Joy

Hey you all!

I haven't been such a devoted blogger these past several days so I thought I should change that and write a post :)

Something that's been on my mind lately is is joy

Joy for you might be that ever so wonderful cupcake

Or the feeling of throwing leaves in the air

Some of you might even feel joy when you have that favorite drink nestled in your hands on a cold and blistery day

Either way we feel joy throughout our lives.

We can never truly experience the fullness of joy with out God though.  How do I know this? Not only does the bible make mention of such, I have also experienced it and have heard others who have as well.
Joy doesn't mean that you have to smile all the time, it means that you are filled and happy in your heart and is enjoying the moment. That's something that an adventure in odyssey episode talked about. When you seek Jesus he gives you joy, that doesn't mean that you are just happy go lucky and never sad. It just means that you rejoice in the lord and is contently happy. It's kind of hard to explain, but perhaps you can get the idea.
Here are some verses that make mention of joy:

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

1 Peter 1:8-9 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

You can have joy just by believing in God and seeking Him. That is all that He asks to give you the gift of joy. You can do this by seeking Him in the morning with prayer and Bible reading, and thanking Him at night with prayer and more reading. It's devoting your time and life to Him, and abiding by His will. 

I can't say it will always be easy, but growing closer to God is always rewarding.

Many Blessings,

S.A.S. Weekend

This song is a Must-Hear!
♥ It's one of my absolute favorites ♥

Finding Strength in the Pain

"I know you don't want to hear this, but your not the only one suffering. Ya we may not know what your going through, but we all have pain -just in different ways." 

~A quote from a show

I really liked what the character said in this show because it reminded me of how often times I feel like I am the only one suffering through these hardships and no one else knows what it's like. I somehow think that their lives are way easier than my own. blah, blah, blah. It's just my way of justifying feeling sorry for myself. I know that I can't possibly be the only one that thinks this way sometimes - and that's why I am sharing this with you!

Why do we like to justify this excuse? Because it gives us a reason to not have to measure up. Because by having a 'handicap' we can suddenly say that we couldn't go all the way because we are going through these hardships that no one could possibly understand, or so we like to think. The thing is that everyone has thorns along the path of their life. We all have pain through one time or another, and it's just a matter of pushing past the pain and saying that you won't let it hinder you. That's when you show true strength and will set you a part from others. It's those that excel that we admire, because sometimes they can get past the pain that we ourselves haven't been able to do. But that's the thing that I've been thinking upon, I dont't have to get through my pain on my own. First of all, God is always there beside us in times of need and it's just a matter of turning to Him. Second of all, I have several loving friends that I know I can talk to about such matters just for encouragement.

Here is a verse that I found:
"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Just like the Bible says, we shouldn't pout about our weaknesses but use them to make us stronger and grow closer to God. Through Him, all things are possible! So when you feel the weight of the world sinking down on you, seek Him and ask him for strength and perserveriance. This is definitly something that I will be working on in the days, weeks, and years to come.

Confessions of a Tea-Aholic

I love tea, oh yes I do

In every color of every hue

The flavors are plenty

And Holidays bring many

 Different types of tea to me;

Candy Cane Lane

& Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride

Sugar Plum Fairies

& Gingerbread Spice

Iced or Hot

Sipped or Gulped

I simply cannot

Quench my thirst without you

My appetite is strong 

For that Oh-So-Wonderful Delight

Fill me up with tea

And hold me tight

~Adriana Castillo

~♥~

I am anything EXCEPT a poet ;)

But maybe now you know what I absolutely love to drink!!! 

May you have a blessed Tea-riffic day! 

Sing-A-Song Weekend!

So I haven't posted an S.A.S Weekend in a while so I thought it was about due that start posting them again ;)
This song has been a favorite of mine for a few years now, and I forgot about it until I was surfing through my mp3 player the other day. Hope you enjoy!

