too blessed to complain

we have been so blessed by God. 

i know you've probably heard that before but have you actually thought of all the blessings we have that some people don't? and then have you actually thanked God for giving you all those blessings?

first of all, we can be so grateful for the fact that we woke up today. we're healthy. we don't have a ton of medical problems. we're alive and breathing.

america is the greatest country in the world. even though we have many problems, we are still living in such a great country. we have so much freedom yet most of the time, we just see the bad things. not because there's so much bad covering the good, but because that is what we're looking for.

a test was taken to see which country had the most drinkable, clean water. the country with the second largest amount of drinkable water was france with 43%.

the first was of course america but the percentage of drinkable water may shock you. 98%. woah. that's a crazy huge difference. and that's kinda hard to comprehend. how some countries have so little of just a basic necessity.

now what about our education or jobs? there are some people who would be overwhelmed with happiness to receive a text book yet we don't want to go to our boring class. we have so many job opportunities that almost anyone could easily get a job but some people don't have any way to provide for their family.

we are so rich. no matter who you are. even though you may not have a mansion and get a brand new pair of shoes every week, we have so much money that some people could only imagine.

we have so much food. while some people are starving, we have problems with obesity. we are so blessed to be able to just go to any grocery store and get a meal for five dollars and there is an abundance of restaurants all around us.

we are blessed with so much technology and items that help us or entertain us.

we have houses to live in while some people have a one room shack if they're lucky.

but hold on... if we're so blessed than why do we complain much? it amazes me that some people in third world countries and such don't even have basic necessities such as water, food, clothing,or a lodging place yet they have such a grateful spirit. crazy fact: more people in the old testament were killed from complaining than from other sins. woah

here in texas, we had been needing rain because it was so dry and it was something some people had complained about. God sends the rain for twenty or more days straight and most people were complaining about all the rain. wait.. weren't we just complaining about how we needed rain and when God sends an abundance we complain about how we had too much rain? this seems like deja vu to me. i mean didn't the israelites complain about not having something and when God provided it, they went right back to complaining about something else? oh yeah.. that was right before he sent them into the wilderness for forty years because of all the complaining.

we need to try to stop the complaining. just try to not complain for a week and see how it changes you. there are just so many blessings that surround us for us to be thankful for. let's be too busy thanking God that we don't have time to complain.

real beauty

1 peter 3:3-5

your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. for this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves.

"your beauty should not come from outward adornment"

now this verse is not saying that we shouldn't be beautiful. It isn't saying that it's wrong to pay attention to our physical appearance. as women we should reflect the beauty, order, excellence and grace of God. not only in our inner person, but our outward appearance as well. but we need to keep things in perspective and remember that this aspect of our lives is fleeting. it's momentary. it can lure but it can't last.

"rather it should be that of your inner self"

in 2 corinthians 4:8 paul says "so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." our relationship with God has got to be the number one focus and priority in our lives if we're going to be the women that God made us to be. so let your adorning, or the thing that you consider attractive and beautiful, be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. so what should be the attitude and spirit of this inner self?

"the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."

woah woah woah... gentle and quiet? that may sound impossible for some of us. but it doesn't mean that we have to change our whole personality. this "gentle and quiet spirit" is talking about an attitude we have in us. a gentle spirit. that word in the original language is meek. the scripture says that for a woman to have that internal heart attitude of meekness or gentleness and a quiet spirit gives her a beauty that is imperishable. so how do we get this spirit of meekness? God wants to produce in us the fruit of his spirit. one of those fruits is gentleness. this  gentle and quiet spirit can only come from God. that is why we need to draw upon his sufficiency. he's the giver of fruitfulness. the fruit he wants to produce in us is the fruit of Christ living in us and being expressed through us, the fruit of the character of Christ being formed in us, the fruit of our being a blessing to others because of the life of Christ in us.

"for this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves."

so how did these holy women make themselves beautiful? they trusted in God; and as a result they developed an inner beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. to become this woman of virtue that God wants us to be we must develop a sense of fear in the Lord. that reverence for him. that awe for him. that trust in him. that love for him and hatred for evil. and we can't develop this apart from spending time with God in his word. and then everything about your life will be ordered around that consciousness of God's presence.

this is the site i read and got all this good information from if you want to check it out:

http://www.liesyoungwomenbelieve.com/do-i-have-a-gentle-and-quiet-spirit/

the start

i'm just starting this blogging thing so we'll see how it goes. i'm gonna try to put myself out there and really just say what's on my heart. 

i really just want whoever reads this to take away from it that jesus is everything you'll ever need and i'm praying that you will grow in him through what i blog about my journey in this crazy but wonderful life. i don't want anyone to think i have a perfect life because i so don't. i'm just trying to become a passionate pursuer of christ and people. one of the biggest lessons i've learned in life is to love. love others because he first loved us.

i hope you enjoy my blog!
i love you no matter who you are and jesus loves way more.