Jodi Henares

Things may be good, but there will always be something better… and then there is what’s right. The last might be the hardest to accept, but it’s the easiest to live with.

2 notes

Posted on Sunday, 8 April 2012.

Reblog Permalink

Kinda loving and hating my summer skin..

Fame & glory was never meant for us to receive. It turns the sweetest people into monsters. It runs people out of control. It destroys cultures. It wasn’t made for us to handle. It was made for Something and Someone greater. Someone actually deserving.

You know how people say, “These are going to be the best years of your life. Your prime years. Make the most of it!” ?

This WILL be the best decade of your life. I mean physically, energy-wise, less responsibilities, less commitment, and I can keep on going about everything we will enjoy in this short time that we won’t have in our later years. But you know another thing I noticed that we lose as time runs on? Influence. You look at the world around you. It’s basically revolving around the youth. It’s all for the youth. Look at Hollywood. People of all ages watch and are influenced by the youth, whether they admit it or not. You look at a kid in their teens doing something and it makes a bigger impact on society than when an adult does the exact same thing. But hey, this is just my observation and perspective and I’m totally open to correction. But as we get older, we lose the influence and impact we have on the world! You can either spend your “now” making memories that you’ll probably end up forgetting as you grow older, or you can make the most out of your youth, sacrifice your peers, and set yourself on fire.

You might have the “authority” as you grow older for the “ears” of society. You might be able to tell kids and people to gather and listen, but no one can speak straight to the heart of society like the youth.

You want to make an impact on the people around you? Even the world? Take a stand. Now. You’re not just running out of time. You’re running out of influence.

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12

“If Jesus were to walk into your room (wherever you are) right now, then leave, what would you do?”

This question came to me about a week ago during one of my morning times with God cause I kept saying, “God I’m desperate for You. I need You. I want You…(so on and so forth)…” And God kept asking me, “Jodi, how much do you actually want Me? How desperate are you?” And honestly, in church, I (we) sing/talk about how much we want or are “desperate for God”. I believe the church has worn out that phrase. We’ve used it so many times, we’ve lost full understanding of what it really means. How desperate are you for God? How about we put it this way: How much are you actually willing to give up to follow Him?

Okay, before I get ahead of myself, ask yourself the first question at the top of this blog. I believe you are either of three people:

a) You didn’t even notice His presence.

b) You noticed His presence and were touched by it, and stood there in awe of it.. Then continued doing whatever you were doing before that.

c) You noticed it, felt it, and dropped everything to run after it.

For the longest time I’ve been (b). I’ve been touched. I’ve felt His presence a few times. But I never actually ran after it. I hear from so many people about those special times where God really touched them.. Years ago. Heck, if you asked me a few weeks ago I would just tell you about that ONE time in 2011 when God touched me and my life was changed and saw everything differently blah blah blah… But you know what hit me? Why was it never continuous? Why wasn’t it consistent?

In Matthew, We read about this man who came up to Jesus and asked what he had to do to gain eternal life. And he tells Jesus that he kept all the commandments. But when Jesus asked him to give away everything he had to follow Him, he backed out. Think of it, he actually kept all the commandments. He honored his parents, never lied, loved his neighbor, etc. - The commandments that I most probably broke within probably the first decade of my life - And yet he couldn’t give up everything he had to follow Jesus.

And in the same book, Jesus shares a parable of this merchant who found a priceless jewel and sold every single thing he had to have that priceless jewel.

Many people are “in love” with God’s presence and all of the manifestations but can’t seem to drop everything they have to follow it. It’s like we expect God to come to where we are and stay with us. I like what my Dad said a few days ago, “You can’t come into the beginning of God without coming to the end of yourself.” God is on the move. Yes, He will always be there to catch you when you fall.. But you can’t expect Him to move with you. You knock on the door. You draw near. YOU move with Him.

Haha I just realized how this whole blog just has SACRIFICE written all over it. Yes, “To live is Christ. And to die is gain.” Yes, you sacrifice yourself. But I swear, you will be overwhelmed with peace and joy unspeakable and full of glory! Take it from me. I know everything I’m saying you’ve probably heard if you’ve been in church for awhile. But I guess it’s really one thing to hear it from a pulpit but it’s a whole other thing when God reveals it to you personally… Okay it just hit me that I can probably speak on this topic till the cows come home, but it’s not me or my words that can convict/convince you about this. It’s the Holy Spirit. So I believe I’ve said what I needed to say. Now it’s your move. What’s it going to be?

Ever since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—God’s eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through the things God has made. So humans are without excuse. Romans 1:20