"For therein in the righteous of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."
(KJV) Romans 2:17

I stumbled across something at TheTheologiansCafe that caught my attention, it read "Who do you think God is more likely to let into heaven, a good Atheist or a bad Christian?" Let me start off by stating that I have been a Christian for about 14 years and have studied the Bible diligently, by no means do I think I know it all, I believe that it is not within the human capability to fathom or comprehend God and his power to any full extent. Though I will say this, I know the Word.

Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
(KJV) Romans 3:22-23

All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, isn't that a powerful scripture? All have sinned, even Christians then and now. A sin is a sin to God, whether or not you tell a lie or murder a person... A sin is a sin to God. We all sin everyday, I don't care who you are, you sin. Which brings us to "Good" and "Bad" people. What is good? If all of us sin and all sin is equal, does that not mean that we are all equal as well? As humans we are all equal in the flesh, we all sin, we are no different from each other whatsoever. Which means what? There is no "Good" or "Bad" people, yes, our actions can be good or bad, rather, some things we do are expedient and some are not. So now that we have established that all humans are equal, lets move on.

What separates a Christian from a non-Christian? Faith. There is no good or bad, only those who have faith in God and those who don't. Christians are no better than anyone. by no means... but the ARE forgiven.
What makes you a Christian, what gives you that ticket to heaven? No, not going to church every Sunday, not studying your Bible, not doing good deeds not memorizing scripture... no, these thing will not get you into heaven nor do they make you worthy to call yourself a Christian or say that you are in the right with God. Faith, my good people, faith will buy you that ticket. Here, I will explain.

"Jesus, when he cried again with a loud voice, yielding up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks did rent."
(KJV) Matthew 27:50-51

When Jesus was crucified on the cross for our sins he fulfilled the law. What is the law? The Ten Commandments. The law spread wrath and no man could meet it perfectly... all fell short, remember? "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." It was then, when Jesus died and was resurrected that the possibility for true salvation was activated. The temple and the veil were "rent", it was torn right down the middle. Before Jesus died for us we had to go through a priest to talk to God, not anymore. Jesus overthrew this, he tore the temple in half making it possible for us to go straight to Him... because when he died he made us heirs to the world, and we all became men and woman of the cloth. And the law was fulfilled. We are now under the Law Of Faith.

"But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ Gal. 2.16 unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay; but by the law of faith."
(KJV) Romans 3:20-27

To be saved, to find salvation, to wash your sins away and be justified forever... all you need to do is have faith that Jesus is Lord and your sins have been forgiven. The ticket to heaven is no longer bought by works but by your faith. That does not mean that you shouldn't try to do good, or pray, or read your Bible, or go to church... not at all, for these things please God. But you must have faith in all that you do.

After you have come to salvation God grafts you on the vine. The vine is symbolic if his chosen people, the Jews. When you accept the lord you become his adopted child and are grafted in as one of his heirs. You become a holy righteous vessel... a born again child of the King. And let me explain a little further how all your sins are forgiven.

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
(KJV) Romans 6:1-11

You are dead to sin because Christ took that sin to his grave. When you become a Christian you die and are reborn, resurrected as Jesus was. You are now a new being... and are dead to the world but forever living in Christ Jesus. Your sin has died with your flesh and you have been reborn with the Holy Ghost dwelling inside you. You are no longer an earthly being, but a heavenly one claimed by God. And all because you have faith...

The answer to TheTheologiansCafe is this:
There are no good or bad people, none of that would determine who would pass into heaven. The Christian who has faith in God, not the Atheist who renounces him would pass. The only thing that separates these people (the Christian and the Atheist) is faith... nothing more. They both sin, they both fall short... but one believes and knows that Jesus is his Lord and the other believes that he is his own god. Why would God save a man that doesn't believe in His existence?

If you would like to step into glory and wash your sins away, no matter how bad you believe they might be, God will forgive. He said "Knock and I will answer." If you need to knock at his door there is no better time than now. And remember, you don't get right to get with God... you get God to get right. If you want to find salvation, say these words aloud, confess them with your mouth and believe them with all your heart and have faith:

Dear Lord Heavenly Father,
I come to you in prayer asking for the forgiveness of my Sins. I confess with my mouth and believe with my
heart that Jesus is your Son, And that he died on the Cross at Calvary that I might be forgiven and have Eternal Life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Father, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you right now to come in to my life and be my personal Lord and Savior. I repent of my Sins and will Worship you all the day's of my Life!. Because your word is truth, I confess with my mouth that I am Born Again and Cleansed by the Blood of Jesus!   In Jesus Name, Amen.

If you confess these words with your mouth and believe them with your heart... then Amen, you are now a Born Again believer, one of Gods own. Go forth... and sin no more, for you are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.

