Recently, my Facebook timeline has been filled with media about a male body type being dubbed by college girls everywhere as "The Dad Bod." My first encounter with this topic was an article written in The Odyssey by a girl on March 30, 2015 (Link below) I suggest reading this article when you have a quick minute.
http://theodysseyonline.com/clemson/dad-bod/97484
At first, I found this idea and the nickname absolutely hysterical. I was laughing out loud as my roommate was probably thinking I'd gone mad. However, more pictures, stories and jokes started appearing on my timeline every day. This morning I was scrolling through and found an article that was titled "It doesn't go both ways: Why women need to stop accepting the dad bod." (link below) HOLD THE PHONE.
http://elitedaily.com/women/stop-accepting-dad-bod/1025403/
I spent way longer than I should have reading this second article because in the end I came to realize, it is preposterous. The original was meant to be funny and light-hearted and was aimed to entertain girls everywhere with a true realization of the Dad Bod. And yes, I still find it absolutely hilarious. However, what does the response of the article from The Elite Daily say about our love culture?
What are we valuing? What standards are we putting on our relationships? The physical look of someone's body or the quality of their character? The truth is-people are going to love who they are going to love whether they have a "dad bod," a "mom bod," an "I still haven't grown hips" bod or a "Victoria's Secret Angel Bod."
I get the joke, I laughed, a lot of people laughed and joked and that's all fun. But when people take it and retaliate, then what have we come to? I may not find the Dad Bod all that attractive, but a lot of girls do, and they should.
In my opinion, it's time we get over someone's physical appearance as what "should" or "should not" be "accepted" by the opposite sex. I'm all for being in shape and healthy but in the end, that's me and my preference and I'll accept and love my friends and family for what and whoever they choose to love. The body shaming needed to stop yesterday.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Friday, January 9, 2015
I just had a discovery...kind of
Okay I am so excited about something today. I have been for a while but I finally found the right words to put it into. A few weeks ago I was home for a weekend and sat down to read my bible for the night and read Mark 3:28 which says this:
"I can guarantee this truth: People will be forgiven for any sin or curse. But whoever curses the holy spirit will never be forgiven."
I ran downstairs to tell my parents because I hadn't been excited over something in quite some time.
What I am getting at is that we sit in church or youth group or read a devotional and we read about God's Mercy, God's forgiveness, Christ giving his life on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. But it took me reading the word to finally get it. Guys, he forgives ANY sin! ANY SIN. That screams love right in my face every time I think about it.
For us it's hard to forgive a friend who talked to someone we don't like. Here is God forgiving people for things like adultery and stealing and killing other children of God. I know, it's extreme and you're thinking "He would never forgive someone for that." For the sake of those who are thinking this, I'll show the verse again:
"I can guarantee this truth: People will be forgiven for any sin or curse. But whoever curses the holy spirit will never be forgiven." -Mark 3:28
That should have done the trick.
I know what you're thinking...that doesn't mean you can sin whenever you want! That doesn't mean you can give in to all temptation just because you know you're going to be forgiven! Stop using God's love that way!
I'm not steering that direction I promise. What I am saying is that I have finally realized how much he loves me, how much he loves us.
I saw a compliment to this just a few days ago reading Mark 9:23 which reads:
"As far as possibilities go, everything is possible for the person who believes."
Love beyond measure, everlasting mercy. All for believing the guy. Do you think it gets any better than that?
(P.S. The answer is that is doesn't get any better.)
Find a way to connect with The Lord that speaks to you. Whether it be listening to your pastor on Sunday morning, worshiping in song or reading the word everyday like I do. Find that medium and use that to your advantage. Whatever it takes to understand and feel that love and to BELIEVE in him whole-heartedly, do that. Do it everyday.
Thanks for reading and God Bless.
"I can guarantee this truth: People will be forgiven for any sin or curse. But whoever curses the holy spirit will never be forgiven."
I ran downstairs to tell my parents because I hadn't been excited over something in quite some time.
What I am getting at is that we sit in church or youth group or read a devotional and we read about God's Mercy, God's forgiveness, Christ giving his life on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. But it took me reading the word to finally get it. Guys, he forgives ANY sin! ANY SIN. That screams love right in my face every time I think about it.
