping God is a way to express our love and reverent adoration.  Sometimes while driving to school I'll crank up the speakers so that I don't have to hear my own voice, and sing the loudest I can with lyrics just for honoring God.  Most of the time when someones mentions ' worship ', or ' worship service ' they're talking about the 15-20 minutes of the choir singing hymns before the preacher gets up to the podium and gives a sermon. Lyrics can be more than just lyrics. Hymnals can become a foundation for your praising. I have to admit, sometimes I just sing because everyone else is. It's easy to get in the motions and get distracted. But when we say the Lord's name and His grace with a voided meaning, isn't it the same as taking His name in vain? Worshiping...

Several people have asked me how I use my washi tape to study and mark in my Bible. So I feel led to blog about just that! I use washi tape to make my own tabs. Tear or cut a piece that's at least 3 inches long and fold it, leaving some of the adhesive sides. What if you need to remove the tape? Will it tear the pages? I worried about the same thing, but I have moved several tabs. By pulling gently I haven't torn any pages. However, to ensure the quality of your Bible pages just in case, you can stick the tape to a surface a few times to remove some of the adhesive. Organize your tabs. Each color or pattern will mean a specific subject or topic. For example, my shiny rose gold tabs mean there are verses talking about salvation. My succulent tabs show that those verses are for Christian maturity and growth. The plain pink ones in the middle are topics I choose. As you can see some of them are ' beauty ,' ' strength ,' ' humbleness ,...

Resurrection Day is here! I cannot believe that Spring has already come. Every year, I like to read one of the 4 Gospel's views on the crucifixion around Easter. This year I started reading from Matthew. During my Bible reading, I felt led to share this with you all. Here is what I got out of Jesus's parable in Matthew 21:33-44 . Characters (perceived by me): The Landowner is God. The servants are the previous prophets in the Old Testament. The Son of the Landowner is Jesus. The vinepressers are us. Parable summary: The landowner plants a vineyard puts up a hedge, builds a winepress, and creates a tower for it. After he leases the vineyard to some vinepressers, he sends his servants to receive the fruit of the harvest. The vinepressers kill all the servants that are sent. The landowner sends more servants and the vinepressers commit murder again. Then the landowner decides to send his son, thinking that the vinepressers won't kill him out of respect. Yet,...

What does aroma mean in the Bible? When the Jewish people wanted to be forgiven of their sins they would purchase a spotlessly clean animal and take it to a high priest for a sacrifice. ( "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.." ) During the sacrificial ceremony on the altar in the holy of holies, there was a separate  offering of burnt incense  in front of the curtain. The aroma was a mixture of oils and spices that was pleasing to the Lord. This altar is a representation of Christ.  As Jesus was our intercessor, he preceded the sacrifice for our sins. He became not only our sweet-smelling sacrifice, He was our precious lamb that was slain. "Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us." Romans 8:34b Why are there two forms of sacrifice then?   "...The altar is especially holy to the Lord.”   The incense had to be by the exact recipe God ha...

I'm all for spring cleaning. In fact, I'm a clean freak. I don't just clean in the springtime. I clean all year round. I'm the type of person that will re-arrange my closet every couple of months and re-fold all of my closet drawers so that they look nice. Yes, I totally do that. And the thing is, I don't really do it for anyone else besides myself. The only one who sees my closet is my sister, who still shares a room with me. I've always been that way. As I was cleaning this afternoon, a thought came into my head. You know those thoughts that make you startle, like, 'where did that come from?' I know you've had one of those before. "What about cleaning your soul?" I stopped my dusting and came to realize that is one thing I almost always neglect to pick up. Have you ever wondered that? How do you clean your soul? Redemption by the blood of Christ will certainly clean your soul;  'whiter than snow' as the Bible says. Bu...

"Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him."  I John 5:1 I was listening to that new song, " So Will I " on my way home from work last night and I used the space inside of my little car as a sanctuary. The words flooding out of my speakers stirred my heart. You spoke to the dark And fleshed out the wonder of light I had one of those nights. The nights where everything needs to be done and you really don't want to pick up someone else's slack and do it yourself. When everything you touch seems to turn into a safety hazard. When you can't count back change correctly because you're too focused on the inside worries of the mind. When you walk into a guy trying to clean the bathrooms. Yeah, I understand. I've been there. When you feel exhausted and torn. Alone and overwhelmed. Times like these make the verse in II Corinthians 12:10 so much sense...

I partnered up with Livy, from Crown of Beauty magazine to write a post focusing on Finding Worth. To all the girls out there who are searching to find themselves. To all the ones who are wanting to feel loved or worth something in this world. To all the daughters of the Heavenly King, this is for you.  'Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.' ( Titus 3:5-7 ) If you are a born-again believer in Christ, then you are one of His children. Which makes you a daughter of the King of Kings, Lord of Lords. You are His heir. 'Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised .' ( Proverbs 31:30 ) ...