Forgiveness

"Love keeps no record of wrong." 

1 Corinthians 13:5

Forgiveness is a big deal. I had the opportunity to teach my 7th grade girls the importance of this topic in Sunday school and it was one of the most powerful and crucial lessons I can ever teach. Why is that? Well, I'll tell you. 

Forgiveness is something that we choose to give or choose to keep to ourselves. FOR we choose to GIVE it. It is a gift that we give to others who hurt us. I know this sounds simple, but it is one of the hardest things for all people to do. When we are hurt by friends, family, bosses, employees, etc. we go through pain, anger, and confusion. Relationships are built with the people in our lives over the course of time and with that, trust is built. It is MUCH harder to build trust than it is to break it. Here's an analogy.

Think of blocks. Little kids love building super cool, high towers out of colorful blocks and LEGOS. They spend hours upon hours creating their masterpieces. The finished product takes time, dedication, and hard work. But, when the tall tower is built, it is a beautiful creation. However, there are times when the super awesome tower gets knocked down. It takes hours of planning and carefulness to build, but only one tiny bump, pull, or push to knock the whole thing down. It is now in pieces on the floor, totally destroyed. How heart breaking is that for a little kid? I can tell you that it devastates children!! All of their hard work and dedication was beautiful for a moment, but then it was crushed and broken. They have the choice to give up and leave it in pieces on the floor, or they can choose to take a deep breath and start over. Rebuild the masterpiece. Make it beautiful again. 

Trust is the same way. As relationships and friendships are carefully and slowly built over time, trust is also built. Trust is what allows us to tell another person secrets, share our hopes and dreams, go to for comfort or excitement. Trust binds our friendships together. When trust is lost, the friendship eventually falls apart. HI think everyone has experienced this at one point in life. I have numerous times and every time it has been difficult, painful, and heart breaking. BUT, there is hope. There is a way to piece back together the brokenness. And it is called forgiveness. 

This is such a real thing, y'all. Forgiveness heals and renews relationship more than anything else can. The reason we think forgiveness is so hard and why we struggle to either give other people forgiveness or ask for it is because we are prideful. Our pride tells us, "No, They do not deserve my forgiveness. They hurt me and there is no way they can repay me for that." Or we say, "I am not in the wrong. I will not ask for forgiveness. They are the ones who should be begging for mine." You may not be in the wrong, but that doesn't matter. Forgive them even if they are not sorry. Show them kindness. Show them love. Show them that second chances are possible and that forgiveness is a powerful thing. Overcome the pride that Satan is using to destroy you and others by showing kindness to the ones who hurt you the most. 

I'm saying this from experience. More like multiple experiences. I have had parents who have hurt me, siblings, friends, boyfriends, and even strangers. I've had boyfriends who broke my heart. I had a friend of several years who I was very close to who also hurt me. There are times where I can shake stuff off and move on, but this was different. It seemed like these people grabbed onto my heart only with the intention to destroy it. I know that sounds dramatic but just go with it.

 They hurt me more than I thought was possible. I felt so much anger towards them and that anger didn't go away with time. I thought it would but it did not. The anger was less often and not as intense, but it was still very much there. I thought advice from others would help but it didn't fix the problem. I though pretending they didn't exist would help, but that didn't either. I prayed so hard and so often that God would make my anger go away. . I thought he wasn't listening but He was (as always). He was telling me that I did not need to wait for THEIR forgiveness but that I needed to give it to them. Out of these 3 people, only one guy asked for my forgiveness, genuinely, humbly, and immediately. The other two never even said sorry. That made me mad, but then God reminded me again that it was my turn to humble myself and give them forgiveness even if they weren't sorry. And you know what? That was the cure. That was the thing that healed my heart and took my anger away. Now, it was not immediate, but every day my heart changed and the bitterness went away. These people who used to make me cry when I saw them or get super angry when they were around, are now people who I can look at and see a son or daughter of God. They are no longer the guys who broke my heart or the girl who betrayed me and ruined our friendship. They are my brothers and sisters in Christ and because of forgiveness, I can see them as that. 

