Merry Christmas

Wishing you sparkle wishing you cheer for a bright and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love-- Cassandra Falun

P.S. I will start writing again at about the first of January wish you all the best.

Evangelism

This goes along with my post from yesterday.

• The wise men were surprise guests at Jesus’ house, they weren’t expected at all. They were surprised that they knew who Jesus even was for he was just born, let alone come and worship him. But our God specializes in the unexpected. Celebrities and the homeless, prostitutes and socialites, little old lady’s and tiny children, the cool and the hopelessly out-of-touch – Jesus reveals himself to people from all walks of life, The magi remind us of that.
• Do you tend to share the gospel only with certain kinds of people? – Or the ones you think are most likely to accept it? Brand out! You’ll be surprised at who comes to worship Jesus.

-- “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel” –which means, “God with us.” ~Matthew 1:23

• In order for us to get with it, God needed to get with us… literally. So scratch out that picture of a God far, far away. He’s already come as your Immanuel.
  

Bits and Pieces

What do you say to a two year old when he asks, "Where is Jesus in the tree?".

Christmas Traditions

• Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands from Jerusalem, asking,”Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We have seen his start as it arose, and we have come to worship him.” Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, as was all of Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law. “Where did the prophets say the Messiah would be born?” he asked them. “In Bethlehem,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote: Bethlehem of Judah, you are not just a lowly village in Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people in Israel.’” Then Herod sent a private message to the wise men, asking them to come see him. At this meeting he learned that exact time when they first saw the star. Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!” After this interview the wise men went their way. Once again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with Joy! They entered the house where the child and his mother Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Bet when it came time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod. ~Matthew 2:1-12

Well when we were children (not that long ago for me :P) we got told many things.

When we got told the story of Jesus’ birth me go told three kings went to worship him… or they when to an inn and the inn keeper said there was no room in the inn but they could use the stable. So on and so forth. You know what I am talking about? But…

• Where does it say…
• That there is an inn keeper?
• Where does it say they are kings? They are wise men.
• Where does it say he was born in a stable?

The list could go on. We need to know the true story of the birth of Jesus. Do you know it? (Read Matthew)

Lots of people think of Christmas as presents and Santa Clause. I saw this real cool video this is what it explains. This person thinks that people get confused between Santa and Jesus:

o They both have beards

o All surrounded by little children scurrying about

o They both have a last name that begins with ‘C’

o They both have a ton of nick names

o How common it is that they both know all the children’s names in the world.

o Both like to keep lots of details on all of us

o They are both gernerous

o So on and so forth.

But they are not so common after all. Kids send letters to Santa wishing for things that they think they desperately need. But Jesus doesn’t break into peoples chimneys and eat their cookies left behind. How Santa has a naughty or nice list, kids hope that he isn’t so strict. Jesus he forgives us all and loves us all no matter the circumstances.

Bits and Pieces

You are loved! Have a great holiday season!

Jesus and Santa - IgniterMedia.com

http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=0af81b18765cbfa8ac99
--Go to the site above and watch the movie. It is awesome for Christmas time and the difference between Santa and Jesus

Love

• Written by the Apostle John—A.D. 85, Ephesus, 1 John 4:8-12

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us. He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love on another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, !God lives in us! And His love is made complete in us.

--- Some things in life you have to do--- and some things you don’t. Well, loving others isn’t one of those things you can get away with just doing when you feel like it. It’s not optional. Because God loved us so incredibly, he requires us to love one another. Whether we feel like it or not. When it’s easy and when it’s hard. Loving others isn’t optional--- it’s mandatory.

• “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.” ~1 John 2:9

Since God loves everyone, what does it say about your love for him when you totally dismiss someone he sent his son to die for?

…>> Really makes me stumble over myself when I read this cause I have a brother and when I say I hate him or whatever… this is it… it explains it all. Tough to know the truth sometimes<<…

--I thought I would share some random facts and quotes that I found in an old Christian magazine. I clarify them all as bits and pieces.

Bits and Pieces

Prayer is a gift you give to those you love.

• “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.” ~2 Thessalonians 1:11

Never give up true friends for new ones.

• “He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” ~Proverbs 17:9

Imagine a world where ability started new everyday. Responsibility. Accountability. Reliability.

• “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” ~1 John 3:18

Once and for all… I am not for sale. Got it? I’m me. Not an image. Not a look. Don’t try and sell me. It’s wrong. I’m God driven to seek the truth. And free to be alive… in the Spirit.

• “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” ~Isaiah 55:9

The guys… the girls. More alike than different.

• “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” ~Galatians 3:27-28

Strength

• It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battles; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn. ~Psalms 18:32-36

You know, a battle isn’t necessarily hand in hand combat out on a battlefield. We all fight our battles everyday. It is like in school do you struggle in speech class, or in calculus with the complex equations? Do you struggle with people putting you down? Or how running a timed mile in a gym or in cross country? Whatever difficulties you face--in schooling or at home or people who just don’t care— God goes with you. He understands that some things in your life feel like a battle field. Just as God helped David, who needed strength for the battle, he’s ready and willing to help you, too!

