My Faith Statement

 {I wrote this about 1-2 months ago, before my First Communion. Stay tuned to see pictures of my First Communion that happened yesterday!}

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” I believe that God has called me through baptism into Confirmation. Through baptism, I’ve been justified and sanctified through Christ. I’ve been given grace and by that grace I’ve been saved. God has given me that grace and that faith as a gift; I just accepted it.

            Second Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” God is the Spirit. He is eternal, unchangeable, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, holy, gracious, and loving. God made the heavens and the earth and everything in it. He made Adam and Eve who sinned. He made the smallest caterpillar to the biggest whale. 

            God’s Word is inspiration for me. The Bible helps me get through life. In my day to day life, I’ve come across many challenges. I face times of trial and weakness. Even though I may seem to be alone, I know that Jesus is in my life. He is my best friend in whom I can confide. He listens to my prayers and answers every one of them. He may not answer them like I want, but He answers them to what He thinks is best. Jesus cares about every need I have. He loves me with a far greater love than I can ever imagine. 

            John 15:15 says, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything I have learned from my Father I have made known to you.” I know that Jesus is my friend because He loves and accepts me into His family. He encourages me. Jesus forgives my mistakes and still loves me. He shows His grace and mercy to me. Jesus has changed my misfortunes in blessings. 

            Having a friend like Jesus has really helped me conquer the world. Knowing that He is by my side really takes a big load off my back. I can totally surrender to Him because I know that He is in control of my life and will guard and protect me. Surrendering means giving everything I have to Him and letting Him do what He wants with my life. Surrendering is hard. Handing over everything to God is and was difficult, but when I surrendered, everything was lifted off of my back and I really started to see what God had in store for me. My first step was creating a relationship with Him.

My relationship with Jesus Christ includes time in His Word through personal reading, group Bible study, devotions, Religion class, and time in church and Sunday school. I believe that my relationship with Jesus can always be strengthened and I need to frequently study His Word and get to know Him better. 

            Jesus means the world to me and I cannot express my love for Him. He died not only for my personal sins, but for the sins of the whole world. To even think of a person dying for me takes my breath away. Am I really that special? Yes, God loves me and takes care of my needs daily. Jesus has shed His own blood for the forgiveness of my sins. I know that He died for me and the entire world from the holy Gospel, the words instituting the sacrament, and by His own body and blood given to me. He teaches me how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13 and all throughout the Bible. 

            I know that God is the author and perfecter of my faith. He will guide and protect me as I continue to grow in my faith. I acknowledge that I am a sinner and need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus died and rose from the grave. I believe that once I believe and am baptized, I will receive the gift of eternal life. Baptism isn’t just water, but water included in God’s command and combined in God’s word. My baptism has forgiven me of my sins, rescued me from death, and given me eternal salvation. 

After Confirmation, I plan on continuing to grow in my faith and go to church. I want to read my Bible on a daily basis along with my day to day devotion. Seeing God as a practical guide will help me through my life here on Earth. I have the assurance that I can go to heaven after I die to live with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Miscellaneous Rambings

Hi all! :) Sorry I completely abandoned my blog for over a week. It was state testing week, so I had to make sure I got to bed early. Also, I had my last volleyball tournament. I've been playing volleyball almost nonstop since November, and now I'm done. I can't wait to start enjoying the break! :P

1. Flowers 

Flowers are blooming everywhere. It makes me in such a good mood! :D Sadly, most of the flowers blooming are NOT in my yard yet, so I have to settle for taking pictures at other people's houses. 

2. Dandelions

 Not only are flowers blooming, but so are dandelions, and trust me, these are in my yard! :P

3. Rain

It's been raining a TON this week. One morning, it even snowed. :/

4. Volleyball

Like I said before, I had my last volleyball tournament. It was a very sad day. :'( {you can tell because all of our make-up was washed away from tears} I've been playing with these girls since 5th grade and next year, we are all splitting up. We'll all be going to different high schools. (my school only goes up to grade 8) So yah, it was sad for us. 

5. Sunsets + Buildings

After volleyball on Thursday, there was the prettiest sunset. Not only was it SO amazingly beautiful, but it made all of the buildings around us look really cool too. I pulled out my camera and tried to capture a few photos.

