So next month I turn twenty-one. Everyone makes a big deal about that; about the twenty-first birthday. They say its the official age of being an REAL adult (whatever that means) and there is all this fuss made.
Well, turning twenty-one sounds all fine and dandy to me but that isn't to overlook the last twenty years. I have learned so much from in variety of different ways. Church, family, friends, mistakes, victories, and of course the hardest way one can learn a lesson; experience. This obviously isn't everything I've ever learned, just a big messy wad of the ones I think are the most important. Some serious some not so serious, some that just need to be said. On some I've put scripture with that has helped me through the years. I don't have a super long fancy intro or anything spectacular so here it is; twenty lessons I have learned in twenty years:
1. You need Christ in your life.
Plain and simple. I put this first for a reason. It is the only lesson that goes in order of its' importance but this is because your relationship with Christ has to come first in your life above everything else. If you do this, everything else will fall into place. You have to understand that you aren't perfect, you never have been, you never will be, and it is pointless trying. But Christ came, lived a perfect life on Earth, was crucified on a cross and died to pay the price that would allow us into Heaven to be with God. Then, he rose again and defeated death. If you want to live a life here on Earth for Christ and want to live with Him in Heaven someday, you have pray to God admitting your sin and imperfection so He can give you His everlasting, unconditional love and mercy. You can never be too far out of His reach, you can never have done to much that He can't forgive you.
John 3:16; Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:23, 10:19
2. It's okay not to feel the way everyone else thinks you should.
So many people are afraid to say how they feel being they believe that it isn't the "right" way to feel. The truth is, there is no "wrong" way to feel. Your feelings are totally up to you and no one else so don't let others be in charge of them. Everyone thinks and reacts differently to situations, and therefore feels differently. The only way to be wrong is if you aren't being genuine with yourself.
3. "The richest place on Earth is the graveyard"
This is a quote I heard a few days ago. His point was that the graveyard is where some of the most talented actors, singers, and athletes that no one has ever heard of are. It is where the greatest inventions and philosophies are. It is where the most brilliant minds are now lay. They being held captive in those who were once too afraid, too ashamed, too discouraged and put down by others to have ever used those gifts and have shared them with the world. They are now buried forever. It is so sad. We will never know what we have missed out on. All we can do is learn from their mistakes. Don't let that be you. Don't let others tell you you're dreams, hopes, and goals are impossible. Their hard hearts are scarred from life's experiences and others telling them the same thing. But those kind of people don't really believe that. Life has trained them to say it but deep down there is still a child-like faith that wants you to go out and achieve that dream. They want you to prove them wrong so that their hopes can be restored too.
4. Don't ever be okay with complacency.
This ties in with the last one. There are so many people out there that settle for mediocrity. I don't mean materialistically, I mean about your life. There is a difference between being happy with what you have and being complacent and comfortable with your life. Comfort isn't good. Comfort means you stopped pushing yourself to become who you wanted to be and settled for something easier instead. Don't settle for unaccomplished dreams, a lukewarm relationship with Christ, mediocre friendships or relationships, or living in a place you don't want to be. Don't be like everyone else. You don't fit in because you weren't meant to. You aren't supposed to be like everyone else! Push yourself to be the person you always wanted to be. It's never too late!
Revelation 3:16 (about being a lukewarm Christian); Romans 12:2
5. You haven't truly discovered what your life is about until you have discovered that it is really about everyone else.
Serving others is why were are here. To reach out and lend a helping hand. To love everyone around us as Christ loves us. We all have different gifts that we can use to offer the world something that is so unique that if you don't do it no one else can. You weren't put here to live for you. My grandma used to always say something along the lines of "You know in the end people are all you've really got. So you better take care of them." She couldn't have been more right. Always value people, it will keep your heart full of love.
1 Peter 4:10; Mark 12:31; John 13:34-35
6. Sometimes you need people in front of you to lead and sometimes you need them behind you to support. Either way, you need them.
God didn't put billions of people on this Earth so you could keep to yourself and live a life of solitude. He put them here because we are social creatures and it is healthy for us to interact. Sometimes its hard to let others help or use them for support. We get this idea in our head that it makes us weak. That isn't true though. Everyone needs someone sometimes. This could be physically needing their help or emotionally. Did you know that when you are hugged your body releases a hormone called oxytocin? It is a hormone that lowers the heart rate and calms you down. It also stops cortisol from being released which is a hormone that raises the heart rate, blood pressure, and makes you feel stressed out. Our bodies were literally designed by the perfect Creator to react positively to interactions with others. You need people rather you are willing to recognize it or not.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
7. "The windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror for a reason."
