Taste the salt, smell the salt, BE THE SALT!

ok!
i was reading Matthew 5:13 the other day and it really hit me!
my devotional book was talking bout the salt of the Earth thing , which has always kind of confused me, and it actually started making sense to me.

when we add salt to food it changes the taste!
there's a definite change, u notice it!
well hey, that's what we should be like in our world, as Christians!
our friends, our family, our work, church, school, etc, should be affected by our Christianity.
we should be able to see the difference that we make and so should others!

well it got me thinking, 'what difference have i made? can i see a difference? even in the lives of non-Christians?'
so i prayed for God to help me, to use me to make a difference, so that i could actually see it.
well since the other day he's really answered prayer!
this blog is mainly to praise him!
i was slightly dis-heartened by seeing no difference, then in the last few days it's as if i'm starting to see some change in some people, mainly through spiritual conversations and just small hints here and there... like my non-Christian housemate saying 'amen' after i said grace!!! yay!

to wrap it up a bit, lol, read the following verse, meditate on it (think about it) and praise God that he's given us the bible to test our lives, show us his love and help us to stay in-line with his will and plans for our lives and our happiness.

ps. COME TO EASTER CAMP;-D



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 by men.
14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Update!

Just an update on my last blog,
God is amazing!!!!!!!
yesterday i caught up with my nan, which was great coz i hevn't seen her in like 7 and a half years!!!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNND i'm gonna be seeing my best friends from primary school in the next few days, or when properly organised but soooooon!
wow! i can't believe how fortunate i am and God really does love to bless us!
Hallelujah!
well, bye for now, not for ever;-)

I Remember You!!!

my mind has been absolutely blown away!
God is definitely full of surprises.
if any1 knows a bible verse or two that relates to this please let me know, i'd really appreciate it.

It all started on Christmas day, when i spoke to a friend over the phone who i have not seen or spoken to for around 10 years!!!! now i have the chance to see them again and i'm looking forward to it:-)

then the other day my nan asked if i wanted to catch up, which may sound simpl enough to you but i haven't seen my nan for around 10 years asweel, so again i've been blessed by God with a wonderful oppurtunity.

but wait there's more!!!!.......
the other day i curiously searched for an old friend on myspace, and low and behold they had a myspace!!!! i'm now in more regular contact with two of my best and only friends from primary school, who i haven't seen in around 5yrs because they moved interstate.

also, lol be patient, the other day i was added on bebo by an old friend from primary school who i haven't seen in about 6 years, he's now living interstate, but i'm hoping to c him again and contact the rest of his family who i was close to.

and last, for now, but not least, i got a surprise phone call from my first carers, when i moved into government care, who i haven't seen in around 5 years either. it was soooooooo great to speak to them again and see how things are going, and hopefully i can see them soon.

God is amazing, he's lifted my spirit by these wonderful and joyful surprises when i've needed it most. thankyou so much Jesus, thankyou for watching over us. amen!

i'm expecting to meet the midwife who delivered me next, lol, jokes.

hope you all take to heart that God has complete knowledge of what we need and when we need it.

Psalm 37:4 'Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.'

A New Year Ahead.

hi all,
wow, this year is ready to go, it's already at the end of January!!!!
i'm happy to say that i expect this year to be great, although probably full of some challenges too.
i'm starting a new course with the Salvation Army, to do with youth work and leadership, and it's still kind of like a dream.
i mean, i've been told before that i'd be a good leader, and i've definitely led stuff before, kids biz, @ camps, helping @ jnr. youth group, but man, me? a leader?
i guess the best bible verse for this would be Jeremiah 29:11!

' "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". '

it's a great verse that has given me hope in many times of doubt.
i reckon most of the people reading this have heard that verse before, but who has ever read further on? i mean verses 12 and 13? they're pretty good:

' "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." '

It makes me think, this year ahead is not about me and what I can do, but about God. this year is about following the plans that God has, not as a mindless zombie but as a person set free by Christ, as someone who knows that God's plans are good and that if i continue faithfully in my relationship with him then i will see countless lives changed and souls saved, by the love of God.
so if you're down and out just know that God WILL listen to you, he IS there and you CAN find him, if you give him your heart. there's no other way.

well, would it be too much to ask for your prayers as i face this new chapter of my life?
God bless, love in Christ Alana;-)

God's always there!!!!

haven't blogged in a while,
and sooooo much has been happening!
man!

i'm surprised how God will still use people, even if they're not 100% for him.
and also, his forgiveness is powerful!

who has ever felt like they're 100% alone?
that's how i've been feeling for a month.
only recently have i started to accept that God forgives and that there is still hope for a sinner.
the past month i've felt like the devil has had control over me and that i've just been a puppet, trying, but unable, to escape.
so many times i've come to God, but not whole-heartedly, always doubting him.
man, i've messed my life up.
but hey, wat i'm trying to say is don't get to the point that i got to.
it's not a happy place.
God is good, and he does forgive!
and through all this month of me doubting God and being so stupid and messing everything up God has stuck by me, he hasn't abandoned me, but he's continued to use me, whether i acknowledge it or not.

