stargazer lilies

The title has nothing to do with the topic of this blog... besides the fact that it's my favorite flower and I like to stargaze. Ha. I am horrible at coming up with topics.. so it will just be random sometimes. :)

I was at the military hospital yesterday.. and well... it just broke my heart.... because everywhere I turned I saw a guy with part of a leg missing or something. Very heart-breaking. to me at least. I mean, I think if I were going to lose a leg, I'd rather lose it when I was younger, and know life one-legged, than to lose it when I'm older than like 20 yrs old, and know what I could be missing out on. Just a thought. But anyways... I saw this one guy who was missing a leg from the knee down, and then on his other side of his body, he had like a bionic arm, that made it seem as if he had lost his whole left arm. Very sad. :(. I felt really bad for all these men because they are being sent over to war, and fighting for someone else's country while risking their lives. Then I felt I really thankful. Thankful that we have men who are willing to do this for us and who are willing to sacrifice their lives to help the lives of others. People they've never even met. That truly is a sacrifice. I then came home, and told my mom how sad I felt about it, and she said that the soliders don't want us to feel sorry for them. She said they feel honored to have been able to go and fight and that they don't see losing a limb as a loss but a gain for their country. Such amazing men and women we have fighting for our freedom, and doing their service in the military! you guys rock!

I was also thinking about how sinful I am. A friend's thoughts made me really realize this after I'd already been thinking about it... but what I'm trying to say is... I'm the first person to hate someone for something horrible they've done.. when in actuality, I'm the same thing they are. I'll go head and use the situation of a rapist or a murderer. I have a hard time being able to think about forgiving these people because they've done such a horrible crime/sin, and i feel it's punishable to death. And while our law believes that too.. we as Christains are also called to love them and show them Christ's love no matter who they are. But I just want to judge them, and look down them. But I've realized, until I'm perfect I have no right to do so. I am just as sinful as they are when I want to curse at my professor, when I forget/don't do my devotions with God, when I judge.. etc. The bible says sin is sin, and God doesn't judge sin as one greater/lesser than the other, he judges them all the same. So therefore, I am as much of a sinner as a murderer, and I deserve death as well. I do not have to face eternal death though, because someone(my parents/church/etc) loved me enough to share Christ's love with me that I can live with him eternally and be free from my sin. So I think that I am going to try so much harder and forgiving the ones I don't want to forgive, and support those who are able to go and share the love with those who we feel don't deserve it. As much as we don't feel they don't deserve it, we need to realize that we didn't deserve Christ's love either.. but we are still able to have it, so we shouldn't rob them of this either. I understand that not everyone wants to be saved, but why not share with those who do. God is love, and we need to be showing his love. He is showing me everyday how I need to work on myself and not  be so quick to judge the lives/sins of others.

I thank him everyday for his mercy and grace!!!
"God is good, so very good. Everything in me wants to give him praise! These feet of mine can't stop from dancing, these hands of mine can't help but raise, this voice of mine can't keep from singing, and my heart just over flows, yeah my heart just overflows with goodness and praise." -God is Good- Todd Proctor.