Change

So this blog I want to talk about change as this has been happening so much to me lately and the topic has been on my mind lately. There are probably a lot of you guy experiencing this right now with college starting. From being a freshman entering college for the first time or being a senior entering college for the fourth year (maybe fifth or sixth), you are still experiencing change. So when I think about change I have some questions that pop into my head right away.

Why is change so hard?

Is change a good thing?

Looking at the first question. Why is change so hard? Well since we are creatures of habit we have a hard time changing. What is the rule it takes 14 days to break a habit or something like that. Change is just breaking a habit. I know it is difficult to do this. Look at the fact that 1000s of years ago we got into the habit of sinning and we still can't break it. Change was not suppose to be easy it was suppose to challenge us. I know changing your life of sin into one of obedience is not necessarily the same as going to college but it provides the same lesson. For example, When I left for school this year I had a very hard time with the change of being back on my own. Yes I did love the fact that I could do what I wanted when I wanted once again but I wasn't the happiest about the change. Now give me a couple weeks once classes and what not are not so overwhelming and then I won't mind the change. It just takes time. Now in the fact of being a sinner it is not easy and never was suppose to be. Just like leaving for college, I try to rid myself of sin. No I can't tackle everyone of my sins at the same time I would be more overwhelmed then ever so instead I tackle one maybe two at a time. In the beginning it is so hard to stay away from whatever it is. Let's go with swearing. From the start I stay strong maybe slipping up once here or there but it is a huge struggle and I have to keep catching myself. As time goes on it becomes easier and easier. Change in the beginning SUCKS but as time goes on it all works out and you can handle the task in front of you.

Is Change a Good Thing?

I am not going to say change is always a good thing but over time it is. People can change for the better or worse but if God has put a change in your life it is because he knows it will draw you closer to him. For me my freshmen year God changed my life dramatically by placing me so far away from my family and having to step out in my faith (which I didn't do for a whole semester almost). That change for a long time didn't seem like anything close to a good thing and then my sophomore year I realized how good that change was. I have been able to step out in my faith in more ways then I imagined and have been able to express my love for Him to others. Change was never meant to be easy but neither was life. We sinned and we are going to have to battle with the struggles of change. But if you look at change as God helping you, you will understand what is happening and why.

Change is something that each and everyone of us will deal with on a daily basis. Instead of trying to fight it lets embrace it. Let God lead you and help you down the path that he has planned for you. In my eyes change is a good thing it may take a while to see that and when it happens it may hurt and tear at you but if you keep your eyes focused on God then it will be just a road bump. Change is going to eat at you but don't let it take you down. Just pray to God and ask him to help you through it. He has a plan for us and that plan is going to help each one of us get closer to him.

^{1 Corinthians 15:50-52}

⁵⁰I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵²in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed

Part 2: God's Words

So this is part 2 from my last blog about seeing God in your life. Well the next topic I wanted to talk about was God speaking through us. Now I am going to change up the style of this blog a bit and give you what happened to me and then answer some questions I asked myself.

Okay so that day when I was praying with the prisoners at the softball game I really saw God speak through me. Praying in these situations are always thinking on the top of your head but that day I had no clue what to say. I feel God really took over the prayer and spoke right through me. He really used me to speak to the three guys I was praying with. He spurred what I was saying in my prayer to a great conversation that we had after about God and his love.

Why is it that we don't let God speak through us?

Well this question is a hard one to answer. But like always we got the whole sin problem that stops us. And like the last blog maybe we don't take the time for him to talk through us. I really have never felt God speak through me when talking to others until that night. Since then I have felt him do it a few times. I don't know if this is because I have slowed down to look for him or if its because my faith has grown recently. But when he speaks through you he speaks with such peace and you realize how great he is. He will put words into your mouth that make you just stand their in amazement. It is truly an amazing feeling.

Please everyone take time this week to stand back and see God. Step out in your faith and talk to others and God will provide. Say a little prayer before you talk to others for God to be with you and you will be at a peace you have never felt before. Maybe the opportunity to feel God speaking through you is when you take the time to step out in your faith. When you step out God will be there to guide your hand or your words.

John 20:21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

Time

So yeah I said I would post this on Wednesday but I have been away from the computer for a while so here you guys go.

If you are facebook friends with me you got to see that Tuesday night I had a reality check. Well going off that and my last blog I have been playing on this prison softball ministry through my church. To recap we go there every Tuesday play two games with the prisoners and pray with them afterwards and talk to them a bit about God or just life. Well this week my lesson I learned was about slowing down and how I don't pay attention to the world. I know I have done a similar blog before but I feel I have a new take on it right now.

Why do we do this?

Why don't we See God in Everything?

Are we to busy with the world?

Okay so Why don't we see him in everything? There is so many reasons we don't but I can only hit a few. We let sin get in front of us on a daily basis and our eyes and ears go elsewhere. Most of the time when we see something normal we look past it but we look at the strange all the time. We do not see what we should see that God has given us. God has given us so much to look at and we just look over it. The reason I wrote this is from the beautiful sunset we all watched in the prison yard. We were all taking the time to look at this and the first thing I thought of was God. The beauty from that sunset could be from none other than the Lord. It was something that when I am not in the prison walls I do not see.

On that note Let's talk about the second question Are we to busy with the world? In my eyes yes we are. We get caught up in making more money, getting higher in the company, or being in the best physical shape we can be. We sit in front of a tv or do something that takes us away from others. Whatever it is we do not see the wonderful world God gave us. Being in that prison I saw the beauty of the sunset. Usually I have to make plans to go to the beach or something to see that but God puts it over my head every day to see. And why is it just the sunset that amazes me. Have you ever seen the sunrise? It is just as amazing or watching a storm role in? What about looking at that tree you have passed for the last 20 years of your life? For me I look at all of these things and just look up to God and see how all that he has put together here wasn't a mistake but a plan. It is so tough to see that until we are forced to look at his world we usually don't. Talking to Bob an older prisoner made me realize all this. He never realized how beautiful the sun could be until he had nothing else to look at. He has since seeing the beauty turned to God and started going to church. Why did it take being put away to see God? Do we need to make ourselves stop and look? Why can't while we are driving down the road see this? It is always there and we negate it daily. God loves us each very much and if we just take some time to look around and see his glory you will be smiling and happy for life. Maybe exactly what you wanted didn't happen but who cares when you got God. If he is willing to give us this beautiful world just think about what Heaven is going to be about. I cannot even imagine. I feel like i will fall on my knees in awe because sometimes I feel like doing that here.

Well that was a long blog. But I am so passionate about this right now. I have been seeing God in so many places since that softball game and my life has been so great. Seeing him every day has made me happier and don't worry about what is happening here but realize God loves me and will do anything for me. I ask that you just look for God and don't become a prisoner in this world and not see him. Be free and the more you see God the more you become free from the chains of the world and are able to be with God. We like to have people see the work we do, how about we acknowledge God's work. It truly is amazing.

Isiah 33:17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar.

Part 2 of that day will come soon on God's presence with me that day.