Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Fun Activities I Like (Rewrite)

Hey everybody! Today's post will simply be a redo of my "fun activities" post from two weeks ago. At the time, I was having an issue with my hands and fingers hurting a lot from perhaps writing so much and I needed to have something done for that week, so I just threw it together; I abandoned my usual brainstorming process and as a result I did not like the content; I felt it lacked true substance. My hands are well rested and I'm ready to share once again some of the fun activities I like to do in my spare time. I consider myself a mostly boring person, and I'm proud of it. You don't need craziness to have fun. 

1) Amazon Prime shows- I'm sure everybody has heard of Amazon Prime; I love Amazon, first of all..but, they are similar to Netflix in that they offer members free TV shows, movies and music that you can have access to anytime for close to $100 a year. The cost monthly pretty much matches up to Netflix. I love this because there are no commercials. I strongly dislike commercials. I have a Fire TV which is a small box that connects to my TV and there is nothing more relaxing than watching TV in my bed after a long day of housework and writing. I sometimes take breaks from work, but when I have a lot of inspiration inside of me, my office sees more of me than my bedroom does...I'm into a few shows right now...I love I Love Lucy episodes, Twilight Zone episodes, Survivor, and  I'm finishing up Glee. The only time I watch regular TV is to watch the news and to keep up with current events. 

2) YouTube videos- I have become a YouTube addict. My morning routine starts with coffee and my YouTube videos; the Internet houses a lot of nastiness, but clean videos can be found if you really look. The greatest treasure is mindless entertainment. I am subscribed to one girl who used to make clothes for a living, but hurt her hand in a car accident and cannot sew anymore; she is from Houston, Texas. I love her goofy personality and the nonexistence of profanity in her content. I love watching her do make up tutorials. I love to hear her talk of her struggles with anxiety and depression, because I've struggled too. I love her honesty. I also follow a cooking show (I love food!) and a few other YouTubers; it is a fun treat! 

3) Books and Music- I love to read! I have recently gotten back into books. I got away from them during college and for the longest time, I just didn't want to touch one because it reminded me of having to read college textbooks (I loved college, but chapter outlining and note taking seemed to always take forever to do!) I had gotten away from the fun of reading. I am currently reading Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, and the second book in the Twilight series, New Moon by Stephenie Meyer; I'm halfway through  Me Before You, and over halfway done with New Moon.  Music is another outlet of enjoyment for me. I have always had an interesting taste in music according to my closest friends, and I agree wholeheartedly but I have no shame. My all time favorite artist is Selena. No, not Selena Gomez. Selena Quintanilla. The woman was shot at 23 and died; she was a famous Mexican-American  Tejano music singer and was on her way to crossing over into doing songs in English. I LOVED and still LOVE the movie Selena. I was five years old when I first watched it and I have been a fan of both Jennifer Lopez and Selena ever since. I love the Hispanic culture. I love Mexican food (especially guacamole!) I took 3 years of Spanish in high school, and I can't remember everything I learned, but I am proud to say I can roughly translate most of Selena's songs. My absolute favorite of hers is one of her few English songs, I Could Fall in Love; favorite Spanish song would have to either be Amor Prohibido or Cien Anos. I will never understand why I am into Latin music. I'm from West Virginia. I'm a country girl; I'm just me and I love it. I grew up also listening to Alison Krauss.  I could listen to her all day. My favorite song of hers is "In the Palm of Your Hand", and that reminds me of what Jesus has done for me and how much more of an importance He is than anything else. I could keep making a list of all the songs I love, but the final two I love the most are "Finish What He Started" by MercyMe and "There is A Reason" also by Alison Krauss; some of these songs are what God used to pull me through some of my darker days and they are always encouraging to me. 

I am happy to have shared some of my favorite down time activities today. I believe in having good clean fun; I feel that too many people rely on unnecessary ways to enjoy themselves, when it's as simple as just shutting the world out and having some time to yourself, even if it is to listen to songs in Spanish, or to watch 16 people compete for a prize and try to survive on an island. I have learned that as a Christian, my actions in regards to how I live my life are super important. I'm not perfect at all, but I don't want to live like the world. I dedicate all of my talent and my light to Christ, and I will for the rest of my life. I owe everything to Him. He has loved me through it all, and even though I have failed Him in the past, my story isn't over yet. I am so thankful He has been a dependable, loving friend and He can still use me. I want Him to and I know that the only way for Him to successfully do that is to live right. I want Him to continue to be  on my life instead of just a part of it; I lived that way for some time, but never again. I am so so thankful that He has been working to purify my life slowly and that He has opened my eyes and taught me that faith is more than just what you say...it's also what you do. I hope by sharing this post that I inspire someone to get to know Jesus, and I hope that I also can inspire fellow Christians to get closer to Him by getting rid of sin that may be in their lives; you will invite so much more peace into your life and God will be able to use you in ways you never imagined because your story isn't over either. 



Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Fun Activities I Like

Hey everyone! I decided to make today's post super short and sweet, simply because I wanted to write about a few fun things that interest me. Life can be enjoyed in a clean manner without all the worldly craziness. I consider myself relatively boring, but sometimes quiet and boring is just perfect. We are at a total of forty blog posts today, and I have yet to share in detail the kind of stuff I like to do in my spare time, so here we go: 

1) Amazon Prime shows- I'm pretty sure everyone has heard of Amazon Prime. I love Amazon so much! Signing up for a subscription not only gives you free shipping on most items, but it is also similar to Netflix, because the membership allows you to watch a large selection of TV shows and movies and the choices you have always change; at times they may remove something, but mostly it is constantly having something added. I love it; it is AWESOME being able to watch a show without commercials. I don't watch regular TV anymore, except for the news on occasion. I'm always writing, and my office sees more of me than my bedroom does. I love my job. However, I do have my off days and watching a good series is a great way to unwind. As of right now, I'm finishing up Glee (amazing show!), and I'm really into SurvivorYou've Got Mail is on my watch list, and I haven't seen it in a long time, but I'm hoping to watch it one night this week; I love that movie. 

