In Jonah one, God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach there. Jonah disobeys and gets on a boat to Tarshish. Jonah falls into a deep sleep and when he awakes there is a huge storm. Jonah tells the shipmates to toss him overboard. They eventually do, and the storm immediately stops. Then Jonah gets swallowed by a whale. In chapter two, when Jonah is in the belly of a fish, he prays to the Lord and repents. The Lord causes the fish to vomit Jonah on to the shore. In chapter three, God tells Jonah to go to Ninebeh a second time. Jonah obeys this time and he tells the people they need to repent. To Jonah's surprise, they do and God forgives them. In chapter four,Jonah is mad because he wants the city of Nineveh to die. He tells God to take his life but God doesn't. God provides a plant that Jonah can sit under but a worm chews on it and it dies. Jonah gets really upset about the plant and God asks him how it is okay to be mad about a plant. Jonah gets very angry about the plant and wants to die and God asks how it is right to be concerned over a plant and not concerned about the 120,000 people in Nineveh

Favorite verse: Jonah 4:1, "But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry," This is my favorite verse because Jonah thinks he can determine right from wrong but he can't.

Application: I am like Jonah because sometimes when I'm like mad at my sister I like want her to be punished because I'm so mad at her. Even though wanting the people of Nineveh to go to hell is more extreme than me wanting my sister to get punished its still the same sin. I am going to try to be nicer to my sister and to not always want her to be in trouble.

The first three chapters of Hosea are about how Hosea and his adulteress wife, Gomer, represent God and Israel. God told Hosea to take an unfaithful wife so that he could use him and his wife as an example for the Israelites when they sinned. Every time Gomer sleeps with another man, Hosea always forgives her and takes her back. In the same way, Israel always sins and God never abandons them. Also, God tells Hosea to name his children No Mercy, and Not My People to represent how God will have no mercy for theIsraelites and they will no longer be his people. Israel sins but, of course, God still forgives them and restores them. In chapter four and five it's about how Israel has rejected the Lord so God will punish them and reject them also. Chapter five is more about how God will bring judgment upon them for their sin and rejection. Chapter six is about how God is saying that Israel only acknowledges the Lord when they want to be restored but God is not having it this time. Chapter fourteen is about God saying if the Israelites will repent then he will restore him because his anger has turned away from them.

My favorite verse: Romans 7:19: "19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing." In Hosea 14:1 "14 Return, Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall!" God understands that the Israelites don't want to sin just like Paul says in Romans so he gives us grace and forgiveness. 

Application: Israel kind of reminds me of myself sometimes. Like, I don't want to sin like it says in Romans 7:19 but I still do and God knows that, so he gives me grace. I always get mad at him when something doesn't go my way but he forgives me anyways and I always go back to the same old sins and I know I'm sinning  and he knows that too. Yet, he still takes me back every time.