Philippians 4:8

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things."

Philippians 4:8

    Hey there! Sorry I haven't written in a while. Holidays are always so busy.
    To meditate is to think about something really hard, tossing and turning it around in your mind. Kind of like a Christmas present you may have been feeling and bouncing in your hand, trying to figure out what it is. You might meditate on a movie you just watched or a book you read or music you're listening to.
    I think what this verse is telling us is to watch what we put into our minds, to make sure what we're watching and reading is really good and positive. Because generally, what we constantly think about determines how we act. For example, when we read the Bible, we feel cleansed and encouraged, right?
    Truthful, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, praiseworthy--yeah, that's a lot of requirements. But I think it's worth it if that's how my thoughtstream becomes, don't you?

Proverbs 17:22

Somebody looks dry . . .

"A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones."

Proverbs 17:22
 

    Hmm, merry. Doesn't that word sound pretty familiar by now?
    Yes, I'm sure that everywhere we go, we're hearing "Merry Christmas" right?
    Merry, merry, merry Christmas. :)
    Indeed, with the holiday season here and Christmas right around the corner, there's a very good reason to be merry. Lots of reasons. In fact, there not only is it reasonable to be happy around the holidays . . . but there are always reasons to be merry all the time!
    Now wouldn't that be a great way to live--being joyful every day? It would be so sweet!
    I'm gonna try starting every day with a smile and see what happens! If you do the same, please tell me how it works out! :D

The Same Yesterday As Today

 

    Have you ever heard someone say anything like, "How can God be loving when He ordered the annihilation of whole nations in the Old Testament?" or maybe you've been told, "In the Old Testament, there were like a thousand rules and hard punishments. What awesome God orders the death penalty for picking up sticks on Saturday?"
    And maybe at the back of your own mind, when you think of God in the Old Testament, you think of His judgment, His righteous anger at a sinful people, and the punishments He gave them. Then when you look at the New Testament and see a loving Father, a caring Savior, and a comforting Holy Spirit, you kind of think of God different from when Old Testament days. I was kind of guilty of making this subconscious error. In the back of my mind, I was thinking that until Jesus Christ came and shed His blood, God got upset about sins and meted out judgment to quickly correct.
    But when you look at Exodus 34:6--7 . . .

"And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, 'The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and four generation.'"(NIV)

    When we read this, one realizes that God was just as merciful and grace giving and loving in the Old Testament as He was in the New Testament and as He is now. He really never changes. And everything God did in the OT was out of His love of the people and His desire to bring them the best--and the same applies to what He does for us today.
    Isn't that cool? :)

The Great Gentleman

"The Holy Spirit is a great gentleman. He will not push us to go deeper when we're not ready. He patiently waits to be desired."

~Susan Rohrer

    So true. God won't force Himself onto us. He patiently waits for us to turn to Him--and sometimes, that takes a very long time. God's grace and patience are so amazing.
    Sometimes in the back of my mind I think that God is getting impatient with me or upset for my slowness when I just don't get it. I'm so thankful for quotes like this, telling of God's loving patience. It's one of those things you hear right when you need it. :)

James 1:17

 

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."

James 1: 17

    No variation and no shadow of turning--in modern terms, God isn't going to take the gift back. I sure am glad to hear that, aren't you? Because sometimes I am guilty of neglecting God's blessings or even taking them for granted--for both of those things, I deserve to lose those blessings. But God is so good that He doesn't take them back. Instead, He encourages me and strengthens me--that just warms my heart and makes me love Him more.
    You know what this verse also applies to? Jesus Christ, the ultimate Gift of God, and His grace. He never takes it back. Even when we mess up horribly, He never repeals His grace.
    What an awesome and generous God we love.

Isaiah 7:8

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.'"