For us it's hard to forgive a friend who talked to someone we don't like. Here is God forgiving people for things like adultery and stealing and killing other children of God. I know, it's extreme and you're thinking "He would never forgive someone for that." For the sake of those who are thinking this, I'll show the verse again:
"I can guarantee this truth: People will be forgiven for any sin or curse. But whoever curses the holy spirit will never be forgiven." -Mark 3:28
That should have done the trick.
I know what you're thinking...that doesn't mean you can sin whenever you want! That doesn't mean you can give in to all temptation just because you know you're going to be forgiven! Stop using God's love that way!
I'm not steering that direction I promise. What I am saying is that I have finally realized how much he loves me, how much he loves us.
I saw a compliment to this just a few days ago reading Mark 9:23 which reads:
"As far as possibilities go, everything is possible for the person who believes."
Love beyond measure, everlasting mercy. All for believing the guy. Do you think it gets any better than that?
(P.S. The answer is that is doesn't get any better.)
Find a way to connect with The Lord that speaks to you. Whether it be listening to your pastor on Sunday morning, worshiping in song or reading the word everyday like I do. Find that medium and use that to your advantage. Whatever it takes to understand and feel that love and to BELIEVE in him whole-heartedly, do that. Do it everyday.
Thanks for reading and God Bless.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
#RelationshipGoals
As I scroll through my Twitter feed, I cannot help but notice the many hashtags I deem unnecessary as I pass it multiple times in one minute. However, a hashtag that has caught my eye over the past few months struck me tonight as one that should be no more. #RelationshipGoals can be looked up on twitter to reveal pictures of expensive shoes, rings, concert tickets, even scenes from completely fictional movies. People are posting these expectations of fictional relationships on their own lives and to me, it is honestly somewhat sad.
While some are joking around when they post these things, others are hinting to significant others that they actually expect these dreams to come true. It makes me wonder...is this what love has come to? A standard of purchases and gifts you hold your boyfriend or girlfriend to? And using a hashtag of all things to communicate it?
Call me crazy...call me judgemental, but love is not something I take lightly. In my own relationship, I set goals too. But they are much different than those I come across by my classmates on social media. My 18-month relationship that began my junior year in high school (and only continues to get stronger with each passing day) is so happy on both ends because we set these goals:
(Take my advice or scoff at it, but just know you're reading my blog and I'm entitled to my opinions just as you are)
1) At the beginning, I made sure he believed in the God I did, it's the most important thing to me and the reason the two of us are even here on earth today.
2) Pray together. We go to church together on occasion but knowing we simply pray over the same things or asking each other to pray for our families not only brings us closer to each other, but it brings us closer to each other's families.
3) Openly talk about our opinions on controversial topics. No 2 people will agree on absolutely every little detail. It's impossible. It's what makes us all different. But if we know where each other stands on things and we UNDERSTAND WHY, it will be a whole lot easier to communicate.
4) Praise each other. When I feel a sense of pride in my boyfriend for accomplishing something such as getting that job or graduating high school, I let him know.
5) Let Go and Let God. I know, this sounds cliche because EVERYONE says it but it is 100% true. Going to seperate schools next year where we won't get to see each other everyday is tough but if we spend less time thinking about the bad possibilities and more time gaining more trust in each other and God, things will always work out for the better.
Never once have I expected my boyfriend to buy me things, take me out to expensive dinners or spoil me. Does he do it? Yes. I am blessed to have someone as thoughtful of him. However, it is not a goal of mine to get him so obsessed with me that he just wants to do whatever I want him to and buy me whatever I want. I want to live our relationship through the word and grow our love into something God would be proud to sign his name to and something we can cherish whether we end up together or not.
I'm not judging anyone by any means, but I do think it;'s time the word "love" stops being thrown around like a gym towel and instead, placed upon on of the highest priorities in our lives. God made you wonderfully and beautifully and he will give you a relationship when he believes you are ready.
Talking to my best friend about this issue tonight she said "It's about the emotional aspects, not just the physical and I think that's what this generation misses."
Don't hold others to a fairytale they can't afford, hold them to a level of respect and love they can't refuse.
While some are joking around when they post these things, others are hinting to significant others that they actually expect these dreams to come true. It makes me wonder...is this what love has come to? A standard of purchases and gifts you hold your boyfriend or girlfriend to? And using a hashtag of all things to communicate it?
