Weird Coincidence or Something Else?

Just got back from Jr. Class Chapel and guess what a student (a Junior at Westover) spoke on! Nope, Nope, Nope, ok, I'll tell you!

Being Holy (not the most popular topic to talk about when you are an eleventh grader)! And Guess what passage he spoke on! Yep, you guessed it, I Peter 1. Guess God is putting an exclamation point on what he is trying to teach me!

(If you are confused, check out my post below from this morning!)

A Call to Holy Living

I read these verses this morning. This past year and a half God has really been teaching me what it means to 'be holy b/c HE is holy.' We actually went through this very topic recently in my Bible 9 class. God is calling us out as believers! Calling us to be set apart. What does this mean? Does it mean a list of rules... 'do this, dont do this?' NO! It means to follow/obey God with all of our heart, b/c we are in awe of who HE is and incredibly thankful for what he has done for us! HOW can we do this thing that we have been called to? ONLY WITH THE HOLY SPIRITS HELP! We cant do it on our own! All of our efforts of righteousness is as 'filthy rags!' Only by God's grace and the Holy Spirit working in us can we do ANYTHING pure! That doesn't mean we don't have to 'work' at being Holy, but it means that as we are 'doing' the right thing, we need to be walking in the Spirit and NOT relying on ourselves.

Holy Spirit, help me to live what you have called me to in purity and obedience. Help me to honor my Lord and Savior, my God in ALL I say and do. The only holiness I have comes with your help!

I Peter 1:13-22 *NLT*
So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ. Obey God because you are his children. Don't slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn't know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God--who chose you to be his children--is holy. For he himself has said, "You must be holy because I am holy."
And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as foreigners here on earth. For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him for this purpose long before the world began, but now in these final days, he was sent to the earth for all to see. And he did this for you.
Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And because God raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory, your faith and hope can be placed confidently in God. Now you can have sincere love for each other as brothers and sisters because you were cleansed from your sins when you accepted the truth of the Good News. So see to it that you really do love each other intensely with all your hearts.

I Can't Get Enough

From Psalm 62
These excerpts of Psalms 62 are taken from the Message paraphrase.

God, the one and only--I'll wait as long as he says. Everything I need comes from him.
He's solid rock under my feet
My help and glory are in God -granite-strength and safe-harbor-God--So trust him absolutely, people; lay your lives on the line for him.
God said this once and for all; how many times have I heard it repeated? "Strength comes straight from God."
Love to you, Lord God!

Praise God! He is our strength in hard times. He is our Joy. He is all we need. He is our sufficiency. He is our salvation. He is our help. He is our PERFECT, HOLY, LOVING GOD. Thank you, God, for giving us YOU!

From Psalm 63 The Message
God--you're my God! I can't get enough of you! I've worked up such hunger and thirst for God, traveling across dry and weary deserts.
So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open, drinking in your strength and glory. In your generous love I am really living at last!
My lips brim praises like fountains. I bless you every time I take a breath; My arms wave like banners of praise to you.

Man, what passion the psalmist writes with! What love for the Savior! I desire to have that passion and love! I desire to 'drink in God's strength and glory', to bask in God's 'generous love', to spout praises 'like fountains'! Holy Spirit, come! Do this in me!

Your Cross Has Spoken Mercy Over Me

I have been listening to the new Jeremy Camp worship Cd this past week (which you probably noticed b/c I have posted a few of the songs already). The first time I listened to it, i thought, 'this is ok... not great, but ok,' but by the third time through I have just been so incredibly drawn to the Lord these past few days through the simple yet praise-filled lyrics and the music. One the way home yesterday and on the way to school this morning I had this song on repeat. I just LOVE the words (and the music and harmonies of the song compliment the God glorifying lyrics!) Check out the new cd HERE!

Beautiful One
By Jeremy Camp
Wonderful, so wonderful,
Is Your unfailing love,
Your cross has spoken mercy over me.
No eyes has seen no ear has heard,
No heart could fully know
How glorious how beautiful You are.

Powerful, so powerful,
Your glory fills the skies,
Your mighty works displayed for all to see.
The beauty of Your Majesty,
Awakes my heart to sing,
How marvelous how wonderful You are.

Beautiful One, I love You
Beautiful One, I adore
Beautiful One, my soul must sing

Walk By Faith

By Jeremy Camp
Would I believe you when you would say
Your hand will guide my every way
Will I receive the words You say
Every moment of every day

Help me to win my endless fears
You've been so faithful for all my years
With the one breath You make me
Your grace covers all I do

Psalm 59:17

O my Strength, I sing praise to you;
you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.

I Can Drive!
This was a great weekend with my family! Got to cook dinner for my mom and Alan on Saturday night... Chicken Enchaladas! :) and then Sunday, Mila cooked shrimp linguine for us! It was THEEEE best! I ate leftovers for lunch today! Later Sunday afternoon my dad was feeling pretty well, so we took the ol boat out for a spin. :) Not only that, but he taught me to drive it (which was quite easier than I thought it would be!) Man, I'm getting pumped for the summer! SO thankful for times like these with my family! Very precious and valuable!


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