My boyfriend has a nasty habit, it's called (as he likes to put it) "thinking in depth". OM(flippin')G, simplify... simplify or shoot me. I love him for it though, I would be lying if I said that his brain didn't keep me on my toes. I feel like Oscar from the Odd Couple when Felix would jump out from behind a corner just to keep him sharp and on guard lol, not a bad thing I suppose. I don't know whether to laugh or cry when he pulls his "What if.." hypothesi during "In depth" discussions. For example, if I said "The sky is blue because all colors have wavelengths which are defused by oxygen and nitrogen, since blue had the shortage wavelength it is defused up to 10x faster." (Or something to that effect anyway, I am not going to get too scientific on you.) In reply he would say something to this effect "Ah, BUT... WHAT IF the sky is blue only because our eyes see it as such and science cannot prove that blue is the actual color?... WHAT IF we were visited by aliens and to them the sky was purple? Just something to think about". Do you see what I am dealing with, how do you argue with such things? YOU JUST CAN'T!!! Because the things that he often says are so crazy they make sense *pounds her foot on the floor, crosses her arms and hangs her head* (end of tantrum). I am by no means a simple person, but, I enjoy simplicity.

To put it in perspective... he thinks in the same way a stoner does when trying to philosophize the world... and yet he has never touched a drug in his whole life. I admire it in a way, my brain can only go so far with all the "What if's" without my feet leaving the ground. He his very analytical, not that I'm not, but he takes it to a whole new level. On top of being analytical, he is very critical of all topics, (I must admit that most of the time I'm not) but it makes for a great conversation and believe it or not because of our differences in our process of thinking our conversations are never boring. I have been talking and having "In depth" conversations with him for almost a year now and I have yet to lose interest.

He does indeed make me think and revaluate some of my opinions (which I hate because that means I was wrong) But overall I guess it's a good thing, he doesn't just sit there and wait for an answer... he asks. But that also means that I must try to find the answer, "the answer to what?" you say?... everything that doesn't have one. Hahahah, man... life is amazing.

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One of my favorite pointless games involves a BIG RED BUTTON become acquainted with the big red button, love the big red button... PUSH the big red button! Hahahah, I love it, it's pretty flippin' hilarious, I must have played it a thousand times all the way through. Give it a shot, you'll get a chuckle out of it.

I was messing with the camera last night and took some pictures... they are nothing "GQ" but they are good enough I thought I might share them with you. I originally took them for my friend greenray, he wanted to see some recent pics of me. So here is me at 12:30am being a complete goof ball! Hahahah.

That last one on the end... I have no idea where that came from. ^^ I know... I'm a spaz^^

I am back from my weekend getaway that was very much needed. Saturday was spent with family, friends, a keg and about 10 mixed drinks... did you ever notice how bright the world appears after a night of drinking? It is almost as if you are an alien who has developed on a planet with no sun, and all of a sudden you are thrust into this strange place called "earth" where the sun continuously blinds you with it's harsh UV rays and you can't function without really, REALLY dark sunglasses. Sheesh! Anyway, it was a blast. I got to see some people I hadn't seen since I was about 9, it was a pleasant reunion. His name is Christopher and we used to fight like cats and dogs, we HATED each other. I saw him from across the room and approached him with caution "Hey *smiles* How have you been?!" He looked up at me and recognized me immediately. "OMG Girl! Hey, you lookin' good! Look at you!" and then he gave me a hug. I was so happy that we could put our childhood behind us and be friends. Chris and I buddied up all night and just chilled on the patio drinking some fruity little drinks.. it was fun.

Sunday morning was spent recovering, I woke up at like 10:30-11:00am with like four hours of sleep... I was exhausted. My ankle was hurting really and I didn't remember why for a second, I lost my footing on the steps going out to my cousins patio (it was pretty freakin' hilarious to see) it hurt but I was laughing my ass off. There was three steps and I only tripped on the last one... but I hurt my ankle really bad. For a couple days my ankle was all swollen and purple, I may have torn something, I'm not sure. After getting my butt motivated enough to hit the shower I went home and Scott picked me up. I felt like dying, I just wanted to sleep, but I hadn't seen Scott in a while so I was happy to oblige to his request... though not as enthusiastic as I should have been.

We didn't do much on Sunday, Monday was a little more busy... but pleasant. Late that night at about 9-10pm or so we went to a park and swung on the swings, it was very enjoyable. It was fun, we both laughed like children and tried to see who could swing the highest. *smiles* I had the best time in the world, the air was sweet and warm accompanied by a delightful breeze. The moon was set high in the heavens and glowed the most beautiful blue, *smiles* for the second time this week I felt like a child again. *sigh* I needed that.