Call me crazy...call me judgemental, but love is not something I take lightly. In my own relationship, I set goals too. But they are much different than those I come across by my classmates on social media. My 18-month relationship that began my junior year in high school (and only continues to get stronger with each passing day) is so happy on both ends because we set these goals:
(Take my advice or scoff at it, but just know you're reading my blog and I'm entitled to my opinions just as you are)
1) At the beginning, I made sure he believed in the God I did, it's the most important thing to me and the reason the two of us are even here on earth today.
2) Pray together. We go to church together on occasion but knowing we simply pray over the same things or asking each other to pray for our families not only brings us closer to each other, but it brings us closer to each other's families.
3) Openly talk about our opinions on controversial topics. No 2 people will agree on absolutely every little detail. It's impossible. It's what makes us all different. But if we know where each other stands on things and we UNDERSTAND WHY, it will be a whole lot easier to communicate.
4) Praise each other. When I feel a sense of pride in my boyfriend for accomplishing something such as getting that job or graduating high school, I let him know.
5) Let Go and Let God. I know, this sounds cliche because EVERYONE says it but it is 100% true. Going to seperate schools next year where we won't get to see each other everyday is tough but if we spend less time thinking about the bad possibilities and more time gaining more trust in each other and God, things will always work out for the better.
Never once have I expected my boyfriend to buy me things, take me out to expensive dinners or spoil me. Does he do it? Yes. I am blessed to have someone as thoughtful of him. However, it is not a goal of mine to get him so obsessed with me that he just wants to do whatever I want him to and buy me whatever I want. I want to live our relationship through the word and grow our love into something God would be proud to sign his name to and something we can cherish whether we end up together or not.
I'm not judging anyone by any means, but I do think it;'s time the word "love" stops being thrown around like a gym towel and instead, placed upon on of the highest priorities in our lives. God made you wonderfully and beautifully and he will give you a relationship when he believes you are ready.
Talking to my best friend about this issue tonight she said "It's about the emotional aspects, not just the physical and I think that's what this generation misses."
Don't hold others to a fairytale they can't afford, hold them to a level of respect and love they can't refuse.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
For Give
Believe it or not, we're not here on earth just because our parents had us. We're not here to live for other people or things. We're here to serve God and do his work on earth as it's done in heaven. We are taught every day of our lives to give and anyone who has read a single snippet of a bible story knows that it's not just a human thing...It's a God thing. He put us here to help and give to those who cannot help themselves, or even those who can.
I think one thing that stumps a lot of people about this is that humans are mean! Hello! Bullying is not just for high school, folks! People have a tendency to truly upset one another and a lot of people say they don't need people in their life who hurt them. So what do you do when you've shunned an important friend or family member out of your life? I've often wondered the same...
Why would someone go on treating a bad situation like it has ruined their life? Why do people let things ruin their lives? I have never understood this. You control your destiny (along with the Big Man upstairs.) Well, when someone does you wrong, have you ever thought of forgiving them?
But Shelby they did the unforgiveable act!
I'm not sure an unforgivable act exists. Not in God's world it doesn't seem like. I want to look at at Matthew 18:21-35 (read the whole story I promise it's better in context.)
Peter asks Jesus how many times a person is forgiven...seven, maybe? Jesus replies that a person shall be forgived 70 times 7 times. Jesus tells a symbolic story (as he does often in Matthew which to me is WAY COOL!). This story is about a servant who owed a king millions of dollars. The king ordered the servant and his family be sold but after a lot of begging, the king forgived the servant's debt and set him free. The servant then went to someone who owed him debt and never forgave the debt. God punished him for this.
I think this says a lot. God has forgiven us, and since we should be striving to be more like him, forgiveness is something we must take seriously. It is so hard to forgive someone just like it was so hard to walk away from people bullying you. But no one ever said life would be easy or fair or just. But one thing is for sure: God's love for you is easy to accept, it's fair and just and so many things.
Doing what He asks, especially something as simple as forgiving someone else, will not only please God, it will please you. I have recently been working on forgiveness of others and I am not sure that I have ever been happier. It is truly enlightening to treat every person and situation with a fresh, new outlook. God deserves it and so do you and the person you are forgiving.
I challenge you to think of something or someone you have not forgiven, and let them know this weekend that you forgive them. And truly do it! Let go of the hurt and pain built up by the situation...give it to God and be FREE.
Have a blessed week and thanks for reading. God Bless.
