Sorry everyone I have been meaning to blog for a few weeks now, but I haven’t been feeling the best between a lot of migraines and also feeling sick with cold/flu like symptoms for a little over a week(don't worry I quarantined). I am better now and I am eager to write and share my thoughts with you. A lot has been going on in the world and in America, and it has been disheartening. I can’t stand to see so much hate and violence, division, chaos, uncertainty, etc. take place. I am a believer in Christ and I know that Jesus has the whole world in his hands, but I am also human and I am not going to pretend like I haven’t been anxious and afraid. In fact, this past week while I was at Lowe’s with my husband just getting a few necessities, there was a man who grew irate in the self checkout line over the “outdated technology;” he then channeled his anger at the Indian woman who was working there and said that the company wasn’t American enough and that he hoped it went under. He then looked at me, and I felt the familiar feeling I have felt two times in the past when I have encountered an angry, racist, person. I stayed calm and we quickly checked out, but for some reason he decided to continue yelling and decided to approach me, getting very close to me, so my husband got in between us and we left. I never engaged him as I had no reason to and I knew it wouldn't be safe. I just told the woman on the way out I hope she stayed safe. As we got to the car the man was screaming in the parking lot about how he wanted America to be white again and he kicked his own car.
I live in a city, and I have never seen this behavior in my city to this extent, so openly. I had my first panic attack in months on the way home and couldn’t focus on anything. I just realized in that moment just how bad of a state our country and world is in. How much we need the hope and love of Jesus in this world now than ever. That, plus everything that continues to happen was also a sobering reminder to me that we are in this world for a limited amount of time and things are getting closer to a time where everything is going to change. Things in this broken world can be very sad, vile, disgusting, and devastating at times, but I want to share with you some hope and truth, and assurance that the things will get better no matter how bad they get in the meantime. My favorite Bible verse from Romans below mentions how when Jesus comes back everything will be made right, we will no longer be under the curse of sin which happened way back in the beginning with Adam and Eve. We all will be freed, including our animal friends, which makes me especially happy since I have a special bond with dogs, especially my Milky Way. If you haven't already, please read my blog about each of my dogs and how they have been a blessing and gift to me. Milky Way, Mikki, is my dog soulmate and my service dog for my disabilities. She is amazing, I feel God's love from her every second I am with her. Please read along because I want to give you some peace, joy, and I have a few shout outs to my fav actors I have been interacting with lately too. I want you to take a moment to breathe with me and feel my warm personality through this computer screen.
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. Romans 8:19-21 NIV
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. Romans 8:19-21 NIV
First, I want to remind everyone that I have severe generalized anxiety disorder as well as a few other disabilities such as Epilepsy and Chronic Migraine, so it is perfectly okay to feel anxious and fearful when there are scary things going on in the world. God isn’t upset at us when we feel this way, he wants to comfort us. The Bible confirms many instances of mental illness, which my pastor did a series on this past summer. So don’t feel ashamed if you feel afraid or scared. There are some Christians who have been wrong and judgmental in many ways, but that is not appropriate and I am here to tell you that's not how God intended it to be. I love everyone and I know I am not perfect. Being a Christian doesn't make us any less human or flawed either. I want to let you know that we are in this together and how we get through these hard times is by relying on Christ by prayer but also by leaning on our family and friends. It looks like we are going to have some rough times ahead because I suspect these violent people aren’t going to let down so easily, but I will be praying and asking everyone I know to pray and intercede to that Christ’s love wins over the evil forces of this world. Next I want you to know that the good things we love in this world are gifts from God. One day when we die, if we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we will go to Heaven, but the "current" Heaven is actually temporary. In the end, God is going to restore to Earth to its former glory before sin tainted it. And when he does our permanent dwelling place will be the perfect Earth along with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth," for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:1-5 NIV
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17 NIV
A devotional I have called "50 Days of Heaven" by Randy Alcorn has helped me understand Heaven and the New Earth so much, and I look forward to sharing more of that devotional in detail with you in blogs to come. Alcorn helps us interpret scripture and how amazing the New Earth will be, and it actually I think will make both believers and non believers reading this more excited because it helps us get a glimpse of how great live to come will be. We won’t just be random spirits flying around doing meaningless things for eternity, a misconception both non believers and believers alike have. I’ll admit I have even wondered how Heaven/ New Earth could be awesome because I thought of this Earth as "bad". But that is the wrong thinking. What made this world bad is SIN not the human experience or things that make the Earth, Earth. So on the New Earth we will be able to enjoy things we do now, just without sin AND that is fantastic. That means no more pain, sorrow, suffering, hatred, etc. We will be able to enjoy hanging out with friends, animals, food, dancing, music. We will be able to enjoy being silly, acting, writing, playing instruments, taking long hikes with our beloved pets, etc. Why? Because God designed us to like those things. We will still be able to enjoy nature and it’s beauty with our friends and the new friends we will make. That excites me to no end! I am so thrilled to spend eternity with my dogs and my family and friends who accept Christ and I hope that my newer friends I continue to make accept Jesus too because I want to spend eternity with them too. The alternative if we don’t accept Christ is to perish in hell, but God doesn’t want that for us and I don’t want that for any of you either. I adore you and I want the best for you. Think about all of the fun pool days we can have with our pets without a care in the world. Think about our fun chats by the bonfire and my favorite thing is to get to know people and talk your ear off, so I can't wait to meet so many people. I will do it all while praising Jesus and holding my best dogs Mikki and Luke Bryan in my arms. Just look at me here, this was me on my 1 year anniversary vacation with my husband. We went on a cruise to the Bahamas. Imagine vacations in paradise when nothing can go wrong...and on this vacation I got to swim with dolphins. So I can't wait to walk among lions, rhinos, tigers, you name it. I want you with me too. So does God.
