I've been reading a lot about parents (and one set in particular) debating over whether to have Santa Claus be a part of Christmas. Like Mollie (the writer of the blog ^), my family left out cookies for the fat guy who really doesn't need them, had "From Santa" gifts under the tree, sprinkled oats and glitter on the yard for the reindeer (seriously, what person came up with the idea that reindeer liked glitter in their oats?), and put up Santa decorations. But he wasn't a big deal at our house. We only received 3 presents from him, symbolizing Jesus' three presents. Last year, we didn't do Santa at all.
But what has having Santa in Christmas meant for me? Well, when I was younger, he meant presents, but once I was in middle school, and to this day, he means more than that. Think about it. He sees you ALL THE TIME (1, that's creepy. 2, that's very creepy.), he gives you gifts, he laughs when he hears what you want for Christmas, he can fly, etc., etc., etc.. Guess who else is with you all the time, blesses you with gifts, and is ecstatic when you talk to Him? Did the capital "H" give it away?
That's right, Santa is my parallel to God at Christmastime. God sent His son to save us, and Santa sends us presents that keep us busy so our parents can go take much-needed naps. Santa "sees us" all the time, and God has promised to never leave us, hear our prayers, and love us. That's a lot less creepy than some old guy creeping on me. Especially if he's using and Elf on the Shelf *shudder*. And I bet sometimes when we ask for things from God He laughs at us. I would laugh at me too. Oh, and I have no doubt that God can fly WITHOUT magical flying deer that eat glitter. Seriously, man, He can walk on water and change matter from one element to another. He can do whatever He wants.
One more thing...
I typed "Satan" instead of "Santa" more times than I can count. Well no, I said Santa 7 times, so that means I almost called him Satan 7 times. Hmm...
Merry Christmas everybody and don't forget that *insert Christian Christmastime cliche here*... Jesus is the reason for the season!!
<333 Warrior
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
What Is Love?
If you ever spend more than 20 minutes with me, you will discover something about me. 1) I'm very energetic and 2) I like to sing. If you ask anyone who knows me, they can tell you that if anyone says something that reminds me of a song, I will almost always break out into said song. So you can imagine, I sing a lot.
When someone asks me "What is love?" I don't always say the good-little-church-girl answer, "God," and have a shining halo appear over my head while I smile innocently. Nah brah nah... Usually I will break out in song. And my answer to "what is love?" is:
Baby don't hurt me! Don't hurt me! No more!
Ahh, yes... I am going to take you back a couple of years to that Super Bowl no one remembers... but everyone remembers the commercials (you say nothing's changed? Huh, imagine that. I'm not a football fan by the way. :D) Yes, I'm talking about the "What Is Love?" Pepsi commercial. You know the one. The one where everyone falls asleep and then that girl walks by with a cart of Pepsi and everyone has a sip and they get a twitch. Oh yeah! That one!
If you still don't know which one I'm talking about, here yah go:
I go to a Bible study on Thursday mornings before school (aka at the crack of dawn, if not before) and this past week, our leader asked us how we wanted to be remembered once we were gone from this world. I said that I wanted people to remember me as loving and joyful. When I read the verse I said above, I always replace "love" with my name and see if it's still true. Try it for your name. Is it true? Now replace "love" with God. Oh yeah, it's true.
The celebrities in the video for the What Is Love commercial kept saying that the sip of Pepsi MAX gave them the energy to go on. When I think about it that way, and replace their love for Pepsi MAX with God's love for me, I get all excited, too. God's love energizes me to go through life as a Christ-like example to the world.
The more I focus on how much God loves me and how much He loves everyone else, I can be filled with that love and show it to others. To do that, I need to embody the ways that God is love. Patience, kindness, etc. It's hard to do, and I understand that I will never ever ever ever be able to love as much as God does. It's just not humanly possible. Parents with children may disagree with me, but a love for a child is just a fraction of the love that God has for us. And He wants everyone to know about that love. And we're the ones to share it.
How are you showing God's love to the world?
<3 Warrior
When someone asks me "What is love?" I don't always say the good-little-church-girl answer, "God," and have a shining halo appear over my head while I smile innocently. Nah brah nah... Usually I will break out in song. And my answer to "what is love?" is:
Baby don't hurt me! Don't hurt me! No more!
Ahh, yes... I am going to take you back a couple of years to that Super Bowl no one remembers... but everyone remembers the commercials (you say nothing's changed? Huh, imagine that. I'm not a football fan by the way. :D) Yes, I'm talking about the "What Is Love?" Pepsi commercial. You know the one. The one where everyone falls asleep and then that girl walks by with a cart of Pepsi and everyone has a sip and they get a twitch. Oh yeah! That one!
If you still don't know which one I'm talking about, here yah go:
But love is so much more than a bottle of Pepsi, I'm sorry to say.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says that "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
I go to a Bible study on Thursday mornings before school (aka at the crack of dawn, if not before) and this past week, our leader asked us how we wanted to be remembered once we were gone from this world. I said that I wanted people to remember me as loving and joyful. When I read the verse I said above, I always replace "love" with my name and see if it's still true. Try it for your name. Is it true? Now replace "love" with God. Oh yeah, it's true.
The celebrities in the video for the What Is Love commercial kept saying that the sip of Pepsi MAX gave them the energy to go on. When I think about it that way, and replace their love for Pepsi MAX with God's love for me, I get all excited, too. God's love energizes me to go through life as a Christ-like example to the world.
The more I focus on how much God loves me and how much He loves everyone else, I can be filled with that love and show it to others. To do that, I need to embody the ways that God is love. Patience, kindness, etc. It's hard to do, and I understand that I will never ever ever ever be able to love as much as God does. It's just not humanly possible. Parents with children may disagree with me, but a love for a child is just a fraction of the love that God has for us. And He wants everyone to know about that love. And we're the ones to share it.
How are you showing God's love to the world?
<3 Warrior
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Wearing a Helmet
Again, Jon inspires me.
His blog today was about hearing God's voice and how God can tell us to do things. I think the story you're about to hear is the first time I ever heard Him.
Everyone and everything tells you to wear a helmet when you ride a bike. When I was younger, none of my friends wore helmets, but I always did. Because I was clumsy then. And I knew that I can't ride a bike without falling over before I even start moving.
About 3 years ago, it was a beautiful day and I wanted to go read in the gazebo that looks over a lake in the neighborhood next to mine. So I asked for permission, grabbed my sunglasses, slipped my feet into a pair of flip-flops, picked up my Bible, and headed out the door. For the first time, I figured I was safe and decided to leave my helmet hanging in the hallway. I got my bike from the garage and pedalled down the driveway. When I passed the side door to my house, I felt extremely guilty and ran back inside to get my helmet. That feeling was definitely God flicking my ear. You'll know why after a couple more paragraphs.
So I biked to the gazebo with no problems whatsoever and opened up my Bible to Proverbs. That was the first time I had ever read it. I read all of Proverbs 17 and 18 before deciding to head home. I found a couple verses I loved and marked them. With God on my mind, I made my way to the trails that led back to my neighborhood.
Some trails they are, too. They're about 2 feet wide, the bridges are narrow and you practically have to jump to get over the ledges when you cross the bridges. And there are WAY too many hills. It's like Satan was in charge of making them. Really.
Anyway, I was swerving along said trails and I got to a hill that led straight onto a bridge. I wasn't really focusing on my steering and I missed the bridge. My front tire collided with the railing post and my bike threw me forward. As I flipped over the handlebars, I lost a shoe, my Bible flew out of the basket and landed on the ground, and my knee hit the railing. I landed on my head, right over my right temple, and rolled over my shoulder the way my dad taught me to roll out of handstands.
I stood up, limped to my shoe, and put it on. As I picked up my bike and Bible, a man who had been walking his dog not 20 feet behind me strolled by me, not giving me a second look. It took all of my willpower not to hit him and ask him why he didn't offer to help me. I shrugged it off and put my Bible back in the basket. My bike was completely dead. The front brakes were permanently shoved against the wheel, making riding my bike impossible. So I pushed it home.
As I was walking, about a quarter of a mile in, I took off my helmet. It was broken. Right above where my right temple was. I started crying, and not because my knee hurt or because I had a nasty headache. I cried because God was protecting me. He was with my parents when they told me countless times to wear my helmet, He was with me when I was about to leave without a helmet on, He was with me when I was reading His Word, and He was with me when I wrecked my bike. He never left me. He never will.
I still have my helmet to this day (because I still haven't bought a new one), and it still is missing a huge chunk of Styrofoam or whatever that tough stuff is on the right side, right over my right temple.
So I didn't exactly hear God, but I definitely felt Him. The whole time, I knew He was with me. And that makes me love Him all the more. :D
I hope that if you don't already know, you will come to know how much God loves you and how He will NEVER EVER LEAVE YOU. I might do another post on the same subject, because a couple days ago a friend of mine told me a really eye-opening story from the TobyMac book City On Our Knees. Keep an eye out for it!
<3 Warrior
His blog today was about hearing God's voice and how God can tell us to do things. I think the story you're about to hear is the first time I ever heard Him.
Everyone and everything tells you to wear a helmet when you ride a bike. When I was younger, none of my friends wore helmets, but I always did. Because I was clumsy then. And I knew that I can't ride a bike without falling over before I even start moving.