I make mistakes, I think everyone has their faults… sometimes we go down the hard way, are you one who does that? Refer to:

• The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant giving light to the eyes. ~Psalm 19:7-8

Love Always and Forever,
Cassandra Falun <3

Bits and Pieces

"Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing."

The Past

· By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the Lord rained down burning sulphur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

· ~Genesis 19:23-26

When in friendships or relationships, you feel like God is telling you to move on because of their ways, but you don’t leave immediately or you never do. You want to hold on so tight and never let go. Lots wife was told to run from Sin City and to never look back, but she did and turned into salt. God is looking out for YOUR best interest, if you look back and wonder “what might have been”, it keeps you from seeing “what might be”. When it comes to letting go of your past, one look back can be your last.

When I read this it really struck me, like how immature I was to bring up the past to hurt someone or someone did the same to me… or bring up the past and be scared of the future. The past hurts, prepare for the future. God is there for all of us, be strong because I know you’re a survivor.

Bits and Pieces

* Wait on God, and you will see His excellent plans unfold! *

Prayer

• One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he was finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” ~Luke 11:1

Prayer doesn’t come easily to some people. Like Luke 11:1 says even the disciples asked Jesus how to pray better. And in psalms there are many cries from David for God to hear him. (Psalms 143)

Prayer is something your learn how to do- - just like everything else in life. I am not a master at prayer but I try. Prayer is all about the faith- - believing God hears you even when it doesn’t seem like it. He promises to listen to everything we say, so we all have to trust in that. Our God is near us when we pray. How awesome is that?! He doesn’t just hear us, he is right there with us… wherever you go… shopping, etc. When you find yourself faced with a hard decision or feel hurt and alone- - God is there when you pray.

• See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is wise and understanding people.” What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? ~Deuteronomy 4:5-7

Our God is amazing! All you have to do is have faith, trust, and believe that he is there with you always, even when you pray, even through your struggles, through everything! Our God is an awesome God!

Bits and Pieces

“Our God is an awesome God he reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power and love our God is an awesome God.”

Basketball

I am so confused how my teacher treats me like I suck... in a game she will barely let me play. It is so hard for me because it is my favorite sport, they want me to pay 100 dollars with the pants included... Should I pay for that, even though I dont really get to play? Or should I cheer from the sidelines instead of on the bench in uniform?... I look at these quotes and debate my thoughts all the time....

-"Somewhere behind the athlete you've become, the hours of practice, the coaches who push you, and the fans who cheer for you, is the little girl who fell in love with the sport and never looked back. Play for her."

-Champions are not made in gyms, Champions are made from something they have deep inside themselves -- a desire, dream and a vision

-God understands our prayers even when we can't find the words to say them. God loves you, whether you like it or not.

This last quote really makes me think about how life is, God understands where I am coming from, yet I shouldnt quit.

-----Input anyone?

Persistence

© And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.- - Genesis 39:10

®Everyday you face the choice of making the right decision. What you’re wearing, saying, doing, pleasing God? Joseph’s choices landed him in prison the first time. He always wondered if it was worth it. But when he became second in command of Egypt, he could see that his decision to honour God was the right choice.

®Using your God-given abilities now will prepare you for when God puts you in bigger settings. Don’t wait! Take advantage of even the “small” opportunities to serve God.

P.S. Sorry it is short today...

Bits and Pieces

-My friend posted this as her status on facebook and I thought it would be great to share and tell my opinion to this statement.

“What if the best in a person brings out the worst in them too?”

My response- -(feel free to post your thoughts in the comments or if you cant you can e-mail me: cassinky@sasktel.net)

© Well honestly I think that we as people are not perfect, so isnt everyone goin to have "a bad thing"? The reality is that we cant hide everythin. The best is awesome when it comes out, but you arent always goin to see the best in people. I think there is no BEST person in the world, we are all people-- the same. We all show great qualities, but ... See we will never be able to hide our faults.... I would have to say to this statement, "What if the BEST in a person, brings out the worst too?" Accept him/her for who he/she is.

Jesus Freaks

“Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you are living the way you are.” – Peter the Apostle (Martyred in Rome, 65 AD)


I have been reading a book called Jesus Freaks. It had really drawn my attention to see these people who actually won’t stand up for themselves and what they believe all because they want to be alive. When I really think about… if I was in the pressure if I was going to be shot in the head if I wouldn’t deny Jesus, really what would I do? I think now oh yeah I would stand up for Him all the way. It really shows how much belief, trust and faith you have in your saviour. Here is a story that struck me in the heart.

Her Last Prayer- A girl at the age of 16 o17 from Asia in the 1970’s.

