Mercy.

Mercy is a person. In fact, she's a girl. The little girl I'm sponsoring! She lives in Kenya and is only four years old. Today I wrote her a letter for the first time. I'm so excited. I've decided that one day I'm going to meet her and visit her in Kenya.

Sponsoring a child means sending a certain amount of money to them per month. A little money goes a long way in a child's life who faces poverty. It provides them with medical care, food, a roof over their head, and clothes. As little as $30 a month guarentees Mercy's well-being. It makes sure that she is taken care of. She lives in an aids infected area, so it helps ensure that she isn't infected. $30 might seem like a lot at first, but in all reality it's not that expensive. How much do you spend on going out to eat per month or other frivolous things such as going out to the movies? I'd give up these things in a heart beat if I was able to give the money to someone else who needed it more. If you want to learn more about sponsoring a child of your own: go to compassion.com.

Mercy might not be able to write back to my letters yet, but I'm going to keep sending them anyways. One day she will be old enough to reply, and I'm hoping that I was able to make a positive difference in her life. A little more hope comes with each letter. Especially knowing that someone on the other side of the world loves her even though we've never met. <3

the curse of desire.

Have you ever felt so strongly about something that all of your heart and soul beg for it? You feel as if you cannot breathe once it is taken away from you? This passion is nearly unbearable once its source is stolen. To be deprived of this certain thing is worse than not having any food or water. That big ball of light that filled your heart is snuffed out and you sit in absolute darkness. You yearn for something that is just out of reach. The situation should be easy, but it is so difficult for some reason.

You're in my prayers. I pray that you never lose hope or lose sight of what you feel so much passion for. Sooner than you think, it will be at your fingertips.

Say hi for me!

This blog is going to be short, sweet, and to the point. Lately God has been blessing me so much. With everything. I've been worried about how I'm going to pay for college, but I have almost everything paid for with scholarships. Also, I was worried about how I would be able to pay for the missions trips this summer, and everything is taken care of. Thank you to anonymous donations! I've been blessed with a very part-time job that I actually enjoy. I get to work with close friends and improve photography skills. Not many people find a job they like. Especially one that comes out of thin air. This will help me save up to come up with the rest of the money for college. High school is almost over. A little over two weeks and my summer begins. I can focus more on maybe volunteering somewhere and getting other things done, like learning Spanish or piano :)

Besides financial blessings, I've been blessed with amazing people in my life. My dad has always been there even when others haven't. I am very proud of my mom for trying to stay sober after eight years of alcoholism. It's crazy to think how much time went by. I am becoming more proud of my brother as he tries to improve his life too. I know he can do it as long as he tries. My friends are such a blessing too. If I start writing about them, this blog will no longer be short lol. Let's just say that there's a select few that have been with me for as long as I can remember and they mean more than the world to me. I've also made some new friends and they're absolutely wonderful. :). I can't forget to mention a boy I've been blessed with soooo much. He makes me very happy and the first thing he said when we started dating was "Let's have God as the center of our relationship." Hello to one-of-a-kind. To be dating someone who has the same belief as I do is amazing. Some people never experience love, and I'm blessed to have my love returned<3.

The biggest blessing of all though is how much I've grown in the past year. I can look fear in the face and no longer be terrified because I have faith. With faith, everything looks different. Faith isn't seeing blindly. It is seeing what others are too afraid to see, and experiencing things you never would have thought possible.

congestion

There's a little bug going around. It seems like everyone is sick. Most of my friends are sick with something. I was one of the first to be bitten. My eyes have been itchy so I've had visit the doctor and take prescribed eye drops. And I've been so congested that I have a hard time hearing out of my ears. Sometimes I can hear if I get enough of the congestion out. My ears pop and suddenly everything just sounds so clear. Then my ears are congested again and I'm back to deafness. Never heard of ear congestion? LOL it exists.

I think the same thing happens to us spiritually. Let's call it spiritual congestion. You're doing good spiritually. You're healthy and strong in the Lord. Then something bites you and you get sick. The bite is temptation, and the sickness is sin. When you're sick, you try and get better but it doesn't always work, even with medicine. Once you get sick it can be really hard to get rid of. Especially when you don't know what bit you in the first place. You try to fight off the sickness, but your symptoms only seem to get worse. Just like being sick gave me itchy eyes, sin makes it hard for you to see clearly. The fine line between right and wrong becomes blurred. Or you cannot see what you should do in certain situations.  Just like the real icky snot congestion makes it hard for me to hear, sin makes you spiritually congested and hard for you to hear God. Even after I was able to pop my ears and get rid of some of the congestion, it came back because I didn't have the proper medicine. The same thing happens when we try to purge sin out of our lives. We are good for awhile and can hear again. But unless we take the proper medicine, like reading the Bible and praying, we fall back into sin and become sick again.

I was sick before, but slowly I am becoming healthy again.

Are YOU spiritually congested?

With faith.

This morning before I went to the doctor's office I decided to read my Bible. I haven't really just sat down to read it, outside of church, for about a week or two. Just I haven't "had time" because I've been busy doing homework and focusing on school to make sure I get everything done in time for graduation.