I think one thing that stumps a lot of people about this is that humans are mean! Hello! Bullying is not just for high school, folks! People have a tendency to truly upset one another and a lot of people say they don't need people in their life who hurt them. So what do you do when you've shunned an important friend or family member out of your life? I've often wondered the same...
Why would someone go on treating a bad situation like it has ruined their life? Why do people let things ruin their lives? I have never understood this. You control your destiny (along with the Big Man upstairs.) Well, when someone does you wrong, have you ever thought of forgiving them?
But Shelby they did the unforgiveable act!
I'm not sure an unforgivable act exists. Not in God's world it doesn't seem like. I want to look at at Matthew 18:21-35 (read the whole story I promise it's better in context.)
Peter asks Jesus how many times a person is forgiven...seven, maybe? Jesus replies that a person shall be forgived 70 times 7 times. Jesus tells a symbolic story (as he does often in Matthew which to me is WAY COOL!). This story is about a servant who owed a king millions of dollars. The king ordered the servant and his family be sold but after a lot of begging, the king forgived the servant's debt and set him free. The servant then went to someone who owed him debt and never forgave the debt. God punished him for this.
I think this says a lot. God has forgiven us, and since we should be striving to be more like him, forgiveness is something we must take seriously. It is so hard to forgive someone just like it was so hard to walk away from people bullying you. But no one ever said life would be easy or fair or just. But one thing is for sure: God's love for you is easy to accept, it's fair and just and so many things.
Doing what He asks, especially something as simple as forgiving someone else, will not only please God, it will please you. I have recently been working on forgiveness of others and I am not sure that I have ever been happier. It is truly enlightening to treat every person and situation with a fresh, new outlook. God deserves it and so do you and the person you are forgiving.
I challenge you to think of something or someone you have not forgiven, and let them know this weekend that you forgive them. And truly do it! Let go of the hurt and pain built up by the situation...give it to God and be FREE.
Have a blessed week and thanks for reading. God Bless.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
The First and Second Commands
"Jesus answered 'Love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This and the first and most important command. And the second command is like the first: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. All the law and and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commands." -Matthew 22:37-40
It is apparent throughout all of God's word that he wants us to have relationships. He wants us to love one another whether we want to or not. It is hard to love your enemies, however, I have found in the past few years that loving your "enemies" creates a more positive flow in your relationship or acquaintance with that person. To me, that is carrying God's undconditional love to daily life and I think that is something people have shyed away from.
It has never been too important to me to choose the people I surround myself with based on their faith. I have been through a lot in the past year and that has caused me to hang around people who share the love of God that I have, with me. People who pray for me and I can talk to about it, and it has truly affected my life.
There are three areas I believe we as believers can create faithful relationships in to truly focus our lives on the faith and Lord that we worship:
Family
Friends
Relationships
Now obviously, you cannot pick your family, however, each person in your family has an influence on all of the others. Going to church on sundays, I used to sit by my friends or the youth group. Recently I began sitting next to my parents and not only has it made me pay attention more during the sermon, but it creates this understanding within our family that we have never had before. Just sitting next to my parents while worshipping and listening to the word being taught to us has opened so many doors in our relationship. We talk about the bible and the stories and interpretting things from all of it. We can talk about the things going on in our lives and how God is using those events to shape us and bring us closer to him. It's a very cool dynamic that I cannot believe we never had before but it makes sense.
I highly encourage that if you do not have that sense of faith between you and your family members, just read a bible story together once a week or start praying more than your usual grace at dinner time. The people you call your family are the ones you will always run to in life and it is important to have that understanding between all of you.
Never, and I mean NEVER have I put my faith as a priority in choosing my group of friends. I have recently started attending Club 121, the christian group at my school and I do not think I have ever fit in and been so accepted into a group of people in my life. I felt a little nervous going in to my first meeting by myself with out anyone with me but by the end of that first morning, I knew I had made new friends with people I truly wanted to be around. The girls in my small group that day were ones I know I can go to and pray with or ask to pray for me. I will certainly be there for them and I cannot think of a better explanation than our love for Jesus Christ and our passion to serve him and let other kids our age see what great things he can do. I've see posts on facebook and twitter recently stating that a mutual hatred of one person brings two people together. I cannot even believe it when I see it but all I can think is "why can't the love of 5 other people bring you together instead?" The love of God has brought me to some girls and guys in my life that I would not have connected with otherwise and that scares me.
