Worshipping God vs Figuring him out

Hey Y'all! 

It's been so long since I've written on here! Summer has been incredible and I sure am going to miss it! I absolutely love summer and wish we could have summer all the time! But then I guess it'll be good to get back in the school routine as much as I don't want to! But it's the life of a 22 year old so there's nothing I can do about it!

Anyways as we get back in the norm of life here's a question to consider throughout the semester! Are we here to worship God or try to figure him out? It's a question we all deal with at some point in our lives! We want to be able to understand God and know everything about God throughout our life! We're human it's how we are! We want to be the 'smart' ones so that we can know everything about life! But it's not how God wants us to go about life! It's not how he designed it! God didn't tell Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil to keep them from knowing things he told them not to so that they could focus on worshipping God instead of the things about God! Should we try to know God? Sure it's how we form a relationship with him but we don't have to know everything about God in order to know God! Just like you learn new things about a friend/boyfriend/girlfriend every as you spend time with them, you learn new things about God every day as you spend time with him! My pastor today said, "we are called to worship God not try to figure him out." If we want to know God then we must worship him and spend more time with him! It's what he wants most from us! If we spend most of our time figuring out God then we'll end up worshipping the things about God and not God himself! It's part of his mystery to us! If we knew everything about God then there would be no mystery to him! If you want to know about God then go read in his word! There is plenty about God in his word and it's the only place where you'll find what your looking for! Country singer, Brantley Gilbert in one of his songs quotes "They say the answers are in red and I believe they're in here somewhere I just haven't found them yet." You can find your answers in God's word if you keep searching! Sometimes God may not give you answers and you just got to keep worshipping him whether he does or not! 

Anyways, hope y'all are doing great and hope y'all have a great start of school!! :)

God bless,

Anna Klein

Lessons from horses

Horses have been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember! They are some of the most amazing animals that God could have created. They can capture your heart in ways you never expected, they can be some of your best friends, and they can teach you so many things about life. For me, being with Stormy and around the outdoors is one of my many ways of spending time with God. Of course I don't get to see Stormy very often, because he's at my grandparents' place which is 1 hour and 20 minutes away; but when I do have the opportunity, there is nothing more peaceful and rewarding then a trail ride on Stormy. Sometimes when I'm just giving him attention, it's interesting to look into his eyes and wondering what he sees. A horse is often looking at so many different things, and they're constantly alert. They're an animal of flight, so if they here something they look to see what it is in order to decide if they should run or not. They also have incredible hearing. They can sometimes hear things that you may not be able to hear yourself, so when they hear something, even if you don't know what they're looking at or listening to; they do know. Anyways, when I look into Stormy's eyes, I can see my reflection in them, and it's almost like looking in the mirror. The mind of a horse is absolutely incredible. This maybe a little weird, but horses can also have feelings. We may not know what they feel, but their feelings are somewhere in their minds. Like, when my other horse, Cloud died, Stormy went nuts. He was running all around the pasture confused about what was happening and at the same time I could tell that he was sad that he had lost a friend. It's kind of like when we lose someone we love. We're upset and confused and we don't know what to do. But in the end, we know everything's going to be ok and God is going to take care of us.

Throughout my times with Stormy, he has taught me so much about life. That's another amazing thing about horses. They can teach you so much about what is important and they can show you things about yourself that you never knew was inside you.

1) The first thing Stormy has taught me is patience. When I work with Stormy, it sometimes takes a long time to warm him up because I'm hardly ever out at my grandparents' and so he gets lazy and doesn't really want to do anything. I have to really work him before I get on him because I have to let him know who's the boss. If I don't let him know who's boss on the ground, then he'll think he can do whatever he wants when I get on him, and with horses that can be dangerous. If they think they're in control, then they can do stuff to hurt you. Not on purpose, but that's just how horses work. It's like how when parents are raising children, they have to let their children know who's the boss or else the children will think they can do whatever they want. So working with Stormy takes a lot of patience, and it's taught me to have patience in life in general. I often remind my sisters that patience is a virtue to be learned. I don't always finish the sentence I just leave it with patience is a virtue, but it's true. Patience is one of the fruit of the spirit, and when we have patience then we're allowing the Holy Spirit to control us when we feel like getting angry. Of course, we're going to get angry, but it's how we handle that anger that allows the Holy Spirit to work in us.