About 3 years ago, it was a beautiful day and I wanted to go read in the gazebo that looks over a lake in the neighborhood next to mine. So I asked for permission, grabbed my sunglasses, slipped my feet into a pair of flip-flops, picked up my Bible, and headed out the door. For the first time, I figured I was safe and decided to leave my helmet hanging in the hallway. I got my bike from the garage and pedalled down the driveway. When I passed the side door to my house, I felt extremely guilty and ran back inside to get my helmet. That feeling was definitely God flicking my ear. You'll know why after a couple more paragraphs.
So I biked to the gazebo with no problems whatsoever and opened up my Bible to Proverbs. That was the first time I had ever read it. I read all of Proverbs 17 and 18 before deciding to head home. I found a couple verses I loved and marked them. With God on my mind, I made my way to the trails that led back to my neighborhood.
Some trails they are, too. They're about 2 feet wide, the bridges are narrow and you practically have to jump to get over the ledges when you cross the bridges. And there are WAY too many hills. It's like Satan was in charge of making them. Really.
Anyway, I was swerving along said trails and I got to a hill that led straight onto a bridge. I wasn't really focusing on my steering and I missed the bridge. My front tire collided with the railing post and my bike threw me forward. As I flipped over the handlebars, I lost a shoe, my Bible flew out of the basket and landed on the ground, and my knee hit the railing. I landed on my head, right over my right temple, and rolled over my shoulder the way my dad taught me to roll out of handstands.
I stood up, limped to my shoe, and put it on. As I picked up my bike and Bible, a man who had been walking his dog not 20 feet behind me strolled by me, not giving me a second look. It took all of my willpower not to hit him and ask him why he didn't offer to help me. I shrugged it off and put my Bible back in the basket. My bike was completely dead. The front brakes were permanently shoved against the wheel, making riding my bike impossible. So I pushed it home.
As I was walking, about a quarter of a mile in, I took off my helmet. It was broken. Right above where my right temple was. I started crying, and not because my knee hurt or because I had a nasty headache. I cried because God was protecting me. He was with my parents when they told me countless times to wear my helmet, He was with me when I was about to leave without a helmet on, He was with me when I was reading His Word, and He was with me when I wrecked my bike. He never left me. He never will.
I still have my helmet to this day (because I still haven't bought a new one), and it still is missing a huge chunk of Styrofoam or whatever that tough stuff is on the right side, right over my right temple.
So I didn't exactly hear God, but I definitely felt Him. The whole time, I knew He was with me. And that makes me love Him all the more. :D
I hope that if you don't already know, you will come to know how much God loves you and how He will NEVER EVER LEAVE YOU. I might do another post on the same subject, because a couple days ago a friend of mine told me a really eye-opening story from the TobyMac book City On Our Knees. Keep an eye out for it!
<3 Warrior
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Feeling Teeny Tiny
My youth pastor, Jon, said something in his blog the other day that I could totally relate to. He said:
"...We have the opportunity to take part in what God is doing on earth. Really. God wants us to take part in His purposes here. Does that seem weird to you? The creator of the universe can do anything. He can speak the universe into existence yet He still wants us to be a part of it. That's crazy.
"...You see the cool thing about following God is that even doing little, uneventful, non-famous things can make a huge difference in eternity. Following God is so ridiculously fulfilling that I don't need fame or money. Sometimes wish I had better words to explain it to people. Serving God is fulfilling in a way that can't be described.
"Jesus said that following Him will make our joy complete." (view the whole thing here)
I love that! I commented, saying, "I love feeling little! After I watched Indescribable for the second time, I realized that I am a little speck in a huge universe and an even tinier speck on time. I don't know why, but that fills me with such joy! Whenever I think about how tiny I am, I can't help but smile because I know God can do HUGE things through me and that I'm just the right size for myself and for Him."
I LOVE that I'm so tiny compared to God! It makes me happy knowing that He's in control because there are times when I just have to let go and let Him take over, because I really can't.It also makes me happy that He can and does work through us tiny specks.
Have you ever seen the movie Horton Hears a Who? Well guess what? God is Horton. And we are the specks on the speck of the speck. And we can save all man (or Who) kind with a little help from our man God (or Horton, in this analogy). Isn't that TOTALLY WICKED??
Another comment that I love that was made on Jon's post was:
"What is always amazing to me when I think abt my (in)significance in the grand scheme of things is that I'm still unique. I'm a whole lot like millions of other people, but not the same. That's love. How easy it would be for God to start repeating Himself every few hundred thousand people, right? Who would know but Him? Separate them by an ocean and a social caste, and bam! Work's done.
"But He doesn't do that. Never has. Never will. He is willing to take the time to create every. single. person with a unique personality, a special soul, free will. That's love."
This is another one of those times when I want to hug and thank God in person right now.
Because He's awesome.
Like, really.
<3 Warrior
"...We have the opportunity to take part in what God is doing on earth. Really. God wants us to take part in His purposes here. Does that seem weird to you? The creator of the universe can do anything. He can speak the universe into existence yet He still wants us to be a part of it. That's crazy.
"...You see the cool thing about following God is that even doing little, uneventful, non-famous things can make a huge difference in eternity. Following God is so ridiculously fulfilling that I don't need fame or money. Sometimes wish I had better words to explain it to people. Serving God is fulfilling in a way that can't be described.
"Jesus said that following Him will make our joy complete." (view the whole thing here)
I love that! I commented, saying, "I love feeling little! After I watched Indescribable for the second time, I realized that I am a little speck in a huge universe and an even tinier speck on time. I don't know why, but that fills me with such joy! Whenever I think about how tiny I am, I can't help but smile because I know God can do HUGE things through me and that I'm just the right size for myself and for Him."
I LOVE that I'm so tiny compared to God! It makes me happy knowing that He's in control because there are times when I just have to let go and let Him take over, because I really can't.It also makes me happy that He can and does work through us tiny specks.
Have you ever seen the movie Horton Hears a Who? Well guess what? God is Horton. And we are the specks on the speck of the speck. And we can save all man (or Who) kind with a little help from our man God (or Horton, in this analogy). Isn't that TOTALLY WICKED??
Another comment that I love that was made on Jon's post was:
"What is always amazing to me when I think abt my (in)significance in the grand scheme of things is that I'm still unique. I'm a whole lot like millions of other people, but not the same. That's love. How easy it would be for God to start repeating Himself every few hundred thousand people, right? Who would know but Him? Separate them by an ocean and a social caste, and bam! Work's done.
"But He doesn't do that. Never has. Never will. He is willing to take the time to create every. single. person with a unique personality, a special soul, free will. That's love."
This is another one of those times when I want to hug and thank God in person right now.
Because He's awesome.
Like, really.
<3 Warrior
Sunday, November 28, 2010
The Greatest Compliment
During the retreat for the youth my church had last weekend, one of my church friends and one of my school friends became really close. My school friend told me the day after the retreat about an amazing compliment my church friend had given her, which got me thinking about the greatest compliment I've ever received. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I couldn't recall any compliments I had received that had a profound significance to me. Sure, I'd been complimented, but none of them ever made a real difference in my life.
When I delved deeper into my memory bank and got *nudge nudge* lost in thought *wink* I realized that the greatest compliments I had ever received were actually people thanking me for things I didn't even realize I was doing.
The greatest of these came in the form of a song, written for me, scrawled on a piece of loose leaf paper, handed to me one Wednesday night a couple of years ago. I think I was a 7th grader or something like that. The note/song came from a high schooler named Victoria Dickens.
This is what it said:
Seeing your smiling face has made my day
You make all of my blues go away
Your friendship has meant so much to me
And now in due time I hope you'll see
Your energy picks me up when I'm down
Your encouraging faith has turned my life around
Thank you for showing me our God's real
In His glorious love I hope you'll feel
All of the love He has given to you and me
I hope you live your life so others can see
CHRIST IS REAL!
CHRIST IS REAL!
You wrote a song or two that inspired me
Helped me to remember all that God can be
Sometimes I wonder what you see in me at all
But I know you just follow God's holy call
Your energy picks me up when I'm down
Your encouraging faith has turned my life around
Thank you for showing me our God's real
In His glorious love I hope you'll feel
All of the love He has given to you and me
I hope you live your life so others can see
CHRIST IS REAL!
CHRIST IS REAL!
So I want to let you know
God uses you
So I want to let you know
God loves you, too!
Your energy picks me up when I'm down
Your encouraging faith has turned my life around
Thank you for showing me our God's real
In His glorious love I hope you'll feel
All of the love He has given to you and me
I hope you live your life so others can see
CHRIST IS REAL!
CHRIST IS REAL!
God uses the weak to lead the strong
I guess you've known that all along
You've always supported the faith in me
So I can let everyone else see
CHRIST IS REAL!
CHRIST IS REAL!
CHRIST IS REAL!
That last stanza, in bold, is my favorite part. It reminds me that even those who have the faith of a mustard seed can do great things for God. It reminds me that as Christians, we need to stick together. We can't go through life without people on our side. God made us that way. It also reminds me that, even though I might not be aware of it, people are watching me. And I hope they see my faith shining through all of my imperfections.
I think I wrote about the exact same thing in two posts back-to-back. Whoops. (:
<3 Warrior
When I delved deeper into my memory bank and got *nudge nudge* lost in thought *wink* I realized that the greatest compliments I had ever received were actually people thanking me for things I didn't even realize I was doing.
The greatest of these came in the form of a song, written for me, scrawled on a piece of loose leaf paper, handed to me one Wednesday night a couple of years ago. I think I was a 7th grader or something like that. The note/song came from a high schooler named Victoria Dickens.