The metaphor of this quote is that where you are going is so much more important than where you have been. Your windshield lets you see what is coming (your future) while the rearview mirror tells you what is behind you (your past). It is important to check your rearview mirror because it shows you what you have already been through and can remind you or lessons you have already learn. But everyone knows that you can't just stare into it otherwise you will run yourself right off the road. The same is to be said for if you try to live in your past you will ruin what is in store for you in the future. We have a rearview mirror because it provides useful knowledge, because there is value in the past, but in comparison to the windshield it is so small. It is worth having but not everything.
Jeremiah 29:11; Isaiah 59:1
8. Being fearless is not the same as being brave.
Being "fearless" is literally one of the dumbest things I have heard. It is an impossible, ridiculous, worthless myth of a characteristic that stems from the greek word "atròmitos" which means literally means fearless (or dauntless for all you Divergent fans out there). The fact of that matter is that we have fear to save us; to make us realize how much we need God. None of us are fearless because none of us are God. Fear is one of my biggest struggles in life so this is a big lesson for me. Isaiah 41:10 is my absolute favorite bible verse. It says "Do not be fear for I am with you; do not be afraid for I am your God. I will strength you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." God knew that we are going to have fears which is exactly why He provided this verse. My 'Gloria' translation is this; "Hey, I know you are scared but listen, I'm God and I've got this. Trust me, if I am with you, you've got nothing to worry about! I love you so much that I am going to take care of everything for you. Just relax". We are meek, fearful, and imperfect but for some God has unlimited love and mercy for. If you don't have Christ, you have everything to fear. If you do have Him, you have the highest level of security with you at all times and nothing to fear. Not death, not man, not the devil, not one thing. He doesn't promise everything will be all sunshine and roses but He does promise that in the end, you will be okay because you are HIS child and in HIS hand and there is nothing more powerful than the Almighty, Living God.
So with that comes the question: "When I become a Christian does this mean I be fearless?". Nope. You will still have fears because you're still not perfect. What it does mean is that when you realize fear is creeping in you can say "I am not fearless but my God is and through HIM I am brave and can face those fears and put them to rest". When that happens, fear will have no choice but to run and hide in the presents of His light. Being brave isn't about being strong; it's about being weak and having a strong God. You just have to be able to admit that you can't but God can.
Isaiah 41:10-13; Isaiah 35:4; Daniel 10:19
9. There are some things you can compromise quality on. Coffee is not one of those things.
This is one of the most real things I've ever said. You can't cheap out on coffee, it is just completely the wrong place to cut corners and leads to nothing but disappointment and unhappiness. Enough said.
Oddly enough, this isn't in the bible. It turns out God has much more important things to talk about but I still think it is something everyone should be aware of.
10. Getting through a trail makes you strong, sharing them makes you stronger.
We have all had to go through things that, at the time, seemed unbearable. Experiences change and mold people based on how they got through them. When you come out of the battle, battered and scarred feeling like you barely made it out alive; hold you head out because you did it! Then share your story of victory with others. You have no idea how your story can help and encourage others who are going through similar things. God can use that for you to shine your light on others but only if you let Him. It is so hard, but you have got to open up to others.
Psalms 66:16; 2 Timothy 1:8; Luke 8:39
11. "Opportunities don't just come, they are made."
Everyone has heard this one. "Don't wait for your dreams to come to you go out and get them". It is one of those things we all hear so much that they lose value. This one is so worth giving another chance and analyzing though! As you can tell I am really being on the "Go get 'em" mentality. This post comes back to chasing ambitions a lot. I'm not trying to be cliché or say it because I know that is the positive, happy attitude we should all have; I really believe in pursuing dreams and I think it is so sad more people don't. So go out, get that opportunity, make the most of it and make it yours!
Ephesians 5:16
12. Some people will fight harder to get you than to keep you. Those aren't the ones you want.
We have all "talked" to that person that says whatever to get you, rather it is be your friend, to get you to like them, whatever. The point is that someone's name just popped into your mind. You don't want people that work super hard to get you and then once they have you it is like you went from being the last diamond on Earth to penny that doesn't even hold the worth it's supposed to. Don't put up with that. Wait for someone that will find ways to show you that he or she cares every single day. Not because they feel obligated to but because they want to, because they care so much it comes naturally for them to make you happy.
13. Stop blaming God.
It is a funny thing. We tend to get upset with God (as if we ever have the right) when He doesn't give us what we want and when He does, we mess it up anyways. Then we are upset with Him for giving it to us at the "wrong time" (as if God's timing is ever wrong) because we didn't think we were ready for something so good. Oh, and when we realize its' gone, we are mad about that too all the while we blame God for messing it all up. Um, woah. Back up, reality check, this is was not God's fault and the blame shifting game? Yeah, that's gotta stop. He is the all-knowing, omnipotent Lord and I'm over here thinking "what the heck? why did you let that happen?". Seriously, He created all of the universe and has kept it going for quite some time now, no thanks to us I might add, and I'm sitting here doubting if He can handle the littlest details of my life. Honestly? Who do I even think I am doubting God. He's GOD! At this point in my stubbornness I've still yet to even consider the fact that I am the one who messed everything up. Maybe it was all supposed to happen for a purpose that I just don't know yet and God is piecing it all back together because even though I am acting so despicable towards Him, He still loves me. Maybe He needed to teach me a simple, foundational lesson I have to learn in order to have a growing relationship with Him; trust. Maybe He needed me to know that despite my past, present, or future circumstance, actions, attitude, or location God has a plan and it is perfect. Maybe I should trust His plan and abandon my own. Maybe I should stop praying for what I want and start praying for what He wants and actually mean it.
