Almost the End of the Year

Hi! It's only a couple more weeks until Christmas! So exciting!

I was thinking about how this year has gone by so fast. 2013 is almost here. I thought about how much God taught me. I would say this year for me has been both good and bad. I've had to deal with a lot of difficult people this year, and I think God was trying to show me patience with them. And I've had some great things this year too, such as God answering my prayer for a piano. I wonder what God will be teaching me next year! :)

Here is O Holy Night, sang by Christina Grimmie. 

~Viviana

Things that have been going on!!

Hello! I haven't posted for a month... I've been spending a lot of time on my music blog instead of here. I think that needs to change. I should spend more time here doing something else that I really love: encouraging people! Earlier this year, I felt like God called me to start evangelizing online, to bring people to Him. I don't think I've really done that though. I feel like I've been spending too much time on music, and not enough time writing about things God showed me.

I think that a lot of times we can get too caught up in work or things we need to do. I know I do. But then I feel so horrible when I look through my day and realize that I didn't spend much time with God. Maybe just 30 minutes, but that's all. It's such a privilege that I can even read my Bible! That I can worship my Lord freely. In other countries, it against the law to be a Christian. You can be put to death if it's found out. I am so thankful that here in the U.S. we have freedom of worship!

Anyway, I do want to post more on here. I just hope I remember to...


 God answered one of my prayers. I asked Him for a real piano, and He answered it! You can go on my music blog to see pics.

Here's a picture of our dog, Jax. This was when we first got him, which was a month ago. He's bigger now, though. He is very energetic... And tries to eat EVERYTHING. 

I'm seriously going crazy... I always thought I wanted to major in music when I go to college, but now I'm not sure. For years I've been saying I wanted to be a piano teacher, but now I realize it wouldn't make sense. Why major in music when right now I can learn everything I need to know about music? Besides, I'm already a teacher. After thinking, I figured I wouldn't want to be a full-time piano teacher; I mean, sometimes I really like teaching, like when I see that one of my students is really doing well. But sometimes I don't like it, and I'm sure some people don't realize how hard it is. Sometimes I think, I'm responsible for this child's musical education, I can't mess up. So it's a job I love and then again,don't always like... I want to major in something that I will enjoy doing every time I work. And I probably will still teach piano on the side. :)  I'm going to trust God in this, and see what He wants me to do with my life, even if it's not something that pertains to music. But I do feel like He has something great for my life.

Until next time,

~Viviana

Hello again!

Hi! I sure haven't posted anything for a while... It's really hard to keep up 3 blogs. I probably won't write very much on here.

Recently, my family got a dog! He's a Labrador Retriever, he's 10 weeks, and we named him Jax (short for Jaximus). I sure wasn't expecting so much work! I have to get up everyday at 6:30 to take him outside.

I'm so excited because my birthday is in 1 month! And then 1 month after that, it will be Christmas. I'm really looking forward to all the holidays. My sisters and I are practicing some songs to sing on Christmas. So far, we have When Christmas Comes to Town from The Polar Express, but we have no idea what other songs. I still want to do a traditional song, such as Silent Night.

For school, I have to write a persuasive essay (my favorite type of essay to write!) and I'm really having fun with it. I feel that with writing, you can get everything you feel off your chest. I'm writing about how America has changed so much since the founding of it. It's really sad to see how Americans have drifted so far from God; this land once firmly believed in Him, and now it's "offensive" if we even talk about Jesus. How is that fair?! Other people can try to press their religion on someone else (any other religion besides Christianity), and it's supposedly not offensive. And then, I heard something once about how people wanted to take the part "One nation under God" out of the Pledge Allegiance.

This year's candidates seem hard to choose from (but of course I can't vote yet). It seems like whoever wins the election, you'll have a downfall either way. Obama speaks great and everything, but he's for abortion and gay marriage, plus he hasn't done very much for America. And then Romney is against what Obama's for, yet I'm not sure whether he would do much for our country or not. We need a person who's for family values and Christian ideas to lead our country. Something I always hear is,"That person's a Republican. They don't understand the poor people like Democrats do. They're only for the rich people!" That's COMPLETELY false. Think of President Abraham Lincoln. He was a Republican and all the people loved him. He was against what was wrong (slavery) and did as much as he could to stop it. America needs to return to the way the Founding Fathers intended it to be. We need to fight for what's right, and stop people from leading us astray: we need to return to God.

~Viviana~

From the Inside Out by Hillsong

This is such a beautiful song! :)

~Viviana~

An Evangelistic Letter

Hey! So yesterday I sent my Grandpa an evangelistic letter. I had written it a month ago but just had not sent it out. I felt guilty everyday, having thinking,"I still haven't sent it!" Now I feel great, hoping that it will change his thoughts on everything.

