Growing in the Lord & Walking in the Spirit

This may be an odd question, but it is something I have thought about recently. My first thought is you can judge a person's personality or view on a life all from how they look at certain things. For example, the first thing that comes to mind is how people look at the rain. I think God created rain to help his other creations grow. I personally love the feel of rain on my face or the smell of rain after the storm. Yes, I know that lightning and sometimes even the rain itself can do damage to creation, but I think the beauty that comes from it is more worth it than if the rain never came. Every time I see rain I always pull out a device to record the beauty of the water falling from the sky onto different objects, or just to record the patterned sounds of the rain hitting whatever is closest to it. I just really enjoy rain I guess. But, I know that some people will think of rain and all they can think of is the lightning (which is beautiful, and so hard to capture which makes it...

I really don't know how to start this article. I don't know what to say. There are so many words to be said and so many emotions that I cannot put into words. I should probably start at what seems like the best place to start: the beginning. The beginning for me was about a week and a half ago- with the first death that caught the new's attention. I am horrible with names, especially of people I have never met and people who have passed away already. Evidentally this guy was going on a morning jog one day, and two 'white men' (apparently one of whom was an ex-policeman) killed him. The problem was, for me, I saw it everywhere. I mean, I understand that it is on the news, but so many artists and social media 'stars' were posting about it. I did not want to dwell on the fact that someone had died and I did not like thinking about it.  The problem is, there was more that made me mad. I am not out enough, and I live in a private community with little bla...

My sister, Mandy, wrote this article the week of Easter: Hello everyone. I am pretty sure this is the first blog I have written. I am not a good writer at all, but I feel like I need to share this. As we come upon Easter, let us remember what we are celebrating. Easter is not about the eggs, the bunny, and the chocolate. It is about celebrating the price our Savior paid to save us from eternal suffering.    Jesus lived a perfect life, died on the cross to take our punishment for sin, and then rose again 3 days later. Recently, someone said that Heaven is what doesn’t make sense not Hell. This is so true. It makes perfect sense that since we are sinners, we deserve to be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. What doesn’t make sense is that a Perfect God could love us wretched sinners so much that He gave His Son to die for us so we can go to Heaven. However, that is exactly what Jesus did. He willingly and loving went to the cross and died for us without any sign of ...

Do you all have a Spiritual Gift? The answer to that is yes if you have accepted Christ as your Savior and you are a born- again believer.  But, do you know what your gifts are? First off, we need to find where the spiritual gifts can be found. Pastor taught me an easy way to find them. The four books all mention the gifts in either chapters 4 or 12. So, Romans 12: 6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Ephesians 4:11, and 1 Peter 4:10-11. Here is a list of the spiritual gifts mentioned in those four books: -Prophecy -Service -Teaching -Exhortation (Encouragement) -Giving -Leading -Mercy -Wisdom -Knowledge -Faith -Healing -Miracles  -Distinguishing Spirits -Speaking in Tounges  -Interpreting Tounges -Apostles -Evangelists -Pastor-Teachers -Speakers The ones in bold are not present in the Church today, and they were only meant for the New Testament church. I could explain more about that if you want me to. Let me know in the comments. Also, there are many g...

Good morning, afternoon, or evening depending on when you are reading this! Mary Beau here! This blog idea came from one of my favorite artists. His name is Lecrae and he writes or performs Christian Rap songs. In this specific one, he talks about how Jesus was a rebel. The definition of a Rebel is "a person who rises in opposition against a government or ruler" according to the Oxford Dictionary. This idea is commonly associated with the 1960s with 'hippies' as rebels. The teens were beginning to think "What if my parents don't know it all. What if I have been living life wrong?" So, they would rebel. They would disobey authority and do what they thought is right. Now as a Christian, we immediately think "but that is not what we are supposed to do. We need to obey authority as Romans 13 says." That would be the correct thought if it was not for the government and culture that we have. I have been told many times "It does not matter wh...

It's been a few months since thanksgiving. Do people still remember what it was like? In my experience, I did not really appreciate the meaning of thanksgiving until the past few years. I always enjoyed watching the parade and eating food, but that was about it. God has been working in my heart, though, and now I am truly thankful and grateful during the season. But it should be more than just a season, right? I mean the VERY NEXT DAY people are all selfish about who can purchase their desired items before the store runs out. And the Macy's Day Parade itself does not really ever mention being thankful for what the Lord has provided, but it all about glorifying other humans with their talents (which isn't all bad) and then goes straight into the Christmas season...with Santa. Sometimes I wonder if Thanksgiving such be placed AFTER Christmas so people can be thankful, even if they did not receive what they wanted, or placed farther away from the 'season of getting' ...

