Wake Up

Okay, so right now, I am really hoping that you did not watch that with your kids! But you're probably wondering, why the heck did she just show me some atheist smacking God around?! In fact, I know this is what you're wondering, because I would wonder that too. I apologize for the language, but it was a much needed wake up call.

When I saw this video, my emotions were all over the place. He had a couple good quotes, "Suppose they hand you an upside down, backwards, Chinese, braille bible with half the pages missing." That made me laugh. Because I really don't think that there is such a thing. Never mind, we're in the 21st century. I'm sure there's something like that kickin' around this world somewhere. But just picturing this bible, he wasn't making fun of God in this sentence, he was poking fun but I think that it's okay, to a certain point.
I, for one, will not swear on a bible. Why? Because, yes, I am going to tell the truth. But, no, I am not going to swear on my God, because what if I mess up? I'm only human, I could say something wrong. It's possible. Then that's on God's name, and that's not what I want. I can't remember where, but I do remember reading somewhere in the New Testament that you are not supposed to make promises on God's name, because what if you break that promise? Exactly.
"Let's get back to the Bible, America's favorite national theatrical prop." It has become that, hasn't it? It's used to make people look good, without actually having to open it or have a relationship with God. It's become theatrical. If someone has a bible in their hand, they must be a good person! First off, what in the world is a good person?! They don't exist. Have you sinned? Yes. Have I sinned? Yes. There ya go, we are no longer good. God is good. He is good and holy and awesome. People are not good. We do good things, but we are not good.
"They f*ckin' made it up, folks. It's make believe!" AND PEOPLE CHEER. What kind of a society do we live in that people don't even fear their creator anymore? God has destroyed entire cities before, do you not think that he has the power to do the same to you? The tooth fairy, unicorns, Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, they are make believe. God, the one who made us, who knows the very number of hairs on your head, who knew you before you were born, who knows every word before it comes out of your mouth, who put you on this earth for a purpose, is not pretend. What does the tooth fairy do? She collects teeth. We all know it's our parents. Santa Claus? Gives us presents. That is our parents too. The Easter Bunny? Gives us decorated eggs and chocolate. Parents, as well. God? I have shared the miracles I've witnessed before. The wind and waves listen to him, he heals people, he gives us exactly what we need, he comforts us, he protects us, he gives us a place in heaven with Him. Your parents can't do that. There is no possible way.
"Let's leave the Bible aside, we'll get back to the science-fiction reading later." This is what makes people like me want to punch people like him in the face. Yes, we are suppose to love everyone. I realize this. But this angers God as well. Am I not able to be angry at something that a person does that also angers God? We should be angry at the same things that anger God! We should love the same things God loves. Am I going to punch this guy in the face? No! This is my anger speaking. Again, God has destroyed entire cities from his anger. He put his anger into action. But I am not in the position to do that, I don't have that authority. God created us to love, so that is what I will do. But science-fiction, really buddy? Are we going back to the Big Bang theory or what?! Do you not see how complex this world is? How could there not be a creator? An amazing, divine creator who loves us so much.
"I'll tell you about as much truth as the people who wrote that f*cking Bible, how do ya like that?" It's hard to love people like this, isn't it? My first instinct when my dad told me he was dead was, Good, he deserves to be burning in hell. But we all deserve that. I am not proud of thinking that. But guys, if we could have saved this man, that would have been amazing. I wish we could have saved him and he could have been in heaven right now. Because God is a gracious God, and he forgives, but only if we come to him first. We have to take the first step.
