A Pinteresting Tumbl of a Day ~ Christmas Edition!

This episode was so sad, but this little bit here made up for it.
(And don't worry, this is queued -- I'm probably not awake yet anyway.)
Merry Christmas!

Reblog it here (x).

You Are a Failure

We all have those days when we feel like our brains have stopped working, we can't do anything right, and all our past sins and mistakes just seem like they're hovering over us, waiting for us to fall again.
We all have those days when we feel like utter failures.
The thing we have to realize, though, is that when the world tells us we're great and smart and gonna succeed, they may be right in a sense, but it's a lie.
We have to realize that we are failures.
But here's the key -- we're failures apart from God.
What can a fallen, sinful person do on their own?
Fail. Time and time and time again.
But what about a person filled with God, trusting in Him for everything?
They may fall occasionally, but they will be victorious for His glory.
That's not to say they never feel like they can't do it. That's not to say that they never feel guilty about things they've done or opportunities they've passed up.
The difference is that they admit that and thank God for loving them anyway.
And God loves failures.
And once He changes them and lives in them, they're not failures anymore.
They're victors.

"But I just wanna help. . ."

I'm pretty sure we've all said that at some point in our lives.

To most of us, the desire to help seems natural, almost impulsive.

We have to do it.

We want to do it.

And sometimes most of the time, we can't.

Not in the way we wanted to, not as much as we wanted to, or sometimes just not at all.

I saw this the other day on Pinterest:

It reminded me of a time where I was trying to help two individuals, but it just seemed like every time I tried, I hit a brick wall. I felt like I was giving, and giving, and giving, and giving, and it was just going nowhere.

One simply wasn't listening to advice - and instead making me their personal shrink complaining about problems they could have prevented, not if they'd listened to me, but if they'd used a bit of wisdom and common sense - and the other was simply convinced they couldn't forgive themselves for mistakes made in the past and that they couldn't change.

Needless to say, the fact that I wanted to help them so badly and I couldn't didn't exactly make me feel like a very good friend.

I felt like crap.

And that didn't help anyone.

That period ended, and those two friends and I just sort of . . . stopped.

Stopped everything.

Whether or not their situations got better or not, I don't know, and I'll probably never know.

I hope so.

All I wanted to do was help.

Fast forward about ten months.

I see that pin.

And I start thinking.

I realize that whoever made this pin is right.

You can't help everyone.

That's not to say your desire to or advice you may give isn't worth anything, but it just may not be what they need right then.

You may not have the experience, the knowledge, the skill, or the wisdom at that time to really help that person where they are.

But there's Someone who can.

And last time I checked, He takes referrals.

But there are people you can help.

People that need your experience and wisdom from where you are to help them where they are.

You may find those people to be few and far between, but they're there.

While you may not be able to help everyone, you can help someone.

And it's the someones of this life that count the most in the next.

Falling in Love ~ Part 1

People say falling in love is easy.

Sometimes it is.

Sometimes it is not.

People say they love God and God loves them - which is true - but I don't think people really understand what that means.

When you realize how much He loves you, it is so much easier to fall deeper in love with the Lover of your Soul.

He is a Father: He carries us when we're weak, He defends the orphans (Hosea, Proverbs).

He is a Friend: He shoulders our burdens, He listens to our cares (Matthew, 1 Peter).

He is a Lover: He woos us to Himself, He keeps us secure (Hosea, John).

He is a Judge: He is holy, He rules justly (Psalms).

He is a Redeemer: He justly forgives those He saves, He desires to save all (1 John, 2 Peter).

Do you see?

There is no one like this.

Even though we may know some people who have some of these general qualities in degrees, only God is all of them.

And He loves you.

And who could pass that up?

One Who loves you and sees past your mistakes, past your failures, and past your flaws.

One Who loves you and wants to heal your scars, provide for you, and shape you into a purer you.

I can't.

I've fallen in love.

Have you?

Blessing the Lord

There's this song, you may have heard it, it's called "10,000 Reasons".

I can't remember the first time I heard it, but I remember thinking, "Oh, I should go download this when I get home" because it was a good song and I liked it. 

Well, I forgot to download it.

Naturally.

Well, the next time (of note) that I heard it was at a funeral for a baby.

I was so emotional that I couldn't even sing it.

But I was thinking.