This is what it said:
Seeing your smiling face has made my day
You make all of my blues go away
Your friendship has meant so much to me
And now in due time I hope you'll see
Your energy picks me up when I'm down
Your encouraging faith has turned my life around
Thank you for showing me our God's real
In His glorious love I hope you'll feel
All of the love He has given to you and me
I hope you live your life so others can see
CHRIST IS REAL!
CHRIST IS REAL!
You wrote a song or two that inspired me
Helped me to remember all that God can be
Sometimes I wonder what you see in me at all
But I know you just follow God's holy call
Your energy picks me up when I'm down
Your encouraging faith has turned my life around
Thank you for showing me our God's real
In His glorious love I hope you'll feel
All of the love He has given to you and me
I hope you live your life so others can see
CHRIST IS REAL!
CHRIST IS REAL!
So I want to let you know
God uses you
So I want to let you know
God loves you, too!
Your energy picks me up when I'm down
Your encouraging faith has turned my life around
Thank you for showing me our God's real
In His glorious love I hope you'll feel
All of the love He has given to you and me
I hope you live your life so others can see
CHRIST IS REAL!
CHRIST IS REAL!
God uses the weak to lead the strong
I guess you've known that all along
You've always supported the faith in me
So I can let everyone else see
CHRIST IS REAL!
CHRIST IS REAL!
CHRIST IS REAL!
That last stanza, in bold, is my favorite part. It reminds me that even those who have the faith of a mustard seed can do great things for God. It reminds me that as Christians, we need to stick together. We can't go through life without people on our side. God made us that way. It also reminds me that, even though I might not be aware of it, people are watching me. And I hope they see my faith shining through all of my imperfections.
I think I wrote about the exact same thing in two posts back-to-back. Whoops. (:
<3 Warrior
Friday, November 26, 2010
Sherry Keeps Making Me Cry (In The Good Kind of Way)
My friend Sherry who I asked you guys to pray for in my last post has picked up on her blogging and in her past couple posts, she's mentioned me. Every time she does, it makes me cry. In a good way. You see, I always fret over whether I'm making a difference in peoples' lives or if they can see God in me. I worry about it all the time, and every single time I pray I ask God to show Himself through me to others and to help me focus on Him and make every breath, move, and even mistake I make to glorify Him. I never know if I actually am, but it brings joy to my heart when people tell me they see God in me.
Like this:
I met Jess at a band lock-in at AmFamFit. I was in the middle of some guy drama, and I needed some serious Christian heart-to-heart. Jess, Cathy, Drum Major Sarah, and I all sat in our little circle by the pool. By the way, the pool was the ONLY place in the whole gym that wasn't FREEZING! We all shared favorite bible verses and talked about what I could do about my situation. By the end of our conversation, I had made two new friends and reinforced one old friendship. Jessica and I went on to become bestest friends, and we still are today. Jessica is one of those girls who just GLOW with beauty. When you first see her, you are struck by her natural beauty. She wears no makeup, doesn't dress too fancy or wear all designer clothes, and she doesn't straighten/curl her hair. But she is beautiful in every way. Once you get to know her, her beauty and appeal is magnified by her magnetic and contagious personlity. She is one of the nicest people I know, and everything she says and does is to glorify God. She has helped me become a more confident, Godly teenager, and she has shown me what it's like to be independant and without constant male companionship. Jessica inspires me to be the best I can be, and she's always there for me... Always. My Thanksgiving resolution for Jessica? Jessica, I vow to return the favor of always being there. I promise I never let you down when you need a friend. Oh, and I promise next time you tell me someone is bad news, I'll listen. I love you, Jess.
A girl I barely knew signed my yearbook in eighth grade saying, "You love Jesus and it really shows!" or something along those lines and... I don't remember ever saying a word to her about God or Jesus or anything like that. Huh.
The encouragrams that the youth of my church write for each other at retreats always surprise me. I get so many people telling me how on fire for God I am, but I always feel that everytime I start feeling on fire for Him, something or someone comes along and pours a bucket of water over my head (noooo, I don't melt) and my fire goes out.
I guess it goes to show that you never know who's watching you and what they see when they do. Make it your goal to show God through everything you do, and He will make it so. For His glory.
Love y'all and I hope you had a happy turkey day!
<3 Warrior
P.S. Sherry also made an amazing post called "What I Want In A Boyfriend" and I love what she said.
Like this:
I met Jess at a band lock-in at AmFamFit. I was in the middle of some guy drama, and I needed some serious Christian heart-to-heart. Jess, Cathy, Drum Major Sarah, and I all sat in our little circle by the pool. By the way, the pool was the ONLY place in the whole gym that wasn't FREEZING! We all shared favorite bible verses and talked about what I could do about my situation. By the end of our conversation, I had made two new friends and reinforced one old friendship. Jessica and I went on to become bestest friends, and we still are today. Jessica is one of those girls who just GLOW with beauty. When you first see her, you are struck by her natural beauty. She wears no makeup, doesn't dress too fancy or wear all designer clothes, and she doesn't straighten/curl her hair. But she is beautiful in every way. Once you get to know her, her beauty and appeal is magnified by her magnetic and contagious personlity. She is one of the nicest people I know, and everything she says and does is to glorify God. She has helped me become a more confident, Godly teenager, and she has shown me what it's like to be independant and without constant male companionship. Jessica inspires me to be the best I can be, and she's always there for me... Always. My Thanksgiving resolution for Jessica? Jessica, I vow to return the favor of always being there. I promise I never let you down when you need a friend. Oh, and I promise next time you tell me someone is bad news, I'll listen. I love you, Jess.
A girl I barely knew signed my yearbook in eighth grade saying, "You love Jesus and it really shows!" or something along those lines and... I don't remember ever saying a word to her about God or Jesus or anything like that. Huh.
The encouragrams that the youth of my church write for each other at retreats always surprise me. I get so many people telling me how on fire for God I am, but I always feel that everytime I start feeling on fire for Him, something or someone comes along and pours a bucket of water over my head (noooo, I don't melt) and my fire goes out.
I guess it goes to show that you never know who's watching you and what they see when they do. Make it your goal to show God through everything you do, and He will make it so. For His glory.
Love y'all and I hope you had a happy turkey day!
<3 Warrior
P.S. Sherry also made an amazing post called "What I Want In A Boyfriend" and I love what she said.
Monday, November 22, 2010
A Couple of Friends Who Need a LOT of Prayers
So I have a handful of friends who need your prayers. Desperately. They're going through tough times, or they've been led astray, or they're in need of prayers, in general.
Sherry
Sherry is one of my bestest friends. She's one of the strongest Christians I know and she's going through some really tough times. You see, like all problems that arise as a teenage girl, her problems were started with a boy (that was really stereotypical, but hey, it's generally true). I first noticed she was interested in him when I sat with her at lunch one day and he was talking about getting stoned and drunk and all this immoral stuff... and she sat there smiling. I warned her over and over and over again not to get involved with him... but she got stuck in his trap. Over the past month or so, he has made her cry, be depressed, be happy, cry again, and then be confused. He has influenced her to not read her Bible or pray or even think about God. He has tried to force her to touch him in ways a girl should never have to touch a boy. And now she's realizing that he's baaaad news. Today, she spent 45 minutes in the shower praying and singing Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone). And now she's getting over him. Hallelujah (: For her point of view on what's going on, check out her blog post on it here.
Maddie
Maddie is another one of my closest friends, like, ever. She is beautiful, talented, and energetic. Sounds just like me, no? (: The thing is, she's been moving in a totally opposite direction as me. For the past year-ish, she has had a boyfriend and facebook without her parents' permission. She cusses all the time. She admitted to me a couple months ago that she is an atheist... and I've been to her church and seen the faith of her parents. They have no idea who she is anymore. And I want to tell them. But I can't. Maddie is so happy now, and I would never be able to live with myself if I were the one that made her sad. I don't want to take away her happiness when no one else sees the awfulness of her situation. The thing is, I went through the same thing she's going through. I had a facebook and cussed without my parents' knowledge. And once they found out, I became closer to God and was more on fire for Him. (Read more about it here.) I just don't know what to do to help her without her hating me and destroying our friendship.
Kate
So a couple Wednesday nights ago at my church we talked about using friends as a way to keep us accountable for staying on the right track with God. And getting rid of those that lead us astray. (Sounds familiar! It's the same one as last time, though (:) Kate realized a couple days later that she had to rethink some of her friendships. Which is really hard. I would know. I've had to do the same. But pray for her while she struggles through this. Kate is NOT a very emotional person, and I saw first hand what she is like when she is. And it made me sad.
Michelle
This is a biggieeee. I don't even know half of what is going on with my Michy. All I know is that she no longer believes that anyone cares about her and that the only way to get back to the way things used to be would be to kill herself. A very wise man at my church told me that the best way to help her would be with actions, not words. But she doesn't go to my school, and I don't know what actions or words would help. I'm at a loss when it comes to helping her. And saving her life.
This guy I saw in the hallway
This is what Allie would call "MISSED opportunity, ladies!" I was walking in the hall towards Trig, which I have to rush to, and in front of me were these three tall black guys who looked like juniors. They were walking with that "oh I'm so cool" swag and had that whole aura that makes me sick. The whole "I'm the only thing that matters and I am above everything" aura. Well, I was walking behind them, not really paying them any attention, when a poor little geeky freshman accidentally ran into one of the boys. The little boy automatically streaked off, and the guy he had run into got this hugely annoyed look on his face and said "BUH LEEEEEEP" (I censored that by the way). Immediately, I realized that that guy's whole life was about himself. And it saddened me. I almost started crying for him, right there in the hallway. Legitimately. As he walked into his classroom, I realized I should have walked up to him, put my hands on his shoulders (If I could even reach them... he was a very tall person) and said "God loves you." But I didn't. And now I pray that I see him again sometime or that he will hear it from someone else. Because he needs to hear it just as much as everyone else does.
