Just A Whole Lot of Joy!

   Today was a wonderful day! The sun was shining and Jesus stole my heart once again! My heart was and is full of joy and peace! God has allowed me to remember about the person that I was, to the person that I am now, and the fact that I have been made new because of His love for me and my love for Him. 

  Everyday, God teaches me what it means to love, and I must say, out of every gift that God lists in the Bible, love is the most important! My love for Him, has grown tremendously, even in those times where I feel like I am failing or that I am worthless because of a mistake-I'm growing in Christ...and that is the most wonderful feeling in the world! I am joyful because I have love down in my heart! Its been a day filled with nothing but a whole lot of joy!!! Love it!

"Harmless" Habits

 Being a kid from the "90's", I grew up with some pretty sweet movies! You know, like Cinderella, Snow White, Lady and the Tramp, The Aristocats, The Jungle Book.... Pinocchio.  Loved them all and then some, but I would like to focus on Pinocchio just for a few minutes.
  For all of you who have never seen the movie or read the book, or just simply forget completely on who Pinocchio was..let me explain. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppeto in a small Italian village and he was created as a wooden puppet but dreamed of becoming a real boy. However; Pinocchio developed the bad habit of lying or fabricated stories for various reasons. So when Pinocchio would lie, his nose would grow, all because of a "little white lie." Lying was a habit for Pinocchio and in return, he had consequences, which resulted in the growth of his nose, and nobody believing him when he really needed help or actually told the truth. Where am I getting at, you may ask? Well I'll tell you...I am going to talk about my own habits.

  Growing up, I had a number of habits that I somewhat still have today. Just like Pinocchio, I used to have a problem with lying-habitually. I mean, I lied about everything! Please don't think that I am boasting or proud of myself for that habit, because in no way, shape or form, am I happy about it. My title for this blog says "Harmless Habits" and that particular previous habit of mine was definitely harmful. Because of that one habit, that one harmful habit, I lost relationships, part of my reputation, trust, and most importantly, people that I love. Be that it was (not is), I am not going to go into detail about that past habit of mine, just stating that it was a habit of mine...I also had the habit of biting my nails, sticking pens and pencils in my mouth, counting when I'm stressed, cracking my knuckles (which drove my mother insane!), cracking my neck, rolling my eyes when I was being told the truth, talking with my hands, licking my lips, sticking my tongue out when I think or concentrate on something (which I still do), and some other "little" and other habits in between, but recently, I have noticed that I have developed a new habit, one that I am not physically capable of perfecting, but I still do it in an attempt....its whistling! 

  I have NO IDEA how it started, but it definitely started and I can't stop! (or so it seems) I noticed it about three weeks ago when I was at home and I heard Emily's (my roommate) mom whistle to a song, which she does daily. All of a sudden, I started whistling-out of nowhere! I don't know why I started it or even attempted to try it, because for those of you who know me...I CAN'T whistle to save my life! Not a tune! But there I was, whistling away! I didn't think anything of it, until I started doing it without music, but randomly. Throughout the past few weeks, I have noticed that I whistle more when I am stressed out, overwhelmed, or have something on my mind that I don't want to talk about. When that happens, I think the reason that I whistle is because I want to focus on something else instead of whatever it is that I'm thinking or stressing about. As I whistle, I tend to just walk away from my problem, which in some cases, is not okay. How in the world did this come about?! Now, when I hear myself whistle, I try and stop myself because I know I am terrible at the whole concept and I need to stop and think about what it is exactly I am thinking or stressing about. 

 So what can I do instead of whistling during those "stressed out, hair pulling" moments? I have thought of a few things actually, but I am learning to put them into ACTION! First thing I need to do is realize the problem. I already know the underlying reason of why I whistle, and its to not deal with whatever it is that needs to be dealt with. Which is NOT okay!! Second thing I can do is, once I have figured out and identified the reasoning behind my whistling, I need to pray about the problem that I am stressed out about ask God what I need to do or what He needs me to do in order to fix it. I know that whistling is a "harmless habit" because it doesn't hurt or affect anyone in anyway, but the fact is, is that I KNOW why I am whistling. Although its harmless, it can, in some ways, do a lot of damage if this habit is not dealt with in a healthy way. Thirdly and lastly, I must place the solution into action by fixing it and allowing God to transform my ways of thinking. 

 So...what are your habits? Everybody has at least one or two..what are they?? Are they  "harmless" habits or habits that can be hurtful to you or someone else? 

 THANKS FOR READING!

I Am Restless...

 "Malarie! Slow down!...Malarie! Talk to me!!!!!....Malarie!!! BE STILL!!!" These are the words that God has been speaking/commanding to me these past few weeks. And today..I finally listened and fell flat on my face and said "Here I am God! I'm listening! I can't go on any longer! I'm sorry I haven't been listening to you!" These past few weeks, I have been restless.