2) YouTube videos- I love YouTube! I visit it daily thanks to an app on my phone and I'm subscribed to several channels. You can find tons of mindless, clean, and funny videos on the site if you really look. I follow one woman from Texas, who is an ex fashion designer who now has over seven million subscribers; I love her! No filthy language is present in her videos, and she seems to really want people to have a good laugh; her videos are personal vlogs, food taste testing, makeup tutorials/reviews, etc....My favorite video series of hers is called "Does This Thing Really Work?", where she uses and reviews "As Seen on TV" products. I'm not much for being into fashion or make up, but I love her personality, plus the fact that she keeps her channel clean. I try to at least get one video of hers watched every morning with my coffee. 

3) Books- Books can provide the greatest adventures! I have just recently gotten back into my reading habit and I'm so glad I did. Right now, I'm reading both Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes, and New Moon by Stephenie Meyer; and for the record, I in no way believe or endorse the possibility of vampires, it is just a book I'm reading; as I said, reading can provide a great fictional adventure. 

I'm sorry for the post not being longer; I know I'm usually way more passionate with what I write than I am today. I have been having trouble with my fingers and hands slightly aching the past couple days and I think I've hit the writing too hard; seriously though I have really no idea why this is occurring, but I am planning on taking a week off just to give everything a rest. I am still anticipating my new article with The Mighty to be released soon, and when it does I will post it to Facebook as well; as of today, it still has yet to be reviewed so it's just a waiting game. Thank you guys so much for reading and I will be back on September 26th! 

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Salvation: Not A License to Sin


Salvation: Not A License to Sin

September 6, 2016


Hi everyone! I just want to take a moment to thank you for checking out today's post, and if by chance you are a first time reader, then I would like to personally welcome you to my blog. "Molly's Zone" continues to be a blessing to me and it has been truly one of the most wonderful things to see the Lord using me by putting thoughts onto my heart,  words into my head and by allowing me to touch so many. I am so very thankful for what He has done and continues to do in my life. I apologize for running so late today.  I usually post in the afternoons, but this piece took a bit more thought as it's been on me for several days; I wanted to express myself in the right way. 

I have felt that one of my purposes for being on this Earth is to share the lessons I have learned throughout my walk with the Lord so far with those who read this. I know in my heart and soul that I am to forever express the importance of first of all receiving Christ as your Savior and secondly, staying on the path for God; the society  that we live in today glorifies sin and the beautiful picture it paints can make it so hard to do that. I'm not perfect at all, and I don't profess to be. We all fall short of God's glory. He is the only righteous person that has ever existed. I would like to discuss three crucial reasons why it is so important to stay on track for Christ, and to seek Him in all you do.

Salvation is Not A License to Sin- A common issue that I've seen pop up in  society today is the view that salvation gives you a "free pass" to sin. A way to put it simply is that it most certainly isn't. So often we neglect to do what we know is right and we choose to do the things we know are wrong. We act on things that are socially acceptable, instead of standing up for what's right and friend, that's the wrong way to go about it. We as Christians are to be examples of Christ and to share the Word with nonbelievers; that's the very reason why it's not a free pass. You can't possibly please God and live in sin at the same time; and living that way not only reaps consequences for you, but it can turn off the nonbeliever.

Damaged Testimony- I made a reference to this last week, but once again I cannot stress enough how important your lifestyle choices are: it is your personal testimony of what God is in your life; not only by your words either, but also by your actions. Think of it this way: you may be the only source of God in someone's life; they may not come from a Christian background. I'm sure they will appreciate the loving kindness and the faithfulness you show Christ with your life so much more than minutes or an hours worth of ungodly "fun"; they may not agree with you, and they may even get angry, but in the long run they will remember it and that's what's important. Listening to Satan's lies gives him access to you and he can and will throw anything your way to try and knock out your light for God. Don't give him that satisfaction. 
                     Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the                                      pleasures of sin for a season; (Hebrews 11:24 KJV)

Live Every Second for God- I struggle so much with having a strong love for everybody; I say love is struggle because I've stumbled in my walk because of it; but that is not the end for Miss Molly. I have been practicing self discipline and have asked the
Lord to help me rid my life of things that aren't important. Facebook has taken a back
seat. I log on and I like and comment on things, but I do not use Messenger with the focus of talking to all my friends every single day. It's impossible, by the way.  I do like to tell people hello. The only person you should talk to every day is God; He should be a top priority. By making that small change, I feel God's presence on my life so much more than I ever did. (There's a startling difference between Him being on your life versus in your life) He has helped me to purify my life in ways that I didn't even realize He could. I love everybody, but I'll just let you know this: if I don't agree with something you're doing, I will not participate in it. I don't drink at all. I do my best to pray regularly. I attend church. I read Scripture, and most importantly I live by them. Don't settle for being a halfway Christian; God has so many blessings in store for you that you could miss out on! Take the entire stand. Pray and tap into His direction for your life to access Him: His way is the only way to go!

Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls (Jeremiah 6:16 KJV)


An extra verse I wanted to include: 

And be not drunk with wine; wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit: (Ephesians 5:18 KJV)



A Thought For Your Day

  The Lord placed this thought on my heart last night, and I felt like sharing it today.  It's easy to become so busy serving the Lord ...