The communist soldiers had discovered the illegal Bible Study they were having. These soldiers told all the people that if they denied God and spit on the Bible; as he threw it on the ground, then they could leave alive. All the people did and they were saying I hope you forgive me God, please forgive me. Then the last person reached the Bible, she looked at it, wiped all the spit and dirt off of it. She said, “What have they done with your word? Please forgive them all.” She sat on the ground holding the Bible praying. She knew what was coming. One of the communist soldiers took a pistol and raised it to her head. He pulled the trigger.

Isn’t that how we should be? I am 16 years old… I wonder if I would be like that in that moment. Most people who are facing percicuation today could have escaped if they had denied their faith. The question doesn’t lye where if we are persecuted or not. But are we willing to lay down our lives for our Faith in Jesus Christ? He died for us, don’t we owe him that?


Bits and Pieces
“I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Struggle of 2009

I wanted to speak about my life in this past year to show you a little about me and my struggles; how I went down the hard way instead of letting God direct my path.

My dreams were to be a pilot, but I had glasses so that was out of the question. I wanted to go for my privates anyways. My dreams crashed down in January 2009. At the age of 16 I had the first signs ever of epilepsy. I had little pauses/ shakes that I was conscious during; it was the scariest thing I could ever imagine and knowing I couldn’t do anything. I was waking up sometimes with a swollen and cut tongue; at that point I knew I was starting to have seizures not shakes. My parents didn’t really believe me, they thought I just bit my tongue while I was sleeping but the cut was so deep the pieces of everyone’s thoughts didn’t quite fit together. I told my parents about this, it didn’t really affect them until they actually saw me have one in the middle of February while playing a family game; they instantly called 9-1-1. I couldn’t have imagined it getting any worse, the dizziness/ tiredness and waking up to me being on oxygen. My heart sunk, I had no clue what had happened. That night being escorted to the hospital in an ambulance was terrifying. I started having more seizures, the doctor didn’t believe my family and I. He thought it was just the ‘hormones’. You think that after I have had more than one seizure and the countless times I had a cut open tongue and you would have thought it would explaine it all, but what I described to him he didn’t think sounded like a ‘true seizure’. My family was shocked so they tried eliminating some things that might have caused it, just in case. At that time I had braces, I got them removed 3 months early and I couldn’t eat/ drink anything out of cans. Well I kept having seizures. Finally they did some testing- it was for only 30 minutes. Nothing showed up it said my brain waves were not abnormal. I thought it would never end. The doctor told my parents that the next time I had a seizure, which he doubted, they were suppose to tape it. Yeah my parents walk around the house with a tape recorder all the time… yeah no. They finally got it over time. By the time I had had 10 seizures they found out that I was epileptic. They put me on medication 2 pills twice daily. It was tough to function and get used to the fact that I wasn’t really ‘healthy’ anymore. I got diagnosed with epilepsy in July. Through all of this I was struggling with the fact that my Uncle and Auntie were in a car accident in December. Everything was fine until that same ambulance escorting my Uncle and Aunt to the hospital got in an accident as well. It crushed all my Uncles vertebras and made him paralyzed… around the time of my diagnoses my Uncle got triple pneumonia and passed away. He will always be remembered by his favourite song, “It is Well With My Soul”.

Everything was in a jumble. It was so aggravating… frustrating… I got in fights with my family all the time, almost seemed like I just didn’t care anymore. My schooling went down in marks; I had gotten homework but never did it. I just wanted to give up, just to be done with all the crap in the world. So many people asked me if I was “ok”… why do people ask that when it’s obvious I am not. I am a very outgoing person, I don’t like it when people worry about me constantly, I always smile and laugh at things so randomly- - just because I need it for me. My friends who know my struggles ask me why are you laughing and smiling when your life is going down hill. Just because my life is tough others don’t have to suffer for it.

I dreamed of a fantasy, but I got reality. Through all of this I just couldn’t do it on my own but I thought I could. God is there all of the way. I went to a youth retreat and the pastor spoke about ‘riding the fence’. He asked a deep question by asking if we were leading a double life. I started crying it seemed like I was. At youth I just loved being there and would worship like I always had by growing up in a Christian home. Felt like I got away from what had been happening. When it came to school it was like all my problems had just rushed back into my head. I acted like a totally different person. Are you on the good side? Riding the fence? Or the atheist?

The thing learnt.

© God will ALWAYS love you no matter what condition you’re in! No matter where you are in life. No matter how far you wander off the path. No matter how much you sin. God sent his son Jesus to die for OUR sins. (John 3:16) He loved us so much he didn’t want to see us suffer.

© Life isn’t easy. It isn’t a fast track. There will always going to be obstacles; I believe those are tests from the LORD. He wants to see how much you believe, how much trust and faith you have in him. We as people are not perfect we are going to have our faults. This was one of mine.

Bits and Pieces

“Our saviour, He can move the mountains, our God is mighty to save, yes he is mighty to save. Forever author of salvation, he rose and conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave. Shine your light and let the whole world see. We’re singing for the glory of the risen king.”