~Miss.Adriana Castillo

A Question & An Answer

Hello!
So one of the blogs I read is called "Love In Progress", and is written by Kendra Wise whom I actually just discovered today that we worked together at camp a couple of summers ago. Anyways, there was a scenario recently that was really bugging me and so I decided to e-mail her about it and see what her opinion was since she is very good about writing on relationships. Here is part of the message I had sent and below is the link to her post on it:

""During one of my classes this girl was talking to me and asking me when the next presidential election was. The conversation went from their and lead to her saying "I just want to get married young so that my husband can take care of me and take care of things like voting for me". Now I am all for marriage and for a husband being kind to his wife and taking care of her, but the fact that she was expecting her husband to take control of her life and make decisions for her without her whereabouts was beyond me. Maybe my opinion on that is wrong, but I just think that girls shouldn't just expect to be dumb and not be aware of things like who to vote for and expect that their husbands can use their wits to make that decision for them. And it's not just with voting, there are lot's of things in life that many girls I have met expect their husbands to take care of for them...
I guess part of why this bugs me so much is that I have a lot of friends who think this way and I have Grandparents whom have spent their life living like that which has only resulted in my Grandma not even knowing how to fill the car with gas because her husband has always done it for her. And not that I want wish this on anybody; sometimes things happen and you can't live your whole life with the person you love, and so I think that woman should at least have knowledge of how things work in life so that if she ever needed to she would be able to survive even with out a husband. ...""

Click the below picture to read Kendra's response on this matter:

Wanting to step into Greener Grass...

Throughout my journey of following Christ I am constantly being convicted. If it's not one thing it's another, once I resolve an issue of mine then another one gets thrown in my path and I am told to clean up that area of my life as well so that I can continue down the road of following Jesus. Everytime I take a few steps and seem to be getting somewhere, another road block sits in my way. Sometimes it seems like a never ending battle.

Ever Feel that way?

My latest roadblock seems to be jealousy. Ever heard of the saying, the grass is greener on the other side?

Well, although I know that other peoples lives is not any better than my own, I sometimes still wish that I could live their life. But God has given me this family and this walk of life for a purpose. And yet I can never seem to get that through to my heart. I know that I am living this story for a reason, and through time at the end of each chapter I see another little glimpse of my purpose, but I still look longingly at other people story's and wish I could be the character in them instead.

I started thinking more deeply about this after watching the Princess and the Pop-star (Veggie Tales movie). It's odd to think that a little kids movie that stars vegetables could make me reflect on my own life, but it did. In this story, there was a farm girl named princess and a pop-star name Vanna Banana, both girls wanted to live each others lives and they both looked the same so they switched places. And as you can probably guess, in the end they both realized that God gave them their own lives because He made them special and they had a purpose in life.

I guess where it all goes back to is being content. Being happy with who you are and where you were put in this world. I may not be famous or rich, but I do have a loving family and a roof over my head. And as much as I want to read through to the end of my storybook to see what my purpose and plan is that God has for me, I must have patience to only read one page a day everyday of my life to see what the Lord has planned.

If you too struggle with this then the best that I can suggest is to know God more, and through knowing God you will find happiness in who He has made you to be.

Blessings,

A New Year, A New Beginning?

For many people the new year may mean a new beginning, a fresh start I suppose you could say. Somehow, the fact that the last four digits of today's date changed all of a sudden gives people motivation to do things and have 'resolutions'. I honestly have a hard time understanding this concept. It's Sunday, just like all the other 52 Sundays during the year. Why wait till the new year to start the things that you wish to change or become throughout the year? What was stopping you from doing it last Sunday? If you are the type to make resolutions for yourself then I am not bashing you, but simply giving a thought to ponder.

I suppose the beginning of a new year gives a marking of time, and place where you can stop and reflect back to where you were before and where you are now. It seems to me like a year ago was so far yet so very close. At times I felt it was dragging on and other times came as swift as the wind. So what happened last year? Alot. I grew even closer to God, I discovered who I am, My circle of friends grew, and I had many learning experiences and life lessons. It was a year of growth for me, and it was a splendid one at that.

I am especially happy because I have spent this past year blogging which has been so encouraging to me. Every time I am struggling through something I write a post about it, and not only does it relieve my stress but it also helps me to sort through things and figure out solutions to my problems. What some may not know is that I don't have a lot of answers to issues that I begin to write about for a post, I have to meditate on scripture and pray about it before I have any real solution. That is part of what has motivated me to grow closer to God. You see, I've always had a hard time remembering to read my bible daily and maintaining a relationship with God, but through this blog I have found a desire to get to know Him so that I can share that with all of you as well. Anyways, I just want to thank all of you for reading my blog because it really does mean a lot to me ♥

So with out further adue, I would like to wish all of you a...

Many blessings,