I hope you all are having a great weekend! :D

Baby L | Newborn Session

40 in 2012

2. Have a newborn session

Last Monday, I had my first boy, newborn session. Again, the baby wasn't quite a newborn, just like when I took photos of a newborn girl. They both are fairly young, just older than 3 weeks old. This was my first baby/newborn session with my Nikon. I have to say, it went pretty well! :)

 This whole photoshoot was almost completely out of the blue. One day I asked if I could take a family's baby's pictures, the next, I was at their house snapping away!

 Yah, yah, yah, I know. It looks weird that I took his photo right up his nose, but it IS cute! I mean, come on! :D

LOVE!! He {apparently} really liked me because he was really good and hardly cried. I didn't try any super awesome poses, but I did get some good pictures. 

 He was honestly, the happiest baby ever! It was SO cute when he laughed! :D

Haha, funny story! So I get to the family's house and they tell me that I can look around the baby's room for some cute outfits for him. I look around, and find the outfit above. Cute, right? (sorry, it's kinda hard to tell here) The parents were super nice, and the dad was willing put it on him. When the dad finished the last button/snap, he was blown away. He had never seen this cute of an outfit. They have TONS of baby clothes that people keep giving them and they just haven't used all of them yet. He's like, "When we go somewhere special, we are SO dressing him in this!" And a little bit later the mom said, "So, have you decided where we are going to have him wear that outfit?" And he responded back, "Anywhere." Haha! It was hilarious! And that isn't it! So the dad dresses the baby and puts him in the little basket I brought. Baby L falls asleep right away. He wasn't sleeping any other part of the full 3 hours I was there. It was SO funny! The parents were so pleased and were laughing really hard that he fell asleep in it. :D They said when they can't get the baby to sleep, they will call me to bring my basket and blanket. :P

Well, I hope you enjoyed my very all-over-the-place story and the pictures.

Which one was your favorite?

Flower Photo Dump {wordless post}

Real vs. Fake

I look at you, flower, and think to myself, "God is good!" 

Why did God make you, flower? 

Why did He make me?

We're so different, yet so much alike. 

We're original in our kind.

We are beautiful from the inside out.

We both start as tiny seeds or cells. 

We grow and get more and more beautiful.

Flowers are like Christians. 

Some are fake, some are real. 

Some people may say they are Christians and go to church, but are they really living a God-pleasing life?

Do they even have a spiritual life?

Real Christians may not go to church, but how they act can make a difference.

They do everything to please God.

They are a blessing to others.

"They are not dead, they have everlasting life."

Which of these flowers would you rather be?

Special Day

Today was kind of a special day for me. 

It wasn't like "The Best Day in the World," but it was a day that brought back memories. 

I started my blog last year on Palm Sunday, which is today this year. 

I remember how I got my blog name. I got it from this activity my church does for Sunday School on Palm Sunday.

It's called "Journey to the Cross." Volunteering for the special Sunday School program helped me get a blog name. 

This year, when the time came for people to volunteer, I jumped up and volunteered right away because I remembered that my blog started because of me volunteering.

Journey to the Cross is an activity for children to experience what Jesus went through during Holy Week and on Easter. They go around to 7 stations learning about what Jesus did for the whole world. 

Just like last year, I was assigned to the "Prayer" station. Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. I had to lead a prayer with the children. I was with two other guys who explained where we "were" and what Jesus did "here." We made this one area look like a garden. (: 

I named by blog "The Road's Journeys," because we all go on a journey. Life is our journey. We all go on a journey that leads us to eternal life in Heaven. I remember I wanted my blog just to be about my day to day life. Nothing special, nothing important. And that's what I plan on my blog to continue to be. It's still me. I'm still posting about my day to day life and I will continue to serve the Lord in doing so.

This is what the area looked like.

Genesis 28:20-21

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD will be my God.

 

P.S. I'm looking for anyone who is interested in giving away something on my blog.  I'd love to have a giveaway for my blogoversary coming up. :) Email me if you are interested!!! I'd love to put your button on my blog for sponsoring! Thank you!