Whew. Lots of prayer requests. But they're all very near and dear to my heart. I would appreciate it if you would keep at least one of them and me in your hearts this week and possibly beyond. I'll keep y'all posted in the comments if there are any improvements or add-ons (:.
<3 Warrior
Sherry
Sherry is one of my bestest friends. She's one of the strongest Christians I know and she's going through some really tough times. You see, like all problems that arise as a teenage girl, her problems were started with a boy (that was really stereotypical, but hey, it's generally true). I first noticed she was interested in him when I sat with her at lunch one day and he was talking about getting stoned and drunk and all this immoral stuff... and she sat there smiling. I warned her over and over and over again not to get involved with him... but she got stuck in his trap. Over the past month or so, he has made her cry, be depressed, be happy, cry again, and then be confused. He has influenced her to not read her Bible or pray or even think about God. He has tried to force her to touch him in ways a girl should never have to touch a boy. And now she's realizing that he's baaaad news. Today, she spent 45 minutes in the shower praying and singing Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone). And now she's getting over him. Hallelujah (: For her point of view on what's going on, check out her blog post on it here.
Maddie
Maddie is another one of my closest friends, like, ever. She is beautiful, talented, and energetic. Sounds just like me, no? (: The thing is, she's been moving in a totally opposite direction as me. For the past year-ish, she has had a boyfriend and facebook without her parents' permission. She cusses all the time. She admitted to me a couple months ago that she is an atheist... and I've been to her church and seen the faith of her parents. They have no idea who she is anymore. And I want to tell them. But I can't. Maddie is so happy now, and I would never be able to live with myself if I were the one that made her sad. I don't want to take away her happiness when no one else sees the awfulness of her situation. The thing is, I went through the same thing she's going through. I had a facebook and cussed without my parents' knowledge. And once they found out, I became closer to God and was more on fire for Him. (Read more about it here.) I just don't know what to do to help her without her hating me and destroying our friendship.
Kate
So a couple Wednesday nights ago at my church we talked about using friends as a way to keep us accountable for staying on the right track with God. And getting rid of those that lead us astray. (Sounds familiar! It's the same one as last time, though (:) Kate realized a couple days later that she had to rethink some of her friendships. Which is really hard. I would know. I've had to do the same. But pray for her while she struggles through this. Kate is NOT a very emotional person, and I saw first hand what she is like when she is. And it made me sad.
Michelle
This is a biggieeee. I don't even know half of what is going on with my Michy. All I know is that she no longer believes that anyone cares about her and that the only way to get back to the way things used to be would be to kill herself. A very wise man at my church told me that the best way to help her would be with actions, not words. But she doesn't go to my school, and I don't know what actions or words would help. I'm at a loss when it comes to helping her. And saving her life.
This guy I saw in the hallway
This is what Allie would call "MISSED opportunity, ladies!" I was walking in the hall towards Trig, which I have to rush to, and in front of me were these three tall black guys who looked like juniors. They were walking with that "oh I'm so cool" swag and had that whole aura that makes me sick. The whole "I'm the only thing that matters and I am above everything" aura. Well, I was walking behind them, not really paying them any attention, when a poor little geeky freshman accidentally ran into one of the boys. The little boy automatically streaked off, and the guy he had run into got this hugely annoyed look on his face and said "BUH LEEEEEEP" (I censored that by the way). Immediately, I realized that that guy's whole life was about himself. And it saddened me. I almost started crying for him, right there in the hallway. Legitimately. As he walked into his classroom, I realized I should have walked up to him, put my hands on his shoulders (If I could even reach them... he was a very tall person) and said "God loves you." But I didn't. And now I pray that I see him again sometime or that he will hear it from someone else. Because he needs to hear it just as much as everyone else does.
Whew. Lots of prayer requests. But they're all very near and dear to my heart. I would appreciate it if you would keep at least one of them and me in your hearts this week and possibly beyond. I'll keep y'all posted in the comments if there are any improvements or add-ons (:.
<3 Warrior
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Singing in the Lunchroom: My New Favorite Hobby
So today was my good friend's birthday. And of course, to embarass her, I got a bunch of band kids to sing happy birthday to her in the lunchroom. So we were singing... and everything was quiet except us... and all of a sudden EVERYONE STOPS SINGING BUT ME.
Talk about a *screams bloody murder on the inside* moment. I was terrified. Because not only was I singing loudly in the middle of a high school lunch room, but it was also the part in the happy birthday song that I usually purposely start singing horribly just because I can't sing that high and on pitch. But I didn't sing it badly this time. I sung it horribly off-key, loudly, and ALONE.
But hey, I realized something in this awkward experience. I realized it didn't phase me as much as I thought. Sure I sounded terrible (as I usually do, I'm not that great of a singer), and sure I was the only thing anyone could hear, but it made me think. If I can stand in the middle of a lunch room in front of a quarter of the lower classmen at my school, then why in the world can't I get the courage to talk to a single one of them about God?
I'd like to believe that it isn't because I'm ashamed of being a Christian. I think it's more of that I can't be assertive when it comes to talking about God because I don't have all the answers to the questions they ask me, I still have days when I feel like walking away from God and ignoring Him, and I have sooo many doubts about what I believe in.
Pretty much I need to work on throwing my worries into the wind, putting all my trust in Him, letting Him boost my confidence, and opening my mouth to speak. He'll put the words in my mouth, I have no doubt about that.
So maybe tomorrow I'll sing some God-Music at the top of my lungs during lunch. (: What about you?
<3 Warrior
Talk about a *screams bloody murder on the inside* moment. I was terrified. Because not only was I singing loudly in the middle of a high school lunch room, but it was also the part in the happy birthday song that I usually purposely start singing horribly just because I can't sing that high and on pitch. But I didn't sing it badly this time. I sung it horribly off-key, loudly, and ALONE.
But hey, I realized something in this awkward experience. I realized it didn't phase me as much as I thought. Sure I sounded terrible (as I usually do, I'm not that great of a singer), and sure I was the only thing anyone could hear, but it made me think. If I can stand in the middle of a lunch room in front of a quarter of the lower classmen at my school, then why in the world can't I get the courage to talk to a single one of them about God?
I'd like to believe that it isn't because I'm ashamed of being a Christian. I think it's more of that I can't be assertive when it comes to talking about God because I don't have all the answers to the questions they ask me, I still have days when I feel like walking away from God and ignoring Him, and I have sooo many doubts about what I believe in.
Pretty much I need to work on throwing my worries into the wind, putting all my trust in Him, letting Him boost my confidence, and opening my mouth to speak. He'll put the words in my mouth, I have no doubt about that.
So maybe tomorrow I'll sing some God-Music at the top of my lungs during lunch. (: What about you?
<3 Warrior
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Penny Pincher
One of my favorite stories of the Gospels is in Luke, chapter 21, verses 1-4. It's one of my favorites because I've experienced the story first-hand before. But I'll get into that later. First, the story.
So imagine, you're at church one sunny day and all of the wealthy people who live in the city are giving tons and tons of money to the church. As they do so, an old beggar woman shakily walks forward and drops two small copper coins into the offering jar. Everyone begins to mock her, but a voice of truth comes from behind you. A man in his early thirties tells the twelve men standing around him that the woman had given more to God than anyone else there, because she gave all she had.
Intense, right? It really makes you think. Those wealthy people gave a ton of money because it didn't hurt them to give away the cream off the top of their coffee. (Unless it's a Java Chip Frap from Starbucks and someone asks for the whipped cream off the top. Then I would have to hurt them (; ). Giving away money when you have a ton of money to give away is no skin off your back. But when you have no money... giving is hard. Very hard.
God wants more from us than what is easy to give. That's the bottom line. If we aren't putting our everything into His kingdom, if we don't give back to Him AT LEAST 10% of what we have, and if we don't give to Him with an attitude of willingness to do so, then we aren't giving enough. 2 Corinthians 8:12 says, "For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not to what one does not have."
God wants us to:
- Give back to Him
- Break a sweat doing so
- Give, love, and trust with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (MORE ON THIS LATER! STAY TUNED!)
When we give our all and place all of our trust in Him, He blesses us. He won't let anything bad happen to us if we are trusting in Him 110%. Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding." How's that for tough? It takes a lot of time and spiritual strength to accomplish that.
One last thing before I close out this post. My first-hand experience.
At my middle school, the band did a benefit concert every year to help an association in need of financial support. In my 6th grade year, the 7th and 8th grade bands had a benefit concert for a charity I don't remember now. At the end, during the last song, there was a chance for anyone and everyone to come up and put money into big jars on the edge of the stage to give to the charity. I had gathered up as much money as I could before the concert, still leaving some for myself, and I scurried up to the stage to put my dollahs and coins into the jar. While waiting to drop my donation in, I saw one of my friends and I went over to her and showed her how much I was giving. She showed me hers and said, "I brought all I could find." She had about 28 cents in pennies and nickels. Humbled, I gave her half of what I had so she could donate more.
