True Freedom

Most people like freedom. I certainly do! The joy of not having anyone to tell me what to do and
being able to do whatever I felt like was extremely high. It was until yesterday. Before, I thought that freedom was the ability to do what I wanted, whenever. Now, I am rethinking that because yesterday I got into trouble partly due to my mixed perception of freedom. Unfortunately, I disobeyed the rules and thought that my so-called "freedom" was utterly most important. However, look where it's gotten me now? I have lost trust and dignity because I couldn't think about the bigger picture. Let me move on because I am getting a little of topic, LOL! Anyway, I currently believe that there isn't true freedom without Jesus Christ.

So without further ado, I will clarify my complex thoughts to you! Ahem... *clears throat* When Adam & Eve ate the forbidden fruit all of the human race (except Jesus) was born into sin. Since we were born into darkness without the Heavenly Father interfering in our lives, we will automatically follow evil. There are only 2 sides in this world/universe/all existence (whatever you prefer to call it). There is the good side and the bad side. You cannot choose to follow neither and you cannot be lukewarm either. We cannot decide to walk our own paths because we were made to walk Jesus' path. There is no such thing as human freedom. True freedom is the ability to say no to the Devil and follow God.

Although we can choose who we want to work for (the good side or the bad), we will never be spiritually unemployed. On the bright side, God has given us the liberty to choose what side we want to work for! Anyway, back to topic!!! If a person is not following Jesus or does not personally know him; then they are with the Devil whether they realized it or not. This is why true freedom for mankind doesn't exist without Jesus because without him we would not have to power to walk away from Satan. Don't get me wrong a person can receive literal freedom from people, addictions, and bad behaviors/habits; but they cannot get real spiritual freedom without God. 

What is spiritual freedom? Jesus is the living example of spiritual freedom because he gave us ultimate liberty when he died on the cross for our sins. When you have spiritual freedom you have the ability to say no to those annoying demons/spirits because Jesus is with you. Jesus can break any addictions, guilt, shame, embarrassment, low self esteem, bad behaviors, negative personalities, strong judgment, and anything else. If you really want to be free lay down your burdens to Jesus, because he loves you enough to forgive you and take away the pain! 

  

Here is a summary in 4 straightforward points:

1. Everyone is either following the good side or the bad side

2. You cannot be lukewarm 

3. Jesus is the only one who can give you true freedom

4. You cannot get freedom without the Heavenly Father

Bible Scriptures (to show evidence)

1. "Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17 

2. "It is freedom that Christ has set you free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

*I challenge you to thank God for giving you legit freedom.* 

 -Gracelyn Lives

Dreams into Plans!

When I turned 13th my mother decided that I needed to have some mentors. I am grateful of that because I learned so much from these outstanding women. One of my mentors is a lawyer; which is the career I want to get into. I learned so many important lessons from her. One of the most important lessons I have learned from her was to follow my dreams and put them to action. She taught me that I have to turned my can'ts into cans and my dreams into plans. I learned that if the obstacle looks difficult I need to call on Jesus to help, but I cannot give up. And instead of just dreaming and wishing for things I need to actually make plans to meet my goals.
Queen Esther also followed this moral. When Haman tricked King Xerxes into signing a decree that Jews should be slaughter, Esther didn't know what to do so she asked God for help and decided that she couldn't wait for someone else to fix the problem, she needed to do it (with the help of God) herself. My mother also chose to follow her gut and go to Atlanta by herself. But before she moved she asked God for guidance. Now that I talked (well typed down) about this topic. I am now going summarize it. (Why? Because it helps get to the point and its fun!)

What I learned:
1. Ask God for guidance and instruction
2. If the obstacle looks difficult ask God for help.
3. Do NOT give up! Try to find a way to overcome the problem.
4. Instead of wishing and dreaming I need to change my dreams INTO plans!

Why am I writing about this?:
Well, I have been dreaming and somewhat planning to get my learner's permit but I have never really got to it. Honestly, it's just pure procrastination. The longer I wait to take the test the longer it will be to get my actual driver's license. So starting tomorrow I am going to study for the test and I will take it next week. I need to work now and play later!

*I challenge you to set a goal and try to accomplish it this week!*

 -Gracelyn Lives

God's Traits

Life is beautiful. Right now as I am writing this I am outside on my back and just appreciating nature. I hear the birds chirping, the trees swaying in the wind, and the weather is just right. It is a beautiful day. I am still in awe that God created this amazing planet and us. Today I decided to write outside because I thought I needed some fresh air. Usually, when I write I am surrounded by noise and distractions so going outside was a great decision. God is like nature. He's warm, inviting, and tranquil. I am so thankful to be apart of God's image and to be able to see his creation. I am starting to see God's traits in other people. Like just yesterday I saw beauty in my grandmother when she was praying for someone over the phone. I saw strength in my friend when he came over to our house for the first time. I could tell that he was nervous and that he was trying to break his awkwardness. I even saw determination in my little brother when he kept dying in the video game he wouldn't give up. Since God's created us in his own image, we have somewhat his inherited traits. For example, lets talk about love. God showed and let us experience love. Without his introduction to love we probably would never get to comprehend and show it to others. Here is my evidence...

With that being said (or typed LOL!) here is a chart of some of God's attrubitues. By the way, He has a lot more than what's listed on the chart.

 

*I challenge you to find out some more of God's characteristics*

-Gracelyn Lives

My Trip 2 Greece

Hey guys! So yesterday I wrote about my trip to Italy and now I am going to finish my adventure by blogging about Greece.

How did we get from Italy to Greece?
We had to take a overnight ferry from Italy to Greece. The boat was very nice and super fast. Here is a video of the view from the boat:

Isn't this beautiful?