We ate some yummy White Castle after that, I ad told Scott I had been craving it for a couple weeks, we got a crave case and went to town *smiles* Mmmmmmmmm, White Castle *drools*. The 45 minute drive back home was sad, Scott didn't want to take me home yet but he had no choice, he had school and work and a doctors appointment he had to take his mom to in the morning. I was sad too, I didn't think a day was enough... and we had been having pleasant conversation the whole time and I didn't want that to stop. He dropped me off at home and apologized that he wasn't coming in to say hi to everyone, he also apologized for the way his friend had treated me that night (which is a whole new story) I think that is why he was sad he was dropping me off, because the night had a bad end to it and he didn't want to leave it that way. Anywho, his friend apologized to me this morning and I accepted... but what he did better never happen again... and I mean NEVER.

This morning kinda sucked, I've been in a bad mood and I haven't felt well. Because of this hormone birth control shot I took I have been bleeding for three week and three days. I'm kind of getting worried. I called a clinic to see what I should do about it and they told me to go to the hospital or Urgent Care. I'm not sure if my situation has progressed enough to the point where I need to sign myself into the hospital for treatment. Though, if I am hemorrhaging and it doesn't cease... that could be life threatening.

So that has been my weekend, I am sure there are little things here and there that I am not mentioning... but believe me, you got the gist.

Far_Skies is going off to party! Today is my cousin Daniel's birthday party, I believe he is turning 18 if I am not mistaken. My cousin Kristen (his big sister) invited me to this "awesome" party. From what I could gather it is going to be a hoot! There is going to be about 20-25 people there, oh and mom... all we are going to be doing is playing pin the tail on the donkey and enjoying a nice quiet evening with movies and popcorn ... I swear! It will look nothing like THIS! *innocent smile* I should be back Monday to read and comment, don't miss me too much .

While I am gone why don't you all comment me with your best/worst/funniest party story and when I get back I'll tell you mine... and yes, there will be pics. You all have a wonderful weekend.

This is Far_Skies... signing off...

... until next time...

Answers:
There were no winners... everyone was tied.

1.) I was born on New Years Eve. True, I'm a New Years Eve baby

2.) I've been on T.V. True, my grandparents produced an informational film on cable access and I was the one demonstrating.

3.) I've never bitten my nails. False, I have been biting my nails since I could chew... I just quit actually.

4.) I have met Chuck Norris. True, I have met a lot of stars that are involved with martial arts including Ernie Reyes Jr. and Steven Segal.

5.) I can skateboard. False, I couldn't skateboard to save my life.

6.) I love nasty creepy crawly bugs. True, I love bugs, I have always been fascinated by them.

7.) My full name is actually Catherine. False, my full name is Catlin (CAT-lin).

8.) My favorite game is chess. True, chess has always been my favorite game.

9.) I've only thrown a temper tantrum twice in my whole life. True, you can even ask my mom.

10.) I love cake. False, I am a pie person.

11.) I sleep with a night light. True, it's not that I am afraid of the dark, it's just that I like to see what's around me.

12.) My favorite color is green. True, my favorite color has been green since I was 9.

Last Saturday a friend of mine asked me something that made me smile, she said "Cat, how do you stay so positive?" It made me smile because it was the first time I had been asked that question seriously without any sarcasm intended. I replied simply with "Life is too short to be pessimistic". She gave me an inquisitive look "I know, but how do you stay so positive in a world like this?!" A had to chuckle when she said that, it hadn't occurred to me in a long time that some people just can't look on the bright side. I turned to her and replied "I smile and laugh often". She didn't ask me any more questions that day, though I can imagine that she was wondering how I could find so many things to laugh and smile about.

To tell you the truth, sometimes I don't even know how I do it... I just do it. Now, I do have my days where the silver lining is hard to find, but my last thoughts before bed are always pleasant, you should never go to bed sad or angry, it dooms the sunrise the next day.

I believe I have said this before, but I will say it again. View life through a child's eyes, because when you do you will find that not only does the world become exciting... but the possibilities become endless. This is the key to being an optimist, at least for me. If you don't like the "through the eyes of a child" analogy we can say this instead...View life through a tourists eye.

When I think of life I think of all the things that make me smile. When death surrounds me and someone dear to me passes on I celebrate the life they had down here and rejoice for them, for they have gone home to the Lord. When I stumble upon hard times I sing praises through them all because I know that the Lord is with me, and He would never give me anything that He can't handle. I guess you could almost say that faith and love for God has kept me positive. What is your inspiration?

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you."
Philippians 4:8 (KJV)

"And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:

who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed
valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens."
Hebrews 11:29-34 (KJV)

I just felt the need to thank and honor my Lord and creator today for giving me the talents and the opportunities I have. I am truly blessed.