So as I was reading my Bible I came across Daniel in the Old Testament. I started from the beginning and got about half way through the entire chapter. So many miracles occurred throughout this book.

There was one specifically that stood out to me. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were put under the rule of king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. All four of them were given much authority in his Kingdom. This King became a powerful king because God had allowed it to be so. King Nebuchadnezzar made a decree saying that everyone in his kingdom must fall down on their knees and face and worship a gold statue when they hear all kinds of music. The punishment for disobeying this decree is being thrown into a blazing furnace. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were brought before the king for not following this decree. The king gave them one last chance to worship the image he made or they will be thrown into the blazing furnace. They responded by saying that God would save them from the furnace if they were thrown into it. Also, if God didn't rescue them then they still wouldn't worship the gold idol. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were bound and thrown into the furnace.
 ²⁵ He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

King Nebuchadnezzar was amazed that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were not burning or dying. He opened the furnace and demanded that they came back out. God had sent an angel to rescue them from the fire. Then the King said "No other God can save this way," so he promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and gave themhigh ranking positions in his kingdom.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego trusted in God eve when they were faced with death. They had faith that the Lord wouldn't let them perish in the fire. If He didn't save them,  they would rather die than deny God and worship an idol. They remained faithful no matter what happened to them. They were thrown into the fire but God rescued them because of the faith they had in Him. Because they believed He could do anything, God sent them an angel that kept them from burning. They didn't even smell like fire when they left the furnace. In the end, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were blessed because of their faith. They didn't falter in the hard times because they believed God would see them through until the end.

Imagine if we all had this kind of faith. That AP exam wouldn't seem like such a big deal. Dealing with things would be so much easier. You would believe that God can pull you through ANYTHING. As a Christian, it is okay to be afraid of things and their outcomes at first. But we should be strong and put our faith in the Lord knowing that, ultimately, He is in control. No matter what, if you have faith then you know that God will never leave you. Even if He seems like He isn't there, have faith that He's looking over you and this hard time will pass. With faith you know it'll end soon. Just like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, God won't let you perish in the fire you're thrown in. If you have faith, He will send you an angel to rescue you and it'll be okay in the end.

My question for you: What do you put YOUR faith in?

Angel, Dearest Angel

Words cannot convey

The heart breaking tragedy

That occurred one year ago today.

Angel, dearest angel, you have left me!

A sweet, innocent, pure white soul

Has been freed. The world did shake

When car met pole, when Death stole

What was not his to take.

Cradled in his arms you slept

Unconscious for two days,

While cascading waterfalls were wept

Until we could let you be taken away.

Up! Up! And up you flew

Until arriving at the pearly entrance

Where face to face your Maker stood with you,

Explaining why your life met its advance.

It was time for our angel to return home.

Good things would come of this:

Your life lost saved four lives that roam

The earth you parted with.

Time there was well spent

Even though your absence stings

And they wonder where you went,

We may give our angel back her wings.

Time continued on.

It rained for months, as if the world shed tears

Because it knew you were gone.

The sun refused to shine here

After you said your crowning goodbye.

With closure of a painless last breath,

Forever I shall remember your smiling eyes

Which shall not be clouded by death.

Reminiscing, your loving laugh echoes

Everywhere I wander. In my heart

You will eternally be stowed

For even in death you shall not part.

In loving memory of Allsion Dale Sheffield.
You're always in my heart babygirl<3

The Closet Nerd.

If everyone worked together and did their part, the world would be such a better place. If everyone was selfless then a lot of problems would be resolved. There would be no evil. If I could change one thing in the world it would simply be this:
change all of the hate in this world into love.

There are people who live without ever experencing love. Some people don't even experience the love of a pet or an animal. Those of you who have felt love of some sort, imagine living a life without ever experiencing love. Try to imagine how lonely and depressing that must be.

This is for all the people who are Christians. We are called to love everyone, regardless of whether or not you like them. If someone you don't get along with is struggling with something and you have the opportunity to help them, what would you do? You can either put aside your differences and help them as Christ would. OR, you can ignore them as any other person would. The choice is up to you.

We pass too many chances to help others for a variety of reasons. You might be too judgemental, to selfish, or just too busy. Why are you going to ignore someone because they're a little weird? I bet you're a closet nerd too. If someone needs your help, you should help them. If someone is crying out to you, obviously they need it. Who are we to not offer a helping hand if we have one? Most people have two hands to offer, yet we can't even sacrifice one. If you gave people a chance and looked past your first impression based on your own judgement, you might find a new friend. You might even end up saving a life.

Consider this: one thing that makes a Christian different is that we are supposed to do things that normal everyday people would not even think of. For example, this might be helping someone you truly just don't like. It might be forgiving someone who does not appreciate forgiveness. It might be stepping out of your comfort zone and acting.

Yes, you heard me right. I said ACTING. I bet this is the part where you cringe away at the thought of actually doing something. I think Christians are too comfortable in their own skin. In a crowd of people Christians are meant to stand out in a positive way. We are too comfortable with everyday life. We like to steal, curse, fornicate, judge, lie, covet, and be prideful as much as the next person. But we are meant to be different. So........ why aren't we always different?