Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Merry Christmas


Hello friends!

I hope you have had a very merry Christmas remembering our need for a Savior, celebrating the birth of that Savior, thinking of the death and then the Resurrection of our Savior, and now looking forward to the coming again of our Savior.



I hope you had a wonderful time celebrating the wonderful event with your family and friends, and please remember in your prayers those who have had to celebrate the holidays without a loved one this year because of death, those who have been affected by natural disasters (there was a tornado an hour away from where I live the day after Christmas),  and those soldiers and first responders who have had to serve on these days, too.

May God bless you this coming year with His peace in the midst of storms, and many good times and memories :)

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." ~ Luke 2:11

Blessings,

Julia <3

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Christmas Truce


Hello friends!
This is a video our pastor showed us at our monthly youth group meeting. You may have already heard about it, (I hadn't); it is a British Chocolate commercial based off of a truce made on Christmas during World War 1.   It is very good and I encourage you to take 4 minutes and watch it. 




I think this video portrays well the humanness of the soldiers fighting in war. It seems like we often think of wars like that in massive numbers, and sometimes don't remember that each soldier was an actual human being that had feelings and courage and family and a desire for peace, maybe a longing just to have fun and a good time. 

It is amazing to me that these men could go back to fighting each other after this. But it's also amazing and encouraging to see that even in the midst of such horific pain and sorrow and tragedy, God can give moments of peace and love and joy like this. 

 Isn't that what He did in coming to this wretched earth as a human, to live and die among us; to rise again, three days after His death, conquering sin and defeating death, giving us wretched, sinful humans hope and forgiveness and and the joy of being at peace with Him? He came, a beacon of light and hope in the midst of a dark, miserable, sinful world. Now He is changing us, little by little into His perfect, beautiful Image. Again, the light of His character in us in the midst of our dark and miserable and wretched sinful nature. 

The following verse is about the birth of Christ:

"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." ~Isaiah 9:2

I hope you enjoy(ed) this video! :)

Blessings,
Julia<3

Friday, December 18, 2015

Noise


Hello friends!

Last week, my little brother woke up in the middle of the night confused, whining and demanding things. He would not go back to sleep. He wanted a light on, his book, his bear, and other things. My sister and I were half asleep, and trying to go back to sleep, but he kept asking stuff and would not be quiet. Then when he had finally quieted down, and I was able to sleep in peace, our dog Roger started barking at something--probably a cow. He would not stop. And his bark is loud and deep. I lay in bed wide awake and annoyed. Of all the times that he could start barking! Now, in the middle of the night? After I had just been half awake for the last half hour or more?



My adorable little brother <3

But then I remembered something. Something I had read in a book a while ago. 
Living in a house with eight people--two of which are little boys--with noisy, Italian blood running strong, this story has come to mind a couple times.

It is a story of a man named Richard Wurmbrand. You may have heard of him--he was a missionary to his own country of Romania. 
He was imprisoned and tortured because he was a Christian living in a Communist country. 



Making a silly face :)

One form of torture he was put through was lack of sound. He was put into an underground prison that had no windows, and everything was dirt or padded. No footsteps sounding, no open and close of a door, no voices speaking. It made him go nearly insane. Imagine no noise at all?  How loud and obnoxious the constant conversation in your head would get!  How frantic and restless your brain would become! How welcome to your ears even the slightest sound! I remember distinctly a phrase in the book that said that he would be grateful for even a simple fly or mosquito buzzing in his ear. How often do we get annoyed by and take for granted these things? But there wasn't even that in this noiseless, padded cell. In case you are wondering, Mr. Wurmbrand,  by the grace of God, did not go insane or deny his Lord, and eventually was released from prison, later to found the ministry called Voice of the Martyrs.   




Our dog Roger


When I thought of this story that night, and when I think of it at times when I'm annoyed with the noise, I remember to be grateful for even that. Don't get me wrong; I often am annoyed and irritated with things, but I'm grateful for stories like these that sometimes can help me remember that these are blessings from God, and can help me grow more into Christ's image--even if they are irritating.

Next time you are annoyed with noise--even the constant buzzing of a fly or mosquito, try to remember the story of Richard Wurmbrand in a noiseless prison cell, nearly going insane for the sake of his Lord, who would be grateful for noise so simple as that; remember this, and give thanks to God for blessing you with it. 


Julia <3 

*Disclaimer: Story of Richard Wurmbrand is written as I remember it and is subject to some faults :) *
*The photos in this post are mine; please do not use without permission.*

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Trust


Has your trust ever been betrayed? Mine has. By multiple people at once. It's an awful feeling. At first it feels, well, shocking. Then along comes denial. (Surely it's just a misunderstanding and can be clarified, right? Surely it's not true!) Then there was grief-mixed with a little anger. (Even though it doesn't seem very positive, anger is a natural emotion that God has placed inside of us. It's when anger controls us that there's a big issue, I think. ) 

This betrayal of trust changed my life. When you've placed your trust in people and had full assurance of their honesty and transparency for twelve years of your life, found comfort, joy and security and a wonderful, extended 'family' through it, and then be told that...it was all a lie? That you were being deceived that whole time? It really was life changing--for me, anyway. 



It was life changing--but for the better. At first I didn't really see how it could come out good. My dad had to find a new job-praise the Lord he was able to get one pretty quickly. The remaining half of my friends had to move away, or I didn't get to see them on a regular basis anymore. There was tons of stress for awhile, and there still is some. All that while we were still trying to find a church family after having moved a year prior. 

But now I've been able to look back and see that God really has worked that situation out for good, as He promised in Romans 8:28, and that He really has shown that He is faithful who promised, as it says in Hebrews 10:23. 

Through this betrayal of trust God has taught me to be discerning.  He's taught me that we all have different roles in the Body of Christ which are supposed to be used to the best of our ability for the maturing and unification of the church (Ephesians 4).   I've had to learn how to move on in life. Almost my whole life had been wrapped around the people I trusted. But with that gone, I've had to grow in courage (Still a lesson not very well learned yet :) ) in order to make new friends.
  God has helped me to have more grace. He's teaching me about balance, forgiveness, love and perseverance.  




And mostly, He's taught me reliance on Him.  When I discovered that I had been deceived by people that I loved, trusted and respected for all my life minus 4 years (3 of which were the first years of my life and therefore I don't remember much from them), I felt like I couldn't trust anyone except my family, and God. And God. 
I can trust God. Why? Because things in this life are changing. They are unstable and don't bring lasting security. But God is not changing. He stays the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). So even though this world is constantly changing and never stable, God will always remain the same. Unwavering. That is why He can be our Refuge and our Strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). That is why He is our Rock, our Salvation, our Fortress and our High Tower (Psalm 62:2, Psalm 18:2). In Him we can find the stability and lasting security that can't be found in an ever-changing world.   





So, even though the world seems to be constantly changing and more and more people seeming to become untrustworthy, I pray you find peace, encouragement and hope in the stability and security of Christ. And remember that the battle is His.

"And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." -Romans 8:28

" Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful who promised." -Hebrews 10:23

Blessings,

Julia <3

(Photos taken by my lovely, very photography-talented, sister. Please do not use without permission) 

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Welcome!


Hello! 
Welcome to my blog!  Please don't expect me to post too frequently; I don't intend blogging to be on the top of my list of things to do, but I will try to post when I am able :)  

I hope you are blessed, encouraged and enjoy reading about the random things that come into my brain :) 

'O taste and see that the LORD is good: Blessed is the man who trusts in Him.' Psalm 34:8

Blessings,
Julia <3