Contentment

Verse of the Day:

Matthew 6:33

³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

I have a friend who is constantly looking for something more.  She always thinks that having more of certain material things will make her happier.  She never feels people are giving her enough attention or dedication.  In all the years I’ve known her, I haven’t seen her completely content with where her life is.  Sometimes it breaks my heart that she is always reaching for something more.  Although this friend does have a relationship with God, she struggles to put Him at the top of her priority list and to ‘seek first the kingdom of God’.  She is a beautiful, wonderful girl, but she has a real issue with being thankful for what God HAS provided for her.

I know that I don’t have a perfect relationship with God either, but watching my friend struggle has made me see more than ever that no one will ever be content with material things and earthly relationships unless they are putting God as their #1 priority.  By doing this, we are making it easier for God to speak to our hearts and help us to be happy. 

The Simple Truth:  Unless you put God and your relationship with Him at the top of your list, you will never be truly happy with the things happening in your life.

Pray:

Lord, thank You for all You’ve provided me with in this life.  Help me to have You and Your desires for me as the focal point of my life.  Amen.

Peace, love & prayers-

K

Straying

Verse of the Day:
1 Timothy 1:6


Some people have left these qualities behind and have turned to fruitless discussion.

I think teenagers know best that life gets pretty busy, and it gets hard to keep in touch with God. Sometimes we stray away from the Lord, and to be honest it is hard to get back on track. What's so awesome about God is that He will ALWAYS accept us, even after we have wandered on our own path. I found this song about straying and having God change hearts. It's really good, give it a listen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnN-4JcXoDs

The Simple Truth: It is easy to stray away from God and wander down our own paths, but God will always accept us back into His heart.

Pray:

Lord, help me not to stray from you. If I do stray, remind me that You will be right there to let me back on Your path. Change me to stay strong in  you always, no matter how hectic my life can get. Amen.

Have a great weekend!

Let your light shine.

-Lo

Words

Verse of the Day:
Mathew 12:37


Jesus said, "For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned"


Sometimes I do not realize the power of words. I could be having an awful day and someone could come up to me and compliment me or give me encouragement and immediately my day can be brighter. Or just the opposite -- someone could say something nasty to make my day absolutely terrible. Words can make or break our day.

Most of us do a lot of talking every day. We talk to our parents, our teachers, and our friends. Do we realize how much our words mean though? Words are more important than we think! We use words to encourage others. We use words to put people down. We use words to make promises; to break promises. We use words to express our love and our dislike toward others. Words you spoke yesterday may define how your day was today.

Be conscious of the words you use around others and take into consideration the power in them. Think before you speak! :)

The Simple Truth: Words are important and very powerful. They can have more impact than you think.

Pray:


Lord, help me to use my words wisely and to think before I speak. Help me to encourage others with my words, not put them down. Help me understand the importance of words. Amen.

Let your light shine.
-Lo

Broken Pots

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."

"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We are all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father's table. In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste. So as we seek ways to minister together, and as God calls you to the tasks He has appointed for you, don't be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and allow Him to take advantage of them, and you, too, can be the cause of beauty in His pathway.

100

Verse of the Day:
2 Corinthians 5:9


So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please Him.


Well, here we are. We've made it to our 100th post! And YOU, our readers, have really helped us reach this milestone.

We started this blog in August kind of unsure what it would be like. We didn't have much experience writing devotionals, but we sure tried our hardest! Since it was August, we had a lot of time to write blogs, and a lot of times we would have blogs pre-written and ready to post. Then school started. We both found ourselves extremely busy and had a harder time squeezing in time to write. Then our grandpa died. Everything in our lives changed, and getting back into the swing of things took awhile. Eventually we got back into writing again.

Throughout this all, we'd ask ourselves if anyone was even reading our blog. Then every once and while, someone would approach us and say "I LOVE your blog. It relates to my life and has great messages!" We'd get fired up about writing again.

Sometimes it takes a lot to think up a good blog on a night with a lot of homework, but we have two great reasons to keep up the hard work. One is YOU, our readers. We want to help you stay in touch with Jesus even when your own lives get busy. Secondly, we're doing this to to strengthen our relationship with the Lord and to please Him.

The Simple Truth: No matter how crazy our lives may be, with a determination and help from God, any goal can be met.

Pray:


Lord, help me to keep you in mind when I am reaching for goals. Help me to realize that you are here to help me and motivate me for whatever challenge I pursue. Amen.

Happy 100th Post! Thanks for reading!

L&K

Character

Verse of the Day:

1 Corinthians 15:33

Do not be misled, bad company corrupts good character.

When I was in high school, I had a really great group of friends.  We all had similar morals and values, none of us drank, and we all were very driven to do well in school, excel in sports, and be involved in as many activities as we could.

I went to college without anyone from Watertown.  I was excited to make a name for myself and not be Erin’s little sister and to make all new friends.  A few weeks into school, I realized I hadn’t met very many people who were like my friends back home.  I was not spending time with people who were building me up in general, and especially not building me up in my faith.  Many of the girls I was hanging out with weren’t concerned about doing well in school, they liked to go out drink 4 nights a week, and they were hanging out with a new boy every day.  These were NOT the type of people I wanted as my friends.  I’m not sure where I would be if that would have been the group of friends I stuck with, but I’m willing to bet it wouldn’t be close to where I am now.

Eventually I did meet people who were much more similar to me.  I’ve met some of the most amazing people at college who my life would be so very different without.  And all of these people have helped me to become a BETTER person.  They’ve made me who I am today and helped me to get where I am right now – and I’m so happy with where that is.  So just like bad company corrupts good character, I think that good company can help your character, even if it’s good already.

The Simple Truth: No matter how much you try to control it, you DO end up becoming similar to the people you spend the most time with.

Pray:

Lord, help me to choose the people I spend my time with wisely.  I know that if I trust You, You will lead me to the people who will help make me who I am supposed to be.  Amen. 

Peace, love & prayers –

K

We Are Many Parts

Verse of the Day:
Romans 12:4


Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function.


As many of you know, I am a large choir nerd. This past summer, I got the opportunity to go to All-State Choir camp. IT WAS AWESOME. I had a wonderful director, and overall the experience was just amazing.


I've worked really hard to be a good singer,and I've realized that I've kind of got a knack for it. I thought I was pretty good just on my own! Then I went to camp last August. I was blown away. When we all came together as a group, we were so powerful. It was so overwhelming. Each of our individual talents came together to form one awesome giant sound of awesomeness. We all had different parts, too. I was a soprano, but there were other voice parts as well. We all came together to perform our specific role, and in the end, it turned out fantastic.


We all have different gifts. It's just the way it is. When we come together, though, we are so powerful. In a church, it wouldn't make sense for everyone there to be the pastor. We need the singer, the person who reads scripture, and the people who attend church to pull everything off. We all have a role and it's up to us to come together with everyone else to make it twice as powerful.


The Simple Truth: We all have different individual gifts, but when we come together and unite, the results are twice as impactful.


Pray:


Lord, help me to recognize my individual talents and my individual roles. Help me to then come together and pull my weight to make any group event a success. Amen!


Let your light shine.
-Lo