So..what's been going on recently?

     Spring weather has finally arrived here in New York, which is such a blessing! The sun, the birds, and all the lovely spring flowers are peeping out from the dirt...it makes me so happy!
     I have lately been studying for my nursing licensure exam which takes up a lot of time in my day-to-day schedule. But, have no fear, it hasn't stopped me from growing closer to my savior over the past few months. I have no fear of the future, and the Lord has supplied me with peace about this exam and how the results will play out.
     I have recently started going through the book of Isaiah and have learned a lot about God's power, coming judgement, and mercy. The first few chapters talk a lot about the day of judgement and it is summed up well in Isaiah 2:11:

"The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day."

So, be prepared for that day. Follow in Jesus' steps, in humility, as you walk on this earth.

May the Lord bless you in these coming weeks...may he shower you with blessings! Amen.

On God's Shoulders

Just an amazing song that's been in my head for the past few weeks.

The chorus is below..in case you feel the need to sing along,..

My help comes from You
You're right here, pulling me through
You carry my weakness, my sickness, my brokenness all on Your shoulders 
Your shoulders
My help comes from You
You are my rest, my rescue
I don't have to see to believe that You're lifting me up on Your shoulders 
Your shoulders

From David Wilkerson, to you.

I don't think this needs any explaining. 

David Wilkerson says it as it needs to be heard.

There is always a new hope to be found..

     I never thought that you could get so many messages from one movie. I just didn't think it could happen. But, it actually can happen. And it did. For me, at least. The movies name is "New Hope." It was made last year, in 2012. Now, without further adieu  I'd like to tell you about the lessons I found in the movie. 

~WARNING: If you haven't seen the movie I'd recommend watching it before you read anything below, because I'll be talking about some of the plot and I don't want to ruin it for you!~ 

     

     God DOES Care

After losing her boyfriend Chase to suicide, Jasmine starts to believe that God doesn't care about "some troubled high school kid." Michael, the preacher's kid, who is also new in town, reassures her that God does care. He tells her "We all have struggles, but God hasn't given up on you." God doesn't give up on anyone, especially those that are going through struggles.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says; "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

God also tells us; “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you (Heb.13:5).” 

     There will be PEACE

After losing a son, things will never go back to the way they were, but Chase's parents want it to. They go to counseling with the new pastor (Michael's father). Sometimes we don't think we will ever get past the current struggle, but God promises us peace, and his unfailing love. 

Isaiah 54:10 says: "Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you." 

     Love those that  DON'T love you back

Michael's father explains this one pretty well in the movie. He says "Loving the ones that love us, that's easy, anybody can do that. It's loving the ones that hate us..well, that's the real challenge." It can be a challenge, physically and emotionally, and Michael takes the challenge. Sometimes, a friendship can be born out of the greatest challenges of our life. 

God tells us; "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (Matthew 5:44)."

     Losing someone you loved, is NEVER easy

Lucas Green is eighteen and just went through the tragic loss of his brother. They must have been close in age because they played high school basketball together. I could never image losing my twin sister or brother at this age, but it could happen..today, tomorrow, or fifty years from now (or if I'm lucky I could die before they do..LOL). Lucas takes his anger out at Michael the most because Michael plays Chase's position on the basketball team and starts dating Chase's girlfriend. At the end, Michael tells Lucas that he'll never give up on him..and that proves true. The movie ends and then their are pictures that tell of a wonderful friendship between the two. 

I ABSOLUTELY recommend watching this film. I have never felt so touched by a movie even though I didn't shed any tears. I think it reminded me of some great lessons, that I'll never forget. It's an unforgettable and powerful film!

Thank you, Lord

    School has finally finished and I have successfully completed my first year if college. The Lord has certainly helped me and kept me throughout the hard times. I want to thank all of those who were praying for me: THANK YOU! 
    You would think that I would have lots of time to write new posts, but that is not the case yet. Me and my twin sister are going to France next Wednesday, the 23rd of May. We are so excited to be going. The Honors program at our college offers this trip to all of the honors students, and me and my sister chose to go. A lot of our new friends are also going so it will be fun. Although we have made many new friends, most aren't Christians. I would be grateful if you would pray for all of them. 
   Me and my twin sister joined the christian group at our college and became friends with everyone there, but only two from that group of about twenty will be going with us to France (most are not freshman, so they went last year on the trip to France if they are in the Honors Program). 
    Again, thank you for your constant prayers. I will be praying for all of those who view this blog. 
    May God Bless You and Keep You, Julie Waldvogel 

