Anna's Ideas

In the beginning, God created a perfect world. He then created humans in His image to have a perfect relationship with Him. After came the fall, where our perfect relationship became broken because of the sinful choices man had made. We became separated from God. The Lord promised a New Kingdom to his people, which includes all the nations, for the first kingdom was lost. He chose to create a Holy Nation through Abraham, which became Israel. The Israelites came to live in the Promised Land and live under the law and king, which God gave them. God then sent prophets to tell all that there was a Son of God who would take the form of man to live the life we should have lived and die the death we should have died. Jesus Christ came and fulfilled those prophecies, living a life of service and miracles, proving His position as the Son of God. He then died a sacrificial death so that whoever believes in Him can be reconciled with God and live an eternal life with Him in heaven. He came back t...

"To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord , that He may be glorified." Isaiah 61:3 Recently, I came across a TED talk video that discussed four different lessons of creativity: letting go, paying attention to the world around us, embracing challenges, embracing loss. I was challenged to decide which of these four lessons was most meaningful to me. After much thought, I finally came to a conclusion. Although each message is important, it is the last item in this list that most resonates with me. In that video, Joel Meyerowitz talks about photographing the World Trade Center after 9/11, and he realized that that record would be erased unless we made a point for it not to be. I think we all need to remember that, right now especially, time may heal all wounds, but it also erases them. It can be ...

"Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You." Psalms 63:3 Recently, I have been wanting to write a poem with the phrase "better than life" as a recurring line or theme. That is when I started looking at Psalm 63 and realized the timeliness of it. This is a prayer of worship, but it is also a prayer of surrender. Today, we can get so easily caught up in everything of this empty world, but David reminds us that God's "lovingkindness is better than life."  Things of this world do not matter. But we are also reminded that there is more than just this life. We are also reminded that if we are in Christ, we are no longer of this world. "...My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water." Psalms 63:1 How easy it is to forget what fills us. How often do we go to something else, something that does not last, looking for it to satisfy our thirst? Let's ...

In this time of fear and unknown variables, what does our Father call us to do? We are called to stand out, to be noticeably different. 1 Peter 3:15 says to "always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you…" So, how are we supposed to respond to COVID-19 and the fear that has accompanied it? In answering this question, I must address the fear of the unknown. There is a reason the Bible says "do not fear" so many times. Throughout history, people have almost always been afraid of what they do not know. However, we do not need to be afraid, because we know that there is One who does know everything. We can lose the sense of fear by giving Him control. If we choose to listen to our feelings and everything the world tells us, we will continue to live in fear. But if we surrender our fear to God, He can and will replace it with an overwhelming feeling of peace. This peace will influence our actions and the wa...