(Jesus is my King. This blog will be focused largely on my relationship with Him, but I am specifically devoting my Wednesday to praise Him! I hope you enjoy!!)
My heart is broken. Not a broken heart from a boy, but a broken heart from a man. Jesus Christ. In Psalm 51, David writes "The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart". More and more, I am discovering my brokeness over my sin. Not only to what I would refer to as "surface sins": drinking excessively, smoking, sex, etc. but the sins that are within me. Specifically; truly recognizing, and acknowledging, the intentions of my heart.
In high school, I was a mean girl. Like, Regina George/Rachel McAdams/Lindsay Lohan kinda Mean Girl. I would be rude to people just because "I could". I would say hurtful and mean things because it was "true". I would sometimes even go out of my way to belittle someone, or "put them in their place". Unfortunately, there are too many instances to name, but as I look back at it, I realize how truly evil I was. There are so many people that I owe some sort of an apology too. However, I can't change the past. I can only repent of my behavior and put my hope in Christ that He will change my heart. It is a daily struggle to monitor my behavior. I've always been known as a loud, outspoken person and those are qualities I like about myself. But being loud and outspoken doesn't give me the right to hurt others. Still, I have to be very careful to not be too comfortable with friends or family as not to fall back into my old habits. Changing who you are is a very large task and it's simply not easy. I've come along way, but I still fail, and thus...my heart is constantly broken.
The perspective I have is this: God saved me, and has given me the desire to BE and LIVE as Christ did. This requires much time, patience, and transformation. In Phillipians 1:6, Paul declares "I am sure of this, that He who has started a good work in you, will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ". Instead of being down on myself in pity dwelling on all of my sin, I am able to look to Jesus and praise Him for working so diligently in me! Who am I that He would even care this much to work so hard to make me like Him? I am dirty and unclean and unworthy to be recognized by such a great God. I deserve nothing from him and yet, through His love and grace, I am abundantly blessed.
God's love is truly unlike any other. His love saved me and killed His only son so that I may live. His love wakes me up daily, and allows me to freely worship Him. His love enables me to love others. His love disciplines me and makes me deal with my sin. It causes my heart to break. He makes me more and more like His son everyday. This type of love is something that we will never know from man. This love is the type of love we will only every know if we are in Christ, and Christ is in us. My hope is that everyone would be able to experience the greatness that is in Jesus.
Thanks for reading. Lots of Love Forever....Jasmine
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Monday FunDay Facts
HAPPY MONDAY WORLD! Starting a blog has it's challenges. Seeing as how you more than likely don't know a whole lot about me, you'd be a little confused. So...for the next couple of weeks...(or months, because sometimes I'm a little complicated) Mondays will be Fun Facts about...ME! It's probably the most egotistical post of my week...but I'll redeem my selfishness later :)
Sooo...here we go!
Fun Fact #1: The first thing, and probably the most important thing you need to know about me is that I am a Christian. Jesus Christ is my Lord...I adore Him. Growing up I always knew about Him and experienced Him through church, but it wasn't until high school that I began to have my own relationship with Him. On New Years Eve of my freshman year, God entered my soul in the most powerful and overwhelming way; He took me as His child, and I have been His ever since! The past year and a half of my life has really been an eye opener in my relationship with Him. It's been more intense, and more fulfilling than ever!
Fun Fact #2: I am, what I like to call "Tri-"Racial. My father is African American and my mother is Vietnamese and Caucasian. My FAVORITE thing to tell people is that I'm "asian"!!! It's at this time that my friends like to remind me how "un-"Asian I am by reminding me that I don't speak Vietnamese, nor do I properly know how to use chopsticks. Also during this time, they begin to turn green....with envy.
Fun Fact #3: I can play rough. There is this misconception that because I like fashion, and pretty things that I can't "rough" it. THAT'S NOT TRUE! I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE football (Go Gators!) and I LIVE for football season. There is no place I would rather be in the summer than on a boat on the lake. I love to tube and I am determined to learn how to wake board. Hey, dirty water is my thing. Four wheelers and mud make for the best days. But here's the thing; just because I DON'T do these things that often doesn't mean I can't or that I'm unwilling...I just don't have to opportunity as much as I would like.
Hopefully you enjoyed a couple of the facts about me... tomorrow we'll start diving into the good stuff! Thanks for taking the time to read!!!
Lots of Love Forever....Jasmine
Sooo...here we go!
Fun Fact #1: The first thing, and probably the most important thing you need to know about me is that I am a Christian. Jesus Christ is my Lord...I adore Him. Growing up I always knew about Him and experienced Him through church, but it wasn't until high school that I began to have my own relationship with Him. On New Years Eve of my freshman year, God entered my soul in the most powerful and overwhelming way; He took me as His child, and I have been His ever since! The past year and a half of my life has really been an eye opener in my relationship with Him. It's been more intense, and more fulfilling than ever!