Our Help and Safety in times of Trouble…

     God will always be right by our side, even in the worst times. One of my favorite names that describes Jesus is omnipresent. In the dictionary that I have at home the definition is all-enveloping, which is exactly what God is. He is always around us, enveloping us in his strong arms. Psalm 121 is a cry of help and sometimes we make it our own, because we may be afraid or unsure of what is going to happen. It also assures us that God is always there for us.
     This psalm starts with a question, and right away it is answered. “I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth (verses 1and 2)” The psalmist looked up toward the top of a mountain and asked who would help him. Mountains are extremely tall and can be intimidating, especially if you are at the bottom. He was answered with a wonderful response. The Lord, who made the earth (which includes mountains) and heavens, will help him.
     Verses 3 and 4 are my favorite verses of this chapter. Some people think that God sleeps and that’s the reason why we have trouble in our lives. They have it all wrong! God is NEVER asleep, not matter what happens. God tests our faith, but only up to what we can handle. He will always provide a way for us to run back to him. If we fail those tests, he doesn't just throw us away, he draws us back to him in an even more real way than before.
     Protection is another way of God conveying his love toward us.We don’t have to worry about anything. He watches us at night, when we sleep, and during the day, as we go about our work. We just have keep out eyes fixed on him through all trials. God will keep us from all harm. He knows exactly what we are going to do every day and he will make sure that we are safe from all fatal blows. This psalm is full of assurance of our safety along life’s dangerous road.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” - Isaiah 41:10

Another Year With God..

As we start the new year we should all thank God for giving us such a great year last year. I know that I have grown closer to God this past year, and all of you have helped me draw closer to him. I pray that God will give me another year to draw closer to him and to grow in my faith. God is faithful and will always be at our sides to help guide us.  May he also bless you as you go on into the new year! 

1 Peter 4:7-8 = "The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so

 that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 

“I Will Walk With Integrity”

Yesterday, in Sunday School, our lesson was on godly character. We touched briefly on multiple passages, but the one that stuck out at me was Psalm 101. So, without further ado…

The first verse of Psalm 101 is something  I can relate to. It says “I will sing of your love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will sing praise.” Singing is something I am always doing. I am not voice trained, and never took singing lessons, but that doesn’t stop me. I love listening to the Klove radio station or one of our many Christian cd’s that my family has collected over the years. I listen and sing to a lot of contemporary music, but every once in a while I take out a praise cd and sing those songs too. Just because my music is labeled Christian, doesn’t mean that the music is all about singing praise to the Lord. Sometimes the song isn’t praising God, so just be careful about the music you sing and listen to.

Verse two is when David asks God for help: “when will you come to me?.” We should all ask for Gods help, because we can’t possibly do everything without Gods help. Actually, we can’t get through anything without Gods help. In this world, we see people who aren’t true Christians get through situations, you might say, but they aren’t coming out without scars and wounds. Their hearts may be shriveled and broken into thousands of pieces. In order to live a blameless life, we need Gods help.
Verses three to eight show us characteristics that help us to live a blameless life. They aren’t easy to follow especially when we are in the presence of non-christians. Not looking at vile things is pretty hard to do nowadays. Posters and bulletins are all over  buildings, not to mention, in the biggest print people can possibly fit. They advertise beauty products, that probably don’t even work on everyone out there in the world. Sin can be enticing and can even look like fun. I know that I have participated in things that haven’t honored God, like spreading the latest gossip or making fun of people who didn’t fit in with our middle school click. After doing things like that, I would have a huge, guilty conscience, that I never enjoyed. Now my conscience is a good thing and has helped me stay away from those evil things. I’ve been forgiven for those sins and try not to do things like that anymore. In college I’ve met people that are haughty and boastful, and unfortunately I have become aquatinted with them. Those people should not be tolerated and I know that God will help me with them.
Verse six is a blessing to me. “My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; the one whose walk is blameless will minister to me.” I also have Christian friends that build me up and draw me closer to the Lord.  There are so many Christians girls (set-apart for Christ) on Blogger and I am so happy for that. Verse six talks about pastors. Pastors aren’t perfect, but those that try to live a blameless life, should be the one’s preaching to us. I don’t want a pastor who has not experienced the love of Christ for himself/herself.  They would never be able to show us how to love the lord. Verse seven talks about living with people who aren’t deceitful and slanderers. All of my friends, whether christian or non-christians, now that I hate when they speak inappropriate language. I used to participate in all of that gossip, but now I keep what I know to myself and try not to laugh at others who are being gossiped about. Verse eight is something that all of us should commit to. We should all try our best to turn the lost sheep back to the lord and we should be careful of ourselves. We should watch that we don’t get pulled away from the Lord.
It may be hard to live a blameless life, like this Psalm explains, but we have God right beside us and we can always ask his help.

“Don't follow a defeated foe. Follow Christ. It is costly. You will be an exile in this age. But you will be free.”
― John Piper