just a few things that he's done through me:
-my little brother gave his life to God!
-he gave me a chance to preach!
-he's put a roof over my head!
-he sent me to a leadership camp and blessed me with a way to get there!
-he's given me countless opportunities to talk to people about him and Christmas and wat the Salvos are doing!
-he's put me there when friends have needed to talk.
-he gave me a much higher enter score than i expected: 65.8 (i was expecting 40 or something)
-he's blessed me with the perfect course for next year!
-God has blessed our jnr. youth group and kid's biz and wen i've worked @ Nicely Saved.
-he's gotten me through each day!
-he used me in our church nativity set!
-and there's so much more, even the small things like getting my smoke alarm fixed so fast and stopping a friend from dying from an OD has been 100% God's work!

i want to praise God for all that he has done and let each of you know that even through the bad times, when you think that God is no longer there or doesn't care, HE DOES!
he will never leave you nor forsake you and his love is eternal!
he is faithful, even when we're not, because that is who he is!
all i ask is that you pray for me and let me know if God has put any message on ur heart for me.
i can't believe i'm being so open. lol.
may God bless you and keep you, for God is love and love is the greatest of all!
love in Christ, alana

Hey There!

I'm not exactly sure wat to talk about, so much has been happening and i haven't blogged in ages! well for 1, i'm going to get baptised! i've been thinking about it for over a year and God has finally answered my prayers and shown me that it's what he wants me to do! yay, can't wait!
Also, God is such an amazing God! the ONLY God! he has been answering my prayers all over the place! even ones that i have long given up on! when i want something i like to have it straight away, i can be a very impatient person, but God has shown me how to be patient. for ages i've been praying about my family coming to know God and for a long time it seemed like nothing was happening. But for a while now i've been trying to tell them bout God and they've actually been listening! WOW! my little brother has been wanting to pray with me and my sister and i spent ages talking about God and christianity!
Also the other day my friend sent me a message that one of our friend's grandmothers was having a stroke and could die, so i prayed, and so did some other wonderful people, and that nite my friend sent me another message to let me know that our friend's grandma was absolutely fine! she had come out of the stroke and was 100% fine, healed!
i have been so confused and stressed by sooooooo much lately, but God has just kept on answering prayers and clearing the path. The devil stands no chance! lol.
well hope y'all have a blessed and God filled week,
Alana;P

Baptised in the Holy Spirit!

Monday night was AWESOME! i went to Strike, which is the Macleod Salvo bible study and we were baptised in the Holy Spirit. my definition of being baptised in the Holy Spirit would be when you once again confess all your sin to God and ask the Holy Spirit to come into you, once again, and renew his presence in your life and body.

I think that we can focus a lot on God the father and Jesus the son but kind of forget about God's Holy Spirit, which is the part of God that lives inside of you and brings about your spiritual gifts and fruits of the spirit. for a complete relationship with God we need the whole Trinity to be active in our lives.

back to monday night, i'm just too excited! lol. when we started i was kind of nervous and i could feel that my heart was slightly closed to God. but then we did this awesome activity where we wrote down all of our unforgiven sin on a balloon and then prayed that God would forgive us and popped the balloons. i got a shock every time someone popped a balloon! lol.

i volunteered to go first and it was strange. me and Sarah were standing in the middle of the circle and every1 was praying over us. At first i felt like there was something stopping the Holy Spirit from entering me and realised that i still had a bit of doubt in my heart and so i prayed that God would get rid of this doubt and enter me. after a while of praying i felt this slight presence pushing me back. it wasn't strong but it was enough to make me start to lean back. it kept on pushing and i tried to stop myself from going backwards. it got to the point where i just fell down and got on my knees and started praising God. HE IS SOOOOOOO GOOD!

while i was there, on the ground lol, a friend told me that they could see the Holy Spirit surrounding me like a tornado and someone else said that they saw God and the angels welcoming me into their family and celebrating. to know that God was welcoming me into his family was wonderful, as my own family has started to grow closer emotionally but is growing more distant physically each day as some of my family members are moving houses and states.

one of the main things that i was praying for that night was that this wouldn't just last that night, that i wouldn't just experience the Holy Spirit and then tuck him away in a corner and go about my everyday life, but that i would continue to live for him and that he would give me the strength that i couldn't find in myself. the next day, which was yesterday, tuesday, was pretty cool! i spent the day fasting, praising God, praying out loud and in silence and reading the bible pretty much all day!

one bible passage i read was were Jesus went into the desert for 40 days and fasted. 40 DAYS! what! i was completely wrecked after just one day of fasting but Jesus did it for 40! man he was definitely relying wholley on God. God didn't just call me to fast but he also helped me to stay away from the television and computer all day and even give up going near my fone for a few hours! i know God was with me giving me strength because i actually survived not talking for a whole hour, twice during the day, which i have never been able to do before. if you know me you'll know how VERY VERY HORRIBLY PAINFUL it is for me to stay quiet! but God does work in mysterious ways! lol.

this is a massive blog and i have so much more to talk about but i will leave it here. lol. just wanted to add that God has been doing some amazing things in my life, like getting non-christian friends to WANT to come to church! yay! GOD IS SOOOOOO GOOD AND GREAT AND WONDERFUL AND DON'T YOU EVER FORGET IT! yours in Christ, alana;P