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
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