I'm not telling you this because I'm a master at forgiving the people who have hurt me. God has shown me how to forgive and He will continue to do so until I breathe my last breath and meet Him. We cannot control what others do to us, but we can control our reaction. We can choose to forgive them or get revenge on them. We can choose to get pay pack or we can offer them grace and kindness. Your reaction will minister to them, so make sure you are responding the way Jesus did. You may want payback, but remember that you are also a sinner. You will also hurt someone. When that happens, you will want to be forgiven, not ignored and hated. Not everyone will forgive you or ask for forgiveness but you can. Your heart is changed through the process and it will forever change your view of others. Jesus forgave us for every single sin we will commit in the past, present, and future. Every sinful thing we do (which is SO MANY A DAY), we are forgiven. No man can hurt us like we have hurt King Jesus. No man can sin against us as much or as often as we sin against King Jesus. So, when you have been hurt, forgive others. Forget pay back and remember that you have been paid for by Jesus' blood.

To end with, so y'all understand where I"m coming from, my heart is big, like it's huge. It's  a great thing and i love it, but is also means that I am more likely to trust others and get hurt. I feel everything, from every person very deeply. I have learned that because God has made me this way, I have to learn how to deal with the many occasions and people who hurt me. Thankfully, God has shown me the power of forgiveness through his Son, Jesus. He can show you too, you just need to ask him. Forgiveness is hard ,but not impossible. 

Ephesians 4:32 

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ forgave you."

Kimbrel's 2nd Birthday!

Donuts Donuts and More Donuts! 

For Kimbrel's 2nd birthday, all she wanted was donuts. Yep, donuts. She loves those things more than anyone I know. So, her mom and dad planned her birthday party at Krispy Kreme! Yummm. She had lots of fun. It was a fun day to celebrate her second year of life! Her friends and family were all there to spend the day with her. AND we got some delicious donuts. Everyone who knows Kimbrel loves her and her joyful personality. Her party made her smile, laugh, and so so happy! She had a great time.  
I love being 'Aunt Karel' and being able to have some many memories with Kimbrel. She has brought so much joy to my life and I know she will for years to come! I love you Kbaby. 

Happy Birthday, Kimbrel Jones!! You are very loved. I can't wait to see you grow up and see what the next year of life holds for you! 

The Eyes of Jesus

Photocreds to Alea Bostic

Lately I have been learning more about people (the ones who drive me nuts and the ones who don't). I've caught myself judging people who I know or don't know at all. We all judge others, it's part of our sinful nature. But that doesn't mean its okay. I've been trying to figure out how to change the way I view people who aren't like me, who are "fake" (as we call it), or who I don't agree with. I also teach Sunday School to 7th grade girls and this topic of judging comes up almost every week. Girls judge HARD. We basically do it in our sleep, its terrible. Anyways, through prayer, studying, and reading Scripture, God eventually gave me a solution as to how to stop judging others. And it's simple...look at people through the eyes of Jesus.  

We judge people because we are prideful and think we are better than them. We think our way is the best way and our lives are the perfect examples of how to live. So, when we come across someone who has different beliefs, interests, and sins, we judge them. Can you believe we do that? We put a label on someone because they sin differently than we do. Sin is sin, y'all. Your sin isn't better or worse than mine. Sin is all together evil and bad. So don't ignore someone, judge them, or view them badly because they fell into a different sin than you did. 

Back to the point, we, as sinners, judge people because they are living their lives differently than we are. For example, I may judge a girl as being "fake" because she acts one way at church and another way everywhere else. Maybe she does, but that doesn't give me the right or authority to judge her. That's God's job, not mine. We are wasting our time and lives by judging others. It cause us to show hatred, exclusion, and hypocrisy to the world. That needs to change in my opinion. So, let's look at Jesus and how He handled every encounter with people who were different than him. 

