Dreams

We need to get out of our comfort zones. I of all people live in a “safe” zone. I am not an adventurous person. Some days if I could hid away in a cave I would. But I was not meant to be a bear. If I was meant to be a bear I would have been a bear…. Last time I checked I wasn’t a bear.


In high school, middle school, or even elementary school we choose to live in a box. Most of us hardly associated with other people within other groups. Given all of us are different but we didn’t give some people a fair chance. We think just because that person doesn’t have the coolest clothes that they are any less than us. You don’t have to have an American Eagle, Hot Topic, Abercrombie & Fitch, Aeropostale, or Hollister (or any other store) outfit to “fit” in.


One of my favorite artist’s Sugarland once said “Nobody wants to be rejected”. That is very true who wants to be rejected .… no one. We have outsiders who feel like they are all so alone. What if we had decided to love everyone and treated everyone like Jesus. The world would be a much different place if we didn’t have cliques. It is good to have friends we share a common interest with. But we are also supposed to love other people. Most people have problems we are all human. But just because someone is addicted to drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, people pleaser, beauty (thinking you must change to fit cultures way), spending all your time on the computer, social networking sites, and much more. We can be addicted to just about anything. I haven’t listed everything. I don’t know what most of you are addicted too. But what I do know in the end is that thing ever going to make you whole. I don’t think so. We all go through so many different struggles. But we have to turn to the one who can change it all for us.


Now I know you’re saying the world isn’t perfect and I understand that. But why should that stop you. Everyone else is doing it you say. Well what if you caused someone to come to know Jesus by your actions. Let me reface that another way. It works both ways. What if you caused someone to not come to Jesus by your actions? Do you want to live the legacy of being caught up only in yourself? You need step out of your comfort zone to try something new. You don’t want to wake up at 100 years old and go where did my life go. What if I would have loved that person who was a non-Christian and invited them to church? Maybe their life would now be changed forever.


What if I would have been a painter, drawer, made an invention, builder, singer, actor or an actress, writer, engineer. I am sure you can fill in the blank with something. What if I would have been a _________. You can’t sit on the sidelines waiting for it to jump out in front of us. It won’t be saying “You’re supposed to be a _________”. God can speak to you and lead you in the right direction. But we have to learn to wait. It will happen when it is in his timing not ours. But you also have to take a step you can’t stay in your comfort and be afraid to get out there and do what you are meant to do. If you stay in fear and let fear control you. You will never move forward. You have to as the old saying goes “think outside the box”. It also goes the same you have to get out of your safe place. You can’t hide forever. You have to get out there and go after your dreams. We just have to trust God and he will bring us to where we are supposed to be. You can’t expect it to show up on your doorstep one day and be handed to you. God could do that because he can do anything. But we all have to learn how to believe and follow God to lead us to where we need to be. We have to have faith in him.


“Jesus looked hard at them and said, No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it." Matthew 19:26 (The Message Bible)

“ Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26 (New International Version Bible)


Today, I heard this song called “Shine”. The writers who wrote that song hit that song on the nail. The song isn’t released yet. Jo Dee Messina decided to record that song for her next album. It’s on her official website. It’s only for the chorus of the song. But the chorus hits home to me. These are the lyrics to the song. It hits radio in March I believe.

“I don't wanna spend the rest of my life And wonder why the world passed me by While I wasn't lookin' or laughing Gonna cut loose from all these chains Turn 'em into a fist full of reigns And ride out cause now there's no doubt Everyday I'm alive you can bet that i'm gonna shine Na na na na na na na na na na na....”

I have done more research and found one full version of the song. You will have to click “Shine” to listen to the song. The song is really inspiring.

http://www.reverbnation.com/jodeemessina


What if you took a chance and actually made your dream come true. But if you’re afraid to take a risk then you could miss out. Now I know we aren’t all suppose to be famous. Some of you may like to be. But look at most of the stars the paparazzi follows most of them around like a hawk. Everything right or wrong they do is seen in the public. We all need to be original and not try to be another celebrity or another person. We need to be ourselves. I am sure you can think of someone you look up to you wish you could be. But that person has challenges too. You don’t even need to go to the extreme and have plastic surgery to look like someone else. If you’re trying to look like Brad Pitt or any other celebrity the world only needs one of them. You need to be unique. Mary Mary once said “Don’t try to duplicate anybody be original cause God has given you something and he wants you to give it to the world.”


