Baptism Video

Just wanted to share the video of my baptism. You may want to listen with no sound because all you can hear is my family yapping away in the background. =) What can I say... that's my family for you. (I'm sure I'm guilty of doing the same in other people's videos. lol.) Anyway, it's a blessing to have a record of this and I thank my sister, Kim, for taking it. =)

It was so awesome to pray with and be baptized by my very own Pastor. Happy Day. Thank you, Lord!

It's a brand new day...

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:37-39

July 26, 2009, will forever be my spritual birthday. In front of my family, friends, pastor, and church, I fulfilled God's will and commandment and was baptized. Hallelujah! It was amazing.

It was amazing for so many reasons.

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, July 26, 1981, is my birthday and it is my Church's birthday. It was also my grandfather Scott's birthday. This is already a special day for me and now it is the MOST special day.

The other reason it was so special was because two of the 3 unsaved people for whom I've been praying for a year now were able to witness this outward declaration of my love for Christ. I wish the third would have been there, but I'll take what I can get. I just hope and pray that God was able to make a movement in these two people's lives yesterday through Pastor David's message and through seeing me do this awesome, God-ordained thing. I hope and pray with all my heart that when this is all over, I see all three of their faces in Heaven. What a joyous day that will be!!!

Yesterday was the beginning of something new. As my family and friends prayed with me, my sister, Katie, said something that I know is true. She said, "I know that this is going to be Kristina's year, Lord." WOW! I know it too. Something amazing is going to happen. I don't know what it is, but I can't wait. Even if it's just the Lord changing me and growing me even more than He already has. I want to be perfected by Him, and if that's all that ever happens to me in this life.... well, then MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

Lord, you have a purpose and plan for me that has yet to be revealed. I will wait patiently upon You for it to be unveiled, and when it is, I will rejoice because it will be right and good. Thank you, Lord. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!

Alone time...

So, I've been off of work since yesterday and won't be going back until next Wednesday. This is my birthday vacation.

Anyway...Why is being off and spending time at home instead of work always a better idea in theory?

Let's see. I've only been off two days and I'm already going stir crazy. If I was out of town things would be different, but since I'm just sitting at home, it sucks. Everyone is at work/school, so it's not like I can call people up and go hang out. Instead, I'm home watching TV and on Facebook and MySpace all day. Woop-dee-do!

I'm trying to stay busy by playing with Gatito, cleaning, watching movies, and stuff like that, but that get's old quick. Next time I take a week-long vacation, I'm going to plan to go somewhere. None of this sitting home, vegging out, and getting fat stuff... uh-uh....

Can you tell I'm bored???? Hurry up, weekend. Then I'll have plans...

Hey! Maybe I'll go to the bookstore and get me some books. Or how about reading your Bible, Kristina! Duh.....

God put a smile upon my face....

As promised, here are some pics from the Coldplay show I went to on Saturday night. It, of course, was AMAZING. Those boys NEVER fail to put on a great, energetic, crowd-pleasing show... and with a lot of humility. I don't know if it's an act, but they sure do come off as extremely gracious. They seem to really recognize their fans and that they would not be where they are without us (well and God too, but not sure if they realize that part.)

Kim and me right before the show started:

Our view from the FRONT, baby!

Chris and the boys doing Yellow.


There was a ramp like 4 feet away from that they would run down and at one point they performed at the end of the ramp.

Chris at the piano. He's so good. =)

Chris, saying goodbye. Yes. We were THIS close.

So, yeah. Except for a few annoying people, it was fun times. We thought we were going to be in the 7th row, but we ended up being in General Admission. We didn't have seats and had to stand, but it was fine because we were able to get close to the stage. It was pretty darn awesome!!!! The best part though... I mean the BEST part... was when they did a cover of Michael Jackson's Billy Jean. So good!

Can't wait til the next album! Can't wait til the next concert!!!

'Til Kingdome Come....

Still my heart and hold my tongue
I feel my time
My time has come
Let me in
Unlock the door
I never felt this way before

And the wheels just keep on turning
The drummer begins to drum
I don’t know which way I’m going
I don’t know which way I’ve come

Hold my head
inside your hands
I need someone who understands
I need someone, someone
who hears
For you I’ve waited all these years

For you I’d wait 'til kingdom come
Until my day, my day is done
And say you'll come and set me free
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me....

