There's Still Time. . .

. . . but not for long!

Jesus will return to earth and it could be at anytime, whether next minute, tomorrow, or in 50 years. We have to be ready. As I write this post I am assuming that you readers are Christians. While that may not be true I just wanted you all to know where I am coming from, because this assumption will affect this post.

As Christians, we must be ready to leave the earth and go to heaven. We can't waste our time while important work is left to be done. What kind of work? Laboring in a harvest field.

A WHAT?????

Yes, you heard me right; perhaps a look at a Scripture would be helpful.

"Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'"---Matthew 9:37-38, NIV

This is an allegory(a representation of one thing by another). When Jesus speaks of "the harvest" he is talking about all the people in the world who do not know him. "The workers" are Christians who tell those people about Jesus.

As Christians, we are called to be telling others about Jesus and His wonderful gift of salvation. How can we go about doing that? Well, in each of our lives there are most likely two camps of people to share Christ with: (1)those we know(or know of) and (2)those whom we've never seen, met, talked to, or heard about.


How can we minister to the first group?

~Pray for them. Prayer, or talking with God, is powerful. Although God knows our hearts and what or who we are burdened for, He loves to hear us talk to Him. He wants us to pour out our hearts to Him. Even if you don't see immediate results in the life of the person you're praying for, don't give up; sometimes it takes years for something to happen, but do not be discouraged. Keep praying.

~Invite them to something. This one depends on the situation. You may be praying for someone who lives far away, or someone you have no contact with anymore. However, you might be praying for a neighbor or someone who goes to your school or who does a certain activity with you. If so you may be able to invite them to an event at your church. It doesn't necessarily need to be Sunday School or church service; maybe it's a sports league at your church, or Vacation Bible School. How about a get-together/potluck your church is hosting? Depending on the person it doesn't have to be at church. Once my siblings and I hosted a game night with some friends and invited a neighbor. We didn't say anything about God; we were just building a relationship. Sometimes just starting as friends is best.

~You might send them cards(or emails, or the like). I share my birthday with someone whose salvation I'm praying for, so for the past couple of years I've sent them a birthday card, just a simple note. It's basically the only contact I have with this person, which makes the cards more important. And it's really not that hard. The note doesn't have to be long; just let them know that you're thinking of them.



What about the second group? Those whom you don't know at all?

~Show them through your actions. You may never talk to people, but they can watch you and see what you do, like what your attitudes are, how you treat your parents, siblings, and others, what you say, how you act, etc. As the old saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words."

~Pray for them. Believe it or not, you can pray for them. Occasionally I see someone and start praying for them, even though I don't know them! You may not ever think of them again, and that's nothing to feel guilty about; God doesn't expect you to, but who knows? One prayer could be an amazing thing!

~You could ask them straight out! This may partly depend on your personality. I know someone who asks people directly whether or not they know Jesus. For me personally, this is not the way I prefer to witness to others. However, God may be calling to that or maybe that works well for you.



Some of these things are definitely harder than others, but sharing Christ is extremely important! It really is a matter of life and death--for eternity! In some cases there's not anything to do except pray; in others it might be good to invite them to something. Ask God to show you what to do and when the time is right. Maybe you need to simply pray for someone now but later will be called to have more contact with them. I don't know. Just follow what God says; His timing is perfect.




From one harvest laborer to another,



~Princess Gloria




"'But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'"---Acts 1:8, NIV


P.S. If you have any questions or would like to share a way you witness, or even share a testimony, please feel free to leave comments.

Two Events That Changed The World (Part 2)

Three days have passed. Because of the Sabbath day the women had had to wait to put burial spices on Jesus' body. Now they make their way to the tomb, but when they arrive, a surprise awaits. The tombstone is rolled back and men in white are around the area. They ask them what they're doing and then ask why they're looking for Jesus, reminding them that He had said that He would rise again. The women turn and run back to inform the disciples. Unbelieving, Peter and John run to the tomb to investigate. No body. Later Jesus appears to them, proving that He has beaten death and that His word is true. He is risen!


The resurrection of Jesus Christ is crucial to our faith. We know that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and we know that He was raised to life on the third day, but do you know why this event is so important?

If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, He would not have overcome death. In that case we would still be in the position of facing death because of our sins with no alternative. Death would have won and still had power.

But. . .

We know that Christ conquered death and now, because of that, it is powerless over anyone who is in Christ. Of course we all still die physically(unless we're living when Jesus returns), but a spiritual death, being subject to God's wrath and separation from Him, no longer has any hold on us. We don't need to be afraid of physical death because that ends and we will then live with God, and we also don't need to fear spiritual death because, if we have accepted Christ into our hearts to be our Savior and Lord, he has overcome that.