Putting my faith in my friendships is something I will definitely be making sure I do from now on throughout the rest of my life. I believe that spending my time with people who share a lifestyle so important as my faith with me is the most important thing I can do for myself.
I am not sure where God is going to take me in life or what I will be doing just next year but one thing is for sure: I will never settle for less than a man who has accepted Jesus Christ into his life. Before now, having a boyfriend who shares social values or political values has always been important to me. But dating someone who does share the same faith as me is one of the most important things in my eyes. Even just being in a high school relationship, it has completely changed the way I see life. How do I want to spend the rest of my life? This can go back to both the family and friends ideas. Being friends is always a great start to a relationship and as long as you do have that shared belief between your friends, your relationships will be just as successful. As I get older and begin to plan out ideas for my future, I realize that I want to get married and raise a family and I want to base all of that on the word and bring my family up with the lifestyle of a follower of christ and having a partner who believes that as well as or more than I do is the #1 key in my book.
These three areas are such huge parts of our lives. I have thought about this post for quite a while and believe that I have given all the ideas I can. Changing these three areas of my life have not only brought me closer to God, but to the important people in my life and have made me an overall happier person. Share your faith with the people you love and the love can only continue to grow.
It is apparent throughout all of God's word that he wants us to have relationships. He wants us to love one another whether we want to or not. It is hard to love your enemies, however, I have found in the past few years that loving your "enemies" creates a more positive flow in your relationship or acquaintance with that person. To me, that is carrying God's undconditional love to daily life and I think that is something people have shyed away from.
It has never been too important to me to choose the people I surround myself with based on their faith. I have been through a lot in the past year and that has caused me to hang around people who share the love of God that I have, with me. People who pray for me and I can talk to about it, and it has truly affected my life.
There are three areas I believe we as believers can create faithful relationships in to truly focus our lives on the faith and Lord that we worship:
Family
Friends
Relationships
Now obviously, you cannot pick your family, however, each person in your family has an influence on all of the others. Going to church on sundays, I used to sit by my friends or the youth group. Recently I began sitting next to my parents and not only has it made me pay attention more during the sermon, but it creates this understanding within our family that we have never had before. Just sitting next to my parents while worshipping and listening to the word being taught to us has opened so many doors in our relationship. We talk about the bible and the stories and interpretting things from all of it. We can talk about the things going on in our lives and how God is using those events to shape us and bring us closer to him. It's a very cool dynamic that I cannot believe we never had before but it makes sense.
I highly encourage that if you do not have that sense of faith between you and your family members, just read a bible story together once a week or start praying more than your usual grace at dinner time. The people you call your family are the ones you will always run to in life and it is important to have that understanding between all of you.
Never, and I mean NEVER have I put my faith as a priority in choosing my group of friends. I have recently started attending Club 121, the christian group at my school and I do not think I have ever fit in and been so accepted into a group of people in my life. I felt a little nervous going in to my first meeting by myself with out anyone with me but by the end of that first morning, I knew I had made new friends with people I truly wanted to be around. The girls in my small group that day were ones I know I can go to and pray with or ask to pray for me. I will certainly be there for them and I cannot think of a better explanation than our love for Jesus Christ and our passion to serve him and let other kids our age see what great things he can do. I've see posts on facebook and twitter recently stating that a mutual hatred of one person brings two people together. I cannot even believe it when I see it but all I can think is "why can't the love of 5 other people bring you together instead?" The love of God has brought me to some girls and guys in my life that I would not have connected with otherwise and that scares me.
Putting my faith in my friendships is something I will definitely be making sure I do from now on throughout the rest of my life. I believe that spending my time with people who share a lifestyle so important as my faith with me is the most important thing I can do for myself.
I am not sure where God is going to take me in life or what I will be doing just next year but one thing is for sure: I will never settle for less than a man who has accepted Jesus Christ into his life. Before now, having a boyfriend who shares social values or political values has always been important to me. But dating someone who does share the same faith as me is one of the most important things in my eyes. Even just being in a high school relationship, it has completely changed the way I see life. How do I want to spend the rest of my life? This can go back to both the family and friends ideas. Being friends is always a great start to a relationship and as long as you do have that shared belief between your friends, your relationships will be just as successful. As I get older and begin to plan out ideas for my future, I realize that I want to get married and raise a family and I want to base all of that on the word and bring my family up with the lifestyle of a follower of christ and having a partner who believes that as well as or more than I do is the #1 key in my book.