-Kingdom Come by Coldplay

=)

Love that song! I kind of choose to see it as a message to God. I'm sure they didn't mean it that way... it's clearly a love song. But what is the greatest love story, anyway? It's Christ's love for us--that He would give His life for us (John 3:16) . I pray that one day Chris Martin and the rest of the guys can learn this awesome Truth. In the meantime, they can keep on making their awesome music. They may not know it, but their gift brings glory to God in some small way, I'm sure.

Gonna see my boys in 3 days! 7th row, baby! Woohoo!!! Let you know how it goes....

The year of losing things...

So, yesterday I found out that my promotion to Senior Secretary II was not approved. Sad day. No, really... I was very sad about it, but what I wasn't was angry, and definitely not with God. I had already told Him that if it didn't work out I wouldn't be angry because I know He is in control and has a reason for it. It's just upsetting when you get yourself excited about something and then it falls through. I'm also a little peeved with myself for counting my chickens before they hatched. I probably shouldn't have agreed to the very expensive Invisalign for my teeth before I knew for sure that I would be making more money. Now my goal of paying down my other debts is going to be a little more difficult to achieve. I'm going to have to really start controlling my spending. (Maybe that's another thing the Lord is trying to tell me... lol.)

Anyway, losing that promotion got me thinking of the many things I seemed to have lost so far in 2009:

A LOVE INTEREST -- Yeah, I guess despite dating for about a month I never really had him, but the opportunity was lost.

The good that came of it: The Lord kept me out of a relationship with someone who was not ready and not spiritually mature. We would have been unequally yoked.

GATITO -- Lost the cat for a week, which was devastating.

The good that came of it: He came back and I learned that 1) God loves me and I need to trust Him, and 2) I needed to appreciate my cat more. =)

SECRETARY IV POSITION -- Like the Sr. Sec. II position, I thought I had this one in the bag and that I would finally be getting out of this Section.

The good that came of it: It showed me that people don't necessarily hold my youthfulness against me AND that people recognize that I am talented at what I do.

CONTROL -- Nothing bad about this one. I finally decided to surrender to the Lord and let Him have the control. It's the best thing I've ever done and it's thanks to that move that I'm able to even cope with these losses. He is SOOOO good to me, and I totally don't deserve it!

Even though I've been able to see what the good is in each of these situations, I don't always know why God does what He does, but I do know that He knows what He's doing and it will work out for His good:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. -Isaiah 55:8-9

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11

The Bad Guy Syndrome

Remember the whole revolving door of friends thing? It’s at it again.

I offended someone, I was recognized my wrong (she didn’t even have to point it out), apologized, asked forgiveness from my Heavenly Father and the injured party. That party now seems to be acting in a malicious manner towards me (leaving me out of lunch invitations, barely speaking to me, not inviting me to BBQs that in previous years I helped to coordinate, etc.), which is definitely making me feel like I am not forgiven…. Well, by her at least; I know my Lord has already forgiven me.

Anyway, it’s funny.

Why is it funny? That person and I had a mutual friend who repeatedly hurt this same friend. Despite the fact that this person has NEVER apologized, let alone was remorseful, my friend keeps trying to make amends with her and appears to always eventually forgive her. Yet, I—the person who was genuinely sorry for what she did—am not eligible for forgiveness, apparently.

Now, I get to come to work everyday and feel like I’m all alone. This friend has another mutual friend to lean on and confide in and I now have no one (other than my Lord, of course). So, yeah. I’m really getting impatient with this promotion because I want to get out of here!

I don’t know what is with me and my high turn-around in friends… Something’s gotta give. I know I am not this horrible person, but it’s like I have the “bad guy syndrome:” I’m always coming off as the bad guy in every situation, even when I’m trying to make amends, which not a lot of people can swallow their pride to do (let’s be real). Or even when I’m not even in the wrong, yet the person who wronged me is treating me like I’m the culprit. Either way, I’m always the bad guy. I’m tired of this…

Lord, please put friends in my life who have integrity, loyalty, and most of all understanding. Amen.

