For Kenya with love

Today I wrote a letter to the girl my family is sponsoring in Nairobi, Kenya. 


Sylvia is only a year younger than me but already writes such nice letters and I feel closer to her by every letter we exchange. It is almost time to receive a new updated photo of her and I think we might get one of her with the gift we just sent to her family so I am so excited about this!!

First photo we received of Sylvia

6 months later.. Sylvia and the fiction books bought for her

6 months later.. Sylvia with the jacket+blanket purchased from a gift sent

I sent her a two page letter where I told her about Easter traditions and how I usually spend the holiday with my family. I told her about Jesus and how much he loves her. I told her about my volleyball team and my favorite animal and why it is my favorite animals. I also asked her a few questions about her. I shared some passages from the Bible that I like myself as well as I included some stickers, coloring pages and motives with Christian motives. I even manage to squeeze in some photos and a Easter card for every family member. After I went to the post office to drop it off, I felt so happy and good about it on my way home. And as much as it makes me feel great - I always need to remember that this is not only about me but about Sylvia. I am doing it for my sister in Africa because God has called me to do so. It is not a bidding that is hard to do at all. I love every second of it!


Do you have a sponsor child? What was the last things you shared with him/her when writing?

Prayers calms my heart

This is true.


Prayers does not have to be a long stream of words or filled with complicated words. Sometimes when I hear people pray I find myself having thoughts such as 'Oh wow, why can't I find words like that when speaking to God? This is exactly how I feel and what I want to tell him!". Then I remind myself that keeping my heart open and allowing the Lord to transform me is the most important thing for me to focus on, not necessarily the words my prayers are wrapt in. For Christ knows me better than I even know myself. In simplicity prayers is talking to God with an open heart and honesty and in order to be close to God and to truly know Him, we need to pray.


Prayers often comes when you are in a tough spot or you feel you need something. Prayers should come easily and come often. I need to be better about remembering this. Not to find 'a time of the day when I have time' and try to schedule God into my day for prayer. God shouldn't be in the beginning of my day, or in the end of it. God should be in every part of my day. So I want to be better about frequent prayers. Even if they are short. I believe talking to the King of Kings makes me closer and allows for me to keep my heart my pure. Jesus Christ died on the cross for me, for my sins. The least I can do is tell Him often how grateful I am. How much I love him! 




This week I will be better about praying when taking a walk. Praying when I am sitting here with nothing to do and wondering what to do next. Praying when I take a short break from reading my favorite book, when I do one of my drawings or when I play with my little siblings. Prayer will improve your relationship with God. What better way to build a relationship but through communication? God is more than willing to listen and He will respond with love and concern. Perhaps not in the way you ask or in the way you even think you need. But he will respond. Sometimes the answer is yes. Sometimes it is a perhaps or you need to wait, you need to be patient. Sometimes it is no. Whatever the answer is, God always knows what is best for you. 



1John 5:13-15
 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.



God created us to have free will and he wants us to come to him willingly. Praying is a part of this. We have been given our minds to make decisions and the most important decision you will ever make is about your own eternity.

Hello new home

Yes.. such a creative title, but it gets the work done!


My previous host of my old blog had a few things about it that I wasn't really happy with and after discovering so many nice blogs over at blogspot.. I thought, well why not give it a try instead? So here I am.


I am pretty sure this blog will also mainly be about my love for Christ and my passion for doing good for others.  So often I meet people who tell me that I can't really do a whole lot because 'I am only thirteen'. It used to bother me, but not anymore. I always tell people if there is a will, there is a way. And with God, there is ALWAYS a way!



1 Timothy 4:12-
 “Dont let anybody look down on you because you are young but set an example for the believers in speech, life, love, faith, and purity.”


And with that, I am so happy to be a part of the blogspot community. 
I hope I will meet a lot of nice members here.


God Bless and with love always,


Crystal

I wear my cross with pride

Last Christmas my grandmother gave me a silver cross as a gift. She had asked me some weeks before what sort of necklaces I would prefer.. simple, detailed, bejeweled, silver, gold etc. I told her I prefer all jewelry simple. In fact, I prefer most things in life to be simple. So you can only imagine the joy I felt when I opened up the red box Christmas morning to discover a simple, silver necklace with a cross attached to it.


That was two months ago. Today I met a man in church after service. After taking a closer look at me he told me that I should not wear the cross around my neck and that it was unnecessary. He also told me it was a form for idolization, which I shouldn’t really be doing. It confused me. I did not object too much, but instead told him that I had to go find my family after a bit. I thought about talking to my mom about it but decided not to.


I know deep in my heart that there is nothing wrong with carrying my silver cross. I do it as a reminder to myself that He is always with me. I know I don’t have to wear it to know that Jesus loves me. I wear it because I want to. Not to mention I feel  you are to always Idolize Jesus.  The ten commandments say that you shall have no other gods before me.


If there is anyone at all to Idolize, then Jesus is definitely it for me!