You now that girl at your school that just looks like she has everything handed to her on a silver platter? She always looks great, even if the school just had a major snow storm that she just had to walk through. Somehow this girl seems like no matter what physically hits her, she always has a solution. Bad hair day? No problem, she still looks great in a ponytail. Ran out of makeup? She has friends who will let her borrow some. No date to prom? That's alright, she has what... like 20 different options. Or more. To our untrained eye, this girl looks like her life is physically perfect. She has it all. The Looks. The Personality. The Guys. Why is it though that we take the time to notice so much about these kinds of people? We don't just notice that these people have everything made, but we also start thinking down the path of everything they have that we don't. We think to ourselves, "When I have a bad hair day, my hair looks nothing like that. I have no makeup so I'll have to run to the store this weekend. But with or without makeup, we'll never look like they do. No date to prom? Oh well, I'll just have to go with friends."
You see girls, we really need a new way of thinking here. First things first, even though this girl looks like everything in her life is just spectacular and perfect, most often times this is not the case. There could easily be something going on under the surface that we just don't see. But even if there is nothing going on underneath the surface and life is really going great for them, why can't we have life going the exact same way? Honestly, we don't need any of that stuff to make us happy. We don't need perfect looks, a drop dead gorgeous personality(although having God on your side does wonders for anyone's personality), or a guy hanging on our arm to make us happy. Why? Because God made us exactly the way we are for a reason. Who are we to say that he didn't make us perfectly? I don't know about you, but I don't exactly want to be telling God that something he made is not perfect. Who are we to judge God's work?
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27
What we need to start doing is accepting ourselves for the way they are, and taking pride in who we are. All of us are beautiful and unique because we were all created by God, in his image. That simple fact right there should be so encouraging. We were created by a perfect God, in his image. What a beautiful thought. To think that we were hand crafted by God, the creator of the universe. Sometimes this can seem like such a crazy concept that it can be sometimes difficult to understand. But stop and think about this for a moment. What are we doing sitting here worrying about how that popular girl a few tables over looks like she has everything made when we all were made equal and in his image?
"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10
Besides being beautifully created in his image, we were all unique and created with a purpose. Can you believe that? Not only do we get the honor of being created by God and in his image, but we also get to have a reason to live and purpose?! Insane and beautiful. :) Girls, think about this for a moment. You were created by God, for a reason. To look just the way you do. Regardless of whatever imperfections you think you have, God sees you perfectly and clearly. He loves you so much and you are beautiful to him. Instead of needed everyone at school to think you are popular, isn't it amazing to think that God sees you and you are popular in his sight? I sure think so. So next time you see that popular girl in the hallway, instead of thinking about everything she has and everything you don't, stop for a moment to remember that you are beautiful and God made you, just the way you are.
Merry Christmas girls! It's Christmas eve!!! I hope you all have had an amazing week! Time has gone by so fast! It feels like yesterday this school year was just beginning and now it's already halfway over! Goodness! I'll be praying for you girls in the coming weeks, I hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior. <3 On another note I wanted to add that for right now, I will be posted on the blog once a week, every Saturday until things change. In the future I might be able to post more frequently but with school I can only post about once a week for now. :) If any of you have any topics that you want me to write about or a question you want me to give my thoughts on, please feel free to comment below and I would love to get back to you. Merry Christmas girls!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Unequally Yoked: Relationships
As teenagers, we can sometimes tend to fall for someone without thinking long term. We see examples of this all around us when girls fall for a guy, they start dating and then break up with each other a few days, weeks, and in few cases months later all because it didn't work out. If we were to really stop and look at this pattern of dating someone for such a short amount of time and then breaking up with them, we would see that most of the time, these people were not right for each other from the very beginning but because they started dating each other anyway, it became a bad cycle that did not end very well at all.
As Christians, hopefully we are not going around and dating a bunch of guys to find the right one. We need to be trusting that God will bring the right one along when the time is right. But there are some things we should and should not be doing as we wait for God to bring us that special someone. The main thing is that we don't need to be getting romantically involved with people that are not equally yoked, or not Christians themselves.
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" 2 Corinthians 6:14
When we attach ourselves to someone who does not have the same belief system, we are setting ourselves up for the relationship to eventually fail and for us to have a broken heart. Sometimes, even when we decide to get emotionally attached to someone, they are not the special person that God has chosen for us in our future. It is also very important to note that we are not supposed to completely forget about these people or decide not to be friends with them just because they don't believe the same thing you do. We are not to forget about these people, but are supposed to be there to befriend and support them. But there is a fine line that needs to be drawn here. We can be friends with unbelievers but nothing more.
When God does not want us to be romantically involved with unbelievers, this is not to punish us or take away our fun. Instead, God is trying to protect us from getting hurt and getting dragged down by them. Most often times when a Christian and an unbeliever start dating, what eventually starts happening is the more and more time they spend around each other, the more and more that the unbeliever starts dragging the Christian down. We need to be together with someone that will lift us up and help support us in our faith, not eventually drag us down.
You might be sitting there thinking, "Okay, this makes sense. But what if we start dating and then they will eventually become a Christian?" Although this is a nice thought, most of the time this is not the case. I'm not saying it's not possible, but more then likely this person will end up bringing you down, no matter how strong you are to begin with. This is where we need to trust that the person God will bring to us will not have to change their beliefs just to be in a relationship with us, but instead, will already have their beliefs set in stone by the time you are supposed to start dating them. We need to have trust in God that he will bring us someone who is way better then we could have ever imagined. Someone who will lift us up instead of drag us down. Someone who will not only respect your beliefs, but agree with them. :-)
"Do not be deceived: 'Bad company ruins good morals.'" 1 Corinthians 15:33
Good luck girls, I'll be praying for you all in the weeks to come. Can you believe that Christmas is almost here? 7 days until we celebrate the birth of our King! <3
As Christians, hopefully we are not going around and dating a bunch of guys to find the right one. We need to be trusting that God will bring the right one along when the time is right. But there are some things we should and should not be doing as we wait for God to bring us that special someone. The main thing is that we don't need to be getting romantically involved with people that are not equally yoked, or not Christians themselves.