The next day we visit the Temple of Apollo. Here are some pictures:

Cool sign leading to the Temple of Apollo

Statue of Atoonis who lived near the Temple of Apollo

The Greece flag flying high

The next day we visited the Parthenon and the Acropolis of Athens. Here is a link if you want to learn some information about these topics: Interesting Facts About the Parthenon and Facts About the Acropolis of Athens 

Anyway, here are some pictures: 

Another view of the Parthenon.

Sideways view of the Parthenon.

Close up view from the Temple of Athena.

My mom and I standing in front of the Parthenon.

Here are some more pictures that don't really fall into the other categories:

Picture of me at the beach.

Got to eat a real Gyro in Athens, Greece!

My outfit for the Greek Evening. 

Visited a Greek beach!

Beautiful stairs leading to the Delphi Archeological Site

 This trip was so much fun! I hope you liked the pictures!


-Gracelyn Lives

Going home.

My Trip 2 Italy

Sorry for taking so long to post these pictures and videos from my trip. Anyway, I had a great time and learned so many new things! I tried to take pictures of almost everything so you can sorta experience the trip too:

Vatican City and The Sistine Chapel

On the 1st day of the trip, we visited the Vatican City museums and the Sistine Chapel

FACTS: The Vatican Muesli (museums) were founded by Pope Julius II, in 1506. Multiple galleries of classical and Renaissance art masterpieces, plus the Sistine Chapel frescoes are held in these museums.

The Sistine Chapel is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope, in Vatican City. Originally known as the Cappella Magna, the chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who restored it between 1477 and 1480 (from Wikipedia). This was my favorite place because it was so breathtaking!
FUN FACT: The Pope forced Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel. It took him 12 years to finish the creation. Unfortunately, he became temporarily paralyzed and colorblind because of this.

Here are some pictures of my very 1st day in Rome, Italy!

Rome has such beautiful architecture.

 

Italy has a lot of waterfalls and the water is drinkable.

 

Statues in the Vatican Muesli.

This building used to be a theater for Roman Citizens.

 The Coliseum

The Coliseum was an amphitheater, or a large staduim that was held for public meetings, sporting events, exhibitions during the first century (70-80 AD). Thousands of Roman citizens would come and watch Gladiators fight each other and even exotic animals. This place was very popular! Here is a video below of what it looks like inside:

Me and my mom outside the Coliseum

Me inside the Coliseum

Look how BIG the arches are!

The Arch of Titus.

Loved this spectacular green door!

A random, but beautiful Italian small town.

Capri

Capri is a beautiful tiny island that is next to Italy. This was my favorite place because it was so tranquil and stunning! Here are some pictures and videos to prove it, LOL!

My group and I on a boat in Capri!

     

View of the the city in Capri.

Another pic of me.

View on top of the City in Capri.

Me in Capri!

This looks like it came out of a postcard!

Viewing God's creations in Capri. 

Pompeii

Pompeii was a very interesting but sad place. If you don't know anything about Pompeii click this link:  Historic Info About Pompeii. Anyway here is a video inside the city of Pompeii. 

 

Other Pictures

Here are some other pictures and videos that really don't fit into the other sections!

Average Italian Dinner:
1. Simple Salad
2. Pasta (their pasta is more firm than ours) 
3. Gelato (wish this stuff was more popular in America, it was sooo good!)

View from our hotel room @ night.  

                                                         View from our hotel in the morning.

Tomorrow I will blog my trip to Greece! 

-Gracelyn Lives

Greece in 2 Weeks!

The Parthenon

I cannot believe I will be in Greece in two weeks! It feels just like yesterday when my mother and I were praying to God asking for guidance about this trip. This seriously feels like a dream come true! I always imagined vising the beautiful country, but I never thought I would actually get to see it at my age. I want to thank everyone who donated and prayed for this to happen. During this experience I learned that I couldn't give up and that I needed to trust God. At first, I had trouble staying committed to my dream and sometimes I would get discouraged. But then I realized that this was in God's hands and he is in control. Also, I will be posting a lot of pictures, pictures, and maybe a little vlogging (video blogging), so it will feel like you are experiencing this trip with me! If you guys want to see anything specifically while I am on the trip just comment below!

This is for the NEW readers who don't know anything about my trip --->  This year I transferred to Georgia Cyber Academy for high school. Honestly, it has been a challenging experience originally, but now I am liking it. Anyway, the cool part about Georgia Cyber Academy is that my Honors World History is visiting Greece and Italy this summer! I am very excited because this will be my first "out of the country" trip.We will be gone for 10 days visiting historic monuments, eating foreign foods, and going a cruise from Rome, Italy to Athens, Greece!! 

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

10 Things I Am Looking Forward To 
1. Flying on a plane for the 1st time
2. Getting my passport stamped
3. Visiting the Parthenon
4. Going on the cruise from Rome to Athens
5. Eating actual and original Italian pizza  
6. Creating friendships w/ peers
7.  Hearing citizens speak Italian
8. Taking a lot of pictures
9. Learning from this experience
10. Transferring $ to euros   

I want to thank everyone again for donating towards my trip! I did NOT forget about you! ;) I also want to thank God and my mother for pushing me to stay on task and not give up! Prepare for bunch of pictures and videos LOL! If you have any questions feel free to comment below! 

Gondolas in Italy

-Gracelyn Lives

#HelpGraceGet2Greece please check out my website: http://gracelyn47.wix.com/greeceitalytrip  or donate to my school website: https://personal.eftours.com/secure/make-donation.aspx?poid=DBE569FD&utm_medium=web&utm_source=paxsecure&utm_campaign=fundraising

 Also, please donate so I can go to Greece and Italy next month. My goal is to get 10 people to donate $10 by June 5th! Will you please donate?

Rome, Italy

Athens, Greece