Here's what I wrote to him:

 Dear Grandpa, please read what I am about to write very carefully. It is not only life-changing, but life-saving. I write it for the good of you, that you may personally know God. He changes lives, and I’m not just saying it, but I’m seeing it in others.

God loved us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die for us, to save us. Because of our sinful nature, it separated us from God, because of His holiness. We can say however many times that we’re faultless, but we’d be lying to ourselves.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. --Romans 3:23

But God wanted us to live with Him forever, He wanted us to know Him. We were made to know Him. Without knowing Him, we’re empty. We’d have nothing to live for, no purpose in life. We would try to fill that emptiness, but it couldn’t ever be filled. But with God, we have a purpose, a purpose to live for Him with our whole being! It would give us all a joy and happiness none could explain! But Satan doesn’t want people to know God. He wants them to be with him in hell. The way of the world (the way of Satan) leads to separation from God forever. Non-stop pain and hurting forever in hell. But all of us could keep from having that fate! We could live with God eternally, forever--no pain or suffering, no problems. Jesus saves!

Jesus didn’t come to earth to be served, but rather to serve others. The King of kings and Lord of lords serving others! He’s the Son of God, faultless, perfect. Jesus is the only way to heaven. Besides Him, there’s no other way.

Jesus said to him,”I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” --John 14:6

When you accept Jesus into your heart, believing Him to be God’s Son, you are made new, born-again as they say. If you repent of things, you’ll be forgiven! As easy as that!

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. --1 John 1:9

God wants you to turn to Him. He is waiting with open arms. He loves us like no one else can or ever will.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. --John 3:16

Every verse I have written on here are God’s words, His perfect words that are completely true, no lies or anything. Jesus is what allows us to be able to go to heaven when we die. The only way to heaven is by believing Jesus is Lord and Savior, that He died on the cross to save us, that He’s God’s Son. We can’t get into heaven by being a “good person,” because there’s no such thing. We’re all sinners, we’ve all done wrong. But His love is the reason why He died, because He loved us!

In this love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, that God sent His Son, to be the propitiation for our sins. --1 John 3:11

Nothing can ever stop God from loving you. He will no matter what.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. --Romans 8:38-39

God gives eternal life to those who follow Him. Satan gives death and destruction. God saves, Satan kills. The choice is yours. Who will you choose?

Please consider everything that I have written about. Every single word is true. I feel as if God has spoken to my heart to write these exact words to you.

May everything that I have said change things.

Love,
Viviana

I truly hope that this letter will get to his heart, changing everything inside him. I felt God give me the words to write. They are not my own words. 

We don't know when our time is up, when we'll leave this earth. We never understand the importance of spreading the word about Jesus, how He saves. Change that! Be an evangelist! Help change the life of someone! Imagine how many people's lives you can touch just by living out God's word. YOU can make a difference!

Coming Back!

Hello to all! I'm so sorry I haven't written anything for a long time! I just hope I can start writing stuff again. I've been a little busy, but not enough to make that an excuse of why I haven't been writing. So I hope to once again start writing on here! I started school and have been teaching piano lessons, then I'll be an LIT in Awana, so I'm going to be pretty busy during this season, but I think it will be good.

Have you ever had one of those times where you read the Bible and all, but you don't feel close to God? That's what I had experienced recently. I read my Bible, went to church, but I just couldn't feel God. I wanted to so much, yet I couldn't. I realized I wasn't exactly putting God first. I remembered this verse though:
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. --Jeremiah 29:13

I needed to give God my entire heart. Before I realized all this, I kind put other things first, like watching TV and trying to have fun too much. And then this verse spoke to me: Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way. Establish Your word to Your servant, who is devoted to serving You. Turn away my reproach which I dread, for Your judgments are good. Behold, I long for Your precepts; revive me in Your righteousness. --Psalm 119:36-40

I asked God to revive me, to give me a new, fresh start. He gives second chances, third chances, one thousand chances--just ask Him, and He will give you another chance.

There's something about feeling God's presence that is just so reviving. Your heart becomes overjoyed--it's just something that I cannot explain.

Now, maybe you're in a hard time. Maybe you feel like God forgot about you. Believe me, He didn't. Maybe you lost a loved one, or maybe only bad things are happening. You're probably saying,"Why does God let these things happen?" Well, we don't know why. Only God knows. And sometimes He puts us in certain circumstances to bring us closer to Him. Keep up your hope. Keep faith in Him.

God bless,
--Viviana

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day to my father and all the fathers out there! God bless them all!