"The God excuse, the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument, it came from God. Anything we can't describe must've come from God." Alright, yes, people do use God as a crutch. And it's sad, but it's true. We can't escape that truth. Again, some people use it to look like good people. Good people, that is what's imaginary. But it's true that anything we can't describe must've come from God, because we can't understand his ways or his purposes in the things he does. We can't do it. We can study the bible and pray and learn about Him, but there is no way that in this life time that we will ever know all there is to know about God. And I love that, because then our thirst will never die.
"Personally folks, I believe that if your rights came from God, he would've given you the right to some food every day, and he would've given you a right to a roof over your head, God would've been lookin' out for ya." I've written about this before, too. I hate it when people say this. Blessed are those who suffer, blessed are those who are poor, because they can truly rely on God. You wanna know more about my thoughts on this topic, and if any of you can find where in the world I wrote about this, please comment, because I cannot find it to save my life. (I exaggerate, quite a bit, if you haven't already noticed.)
"But let's say it's true. Let's say God gave us these rights, why would He only give us a certain number of rights?" Because he let's people do whatever we want! Sure, they may be "God given", whatever that means, but they are human created. God doesn't have us on puppet strings, controlling our every move. He lets us do whatever we want, and that's why he is so much more happy when we come to him and love him, willingly. God is not the one who made these rights, people are. He didn't control it.
"And apparently God was doing sloppy work that week because we've had to amend the Bill of Rights an additional seventeen times, so God forgot a couple of things like slavery...just f*ckin' slipped his mind." Okay, first off, GOD MAKES NO MISTAKES. He is perfect in every single way. We make mistakes. Humans make mistakes. God turns those human made mistakes into something he can use, something he can turn into a beautiful creation. God didn't create slavery. His heart breaks for people still suffering from slavery. But he chooses not to control it. Because that way, he can use us. He knows people's hearts.
"Why would God give different people in different countries different numbers of different rights?" He didn't, people did.
"Just when these American citizens needed their rights the most, their government took them away. And rights aren't rights if someone can take them away." True. It's a sad world we live in today. We live in a fallen world. And it's not getting any better.
"They're privileges. That's all we've ever had in this country, the Bill of Temporary Privileges." Yes, privileges. We deserve nothing. Only, and I mean only, because God is a gracious and loving God does he allow us to live. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life." When we sin, as we all have, we deserve to die. But when has God given us what we deserve? Just the other day, I sinned and I knew it, and I found my earrings that I had lost and was so upset about. I did not deserve that. But God, my Daddy, showed me mercy and kindness when I least deserved it. Privileges. We have privileges. It is a gift, not deserved or earned in any way.
"I feel, for instance, I can do anything I please. But if I do something you don't like, I think you have the right to kill me." Yes, we can do anything we please. But when you give your life to God, you don't have that desire anymore. You live your life to do what pleases him.
"So the next time some *ss hole says to you 'I have a right to my opinion.' You say, 'Oh yeah? I have a right to my opinion, and my opinion is you have no right to your opinion.' " It's sad, but it's true. We have no rights. They can easily be taken away. But again, other than the language, this quote made me laugh.
So what do we do? At first when I watched this, I was so mad. But then, I got sad. Sad that this guy doesn't know my God, that he doesn't have a relationship with him, that he would dare talk about the Almighty Lord in this fashion. You guys, we need to save people like this. We need to spread the Good News and tell people about God, because there are people like this man still out there, and they need our help. All we have to do is plant the seed, God will water it. Trust in him, he will do it. This was a good, much needed wake up call. It's hard putting it into action, but I'm trying my hardest.
God bless you guys,
Ariel

