Good Sermon

River Valley Church is a local church in Minnesota and they have a base over here in Spain too! They have some great sermons if you have time, you should check out! Here are a few more photos I have taken! They are a little random, but enjoy! 

Some Photos of Barcelona :)

I am currently living in Barcelona and here a few photos I have taken so far!

Romans 8 - More Than Conquerors

 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 31-39. Here you find an amazing passage explaining how if you are a genuine believer and saved that NOTHING can take that away. Absolutely nothing. No sin, there is nothing you can say or do that will take away your salvation once you have accepted Christ into your heart and as the Messiah. I have a long history of worries about things that this verse has helped me with. There are so many things I would worry about, that somehow God wouldn't forgive me. But I realize from this verse that once you are saved, you are saved forever. When I first read this passage I didn't understand that it was only applying to genuine believers. I thought it was applying to everyone and I kept wondering "but the people who are in hell are separated from God?" But even Revelations makes sense once it is explained to you! Here is a good song you should listen to: Psalm 139 (You Are There) - MercyMe

Some Solid Sites

I am frequently searching the web and looking for great Christian websites to share and get involved with. My first one is Christian version of Amazon.com essentially. I love it. http://www.christianbook.com/. Here are a few ones on mission trips. It can be difficult to find an organization that you completely trust if there are no mission trips from your church. http://royalservants.org/, http://www.teenmissions.org/, and http://ywam.org/. With these three organizations I have had many friends go on their experience with and loved it! Each one is different but amazing in a different way! Here is a good website on some information about persecution of Christians in the world. http://www.persecution.org/. And a website I found that has some church sermons if you ever feel the need! http://gochristfellowship.com/about-us/sermon-archives/#series=107.

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understand. -Proverbs 3:5. Have you seen this before? I have read it many times and I just didn't understand what it meant. I know have came to actually understand what God wants us to do. Not lean on ourselves or other people during times of trouble. Lean only on the Lord. I realized this means, don't start googling your problems or think about how you can avoid something or deal with it by doing something. That would be leaning on your own understanding. Trying to figure out how to deal with something is also leaning on your own understanding. Truly stop looking up things or hoping your friends or family will be able to fix the problem...only God can. Another way you can use this verse is with doubts. You keep questioning something about God, just tell yourself that you can't even lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 can also apply to the future. Something that happened to me yesterday, I was pouring suger into my yogurt cup (I was in France and the yogurt is amazing!) and I thought I can do this and it won't spill. I knew that God didn't want us to lean on ourselves but right when I thought that I could do it a huge clump fell out and all the suger spilled everywhere! I just sat there and laughed. If you have any stories feel free to share them! God bless.

Anxiety

This is a huge one! If you have never had anxiety (I am referring to you if you only have ever had state anxiety) then you won't really understand what I am talking about. But those of you who know exactly what I will point out, then you understand. Anxiety. That horrible feeling. The panic attacks. The racing mind. Your heart pumping so fast. You feel hot and your face turns red. This is a part of life anxiety. I definitely have suffered from this. Everyone who suffers from life long anxiety has different symptoms. I get this feeling in the back of my cheeks and it hurts and makes me feel like I am going to throw up. But I would assume everyone is different. Anxiety is a secondary reaction. It has to be caused by something. You might even know what caused it, but there is always something. An irrational fear normally sparks it. Then, after you get over the fear, the anxiety is still there and you get anxious whenever you think about being anxious because you don't want to feel that way. It is just a process of getting over the fear, and praying that God calms you down. I remember a few years ago, I had horrible anxiety about throwing up in school. It was an irrational fear, but that fear sparked the anxiety. You can also associate anxiety with not trusting God. Place your fears in His hands and let Him handle it. He won't let you down. Anxiety can affect the way you act, talk, think, and essentially function. Do you get really quiet and just stare at what is front of you? That is another sign. A good thing to do, is to distract yourself. Hangout with some friends, or even just talk with someone. It will pass. Pray on! Some other sad news is that anxiety can lead to depression. I was there, I know. When you see that cycle happening, take a step back and look at it. Why do you think yo uare anxious? What is the worst thing that could happen? Most of the time, the worst thing that could happen really isn't that bad. Look at what is happening and tell yourself to let it go. Praying and asking God to help you let go always helps. I will post another section on anxiety later. Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. And another verse: Philippians 4:6-7 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. God bless you and if you ever have a prayer request or anything, e-mail me!

