watered down forgiveness and justified repentance!

Hello! :)
its been a while since i used my blog! but i am back now! ready to write away life and life expereinces once again! i was reminded of my blog after a friend told me me i have a gift of writting! that i will do great if i pursue a career in such an area!
So i have decided to start 2010 with a good one!
Happy new year by the way, i trust you have God in your year, with him joy and peace and freedom is all for you this year!

Its been brought to my attention within this christian culture of ours, something so powerful to break bondages and heal hurts! something so freeing and releases reconciliation has become distorted, watered down and misused!
I am talking about forgiveness and repentance!
my expereince only recently this year has seriously alarmed me and i really feel the need to comment on it as i beleive it happens alot!

Forgiveness and how its displayed sometimes it out right dissapointing and quite frank i believe God greives over how we sometimes handle forgiveness!
spending alot of time in a christian residential program and again for a short time in another one i have learnt and been pounded with the importance of forgiveness and repentace! both places has taught the right and healthy process of it!
however in a world were naturally we like to justify ourself in why we do things and really do not like to take responsibility!
i know this too well because i myself used to have this type of approach in life! only over the years! i have really understood and live what forgiveness should be and is!

does this sound too familiar to you? when you go to someone and say i am sorry then the words... BUT!!!! or HOWEVER!!! ????? or has it been done to you?!! it has to me! and i hate it! to make it a little clearer... " i am sorry for saying those nasty things i done to you, BUT you made me so mad and so angry"!
That my friend is a clear as crystal example of what forgiveness is not! i believe what we do in any situation is what we need to own! meaning if i blow off at someone i am responsable for what i say and do! not the person u lost it with! So taking responsability for our action and not saying "you made me do this" " you made me angry" and so on!
if you are really sorry and become so humble you own what u did and thats it! full stop! you should never justify your actions! because when doing so you are saying i am sorry but not really because u made me feel like this so u are responsable for how i reacted!

now repentance!
it carrys a similar approach in not justifying! but when someone repents to you its outrageous to have a puffed chest saying "So you should be"!!! remember its most likely the hardest thing to come and admit to someone a wrong you have done and then get thrown in your face again what u did!
maybe you will like this approach i take!
when someone repents to me i don't like to say "ah its all good" cause really its not ok what they did but i say "thanks so much for apologising" hug them and have all round a heart of love and respect for that person who just humbled themselves completely!!!
never do i say or give an attitude of " yeah you better be sorry" "do u know how much that hurt oh man u blew it" that is quite degrading to a person who knows what they did or otherwise wouldn't be humbly coming before us!

watered down forgiveness and jusified repentance needs to stop in this culture!
Does God say "oh sarah you do know when you did that it was really bad and you made me feel so horrible and i really just can't talk to you right now cause its just insane what you did so just give me space and don't talk to me cause you really blew it and it made me feel......................"
HAHA!! i laugh because if God did that! we all would be feeling condemed won't we??!!! YES!! yes we will indeed!
but His style of forgiveness is amazingly freeing! its not even a style but a life style He asks us to follow "be imitators of christ" it says in the bible!!
there is no condemnation in christ so why the heck are we going around condeming people when they want forgiveness and are repentant?~?~?~

So there is some food for thought! i really hope this christian culture today will no longer water down something that is meant to work in all its power! because when something is watered down its effect isn't as strong as it should be! Its work itsn't as effective as it wants to be!!!!

Love you all!!!!

Princesses!!!!!!!!!!!

TAKEN!!!!!

if you have not seen this movie "taken" i recommend it!.. i've seen it 3 times but actually watched all of the movie 2 times! HEHE, its really full on! Its about what happens in Europe with traffiking of young women... i say no more!
i love the father in this movie, he is so dedicated to his daughter, and while she is been violated, Her dad does everything in his will to find her and bring her back to him!
this story is quite similar to mine, My father in Heaven rescued me from much violation and has bought me back and restored and healed me!
In this movie you look at the girls situations, and the first thought is they have nothing now! like how could they possibly be made whole again and be restored from such violation?!?!
Jesus is the answer, nothing else can restore and redeem other then Jesus!
Remember your father in heaven who can free you from the boundage of any past mistreatment!
my hope is to give others hope who may still live in toremenmt from there past, that they may know the God my my healing and restoration!

greater is He that is in me then he that is in the world

Its hard to take a look at this world and see the beauty of all woman being completely mistreated.
we live in a world where expectations SCREAM at woman to look a certain way...
The more I take a look the more i see how much woman are ripped off and are getting ripped off!
i struggled with an eating disorder for soooo long, too long actually, once i was so consumed by anorexia it felt like it became my whole identity, it was my life at one stage and was completely trapped in its bondage.
Thankfully entering Mercy ministries, has saved my life and now i am completely free and recovered from such a trap.
I call any eating disorder or bad body image a trap! as once you pay attention to it continually, you become trapped in its lifestyle. i have come from being extremely low body image (which involved alot of harm to myself) to now being free and able to love myself as God loves me and accepts me!
I have found it a little overwhelming in how much this world focuses on beauty and really disorders it!! Disoders it to the point where the inner man is not counted one bit, and catagorizes people in sections of image and looks. which leaves people compareing and in competition.
All this is so close to home for me as i have been on both paths!
The path i am on now is one of true beauty within and on the out side!
when we hate the way we look we are saying to God "God i hate the way you made me"!!!!!!!!!
But you need to know God never created trash but he created beauty and had a GREAT deal of pleasure when He created you!
You know pslams 139, i'm fearfully and wonderfully made! like far out!! He totally thought about every single detail, and with great honour of you he made you!!! so please please please the next time you feel like getting caught up on how the world see's beauty, just know there is a God living inside you that is far greater then the one in the world that is lieing to you everyday!!!!!
YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL BEYOND MEASURE!!!!!!!!
beleive but most of all live it!!!!!

mercy ministries!!

Mercy Ministries is a Christian organisation dedicated to providing care for young women suffering the effects of eating disorders, self harm, abuse, addiction, depression, unplanned pregnancies and other life controlling issues.
Mercy Ministries is a structured residential based program that provides access to professional support and daily education from program staff to support the young women in our care.
We provide a holistic program that addresses all aspects of a young woman’s well being: physical, spiritual and emotional.

nearly 3 months!!!

Hi! nearly 3 months since i have graduated from Mercy Ministries!
its been a good ride hey! a few challenges on the way but i can stand here today and say i have used all my stratagies and have overcome them all!
the last few weeks have been hard, even more so the last week! but you know what i need to constantly remind myself of not giving in! not giving in to the enemies plan!
i started this blog a little later then i would of liked to since graduating but i will just give you the run down of how life has been the last 3 months!
its been so supported! my church i attend has been great and its very alive there! plenty of people i know who are careing and have a heart for young girls with simliar pasts as i have!
i have been volunteering at the church office as a receptionist! its totally given me expereince and will help me in the future! so ever since i have got out of mercy i have been straight in to volunteering!
i had the honour to share my testimony at the womans meeting at church! that was really powerful for me personally as i got to share a bit bout Godly beliefes! how important it is to believe what God says and not what that enemy says to us!
that was back in November!
just been forming friends and that is definantly hard! trusting new people is really hard and just trying to fit in, its all been a little daunting!

i have kept strong and overcame alot within he last months, but i feel now is the hardest time as all honey moon times have faded and now its just all a challenge really!
but i know there is this freedom i have experienced in such a great way that God has given me! and he hasn't given it to me to live out in Mercy but out in the world where it is tough and hard but the freedom comes along with much strength!