First off, if you are feeling bad about not having a 'soulmate' or a boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/fiance that is okay. Paul says in 1 Corinthians that "to the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am." (7:8)  No relationship is perfect when humans are involved. Often you can save yourself strive by not getting into a relationship. I mean, I would not mind if I stayed single my whole life: cheaper food,  way less stress,  and no 'rules' except for what the government and bible say as well as what you chose. For example, if you want to eat ice cream on the couch, you don't have any spouse telling you not to. Or singing in the shower. Or almost anything like that...maybe a midnight snack? Anyway, I hope you get the idea. While I say that, I also have to explain that there is nothing wrong with being married. God encourages us to be in relationships. In fact, if you continue reading 1 Corinthians 7:10 "To the marri...

Hi, Mary here! I wanted to do something maybe a little bit more "fun" on this blog. I know that though the information on this blog can be helpful, it probably is really boring after article after article about things you can LEARN. How about something you can simply just think about without having to answer, or some funny comments that you can just laugh at. I am inviting other TEAM members to create their random thoughts if they want to, but I doubt they have such crazy of a brain like mine.  1. I have been reading through the Old Testament (OT) and I have considered recording, in bullet point format, a list of the jobs that the priests had and exactly how to apply each one depending on the case. 2. If the priest had to touch the unclean people to deem them clean again or still unclean, wouldn't the priests be unclean? 3. When Pharoah's eldest son died, did any of the other Egyptians NOT lose the firstborn son? What about any Israelites who disobeyed God...

All of the articles I have posted today I wrote on another blog, but I am moving to here, too. When I wrote this article, it was closer to the beginning of the year 2020. It was the beginning of January. While I did not have 2020 vision seeing through the future to be able to predict all that has happened in the world today, I would not change everything I said in these articles. God is good. He loves me. He is taking care of me. Do you have perfect vision, 2020, spiritually? I know that no one will be perfect until heaven except for God himself, but don't you want to get closer to that goal of perfection? Adventures in Odyssey showed a calendar for the coming year- 2020. This year is special to me because of a major milestone in my life. But is that all I want to remember in the coming years? Is that the only change I want to experience? I want a vision- a goal that I can focus on- to prepare me in the following year to come. I want my goal to have three parts: something that ...

Again, I apologize for the enormous amount of posts. I guess my brain works well now, or this is the one time I am free to write on the blog. I am here to share what God has been telling me in my life recently. If you read the title of this blog, you would know what this is mostly about. Romans 12:2 says " Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, perfect, and pleasing will." This verse talks about not following what the world wants us to do. We need to stand out from the crowd. Sometimes it can be hard, but it is what God wants us to do. The second part was explained really well to me a few days ago, though. To renew our mind, there are two steps we should take : 1. Put your nose in the Bible (Read it!) 2. Listen to the Holy Spirit The teacher also gave three verses that corresponded with her message and I recommend you look...

Hi, my name is Mary Beau. I am a born-again believer in the Creator who is my Lord and Savior. I live in the USA and I love to write, and sing, among many other things. I am a social butterfly who hates to initiate conversations. I am afraid that people will not like me or want to talk to me. I am a mix of an introvert and an extrovert- I am an ominvert. I spend most of my time inside when I am not hanging out with friends. But when I am with close friends, I am super loud and I bother people who are not in my friend group with my outgoing-ness (if that is even a word). I feel like I have my whole life planned out, but I know that anything could happen that could change that. God is really in control of my life. My family was missionaries overseas for a few years, so I have experienced many cultures. I know a little Spanish, Pidgin English, and (of course) English. In fact, I want to teach English. I thrive on music, social life (in person, but emails and texts are nice too)...