The fact that all she could find to donate was 28 cents... and that was all she had... and she was giving it all...
WOW.
How's that for willingness and sacrifice?
Think today and for the next couple days about how you can give back to God. It may be through talents, gifts, tithing, serving, or anything like that. In what ways can YOU glorify God?
<3 Warrior
So imagine, you're at church one sunny day and all of the wealthy people who live in the city are giving tons and tons of money to the church. As they do so, an old beggar woman shakily walks forward and drops two small copper coins into the offering jar. Everyone begins to mock her, but a voice of truth comes from behind you. A man in his early thirties tells the twelve men standing around him that the woman had given more to God than anyone else there, because she gave all she had.
Intense, right? It really makes you think. Those wealthy people gave a ton of money because it didn't hurt them to give away the cream off the top of their coffee. (Unless it's a Java Chip Frap from Starbucks and someone asks for the whipped cream off the top. Then I would have to hurt them (; ). Giving away money when you have a ton of money to give away is no skin off your back. But when you have no money... giving is hard. Very hard.
God wants more from us than what is easy to give. That's the bottom line. If we aren't putting our everything into His kingdom, if we don't give back to Him AT LEAST 10% of what we have, and if we don't give to Him with an attitude of willingness to do so, then we aren't giving enough. 2 Corinthians 8:12 says, "For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not to what one does not have."
God wants us to:
- Give back to Him
- Break a sweat doing so
- Give, love, and trust with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (MORE ON THIS LATER! STAY TUNED!)
When we give our all and place all of our trust in Him, He blesses us. He won't let anything bad happen to us if we are trusting in Him 110%. Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding." How's that for tough? It takes a lot of time and spiritual strength to accomplish that.
One last thing before I close out this post. My first-hand experience.
At my middle school, the band did a benefit concert every year to help an association in need of financial support. In my 6th grade year, the 7th and 8th grade bands had a benefit concert for a charity I don't remember now. At the end, during the last song, there was a chance for anyone and everyone to come up and put money into big jars on the edge of the stage to give to the charity. I had gathered up as much money as I could before the concert, still leaving some for myself, and I scurried up to the stage to put my dollahs and coins into the jar. While waiting to drop my donation in, I saw one of my friends and I went over to her and showed her how much I was giving. She showed me hers and said, "I brought all I could find." She had about 28 cents in pennies and nickels. Humbled, I gave her half of what I had so she could donate more.
The fact that all she could find to donate was 28 cents... and that was all she had... and she was giving it all...
WOW.
How's that for willingness and sacrifice?
Think today and for the next couple days about how you can give back to God. It may be through talents, gifts, tithing, serving, or anything like that. In what ways can YOU glorify God?
<3 Warrior
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Overwhelmed
Okay, so I don't really like putting lyrics into blog posts, because without music, the lyrics are kind of boring. But I'm going to be boring. Just read through the lyrics and maybe look up the song on YouTube.
Pay special attention to the chorus.
Overwhelm ~ Starfield
This is an invitation to overwhelm my heart
I'm asking you to meet me
I'm waiting here to start
My soul is like a desert
Thirsty for your rain
So open up the heavens
And fill me up again
I'm ready for my life to be consumed
Father here I am
Overwhelmed, Overwhelmed
Only your love can
Overwhelm, Overwhelm
Let your spirit fall
Overtaking all
Overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm me
Desperate for your presence
I long for you alone
So Dwell within me Jesus
This temple is your home
I'm ready for this life to be consumed
Father here I am
Overwhelmed, Overwhelmed
Only your love can
Overwhelm, Overwhelm
Let your spirit fall
Overtaking all
Overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm,
Overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm me
Father here I am
Overwhelm, Overwhelm
Only your love can
Overwhelm
Father here I am
Overwhelmed, Overwhelmed
Only your love can
Overwhelm, Overwhelm
Let your spirit fall
Overtake it all
Let your spirit fall
Overtake it all
Overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm,
Overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm me
~~~
Did you notice the line in the chorus that says "Only Your love can overwhelm me"? Well I was thinking about that while listening to this song the other day while simultaneously working on my 3-foot pile of homework. I thought, "Good golly goldfish, I'm overwhelmed!" when I saw my homework. Then I listened to this song and it dawned on me that if I focus solely on glorifying God with my best and give my troubles to Him, He will provide for me. Then the only thing I need to fear is His power and the only thing that will overwhelm me is His awesome and unfailing love.
When I feel over whelmed, I usually go to Proverbs, which is my go-to guide in the Bible when I'm having problems. Last year, during a very stressful group project, I found a couple verses that told me to rely on God to provide and everything will turn out all right. (My group ended up being one of two groups out of 10 to get a B. All else recieved much lower.)
Proverbs 16:3 ~ Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.
Proverbs 16:9 ~ In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.
Proverbs is SOOO full of wisdom for everyday life. If you look through my personal Bible, Proverbs is a mass of green and yellow highlighter mixed with splotches of pen and pencil notes (:
It's a great place to go when you're lost or need help.
If you ever feel overwhelmed,
1. Talk to God about it and let Him take away your stress & pain.
2. Walk away from whatever's stressing you out for a a while. Take a walk. Dance. Take a nap. Read. It helps.
3. Talk to someone who has gone through your situation before for advice. If you don't have someone, talk to me. (:
<3 Warrior
Pay special attention to the chorus.
Overwhelm ~ Starfield
This is an invitation to overwhelm my heart
I'm asking you to meet me
I'm waiting here to start
My soul is like a desert
Thirsty for your rain
So open up the heavens
And fill me up again
I'm ready for my life to be consumed
Father here I am
Overwhelmed, Overwhelmed
Only your love can
Overwhelm, Overwhelm
Let your spirit fall
Overtaking all
Overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm me
Desperate for your presence
I long for you alone
So Dwell within me Jesus
This temple is your home
I'm ready for this life to be consumed
Father here I am
Overwhelmed, Overwhelmed
Only your love can
Overwhelm, Overwhelm
Let your spirit fall
Overtaking all
Overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm,
Overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm me
Father here I am
Overwhelm, Overwhelm
Only your love can
Overwhelm
Father here I am
Overwhelmed, Overwhelmed
Only your love can
Overwhelm, Overwhelm
Let your spirit fall
Overtake it all
Let your spirit fall
Overtake it all
Overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm,
Overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm me
~~~
Did you notice the line in the chorus that says "Only Your love can overwhelm me"? Well I was thinking about that while listening to this song the other day while simultaneously working on my 3-foot pile of homework. I thought, "Good golly goldfish, I'm overwhelmed!" when I saw my homework. Then I listened to this song and it dawned on me that if I focus solely on glorifying God with my best and give my troubles to Him, He will provide for me. Then the only thing I need to fear is His power and the only thing that will overwhelm me is His awesome and unfailing love.
When I feel over whelmed, I usually go to Proverbs, which is my go-to guide in the Bible when I'm having problems. Last year, during a very stressful group project, I found a couple verses that told me to rely on God to provide and everything will turn out all right. (My group ended up being one of two groups out of 10 to get a B. All else recieved much lower.)
Proverbs 16:3 ~ Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.
Proverbs 16:9 ~ In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.
Proverbs is SOOO full of wisdom for everyday life. If you look through my personal Bible, Proverbs is a mass of green and yellow highlighter mixed with splotches of pen and pencil notes (:
It's a great place to go when you're lost or need help.
If you ever feel overwhelmed,
1. Talk to God about it and let Him take away your stress & pain.
2. Walk away from whatever's stressing you out for a a while. Take a walk. Dance. Take a nap. Read. It helps.
3. Talk to someone who has gone through your situation before for advice. If you don't have someone, talk to me. (:
<3 Warrior
Monday, September 6, 2010
Loving Your Enemies
This is a BIG one. Everyone knows to love their family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc. That's a given. The big problem is when it comes to loving your enemy. Loving the ones who hate you, wish you ill tidings, start rumors about you, make fun of you behind your back and in front of your face, insult your clothes, etc. It makes no sense in this modern world to love someone who treats you so badly. We've been told to hate them back and retaliate by the world. Jesus tells us otherwise.
Jesus tells us in Matthew (5:43-48) that we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Whew. What a task. But guess what? Jesus is no hypocrite. The Bible says that while we were sinners, we were God's enemies. He loved His enemies. He loved them SO MUCH that He sent His son to die for them. And Jesus did it without hesitation. He prayed for His enemies' souls while hanging on the very cross they had nailed Him to. Could you die for the ones who hate you and persecute you? and pray for them while they do so?
School's about to start and I just learned that one of my old best friends is going to be in the same program as me this year. I'm dreading every second of it. While we were friends, she abused our friendship, used me, and did all sorts of awful stuff. That was 5 years ago and from what I've heard from another friend of mine who went to school with her last year, she hasn't changed much.
Also in my program is a girl who used to be my worst enemy. 5 years ago to be exact. We hated each other. We both had the eye-for-an-eye philosophy when it came to each other. We both got hurt. Badly. Now, it's like it never happened. We never talk about the past. We aren't best best friends but we talk every now and then. I'm loving my used-to-be enemy (then again, now she's not a threat to me).
This kind of goes along with my whole "I only care what someone thinks about me if it's one of my friends" lifestyle. I'm going to need a lot of help from God and my friends to learn to love my ex-friend. It's going to take a lot of patience and love. I've never been quite good at forgiving and forgetting. I'm about to get a crash course in it. Keep me in your prayers.