In Dependance Day

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America

Today is America's day of independance. It is not our day of independance from God, however. If anything, it is a rememberance of our DEPENDANCE upon God for strength and protection for this country and for the ability to have "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Afterall, we are endowed by our Creator, as our founding fathers so eloquently put it. Hallelujah!

Don't forget that it is GOD who has blessed this country, and only HE can continue to do so. All the praise and glory goes to Him.

Happy 4th of July!

5 Reasons God Permits Problems

Someone sent me this email and it is SO right on! Read it, absorb it, believe it....

The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you-depending on how YOU respond to them. Unfortunately, most people fail to see how God wants to use problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring.

Here are five reasons God may have permitted the problems you experience in your life:

1. God permits problems to DIRECT you. Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is God allowing this situation to get your attention? “Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways.” Proverbs 20:30

2. God permits problems to INSPECT you. People are like tea bags…If you want to know what’s inside them, just drop them into hot water! Has God tested your faith by allowing a problem or two into your life? What do problems reveal about you? “When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience.” James 1:2-3

3. God uses problems to CORRECT you. Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It’s likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove. But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something (health, money, relationships, etc.), by losing it. “It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws.” Psalms 119: 71-72

4. God permits problems to PROTECT you. A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem, but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management’s actions were eventually discovered. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” Genesis 50:20

5. God permits problems to PERFECT you. Problems, when responded to correctly are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship with God and your character are the only thing you are going to take with you into eternity. “We can rejoice when we run into problems. They help us learn to be patient. Patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady.” Romans 5:3-4

Here’s the point: God is at work in your life even when you do not recognize it or understand it. It is much easier and profitable when you cooperate with Him.

Diarrhea of the mouth....

This article on Boundless Webzine hit home with me. It's totally what I'm going through right now. In the article, the author, in response to another story that was posted on the site (which was fictional, by the way), describes how she stuck her foot in her mouth and then felt horribly afterward:

How snobby. How self-centered. How very much like me. I actually said something similar to this a couple weeks ago standing outside a Ruby Tuesdays. I was with a group of girlfriends and as we were talking I kept smelling smoke. "Why does it smell like smoke out here?" I asked with obvious disdain.

It was sort of a rhetorical question so it didn't bother me when none of my girlfriends answered. A few minutes later a friend on my left switched standing positions which gave me a clear view of a lady with a cigarette not 5 yards from us. My stomach sank. I knew she'd heard me.

When she went back into the restaurant I apologized to my friends for my comment. Well, I don't know if I actually apologized but I said something to the effect of, "Man, I feel like a jerk." One of my more honest friends said, "You are a jerk when you speak without thinking."

Ouch. That stuck with me for at least a week afterward. The kind of sticking with you that makes you cringe with every remembrance.

I know exactly how that feels! Every time I replay what happened recently with my friend Liz, the guilt and shame resurfaces. Ouch is right!

From the age of 5 until 13, I went to a private Christian school. At 5, pretty much everyone in my class was friends. By the time I got to 13, I had 1 whole friend. In between that time, I gradually got uglier and chubbier and the kids became more aware of that and of the fact that I didn't have as much money as they did. As a result, I was completely ostracized and disregarded. If I tried to speak to someone or give an opinion, I was completely ignored. I did not exist to those people. So, I learned to not speak at all and have no opinion.

Alas, I was forced to go to public High School at 14 and it was there I learned that not everyone hated me. I also learned that I had a voice. That revelation was a good thing AND a bad thing.

Once I became a little more comfortable with myself, I sort of flipped out and decided that the whole world needed to hear me and my opinions at all times... and they needed to take it. I got myself into a little nasty habit of always speaking my mind and not caring what anyone thought about it or whom I was offending.

Well, what I've begun to realize in the last few years is that this behavior is not okay. Yes, being excluded and cut off was not okay, but neither was me being so outspoken and reckless with words. The latter was hurtful to me and the former is hurtful to others. Neither is acceptable. (I know there are many people I have hurt with my words, even if a lot of the time it was totally unintentional.)

I went from one extreme to the other and, as in most situations, you're better off somewhere in the middle. That's where I'm trying to be now. I'm trying to tame my tongue because if I'm not careful, it can cause a lot of evil. Verses like this one have made that abundantly clear to me:

James 3:7-10
All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.