These three areas are such huge parts of our lives. I have thought about this post for quite a while and believe that I have given all the ideas I can. Changing these three areas of my life have not only brought me closer to God, but to the important people in my life and have made me an overall happier person. Share your faith with the people you love and the love can only continue to grow.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Happiness
I know what you're thinking about the title of this one: so original, right? Well, I did not know what else to call it. There are so many things relating to our happiness these days, it's so crazy. Our home life, our love life, our friends and our jobs. It's all what makes up our life and ultimately, it determines how happy we are. At least, people let it determine how happy they are. What I have realized, is that some people around me are just intensely negative about almost everything. It makes me wonder why they are so unhappy. Is their home life really just that bad? How jealous of everyone else do you have to be to honestly hate your life that much? It is something I go through life everyday feeling curious about. I want to know more about that person and figure out what I can do to make them happier.
It makes me really sad to see people around me in such a hard place in their lives. I am a naturally happy person and with some recent things going on, I have come to realize what unhappiness can feel like and that sense of negativity has even come out in me a little bit when I am having a bad day.
Like I talked about in my last post, God's plan for us is much higher than what we could ever dream of ourselves. This is not about us and what we don't have. This is about us and what we do have, what GOD has blessed us with. This is about everything he has done for us and everything he is going to do for us.
If girls (and guys) slowed down for a minute to take a look at all of the blessings in their lives, the world would be a spinning rock of positivity in space. Happiness is something that is purely self-inflicted, it is something we must not only strive to have, we must embrace it and become it. True happiness is shown by being a beacon of God's light and love. By spreading your joy and what he was and is and is to be, is all it takes.
I understand having your world fall apart around you. It has happened to me, trust me. We have all had our fair shares of tragedy in our lives. But the minute you stop waiting for things to get better and start making the best of the cruddy situation you're in, your life will instantly change for the better.
So...NO MORE COMPLAINING! NO MORE BOOHOOING! and, STOP BEING JEALOUS.
Just be you, through and through. You are a princess to everyone who loves you and a role model to those who see you pick yourself up when all hope is lost. God loves you, listen to him and you may hear happiness calling.
It makes me really sad to see people around me in such a hard place in their lives. I am a naturally happy person and with some recent things going on, I have come to realize what unhappiness can feel like and that sense of negativity has even come out in me a little bit when I am having a bad day.
Like I talked about in my last post, God's plan for us is much higher than what we could ever dream of ourselves. This is not about us and what we don't have. This is about us and what we do have, what GOD has blessed us with. This is about everything he has done for us and everything he is going to do for us.
If girls (and guys) slowed down for a minute to take a look at all of the blessings in their lives, the world would be a spinning rock of positivity in space. Happiness is something that is purely self-inflicted, it is something we must not only strive to have, we must embrace it and become it. True happiness is shown by being a beacon of God's light and love. By spreading your joy and what he was and is and is to be, is all it takes.
I understand having your world fall apart around you. It has happened to me, trust me. We have all had our fair shares of tragedy in our lives. But the minute you stop waiting for things to get better and start making the best of the cruddy situation you're in, your life will instantly change for the better.
So...NO MORE COMPLAINING! NO MORE BOOHOOING! and, STOP BEING JEALOUS.
Just be you, through and through. You are a princess to everyone who loves you and a role model to those who see you pick yourself up when all hope is lost. God loves you, listen to him and you may hear happiness calling.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
He's there for a reason
So I know I haven't posted in a while but lately I've been realizing things in my life that I want to share with you! Today I want to talk about how we live our lives and who is in control.
Job 11:13 (NLT) says this: "Surrender your heart to God, turn to him in prayer."
I think a lot of times in the modern world we live in we tend to lose sight of our role in our own lives. We see what we want and we do whatever we can to make sure we get it. Even if that means putting God's plan out of the picture completely. What we don't understand most of the time is that the plan God has for us doesn't even compare to what we think we want. To get the full of effect of our Lord and his plan for us, we must surrender every aspect of our lives to him, and he will take care of the rest. This means giving him all the good things we want to control, and giving him the pain and weakness in our lives.
A pastor explained it to me like this once: When we worship, we spread our hands open to show our full surrender to God. But some people have their fists clenched tightly, not letting anything go. Some people have their hands half way open, but that is no better than clenching a fist. Giving everything to God is the only way to go.