Interested in Mission Trips?

If you feel God calling you to go on a mission trip, look no farther! You might not have the opportunity at your local church but there are plenty of organizations that will take you in! Some really good one's I have had personal friends go with are YWAM (Youth With A Mission) and TMI (Teen Missions International). They are both really good! Normally a little more on the long-term side, but they can be trusted! Look them up! TMI is more for teenagers and there are some missions for people over 18, but YWAM is for college students. Normally you can transfer you credits from your time with YWAM to a college you attend. That is what I want to do in 2 years, but I will see where God is calling me then! Here are the websites! http://ywam.org and http://www.teenmissions.org Sorry about not getting the links on, for some reason it just won't work. Here are a few photos from my mission trip to Ecuador!

Natural Beauty is the Best

Remember that time when you were obsessed with the way you looked? Yeah, I do too. It wasn't that much fun, you never felt like you were skinny enough, or having to always touch up your makeup in the bathroom? Always thinking about that bit of acne on your forehead? I can record being completely obsessed with looking nice and being tan, fit and wearing flattering clothes way back when. Before, I was never happy with the way I looked and I started hating myself because I was never good enough. After I accepted Christ, everything changed. The bad words stopped flowing out of my mouth, I stopped hating other people and gossiping. But the best relief, was I just stopped completely fretting about the way I looked. I stopped straightening my hair, and wearing so much makeup. All these things just started happening without my complete notice. But, I was much happier. You start wanting to be more beautiful on the inside rather than the outside. I also remember just wanting people to think I was pretty and I was very insecure the days I didn't think I looked pretty. Christ moves your heart and makes you open your eyes. One thing to realize, is that if you only care about the way you look - you will never be happy. NO ONE is physically perfect. Even if someone was, they would find something wrong with themselves. Time to realize that chasing physical perfection will get you no where and it is pointless. Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 1 Peter 3:3-4. Ladies! Remember that a joyful smile is more beautiful than that perfect looking girl with a serious frown. Smile, love, have joy in salvation and love yourself for the way God created you! Not what you can do with make-up or what you wear. Last thing, once you are following Christ, you see how insecure you were before and I realized how much time I wasted in a bathroom doing my make-up. Don't judge others that are in that boat right now, remember you were there once. Everyone who will be affected by the Holy Spirit will be at different times. Tell them God loves them and they are beautiful. (P.s. they probably won't want to hear it! But they need too.) God bless! Find beauty from the inside, not what is temporary on the outside.

Spiritual Gifts!

Every follower of Jesus is blessed with at least one or more spiritual gifts! Want to know what spiritual gift you have!? Here is a quick passage. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. Here is a website I like: http://www.kodachrome.org/spiritgift/ It is a little long, but I would say accurate. There are many more spiritual gifts than the one's listed in the Bible verse above!

Doubts

First of all, EVERY believer has doubts. It is normal, and it is actually just part of believing. Some people have even told me that is good to have doubts, because problems strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ. One thing I have noticed, is that the weirdest things make me doubt. But when the winds stur and a storm starts in your life, falling back on God is the best thing you can do. I definately had doubts about coming to Spain for a year. I kept questioning, is this what God's plan is for me? What if this affects my faith in a bad way? I know that all summer, the fear of losing my faith while I was here was like a dark cloud hanging over me. It is definately really difficult, but I know now that I will not lose my faith in Christ Jesus while I am here. Some good things to do when you are in doubt, is read your Bible. Psalms is always good, talk with a Christian friend or family member, watch a Jesus movie, PRAY! Many people say reading Psalms out loud really helps. Doubting tends to be very temporary. Also, remember that Satan wants you to doubt. Consider yourself, why do you think you are doubting? What are your doubts about? Doubting can lead to learning about yourself. Lack a fellowship can also lead to doubts also. When I have doubts about God creating the world (especially when Atheists bombard me with what they think they know about the big band theory), I just look at how every single person is different - has a different finger print, personality, voice, eyes! Did you know that humans are the only one's who can cry, and laugh? Also, reproduction. How complicated it is, but how simple and such a miracle babies are! I like languages very much also. It is so cool how we learn languages and how so many different one's exist! I will have more updates on doubts later...about different situations of doubts you could possibly have. But the best thing to do is rely on scripture - the Bible. Feel free to comment, or ask me any questions! For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. John 2:1