Isaiah 7:8

    Wow. What would you have said to that?
    If God had come to you and said, "Anybody here want to be sent out for Me?" would you have blurted, "Ooh! I wanna do it! Pick me!" or would you have maybe thought, "Hmm. What does God mean by being sent out?"
    Going out to do God's work is an awesome and glorious duty that we're given. It truly is blessing to us and to others. Though yeah, there are things to consider first--doing service for God doesn't always make us very popular. In fact, sometimes we're even hated for taking a stand for God, and we need to be ready to face that and move on.
    But in the long run, in the end where it really matters, the way people may have mistreated us won't even matter when we see God pleased with the work we've done. And in the meantime, we can still enjoy going out for God, knowing that He will be with us every step of the way.
    What has God called you to do? :)

The Gift Of Writing

 

"Writing is an extreme privilege but it's also a gift. It's a gift to yourself and it's a gift of giving a story to someone."

~Amy Tan

    True that! Writing is an awesome gift for us, an adventure, a blessing from God. And not only is it for us, but we get to bless others with this gift. It's a gift that keeps on giving! And a story is a pretty awesome gift, don't you agree?

I Am An Alien

 

I am an alien.
    And chances are, so are you.

    No, not that kind of alien.
    What I mean is that as Christians, we're foreigners, pilgrims. The world we live in isn't our permanent home. We're just passing through, journeying through life, destined to eventually be with God forever in heaven--what an awesome place to call Home. :)
    Looking around at the problems that our world faces, all the cruelty and injustice, I'm glad that where I belong doesn't have any of those things. I'm glad to be able to call heaven Home, and God my Father.
    In that light, I am very happy to be an alien. Aren't you?

Wrapping Up NaNoWriMo

Well, today is the final day of November and National Novel Writing Month (or if you prefer, just NaNoWriMo).

    Have any of you participated in NaNoWriMo this year? If so, awesome! Have you completed your Word Count goal?
    I have, and NaNoWriMo has helped me immensely--if I hadn't had to finish the story in a month, I would have trailed on through the middle of the story, creating unnecessary scenes that would be useless. So NaNoWriMo really pushed me in the right direction.
    Has NaNoWriMo been helpful to you? Even if you didn't complete your Word Count goal, has NaNoWriMo helped you in another way?

2 Timothy 1:7

 

 

 

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

2 Timothy 1:7

    Isn't this verse awesome? It's such a relief to remember that God's Holy Spirit not only dwells within us, not only wants us to be powerful, be loving brave, and have a sound mind, but that He'll empower us to be all these things! I'm so glad God is good to care about us like this. Aren't you?

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Ah, Thanksgiving.     The day of thankfulness. A time to sit back, stay still, and just be thankful for all our blessings.
    In the fall (I mean the season) of 1621 at Plymouth, Massachusetts, the Pilgrims of America gathered together for a three day feast. It was a huge thing for them because food had been scarce before--which was because farming was difficult in the new land. But thanks to the guidance of their neighbors, the Wampanoag Indians, and God's providence, they were able to survive in their new land. The Pilgrims were incredibly thankful, and so, a new holiday was created. A day dedicated to thankfulness.
    Everyone's been blessed with something. Family that loves you. Friends who support you and encourage you. A house to live in and be safe in. Clothes to keep you warm or cool. Food to eat when you're hungry and water to drink whenever you want. A hobby to entertain and be productive in. And for some, a job to have--a huge blessing in today's economy.
    And most importantly: a relationship with God. A relationship that brings peace, joy, and love in your life. To know that there's always Someone who cares deeply about you.
    Isn't God good to give us all these blessings? To give us such full lives?
    What are you particularly thankful for?

Um . . . hello!

    Hello, blog world! I am a human being.
    Yeah. Just wanna get that out there. :)
    Most people just call me Catherine. I'm a writer, a reader, a teenager, but most importantly I am a child and servant and lover of God. A Christian. A redeemed writer who's been forgiven of every mistake she's ever made (which is a lot, by the way).
    Another thing to know about me is that I love writing Christian fiction--the genres I write are called speculative fiction. That's the out of the ordinary fun stuff like superheroes, time travel, science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, alternate universes. That type of thing. I haven't been published yet, but it's my dream to be, and I'm going to work hard to get to that goal. In addition, I also love chocolate, puppies, cats, and working at my school's library.
    I'm glad to meet you, blogging world! I look forward to offering you my opinions on books, inspiration with Bible verses and quotes, muses on things in life, and other random stuff.
    Until later then! Sincerely, Writer Redeemed