Giving up for Lent

Many people in the Christian culture give up something for Lent. This is translated from when Jesus was in the desert 40 days and 40 nights without anything. I heard many people give up pop or candy. But people give up so many different things.

I have never myself gave up anything just because I never really thought of it because it is a ore Catholic thing but still I always wandered what I would give up that would be good for me. I’m not sure how I would do without something but I could differently do it.

I do like how it symbolizes Jesus because it kind of shows us what He went through but not really because it’s not like people really give up water and/ or most food. I guess we can’t do that because we would die. So I always think about how Jesus isn’t 100% like us. He wasn’t human but yet He wasn’t immortal either. He was able to do this with God’s help. He probably prayed and talked to His dad everyday when He was out there. I’m not saying it wasn’t hard on him it just wasn’t fatal.

So if I ever tried to give something up it would be something I eat almost every day. So I would probably give up pasta and/or bread. This way I would have to pray and ask for help. Because honestly giving up candy if you eat it once in awhile isn’t that big of a deal to some people. So think about the meaning behind giving up something next time Lent comes and you want to give something up.

Being Tested

“When you are going through something hard and wonder where God is remember the teacher is always quiet during a test.”

Tests are stressful and happen so often during school that sometimes I just don’t want to take the test. I probably have at least one big test a week and many times lots of quizzes too. It hard for me to understand why teachers have to test us. Why do they grade us on how well we test and not much else?

They test us because that is their job and they have to see how we do on our own. One day we won’t necessarily have someone that knows all the information sitting right next to us to talk over in. Teachers have to figure out where we are at and how they can help us improve. That’s why I like the teachers that let retakes happen because honestly I learn from my mistakes sometimes. Also I’m not one of those people to not try the first time and they just retake it. I study hard until I can be tested again. They grade these because obviously we need a grade in the grade book and no one has really figured out a different way to grade. They have to give you a grade and not the whole class and I guess testing is the only way to achieve that.

God tests us in a similar way. He gives us a task at hand weather we are prepared for it or not. He doesn’t say anything because He wants to see how well we can do. Actually He knows how well we can do so I actually think He tests us for our own well being. I think He has these tests so we as humans can life on our own and when we feel that God is testing us we just need to ask. Like when teachers test us all you need to do is ask and they could give you some help or help you afterward. It might be scary to go up to teachers but they aren’t bad.

Sometimes when you feel God is testing you just talk to Him. He will help in some way either during the testing like during someone’s death. Or He could help you afterward like revealing why this person died and/ or helping you get past the emotions.

God tests us every day. With big and small things. He knows it is hard. That’s why we use the phrase testing. If we ask we can get through it, even if help comes after. God is always there for us, but sometimes He is just a little quieter then other times. So remember that God is still there when you feel tested. He just is watching and waiting for you to ask for help and waiting for the right moment to help.

Noah’s Ark

“So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families form the ark.” – Genesis 8: 18-19

Noah’s Ark is one of the most famous stories in the bible. Probably the most told to kids after the story of Jesus being born. Its one of the many stories that stick with you and will always be close to your heart.

I know that it is very dear to me because I see the arch everyday and it’s a reminder to me to keep with my faith just like god kept the promise of not flooding the earth again. I have a night light in my room that my uncle got for me when I was baptized. There are two elephants, two giraffes, two zebras, two lions, and two fish. These are probably the animals most kids think of with the Ark because they are always depicted when we see them painted or on a figure. In my nursery room at my church there are pretty much the say few pairs of animals.

I always wandered how they kept all these animals in one big giant boat. Did they have like an Antarctica floor for the penguins and polar bears? Did they have room for the small but mighty bugs? I actually have thought of this many times. When we see the ark I never see these things because most cultures aren’t used to it. I just wander if in other parts of the world that believe in Christianity do they have different animals in their Arch paintings?

Even if the Ark is depicted differently it is the same story. The story of God and Noah. God helped Noah create this huge - I mean it had to be huge or even gigantic to fit that many animals in it – Ark to wipe out the human population. Why didn’t God just not have had Noah get on the Ark with the rest of the animals? Why couldn’t God depart with the whole idea of the human population? Obviously I’m glad He decided to keep us but what if He didn’t. There are so many questions to ask. The answer to all of them is simple. God loves us. He couldn’t destroy human kind. He didn’t destroy it after Adam and Eve and their sin. So why destroy it then.

Thank you God for not destroying our kind. Thanks for giving us another shot. I know that You do that all the time. So you reader think about a time when God gave you a second chance and how the “Ark” saved you.

Baptism

Baptism is a huge part of the Christian church. Baptism is when usually a baby or youth is sprinkled with water and the word of God. It symbolizes the rebirth of the child into the church. This pretty much means they are now part of the family of God.

I love watching baptisms because the baby is normally fast asleep or crying in their white or light colored outfits. They are surrounded around their family, which is so cute. I think the family part is the best because the key to baptism is that the family supports the child in a loving and Christian environment so they can live through God. The family is the one who gets to say if they want their child baptized and so it is their job now to help them grow throw God.

I know that many families even give gifts to the child for being baptized. I have many of mine still in my room. I have a cross that says Heaven Bless You. I have a Noah’s Arch night light that I used to use every night until I didn’t need it anymore. I have a picture frame with a baptism picture in it that says “Fear not; for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. – Isaiah 43:1”

My family always tells me stories of my baptism and I have many pictures of it too. I even still have my cloth that whipped my head dry and my bonnet that I wore. I will cherish all of these things and the gifts I got because I don’t remember my baptism since I was 2 months old and because it was the first time that I was born into the Christian community. Because most people don’t remember their baptism, I think that means something. That is isn’t for us to remember physically but spiritually. I will always have the memory through objects that I have but I also will know that I am part of God’s family. He is my Father and I am His child. And I always will be.

Distractions

How many times a day do you get distracted from your task with your phone or something else? How long do these distractions talk – a minute or even an hour? How can you prevent yourself from doing these things?

Personally distractions can cause me to talk a long time on these blogs. Each of them I probably get distracted like roughly 5-10 times. Some blog days are better then others. Either I will get hungry and go get food. Or my phone will be right there and I want to play a game on it or check media. Or someone will text me and I “have” to answer back. So many of my distractions are on this little thing called a cell phone that is way more then just a phone. I use it more for things that aren’t calling or texting.

I probably spend at least an hour or more on my phone each day. And honestly I think that number needs to change because I could be doing other things like not have these blogs turned in all at once on Sunday because I know they are due at midnight. I could read my book, color, or start a new hobby. Too many times I say I don’t have time to do that but really I do. I just have to make that time. Too many times I get stuck in my phone and say I’ll do something in a minute but I don’t because I’m on my phone and it talks like 10 minutes to get off it.

How has our society accepted phones as a distraction? Couldn’t we have better distractions like playing with a pet or running around the house or even family? How do we prevent this from happening worse then it is now? I think I will probably go delete an app or two after I right this. Because I just realized how bad this actually is. I see people watching Netflix in school. Now that’s crazy. You should be doing schoolwork in school. So think about it next time you grab your phone – is it worth spending time doing or can I go do something else for 20 minutes. What would you do with that time?