Jesus had to die and shed his blood in order that we might be forgiven. However, if He hadn't risen from the grave, He wouldn't have won the victory over death. Because of these two events all people have had the opportunity to be saved from eternity in hell. If Jesus' death and resurrection hadn't occurred, everyone would be lost.

Praise the Lord that He gave up His life for us, the very ones that had turned our backs on Him!



~Princess Gloria



"When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.'

'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting'

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."---1 Corinthians 15:54-57, NIV

Two Events That Changed The World (Part 1)

The crowds are shouting, the soldiers yelling, the women crying. Three men stumble along the streets toward the place where no one ever wants to go: Golgotha. This infamous hill is where many people had been put to death by crucifixion, one of the most horrible ways to die that man has thought up. Hammers clang against the nails and the crosses are raised. Six hours of incredible pain pass and finally the man hung in the middle raises his eyes to heaven and says, "Into your hands I commit my spirit." It is finished.

This small paragraph has only scratched the surface of what Jesus went through for us. We can't imagine the excruciating pain that He suffered. We know that he was nailed to the cross and that He was beaten, but in addition, Isaiah 50:6 (NIV) says this:

"I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide face from mocking and spitting."

Can you imagine? He was beaten, mocked, spit at, and HIS BEARD WAS PULLED OUT! What unbelievable things He endured, and He CHOSE to do this!

But WHY do He choose it?

Because He loves us so much(John 3:16) that He came into the world and died for every single person. He did it to save us. That, then, raises two questions.

1) Why did we need saving? When Adam and Eve sinned they disobeyed God and then severed their relationship with Him. In order to restore that relationship, a perfect someone, without blemish or defect(sin), had to be sacrificed. Since all men are sinners we couldn't restore that and work our way back to God. Only God, Who is perfect, could be that perfect sacrifice, so Jesus came and died. Only He could fix the bridge between man and God.

2) Why did Jesus have to die? The Scriptures say this:

"In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:22, NIV)

There HAD to be some kind of bloodshed so that we might be forgiven. Otherwise, we would still be without hope. Also, since the wages of sin is death(Romans 6:23) Jesus HAD to die in order that sin could be payed for. There was no other way. He had to die for our forgiveness and for sin's dues.

Praise the Lord that He cares for us that He would send His Son to DIE so that we could LIVE! If Jesus hadn't come and died we would still be lost and with absolutely no hope at all! Truly He loves us more than we could ever imagine!

~Princess Gloria

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."---Ephesians 3:17b-19, NIV)

God Gives You All The Time You Need...

..and not a second more.

Have you ever felt rushed? Oh, wow, that's an obvious question. I would be completely shocked (and very envious! :) if you haven't. You see, I'm an aspiring author, home schooled student, musician/composer that plays two instruments and sings, I'm the script-writer for a movie, a secretary in 4-H, gardener, poet, photographer, avid reader, blogger, archer/shooter, horseback rider, and a plethora of other things.

You probably have a lot of things on your plate, too. Maybe you have a lot of chores, or you have a huge pile of homework. And have you ever been too busy to read your Bible or pray?

Ditto. I've been there and done that. Listen to my excuse : 'But I don't have enough time!'

Actually, I do. And you do, too. God is the Lord and Giver of Time, and he knows our every need!

O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely, O Lord.
Psalm 139:1-4

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me--just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for my sheep.
John 10:14-15

He gives us as much time as we need to accomplish what he wants us to accomplish. So when you 'don't have time', you're either not doing what God wants or you're not being efficient. Here are some questions you can ask to discern what's wrong:

1. Are you spending too much time, say, on the computer? *glances around guiltily* Uh...I am. I like to think that I'm above the technology wave that our world's going through, but I'm not. Lol. Anyway, are you stretching out a task too much? Does math take so long...because you're doodling in your book?

2. Are you avoiding or rushing through tasks? Because if you don't do them now, you get to do them later! Oh man, have I ever figured that out.

3. Are you doing it for God's glory? Whatever you are doing--writing the next great theology book...or taking out the trash--do if for the Lord and you are serving him. Isn't that cool how you can glorify God by taking care of the trash just as much as making a huge mark on history?

4. Do you have a complaining attitude? Seriously, take the word of a lass with 13 years of bitter experience on bad attitudes. If you have a good attitude it's so much easier to do your work. If you think, "Wow! All these dishes in the sink means that we've been blessed with lots of food!" instead of, "Awww man! Look at this huge pile of dishes! I have to do all of these?", you and your family will enjoy it a lot more.

