Being 21

Remember when you were a kid and you thought Sweet 16 was so far away? I mean, heck, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, and Snow White were married at 16!

And then you turned 16 and you realized that you didn't know anything and what the heck were those girls thinking, getting married at 16?!

You just got your driver's licence!

You thought 18 was the thing. You could tackle anything when you were 18.

Until you turned 18.
Then you realized you totally do not have a handle on much at all.
The next milestone is 21.
21.
Where you can literally - and legally - do anything you want.
Within reason, obviously.
Well, let me tell you, Girls-younger-than-21, 21 is not what it's cracked up to be.
Yeah, you can basically do whatever you want . . . but with that said, there's a lot of responsibility on your shoulders.
I know a lot of gals my age - including myself - that would just love nothing more than to curl up with a tub of ice cream or and popcorn and watch Disney Princess movies all day.
And maybe a little a lot of Doctor Who.
But we can't.
We've got college.
We've got jobs.
We've got bills to pay, assignments due, and people counting on us to get things done.
That's not to say that we don't have moments of calm or just time to have fun and relax, but those moments don't come often.
Girls-younger-than-21, treasure your moments of freedom.
You might be bored, but another word for boredom is free.
And treasure the innocence.
And the simplicity.
Enjoy it while you can.
It's not going to last.

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?

Life vs. Death

Image credit to Jesschadlys (x).

There's a trend I've noticed building over the past few years.

I don't know what it started with, but I thought that - like all other trends - it would fade away quietly.

I don't think it will.

Here's the trend: death.

I mean, I understand that people die.

Acceptance of the fact is good.

Glorification of it is not.

What is with all this glorification of death, anyway? I can't walk into a clothing store without seeing skulls on shirts, undershirts, pants, leggings, accessories, basically everything. And it's not those 'cutesty' skulls: these are freaky, grinning skeletal fragments.

That really, really unnerves me.

And that's not all.

There's a growing literary fascination with vampires, werewolves, zombies, demons, and other undead creatures.

Don't get me wrong here: I'm reading Dracula. I've seen the black and white Dracula. For the record, I don't think there's anything wrong with Dracula.

The Twilight series is another story, and not just because I'm slightly a literature snob and I think - and have heard from reliable sources, namely college professors, peers, and Tumblr - that it's shoddily written and crafted.

That's my opinion. Sorry, not sorry.

I think you're completely entitled to yours.

And please understand, I'm not pointing the finger at anyone. If I am, I'm pointing it right back at me, examining what I'm filling my own mind with.

The difference for me, though, between Dracula and Twilight, for example, is the portrayal of evil and death.

In Dracula, it's clear who is evil and who is good.

Evil comes to kill and destroy.

Good stands in the path, seeking to save and redeem.

In Twilight?

Not so much.

Everything is blurred: oh, well, he drinks blood, and he really wants to drink mine, but he'll go and drink animal blood since he doesn't want to kill me. Awh, I think I'll marry this guy, since he's totally stable and trustworthy.

Or should I marry this other guy who's a wolf and has an amazing six-pack (c'mon, we all know that's most the reason most people saw the movie)?

. . . Yeah . . . Stellar choices.

As far as I know - and please do correct me if I'm mistaken - there is no clear cut model of good in the Twilight series.

There are plenty of evil models, but the evil tendencies are airbrushed over by a six-pack.

Believe me, I've heard the arguments made for Twilight:

"Oh, it teaches abstinence!"

Not really.

Bella and Edward aren't abstinent because they choose to be per se, but because he doesn't want to kill her.

Not really admirable.

I'll be honest when I say that I almost got into Twilight. But something nudged me and said "Hey, why don't you get a second opinion on that?"

I'm so, so glad I did.

And I think it's really the whole Twilight phenomenon that awakened me to the battle that's going on not only for young girls' souls, but also for their hearts and minds.

Yeah, there was Harry Potter mania when I was like, I dunno, seven, but I didn't care to read a 3-inch thick book at that time.

This is different.

And much more dangerous.

Not only are we getting this generation desensitized to death, but also disdainful of life.

Dead and undying creatures are glorified, made popular.

TV shows and movies about those who deal directly with demons are hits.

More and more teens and young adults don't take their lives - or the lives of others - seriously.

And the thing is . . . I don't think it's going to get better.

Not unless we can show them that there is more to life than death.

So much more.

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.

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.

Contentment and Letting Go

I actually wrote this in a random notebook almost a year ago and just now found it - thought it might be good to share. 

It's not just "the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want".

It's "the Lord is my ___, I shall not want".

The Lord is my friend, I shall not want.

The Lord is my protector, I shall not want.

The Lord is my comforter, I shall not want.

The Lord is my provider, I shall not want.

The Lord is the lover of my soul, I shall not want.

The Lord is my guider, I shall not want.

The Lord is my study buddy, I shall not want.

So why do I still want?

Because I'm not satisfied in Him.

I'm not filled with Him.

I want to be.

I thirst for Him.

I am weary of my burdens - He alone can give me rest.

Why don't I give them to Him?

Why don't I just surrender everything?

Because I like to be in control.

I never was.

And honestly, I don't want to be in control anymore - I don't know what I'm doing.

Ever.

I want Him to be in control.

It might not make things easier. . .

But it will be better.

Blah Blah, Valentine's Day, Mush Mush

If you were expecting a beautiful, mushy Valentine's Day post, you're not going to get it.

Sorry.

This is for those of you - like me - who are 'alone' for Valentine's Day.

I say 'alone' because you're not really alone, and here's why. 

Do you know the story behind Valentine's day?

The real story?

Well, I do.

And while I don't remember the specifics, I can tell you the gist of it.

There was a man named Valentine (Italian, probably) who was going to be hanged at dawn, at the first ringing of the bell.

Don't ask me what for, but I think it was murder.

Dawn came, and he was led to the scaffold.

Per the order, the executioners waited for the ringing of the bell.

They never heard it. 

One of the officials went to the bell tower and demanded to know why the bell hadn't been rung yet.

The bell ringer explained that he had been ringing the bell, but it hadn't been working. 

They went to examine it, and when they looked up at it, they saw Valentine's young wife clinging to the clapper: her body had silenced the ringing.

By the time they got her out, she was half dead. They asked her why she had done that, and she replied simply that she loved her husband. She died not too long afterwards.

Deciding the debt owed the state had been paid by one life, the official released Valentine, who - I assume - went on to become a saint somehow. 

Does that story ring a bell?

It's a terrible pun, but the question stands.

Valentine's Day isn't about roses and cutesy poetry and chocolate and sheepish grins and Cupid and pink hearts and dates.

It's about sacrificial love.

It's about laying one's life down for another.

And hopefully, that sounds familiar to all of us.

And that's why you're never alone.

I understand that it can hurt to be without a significant other during Valentine's Day: I didn't think I would be 'alone' this year, but I am.

And that's okay.

I'm not really alone.

And neither are you.

We are loved beyond measure by One who will never let us go.

We are loved by One who took our place of punishment and death.

So Happy Valentine's Day.

For God so loved the world

that He gave His only begotten Son

that whoever believes on Him

should not perish

but have eternal life.

John 3:16

"Come Unto Me"

I just need to post this, both because I need it right now, and I'm sure there are others who could too.