My Life: A Summary, Not Facts

I know I haven't written much about my life, so that's what this post will be about. I live with both of my parents, my grandma, three sisters, and one brother. I'm the oldest out of the kids. My sister Bella is 10, Natalia is 7, Aaron is 4, and Katia is 2 (I'm sure you can imagine how life is with a 4 and 2-year-old!). And do you want to know something interesting/crazy? Me, Bella, Natalia, and Aaron share a room (Katia still sleeps with Mom and Dad)! It's not always so bad, but of course there are those crazy days where everyone's up late. I did mention some facts about me in a previous post, but let me put them more into a summary: 


When I was about seven years old, I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I've had my ups and downs as a Christian, but I still try to follow Him with a whole heart. I mess up very much at times, but He is loving and forgiving. I so much enjoy all the arts! I like practicing piano a lot, and I love trying new pieces to challenge me. When I was younger, I did a little photography. I still would do it, but so many people do it; I'd feel like I'd be copying people. Acting is one of my favorite things! At my church, we used to do a play each year for Awana. Unfortunately, we haven't done a play last year or this year. I enjoy writing stories or essays. It wasn't until sixth/seventh grade that I realized writing was fun. Ever since, my writing has developed more and more. I recently discovered that I liked drawing. I normally didn't like drawing (my drawings used to be horrible) but when I decided to draw a character from Avatar: The Last Airbender-- that's when I began to think that drawing was fun! I like filming short movies and other things of the sort. It allows me to combine writing and/or acting or directing (most of the time I just direct). Reading books thrills me, but only when the book is adventurous, funny, or fantasy-based! It's fantastical! I find languages so fascinating and I hope to learn many languages in the future. I love to laugh or hear funny stories (I like telling some of my funny stories as well). Laughing just brings some excitement. I like quoting lines from movies or the funniest times in my life. That's mostly what you need to know about me!


Until my next post!
--Viviana <3

Not talking the talk, but rather walking the walk

You have different types of Christians. Some are truly Christians and others are "Christians." True Christians are the people who really follow God, walking with Him and always trying to learn more about Him. So-called "Christians" are people who just talk and talk about God, but aren't really following their preaching. They'll go on and on about how they think other people should live, but they don't even follow what they're telling that person. Or sometimes, they just say,"Oh, yeah, I believe in God," but they're still living their old life. 

My family and I are going through 1 John, and it says a lot about this topic: 

If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:6-7)


Wouldn't we be hypocrites if we told someone how they should live, but not live it out ourselves? When people do this kind of thing to me, it gets me a little annoyed. I'm not perfect one bit. I try so hard to follow God, but man, is it hard! Some days I mess up so much, but God is patient and forgiving; He gives me so many chances! And there are those days when maybe we don't want to read the Bible or go to church--God wants to spend time with us! It's such a privilege to know God, to be able to walk with Him, to spend time with Him. Look at what it says in 1 John about God's forgiveness: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9). And if we do sin, we should ask for forgiveness (as is says in the verse), but turning from the sin, never coming back to it. Some time ago, I would ask God to forgive me on a certain matter, but I didn't exactly turn from it. I have changed from that (although I still struggle with some aspects of it). It's so crazy to see how I was a year ago, and to see how much I've grown spiritually. I hope to grow even more and gain more wisdom in areas of my life. 

Whoever says,"I know Him," but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them. And this is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did. (1 John 2:4-6)  So we should live how Jesus did. Some days might be better than others, and some might be completely horrible. No matter what happens in our life, great or tragedy, we should still praise God through it.

 Let us not be the person who talks the talk, but let us be the one who walks the walk. 

Until next time!
--Viviana 

Facts about me!

Here are some facts about me!


Favorite colors: purple, green, pink


Favorite types of music: classical, hard rock, pop 


Favorite movies: The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Nacho Libre, Napoleon Dynamite, Hugo, The Pianist, Passion of the Christ, etc...(I have lots of favorites!)


Favorite shows: The Cosby Show, Merlin, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra


Favorite food: Mexican food(!), pizza, lasagna, Chinese fried rice


If you got to pick an era to live in, what would it be?: I always wanted to live in the Middle Ages (as someone who was wealthy) so that I could wear beautiful dresses, but then I also wanted to live in nineteenth century Germany so I could meet Beethoven. I am very undecided on this! 


If you could go visit any other countries/places, what would it be?: Mexico, Ireland, France, or Spain. 


If you had the choice to choose to go to a public school, would you go to one?: No, because I like the freedom I have with homeschooling. I like being able to learn what I want. I like being able to do fun school work. 


Why do you like to write/blog?: Because I like being able to express what I feel, encourage people, or just give someone a different perspective on an idea. 






I'll write another post with facts another time.






Hasta luego!


--Viviana

Should Christians be friends with unbelievers?

Should Christians be friends with unbelievers? I was recently asked why I was friends with a person who was not a Christian. I feel that this can be a big question. I am going to share with you my beliefs on this, as well as what the Bible says.


Remember how your parents always told you,"Choose your friends wisely"? Well, this is very important. We should choose people who walk in Christ, who are godly, and share the same ideas as us as our close friends. Notice how I said close. Close friends are the people we enjoy sharing time with. They are also the people who can influence us tremendously. If you're close friends with someone who does things that do not reflect God, chances are  you'll start becoming like them.  "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?"--2 Corinthians 6:14. 


