Life is sacred. Use it to love!

            What is life? I mean, what is the true meaning of life? How do we determine life's value? How does one define the meaning of life? The value of life? How do we decide whether we are living a life of worth? By living for our King. That is how.
                 These past two weeks, God has really put it on my heart to share with you all that He has placed upon my heart. That is, to share with you what I think of life. My meaning and my definition of life, not the world's.
             To say that I go by my own meaning, value, and definition of life, is wrong. "My" meaning of life, and the value "I" place upon life, is solely based upon scripture and the commands of Jesus Christ. I believe what my Lord and Savior does about life; that life is sacred and beautiful, no matter who the person is. Therefore, "my" meaning of life is not my meaning, but Christ's.
            This day in age, culture tends to teach us that the homeless man is not worth our effort, the orphan is too far away to help, the unborn child is not a child, children are a burden, the elderly are useless and burdensome,  and prisoners deserve to be hated. They no longer teach that these people need help. That they are desperate, abandoned, hurting people. Instead, they teach that people who are poor, homeless, unborn, orphaned or imprisoned are either not worth loving and helping, or we can "wait" until we're in a better financial situation to help them. But that's not what God teaches.
             God teaches us that we are to love, and help everyone we come across, no matter who they are or what situation they're in. God is a God of love, filled with compassion and kindness. Slow to anger, abundant in mercy, overflowing with grace and tenderness. In His great love, He seeks to reach out to and help all His people. Not just the ones we want to reach out to.
             As Christians, we are called to follow God's example. We are called to love and value all life. Life is indeed sacred. No matter who the person is, they are still loved by God. Special in His eyes, blessed with the gift of life, and treasured by the God of love. We are called to reach out to them, save them, guard them, and value life as much as Christ does. We are called to minister in love to all our fellow humans, knowing that life is short, so the time we have here is to be valued.
            That is why I believe ALL life has meaning. ALL  life is to be treasured and valued as a sacred gift from the Almighty King Himself. Life is a gift. Use it as a gift to obey the Lord of Harvest and reach out in love to ALL creation! Remember, your words and actions can very well determine the fate of a person's eternity. Don't kill with  your actions and words, use them to love!!
          

.."my God shall supply all your needs.."

     You know, God truly is a faithful God. He has proven Himself to be a God of Wonders many times, but sometimes it still takes an act of God to really open our eyes to see how true that simple yet amazing statement really is. Yesterday was a huge eye opener for me as to just how great our God is, as I was brought to tears at how my God had worked on my behalf, so that I might glorify Him with my work.
     Yesterday morning, my family and I had the privilege of visiting a friend's church. This church has been praying for me for several weeks now, so they had invited me to come and speak about the Lord's work in my life. They told me they would do an offering  to help me in my trip, but little did I know how much the Lord was using this tiny church for His glory!!
     After speaking, the church prayed for me as a congregation, and later a few people even came up to personally pray for me. That church is a church full of prayer warriors that are on fire for the Lord! It was the neatest thing to see such a small church, reaching out and giving God glory. These people were and are such a blessing to my family and I!
      Later, when they gave me their gift I was flabbergasted to see the incredible offering they had collected for me!!! My mom and I started crying to see the amazing generosity that these people had displayed! All I could do was sit there silently thanking God over and over, and praising Him for this awesome act!  God is great and greatly to be praised! That was truly the cry of my heart yesterday! It was amazing to see how God could work such a miracle for His glory! God truly does supply all my needs!

"And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:19

"Let the little children come unto to Me"

           These last two months God has brought some amazing people together to help me, but nothing has been sweeter then watching God at work in the children. It has been so special to me to see these kids, working for God's glory to fulfill this call. I have seen how a 10 year old boy has been touched by God to give $20 to the Lord's cause. This little boy was like the widow who gave her all, he gave me everything he had!
           I have had a little girl raising money for the Lord's cause. This little girl, gathered stuff together and did a yard sale for me. She passed out flyers, and convinced neighbors and friends to buy pops from me. She herself bought pops for her birthday party. This sweet girl was able to raise over $120! She did it all for the glory of the Lord!  Even my own 5 and 7 year old sisters have been giving me all the change they can find, declaring that they are "giving this money to Shelbie so she can be a missionary!"
         All these children have been vessels in the Lord's hand to fulfill His plan. Each one of them have been so focused on the things of eternity that they were willing to give up all that they had for God to use for His glory. That little boy gave his all! That girl gave her time, effort and money! I have been so blessed to see these children at work for the Lord, giving their all to God. These children are some special kids, who are wiling to work and serve the Lord, even if it means they give up their time, money, and effort! I know that God will bless their little hearts for what they have done!!!

" ...'Let the children come to Me,and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Matthew 19:14