2) The second thing Stormy has taught me is love. When I work with Stormy I can sometimes get frustrated with him because, as great of a horse as he is, he can be lazy and stubborn sometimes. I guess it's a sign I need to go up there more often, but it's hard working with him, because sometimes it takes a while for him to do what I want him to do. A lot of horse people that I have been around have told me, "A horse has to want to obey you, in order for him to do what you want him to do." Sometimes Stormy doesn't want to obey me, and it takes a while for him to get to that point whenever I'm out there. Anyways, no matter what he does I still love him. And because I love him, I want to take the time to get him to the point of obeying me. It often reminds me of God's love for us. Sometimes we mess up and we sin against God, sometimes we don't want to obey him and do what he wants us to do. And through all of that God still loves us and because he loves us, he takes the time to try and get us back on track no matter how long it takes.

3) The third thing Stormy has taught me is trust. Like I said before, a horse has to want to obey you in order for you to get him to do what you want him to do. Well in order to get the horse there, he has to trust you. Once you've got trust, then the horse will gradually respond to your commands. Trust is probably one of the most important keys with a horse. When you come across a horse that is unpredictable and dangerous, it's not that he's a bad horse, it's the fact that he doesn't trust anyone. And if he doesn't trust anyone then he's scared and doesn't know how to handle that fear. Like I said before, horses are animals of flight and so if they're scared then they're gonna try to run from you. They don't try to hurt you they just want to get out of the situation they're in. Stormy has to trust that what I do with him is not going to hurt him. And he has to trust that I'm not going to guide him into anything that he sees as scary. It's the same thing with me. I have to trust that Stormy's not going to hurt me. Of course he's a horse, and he has a mind of his own and as amazing as he is, I still have to be prepared incase he does something out of the ordinary. But at the same time I have to trust Stormy when he doesn't want to go near something because he senses something that could hurt him and so on. It's kind of like our relationship with God. We have to trust that his will for us is what he knows is best for us. And if God thinks that the situation we're in will hurt us then he'll send something or someone to get us out of that situation.

Anyways, there are many other things Stormy has taught me and those are the three main things. Horses are absolutely incredible animals and God can teach us so much through them. Horses are beautiful, majestic, and can be your best friends if you let them. A human's relationship with a horse is something that is unforgetable. Infact they can teach you about your own relationships that you have with family and friends. And what you learn from a horse, you can often try it on your friends and family. The relationship I had with my other horse Cloud, was inseperable. Infact Cloud taught me just as much as Stormy has and I'm so grateful for both of them!

God bless!

Anna Klein 

No one is Righteous

So last night at Bible Study we read through Romans 3 and as we all know Romans 3 is a very well known chapter in the Bible. I'm sure most Christians if not all have all had the chance to read through Romans 3. It's got the 3:23 passage, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God," and it's one of the many chapters that really focuses on sin, how no one on earth is righteous, and how when we have faith that God sent his Son as a sacrifice for us; and confess that we have sinned against him then he will forgive us. When we are told that we are not righteous and that we have sinned, it convicts us and it makes us realize what a sacrifice, Jesus went through on the cross for us and it makes us want to believe and have a relationship with him.
It's so interesting how no matter how many times you read scripture, there's always something to learn. There's always something that God teaches us through scripture. It's one of the many blessings of digging into God's word. We're continuously learning something. If we understood everything about the Bible, then we wouldn't need to read it anymore. When you understand everything about a subject in school and you know how it works, then there's no need for that subject anymore. It's the same with the Bible and it's God's purpose that we don't understand everything about the Bible because he wants us to continue reading it so we can know more and more about him and become closer to him in our relationship with him. It's why we have the Bible. So that we can know about God. We're not going to know about God just by going through life, being good and not really doing anything. It takes work to understand God and to have a relationship with him. Just like it takes work for us to have relationships with siblings, parents, friends, boyfriends/girlfriends, it takes work to have a relationship with God. And in order to have that relationship, we have to spend time with him; read/study his word, talking to him through prayer and sharing your thoughts with him, worshiping him through music etc.
Anyways, Romans 3:10-18, one of the passages we talked about last night, talks a whole bunch about no one being righteous and how there is no perfect soul except for Jesus and as much as I've heard it before it still convicts me that we are all sinners and have strayed away from God, and yet he still loves us. Here's the passage that was read.