When I was writing this down on a piece of paper, I kind of looked at it and thought, "You know, I have both problems." And I do. Avoiding work or doing it sloppily goes hand in hand with bad attitude, and bad attitude automatically means that you're not doing it for God's glory.

Now, here are some ways to solve the time problem:

1. Do everything for God's glory--efficiently and with care and diligence.

2. Try getting up earlier. A time when you're the only one up might mean distraction-free prayer/Bible time, or math without siblings throwing pillows at you.

3. Relax while working. It's kind of a paradox, actually, but what I mean is you could knit or do an easy chore or school assignment while taking a break from something else.

4. Be open for a schedule change. If you go to school, you probably won't be able to do this as much. However, because I'm home schooled I have the flexibility to decide for myself whether or not it would be more efficient to fit in piano where Grammar originally was so I can practice more before naps (where our piano is positioned in our house, it's too loud to play during my younger siblings' nap times). Or if your mind has gotten worn out from one subject, move on to something totally different. Of course, you can do this with your homework, all you who go to school.

5. Multi-Task. I really like to drink coffee. It's like an everyday treat, and so sometimes I just sit at the kitchen table for ten minutes, drinking it. However, it saves time to do it with my math. Reciting my memory verses while I'm unloading the dishwasher is also handy. However, make sure that multi-tasking doesn't mean that you're doing sloppy jobs because your concentration is spread out.

There you go! Wow, this sure helped me to type this all up. Now maybe I can ask myself with a free conscience if I'm following Question #1! ;)

In Christ,

Princess Izori

True Beauty

One Sunday morning, Jennifer fluttered her eyelashes into her reflection in the mirror. Unscrewing the mascara, she painstakingly applied the black gook and then leaned back in admiration. She looked exactly like the girls on her street! Well...almost exactly. Just some more foundation there, another dab of blush here...

"Jenn! I need the bathroom so I can get ready for church!"

Jennifer rolled her makeup-ed eyes at her brother's shouted request from the other side of the bathroom door. "Go find another bathroom!" she yelled.

"But this one has my toothbrush! We need to leave in five minutes!"

Stupid brother, Jennifer thought angrily. "Well, I need to get ready too!" she said aloud. "What will everyone else say when I go to church with uncombed hair?"

"But you've already combed your hair!" her brother protested. "And it took you half an hour, too!"

"Jennifer!" Dad yelled up the stairs. "Let Darren use the bathroom! We need to leave!"

"Okay, okay!" Jennifer begrudgingly gathered up her makeup and vacated the bathroom with a flounce.

"Darren, you're so selfish!" she hissed uncontrollably. "I'll get you for this!"

She angrily stomped downstairs to find Dad waiting for her.

"Are you ready, honey? Get your Bible and get in the car--"

Jennifer pushed past him and went into the nearest bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Ten minutes later, Jennifer finally opened the door to realize that everyone else was waiting in the car. A guilty feeling, small but present, dug at her as she stepped outside.

Oh nuts! I need my Bible!

Then she pushed the thought away. I don't really need to bring my Bible anyway. But, she thought with a self-satisfied smile. I look really great with this makeup! I bet everyone will want to hang around with me now!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notice that? 'I don't really need to bring my Bible anyway. But I look really great with this makeup!'

Have you ever been more concerned about how your hair looked, or how your make-up looked, more than worshiping God? Maybe a better question to ask would be, 'Are you human?' Of course, basically everyone has focused too much on their outward beauty sometime in their life. Including me. Actually, I have done more than my fair share of it.

Before I continue, let me say clearly that I have nothing against makeup or arranging your hair nicely! The Lord tells us not to act like slobs! However, putting it in front of your faith is definitely not good at all.

In my short story, Jennifer is more concerned about attracting friends (probably not very good friends either, if the only way she could get them is to wear makeup) than serving the Lord--being courteous and nice to her brother and her dad and taking some time off of the makeup schedule to grab her Bible. Guilt does give her a little twinge, but only for a second.

I think that a quote from 'The Wise Woman' by George MacDonald puts it very well.

"But, if she [Agnes] were not made humble, her growing would be to a mass of distorted shapes all huddled together; so that, although the body she now showed might grow up straight and well-shaped and comely to behold, the new body that was growing inside of it, and would come out of it when she died, would be ugly, and crooked this way and that, like an aged hawthorn that has lived hundreds of years exposed upon all sides to salt-sea winds."

(By the way, I greatly suggest you read 'TWW'. It's very eye-opening).