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" 2 Corinthians 6:14
When we attach ourselves to someone who does not have the same belief system, we are setting ourselves up for the relationship to eventually fail and for us to have a broken heart. Sometimes, even when we decide to get emotionally attached to someone, they are not the special person that God has chosen for us in our future. It is also very important to note that we are not supposed to completely forget about these people or decide not to be friends with them just because they don't believe the same thing you do. We are not to forget about these people, but are supposed to be there to befriend and support them. But there is a fine line that needs to be drawn here. We can be friends with unbelievers but nothing more.
When God does not want us to be romantically involved with unbelievers, this is not to punish us or take away our fun. Instead, God is trying to protect us from getting hurt and getting dragged down by them. Most often times when a Christian and an unbeliever start dating, what eventually starts happening is the more and more time they spend around each other, the more and more that the unbeliever starts dragging the Christian down. We need to be together with someone that will lift us up and help support us in our faith, not eventually drag us down.
You might be sitting there thinking, "Okay, this makes sense. But what if we start dating and then they will eventually become a Christian?" Although this is a nice thought, most of the time this is not the case. I'm not saying it's not possible, but more then likely this person will end up bringing you down, no matter how strong you are to begin with. This is where we need to trust that the person God will bring to us will not have to change their beliefs just to be in a relationship with us, but instead, will already have their beliefs set in stone by the time you are supposed to start dating them. We need to have trust in God that he will bring us someone who is way better then we could have ever imagined. Someone who will lift us up instead of drag us down. Someone who will not only respect your beliefs, but agree with them. :-)
"Do not be deceived: 'Bad company ruins good morals.'" 1 Corinthians 15:33
Good luck girls, I'll be praying for you all in the weeks to come. Can you believe that Christmas is almost here? 7 days until we celebrate the birth of our King! <3
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Running from God
Have you ever had a situation in your life when you just kept running from God's will, even though you knew exactly what he wanted you to do? Recently in my life I was faced with this exact problem. God had told me what he wanted to do, and at first I made the right decision. At first, I listened to God. But then do you know what happened? I turned back around again and went, "Uhm.. God, I think you were wrong. I'm going to do this my own way." I'm sure you can guess that things really didn't turn out very well. But when you think about it, do things ever turn out very well when you don't listen to what God wants? Let me use an example.
If your parents were to tell you not to go to the party that was this weekend, but you decided to go with a friend anyway, there could be major consequences to going to that party without their permission. At first, going to the party without them might seem a little fun. After all, you are getting out on your own, doing what you want to do, and you don't have to listen to your parents will. Sounds like fun, right? Maybe for awhile, but then you might start to feel guilty or something bad might happen. It is usually after we go out and have our fun that we realize that our parents were right after all.
This reminds me a lot of what happened when I ran away from God's will. Although God never flat out stopped me from making that decision, because God did give us free will, he just sat there and waited for me to come running back to him when I realized he was right. Isn't this a lot of what parents do? We decide not to listen to them, decide that we're right and they're wrong, but in reality they are actually the ones that are right.
I want to urge you right now that if you are running away from God or God's will, to stop. I know that right now, whatever you are going through will be so much easier if you start listening to God's will and not your own. It might be run to go your own way and not listen to God, but it will always be better to put his will before your own. He looks out for us and cares so much about us, his will is ALWAYS in our best interest. Sometimes in life we might think that he doesn't care but the opposite could not be more true. He cares so much that he wants to keep us out of trouble. No, he won't stop us from making the right decision, but he will be right there to catch us when we fall. So if you are busy running away from God, I would encourage you to stop running AWAY from God, but start running TO him instead. You will be amazed with the results.
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." - Revelation 3:20
If your parents were to tell you not to go to the party that was this weekend, but you decided to go with a friend anyway, there could be major consequences to going to that party without their permission. At first, going to the party without them might seem a little fun. After all, you are getting out on your own, doing what you want to do, and you don't have to listen to your parents will. Sounds like fun, right? Maybe for awhile, but then you might start to feel guilty or something bad might happen. It is usually after we go out and have our fun that we realize that our parents were right after all.
This reminds me a lot of what happened when I ran away from God's will. Although God never flat out stopped me from making that decision, because God did give us free will, he just sat there and waited for me to come running back to him when I realized he was right. Isn't this a lot of what parents do? We decide not to listen to them, decide that we're right and they're wrong, but in reality they are actually the ones that are right.
I want to urge you right now that if you are running away from God or God's will, to stop. I know that right now, whatever you are going through will be so much easier if you start listening to God's will and not your own. It might be run to go your own way and not listen to God, but it will always be better to put his will before your own. He looks out for us and cares so much about us, his will is ALWAYS in our best interest. Sometimes in life we might think that he doesn't care but the opposite could not be more true. He cares so much that he wants to keep us out of trouble. No, he won't stop us from making the right decision, but he will be right there to catch us when we fall. So if you are busy running away from God, I would encourage you to stop running AWAY from God, but start running TO him instead. You will be amazed with the results.
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." - Revelation 3:20
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