"As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do now know. There is no fear of God before their eyes."

You would think that it would stop there. But it doesn't. See even though no one is righteous, by sending Jesus as a sacrifice, God has given us hope, that if we turn from our sinful ways and trust in him, that we can be free from our bondage of sin and we can live eternally with him in heaven. In Romans 4:7-8 it goes on to say, "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." 

Anyways, I hope y'all have a great Easter this weekend and remember that Easter is about what Christ did on the cross for us, and not about Easter bunnies and candy! Love y'all!

God Bless,

Anna Klein

God's not dead

It's easy to believe that God exists, when things go our way. When we have everything we ever wanted, a family, a career, friends, ect, it's easy to say we believe God exists. But what happens when God takes all of that away? Then what is our reaction? Job in the Bible was given everything from God. He was a righteous man who followed God with his whole heart and God blessed him with a family, riches, land etc. Then one by one, those things started to go away. Yet, Job never lost heart. Even when his family and friends thought he was crazy to continue following God, he kept his faith going. What would our reaction be if everything was taken from us? Would we give up, or would we have faith, like Job did?
If God didn't exist, then life would be meaningless. There would be no purpose to living on earth. We would all just be living life, confused about why we're here. But, because God exists, we can live knowing there is a purpose for our life. Even though sometimes we can't feel him, or we can't see God, he's there. When a loved one is dying of cancer, or we don't get a job we wanted etc, we don't see how a good God can exist with all the bad things that happen. We expect that because God is good that he's going to bless the good, and curse the wicked. Which in a way that's true, but to be honest, we are all wicked. We have all made mistakes. None of us are good enough to be blessed, or to live with him in heaven. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." It doesn't say, just some have sinned, it says all have sinned. That is why Jesus had to come and die for our sins. Someone had to pay the punishment for our sins. It's just like when you disobey your parents. When you disobey your parents, someone has to be punished. But instead of us dying, Jesus took our place so that we could live eternally with him in heaven all because he loves us. And because we have all sinned, bad things happen to us. There are no "good" people here on earth and so because there are no good people here on earth, we have to accept the fact that bad things will happen to us.
God is very much alive and he exists all through out this world whether we believe it or not. He loves us and whatever happens is all part of his plan. He is in control of everything and we have to trust and have faith that he has a plan.

God Bless,
Anna Klein

Top 10 reasons why Texas is the best state in America(No offense to people outside of Texas)

Hey y'all

So Texas is my home state. I love Texas and I will always live in Texas unless God calls me to go somewhere else. But for now, Texas is where I'm staying. There's an old saying, "You can take a Texan out of Texas but you can't take Texas out of the Texan." Everyone who lives in Texas will understand that. :) Anyways, here are 10 reasons why I think Texas is the greatest state in America. Of course the list could go longer than 10 reasons but that would take a while, so we'll just bump it down to 10. By the way no offense to anyone outside of Texas.

10) Texas food-Do I have to explain myself? There's nothing better than Texas BBQ and Texas Sweet Tea. If you are from out of state and are visiting, you will not want to miss out on Texas BBQ and sweet tea. Oh and don't forget chips and queso on your way out.
9) Texas clothes-It is completely normal for someone to walk out in public with cowboy boots and a cowboy hat in Texas. In fact, that is what a lot of us Texans wear. So, if you're from out of state and you want to vacation in Texas don't be shocked when you see cowboys and wranglers whether they live in the country or city.
8) Texas is one of the hunting states-There are many great hunting states, and Texas just so happens to be one of those hunting states. I have never been hunting in my life, and I would absolutely love to someday, when i have money, get myself a gun and a liscence and go shoot a buck or a duck. See, the thing about us Texans, is we either love to go hunting or we are dying to go hunting. Even a Texas girl has hunting on her mind.
7) Texas has it's own language- The Texas language is a bit unique. We use words like, "y'all" instead of "you guys," "fixin to" instead of "i'll get to it," "what," instead of "excuse me" etc. It's the Texas Southern way of talking.
6) Texas Trucks- There is no argument here about whether Trucks are better than sports cars and it's not an opinion, it's a fact. Trucks are so much better than sports cars. We won't judge you if you have a sports car, but we do prefer trucks even if we don't have the money for them. We even have our own "Texas edition" trucks. Just about every other car you see in Texas will be a truck.
5) Texas Country music- Don't get me wrong I love the other type of country music, in fact Brad Paisley is my all time favorite Country singer and he's not from Texas. But, some of the greatest singers have come from Texas and brought some of the greatest country music out there. Take George Strait and Josh Abbott Band for example! :)
4) Texas football- Us Texans, even the girls, love to sit down on the couch and watch a good solid football game, whether it's college football on Saturday or NFL football on Sunday. We all love football and we're pretty hardcore when it comes down to football.
3) Texas Ranches- Now there are some beautiful ranches in Tennessee and Kentucky, but they just don't compare to the ranches we have in Texas.
2) Texas Rodeos- If you haven't seen at least one rodeo, either in Houston, Fort Worth, or San Antonio, then you are missing out. Rodeos are annual hang outs for Texans and they are huge in our state.
1) Texas Scenery- Last but not least the scenery is breathtaking. From the hillcountry to Texas Sunsets, you will not leave Texas without being in awe of how beautiful it is here.

