First things 1st! So happy that Little Miss Paislyn is doing absolutely amazing, she has stolen tons of people's hearts! I know she has mine and I've only seen her in person twice! She's so darn cute! If you haven't read her story go to this! http://paislyn-littlemissmiracle.blogspot.com/ Amazing Miracle! =)
Also, I start training next weekend for the camps I'll be gone away doing this summer! I have to stay there all weekend in a cabin! Not too sure of what I am going to be doing, they haven't really told me much! But I am overly excited for that! I have ALWAYS wanted to be a camp counselor and what better way to start that off with better than being with mentally handicap kids. It is definitely going to be a tough experience, things I know I am not going to be ready for. But hopefully this training toughens me up for that! Ready to learn a lot of new things! =)=)=)
Now onto my real reason for this blog! Aubrey has been telling me for months now to read this book, and I have put it off for forever. Weird thing is, I feel like god wanted me to not read it until now. I have totally rearranged everything I do for this quarter. I only work on the weekends for the most part. I wake up in the mornings early enough to eat breakfast and get ready for the day, not just throw on sweatpants and throw my glasses on. I actually get ready! You are probably asking what is the relevance of that with the book. Well, I am just trying to be a better version of me. It's called "One Simple Act: Discovering the Power of Generosity" I just got it yesterday and am already 8 chapters deep! I cannot believe how she relates everything back to faith and it makes me smile SO BIG! I wasn't expecting the book to be religious at all, thought it was just going to share little snippets of good deeds people have done. But she throws in tons of scientific studies that prove generosity makes your life better, and she has lists and lists of verses from the bible that show what God's plan for us is. I am so obsessed with it and can't wait to hand it off to the next person to read it! I have a few pages bookmarked so far and wanted to share a few things of what she had to say that hit home hard!
In one of her chapters she talks about Forgiveness as a discipline and even in the most hateful situation how you should always forgive. Now, as I was reading this I was kind of resentful.. Thinking to myself I have forgiven one specific individual many... many.. in fact maybe countless times. Yet, I still got dirt thrown back in my face each time I did. I was fed up the last time and said I would never forgive that person again.. I even just brought it up just a few days ago to my best friend. But after reading that Chapter it makes you step back and say.. thats not what a Christian does. A Christian forgives.. doesn't mean you have to be their best friend or give them a time of day. I knew when I befriended that person how much better I felt because I had no enemies at the time. But, for now I won't go out of my way to forgive the person. But if the time comes I would. Here's the verse she threw into the chapter that made me realize all this : Matthew 6:14-15 -- Jesus says, "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." She ends it with "Those are some chilling words since we need the Lord's forgiveness to live." I never thought about it in that way.. God forgives us in every way he can. He forgives some of the worst sins, yet we can't get past our bitterness to forgive even one person. Even though I am never that bitter towards anyone, I am going to try to change that department in my life.
Okay, let's see here.. another page I have bookmarked.. Omgosh my favorite so far! Made me tear up.. "Tell those rich in this world's wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever imagine -- to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they'll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly.. life." 1 Timothy 6:18-19 She obviously sums up that saying and makes it more contemporary. But thats what the message says. Again, opening my eyes to see that we aren't put on this earth to make billions of dollars and live a happy life with just ourself. She goes on by saying.. at the end of time, we will all stand before God, and we can't offer him a big luxury car, or the perfect vacation home. But what we can offer is how we portrayed his messaged to other people. Don't just be the word, SHOW the word. I loved that sentence she wrote. Just believing in the word doesn't really prove much, you must act on it.
This book has had a huge impact on me already, and I already have 10 chapters to go. I will most likely keep writing about it on here. It has gotten me even more excited about my new job! I cannot wait to make all these kids have an amazing summer! It is going to be life changing that is for sure, my boss warned me of that! I said I accept the challenge! =) yeee, summer needs to come soon!
Well I need to get homework done! So I hope you all enjoyed reading this and go get that book, and after you read it give it to someone else!!
I apologize for my writing.. I am not the most eloquent writer. I am just trying to get the point across.
Have a great week!
God Bless!
<3 Andrea Farell
Picture of the book so you know you are getting the right one!
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
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