Say What You Need To Say

I'm reading a book called Starving Jesus and it is really great so far. I just finished a chapter called "Offend like Jesus." I am so confused on this subject as to how to approach people and at the same time its so clear. We walk by people on a street corner that are saying, "Repent, the Lord is coming" and we scoff at them. But we love John the Baptist in the Bible and feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but the Bible says that a voice will be heard crying in the desert to repent for the Son of God is coming. So are these people wrong? I don't think so, I do think they can go over board sometimes, but REPENT is the message that needs to be heard and maybe people need to be offended by it.
Okay that had nothing to do with the book, just something I've been thinking about. But I'm sitting in the library reading this book and that song, "say what you need to say" comes on. I'm kinda struck by it because it says, "Even if you hands are shaking, and your faith is broken, even if your eyes are closing, do it with your heart wide open." listing off the nerves that we have to deal with when you have something building up that you really want to say. Why do we feel so nervous about confronting people, especially about God. I think its possibly that we don't want to offend them, but even more that we don't want them to come back an offend us. but we need to be ready as Christians to answer the questions when they are brought up. And if we can't we need to be willing to say, "you know what, I have no idea, let me look into it and let you know."
I know for myself that I have two really close girl friends that I want to scream to, "Look at what you are doing with you life!! I can show you something better, just turn away from that!!!" And even though I no longer do the things that brought me close to them in the beginning, I know that my attitude and words can still be under scrutiny. Just the other day I got angry in a class and mouthed off to a teacher and complained the whole time to one of the girls. Afterwards I wanted to kick myself for being so stupid and acting like that in front of her. How can I say, "God will provide you a life of peace and happiness" when she just watched me be an angry jerk. People are watching more than just our actions, they are watching out reactions too. So we need to be aware of that. But what I'm trying to get to is that even though I'm afraid of here being able to say, "oh yea but look at how you acted the other day" or "look at how you acted freshman year", I still need to be willing to offend her in the name of Christ. This doesn't mean to fuss and tell her all her sins and that she is going to hell, but to just bring her the truth behind her actions. She won't like it because those who are in darkness don't want their sins brought into the light, but once they are there, you can start rebuilding a life.

"My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them. from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified."
-John 17:15-19

LOVE, LOVE,LOVE!

So something I've been realizing lately is how much I am falling in love with God. I have never been so satisfied and sustained in my life. Everything is working together and I rarely feel stressed. It's like nothing else in this world really matters when you have someone so wonderful to guide you. It's a giddy love too. I get excited thinking about what God has done for me each day and just watching Him at work. I'm not concerning myself with plans, but I'm waiting for God to bring stuff to my attention. It's crazy to think that even with every person in this world, He still finds time to be in love with me. He makes me feel beautiful and perfectly fine when I look in the mirror. ahh, I love bein in love, especially with someone sooo amazing!!

"for the sake of his great name, the Lord will not reject his people, becuase the Lord was PLEASED to make you his OWN."

-1 Samuel 12:22