And with that, GOD BLESS TEXAS!!!! :) Love y'all!!!! :)

Anna Klein

I Hold On

Hey Y'all

So one of my favorite country singers, Dierks Bentley came out with a new song a few months or so called "Hold on." I'm not sure if he's a Christian or not but as I listen to it, it's made me think about my life and how I should hold on to the things that are important to me. You know sometimes when life gets tough or things don't go our way, we seem to give up on life and the things that are important to us; friendships, relationships, family, careers, jobs, life etc. Life is a struggle. It is never easy. The Bible says, life is never easy. And when we get to difficult times in our life we have to decide for ourselves whether we're going to just give up or keep going with life. God has a purpose for us here on this earth and a reason to why he allows certain things to happen in our life; and it's our choice whether we're going to trust God and his plan or if we're going to go a different direction then where God wants us. So as we go about our life, with work, school, relationships or whatever, remember that no matter how tough it gets, to "hold on" and God will reward us at the end of our time here on earth for faithfully following him and his plan for our life.



God Bless,

Anna Klein

Always in the Presence

Hey Y'all!

So, I've been going through a devotion for my quiet time with God aside from reading Scripture. My pastor recommended the devotion, "Come Boldly" which has multiple devotions from many great Bible Scholars such as John Bunyan, C.S. Lewis, Jonathan Edwards, Dietrich Bonhoffer, Elizabeth Elliot etc. It's an incredible devotion and God has taught me SO much through it about prayer and how to "come boldly" before him to pray so he can have a relationship me. Tonight I was reading through the Wednesday devo of week 2 and it was talking about being in the Presence of God and it really moved me and wanted to share it with y'all. So here it goes.

Always in the Presence

"In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."-Psalm 16:11

"After having given myself wholly to God, that He might take away my sin, I renounced for the love of Him, everything that was not He, and I began to live as if there was none but He and I in the world. Sometimes I considered myself before Him as a poor criminal at the feet of the judge, at other times I beheld Him in my heart as y Father, as my God. I worshiped Him the oftenest that I could, keeping my mind in His holy presence, and recalling it as often as I found it wandered from Him. I found no small pain in this exercise, and yet I continued it, notwithstanding all the difficulties that occurred, without troubling or disquieting myself when my mind had wandered involuntarily. I made this my business as much all the day long as at the appointed times of prayer; for at all times, every hour, every minute, even in the height of my business, I drove away from my mind everything that was capable of interrupting my thought of God. Such has been my common practice ever since I entered in religion; and though I have done it imperfectly, yet I have found great advantages by it. These I well know, are to be imputed to the mere mercy and goodness of God, because we can do nothing without Him, and I still less than any. But when we are faithful to keep ourselves in His holy Presence, and set Him always before us, this not only hinders our offending Him, and doing anything that may displease Him, at least willfully, but it also begets in us a holy freedom, and if I may so speak, a familiarity with God, wherewith we ask, and that successfully, the graces we stand in need of. In fine, by often repeating these acts, the become habitual, and the presence of God is rendered as it were natural to us."-Brother Lawrence in The Practice of the Presence of God

Anyways, there's part of what i've been reading. Hope y'all are doing great! We're about to start school back up and I pray that this semester goes well for y'all who have school and that God will provide for y'all! Have a great night!

God bless,
Anna Klein