Jennifer's makeup and good looks might show on the outside, but on the inside she's really rather ugly. Worshiping and serving the Lord is not only our makeup, but our whole form! If our facial features were affected by what we acted like, would we act like we do now?

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't.

'"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart".' 1 Samuel 16:7b

Through the Lord's eyes, our features are affected by what we act like, because he looks at the heart! And we all know that it's the Lord's views that count.

Once again, I'm not saying that wearing makeup is bad. Not at all! But if it becomes an obsession, if we're constantly worrying about blurring our foundation during prayer time, then it becomes a bad thing.

I actually used to wear mascara often. Now, I hardly wear it at all. Why? Because it was becoming too much of a distraction. Why was I doing it anyway? I couldn't really think of any good reason, so I stopped. Besides, it isn't very practical for me. Our church contains a lot of soccer fans, so I often find myself swept up into a fast moving game of street-soccer. Or when I'm at my 4-H clubs--one of them, I work with animals, so makeup is kind of out of the question. The other one is shooting and archery, which requires so much concentration that I find myself sweating. That wouldn't really work with makeup!

However, makeup may work for you other ladies just fine! And if it is, then there's no problem with it! Looking nice can be Biblical.

But keep in mind that the beauty of your heart is more important than the beauty of your outward shell.

In Christ,

Princess Izori

Bring it to Jesus

Have you ever felt worried or scared? I do...a lot. I really have a hard time surrendering everything to Jesus, because I am so sure I can do it on my own. I wrote this song the other day, and I feel like it is something I need to remember every day.

Bring it to Jesus
LORD we come to You our King.
So unworthy,
still holding on to everything.
We're so scared,
of letting go,
but there's only one thing that we should know.
Bring it to Jesus,
bring it to Jesus,
He can set you and your life free.
Bring it to Jesus,
He wants to take it,
break all your chains and help you see,
He's been waiting for you,
waiting for you.
Have you traveled the road of tears?
Tired and lonely,
bound up by your fears.
You're so scared,
of what you don't know,
but there's only one place that you should go,
Bring it to Jesus,
bring it to Jesus,
He can set you and your life free.
Bring it to Jesus,
He wants to take it,
break all your chains and help you see,
He's been waiting for you,
waiting for you.
'Cause there's only one Way,
one Truth and one Life,
and only one Way to turn all your darkness to light.
'Cause only His hands can change you,
and make your life new,
'cause only His hands were nailed down
for me and for you!
Bring it to Jesus,
bring it to Jesus,
He can make you and your life free.
Bring it to Jesus,
He wants to take it,
break all your chains and help you see,
He's been waiting,
always waiting,
He's been waiting for you.

Blessings,
Princess Melody***

My Dear Princess

Dear Jesus,

Help! I don't know what to do. My days seem to drag out longer and longer, and I am helpless to stop it. Schoolwork is taking hours out of my day as I try my hardest just to hold on to an A in every subject. Besides that, I have lessons, youth choir, Church, classes, Bible study, and that book I'm writing. I just don't have time for all of this! How am I supposed to fit prayer in every morning? I barely have enough time to zip through my Bible reading before jumping in the shower. I feel like I'm drowning! By bed time, I have to work to keep my mind free of Algebra problems. When I turn off the light, I lie there feeling tormented by fear and worry. I just can't take my life anymore! Today, after a mass amount of other homework, I opened my Biology book to find that I had to write down twelve definitions. I cried. There is just no way I can live like this my entire life! I don't know what You can do in this situation, but if You can help, please do!

Love Forever,
Your daughter

My Dearest Princess,
I know that you sometimes feel burdened, tired, worried, and afraid. I have felt all of those things Myself! I understand when you feel like you are drowning in circumstances that you have no control over. It's okay to feel upset and frustrated. Life on earth isn't perfect, and sometimes it gets hard, but even when it does, I am still with you. I will always be there for you, and you can come to Me with everything. I love you! I have watched you for many years. Most of the time, you just want to do things on your own, and you rarely ask for My help. You don't think you need Me, but you really do! I am just waiting for you to realize that, on you own, you just make a mess of things. I am the One who can turn that mess into something beautiful! Please trust Me! When ever you feel like you do now, tell Me. I'll be glad to listen! You may think that you have no time to pray, but you do if you look for it. I will bless your day when you put Me at the center of it! My daughter, please know that I care for you and I will always be able to help you. Put all your cares, worries, and anxieties on me. Nothing is to much for Me to carry! Remember, I was on earth once, so I know what it is like to be human. I know that you need help! Please don't try to carry everything alone, I am patiently waiting to help you.

Your Loving Father,
Jesus

"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

"Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:6-8)

"Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall." (Psalm 55:22)