That's My King

That's my King. Do you know him? If you don't you should get to know him. Because while we were all sinners, he bore the weight of all our sin so we could have a relationship with him. It is so amazing. He died yesterday and tomorrow he will rise and conquer death. He did this many years ago for us. He is so awesome. The grave couldn't hold him. Death couldn't hold him. Sin couldn't hold him. He is so awesome. Do you know him?

One of my favorite verses goes well with this next video, "He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed." -Isaiah 53:5. This video is kind of graphic, but it gives you a good understanding of what Jesus went through FOR YOU. And not only did he have to deal with the physical pain, but also the pain and weight of all of our sins. Thank you Jesus! We are so unworthy.

So tomorrow when the Easter Bunny visits, just think of the true reason for this holiday. Jesus Christ died to forgive our sins. He did this for you. I encourage you if you don't already know him, that you get to know him. It is the best choice you could ever make. He is the best friend you will ever have.

(I totally posted this last night.)

So...I know I said I would blog every day, but I lied. And I also lied about the fact that I posted this last night! Haha....anyway. I am going to do 2 posts today probably. My legit post (this one) and then a fun post later!

So today is Good Friday as many of you probably know. If you don't know, Good Friday is the day that Jesus was crucified, for our sins. Extremely sad if you think about it, he had to die. But the good news is, 3 days later he rose again. All he asks is that we have a relationship with him and we are saved. SOOOO cool!!!

So today I almost missed the bus for the second day in a row. However, this bus driver is super awesome and he knows I should be there so he waited for me! He has been my driver probably 8 times. I get on and I'm the only passenger. We talk like we always do. He was like, "So todays earth day..." and I'm like, "Yup, earth day and Good Friday!" And of course we got in a really cool discussion about God and such.

The thing that stood out to me was his view on Christianity. He views himself as a Christian, however he says it's more of a do good thing. He says he's content because he knows he has lived a pretty good life. Pretty good....that's just it. If we were all pretty good, we wouldn't need a savior. We ALL have sinned and all sin is equal. And for it we deserve hell. However, Jesus lived a perfect life and died for our sin so we don't have to ace the consequences we deserve! So COOL!

If you ever want to know anything about a relationship with God or ANYTHING, just talk to me. I'd be more than willing to have a conversation with you!

Starwars VI: Return of the Jedi

For those of you who don't know: I feel totally hypocritical. I carry around a lightsaber, but I just now am watching the Starwars saga (don't worry I'm viewing in proper order IV, V, VI, I, II, III.) Today I finished watching episode VI. Throughout watching half of the saga, I see many ways that it ties into the bible. Out of all the Episodes, I like VI the best and here is why.

The Ewoks....SO FREAKING CUTE! Actually that was random but here is my most favorite part:

Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker's relationship. To begin with Luke was told Darth Vader was evil, until the first time he faced him and he said the famous, "Luke I am your father (*insert breathing noises here*)" That totally threw of Luke, but he had to seek after the truth. Luke believed there was good in his father. His father had "died" and went from being Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader when he went to the dark side. Even though he belonged to the dark side and served the emperor, Luke still saw the good in him. And (spoiler alert) as his son Luke is about to die, turns from the dark side to save his son, dying in turn.

Many analogies there. Darth Vader sacrificed himself to save his son, kind of like Jesus did. He sacrificed himself to save all of mankind (although he never went to the dark side.) Luke always saw good in his father, which is like how God sees good in all of us. Even though some of us are completely devoted to the dark side, there is still some good and some hope, which God sees in us and tries so hard to bring out in us.

I could go on for ages, I am officially a Starwars nerd! If you haven't watched Starwars, I SOOO recommend it. It's entertaining and also great to look at ALL of thee analogies!

Wait and See (Trial and Error)

This blog is stolen from the one I wrote earlier for my youth group. Anyway, I have had this song stuck in my head at random...and it is a super good song.

The one phrase from the song that really sticks out to me is, "There is hope for me yet, because God won't forget all the plans he's made for me. I have to wait and see; he's not finished with me yet."

That part just gives me so much hope. No matter what we do, there is always hope, because God has a plan for us and he will never give up on us. There are 2 verses that tie in really well to this song:

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28

AND

"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." -Philippians 1:16

It's just a reminder that no matter what we go through God is working in our lives to perfect us. Think of it this way: we are being put through trials like gold is put through fire...to refine it. God is refining us. Even if you can't see how it will possibly work out right now, God knows and that is all that matters.

Starwars and Such

Today was an interesting day for me. This is how it went down:

*woke up (5-something am)

*ate an apple and life (cereal)

*hour nap on the bus

*Walk to class to see my classmate limping the other way

*Chat with classmates

*Instructor didn't show

*Hopped on a bus

*Got home before 10am

*Ate some grapefruit

*Watched Starwars and did homework

*My friend created a fb page to get me a prom date (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Get-Michaela-Mittelstaedt-a-Prom-Date/196122743762101)

Oh and did I mention....I'M OFFICIALLY A LIFEGUARD AT TROUT LAKE CAMPS THIS SUMMER!!!!!

AHH I'm so excited!

Oh and in the words of Yoda: "Do or do not, there is no try."

Facebook Fast?

Ok...so we're going to pretend that I posted this 22 minutes ago.

So I have officially decided to go on a facebook fast. A bit before midnight I logged off facebook and I will fast for 24 hours (quite a feat for me.) And the rest of this week I will allow no more than 2 hours of facebook a day. 2 hours may still seem like a lot...however, I am almost always on facebook, so this will be a HUGE improvement.

Why am I doing this. Well mainly because I have been asked SEVERAL times this weekend if I'm ever NOT on facebook. The truth is...it is the first thing I do in the morning and the last thing at night. That needs to change. I need to spend more time with God. Facebook has consumed my life, which is not healthy. So for this week (palm sunday to easter Sunday) I am going to do things that will help strengthen me physically, spiritually and emotionally. I'm pretty excited about how this is going to go.

Quick update for the weekend: I have started watching the Starwars saga for the first time. I know it's sad I haven't watched it yet, especially with me carrying around a lightsaber. I am disappointed I haven't watched it sooner, but I watched IV today and LOVED it. Also I got to enjoy palm Sunday at my church. I absolutely love the power that a large group of people worshiping the one true God can have! It is so incredible! And my friend Kaleb Williams wrote a new song (I will share if there is ever a youtube link!) Have a marvelous week!

Mean Girls

So tonight I had a movie marathon and ended up watching Mean Girls (don't ask why.) But I think it relays a good message. It shows the effects that cliques can have. If you know me, I'm completely opposed to cliques. Like the movie shows they cause rumors and all other sorts of hurt. Nothing good comes out of cliques.

One of the quotes that I like from the movie is when Janis says, "There are two kinds of evil people in the world: those who do evil and those who see evil things and don't do anything to stop it." I love this quote because I think it's the truth. There are people who do bad things and other people who don't prevent it from stopping. I think the ones who know about it but don't try and stop it are just as bad as those who started it.

Another quote at the end by Kady is, "Calling somebody else fat won't make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid doesn't make you any smarter. And ruining Regina George's life definitely didn't make me any happier. All you can do in life is try to solve the problem in front of you." In life we can put others down to deflect our own problems, or we can focus on the things we are facing in our own life.

In the movie all the cliques break up and everything works out. There is finally peace. In the real world, that is not how it works. There will always be cliques and such. But the main thing we can all do is try and not use others as our means of building self-confidence. Try it...think about what you say. Try saying something nice about someone instead. Face what is right in front of you and take the time to work it out.