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...

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...

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...

Oftentimes, when we think of 'dreams' we think of things that more than likely won't happen. Why do we do that? Why do we belittle our dreams when we start to grow up? I remember dreaming up my future house. I had every little thing planned out. I knew exactly what my house mat was going to look like. My kitchen was going to be white, along with my cabinets and little counter stools. All of my future ducks were in a row, named and all. My future husband is going to be tall and handsome with green eyes, obviously. I had high standards when I was younger, why am I not as passionate about them now? They're still dreams, right? I still would love to have those things. Perhaps as we get older we tend to realize that the world is tougher than we thought it was. Even if you lose sight of your dreams for a little while, you can still achieve them. Never doubt yourself. Invest in yourself and you will go further than you can ever imagine.   Dreams can change too. W...

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 ) ...

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8 Do you ever feel like your on pause? Like there's something happening all around you but you can't see it? Recently a friend mentioned something that stuck with me. She made the reference to Peter denying Jesus. Even though Jesus' disciple sinned against Him three different times during the crucifiction, what happened to Peter 50 days later? Did Peter stay hidden and scared for his life? Was he trampled on by the enemy? Or did he become stronger and braver as a voice for the Lord? (see here the day of Pentecost) “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14 I think we as believers forget after we get stuck in a rut, that we can come out of it much stronger than before. I am as guilty as anyone when it comes to being caught up in the moton of things. But God reminded me this week that we don't have to be that way. Foc...

Have you ever felt jealous of another person? Maybe they had better clothes than you, or they could afford certain things you couldn't. What about wishing bad on another person because of that reason?  You were created to be just who you are. Why try to disrupt that originality by trying to mimic others?  Never degrade yourself because you are different from others. You have been made perfect through Jesus.  He has sealed us and filled us with a Spirit of love and hope ( II Corinthians 1:22 ) if you are a child of the King.   Child of the King? What does that mean? "But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear-" I read that scripture verse before a certain encounter at work. A certain individual was in th...

Have you ever been through a long day at work and feel as if you haven't done a thing? Or, you make a to-do list in your head and the list just keeps expanding?  I'm never satisfied. It seems there's always something else I need to finish. My mind strays to the tasks that need to be done, rather than living in the mess. Some people call me a clean freak. When working I tend to keep myself preoccupied with things that won't make me seem idle, especially if or when the boss makes an unexpected check up. It seems as if every time my employer comes by where I am working it's in those moments when I'm plumb worn out of being a busy body. It seems as if I've not done a thing when in reality I've been trying to keep myself from not doing anything. Does that make sense?  Just this past week I pondered why exactly I get so wound up in trying to look as if I'm a hard worker. Why do I desire to please other people so much. Why does it even ma...