Without grumbling

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. Philippians 2:14-16 (niv) 

Monday is usually grummbling day, and every other day except the weekends... Actually I probably grumble on the weekends too. I think grumbling is something we all do in our day to day lives. It is so much easier to say "I don't want to go to work" than "Wooohoo, I'm going to work today!". It seems to be a trend, not wanting to work. No one really wants to be told what to do I guess. The more I think about this bible verse, the more guilty I feel. Then you get up to the bit about "shining like stars" and I wish it were easy to work. I want that, I want to shine like stars! 

Life isn't easy, it was meant to be easy... Until we kinda decided that it was much easier to disobey God, than to obey him. We got what was coming to us, a hard life, and it is up to us to make it easier I suppose. God has already done so much for us by giving us our second chance, Jesus. So why should we grumble and argue? I need to remind myself to toughen up. I'm working for God, because he has done more than enough for me. 

I hope this encourages you.

Xo

Evolve? Really?

 So I was scrolling down my timeline in Facebook, and one of my family members posted this...

 

There were several likes on this picture. I giggled at the image whilst rolling my eyes. I guess this  image would make an evolutionist think, but as a christian, I find this very silly.

This article has some theories as to why whales beach themselves, and they make sence.... 

www.whalefacts.org/why-do-whales-beach-themselves/

To say that whales beach themselves in order to evolve is crazy. See the little fish in the bottom right of the cartoon image? It looks wrong. For starters fish are cold blooded, they breathe through gills (meaning they can only breathe in water), and their food is in the sea. Where can you find seaweed on land, other in an Asian resteraunt or in the supermarket? I know "evolving" is a very in depth topic, and there are several arguments that you can make against my opinions. You might take the axolotl fish. It walks on its legs, it is an odd fish, that might look "evolved", but I still can't see it out of the water. Ask a child where fish live, and they will say "in the sea". Children are smarter than you think. If fish or sea life creatures were meant to be on land, who would clean up the sea? Who would eat off the deep sea floor, maintain the seaweed and coral? What about the circle of life? God put fish in the sea, because they were meant to be in the sea. Whales are meant to be in the ocean, and I don't know why. I'm no scientist, but God has the greatest knowledge of science than anyone else. I think he would have made whales land animals, if they were meant to be.

Say No!

This post has been going around on Facebook for a few years. I don't mind when I see posts like this, more than once, because I know the message is getting across. I pray that it puts guilt into the lives of those who are bullies!

Anti-depressants, my blessing.

A nutshell..... 

"I'm Depressed" 

"I want to die"

"Life is hell"

"Why me?" 

"Why am I even here?"

"No one cares about me!"

"I can't handle this"

"I don't want to do this"

"Who am I?"

"Why don't they understand?"

These are all things I used to think. They were emotions that I felt, and struggled to tell anyone about. My childhood wasn't rough, but as child, I felt like nothing I said mattered. I was a silent lamb at school. I was in special ed, and was too scared to stand up to my bullies. I was a scared child. At home, I would scream and yell and cry and stomp and slam doors, because I felt more comfortable to express my feelings there. However, I never had the guts to say that I hated being bullied at school, and coming home to be bullied by my brothers was just too much. I needed the men (my brothers) in my life to tell me that they loved me. I would find out in later years that for most of my teenage years, I chose the wrong guys to "fall in love" with. Every time a relationship got messy, I blamed myself. 

Learning...

One of the most usefull things I learnt in high school was the topic of mental illnesses, however it meant that I had something to blame my hormones on. I somehow convinced myself that I was depressed. I wasn't depressed, not clinically. I wanted to be, so I could grab attention. I was low, I was down, and my hormones were making me crazy. 

The year I turned 14 I decided to follow Jesus. God used youth group and SMASH camp, to change my life. Unfortunately, I'm human, and I kept falling into a deep pit.