We can't just bless the Lord when we have everything. When everything's nice and sunny. When we have everything we need.

We need to bless Him when He takes gifts away. When He teaches us lessons. When He allows pain in our lives.

Because whoever said "God will never give you more than you can handle" was wrong.

God will never allow you to be tempted beyond what He gives you an escape.

And God gives us more than we can handle to teach us to depend on Him for everything.

And that tender, nurturing love is truly blessable.

21 Before 21

So today at 4 AM, I turned 21.

You didn't get up for my birthday?

Oh, it's totes cool; I didn't get up for that, either.

Anyhoo, I've heard of these "[things done] Before [Age of the same numerical value]" things before, and I figured I'd do one for my birthday.

These are in no particular order, save for the first one.

1. met Jesus as my Savior

2. graduated high school

3. published a book

4. been to Mile Zero, where I . . .

5. . . . inadvertently swam with tarpons

6. visited the Statue of Liberty

7. voted in a Presidential election

8. drank pigeon milk (my dad's cologne)

9. performed an amateur amputation 

10. made sushi

11. got a job (and still have the job)

12. got a full ride through college

13. went to the midnight showing of a movie

14. zip-lined

15. whitewater rafted

16. member of two honors societies

17. ran a 5K

18. changed a tire (yes, on the side of the road)

19. melted a plastic container on a stove by accident

20. had a pen-pal in another country

21. been to the Kennedy Space Center

So yeah, Happy Birthday to me! :)

21 certainly makes me no less clumsy . . .

. . . but oh well, nobody saw that.

And this is what I'd like to leave you with:

I know 21 isn't that old in the grand scheme of things, but thinking about it makes me feel kind of old.

I mean, I saw Y2K.

I saw 9/11.

I've seen Mad Cow disease, Avian Bird flu, and Swine flu.

I saw the capture and death of Saddam Hussein and the death of Osama bin Laden.

I've seen the funerals of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.

I've seen the advent of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

I've seen the earthquake in Japan and the tsunami in Indonesia.

I've seen a lot, I think.

But this is really all that matters:

It is Friday!

So, I wanted to write a snarky, witty post about it being Friday, but I've come up with nothing. 

I also wanted to write a beautiful, moving post about it being Good Friday, but I've got nothing there, too.

I guess the best way to tell it would just to tell it as it is.

God created Man knowing full well we'd fall and spit in His face.

Yet He still loved us.

He spent millenia pointing forwards to One who would offer to free us from death and love us as no one else could.

And we didn't listen.

Yet He still loved us.

He sent His Son, who willingly lived on earth with few of our comforts.

We didn't accept Him.

Yet He still loved us.

We stripped Him naked, nailed Him to a cross, and caused His heart to break.

(It really did burst.)

We had no compassion for the Man who spoke of love, who fed the hungry, who healed the sick.

We laughed at Him and mocked Him and cursed Him.

Yet He still loved us.

Yet He asked that His Father would forgive us.

He died for us.

But that really does us no good if death can defeat Him.

But it didn't. 

He rose from the dead on the third day, defeating death for everyone.

And He loves you.

Some people say they're not worthy of His love.

No, you're not.

But His love is no credit to you; it's a testimony to Him.

Others think they don't need His love and grace.

You do.

It doesn't matter who you are, where you've come from, what you've done.

Even if the worst thing you've ever done is tell a little white lie, you still need His forgiveness.

If you're a murderer, you still need His forgiveness.

And this week there's been all the discussion about homosexuality.

Yes, it's wrong.

God calls it an abomination because it twists and distorts the physical love he created for a man and his wife - a picture of His love and sacrifice and relationship with the church.

But God doesn't hate you.

He doesn't at all.

He loves you.

He wants you to know Him.

He wants to forgive you.

He wants to love you.

Let Him.

FINISH LIKE A BOSS

So, my final final was at 8 AM.
I am not a morning person, so this did not thrill me.
My professor said we should all get "amped up", so I drove there listening to this:

We have two and a half hours allotted for our finals at USCB.
This was a Late Shakespeare final.
(Yes, I signed up and paid for that. I actually loved it.)
The final was half multiple choice, and half essay.
I finished the multiple choice in (less than or equal to) 30 minutes.
The other hour and a half was devoted to the essay.
2 pages.
Front and back.
Yep.
I was the third to leave out of maybe 20 of us.
On the way home, I listened to this:

Got my course grade back today.
An "A".
Thank you Jesus and boo-yah!

