The Golden Rule: Do unto Others as you would have them do unto you

Hey all! Sorry... I've been missing so many posts! :( Life got chaotic around my house with family at my house, us going to our family's house, friends coming up... and last within the last 48 hours... A 30 hour fast. The 30 hour fast my youth did was to raise money for the Tegler Youth Center in inner city Edmonton. As a small group, some of my friends and I volunteered in inner city Edmonton at the Mustard Seed for a week this past summer. We spent a week serving food, visiting with the community members, and pretty much having our lives changed. Personally I did not expect to feel so safe among people who looked so... unsafe. They took our group in as if we were part of their family and they watched out for us. Last night the speaker for the Fast Fast was our leader in the SUP (Summer Urban Placement) program at the Seed. She spoke of how we were fasting to feel a bit what its like to be those people in the world that don't have food. She read us a bit of a book she had been reading and it was all about how You becomes Me. Really we are all so incredibly blessed to be where we are today, but we look down on those who aren't as "good" as us. The point she really made for me was that "How we treat the created reflects how we feel towards the creator." We are created in God's image. Not to be God, or become a God, but we have a unique part of God living in us. The idea that "how we treat the created reflects how we feel towards the creator" made me think of Mark 12:28-31. "One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
Jesus even said we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. If we are hungry, our neighbor is probably hungry too. If we love our God, we need to love and take care of His creation too. They may live a different way than you, but they are still made in God's image and still need love. All people need love.

Blessings,
Breanna

Forever and Always... or Until I get Tired of You...

Anyone ever heard of Brett Ullman? Well last night my youth group watched Brett Ullman's talk on dating known as Dating For Life. OH MY GOODNESS! The things you all should know! I hope you guys all get a chance to either see him live, or watch his video sometime. It is something everyone should watch before starting dating, or thinking of getting married. I'll share a few of my notes that should make a bit of sense to you guys... hopefully! Also I will attach the link for his website, pdf of questions, and youtube promo vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3FvqYx-uN4
The first thing Brett brought up was the fact that we live in a very uncontent world. We feel like our cell phone or ipod is out of date... so we throw it out and get a new one. Sadly enough... we do the same thing with our relationships! Oh... this is too much work, I'll just let it go and find a new one. This mindset is in dating and sadly in marriages. :( The divorce rate is at 45-55% and doesn't shock people anymore. Here's something else... 75% of people say they are unhappy in their marriage after 10 years of marriage. (in other words only 25% of people are happy after 10 years of marriage).

Breanna's Input: in Philippians 4:11-12 it says, "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." In other words... be content! This applies to relationships too my friends! Be content in your relationship and don't go seeking after someone who may look hotter on the outside, but who's heart is corrupt.


Back to Brett now... His next point was that divorce is the punishment for not preparing before marriage. In other words... you didn't ask the right questions before you married the guy/girl and now you're going ok... that's not good! To help us out... he gave us a list of questions you should talk about with your significant other before you tie the knot. http://www.brettullman.com/images/stories/pdfs/dfl_questions.pdf
I encourage you to read over these questions and figure out which are your "deal breakers" for getting married. I mean, dating ultimately leads to marriage! So think about it! Oh and a quote of his I liked was "Marriage is the practice of becoming passionate friends." :) Best friends... for life! Ultimate BFF's! I like it!

Also he talked about dating non-christians and used the verses that I also used in my post on the topic. Something he said to look at for the person you're considering dating or are dating would be:
Faith-Does it matter to you? How is this person doing with:
Church- do they attend regularly and without excuses?
Youth Group- if they are highschool aged are they involved in youth?
Small Group- do they have a small group or friends they get together with to read the Bible and talk about stuff with?
Missions- are the actively living out God's command to spread the word?
Working with the poor- are they helping out closer to home?
Giving to organizations- do they tithe? do they give money to organizations when they feel called to?
Prayer- do they have an active prayer life?
Reading the Bible- are they seeking after God?

Not all of these might be super important to you... but if you're looking for a strong Christian, they should be mostly all true!

Also his biggest point was communicate! Talk! If you don't talk or ask questions, you're not going to get very far and relationships will die off.

Dating For Life Website: http://www.brettullman.com/talks/datingforlife.html

Anyways... Its getting late so I should sign off. If you guys want to know more or want some more of my notes from this let me know! :)

God Bless,
Breanna

Who am I?

Sorry guys that I haven't had a chance to post lately. Life has been busy. :( But I have some time right now to be able to post. :) Today's topic is looking at Jesus' death. Since it is almost Easter weekend I wanted you guys to remember that Jesus died for you! Not because He should, but because He loves you. This isn't an obligation for Him, this was an act of ultimate love and mercy. He chose to save us by allowing us to kill Him. In the link below you will find John's account of the death of Jesus. 

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+19&version=NIV

Pretty amazing how a guy who could give life to others would willingly give up His life for YOU! In all our unworthiness, God's love makes us worthy.
Here is one of my favorite songs that I hope will touch you guys as much as it did me. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=othmFqaw0Yk

Really, who are you that God would die for you? 

You are His chosen children and He loves you enough to give His life for you. 

God bless,

Breanna