Bring It On

Last night, I watched the movie Bring It On-Fight to the Finish. I really liked it, so I watched it again tonight. Movies with dancing always gets me feeling pumped up and confident. I just want to dance and do my hair and makeup and wear clothes that make me feel good. But there is a problem with this movie. It makes me feel incredibly insecure in who I am. Am I sexy enough? Am I supposed to be sexy? Am I supposed to talk like them? Or dress like them? Or dance like them? Can I pull off any of the clothes they wear or the way they talk or the way they dance? Do I have that confidence?
I know better. That's what's so stupid about this. I know that I don't need to be sexy. I know that. I know that if a boy likes me, I don't want it to be for my body or my looks. But is there any harm in making myself feel confident through my looks? Maybe.
I took a jump this year. I had long, long brown hair. I cut it till about shoulder length and dyed it back to blonde. Lighter than my natural colour. I had never taken that kind of risk before, and I loved it. It made me feel confident. I started experimenting with makeup, I love that too, because it makes me feel confident. I started taking more time to do my hair, and I knew that it looked good. And I stopped caring. I stopped caring what others thought of me. Of what I wear or how I walk. I used to have incredible back pain because I was so self conscious when I walked, I didn't like people watching me. Now, that's gone. Why? Camp did an amazing thing this summer, it gave me real friends and real confidence and a real relationship with my Father in heaven. And that is where my confidence should come from. And it did, while I was surrounded by those people.
But then you come home, and you start watching tv and reading magazines and getting pushed to be more like them, to conform to the world. I'm only slowly noticing how I'm buying into this, and I don't like it. This movie made me realize that. I've always loved the ghetto style, and I wish I could pull it off! I've always loved Latin dancing and hip hop, and I wish I knew how to move my body like that. I've always thought that black people are some of the most beautiful people on this earth, and that their skin just glows. I've always loved dark hair, and I wish my skin wasn't so pale so that I could have it. That was all in this movie. And I want it. But that scares me. That I'm buying into that.
I don't like what tv and magazines push at us. That we have to be perfect. That our skin has to be smooth and our makeup perfect and our hair shiny and long and we have to be stick thin. You know what? I want my skin to be smooth and clear and perfect, and when it is, I feel on top of the world. I want my makeup to emphasize my features and make me look beautiful, and when it does, I'm on top of the world. I miss my long hair some days, because there were so many things I could have done with it that I never tried. I want to experiment, but I also want to be safe. In gym, we did a body composition test. And I'm not ashamed of my weight or anything. I'm 110lbs and 5'8", and I always thought I was under weight. And I liked that. But now, I'm "average". I hate that. My stomach dropped when I learned that and I felt so, yuck. I hated it. And I hate that I've gained weight. But I have to accept it. It's a lot harder going through this than I would have thought, because I've always been stick thin, why would I need to worry about my body? But I've noticed that I do worry about it a lot more than I'd like to admit.
Watch yourself, you guys. Don't let that advertising pull you in. No one is that perfect. I need to learn that. This whole world needs to learn that. We just have to be open minded and let our confidence come from God and not this world. Be not of this world.
God bless you guys,
Ariel

Father's Love Letter

This is incredible-and every bit true.

My Child ~


You may not know me, but I know everything about you ~ Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up ~ Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways ~ Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered ~ Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image ~ Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being ~ Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring ~ Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived ~ Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation ~ Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book ~ Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live ~ Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made ~ Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb ~ Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born ~ Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me ~ John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love ~ 1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you ~ 1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child and I am your father ~ 1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could ~ Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father ~ Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand ~ James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs ~ Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope ~ Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love ~ Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore ~ Psalm 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing ~ Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you ~ Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession ~ Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul ~ Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things ~ Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me ~ Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart ~ Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires ~ Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine ~ Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you ~ Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart ~ Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes ~ Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth ~ Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus ~ John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed ~ John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being ~ Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you ~ Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you ~ 1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love ~ Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me ~ 1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again ~ Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen ~ Luke 15:7

I have always been Father, and will always be Father ~ Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is ~ Will you be my child? ~ John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you ~ Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad, Almighty God