Jesus, the only human whose way truly was the best way and whose life really was the perfect example, had more compassion, kindness, and love towards others. He had every right to be prideful and shun others and make them feel useless and wrong, But he didn't. That's the important thing; Jesus could have responded to others however he wanted, he could have judged them right then and there. However, he responded with love and kindness and compassion. The verse in Matthew 9 says, 

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."

King Jesus had compassion on sinners. He had compassion on people who didn't deserve it. And he does the same for us. Mathew 9 is full of stories of Jesus' miracles, and it shows how he healed people who were in need of compassion. There were people like the lepers that Jesus showed love to. Everyone else shunned them, shuttered at the sight of them, and left them on their own. But Jesus embraced them, without a second thought. He viewed the 'different' and dirty and sinful people as people who were in need of love and compassion. Like the verse says, He viewed them as helpless sheep in need of a shepherd (9:36). This is how we should view EVERYONE. Wait, you mean just the people who we want, right? Just the people who aren't totally hopeless, right? Just the men and women who won't drag us down or make us look bad, right? Wrong-o! I mean everyone. Every single boy, girl, man, or woman we see. View them as someone who is lost and in need of a shepherd.

Jesus has demonstrated how to guide people and be a shepherd to them. Jesus is our perfect shepherd, but we are called to follow in his foot steps. We need to look at people and not see them as a lost cause or a bad person, but as a living, breathing human being who God created. They are just like us. Treat every person as an opportunity to show Jesus' light to and share His love with. Jesus wouldn't look at the girl who I label as fake, as that. He would view her as God's beautiful creation who is in need of a shepherd and a friend. We all are in need of Jesus' guidance, friendship, and compassion.  If we can make ourselves look at the good in others, we will begin to treat them better and as a result, minister to them. They will see Jesus. God is glorified when we show the world the light of His perfect Son. 

I love how Jesus didn't shy away from the sick, the broken, and the lost. He embraced them as his own. He took the worst of men, like Saul, and because he showed  them compassion and love, they were changed. Saul became Paul, who was one of Jesus's greatest ambassadors, followers, and missionaries. Ask God for compassion like Jesus had. Ask him for Jesus' gentleness and mercy. Ask him to soften your heart for the lost people in the world.  If our perfect and sinless King Jesus could have compassion on the most sinful people in the world (like us), then we absolutely can. Through His power, we can see the world through the eyes of Jesus. 

Saying Bye Bye to Junk Food

Some people have a special bond, loyalty, and love for their family dog, their kids, their job, etc. Well, I'm the same way except with junk food. Yep. Junk food. I spend a lot of my money on food and spend a lot of my time going to get it.  I've basically been in committed and very serious relationship with my food. My personal favorite food spots are Zaxbys, Moes, Arbys, and anything pizza. Totally healthy right? Nope. I got brainwashed and convinced myself that all this bad food wasn't that bad for me and besides, I've got a fast metabolism AND I eat like a bird. So even though I wasn't eating healthy foods, I wasn't eating much so therefore (in my mind), it wasn't too unhealthy and I won't gain weight from it like most people do. True that I haven't gained weight, but false that it's healthy. Here's why...

I have a friend at school who is majoring in nutrition and she was telling me the other day how yes I"m skinny, but skinny doesn't mean healthy. Hmm. I guess that is true. She told me that even though I can't see any affects now, one day my metabolism may slow down and I'll gain a ton of weight and have cholesterol probs. That FREAKED me out. First of all, if I keep eating like this I'll be big enough to have my own TLC show called "Karel: The Real Life Barrel" or something like that. And secondly, cholesterol problems are super bad and can lead to more serious issues. I didn't ever think of it that way. My daily diet (during the school year) consisted of a breakfast bar and coffee, crackers for snack some days, a burger and coke for lunch, and usually pizza, Moe's, or nothing for dinner. I snack a lot, especially when I'm busy with school, work, and babysitting from 8am to 10pm. Being busy and "a poor college student" is no excuse for me to eat the way I do. Yeah, I don't gain weight right now from eating like I do, but one day I can. Eating lots of processed, greasy, fried, and sugary foods in addition to caffeine will definitely catch up to me later. It already makes me (and most people) feel gross, tired, out of energy, and sometimes bloated. A lot of the time I eat a burger or Moe's and regret it as soon as I take the last bite, but i keep going back!! I'm a girl who needs to get life together like goodness. That being said, I now have a plan to get my eating  back on track and healthy. 