Fun Fact #2: I am, what I like to call "Tri-"Racial. My father is African American and my mother is Vietnamese and Caucasian. My FAVORITE thing to tell people is that I'm "asian"!!! It's at this time that my friends like to remind me how "un-"Asian I am by reminding me that I don't speak Vietnamese, nor do I properly know how to use chopsticks. Also during this time, they begin to turn green....with envy.
Fun Fact #3: I can play rough. There is this misconception that because I like fashion, and pretty things that I can't "rough" it. THAT'S NOT TRUE! I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE football (Go Gators!) and I LIVE for football season. There is no place I would rather be in the summer than on a boat on the lake. I love to tube and I am determined to learn how to wake board. Hey, dirty water is my thing. Four wheelers and mud make for the best days. But here's the thing; just because I DON'T do these things that often doesn't mean I can't or that I'm unwilling...I just don't have to opportunity as much as I would like.
Hopefully you enjoyed a couple of the facts about me... tomorrow we'll start diving into the good stuff! Thanks for taking the time to read!!!
Lots of Love Forever....Jasmine
Friday, June 24, 2011
A Girl Named Jasmine
Hello World! For those who don't know... I am Jasmine, and this is my blog. I've debated for MONTHS whether or not to actually start one of these things up, but couldn't decide on a name. So, after a quick group message session with some close advisers, they inspired me with new blog names! So here we go...
51 Cupcakes is symbolic of two things that I love very dearly. Psalm 51...and Cupcakes!!! If you've never read Psalm 51, I would encourage you to do so! A prayer for restoration, it helped me through a very difficult time in my life and it encouraged me to beg for a broken heart. GOD IS SO GOOD!! The other half of my title is "Cupcakes" because well...who doesn't like cupcakes!? Someone great once told me that cupcakes make everything happy. I would have to wholeheartedly agree. And so would you. Have you ever eaten a cupcake while mad?! The answer is no. Because it's impossible. Don't argue...I'm right.
A common theme throughout my posts will be love. I LOVE everything. Sometimes I think that using that word causes my "love" to not be deep, but I assure you...that is not true. When I love something, I love it hard. Whether is be a person, food, or hand bags...I love it with all I have. I'm a very passionate and loyal person. I do my best to be the best person I can be for everyone who is around me. Maybe it's a little selfish, but I want people to feel as delighted in by me as I would want to be by someone else. Make sense? In a nut shell: I love Love!!!
My reason for starting this blog was because I am living a life that is not as put together as it always seems, and I wanted people to see that. I think there is something very beautiful about being broken and not having it all figured out... With that being said, it's not always easy and sometimes its a little bit of scary feeling. But thankfully I have found a "perfect love" that "casts out all fear" and I am able to see the good in ALL things that God does for me. I hope that this blog will inspire others to have a gracious perspective for the various circumstances that God gives us. I'm constantly growing, and constantly experiencing things that always seem to trump the last experience. Also, I believe that being vulnerable with others will allow me to not only understand that concept, but to realize it and live it. There is grace in humility.
Lots of Love Forever...Jasmine.
51 Cupcakes is symbolic of two things that I love very dearly. Psalm 51...and Cupcakes!!! If you've never read Psalm 51, I would encourage you to do so! A prayer for restoration, it helped me through a very difficult time in my life and it encouraged me to beg for a broken heart. GOD IS SO GOOD!! The other half of my title is "Cupcakes" because well...who doesn't like cupcakes!? Someone great once told me that cupcakes make everything happy. I would have to wholeheartedly agree. And so would you. Have you ever eaten a cupcake while mad?! The answer is no. Because it's impossible. Don't argue...I'm right.
A common theme throughout my posts will be love. I LOVE everything. Sometimes I think that using that word causes my "love" to not be deep, but I assure you...that is not true. When I love something, I love it hard. Whether is be a person, food, or hand bags...I love it with all I have. I'm a very passionate and loyal person. I do my best to be the best person I can be for everyone who is around me. Maybe it's a little selfish, but I want people to feel as delighted in by me as I would want to be by someone else. Make sense? In a nut shell: I love Love!!!
My reason for starting this blog was because I am living a life that is not as put together as it always seems, and I wanted people to see that. I think there is something very beautiful about being broken and not having it all figured out... With that being said, it's not always easy and sometimes its a little bit of scary feeling. But thankfully I have found a "perfect love" that "casts out all fear" and I am able to see the good in ALL things that God does for me. I hope that this blog will inspire others to have a gracious perspective for the various circumstances that God gives us. I'm constantly growing, and constantly experiencing things that always seem to trump the last experience. Also, I believe that being vulnerable with others will allow me to not only understand that concept, but to realize it and live it. There is grace in humility.
Lots of Love Forever...Jasmine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)