As I was beginning to mention in my previous article, I believe that God is in control of everything- so everything happens for a purpose. Everyone says "Why did God have to let that person die?" and "They were too young to die!" In our mind, God is in control of everything, but we don't like it when he does not do things our way, and we think there is an age limit to when someone is 'ready to die'. God, on the other hand, has other plans. A common verse that I have memorized (on accident, but I always have to look up the reference) is "We may make plans, but the Lord directs our steps. Proverbs 16:9" Whenever people cast lots in the bible, God was controlling what happened. God does not take anyone unless it is their time. We may not ever know in this earth what God had in store for that individual, or what their life and death produced, but we do know that it was for God's glory. For example, if a best friend of yours dies, how do yo...

I know this post will be irrelevant to most of you, but I think that you can learn from this even if you are not involved in AWANA. My church decided to take some of its leaders and LIT's (Leaders in Training- teens like me who are not old enough or have enough experience to be leaders yet) to an AMC (Awana Ministry Conference). This was really beneficial for me- I learned more about how to teach in AWANA (as I have taken that position on), how to witness to children better (which can be applied to teens as well- let me know if you want an article on that), and how to work better in Sparks (my specific group). What did stand out the most to me was the conclusion, though. Throughout the day we save the staff and volunteers wearing a light blue shirt that said "1 of 6" on the back. It made me curious, but I did not say anything. Evidentally, that was the purpose of them- to make you curious. They showed a video of a woman- a mom- in her late 20's or early 30...

My goal is to update this as often as new info comes in. Prayer Requests: Joey at Smashburger. Pray that he will accept Christ as his Savior. School- pray that we can all focus and do our best in every way. Friends- pray for our unbelieving friends who need to know the Truth. Bible group- pray that we can get along, and meet every week. Jake's dad- pray that he can lead his church in the best way. Sabine's "vocho" and truck have been having problems. Pray that there won't be any more issues. Sabine needs Art credit to graduate in two years. She still hasn’t started it. Prayer that she will and that she will stay committed to it. “Uncle” Dennis is having knee surgery. Pray that it will go well and he can recover fast. Tal is a young baby boy who has heart issues. He recently got a new heart, but he is still not feeling the best. Pray he can grow up to be a healthy young boy. Mandy -Pray that she can get along with her siblings and that she can do we...

Hi, Mary here! I wanted to tell you all of an experience that happened to me that encouraged me. I attended a bible camp with my sister this summer. At camp, there was no one there that I knew other than my sister. I was in a cabin that had room for 14 people- 2 counselors and 12 campers. In the cabin, there was a group of 3 campers that came together, a group of 2 campers that came together, my sister and I and the counselors. When we got to chose what cabin we got, that cabin was the only one left. When we were in line to chose, though, I saw a girl who was all by herself and I figured I could befriend her. She was not in our cabin though, and I was wondering why. I felt that the camp was going to be one of the worst weeks ever because I am not super outgoing and all the girls in our cabin had their friends. I did not want to spend the whole week by myself, though, or with my sister, I wanted to make more friends. I did not have much time to think about it, though, be...

COVID-19, the Carona Virus, the Bud Light Virus, Kung Flu,... the names go on and on. This is mostly considered a joke, but when you think about how the United States is handling this, it is more than a joke. Schools, churches, sports, stores, attractions, and almost everything except for food stores and medical clinics/ hospitals are all closing. The government has limited us to about 10 people per room for a gathering. We are told to wash our hands (which we really should have been doing the whole time, right?). But, how should we respond? Do we obey authority? Do we freak out? Do we stay at home? To start, China did not start this- we humans did. We would not have to deal with sickness and death of any form if Adam and Eve had not sinned. But we all know that we would have done the same if we were there. None of us are perfect. Our world is not perfect. This "epidemic" is just another example to prove this. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 is a passage that was pointed out to me....

What is " Fear of the Lord "? Are we supposed to be scared of God and what He tells us or does of us? Are we supposed to live our lives to please Him because if we don't He'll punish us? (For the sake of confusion, I will bold the Fear of the Lord when I mean the fear I am talking about, not literal fear) This question came up in a Bible Study I lead called TEAM. Many of my leader-helpers were involved in this discussion as well and agreed amongst themselves that the " Fear of the Lord " means to honor and respect God, tasol. That's it. No more. When I tried to mention my beliefs, though, it was hard for me to get anywhere because I did not know how to explain it. Years ago, I heard a Pastor explain that " Fear of the Lord " means literal fear. Not as far out as others should be, such as shaking just thinking about God, but a healthy fear of the Lord . But how could I prove this to anyone without knowing where, when, or any more details ...