So yeah, you're going to have lots of chances in your life to love an enemy. There are going to be times when you need to. Prepare yourself for when that time comes and know ahead of time that it's not going to be easy. I don't think it ever will be.
I love you guys :D
<3 Warrior
Jesus tells us in Matthew (5:43-48) that we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Whew. What a task. But guess what? Jesus is no hypocrite. The Bible says that while we were sinners, we were God's enemies. He loved His enemies. He loved them SO MUCH that He sent His son to die for them. And Jesus did it without hesitation. He prayed for His enemies' souls while hanging on the very cross they had nailed Him to. Could you die for the ones who hate you and persecute you? and pray for them while they do so?
School's about to start and I just learned that one of my old best friends is going to be in the same program as me this year. I'm dreading every second of it. While we were friends, she abused our friendship, used me, and did all sorts of awful stuff. That was 5 years ago and from what I've heard from another friend of mine who went to school with her last year, she hasn't changed much.
Also in my program is a girl who used to be my worst enemy. 5 years ago to be exact. We hated each other. We both had the eye-for-an-eye philosophy when it came to each other. We both got hurt. Badly. Now, it's like it never happened. We never talk about the past. We aren't best best friends but we talk every now and then. I'm loving my used-to-be enemy (then again, now she's not a threat to me).
This kind of goes along with my whole "I only care what someone thinks about me if it's one of my friends" lifestyle. I'm going to need a lot of help from God and my friends to learn to love my ex-friend. It's going to take a lot of patience and love. I've never been quite good at forgiving and forgetting. I'm about to get a crash course in it. Keep me in your prayers.
So yeah, you're going to have lots of chances in your life to love an enemy. There are going to be times when you need to. Prepare yourself for when that time comes and know ahead of time that it's not going to be easy. I don't think it ever will be.
I love you guys :D
<3 Warrior
Saturday, September 4, 2010
A Little Something About Myself/Friendship Advice
Hello faithful readers!
I am currently on vacation in The Sunshine State so I haven't really been able to blog. But I have something I need to say really quick.
I pride myself on not caring a single bit what anyone thinks of me. I wear jeans and a t-shirt year-round, never take off my sweatshirt in the winter, wear no make-up whatsoever, sing in public, the whole nine yards. When people say something mean about me, I shrug it off. It's only when they are mean to my friends when I get upset.
Yesterday I realized I have an edit to make to that. I can take anything from anyone EXCEPT my friends. My friends are the ones who should love me no matter what. If and when they say something rude to me or about me, I WILL get upset.
One of my very very very best friends is a coaster enthusiast and he's been slowly converting me into one. I called him last night to tell him about the shirt I had gotten at Busch Gardens Tampa. When I first told him, he was excited. But when I told him which shirt it was he said, "Oh that's stupid." You have no idea how much that upset me. I'm almost crying now, just thinking about it. It really hurt me for him to say that. I was SOOOO excited about that shirt and now I never want to wear it. Geez, now I AM crying.
So let this serve as a reminder for you to love your friends and support them in everything whether you love it too or not.
<3 Warrior
P.S. When I get home I have a bunch of devo's for you guys :D
I am currently on vacation in The Sunshine State so I haven't really been able to blog. But I have something I need to say really quick.
I pride myself on not caring a single bit what anyone thinks of me. I wear jeans and a t-shirt year-round, never take off my sweatshirt in the winter, wear no make-up whatsoever, sing in public, the whole nine yards. When people say something mean about me, I shrug it off. It's only when they are mean to my friends when I get upset.
Yesterday I realized I have an edit to make to that. I can take anything from anyone EXCEPT my friends. My friends are the ones who should love me no matter what. If and when they say something rude to me or about me, I WILL get upset.
One of my very very very best friends is a coaster enthusiast and he's been slowly converting me into one. I called him last night to tell him about the shirt I had gotten at Busch Gardens Tampa. When I first told him, he was excited. But when I told him which shirt it was he said, "Oh that's stupid." You have no idea how much that upset me. I'm almost crying now, just thinking about it. It really hurt me for him to say that. I was SOOOO excited about that shirt and now I never want to wear it. Geez, now I AM crying.
So let this serve as a reminder for you to love your friends and support them in everything whether you love it too or not.
<3 Warrior
P.S. When I get home I have a bunch of devo's for you guys :D
Saturday, August 28, 2010
You Are Beautiful (no matter what they sayyyy...)
Okay so a good friend of mine sent me a word document full of quotes the other day and one really stood out.
"If you made a gift for your best friend, then gave it to her and her reply was, 'Ew this is so ugly,' you would be killed inside, right? After all that hard work, and time spent on it, she hates it. Imagine how God feels when you call yourself ugly."
Isn't that... just... EPIC? I had never thought about it that way. I mean, I knew I was made in God's image, but I had never thought that when I was calling myself fat and ugly (as I do very often), I was offending God.
While flipping through one of Paul's letters today, I noticed that he was quoting a ton of Old Testament verses. One of them was talking about beauty, so I looked up the original verse in Psalms. The verse was Psalms 45:11 and it reads, "The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord."
OMIGOLDFISH GOD THINKS I'M PRETTY!!! Ahahaha, isn't that cool? It reminds me of how my Daddy always answers the phone when I call by saying, "Mi hija bonita quien yo amo muchisimo muchisimo muchisimo" meaning, "my beautiful daughter who I love so much so much so much."
God loves you. He made you. God is incapable of screwing up. Everything He makes and has made is beautiful. YOU are beautiful.
Never forget that :D
<3 Warrior
"If you made a gift for your best friend, then gave it to her and her reply was, 'Ew this is so ugly,' you would be killed inside, right? After all that hard work, and time spent on it, she hates it. Imagine how God feels when you call yourself ugly."
Isn't that... just... EPIC? I had never thought about it that way. I mean, I knew I was made in God's image, but I had never thought that when I was calling myself fat and ugly (as I do very often), I was offending God.
While flipping through one of Paul's letters today, I noticed that he was quoting a ton of Old Testament verses. One of them was talking about beauty, so I looked up the original verse in Psalms. The verse was Psalms 45:11 and it reads, "The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord."
OMIGOLDFISH GOD THINKS I'M PRETTY!!! Ahahaha, isn't that cool? It reminds me of how my Daddy always answers the phone when I call by saying, "Mi hija bonita quien yo amo muchisimo muchisimo muchisimo" meaning, "my beautiful daughter who I love so much so much so much."
God loves you. He made you. God is incapable of screwing up. Everything He makes and has made is beautiful. YOU are beautiful.
Never forget that :D
<3 Warrior
When Friends Lead You Astray
Totally had a God moment this morning (or afternoon seeing as I woke up at 11:30). I opened my Bible to somewhere in Leviticus and then flipped through it, looking for something to stand out. The first thing to do so was a heading that said "Worshipping Other Gods" and I thought "Hmm, there's been a lot of that lately." So I read it. It's all of Deuteronomy 13, so obviously it's too long for me to type here. But here's a link so you don't have to go search the house for your Bible.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+13&version=NIV
While I was reading it, I realized it wasn't just about worshipping other gods. It was about what to do to/how to treat someone who has tried to turn you away from God.
Now before you freak out because you think I'm trying to tell you to slaughter anyone who tells you not to believe in God, 1) that's a little sketch 2) God doesn't want us to kill people 3) there would be very very few people left if we all did that.
Matthew 18:8 reads, "If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled and lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire." Meaning if someone or something is causing you to sin or to turn away from God, get rid of them/it! I know from experience that it's hard and that you WILL be judged and you WILL be persecuted.
Two years ago I had a Facebook account without the approval of my parents. I cussed, gossiped, started rumors, et cetera on it, while simultaneously dishonoring my parents. What a mess! After a retreat entitled "Image Is Everything" with my church, I realized that I was made in God's image and that I wasn't reflecting that in my life. So the night I got back from the retreat, I disconnected my Facebook account without a moment of hesitation and stayed off of the computer for about 2 months. I was persecuted by my own friends for a long time and still am to this day. They demand why I disconnected it and my reply has always been, "It was tearing me away from God." And you can guess how they took that. Yeah, not very well.
Basically, by cutting myself off from a medium with which I was being "evil," I was cutting off the part of me that was diseased. I was slaughtering the part of me that was trying and succeeding in getting me to sin and turn away from God. In my case, it wasn't just my friends leading me astray, it was myself as well.
I was reading Psalm 119, the longest book of the Bible, the other night and I noticed that the whole Psalm is praising God's law and declaring the author's undying love for it. He says, "I hate double-minded people, but I love your law. You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in Your word. Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God!" (Psalm 119:113-115) He is telling God that he loves His commands more than anything else, and is telling all of the "evil-doers" around him to get away so he can love his God more passionately. Do you need to do that? Maybe it's time to "yell" at the "evil-doers" around you to get away so that you can love and follow your awesome God with your whole life. I've found with experience that the best way to do it is through a note. Tell them about God's love for them and why it is you find it hard to stay friends with them and be a true follower of Christ at the same time. If you feel led to do so, try it. I felt pushed by God to write a friend of mine a note that ended our friendship, and it all worked out for the better.
So, yes. I know breaking off from your best friend is hard. I know that breaking addictions is hard. I know that breaking a habit is hard. I know that believing is extremely hard. I've had to go through all of these myself. When you go through these things, you just have to remember that God is with you and will never leave you and that whatever doesn't kill you can only make you stronger. (:
Have faith and stay strong. It might be tough at times, but I believe in you.