According to a post from www.revelation.co, there are three things that can happen to a relationship between a believer and an unbeliever (I have put this into my own words): 
       
1) The Christian will compromise his beliefs with the unbeliever, therefore taking on the unbeliever's ideas on the world, or giving up his faith.


2) The unbeliever will become a Christian or compromise his beliefs with the Christian's beliefs. 


3) Both the Christian and the unbeliever will hold on to what they believe, causing the friendship to be distanced.




Now about the friends/acquaintances. We are to be a light to those who do not know God. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."--Matthew 5:16. We want to influence them instead of them influencing us. Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners, and of course, the Pharisees questioned Him on it. This is what He said:


"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means:'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not came to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  


If we are to be like Jesus, then shouldn't we be friends to those who need Him? Sure, we can think we're better, put the whole Holier Than Thou attitude into act. But that is not how we are supposed to be as Christians. Remember how Christ died for ALL, and we're sinners. We didn't deserve to be saved, not at all. We should have compassion for those who are in need of help. I like how a post in www.bible.org puts this idea:


"Christ was on a mission to reconcile the world to Himself. He had both unbelieving friends and believing friend. He sought to win the lost and to disciple the won. There was a great balance in his ministry. If you want to follow Christ’s example, associate with all those in need. The Kingdom will be here soon. Let us keep our focus straight. The one thing we will not be able to do in heaven is to bring an unbeliever to Christ. Let us have unbelieving friends." 


Therefore, let us be a light to the unbelievers. Let us befriend them, tell them the Good News, be there for them. No, we don't have to be close friends, eating lunch together everyday, calling or texting every hour. Our main goal is to live for Christ. No matter what anyone says, remember how Jesus was friends with the unbelievers. Our Savior! Our Lord! Our God! 


I believe that God has placed many of us into friendships with unbelievers so that they may turn to Him. Let us be ready for questions that might be fired at us, difficult situations, or hard times. Being a Christian isn't easy, and I'm not saying I'm some goody-goody person who's flawless. No, I am a sinner just like everyone, but Christ saved me. I have been given a new life! Let us plant those seeds in someone's life, giving them the opportunity to walk with God. 


Blessings to all!
--Viviana

My homeschooling family

Well, I'm sure many people out there think that homeschoolers are kids who are academically ahead by three years, don't have any friends, and act weird. This might be true for some homeschoolers, but as for my friends and I--we are not like that... One of the questions I always get is the following: "Do you get to wear pajamas all day?" And the answer is no. My mom doesn't allow my siblings and I to wear pajamas all day. Sure, some homeschoolers probably do wear pajamas all day. And the other thing I always hear is,"If I were homeschooled, I could play video games all day!" Totally not true. We have school work to do just like any public schooler. Sometimes we don't have a lot of school work to do, and sometimes we do have a lot. It also depends on how the parents want things to run. In my family, there are tremendous ways to do school, not just stick-to-the-book learning. Sometimes we do math by helping mom bake or cook, which obviously includes measuring and fractions. Or we do English by writing a play to film. Of course, there are also those families who like the stick-to-the-book idea. I am the eldest in my family, so I was the first one my mom had to teach. For some many years, she wanted me to complete the entire chapters and pages in the work books. But then she discovered that homeschooling doesn't have to be like that. As a homeschooling family, our main goal was to be different from the public schools, which meant we didn't always have to complete work books. 


 And I bet some people wonder Why does your family homeschool? Well, to answer that, I would say it is because my parents want to have a big part in my life, as well as my siblings' life. They want to be able to teach us about living, about God, about things that public schools don't teach. They want us to be fully equipped for anything when we're older. They want us to have godly characters, and that can only come from parents teaching their children. 


Now the things about having "no friends."  We're not just shy little homeschoolers who are so shy that they have zero friends. We do have to seek out friendships, but that's not hard, is it? We sometimes get together with other homeschooling families and hang out. We have friends from church, and we continue to meet more people. 


So have you changed your mind about homeschoolers? Do you see things different? Or do you still thing that we have "no life"? I'll tell you that I have a great life! I have a fun, caring family, some friends that I enjoy talking to, and most of all: I have God! With God, all things are possible. If you still have any questions about homeschoolers, feel free to ask me. 


Until my next post,
--Viviana

Welcome!

Welcome! I wanted to create this blog so people can see what a homeschooled high school girl lives like. I want people to get over those stereotypes and see what a real homeschooler does. I want to share what God has taught me over the past year(s). I want to give glory to God through writing. Check back to see what I'll write!

Until next time,
--Viviana


My music/filming blog: www.thingsbyvivianarodriguez.blogspot.com