Words vs Actions

Let me start out with what I told all 555 people I have on my facebook:
Claiming to be a Christian does not guarantee you a spot in heaven, some people have a false understanding of what it means to claim the name of Christ. If you say you believe in him, then start LIVING for him every day, in every action. Jesus is not just a quick fix, he is a life style. He is our role model.
Why is it that we all think that once we say the prayer, we're fixed forever? Let me tell you right now, it doesn't work that way. I get so excited when I can talk to people, believers or unbelievers, about God. I get SO excited when people accept Christ into their lives!!! I had 7 campers this summer either commit their lives to Christ for the first time or rededicate their lives. All in one evening too. My co-counsellor and myself were SO excited, she had to run out and tell someone and she had tears in her eyes. All I wanted to do was scream and praise God! It was just an awesome evening and I remember it so well. I remember the feeling of excitement I got from seeing all these girls, at bed time, wanting to invite Jesus into their hearts. Praise God. I will never ever tell someone: No, I won't let you accept Jesus because you're going to be a hypocrite just like the rest. No. I would never do that. Anyone who has, wants to, or will ever accept Christ, I am so excited for you!!!!! I think that the thing most people get confused with is believing in God and living for God. When you accept Jesus into your heart, that's because you believe in God. Okay, fantastic. But notice how Jesus never told us to become "Christians". That's a human term. Jesus told us to follow him and he would make us fishers of men. I actually never got the phrase "fishers of men" until a little while ago. What I understand from it is that Jesus wants us to go and find (fish) other people and tell them about Him. He wants us to go and be friends with them and show them God's love and help them commit their lives.
I am sick of seeing people say with their mouths that they believe in God and that they are Christians and then go against everything the bible says. The bible clearly says "do not have sex until you are married", yet many people I know have had sex before they are married and think nothing of it. Now, swearing and smoking and drinking and stuff like that, I think are gray areas. I don't know for sure if the bible says anything specifically about swearing. I do believe though that your body is your temple, and I don't think that alcohol is something that I would want to put into my temple. Same with smoking. I really can't tell you what to do with your life. I can't judge you. But I can tell you that when you say that you are a "Christian", that's saying you believe in God and want to follow him, that you can't do it half heartedly. It doesn't work. I'm tired of seeing teens go and work at Christian camps, preach to these kids and then come home and they're swearing and drinking and having sex again. It's not right. And I hate it. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the person, but I do hate their actions. People will know you by your actions.
I just realized how off topic I got, sorry guys. Anyways, I was talking to my pastor the other day about how people tend to think that after you become a Christian, life will be easy. My reaction made him laugh, because with the sound I made and the face I made, it was obvious that I sure knew better than that. Life is not easy when you follow God. Is that a bad thing? Heck no! He will make you uncomfortable. He will challenge you. But it will make you so much stronger. People say that I've "lived so much life" already. I never knew what they were talking about, but looking back on it, yeah, I have. With giving my life to Christ, came an adventure. It is one wild ride you guys, sort of like a roller coaster. (Don't judge me! I'm allowed to use cheesy examples every now and again :) ) Sometimes you will be so high on the Holy Spirit, on fire for God, and other times you will be on your face crying because of the events of the day. I have hit the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, and you know what? I wouldn't take one minute of it back. I love my life, and I love who God made me and who he's helping me become. I love him so much and I would never be able to turn my back on him. It's painful even thinking about it. Once, I tried to think about becoming atheist. Burning my bible, not praying, not having a god. And I couldn't even think about it. I tried imagining burning my bible, and I couldn't do it. I can't do it. I can't do anything without God, and I'm slowly but surely coming to that realization. He is so good to me even when I'm the most terrible daughter in the world. I can't ever thank him enough or serve him enough or do anything that could ever show how eternally grateful I am. Living for God is the hardest thing you will ever do, it's going to test you and it's going to make you cry, but it's going to give you the greatest joy in the world and it will be the only thing that makes life worth living for, trust me. Love you guys!
Blessings,
Ariel

God Speaks

This is such a powerful song. This isn't the band speaking to you, or a member of the band speaking to their girlfriend, or friend, this is GOD speaking to YOU through them. I know that some of you have heard this song a million times, like me, but never listened to the lyrics. Read the lyrics, listen to the lyrics, and take them to heart. God's asking you, why are you doing all these things? Why are you striving? Why are you trying to earn grace? Why are you crying? Why are you doing all of these things when I'm right here, with open arms, waiting for you to run into them? "Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough?" We all do this, or have done this. Tried to fill that emptiness that only God can fill with something else. Can you even imagine how much his heart aches as he sees you going through all this, without him, trying to find something, anything, that will make it all better? It's not that God can't pull you out of it, it's that he wants you to grow as a person. God can do whatever he wants. Don't doubt him. God's always there for you, at the drop of a hat, he's already there. "Please don't fight these hands that are holding you". God's never let go of you. He's always been there, holding onto you, he doesn't want you to fall. He really doesn't. It's when we let go of him that we hit rock bottom. "When I drank the world's sin so I could carry you in and give you life, I wanna give you life". Jesus died for you. In saying this, he doesn't exclude anyone. Jesus wants all of us! He died a terrible death, this person who had no sin at all, completely whole and pure and perfect, and he took all of our sin upon him. How incredible is that? He wants you to sit by the throne with him. He wants you with him. He doesn't wanna watch you suffer. No way. "I love you, I want you to know, that I, yeah, I love you, I'll never let you go". HE WANTS YOU, HE WANTS US, TO KNOW THAT HE LOVES US. He loves us unconditionally, no matter what. He will give you the greatest love you can ever get. He loves you.
God bless,
Ariel

