Galatians 2:20 ²⁰ My old self has been crucified with Christ.^[a] It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

I recently learned this verse in Bible Drill. Yes, I do bible drill, and I honestly love it. But anyways, this verse just really spoke to me. It sort of gave me a good eye-opening, I guess you could say.

Like, think about it. When we become Christians, our old self is dead, or in this case of the verse-crucified. We’re not that person anymore and we should try to change and strive to be like Christ. So my question is…why aren’t we trying to change? I see so many new christians who experience God’s love and power and turn their life to him, but then soon after that, they go straight back to what they always did and don’t seem any different, whether it be their language, dress, etc. And I’m not saying that we have to be different right after, but we still need to make the attempt to start changing our ways.

Another thing that hit me with this verse is that Christ is living in us and that our lives need to be trusted fully with Him. Verses like these are so amazing, because we already know these things, but sometimes you just read them, and it reminds you just when you need it. I need to fully trust God with my life, and hand everything over to Him. I have so many things that I try to deal with on my own and want to figure out, but I don’t need to do that. Its not me that controls my life anymore. I’m not the weaver of my quilt of life. God will get me through it if I just present my problem or whatever to Him. I guess I just need to remember and be reminded often that I’m not on life’s road alone. I always have a passenger who knows exactly what road I need to turn onto and what roads to avoid, so to speak.

I don’t know about you, but this verse has become one of my favorites. Its just got so much in it. For 1, it says that our old selves are crucified with Christ, as I mentioned. It also says that our life is not ours anymore- we don’t control it. Another thing is that we need to trust God in everything that we do, since he gave up and sacrificed so much so that we could have that opportunity. It still blows my mind every time I think about that. Jesus Christ always has something new for me to learn and be reminded of. I’m so thankful for that.

I’ve just had one of the most amazing weeks of my life. It was one of those weeks where everyday you learn something new and your mind is blown by the absolute truth of it all.
I was at Super Summer this past week, and the theme was Imago Dei, or Image of God. I have gained so much knowledge and wisdom from the leaders there. I am so thankful for all of them.
The theme book of the Bible was Colossians. We concentrated on it all week, and after just the first day, I never knew there were so many things in that book! I had read it before, but I just never saw it from the perspective that I have about it now. One of the passages that really impacted me was Colossians 1:15-20. Within those verses, Paul reveals how Christ is the visible image of the invisibleGod and how he existed before anything else and is completely supreme over everything in the universe. It blows my mind every time I think about it. Its just one of those things that makes you think ‘He made everything, and he chose to put me in all his creation?!’ Its just amazing to me. It also says in Colossians that we were made for Him to give Him the glory. Do we really do that? Do we go through our everyday life and do everything for God? I know that I personally didn’t think about it much until this past week. I had forgotten that my life isn’t mine. Its God’s. I belong to Him. Completely and fully. I realize that I had been trying to keep control of myself and of my life more than I should have. Yeah, I went to church and had my quiet time every day, but I didn’t really give my whole self to him each and every day. I’m so very glad that I got that smack in the face that told me I needed to die to myself and live in Christ. We need, I need, to remember that in order for me to be truly great, I must serve. To be a leader, I must follow.

This week has just changed me from the inside out. Not only did I get a smack in the face, so to speak, as I said earlier, but I became more confident in myself. I was made in God’s image. He made me how I was supposed to be. I don’t need to change my appearance. God has made me exactly who I need to be. I’ve always struggled with my looks like so many others, wishing I was prettier, or taller, or something like that. This week made me grasp the idea that I don’t have to think like that. I’m great just the way I am and that I should be happy with myself. I mean, God made me and thought of me himself! It just makes me so excited to think of that! God loves us so so much that he took the time to make us all different and so intricate. I just…I can’t even wrap my brain around his great love for us all.

Another thing from this week. God spoke to me, loud and clear, as if he had a big megaphone next to my ear. I was singing Stand by Hillsong United with 500 other people, and I just began thinking of all these names of people that I know that I never talk to or share Jesus with, and it tore me up.I just began to cry, so guilty. It made me think of the quote by some atheist guy, of all people. He said, “how much do you have to hate someone not to tell them about Christ? ”And atheist said that!! After that thought, I cried some more. Was it because my heart was so heavy with guilt of all the people I passed and not cared whether to ask if they had Jesus Christ in their life? Absolutely. So, God spoke to me and said, ‘Kiera, you know what I’ve put on your heart, and you know what I want you to do about it. So go do it.’ I knew what he was wanting for me, but I was so scared of doing it. Being a missionary for my school is one of the scarier things I think about. I’ll get laughed at, mocked, made fun of, I may lose friends. This list goes on. But at that moment, when all the people were running through my head, I knew that I needed to die to myself and my own image and to say yes to God. So I did. I feel so much better now that I know what I need to do. I am to be God’s missionary in my school. I just pray that Jesus gives me the strength to stick it out and go all out for Him. I’m so excited for what this next year will bring, and I pray for everyone in the school that I will witness to, that their hearts will be open, as well as their minds.

I just wanted to share all of this. This is my story from the week of Super Summer. One last thing I have to say is…Carpe Diem. Seize the day.

Today is my birthday…a milestone birthday. Get ready for it….sweet 16. Lol so cool right? Actually, in all honesty, I don’t feel any different than 15. Except for the fact that I’ll be getting my license and moving up in the world. =P
But anyways, I’ve had a great day! I got to sleep late, mom made me biscuits and gravy, which in my opinion, is the best. We went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean in 3D and I just remembered that Johnny Depp’s birthday is the same as mine, so happy birthday Johnny! Haha, anyways its just been a wonderful day thanks to my loving family who contributed to this special day for me. Without them, my life wouldn’t be near as fun and awesome! My family is so important to me, and I’m so glad I got to spend the day with them. My dad even surprised me and came to watch the movie at the theater with us! It was just grand!

So, my deal for today is, always be thankful for those who love you. You may not always think about it, but they are always looking out for you and loving you. Its especially shown when its your birthday haha! =P
I just love my family so much! Thanks for giving me an awesome sweet 16! =]