January 1-3

page one through three in my Christmas present, A Gentle Spirit Journal[basically people{famous ladies} write something out for each day and since it would break certain copyright laws if i were to write out all of the journal i decided to write the verse and my thoughts on the section that i write in the margins so here is the first few...

January 1, 2008
A Blessed New Year by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman

"But the land...is a land...which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year."
~Deuteronomy 11:11-12

"The land is a land of hills and valleys. It is not all smooth nor all downhill. If life were all one dead level, the dull sameness would oppress us; we wan the hills and the valleys. The hills collect the rain for a hundred fruitful valleys. Ah, so it is with us! It is the hill difficulty that drives us to the throne of grace and brings down the shower of blessing; the hills, the bleak hills of life that we wonder at and perhaps grumble at, bring down the showers." ~Mrs. Charles E. Cowman

The hills are what make the valley. The make us worthy of mention, worthy of calling ourselves Children of God. Without the hills we would be no threat or ally to anyone, just a flat surface to run across to get to the next valley over.

"In life all you will ever receive, all you will ever see, are obstacles and opportunities; which one they are is up to you to decide." ~Heather Johnson

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January 2, 2008
Setting Goals for This Year by Cheryl Biehl

"Wilt thou be made whole?"
~John 5:6

"Don't forget yourself-Jesus filled with absolute love and compassion, went to the mountains to spend time with His Father in prayer, to renew His weary body and soul. When the crowd pressed in upon Him, He suggested to the disciples that they all get away from the crowd and go to the mountains alone." ~Cheryl Biehl

There is always finding the line between being selfish and doing what we need to do for ourselves. If all you ever do is think of others then you are bound to get to the point of forgetting about yourself. Honestly, how much help can you be if you are the one who needs the help? [[[talk about the blind leading the blind]]] I'm not saying shut the world out no matter what and fill your mind with "Me", I'm saying think about how you can help yourself to help others.

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January 3, 2008

Total Consecration by Elizabeth Prentiss

"Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."
~Luke 22:42

"If He takes your health away, for instance, it is because He has some reason for doing so; and this is true of everything you value; and if you have real faith in Him, you will not insist on knowing the reason. If you find, in the course of daily events, that your self-consecration revolts at His will-do not be discouraged, but fly to your Savior and sty in His presence till you obtain the spirit in which He cried in His hour of Anguish, "Father, if thou be willing remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." (Luke 22:42) Every time you do this it will be easier to do it; every such consent to suffer will bring you nearer and nearer to Him..."

True consecration, or submission, is truly what we need to do more. We as in not only Followers of Christ, but also just people in general. No one ever backs down from a fight anymore; and even if we do we hold it in our hearts, keeping grudges and anger inside until all we can do is just explode. If we were more submissive(not fully for that would truly be terrible) to things, we would have a better understanding of the Lord and His will, and stop that one BIG question that always holds us up,

"Why?"

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That's all for now but hopefully I'll keep up on this and if I don't please get on my back about it cause I truly need this. Night.

Lara