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I saw this on thedreamr and emptynestandlovinit's site... thought I would do it too, it looked like fun. *smiles*
OK my little minions... lets see how well you know me. Here are 12 statements about me, 8 of them are TRUE, 4 of them are FALSE. Can you guess which ones are FALSE statements?
Please put the #’s of your guesses in your comments. The winner will be announced on Monday.

1.) I was born on New Years Eve.

2.) I've been on T.V.

3.) I've never bitten my nails.

4.) I have met Chuck Norris.

5.) I can skateboard.

6.) I love nasty creepy crawly bugs.

7.) My full name is actually Catherine.

8.) My favorite game is chess.

9.) I've only thrown a temper tantrum twice in my whole life.

10.) I love cake.

11.) I sleep with a night light.

12.) My favorite color is green.

Update at Bottom!

I have just launched my own website, it still needs a little building here and there, but it's done. Far-Skies.com *smiles* I am very proud. So, take a peek, will  ya?

I am becoming a favorite to my instructor *smiles real big* I have a feeling this is going to be a good year... I am slowly becoming the teachers pet. And just as I suspected, my instructor is quite awesome. I stayed after class a bit and chatted it up with him a little, he is very pleasant to talk to. Today was a good day, we had a speaker come in by the name of Gary Chance. I have heard this man lecture before and I must admit that I was impressed. I had no idea that he would be speaking today and I found it funny that I had just written an essay that mentioned him by name. I told him and he insisted on reading it, after he was done in the last 3 minutes of class, he ended the session with my paper. He recited it aloud to the entire class... it was amazing. He said "This girl knows what she is talking about, this girl gets it... I mean actually GETS it." I felt a little embarrassed yet honored at the same time. Today was a blast.*smiles*

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My boyfriends mother bought me some summer shoes! Yay! She is so nice, I felt so blessed when she called me up and told me. Suzanne is a wonderful lady, she's got lots of spunk and I like that, and she is very kind to me.

 

^The Shoes she bought for me ^

I love Suzanne, I am so happy that I love my boyfriends mom... that has never happened before!

Yay, now I will have nice shoes to wear this summer.

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Quote Of The Day:
"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."
-Albert Schweitzer

It's getting down to the wire, soon, but not too soon, I will have to decide what kind of career I want. After my prep courses are over in ten weeks I need an answer to the eternal question "What next?"
How do you decide? It seems impossible. My grandmother said that her mother gave her the worst advice going into college, she told my grandma to stick with things you don't know, eventually you'll know everything. Well, eventually my grandmother found out that that was a bad idea. So my grandmother told me to stick with something I have a talent for.

My Talents:

• Writing.
• Speaking.
• Photography.
• Cartooning.
• Drawing.
• Cartoon Voices.

Now, the question is... what can I do with all of that and will it make decent money?
My grandmother says not to worry about the money, but I do not wish to stay poor. I wish to provide my future family with pleasures I never had. So, what will make money?

Writing makes decent money if you can pop out novels like a machine. Who knows, I could become a famous author. J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter on a typewriter in her basement and look where that got her... millions. I have good book ideas, they are dancing around in my head. I am writing a children's book as we speak, though I have the feeling that it may turn into something epic like LOTR. lol, you never know.

Speaking. I've given speeches before and I did very well with them, I got a standing ovation and the crowd went wild. I was approached by many, MANY people after I was done speaking telling me I should be a motivational speaker... not a bad idea. I'm not sure how much they make, but that could be a fun job.

Photography... forget it. It is a passion of mine that shall stay a hobby. #1. The market for photographers sucks in Ohio. There are just too many people "wanting" to thing they can take a decent picture... they have defiled the system. And I do photography out of joy anyway... I don't want to turn my passion into a job, it my ruin it.

Cartooning possibly... maybe.. kinda.. sorta....maybe. But, I don't like that idea of selling any of my cartoons to anyone. And this is where my cartooning and the idea of being an author merge. I could publish books full of my cartoons... kinda like the Far Side comics. I think people would buy it... what do you think?

Drawing... another joy of mine that I do not want to turn into a job. I love drawing, but it would get old if I were being paid to do it. It would take the love away... I wouldn't be doing it for the love, I"d be doing it for the money.

Cartoon voices. Yeah... oh yeah. My most amazing talent is the ability to exactly mimic Meatwad on Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Hahahah, it's awesome. My mother and sister make me do it all the time, they can;t get enough of it. Mom says I should do voices for cartoons... I'll think about.

Another thing I think I would be good at is broadcasting. I think it would be fun and I think it would be a job I would enjoy.. but the money isn't that great.