If you're a girl and under the age of 20-ish, I totally without a doubt suggest you find and purchase the book "Lies Young Women Believe and the Truth that Sets them Free" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Dannah Gresh. It's an amazing book and is a great help for when you don't understand what to believe.
I also suggest reading the Bible. (: When you're worrying about not being able to hear God speaking to you, pick it up. Read it. HEY! You just read God's letter to you.
Keep faith. Keep heart.
Pray for my friend ~Anonymous~.
<3 Warrior
A post note made on 11.26.10: I actually just stopped talking to my best friend of one year. I realized a couple weeks ago that the first and only time I ever talked to him about God was on November 14, 2009, the first day we started talking. And I never mentioned Him to him again. Ever. So I stopped talking to him. Not like ignoring him, but just not talking to him. I haven't spoken to him in about a week or more, and it's an amazing feeling. Like I'm not being held down or hidden. I'm not hiding my love for God from my friends anymore, because all of them want to hear it or don't yell at me for trying to tell them about God. I regret a lot of the time I spent with my friend, because it was wasted time that I could have used to glorify God more. But now I know that God was teaching me a lesson on friendship and love and evangelism. It makes me love Him so much. I really want to give Him a huge hug right now. I can't wait to get to heaven so I can thank Him in person for all of the crap I've gone through in my life. Because I know He was with me and never left me. Ever.
Post-post note made on 4.23.11: Check out my post http://thisismyriflethisoneismine.blogspot.com/2011/01/this-past-week.html to hear about how I followed my own advice and wrote a note to one of my bestest friends ever that was leading me astray! God WILL bring good out of it! I promise!
Another verse to consider: Romans 16: 17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+13&version=NIV
While I was reading it, I realized it wasn't just about worshipping other gods. It was about what to do to/how to treat someone who has tried to turn you away from God.
Now before you freak out because you think I'm trying to tell you to slaughter anyone who tells you not to believe in God, 1) that's a little sketch 2) God doesn't want us to kill people 3) there would be very very few people left if we all did that.
Matthew 18:8 reads, "If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled and lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire." Meaning if someone or something is causing you to sin or to turn away from God, get rid of them/it! I know from experience that it's hard and that you WILL be judged and you WILL be persecuted.
Two years ago I had a Facebook account without the approval of my parents. I cussed, gossiped, started rumors, et cetera on it, while simultaneously dishonoring my parents. What a mess! After a retreat entitled "Image Is Everything" with my church, I realized that I was made in God's image and that I wasn't reflecting that in my life. So the night I got back from the retreat, I disconnected my Facebook account without a moment of hesitation and stayed off of the computer for about 2 months. I was persecuted by my own friends for a long time and still am to this day. They demand why I disconnected it and my reply has always been, "It was tearing me away from God." And you can guess how they took that. Yeah, not very well.
Basically, by cutting myself off from a medium with which I was being "evil," I was cutting off the part of me that was diseased. I was slaughtering the part of me that was trying and succeeding in getting me to sin and turn away from God. In my case, it wasn't just my friends leading me astray, it was myself as well.
I was reading Psalm 119, the longest book of the Bible, the other night and I noticed that the whole Psalm is praising God's law and declaring the author's undying love for it. He says, "I hate double-minded people, but I love your law. You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in Your word. Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God!" (Psalm 119:113-115) He is telling God that he loves His commands more than anything else, and is telling all of the "evil-doers" around him to get away so he can love his God more passionately. Do you need to do that? Maybe it's time to "yell" at the "evil-doers" around you to get away so that you can love and follow your awesome God with your whole life. I've found with experience that the best way to do it is through a note. Tell them about God's love for them and why it is you find it hard to stay friends with them and be a true follower of Christ at the same time. If you feel led to do so, try it. I felt pushed by God to write a friend of mine a note that ended our friendship, and it all worked out for the better.
So, yes. I know breaking off from your best friend is hard. I know that breaking addictions is hard. I know that breaking a habit is hard. I know that believing is extremely hard. I've had to go through all of these myself. When you go through these things, you just have to remember that God is with you and will never leave you and that whatever doesn't kill you can only make you stronger. (:
Have faith and stay strong. It might be tough at times, but I believe in you.
If you're a girl and under the age of 20-ish, I totally without a doubt suggest you find and purchase the book "Lies Young Women Believe and the Truth that Sets them Free" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Dannah Gresh. It's an amazing book and is a great help for when you don't understand what to believe.
I also suggest reading the Bible. (: When you're worrying about not being able to hear God speaking to you, pick it up. Read it. HEY! You just read God's letter to you.
Keep faith. Keep heart.
Pray for my friend ~Anonymous~.
<3 Warrior
A post note made on 11.26.10: I actually just stopped talking to my best friend of one year. I realized a couple weeks ago that the first and only time I ever talked to him about God was on November 14, 2009, the first day we started talking. And I never mentioned Him to him again. Ever. So I stopped talking to him. Not like ignoring him, but just not talking to him. I haven't spoken to him in about a week or more, and it's an amazing feeling. Like I'm not being held down or hidden. I'm not hiding my love for God from my friends anymore, because all of them want to hear it or don't yell at me for trying to tell them about God. I regret a lot of the time I spent with my friend, because it was wasted time that I could have used to glorify God more. But now I know that God was teaching me a lesson on friendship and love and evangelism. It makes me love Him so much. I really want to give Him a huge hug right now. I can't wait to get to heaven so I can thank Him in person for all of the crap I've gone through in my life. Because I know He was with me and never left me. Ever.
Post-post note made on 4.23.11: Check out my post http://thisismyriflethisoneismine.blogspot.com/2011/01/this-past-week.html to hear about how I followed my own advice and wrote a note to one of my bestest friends ever that was leading me astray! God WILL bring good out of it! I promise!
Another verse to consider: Romans 16: 17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Teenage Dream
So a good friend of mine had Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" lyrics as his status today and as I started singing it in my head, I remembered a verse I found while I was at camp that I absolutely love.
"Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgement." ~ Ecclesiastes 11:9
Isn't that AWESOME?? This is God being the best parent imaginable. He's saying, "You're young. Go have fun. Follow your heart. Do what you please." But since He's our Dad, of course there's a "but." Don't take this the wrong way, but it's a really big but. What we do, even when we are young, matters in the bigger picture. When we get to heaven, it's going to matter. Big time. Since He's our Father, He wants us to follow His rules. And if we break them, there's going to be a punishment (eternal, that is).
The good thing is, we can ask for forgiveness. He will ALWAYS love us. Nothing we do can change that. So if we totally screw up, we can approach Him humbly and ask for His forgiveness, and He will grant it.
When I was at Camp Piankatank this past year, at the dockside service the camp pastor told us a story about a woman who could talk directly to God. He told us that the priest told her to ask God what was the last sin he had confessed to Him. When she returned to the priest she took his hand and said, "He said He couldn't remember." That brings tears to my eyes everytime I see/hear/say that. When you confess your sins to Him... wow... He is the MASTER of forgiving and forgetting :D.
So go live the teenage dream... but always remember that God is with you and would be crushed if you did something against His wishes. He WANTS you to have fun and life your life with excitement, love, passion, and joy. Don't let Him down.
<3, Warrior
"Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgement." ~ Ecclesiastes 11:9
Isn't that AWESOME?? This is God being the best parent imaginable. He's saying, "You're young. Go have fun. Follow your heart. Do what you please." But since He's our Dad, of course there's a "but." Don't take this the wrong way, but it's a really big but. What we do, even when we are young, matters in the bigger picture. When we get to heaven, it's going to matter. Big time. Since He's our Father, He wants us to follow His rules. And if we break them, there's going to be a punishment (eternal, that is).
The good thing is, we can ask for forgiveness. He will ALWAYS love us. Nothing we do can change that. So if we totally screw up, we can approach Him humbly and ask for His forgiveness, and He will grant it.
When I was at Camp Piankatank this past year, at the dockside service the camp pastor told us a story about a woman who could talk directly to God. He told us that the priest told her to ask God what was the last sin he had confessed to Him. When she returned to the priest she took his hand and said, "He said He couldn't remember." That brings tears to my eyes everytime I see/hear/say that. When you confess your sins to Him... wow... He is the MASTER of forgiving and forgetting :D.
So go live the teenage dream... but always remember that God is with you and would be crushed if you did something against His wishes. He WANTS you to have fun and life your life with excitement, love, passion, and joy. Don't let Him down.
<3, Warrior
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
My Story
Personally, I think I live an ordinary life. I guess everyone says that. But what IS "ordinary" anyway? Everyone's story is unique. This is mine.
I was born to Bill and Beth Torres as their second child on July 19th, 1995. I was raised along with my half-brother, David and brother, Scott. I grew up in a Christian home so faith was a part of my life since day one. I was baptized when I when i was 6 or so (I don't really remember when it was) and I remember the only reason I did so was because my brother was doing it. Speaking of Scott, we totally hated each other until a couple years ago when we finally became friends.
I lived my life knowing God, but I was never really close to Him until I started going to Camp Piankatank. There was where I truly began to live my life for God. But it's strange. In middle school, primarily 8th grade, I was a bad person. I cussed, I gossiped, I lied, I was perverted, and I did all of these things that were un-Godly. But that was a time I was close to Him.
When I began high school, I started to lose my faith. The summer before my freshman year I felt distant from Him and felt like He had abandoned me. It wasn't until I had already given up on my faith that I realized that God had led me into the wilderness just as He had for Moses, Jacob, and even Jesus. I realized I had failed Him and that it was time to me to return to Him. But then I discovered....