Australia

Okay, I just had to share this quick little tidbit...last night I was just spending time with God, talking to him. Earlier I had noticed that I had my first viewer from South America (yay!!!) and I was SO pumped! So I started thinking about that, I have viewers from North America, South America, Asia, and Europe. And I was like, God, how cool would it be to have just one viewer from Australia? Just one. Can I please have one person read my blog from Australia?
This morning, I checked my stats, as per usual. I see one the little world map they give me, that Australia is a light green color, I look down a little, and it says: Australia-1 viewer. Praise God!!! God is good! Every single day, every single hour, every single minute! He answers prayers! God is so good!!!!
God bless!
Ariel

Pre-Blessed Food

Okay, first of all, I would like to apologize for making you endure that video, but I found it funny! Then again, I'm a teenager with a horribly corrupt (yes, I just looked up the definition of that word! Thankyou google.) sense of humor.

But really, have you seen some of the infomercials we've got goin' on?? Hey, I've got a great idea; let's all get a Sham-wow! Then, lets go out on the street, use it, and exclaim "WOW!" every 5 seconds! Yikes, I'm tired. I think it's a good idea. But then, I'll need to do that while wearing a Snuggie, of course. I want the leopard print one. I think it'll really make my eyes pop! But then my back side might get chilled. Hmm. Oh! I can even put a Bumpit in my hair! It'll be sky-high, there's no way anyone will be able to ignore me. (If you don't think that I'm a complete freak by now, maybe you should go to a doctor. Just sayin'.)
But seriously, these are such dumb things. Useful in some way, but they act like it's the best thing since sliced bread. We had it coming.
And if you were offended by this, I really don't understand it. We have a right to be made fun of! Everyone gets made fun of. Gays, whites, blacks, Americans, Canadians, vegetarians, athiests, menonites, everyone. Why should we get left out?
There is no way that we can live in a society where Christians are the way they are, and where we can sell anything. There is always someone who will buy into it.
I have to say, they did a good job. Usually, in infomercials, they take something that never had anything wrong with it to begin with, and try to fix it. We all know it's not gonna work! "Since I got preblessed food, ain't nothin' changed!" Exactly. It's quite a unique idea though. Having people buying food, praying over it, and putting it back on shelves. Well done. Now, we have all seen black people praising God. It's just awesome! (I'm not being racist, I call myself white, because me skin is white. Vice versa.) I love their voices, the way they get into it, they are probably some of the coolest people I have ever seen. And you know what? They get made fun of too! I had to laugh so hard at that part, "If you don't want a white guy praying over your food, we've got that too!" It's so ridiculous, it has to be funny. Then, you find these people who are so busy with work and watching tv, that praying is just too much of a hassle. Honestly, this is what we've come to guys. We get so caught up in worldly things that we push God back another step. This is a wake up call, right now. "Inside of every package of pre-blessed food, is 2 tickets to heaven!" I laughed so hard! But have we really come to this? It's like Monopoly, get out of jail free card. It's ridiculous. This "sharing them with your friends and family" thing, should be something we already do! Your ticket to heaven is Jesus Christ. And you can share him with all the people in the world and you'll never run out!
I love Julian Smith. He is hilarious. I don't know where this guy comes up with his ideas, but I think it's great. Watch some more of his videos, you will pee yourself, guaranteed! www.juliansmith.tv
God bless,
Ariel