In Natalie Grant’s book entitled “The Real Me” she takes about how she needs to be the girl God sees. Natalie Grant said, “These days more and more people are tempted to follow celebrities’ lead and seek out plastic surgery to fix whatever they don’t like about their physical appearance.” She also tells of a story about a girl who had surgery twenty-six times to fix things she didn’t like. If you struggle with your beauty I would recommend this book for you. Even if you don’t it is still a great book.


So don’t be afraid to step it up a notch and go after your dreams. You need to be the person God created you to be. If you get the chance to share his love to someone do it. You don’t need to worry that person might stop being your friend. If they died today where would they go? It’s very simple Heaven or Hell. Both are very real. You don’t know their heart only God does but we still need to try to point them in the right direction.


Some of you may not like your job a 100% of the time. I know I haven’t always liked it especially when a customer yells at you. Most of the time stuff I can’t control. But you have to do it like your working for the lord. I work at a customer service job. One of the rudest things I have seen is people who talk on the phone and never say a work to you. You can’t even ask them a question because you think you’re interrupting. Would it hurt to call that person back? Cashiers are just as important as anyone else. The cashiers are human and would like to be treated like one. They are NOT robots. In the future that might be the case but I hope not. Then people would lose their jobs. God didn’t create robots and we weren’t meant to be couch potatoes and watch TV twenty-four hours a day. Well then I guess the actors or actresses would then be robots as well…. What kind of life would that be worth living? We were meant to get out there and live. Another thing is when customers don’t answer you when you ask how they are. Maybe they didn’t hear you or maybe they chose not to listen. But you need to answer and ask them how they are back. It takes two people to have a conversation. It is all about communication. Now I am not saying you have to stay at the store for three hours taking to that person unless you feel like you need too. But just a simple gesture goes a long way. It takes all kinds of people to make the world go around.


“Servants, do what you're told by your earthly masters. And don't just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you'll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you're serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn't cover up bad work.” Colossians 3:23 (The Message Bible)

“For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm 30:5 (King James Version Bible)


I don’t know if any of you have heard Toby Mac’s new song “Lose My Soul” with Mandisa and Kirk Franklin. The video is really good. So I would encourage you to watch it. The video makes you think of all the other things that could make you lose your soul. One of the guys in the video steals a computer. Another guy buys a gun and then he tries to rob the clerk. The song tells about how Toby doesn’t want to lose his soul over fame. But the video gives it a completely different meaning.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m3NVJXCV31QUVR


Here are some of the lyrics:
“I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul, Don't wanna walk away, let me hear the people say. I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul, Don't wanna walk away, let me hear the people say.”

When you think about fame it’s only an earthly word. You can’t take fame or money with you. Yes, you have to have money to survive but don’t be too consumed by it.

“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:10 (King James Version Bible)

“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” John 18:36 (King James Version Bible)


See you have to choose to be happy always and love your life. You can’t love others if you have a hard time loving yourself. Now that doesn’t give you a right to be selfish. When you love yourself you love the things that God has given you. You don’t stand in the mirror and say “I look bad today”. You can’t go aw that person has this new toy and I don’t. You can’t stay in self pity. You have to get up and keep moving forward. I know it’s easier said than done. But if you have dreams go after them. If it doesn’t work out there is always another dream to dream.

Start dreaming dreams. Don’t live in fear. You are free! He believes in you!

God Bless,
Andrew

How We Could Be

I am sure we all remember this in the news. Jessica Simpson is being called fat which she is absolutely not. No wonder girls think they are overweight and some of them are becoming Bulimic or Anorexic. Some are even doing things worst then that. We need to be focus on being the person God created us to be. I do believe we all need to work out and try to be as healthy as we can be. But we shouldn't beat ourselves up over it.

Here is a picture of the outfit she wore at a concert.
http://images.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/20090126/293.simpson.jessica.012609.jpgSo you may not like the outfit but that's okay. We all have different tastes and styles on how we dress. God didn't make us all have the same features and attributes. We would all be boring and very much the same. We all have different names which is a good thing. We wouldn't want to all be called one name.
I love how Point Of Grace Recorded a song about this entitled "On God's Green Earth".
The lyrics goes something like this "On God's green earth...if every color was the same And every child had just one name There'd be no beauty for each of us to claim". We were all created to have special talents that no one else has. We need to use those gifts and not waste them.