I couldn't do it. I tried. I couldn't find anything in my soul that believed that He was there. I couldn't feel Him anymore. As much as I wanted to go back to the way it used to be, I couldn't do it. Through my struggle, I finally understood how hard it is for people not raised in a Christian home to come to know God. It really is an act of pure faith to do so. After being in the wilderness, I was completely at loss for what to do to go to God.
At the end of this past summer, I returned to Camp Piankatank, dreading the experience. It was the first summer I attended camp without showing up with a burning passion for Christ. Throughout the week, it was extremely stormy (which I loved because I love storms more than anything) and a friend of mine there who also loved storms told me how she saw God's power through storms and I replied with a smile because I had nothing else to contribute.
Every single Thursday night at Piankatank, they hold a dockside service where worship is held on the dock. It's a very serious and moving experience. As I told some of the girls in the cabin before we left, you cannot walk away from it without being changed. The entire walk from the cabin to the dock (about a mile or more), I was praying nonstop for myself and for the girls in my cabin to be touched by God. Still praying as I stepped on the dock, I begged God not to let me leave without being changed. I told Him I didn't want to leave the dock the same person I was when I stepped off.
Throughout the whole worship, I had this reoccurring feeling of "this is stupid" but I pushed the thought away with angry tears in my eyes. At the end of worship, each camper has the option to stay behind and spend more time with God and pray with their counselors in small groups. Since I didn't want to leave yet, I stayed and got in a prayer circle with my cabin. While one of my friends was praying for us, she said "... and especially me, Lord. Recently I've become so distant from you..." and it was at that when I realized I wasn't alone. At her words, I began to pray and sob hysterically. She took me into her arms and we wept into each others shoulders for several minutes. After a while I pulled away to wipe my runny nose.
Or so I thought. Instead of regular snot, I wiped away a handful of blood. Stunned, I cried out. I have never had a nosebleed. Ever. After I saw the blood all over my legs, shirt, pants (and my friend's pants, too), and hands I realized I had prayed and cried so hard that I caused myself to bleed. Immediately I was reminded of Jesus' prayer that caused Him to bleed and I cried out just as He had on the cross, "Oh God, my God, why have you forsaken me??" (Psalm 22) God had shown His awesome power in me through a nosebleed. It was incredible. I walked off the dock a few minutes later with one of the camp medics to get cleaned up and the other girls joined me a few minutes later.
Not even 20 feet away from the dock, all of the girls from my cabin who had stayed behind felt called to go back to the dock again. As I was walking back on with another friend of mine, I realized that I had walked off of the dock a new person. I laughed with tears of joy in my eyes at the revelation. God had listened to my prayer and had not let me walk away from the dock the same Warrior. With my friend, I went and put my feet in the water of the Piankatank River and sang softly to myself before we had to go back to the cabin for good.
Even though God revealed Himself to me in such a personal and unique way, I still feel far from Him and I'm still struggling to believe. When band started this summer, I didn't know how well it would it turn out. Last year, because of my dissolving faith, I went into a severe depression that put me in a funk that made me hate band. A good friend of mine kinda-not-really forced me to do marching band again this year and so I was worried about how I would take it. The first week was exhausting but great and during the lock-in that weekend I made a new friend who is very dear to my heart now.
Because of her, I now have a Christian friend who faces persecution in her own home and everywhere she goes (including her church), reads her Bible diligently, and is so much like me I swear she must be my other half. If you want to read her blog, it's http://godloveharmony.blogspot.com/.
I know this was a really long post, but thanks for holding in there if you stayed to listen all the way through.
Pray for me and pray for my friends <3
I was born to Bill and Beth Torres as their second child on July 19th, 1995. I was raised along with my half-brother, David and brother, Scott. I grew up in a Christian home so faith was a part of my life since day one. I was baptized when I when i was 6 or so (I don't really remember when it was) and I remember the only reason I did so was because my brother was doing it. Speaking of Scott, we totally hated each other until a couple years ago when we finally became friends.
I lived my life knowing God, but I was never really close to Him until I started going to Camp Piankatank. There was where I truly began to live my life for God. But it's strange. In middle school, primarily 8th grade, I was a bad person. I cussed, I gossiped, I lied, I was perverted, and I did all of these things that were un-Godly. But that was a time I was close to Him.
When I began high school, I started to lose my faith. The summer before my freshman year I felt distant from Him and felt like He had abandoned me. It wasn't until I had already given up on my faith that I realized that God had led me into the wilderness just as He had for Moses, Jacob, and even Jesus. I realized I had failed Him and that it was time to me to return to Him. But then I discovered....
I couldn't do it. I tried. I couldn't find anything in my soul that believed that He was there. I couldn't feel Him anymore. As much as I wanted to go back to the way it used to be, I couldn't do it. Through my struggle, I finally understood how hard it is for people not raised in a Christian home to come to know God. It really is an act of pure faith to do so. After being in the wilderness, I was completely at loss for what to do to go to God.
At the end of this past summer, I returned to Camp Piankatank, dreading the experience. It was the first summer I attended camp without showing up with a burning passion for Christ. Throughout the week, it was extremely stormy (which I loved because I love storms more than anything) and a friend of mine there who also loved storms told me how she saw God's power through storms and I replied with a smile because I had nothing else to contribute.
Every single Thursday night at Piankatank, they hold a dockside service where worship is held on the dock. It's a very serious and moving experience. As I told some of the girls in the cabin before we left, you cannot walk away from it without being changed. The entire walk from the cabin to the dock (about a mile or more), I was praying nonstop for myself and for the girls in my cabin to be touched by God. Still praying as I stepped on the dock, I begged God not to let me leave without being changed. I told Him I didn't want to leave the dock the same person I was when I stepped off.
Throughout the whole worship, I had this reoccurring feeling of "this is stupid" but I pushed the thought away with angry tears in my eyes. At the end of worship, each camper has the option to stay behind and spend more time with God and pray with their counselors in small groups. Since I didn't want to leave yet, I stayed and got in a prayer circle with my cabin. While one of my friends was praying for us, she said "... and especially me, Lord. Recently I've become so distant from you..." and it was at that when I realized I wasn't alone. At her words, I began to pray and sob hysterically. She took me into her arms and we wept into each others shoulders for several minutes. After a while I pulled away to wipe my runny nose.
Or so I thought. Instead of regular snot, I wiped away a handful of blood. Stunned, I cried out. I have never had a nosebleed. Ever. After I saw the blood all over my legs, shirt, pants (and my friend's pants, too), and hands I realized I had prayed and cried so hard that I caused myself to bleed. Immediately I was reminded of Jesus' prayer that caused Him to bleed and I cried out just as He had on the cross, "Oh God, my God, why have you forsaken me??" (Psalm 22) God had shown His awesome power in me through a nosebleed. It was incredible. I walked off the dock a few minutes later with one of the camp medics to get cleaned up and the other girls joined me a few minutes later.
Not even 20 feet away from the dock, all of the girls from my cabin who had stayed behind felt called to go back to the dock again. As I was walking back on with another friend of mine, I realized that I had walked off of the dock a new person. I laughed with tears of joy in my eyes at the revelation. God had listened to my prayer and had not let me walk away from the dock the same Warrior. With my friend, I went and put my feet in the water of the Piankatank River and sang softly to myself before we had to go back to the cabin for good.
Even though God revealed Himself to me in such a personal and unique way, I still feel far from Him and I'm still struggling to believe. When band started this summer, I didn't know how well it would it turn out. Last year, because of my dissolving faith, I went into a severe depression that put me in a funk that made me hate band. A good friend of mine kinda-not-really forced me to do marching band again this year and so I was worried about how I would take it. The first week was exhausting but great and during the lock-in that weekend I made a new friend who is very dear to my heart now.
Because of her, I now have a Christian friend who faces persecution in her own home and everywhere she goes (including her church), reads her Bible diligently, and is so much like me I swear she must be my other half. If you want to read her blog, it's http://godloveharmony.blogspot.com/.
I know this was a really long post, but thanks for holding in there if you stayed to listen all the way through.
Pray for me and pray for my friends <3
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Meaning of This Is My Rifle
Okay, so if you're into comedies and military movies, you probably think "This Is My Rifle" is referring to the movie Stripes, but since I've never seen that movie, I'm going to have to say it's not. "This is my rifle" has been my motto for a couple weeks now and it's made such an impact on me. It all began when my dad and I went to go see the cinema cast of the DCI semifinals this year. My favorite group of the 15 that we saw were the Cavaliers. Their show, "Mad World", was absolutely stunning. For the drum break, the entire band excluding the tubas put down their horns and picked up rifles, producing what the color guard instructor next to me called a "guardgasm". The guard and band did an amazing rifle routine while saying, "This is my rifle. This one is mine. This is my life." and so on and so forth. Knowing absolutely nothing of the movie Stripes, I took their words into my heart and applied them to my own life as I had interpreted them. To me, they weren't just saying it to say it. To me, they weren't even talking about their rifle. They were talking about their lives. Their passions. The reason they did what they did. Band was their rifle. From their passion, I have just begun to discover MY rifles. Band is one of them. God is another. Friends are another as well. My rifle is my life. So welcome to This Is My Rifle. Welcome to my life.
Link to "This is my rifle" guardgasm on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf38d4U3pTI&feature=related
Link to "This is my rifle" guardgasm on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf38d4U3pTI&feature=related
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