Winsomeness

Even though I've missed two straight weeks of Mrs. Audrey and Mrs. Claudia's Sunday School class, I've been thinking about something they stress a lot: being winsome.

I bought one of those cheap plastic pencil cases at Wal-Mart the other day (thank God for after school sales!) for the purpose of holding makeup and other goodies.

I wanted it to be unique (and not just cheap), so I wrote out 1 Timothy 2:9-10 on an index card in my best writing in pink. Here's the translation I used (ESV) courtesy of studylight.org:

     "9 Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness - with good works."

I <3 this verse.

The concepts of being "respectable", "modest", having "self-control", and being "proper" seem lost in today's society. I'm not saying I'm never guilty of not being any of these, but I do strive to be these things. It's not mainstream. It's not popular. But, hey - Jesus wasn't mainstream or popular. 

I honestly can't remember what prompted me to write this . . . I think it was the fact I'd written it for my makeup box along with the fact that I had just finished an 'argumentative close-reading' of a section of Hamlet.

I don't know.

Heck, we're all lucky I remembered this draft!

So, yes, this is what I've been working on all week.

^-^

Anyhooz, back to the WINSOMENESS . . . 

Mrs. Audrey loves the word "winsome". She says that word is lost, and rather old-fashioned sounding (she's right; it is, but I'm an English major; I love old words).

She says that we ought to be "winsome" to "win some".

I <3 that concept.

XD

Also, you can read her blog HERE. It's pretty much an epic win.

Looking Back . . .

It's hard to believe that about a year ago today I graduated from high school. I went to my friends' graduation today, and every time one of them stood to speak, I could remember - in startling clarity - what it was like to do the same.
The life-lessons I've learned this past year have been somewhat few, I suppose, but by no means insignificant.
The most important thing I've learned is to really take hold of God's promises. He didn't just say nice things to give us stuff to say to each other when we're going through a tough time; He said them so that we could run to Him for comfort.
1 Peter 5:7 says: "Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you".
This has never been more real to me than through the past year. There were times - and there will be times - when I would cry myself to sleep, wondering how the heck I was going to pass a test, a paper, or merely survive the week. I realized that He was just waiting for me to give him my burdens, and then let them be - - at least for the night. [Obviously, I understand that I have to put in some time and effort, too.]
I just can't explain the peace that I would feel. I'm not a touchy-feely kind of person, and I'm not (generally speaking) subject to much emotion, but this was real. The peace of God really does "transcend all understanding".
I guess what I'm trying to say is this: it's been one heckuva long year, but it's really been worth it. I would not trade anything for the closeness that's been brought to my relationship with Jesus because of this year.
To those who are facing freshman year - tackle it head on! And congratulations to the CBCCA Class of 2011!

Gasping for air . . .

So, college has been rather stressful lately. Part of it is my fault; I know it is: I tend to procrastinate on things I could do right away. I'm praying God will help me overcome that. Also, I need to learn to let Him calm me. It sounds easy, but it's really not. I never really realized that before I got to college. He says "Come unto Me, all who are weary, and I will give you rest." (And so help me, I cannot think of the reference. If you know it, please comment below; it would be much appreciated!) I guess my problem is this: I'm a control freak. I need to have control of everything. Life doesn't let us control much, if anything. If we just give over our burdens to Jesus, life would be so much easier! I know that sometimes at night, I find myself rehearsing my schedule for tomorrow along with what has to be done by when. One night, I found myself on the verge of tears because I was so overloaded! I would like to say that I 'laid' my burdens down at Jesus' feet but I didn't. I think I dropped them! It was just so amazing the peace I had when I knew He was with me. It's like I told my mom the first week or so of school: Jesus said He'd never leave me, and He most certainly didn't bring me to this point just to let me fall on my derriere and fail alone. Yes, I may fall on my derriere and fail, but He'll be with me every step of the way.

Ah, that was therapeutic!

So, after Final Exams, I've decided to go through my notes and such and post all the wonderfully random and quirky things my awesome professors have said this semester. (God is SO GOOD; I love all my profs!) They shall remain nameless, don't worry. ;]