I know it's so easy to listen to other people criticize us. But we can't live and let them win. We have to continue to be positive about ourselves. We need to stop being negative and saying poor poor me. I am not saying we should criticize them and tear them down. That will help no one. But we need to encourage our friends and enemies.
"God didn't set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we're awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we're alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it". 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 (The Message Bible)
"Would you mind if I said something to you? Under the circumstances it's hard to keep quiet. You yourself have done this plenty of times, spoken words that clarify, encouraged those who were about to quit. Your words have put stumbling people on their feet, put fresh hope in people about to collapse". Job 4:1-6 (The Message Bible)


Hollywood will try to tell us to look thin and act a certain way to fit in. "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you". Romans 12:1-2 (The Message Bible)
"If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face." Romans 12:6-8 (The Message Bible)

You don't need to get stuck into peer pressure and have that first drink or first smoke or first "hook up" whatever you want to call it these days. I am not judging you if you do that type of things. But for me I choose to try and do my best and stay strong and reject them.

Will I make a mistake? Yes, I will. I am by far from perfect. But God will forgive you when you make a mistake. All you have to do is ask for forgiveness. Natalie Grant also recorded a great song about "Perfect People." "There's no such thing as perfect people There's no such thing as a perfect life
So come as you are, broken and scarred Lift up your heart and be amazed And be changed by a perfect God." Natalie Grant has suffered from Bulimia. But she chose to overcome it. Now she sings songs that will hopefully change people lives and touch them in some way.

We also have another Christian artist Mandisa. She was on American Idol. Now she is trying to teach girls to be happy and focus on their True Beauty. She recorded a song called "True Beauty” Some of the lyrics are "What's inside of you What's inside of me The hands that made the moon and stars The mountains and the seas Made you wonderful, beautiful, marvelously Let the whole world see your True beauty" This is another verse of the song "Doesn't come in a bottle, doesn't come in a box You can't spray it on, you can't wash it off You can't nip and tuck, you can't sew it up So don't waste your time It's the love in your heart, the peace in your soul The hope in your smile lets the whole world know This little light - you gotta let it shine." That song is the truth. We have to let people see what's inside of us. You have to let your light shine.
"The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord." Psalm 45:11 (New International Version)
"Your domain was on the high seas; your builders brought your beauty to perfection." Ezekiel 27:4 (New International Version)

We need to love people and help people out whenever we can. We have to live and make our Dreams happen. When people hurt us we have to forgive and forget. I say a quote from God Daily Promises. "I can forgive, but I cannot forget," is only another way of saying, "I will not forgive." HENRY WARD BEECHER. That quote is so true. I have struggled with this. I have not let stuff go but I have been slowing starting to let stuff go. It doesn't do you any good to hold on to past mistakes and hurt. Joel Osteen has written two books telling you how to live a Better Live. One is called "You Best Life Now" and the other one is called "Become a Better You". He has helped me to finally realize that I have to let things go. I think everyone should pick of a copy of both of those books and read them.
“Come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.”
1 Kings 19:3-4 NLT
“Even if he wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, forgive him. “
Luke 17:4 NLT
Another quote from God Daily Promises is "It is far better to forgive and forget than to hate and remember." AUTHOR UNKNOWN. That one is also very true.
Amy Grant recorded this song called "Simple Things".
"Cuz I dream of simple things I can believe in Like the feeling this day brings True love and the miracle of forgiving I believe in simple things"

Natalie Grant even recorded a song called "Let Go" and that's what everyone needs to do.
"But I'm ready to let go Looking forward to don't know Forget about yesterday, get away And live in the right now Yeah, I'm ready to let go And I'm ready follow Anywhere the road bends Where it ends I don't know So let go. Oh, we live in the future We got our regrets Cause we don't live in The present tense
(It's) hectic in my mind (Gonna) leave it behind. Don't wanna over think it Don't worry so much Gonna live this life And not lose touch I'm gonna let go."


"Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality. Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody. Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it." Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good." Romans 12:9-21 (The Message Bible)

I lost an aunt a few months ago. She died from cancer. She was in her 40's. I get another day if it's God's will. It was her time to go. But I got another day.
Mrs. Natalie Grant recorded this awesome song that really moved me. It is called "Another Day". The lyrics are "Another day Another chance to love the ones I love To find my way To laugh, to dance Watch the sun come up Another day I get to live As if Every breath could be the last I take I get another day. To make somebody smile Go the extra mile Take a wrong and make it right And try to touch somebody's life."
We don't know when we will die so we have to live when we get another day. I first heard this song the day after she died and went to be with the lord. Coincidence no. I believe God wanted me to hear this song then. I have had that CD with that song on it for a while. Nothing happens for a reason. God makes it happen when it's suppose to happen.


So are you going to let go? Are you going to forgive people who hurt you before it's too late? Are you going to love people and try to make a difference? Are you going to make your dreams come true? Are you going to be positive?

I hope you will. In fact I know you will! May you live and your dreams come true!

Andrew