There are three main things that we choose to control which distance us from God's vision.
1. Getting the material things we want
2. Deciding which relationships are best for us
3. Who/What Idols we worship
I'm not saying it's a bad thing to work towards buying a new car or working harder to get a raise at your job. Those things are actually very positive. However, when it comes to getting what you want, do you want it for the right reason? Are you doing the right, honest things to get there? And did God lead you to this? Is he approving and encouraging of your decision? When it's in God's plan for you to be somewhere or doing something, an incredible feeling will overcome you and you will know.
Being in high school, I understand that relationships betweens friends or couples can fall apart in a heartbeat. Maybe it was not God's will for you to be friends with certain people or be in a certain relationship. Or maybe you and a friend or you and your boyfriend don't understand how much you truly mean to each other, so you fall apart and God wants you to reconnect again. He does things in a wierd way sometimes but the result is never short of amazing.
I just recently went through a test of a friendship when I heard things about a friend who was trying to sabotage another relationship I have. It helped me realize where God wanted me to be and who he wanted me around.
When it comes to worshipping God, we know that there is only one of him. He does what is best for us and sent his son to die just so we could be saved! It still amazes me every time I think about it. Naturally, we should repay him by following him daily and doing what he asks of us in his word. But again, being in the modern world we're in, we tend to pay more attention to who we follow on Twitter than who we follow in our faith. Sure, it's impressive that you know everything about every single One Direction member, but do you spend as much time learning about God and his love for his followers as much as you do your favorite band or TV star? We have to step back and put our priorities in order everyday. Spend time with God when you wake up and before you go to bed. Listen to Justin Bieber's new song after you've connected with the man who saved you. Turn to him throughout the day with prayers and praises, it's the least you can do for the big guy who holds the pen to the story of your life.
Job 11:13 (NLT) says this: "Surrender your heart to God, turn to him in prayer."
I think a lot of times in the modern world we live in we tend to lose sight of our role in our own lives. We see what we want and we do whatever we can to make sure we get it. Even if that means putting God's plan out of the picture completely. What we don't understand most of the time is that the plan God has for us doesn't even compare to what we think we want. To get the full of effect of our Lord and his plan for us, we must surrender every aspect of our lives to him, and he will take care of the rest. This means giving him all the good things we want to control, and giving him the pain and weakness in our lives.
A pastor explained it to me like this once: When we worship, we spread our hands open to show our full surrender to God. But some people have their fists clenched tightly, not letting anything go. Some people have their hands half way open, but that is no better than clenching a fist. Giving everything to God is the only way to go.
There are three main things that we choose to control which distance us from God's vision.
1. Getting the material things we want
2. Deciding which relationships are best for us
3. Who/What Idols we worship
I'm not saying it's a bad thing to work towards buying a new car or working harder to get a raise at your job. Those things are actually very positive. However, when it comes to getting what you want, do you want it for the right reason? Are you doing the right, honest things to get there? And did God lead you to this? Is he approving and encouraging of your decision? When it's in God's plan for you to be somewhere or doing something, an incredible feeling will overcome you and you will know.
Being in high school, I understand that relationships betweens friends or couples can fall apart in a heartbeat. Maybe it was not God's will for you to be friends with certain people or be in a certain relationship. Or maybe you and a friend or you and your boyfriend don't understand how much you truly mean to each other, so you fall apart and God wants you to reconnect again. He does things in a wierd way sometimes but the result is never short of amazing.
I just recently went through a test of a friendship when I heard things about a friend who was trying to sabotage another relationship I have. It helped me realize where God wanted me to be and who he wanted me around.
When it comes to worshipping God, we know that there is only one of him. He does what is best for us and sent his son to die just so we could be saved! It still amazes me every time I think about it. Naturally, we should repay him by following him daily and doing what he asks of us in his word. But again, being in the modern world we're in, we tend to pay more attention to who we follow on Twitter than who we follow in our faith. Sure, it's impressive that you know everything about every single One Direction member, but do you spend as much time learning about God and his love for his followers as much as you do your favorite band or TV star? We have to step back and put our priorities in order everyday. Spend time with God when you wake up and before you go to bed. Listen to Justin Bieber's new song after you've connected with the man who saved you. Turn to him throughout the day with prayers and praises, it's the least you can do for the big guy who holds the pen to the story of your life.
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