Do you remember the person that I was talking about from my keyboarding class who seemed irresponsible and not like a Christian who gave me a new perspective on who he was? He made some... irresponsible decisions and got kicked out of the class. There are these strict rules that you can't be absent more than twice, and one tardy counts for one-half of an absence. Incidentally, he was absent the first day of class and then he was late three more times about a week and a half into the course. $250 down the drain for him. That stinks.


He sat next to me, we didn't talk much, but he would ask me the occasional question about what we were doing. He was nice, and I feel bad that he had to leave, but I still realized that my initial impression wasn't entirely inaccurate.

We are none of us righteous, but because of Jesus we are seen as righteous in God's eyes. (Thank the Lord!) The power of prayer is an amazing thing, especially when we pray in Jesus' name. You can't just pray and then tack on "...in Jesus' name." Praying in His name is praying something that He would pray, and thus striving to be like Jesus and have that kind of connection with our awesome God. When we keep our prayers to ourselves, sure, they're effective, but when people join together and pray it's so much more amazing. The reason I'm posting about this is that there has come a reason for me to ask for prayer.

My boyfriend is a music minister at a church, and the pastor has become very controlling and it's frustrating both of us. He treats him like his puppet, giving him none of the creative liberties that make the true worship in the church. We're becoming very frustrated and we don't really know how to handle the situation. The church is small and mainly populated with older people (60 or older). There are a few younger people, but not too many. We have trouble relating to some of the messages that he gives, and sometimes his ways seem very disorganized or we don't really feel spiritually fed. The services are fine, but we don't really like the Bible studies much, so we like to go to the back room and read the Bible as like an independent study. Now he's making us go to the Bible study because he doesn't feel like we're being "good examples." He went so far as to say something along the lines of, "If it's a problem of maturity, then this may not be the job for you." That cut deep.

I would really like any help that I can get with just praying for him and our pastor so that they can handle this situation and that the pastor's heart may be softened. I pray that my boyfriend will be able to forgive the way that he has been treated and do his job to the best of his abilities.

Thank you, and God bless!

I want to be remembered by love. I don't want to leave a scratch on the broken home that is our world. I want to break it's windows and let the sunlight in. I want to love like nobody expects. When I die and people ask themselves what made my life so significant, I want them to say, "She shone her love on the world like no one I've ever known."

We've all heard it many times before, but when someone wrongs you, the best thing you can do is to show them all the love you posess. "If someone has to steal from you, then they must need it more than you do." Our world's philosophy is if someone slaps you, you should push them to the floor. Revenge. It would be so easy for so many good people to change others' lives by not just forgiving but by loving. Those who have turned to knocking others down for their own enjoyment are clearly lost and could be easily turned around by finally knowing that there is someone who loves them.

It reminds me of the story of the shooting at the Amish schoolhouse. A madman killed about 7 kids at the school, and although it was a very sad time for their families, they said that they forgave him and wanted to help him. Even though his life didn't change, everyone around them was shocked. How could they do such a thing? Did they SEE what just happened? Aren't they going to do something about it? Yes! They are going to break a window and shine some of the love that people haven't seen yet onto the crowds. They can't see it because they're covered in the dirt of our culture!

I don't just want to love those who love me. Anyone can do that. I want to find people on the streets who have nowhere to sleep and give them a bed and a meal. I want to spend time with the people that may anger me sometimes, and I want them to know that I care about them. I want to be one of the drivers in rush hour traffic who stops to help the poor guy on the shoulder with a flat tire.

I want to be remembered by love.

1 Cor. 13:13 "And these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."


(It won't let me add it, so I'll just tell you! I'm listening to "If Everyone Cared" by Nickelback!)
 

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