Every Sunday afternoon, I will plan out my meals (lunch and dinner) to take with me to school, work, etc. I will cook Monday's meals on Sunday since it is the only free time I have most weeks. If there are ingredients I want but don't have at home, I'll use Sundays to hit up Walmart and buy them. Speaking of ingredients, here are some healthy and mostly tasty ingredients to look for:

-greens (spinach, celery, salad, pesto, cucumbers)

-whole wheat / multi grain breads

-fruits

-veggies (tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, etc)

-protein (Turkey, chicken, ham)

-peanuts, almonds, cashews

-water water water

-fruit juice

-peanut butter

-cheese (cheddar, pepperjack)

-whole wheat noodles

-pretzels

-hummus and wheat thins

-eggs

- soup

So, there's some basics that you can cook a lot of different dishes with. You can make spaghetti, grilled cheese, noodles and veggies, home made mac and cheese (SO GOOD), soups, salads, and alot more but my brain isn't working right now, so i'll add more later. But here are couple meals i made today! 

Home made mac n cheese

This was pretty easy to make- it just takes some time. Here's how:

1. Get any kind of noodles you want (whole wheat is best) and use the whole box.

2. Get a pot (big enough for about 4-5 cups of milk to fit in)

3. Pour 4 cups of milk into the pot then pour the noodles.

4. Make sure the milk covers all noodles. If not, add more milk.

5. Bring the pot to a boil so the noodles will cook and eventually absorb all the milk. Turn it down to about 7 or 8 once the milk starts to be absrobed.

6. Stir until the milk is almost all gone. 

7. When there's about half an inch of milk left, add some butter, shredded cheddar, mozzarella, and american cheese into the pot. 

8. Stir until all the cheese and milk is melted. 

9. Add some pepper or salt to give more flavor and you're done!! 

This tastes really good, to me at least, and its way better for you than EasyMac. Try it out and I'm sure you'll be impressed! 

This is a super duper yummy and healthy grilled cheese.

 

All you need are tomatoes, cheese, whole wheat bread, spinach, turkey, and a stove. 

1. I cut up turkey, fresh spinach, tomatoes, and cheese.

2. I put some turkey on the bread

3. covered the turkey with cheese

4. put the chopped spinach on the cheese

5. then place a tomato and some cheese on the top

6. Put the last piece of bread on the top of the sandwich

7. put the sandwich on a pan (with butter so it won't burn!!) 

8. Turn the stove on to medium heat (6-7 on my stove) and cook the bottom first

9. after about 20 seconds check and make sure its not burning.

10. if the bottom is nice and grilled, flip it over and cook the top.

11. I press down on the sandwich with my spatula to melt it all better and to make it more compressed,

12. Once both sides are a little brown (Mine got a little burned--sorry :/ ) then you're ready to eat!! 

I hope this encourages my fellow fast food lovers to rethink your diet and try to eat food that's better for your body!! If I can do it, anyone can. 

Bon appetite! 

Trip to the Montgomery Zoo

"We love the zoo, yes we do. We love the zoo, how about you?"

It was a perfect Sunday afternoon to take a trip to the zoo with JJ, Hayes,and Cameron Stanley. We rode the train, fed the birds, played with goats, and looked at the giraffes, elephants, monkeys, alligators, and bears. The kids (and I) had a great time! We will have to go back more often!