1 timothy 4 (stay true)

"we're banking on the living God, Savior of all men and women."


no matter what age, what gender, whether outgoing or timid, whether athletic, artsy, musical, whether funny or kind, we are all children of God. we are all children of God that have the capability to spread God's plan, God's truth. and we are blessed that we are able to do that. "teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity." like katie williams was saying on the kentucky trip. whether we're on a missions trip on the other side of the world or just talking to our friends or parents, or doing our homework, we should be an example of Christ. we need to be an example of Him in everything and anything. we are His children! which in itself is crazy to think about. He is our Dad.

1 timothy 3 (leadership)

maybe it is just because i am insanely tired, but i really didn't find much in this chapter that stood out to me. i just find it weird that according to the bible, women aren't as high as men. and i don't really know what to think about that. like in chapter 2, how it says we're saved by childbearing. is that true? i don't believe so. yet it still says it in the new testament. i struggle with that. and like, katie williams is technically a youth pastor, but according to the bible, that shouldn't be allowed, right? i don't know. this has been one thing that has always confused me. and i don't know what to do about it because every time the question comes up, peoples answers are always different. but yes. i'm going to talk to you guys about this tomorow.

love,
heather

1 timothy 2 (have conversations)

I love how this first starts out, how Paul first starts out. "The first think I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know." There are so many times in our lives, our "we've been christians for as long as we can remember" lives that prayer is just regular. We pray before meals, we pray before church or sermons, we pray before bed, and depending on what is going on in our life, maybe sometimes for the struggles. And i know i have good and bad days when it comes to praying. But whenever i hear verses about praying it always brings me back to the verse that says we should pray continuously. That thought for me is unusual. Because as i said above, since praying is so regular, we should try to make a conscious effort to do it more than the regular. But the only way the praying continuously has ever made sense to me, is just having conversations with Him regularly, about everything. I strive to be able to do that without even thinking about it. But wouldn't that just make it regular? I don't know. Basically, my conclusion, i need to talk to Him about everything and anything. That's actually been on my mind a lot lately. There's so many times that (mostly when praying out loud) i get caught up in how good i sound, or how scholarly i sound. But i've decided something. What does it matter if i sound eloquent or if i sound frazzled? God knows exactly what i'm thinking anyways, and the prayer is directed to Him not the people listening! My new goal for praying: pray like He's right next to me (which He is), pray like He's a friend and He's gonna answer right back, pray conversationally.

I wish i could say this about my life: "This and only this has been my appointed work: getting this news to those who have never heard of God, and explaining how it works by simple faith and plain truth."

"Not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God." I feel like Christians are normally categorized in two ways. One, boring people who follow all of the rules and never have fun. Two, people screaming on the streets at people telling them to accept Jesus or you're going to hell, or condemning all sinners. This sucks. Guys, let's change this stereotype! We can't get caught up in other people's sins or other people in general for that matter, we need to glorify God with everything we have. Praise Him with everything we have. It's like in 1 Timothy, it all comes down to love.

Man-oh-man, is this verse good for us girls. I love the message translation of it too. "...humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it." I can't say that i don't care what guys think of me, but i so wish i could. I wish i could be so devoted to God that the only opinion i cared about was His. It's also crazy the contrast between God's eyes and the world's eyes. He finds our beauty in actions; the world finds it in our make-up and boobs. I like God's eyes much better. Yet i still (sadly) normally care more about the world's eyes (or at least the people that surround me).

love,
heather

1 timothy 1 (just love)

hello! i so hope this works.

also, just a note, i am reading from the message version. so yeah.. it might be a tad different!
and i don't really know how i want to do this quite yet, so for tonight, i am going to comment while reading the passage. kcool.


in the first verse, i already love that paul calls christ "our living hope". i really, really like that name.

in vs. 3 and 4, paul talks about how people have made up stories and bring unrelated things into Christianity ("digress into silliness") instead of being just fully devoted to Christ. It's amazing how even hundreds of years ago, people were still caught up in the rules and regulations and worldly things. and yeah, it's sad, but in a way, it's sort of comforting to know that you're not alone. it's like this blog. we need people around us to keep us accountable for not getting caught up in dumb things that will just bring us down. i love how the message puts this, "instead of pulling the people back into the center, deepening faith and obedience."

dang-a-rang. i just keep reading over and over vs. 5. i love reading verses i already know in the message. it's like a new way to think about it. "the whole point of what we're urging is simply love- love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God." wanna know something funny? one of the first things that came to mind when i read this was john mayer's speech in the middle of the song bold as love on his where the light is cd. he's just talking about how he feels like he's tried everything. but the one thing he hasn't truly tried is to just love. just truly love what's going on with everything he has. and i know john mayer probably wasn't talking about God in that instance, but he's so right. everything about every single thing we know will come down to just love with your entire heart.

another side note, vs. 7. "but haven't the remotest idea of what they're holding forth with such imposing eloquence." it just reminds me that a good relationship with God has nothing to do with how you can speak and sound like you know what you're talking about. it's about how you feel and how you believe it.

vs. 8-11. the bible was written for the sinful. period.

"He went out on a limb, you know, in trusting em with this ministry." We were just talking about this at lead tonight. It's scary and sort of heartbreaking to know that God doesn't need us. He really doesn't. But He chooses to use us, chooses to let us minister to others. And there's so many times that i get scared to talk to people about my faith or whatever, but He choose us to do it. He knows what we're gonna do, whether fail or embed something in someone's heart. And He still chose us. I need to learn to look at it as a privilege, not a scary moment. Also, i just reread the verse above it and it says that paul is grateful for making him adequate to do ministry. i've also never thought about it like that. God is awesome. and that is the end of this bullet point.

so i'm paraphrasing here, but i just think this is so cool. Jesus came to save sinners. we're proof, people who would never be anywhere without the love and sheer mercy of Christ. and now He shows me off (like in ministry). how crazy is that? a way God shows us off is by allowing us to minister to nonbelievers. i think that should be our life goal. have talked to so many people about Christ that it's like God is showing us off. :]



so, i have finished my first blog and i just want to say that i am so, so, so happy we are doing this. i love you guys so much. and i can not wait for tomorrow.

with love from your sister,
heather