New Years Resolutions

Every year on New Years, I always like to start off with writing in my Journal. I've done this for several years now, and sometimes I write about just random things, and others, like today, I began to write about the thoughts of New Years resolutions. The first few ideas that came to mind were things like; journaling every day for the whole year, getting caught up on my schoolwork, stretching daily so I can touch my toes without bending my knees, different things like that. However, seconds after I'd written these things, I began to realize I'd left out a very important thing - my relationship with Christ. I wrote this: "Shame on me for leaving out something that should have been the very first thing on my list - growing in Christ and bringing Him the glory in all I do."
 Not long after I'd written that, Mom came in and told me we were going to go into town and do a little shopping. We'd went to K-Mart, and then to Barnes and Nobles, where I found something to help me with my most important resolution for this year - a devotional book entitled "Devotions for a Revolutionary Year - 365 Days of Jesus' Radical Love For You." by Lynn Cowell. I started tonight with day 1, and so far I really like it, and I feel like this book is definitely going to help me in my walk with Christ not only this year, but for many years to come.

 My question is, what about you? What will you do today, tonight, this week, and throughout this year to strengthen your faith in Christ, and bring Him the glory in everything you do?

Happy 2013 y'all, let's start this year off being 3G and growing in Christ - together.

"My love to all of you in Christ Jesus." ~1 Corinthians 16:24

The Four Boyfriends

I got this email a few weeks ago and decided that I'd share it with you, it was entitled "The Four Boyfriends (not a joke)". It was a forward, and normally I just delete forwarded emails, but I'm glad I opened this one! Check it out:


Four Boyfriends

THIS TURNED OUT TO BE SO DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE.. IT IS A WONDERFUL WONDERFUL MESSAGE!!
PLEASE ENJOY - -

Once upon a time there was a girl who had four boyfriends.

She loved the fourth boyfriendthe most and adorned him with rich robes and treated him to the finest of delicacies. She gave him nothing but the best.

She also loved the third boyfriend very much and was always showing him off to neighboring kingdoms. However, she feared that one day he would leave her for another.

She also loved her second boyfriend. He was her confidant and was always kind, considerate and patient with her. Whenever this girl faced a problem, she could confide in him, and he would help her get through the difficult times.

The girl's first boyfriend was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining her wealth and kingdom. However, she did not love the first boyfriend, although he loved her deeply, she hardly took notice of him! 

One day, the girl fell ill and she knew her time was short. She thought of her luxurious life and wondered, 'I now have four boyfriends with me, but when I die,will I be alone.'

Thus, she asked the fourth boyfriend, 'I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?
'No way!', replied the fourth boyfriend, and he walked away without another word.

His answer cut like a sharp knife right into her heart.

The sad girl then asked the third boyfriend, 'I loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?' 'No!', replied the third boyfriend. 'Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to marry someone else!' Her heart sank and turned cold.

She then asked the second boyfriend, 'I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?'

'I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!', replied the second boyfriend. 'At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave.'
His answer struck  her like a bolt of lightning, and the girl was devastated.


Then a voice called out: 'I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go.' The girl looked up, and there was her first boyfriend. He was very skinny as he suffered from malnutrition and neglect.

Greatly grieved, the girl said, 'I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!'

In truth, you have four boyfriends in your lives:

Your fourth boyfriend is your body. No matter how much time and effort you lavish in making it look good, it will leave you when you die.

Your third boyfriend is your possessions, status and wealth.When you die, it will all go to others.

Your second boyfriend is your family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for you, the furthest they can stay by you is up to the grave.


And your first boyfriend is your Spirit. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the world. 

However, your spirit is the only thing that will follow you where ever you go. Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for it is the only part of you that will follow you to the throne of God and continue with you throughout Eternity.

Thought for the day: Remember, when the world pushes you to your knees, you're in the perfect position to pray.

Isn't that a great story?? I liked it a lot! I hope that you enjoyed it too!!

Love Is Who You Are

 In my last post, I said I would write about my new song Love Is Who You Are. I wrote the lyrics a few days ago, and I think you'll like it. (This will also be posted under the link My Songs for future reference.)

Love Is Who You Are

By: Courtney Cox

(Verse 1)

Love - What is the definition? Is it a feeling or an action? You, only you my God can be worthy of this name.

(Chorus)

 Because you are not boastful, you do not dishonor. You are patient. You are not proud. You are not envious, you keep no record of wrongs. You're not easily angered, and yourself you do not seek. You my God are love, love everlasting. You are my love.

(Verse 2)

 I thought I would find love in all of those fairy tales. Just like Cinderella, I thought someday a prince would come. In reality - you've already come. 

(Chorus)

(Bridge)

 Just with a little faith, that's all that it takes. By your grace I can be saved. From an everlasting death, you replace it with your life. The love of your life.

(Chorus)

Time..

Time.. Where on earth has the time flown?!? It's been a while since you've seen a post from me, I guess it's been over a month or more now. I'm not sure why I haven't posted, other than lack of inspiration and laziness, but anyways, quite a big milestone happened in the life of this blog a couple of weeks ago. On April 21st 2012, We R 3G - Giving Glory To God turned 1 year old! I can't believe it's been a whole year since I started this blog, and here I am, now 29 posts later, with 24 followers via blogger, and 31 likes on Facebook! I can't believe it! I never thought that in just a year I would have something like that.. Anyways, Happy Birthday to We R 3G!