To cut a long story short, I soon realised how much I was feeling sorry for myself, but I was (and still am) convinced that I couldn't help the way my emotions were messing me around. During the first couple of years of adulthood, I spent almost every week in counselling. I am ashamed to admit that I was self harming. I visited the doctor, and he prescribed me with half strength anti depressants, to calm my anxiety attacks. After a couple of weeks, the medicine started to train my brain to think more clearly. I joined a website in which I could pay to talk to any medical professional. I spoke to a psychiatrist a few times, and he came to the conclusion that I probably had Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) http://www.sane.org/information/factsheets-podcasts/160-borderline-personality-disorder  I had never heard of it, but it fit. I may not have been diagnosed, but After a lot of research, I was more and more convinced that it was my diagnosis. 

I'm on full strength anti depressants now, and I'm not afraid any more. I can feel my brain thinking more clearly. I'm now able to focus on my Dad in heaven now.

It's ok to be on anti depressants, they aren't a burden, they are a blessing! 

Insecure little ones

I am a leader at a Girls Brigade company here in Brisbane, and I teach Cadets (Prep to grade 3). Each and every one of these girls are beautiful, intelligent, and thoughtfull.... But it saddens me to think that they don't want to be unique. I don't know if this sort of thing was happening when I was a kid, but it sure seems like children (especially girls) are getting less and less confident with themselves and at a very young age. I write up rules at the beginning of each GB year, and this year I decided to write "Be yourself" as one of the rules. I spent a few minutes trying to explain this rule to them, but I'm not sure if I got through to them or not. I need better ways to get through to them, as I am hoping that by the end of this year, I will have helped them to be as unique as they are. They spend a lot of time trying to be their version of perfect, by copying their peers. They are impatient, and don't want to take time in work (even the things they find exciting). I know some of this is just human nature, but I also believe that the world is turning my sweet little girls into clones who have no imagination. If I see their potential, why can't they? 

Advice/ opinions please! 

I'm stressed, but never alone.

Introducing.... Me.

Hello. My name is Elissa, I am currenly 21 years old. I have a Dad, a Mum and two older brothers. My parents were missionaries before I was born. 6 months after I came into the world, we went to PNG so that my parents could continue their work there. We stayed there for 3 years. We came back to Aus, and have been living here in Brisbane since then, and have also been attending the same church.

I'm not a perfect christian girl. It is true that I attended Sunday school as a child and when I was old enough to go to youth group I attended there and I didn't want to leave ever ever ever...... But behind the corny church loving little girI, is a confused church loving girl. I have been hurt, and I have hurt the people that I love. I have made mistakes that would sound unbelievable to people who think they know me. I feel sick when I think of some of my mistakes. I feel wrong a lot, and I feel like common sence doesn't exist in me. I feel sorry for myself, but I understand that there are millions of people who have been through and continue to go through things much worse than I have. My pain seems so little in comparison, however that doesn't mean that my problems are worthless. 

God is my passion. I love him for many things, but mostly for John 3:16. It is amazing that he could ever love a sinner like me.

 I am now a Sunday school teacher, and instead of being a youth leader like I had planned, I am a girls brigade leader.

 I recognize that God's plans are better.

 I have a fianc'ee called Rob, whom I love very much. We met five years ago, and have been engaged for nearly two years. We will be married on the 3rd of May 2014. I love that he loves God, I love that he is interested in my interests. I love that he makes me laugh, I love that he puts my past failures away, that he is forgiving. I love it when he surprises me, I love his generosity. I love his kind words and his gentle heart. I love his affection. I love that he will love me until death do us part.

 I am a child care worker with dreams of becoming a child counselor. I have many other dreams too, and I plan to pray over them. 

I like Cuddly things, wombats, animals, Cookie monster, cookies, chocolate, children, dresses and high heal shoes, drawing, painting, relaxing, playing the piano, listening to a wide range of music, playing the Uke, and a whole heap of things.

I want to enjoy the little things in life, and I want to keep trying harder to be the woman that God designed me to be.

 

Next time you go to judge someone. Think about it. Think about God creating them in their mothers womb. God looks on each and every one of his creations in unconditional love.  Maybe it is time to consider why people might be the way they are. Should we maybe try and see the good things about them, not the negative?