Beauty for ashes

Isaiah 61:3

One of my favorite verses

Beautiful things - one of my favorite songs

It is amazing how God makes beauty out of ashes.
It is amazing how God makes all things right in the end.
It is amazing how these ashes can come together to make the most beautiful thing. All these things that we went through, that tore us and burnt us, and left us in ashes.. by God's grace, these come together to create the most beautiful thing.

The phrase "beauty for ashes" struck out to me.
God always replaces beauty for ashes. He is good. He is so good.
If I told my old self that I would be where I am right now, I would not have believed it. My world was full of hatred, anger, sadness, anxiety, insecurities, grudges, and violence. I thought there was no hope. But there is so much happiness in my life now. Even when I am stressed, anxious, and depressed, I know there is hope and a rock that I can lean on.

Tonight was much needed and I am glad that I got to share a part of my testimony and I am happy that my friends were able to share theirs too. It truly is amazing how God brings all of our struggles or ashes together to build these lifelong relationships in Christ.

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Turning my guilt into thankfulness

 Ever since I’ve reaccepted Christ, I have been dealing with tremendous amount of guilt. But I’ve recently realized that it’s not the heavy heart that God wants because accepting Christ ultimately means accepting the fact my sins are all washed away because Jesus Christ died for me. Focusing on being thankful rather than living in guilt has lifted this heavy burden in my heart, and I am constantly in awe of and grateful for God’s amazing grace.

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I am so lucky to have such a supportive family. It makes me so happy to see my family happy because I've accepted Christ. My parents and my grandmother and even my little brother have told me that I've changed and become nicer, and I think they are really thankful and happy that I am Christian now. But I need to remember that I am not doing this for them; it ultimately comes down to only me and God. 
Overall though, I am just so happy that my family is happy for me.

And even my bad days like today aren't that bad anymore because I know who can make things right. 

His amazing grace

By grace through faith

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, is the gift of God. 

Ephesians 2:8

God's grace is sufficient. 

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

2 Corinthians 12:9

You are made new in Christ

Therefore if anyone in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

2 Corinthians 5:17

His mercy

he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal of Holy Spirit. 

Titus 3:5

His love

But we have to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. 

Luke 15:32

I still have a hard time grasping how God can just overlook all of my sins and just love me unconditionally. I sometimes still feel so guilty about being so ignorant and doubtful of his existence and hating him. But I have to remember that my sins are all washed away through Christ our savior. I am made new by faith and through God's amazing grace. His love is everlasting and these bible verses have reassured me of how God just wants to love us no matter what we have done.

Not related to this post, but

I have changed a lot.

I used to "dislike" people. I used to look down on some people. I used to not want to talk to people as much. I used to find small talks really unnecessary. I used to be very pessimistic. I have changed. My grandma told me that I changed. My parents have noticed -- even my brother. Now I want to serve God, do everything to glorify him, and whatever would make him happy. I want to show people love.

Ranting about myself

I am the clumsiest and the least careful person in the world.
I am SO forgetful that it is not even funny and I look over stuff because I don't think they matter but they actually DO. I wish I was more on top of my things. I am such a wanna be perfectionist.
This ought to be one of my biggest flaws - that I am super duper clumsy.
Yea, it doesn't sound like a big deal, but when it comes to everyday things, it really is. And I've tried to fix it, but I really can't and I hate that I can't. I probably sound stupid complaining about my clumsiness, but it has affected me / my life in so many ways. How can I fix this..