I have been so blessed to have gotten to know so many people online over the past year in this crazy pandemic. I also never dreamed my blog that I started a few years ago would be my platform and how God would use me to share my journey in life as well as my faith. I am still wondering when I am going to actually get going in my career/ get to using my Master’s degree, but I am thinking of publishing a book/ getting started on one this year. But I have to remember my first goal in this life is to do whatever God tells me to. So who knows what I’ll end up doing. Would you believe when I was in high school I actually auditioned to go to a fine arts high school with the goal of becoming an actor? I decided to instead pursue academics because I love writing and interpersonal communications but sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I would have become an actress. And not for the fame but for the fun of it. I enjoy the arts, what can I say! I am thankful that I have made so many friends on Twitter because of TV shows such as the Bold and the Beautiful and Young and Restless. I am thankful that I have gotten to interact with some of my favorite actresses from the shows including Sharon Case, Jacqui Mac Wood, Yael Grobglas, and Annika Noelle. Ladies, I love each of you because you are all unique and talented, but you also are down to earth despite being famous. I admire that about you <3. Jacqui I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met and Sharon Case I want to be your best friend haha. Annika I love that you love animals so much, I do too. Jacqui you and I love wolves and dogs, so we could talk forever about being dog moms haha and I would love to hear about what it's like having two babies too, as you're about to have your second. I hope to meet you all one day and just have a good time.
Back to Heaven...Here’s the thing, we never know when our last breath will be so it is important to know where our destiny lies now. If you don’t already have a relationship with Christ I hope and pray you would consider it. Even if you are unsure or don’t know what to do, it’s as simple as asking Jesus into your heart. You can be honest and say you don’t really know if he is real but you want to know Him and you want to believe He is and you want him to be your Savior. He will do the rest I promise you. My husband wasn’t saved when I met him. I never once forced anything on him. My husband came to Christ because he saw Jesus in me and he wanted that for his life too. You see when you accept Christ he starts working in your life now. He starts caring for you now and He starts drawing near to you the second you accept him. In fact if you are reading this He is already calling you to him. He wants a relationship with you. A simple prayer is “ Dear God I am broken and lost, I need you I need Jesus as my savior. Please save me, Amen”. If you believe this in your heart as you pray, you my friend are saved. Welcome to God’s family my friend <3
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NIV
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. Psalm 118:45 NIV
One day soon, there is going to be a day when believers are taken out of this world and only non believers are left. If you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior before then you will not go through it. It is all part of God’s plan in the book of Revelation. There will be trial and tribulation and it will be the hardest time in history for anyone to go through. I don’t want any of you to have to go through it, but if you do, I want you to know that you can still be saved during this time. There will be a lot of deception going on and a lot of pain. But you can make it through. Never take the mark of the beast. Never. We are getting close to this time, I see all of the signs which is why I felt urged to write this blog. This has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with my love for humanity, each and every human I come in contact with both in person and online. I love my friends I’ve known for years, my online friends, and my celebrity friends all the same. I want nothing but good for you. I love you all so much! Don’t worry it’s going to be okay. Hate will never win in the end neither will evil. God loves everyone and so do I. We are in this together. You are beautifully and wonderfully made. Precious, full of worth. We walk by faith not sight. This life is but temporary but our next life is eternal and it will be perfect <3 xoxo
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4: 17-18 NIV