 Today in church, we talked about how life gives us "detours." That is exactly what life has been doing to me...throwing me detours. However; sometimes, life isn't the only thing that throws these curve balls. Sometimes, its sin and even God. These detours can either make you slow down and get lost or take you to the exact place that God wants you to be at. Sadly, these detours of mine, have slowed me down but I am constantly going.

 I am so blessed to have a God that is so powerful that He doesn't let us forget that He is there! I mean, today, it felt like He had to take every ounce of energy from me in order to just stop my own life and listen to Him-which is not how it should be at all. When I got home from church, I immediately crawled into my bed and read my Bible and just prayed. I prayed until I found myself fast asleep-which I think in this case, is the most beautiful kind of prayer. When your body and spirit is at peace, you can fall asleep. As I was praying, I knew God was right there, rubbing me and massaging me on the back, and saying "You need to not let life get you distracted from me. You constantly run and run and run some more, and then that's when you lose sight of me and I end up getting half the glass of water, when I am asking you for an overflowing glass. You get distracted by the anxiety, the problems, the turmoils, the bitterness, the busyness of this world, that you forget that I am the only one that matters and should matter in your life. And in all of this, you forget that I am the Great I Am, the creator and the redeemer, the comforter and the peace maker of your life. But you have to allow yourself to slow down enough to let me love and comfort you. I hear your prayers. I love you my dear child. Slow down and be still." After this moment, I laid down, and it felt as if God placed a blanket of peace over me and I fell asleep....I slept for 8 hours.

  And with what God spoke to me, it was so loud and so true! These past few weeks I have been caught up in my everyday life of going to work, solving my own problems, running and running, without even giving Him praise! This week, I hate to admit, but I have to in order to grow, that these past two weeks have been the most busiest and most draining I have ever had! These past few weeks, I have fallen short of the glory of God and never rested in His presence. I must slow down. I must place God above everything else. Stop and pray. I must listen to Him.

Heavenly Father,
  I thank you that you love me enough to never give up on me, even during those times that I don't stop to listen to the still small voice of you. God, I pray that you give me rest and eyes to see more of who you are. Allow me to not be focused on life itself, but instead for me to be focused on being a follower of your name, and a disciple of you. Give me peace, God. In your name I pray....AMEN.

Who You Are

 Heavenly Father,
   I am sitting here in your presence and glory, within your peace and stillness of your voice. God you are so wonderful and so majestic, but one of the things that just captivates me and makes me continue loving you, and wanting to know you more and more every single day, is that you are constantly telling me and the world that if you want to know what I am like-here is Jesus. If we want to know what you are like, you tell us that you are the one that had took and loved the woman who was caught in the act of adultery and who told her accusers "whoever has no sin, let them throw the first stone" and that you sent them away. If we want to know what you are like, God, you tell us that you were the one who went to the tax collector and who was seen as a traitor among the people. And when those would have thought that you would have given him a tongue lashing and called him out for what he was, instead, you told him "follow me because I have a plan for you and I am going to make something of your life." Father-you are screaming to us through your son, Jesus Christ and you are saying "if you want to know what I am like, know that I am so serious about your sin that it had to be dealt with through the most grizzly death possible. The best thing that the Romans had to offer, was death through crucifixion, but your sin is serious to me, that if you truly want to know what I am like, I played the devil and made him think that he was using his best weapon, and when I rose from the dead, I rendered that weapon useless." Father, I am so grateful that you have demonstrated who you are through your son, Jesus. You are not a far and distant God but you are Immanuel and you have came to be with us and to show us very clearly of who you are. You're the God who loves children and remind us that if we do not follow you, we cannot inherit the kingdom of God. You're the God who heals the blind. You're the God who heals the scandalist. And you're the God of absolute perfect righteousness. True and holy righteousness-not what we call righteousness, but what you call righteousness. Father, please move in my heart and allow me to be drawn to your son, Jesus Christ as you are screaming to us "This is who I am!" Move in my heart God. Show me your glory. Let me fall more and more in love with you and who you are. Mold me and transform me, God. Jesus, I thank you for loving me and that you were sent here to earth as form of a man to die for the sake of my sins. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. Let my heart be moved. In your precious and heavenly name I pray...AMEN.

Life With Christ...A Poem

Why fill our hearts and minds
With what doesn’t edify
And doesn’t help our spirits grow,
To be truly unified

What we believe in our minds,
We should believe in our hearts,
So we will speak with sincerity
What the word of God imparts

For as we meditate on it,
It will wash over our minds,
So our thinking will become Christ-like
Leaving worldly thoughts behind

For we can develop the mind of Christ
When on the word we feed,
But we need to move on from infant milk
To the solids that we need

It’s then our spirits can truly grow
And our minds can be transformed
To this world and its worldly ways,
We no longer are conformed

But we’re conformed to Jesus Christ
And we walk in step with Him,
We desire Him above all else
And have His life within.