Excitement.

I know. I ended that word with a period, so it's not really that exciting. It sounds a little more sarcastic that way. Hahaha. Anyways. I'm not talking like that! I'm talking about getting excited about God. (: Hard task, right? (No, really! Sometimes it can be super hard!) But this stuff I got out of my Bible time today made me get pumped up a little more!

First off, I wanna stress how important it is (for me, especially!) to keep a prayer journal. That doesn't even necessarily mean to keep a journal with a gajillion entries that all start with "Dear Heavenly Father," and end with, "In Jesus' name, amen." No no no! That's SO MUNDANE!!! BOO! Vain repetitions, much? I mean just writing out your thoughts! Just yammer away on your pages. I usually write a few words to start off with that kinda sum up what's on my mind. Today's first bit says "Baby steps...". I went on to talk to God about (yeah, I don't just go "blah blah blah give me this and do this, Lord," I straight up go into conversation! That's what Prayer is about, baby!) how I feel like I'm slowly making little steps closer to Him. Then I'll write down the reference of where I'm reading today, and after each reference, write down whatever I felt God was trying to tell me through that. The big stuff that popped out to me, that seemed special to me. And I'll write out my thoughts on it until I figure out how I need to change my life to what God's pushing me towards. It's so important for me to do this, because I'll forget wayy too easily what I got out of my Bible time and next thing you know, I'm off in a bad mood, harassing my sister for eating the last whatever! Ha ha ha. It helps me so much, though. Not gonna lie. Just throwin' that out there!

Anywho. I just wanna talk about the stuff that really stuck out to me today!

• In 2 Samuel 9, David stayed true to his promise to Jonathan that he would look out for and be a friend to any of his ancestors. Mephibosheth was his only surviving son, and David tracked him down (not even knowing whether he was alive or not!) and brought him into his house, treating him as his own. We need to remember our promises to people! David could have forgotten his promise easily, especially after Jonathan's death, but he went out of his way to fulfill it. I feel like sometimes we go out of our way to get out of fulfilling a promise, ha ha. We're supposed to stay true to our word, just like David!
• I read Mark 14:32-42. Man, Jesus went through a lot here. The idea of the torture and the painful death He was about to go through was finally sinking in. He was stressing out. He prayed to God that, if it was the Father's will, to not make Him go through with it. But it was God's will... it's heart-breaking, but I rejoice in it anyways, because of the glory God receives for it! Anyways. This moment is one of those moments where you see the human part of Christ. He felt stress. Immense stress. Just like we do... and obviously even worse here, considering He could have easily avoided going through all that. If Jesus could go through all that and still stay true, we can, too. We don't even have that much to get through. As Christians, we don't usually have that many obstacles for our faith. So stay true! Stay strong. And stay in Christ. ♥
• Same passage, I realized how much Jesus needed the support of His dearest friends--and they fell asleep! It makes me sad to realize that I do the exact same thing. I choose sleep over fellowship with my Lord and Creator. Dumb dumb dumb! I'm going to try and get up earlier to take care of this. Early mornings with Jesus always get me off to a better start. :) When God needs me... I want to be there. Fully aware of His need for me. Not having to wallow in guilt later on about how I failed Him.
• Galatians 1-- The part where Paul is talking about how soon the church was led astray from the Good News! That hit me hard. How quickly we try to figure out what else there is to Christianity other than receiving salvation through Jesus Christ, repenting of our sins, accepting the Holy Spirit, and walking closer and closer every day. Some people seem to think there are rules and guidelines. You can only wear this, listen to that, eat that...whatever! We can't add rules. We simply follow God's lead in our lives. Yes, sometimes He leads us away from certain things because He knows that will be a stumbling block for us, but that doesn't make it one of the ten commandments, set in stone for every believer. Don't let anyone tell you that. Just follow God's convictions on your life. And don't let anyone try to tell you that you have to fit God into a denomination. He is huge. There is no way you can explain Him by anything, or make Him fit into articles of belief. Base your beliefs and knowledge of Him through His Word and the experiences with Him through said Holy Bible, k? Be careful of false teachers! Compare everything you hear to His Word!
• Psalm 110. This one is supposed to be about the Messiah. But what stuck out to me was verse 3, the second half of it. "You are arrayed in holy garments, and your strength will be renewed each day like the morning dew." I get that Jesus is almighty. But I also take this as a promise that Jesus clothes us in holiness, and righteousness, and in Him, our strength is renewed daily. What a huge promise and blessing. It encourages me so much to know that He does this for me. I love You, Lord! :)

Such a good time in the Word! :) Makes my heart full of J O Y.

Oh, I also wanted to share that I bought an NLT Bible today (75% off of $20... $5 Bible! YEAH!) for pocket reference and comparison. It helped me a lot in my study today. I know some people might have the idea that it'll make me dislike my KJV study Bible. Not true, though! It made me love and appreciate my study Bible even more. The NLT just helps me understand a little better sometimes. :) Just a side note!

I hope everyone is feeling super blessed.

If not, track down your blessings and thank God for them! He loves you so very much, and I do, too!

~Natalie