Salt, Light, Plants, And Dumb Sheep

         I am such a visual learner and I love how creative Jesus is with his words. I love when he tells us, "You are the....", and then uses visuals of things that we use or see almost everyday. Here are some of the things that Jesus relates us to:

Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." We are on this earth to bring meaning where there is no meaning. Everything is better with salt. (Ever tried not adding salt to a recipe? ewwww!!)

Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden." We are here to bring light to this dark world! People need the light!  

John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." Stick with Jesus and you can do big things! Without him we can't do jack.

Jesus is the shepherd and we are the sheep. We need to listen for Jesus' voice, so we know where to go...just like sheep do!!

       Jesus loves us and wants us to be all that we can be. So, he uses these real life things that we understand, to talk to us. Salt, light, trees, animals? The stuff we see everyday! I love that!!

Encourage Each Other!!



        I love to make people feel good. I love to make cards, write notes, send texts, etc. God says in Hebrews 3:13 (a), "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called 'Today'....." Encouraging people is a part of God's will. As Christians, we are supposed to build others up and honor each other. One thing I have figured out, is that by making other people feel good, you are also helping yourself - you are taking the focus off you, and putting it on someone else (this is humility). You never know if God will use your simple card or text for something really big in someone's life. Encouragement can be anything from writing long letters to everyone you know (I wouldn't recommend EVERYONE), to sending a nice "Good morning. :) Have a wonderful day." text to your closest friends. AND...there are so many people in this world to encourage: Your parents, pastor, teachers, boss, co-workers, youth leaders, friends, family, teammates.........and the list could go on for about 15 more lines..=). I don't know about you, but it sure does make me feel good to make other people feel good (does that even make sense? haha). There are SOOOO many ways to build people up....just BE CREATIVE!!!! (Comment on this post, or email me at hannahbnc@gmail.com,  if you need some ideas.)  :) 

Shine Your LIGHT, and Shine It BRIGHT!!

          Shine your light!! Jesus says in Matthew 5:16, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." I want Jesus to be evident in my life; to the point where I don't even have to tell people I'm a Christian, because they can tell by my life. Notice how Jesus says at the end, "and glorify your Father in heaven." - The purpose of us shining for Jesus is not to bring glory to ourselves or for people to say, "Look how good Hannah is," but to completely bring glory to God, so people will say, "Look how amazing God is." I want EVERYTHING in my life to point to Jesus - my attitude, the way I act, the words I say, the way I dress, etc. We are THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Without Jesus and his followers, the world is full of pure darkness and evil. I always think about the whole "shining your light" thing like this - we are in a dark cave (life), and some people like the dark, because nobody can see what they are doing (non-believers), but some people want them and others to be able to see (Christians). Some of the ones who don't like the dark pull out their phones to shine a light for the people closest to them, thinking that will be bright enough. The other ones who want light, look all around for the brightest light they can find, so everyone can see. - I want to be one of the those who wants to shine the biggest, brightest light!!!! The small, dim light (like the phone) might point the one close friend or family member to Jesus, but what about everyone else around you? Do they see Jesus overflowing from your life?? Shine your LIGHT, and shine it BRIGHT!!!!

Jesus in Your Social Networking

Social networking (facebook, twitter, etc.) is a huge outlet to share Jesus with people. In just a few seconds, you can have a few sentences put out where hundreds of people can read. That's why it is important to post and tweet things that are pleasing to God. Your facebook and twitter can have a big influence on someone's life. There are so many opportunities to talk about Jesus, encourage people, share what you are reading in the bible, etc. Here are some practical ways to share Jesus through social networking:
First off, clean up your profile:
-Acknowledge Jesus in your bio
-Pick a clean and modest profile picture (Before you decide on one, think "If Jesus added me as a friend on here, would I want him to see this?")
-Make sure your info (especially on fb) is pleasing to God. (favorite music, TV shows, books, movies, etc.)
Then what you post:
-Post what you are reading in your quiet time
-Post prayer requests, updates, etc.
-Write on people's walls! Encourage, encourage, encourage!!
-Talk about what Jesus has done, is doing, and is going to do in your life

And last, be real! Post what you are doing, who you are hanging out with, etc. People want to be able to relate to you!! Well, I hope this will help you...Just NEVER forget that Jesus needs to be the center of it all. Make it obvious that you are one of his followers!!!

Dream BIG

Dream BIG. Right now, I'm reading Darlene Zschech's book, "The Kiss of Heaven", and she said, "God puts a seed of a dream in our hearts before we are even old enough to feel it growing." When you have a dream in your heart to do something, DON'T IGNORE IT!! - It could be the start of God's great big plan for your life!! If you have a dream, WRITE IT DOWN! Also, don't let people's smallness cause you to dream small. The bigger your dream is, the more room there is for God! Don't ever think of your dreams (if they are real, that is,) as "silly" or "unrealistic", because with God all things are possible. When I think of a dream, I think of it as a desire in your heart, that you have no idea how to get to. For instance - right now, my dream is to be a worship pastor/leader of some kind. I have no idea how to get there though. The hardest part is figuring out if that dream is actually what God has called me to do. My suggestion to myself and any others, is to pray, pray, pray, and read God's word. For me right now, what I'm going to do, is run towards that dream (reading books, reading other worship leader's blogs and stuff, researching, etc.), unless God tells me to STOP. That is my suggestion to you also - If your dream doesn't leave you alone after praying and reading the bible, run towards it unless God tells you otherwise. And BE CAREFUL...Satan is the ultimate dream stealer. Don't let him (or anyone else), tell you that something is impossible. EVERYONE has a dream. What is yours??