 Now, for the real reason I started this post. The other day I got to thinking about the word love. I've often wondered the true meaning of it, so I decided to see what the Bible had to say about it. I've always heard the quote from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 that says: "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand it's own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." That right there really speaks to me. I think about how God is all of those things. God is patient, and kind. God is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. He doesn't demand His own way. He is not irritable, and keeps no record of our wrongs. He doesn't rejoice about injustice, but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. He never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
 There is also another verse that really speaks to me is this: 1 John 4:8 it says: "But anyone who does not know love does not know God, for God is love."  Then I got to thinking, do I really know love? Do I really understand what it means to be patient and kind? Am I jealous or boastful or proud or rude? Do I demand my own way? Am I irritable, and hold grudges? Do I really understand just who God is? As I sit here typing this, I'm really thinking these things through. I'm asking myself these questions, and I'm really questioning myself on some of these things. Ask yourself these questions. Are you really loving the way God is love? Do you really know God? I've really been wondering these things, and I'm not sure I know my personal answer to some of these yet..

 I also thought you might like to hear that I wrote the lyrics to a song about 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. I titled it Love is Who You Are however, that's to come in another post that I'll write up soon. (Yes, I did this just to leave you hanging.. Hehe..) Anyways, I leave you with a quote from Ephesians 3:19.

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Love In Christ,

Courtney

♪♫ Tenth Avenue North ♪♫

So, I've recently fell in love with this amazing band called Tenth Avenue North. They are amazing! My favorite song by them is called Beloved, and it's amazing. I really recommend listening to it.

I also recommend watching this next video, where Mike Donehey (the writer of the song) explains just what the song is about. It really pulls it all together.

Ultimate Love

 Ok, so I'm gonna come right out and say it, Valentines day is probably one of my least favorite holidays. Why? Because it's (as my step Dad David would say) a "Hallmark Holiday." It's all filled with pretty much nothing but chocolate, candy, and those big, huge cards that say "I Love You" on it.
 Although saying "I love you" to someone is a great way to show someone your affection, and should be celebrated, why should we celebrate it only once a year? Why not spend every day like it's Valentines day, and tell the people you love that you care about them? I mean think about it, if you truly love someone in any way, whether it be in a romantic way (like a boyfriend, girlfriend, fiancee, or spouse), or a family way (parents, siblings, siblings in Christ etc.), or just as a friend you would think that we'd want to show them our appreciation for them more than just once a year!

 Christ loves us all the time. Even when we do the worst things, he still loves us. I mean think about it, if Christ didn't love us all the time, where would we be when we fall? We as humans fall into sin every day, in one way or another, and if Christ only loved us one day out of the year, then how would we ever survive? That's the thing, we couldn't. There is no way in the world we could ever survive on our own without Christ. Who would tell the earth to stay on it's course and not get too close or too far away from the sun? Who would bring the sun up in the morning, and the moon at night? Who would remember to tell themselves to breathe, even when their sleeping, and to keep their heart beating? Could you do that? I don't think so!
 It's because of Christ's love for us that we are breathing right now. It's Him who puts that air into our lungs, and keeps our heart beating at a perfect pace. It's Him who keeps the earth on it's course. It's Him who brings the sun up in the morning and the moon at night.  It's Christ who died on the cross for us so that we could live an eternal life with Him in heaven, and not burn an eternal death in hell. It's Christ who loves us more than we could ever come anywhere close to imagining, and you tell me that you want to celebrate love only once a year with candy and paper?!?!?
  If we are supposed to be Christ like, then we should love everyone all the time, not just once a year. One day out of an entire 365 (or in this year 366) day year is not anywhere close to enough time to say I love you to someone, especially Christ. He doesn't, so why should we?

The Lord's Declaration

Hey Y'all!! So this morning as I was doing some devotionals I felt really called to look at Jeremiah 29, so I did. I know that Jeremiah 29:11 is an amazing verse (just as all the verses in the Bible are) so I decided to start there, and let me just tell you, it has really impacted me.
 So I read Jeremiah 29:11-13 and it goes like this: "For I know the plans I have for you"-This is the Lord's declaration- "plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search  for Me with all your heart." Wow. That's some amazing stuff isn't it? I can't even begin to tell you just how many times I read over that just to make sure that I was reading things straight. I got chills when I read this, that's just how much these verses impacted me!
 What really got to me was where it said "This is the Lord's declaration." I mean, God declared this to us all! (I got chills just typing this right now.) God declared that we will seek Him, and find Him when we search for Him with all our hearts, and this is my point: Are you searching for God with all your heart? I mean this very seriously. Are you truly seeking the Lord with everything you have?
 I'll confess to you right now that I haven't been. I know that I haven't been truly seeking the Lord, and I'm changing that. I have made the decision to change my ways, and to earnestly seek the Lord. You know what's so bad though? It's that I didn't even know that I'd not been until now. That's why I'm asking you this.

 I can not even begin to tell you just how much I want you to have an amazing relationship with Christ, but I can't make that decision for you. You, and only you, can make that decision to turn to Christ and give Him the Glory that he deserves. Only you, can give God everything that you have, and search for Him with all your heart.
 My prayer today, is that you will search for God, and that you will know Him, and see His love for you. That you will see His plans for your welfare, and not disaster, and to give you a future and a hope.

I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of Him. I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe according to the working of His vast strength. 
Ephesians 1:16-19