James 1:13-18; Proverbs 3:5
14. "Say what you need to say."
Yes, I just quoted John Meyer. Yes, you should take a break and sing that little part of the chorus to yourself for a second because, let's be honest, that is the only part anyone really knows of that song anyway. Okay, did you sing? Good. Now this is concept is straightforward and simple but the action of actually doing it is really difficult. I'm still working on this one. Now I am really good at telling people the truth and being honest with my opinions but when I have to share deep feelings I about as direct as presidential candidates in a political debate right before election day. I dance around what is really asked and to hint at what I mean but never say it. I never, EVER want to be the first one to say something. That isn't any good though. There are so many things I would say if I had the courage too. I'm not reluctant because they are mean things, I hold back because I'm not sure how the other person will react. It's a hard thing to explain but anyone who feels this way knows exactly what I am talking about. We are the people that run conversations in our head over and over that we only dream of ever actually saying, unless of course, the other person brings it up first. Those conversations always happen with those you aren't quite sure were you stand with. Either way, its a tough lesson to learn and apply.
15. Stop being a "justifier".
My best friend, Ellie, and I joke about this all the time! You know what I am talking about. "Should we eat this whole bowl of popcorn?" "Yeah! It's only corn and oil with a little salt! We even popped it fresh! It's particularly like eating air so why shouldn't we eat it all?". Next thing you know you feel like you have a popcorn monster inside your stomach trying to claw its' way out (that was a bit graphic. My apologies). Anyways, not good. Sometimes it's about silly things like popcorn snacking habits but sometimes it is things that are detrimental to who we are. They are lead to a slippery slope of being who you can to be and becoming someone you despise.
Romans 3:20
16. "God doesn't move, you do".
My pastor, Cory Snyder, had a message on this once. He was saying that when you realize the big mess you are in and then look up only to find that you have drifted way further away from God than you have had originally thought, it isn't' God who drifted. It isn't God that forgets to talk to Him, read His bible, or attend church. Isn't God that only half-heartedly loves and runs from the things He is called to do. It's us. We do all those things. We turn our backs on a God that loves us dearly just to be torn down by a world that wants to destroy us. It makes no sense but nonetheless we all do it. Luckily, no matter how far we go, its never to far to go back. He is only a prayer away.
Luke 15:11-32
17. The world is a dark place. You can be apart of that darkness or shine in it but you can't be neutral.
There is so much darkness in the world and so little light. It is corrupt with evil and hatred and people walk around here hanging their heads with gloomy expressions engraved on their faces. Like I said, you can be apart of that darkness or you can be a light. This doesn't mean you go through life thinking it's a fairytale and pretending everything is fine. It actually means the opposite. It means you are so in tune with people's hurt and sorrow that leaves them in darkness that you channel it in, make it your own, and shine as brightly as you can to destroy ever shadow that surrounds them. It is hard and draining and can't be done if you aren't constantly asking God to restore you. Now I say you can't be neutral because if you aren't defeating darkness by being a light, then you are still living in it. Just because you aren't directly contributing doesn't mean you aren't still doing damage.
Mathew 5:14-16
18. Finding people you don't feel like you have to pretend around is truly rare. Don't take them for granted.
It's rare and it's scary. It means letting your walls all crumble and letting that person know everything about you; even the worst and craziest parts. They are those people that when you say the strangest things don't look at you like you belong in a mental institute but rather join in with you and add to the madness. You can laugh, talk, share stories of heartache, confusion, mistakes, victories, and odd facts with all while playing with your food or wearing strange, mismatched clothes because you know they won't judge you for them. They are the people you feel like you can "dance like nobody's watching" in front because they will laugh or possibly be beside you doing the same. They inspire you to try new things. And when you say "Oh my gosh, this is so disgusting. Try it.", for whatever reason, they do, and they think it's nasty too (Allie). Or maybe you actually tell them it's good to trick them to eat it, but they are still your friend after (so sorry Ellie). They make you laugh even on your worst days because they can read you so well they know exactly what to do to make everything better again. Mostly importantly, they are someone that see a light in you that uniquely belongs to you and believes in you maybe even more than you believe in yourself sometimes. They see your potential and it inspires you want to be better today than you were yesterday. They remind you that there is a reason to try, that there is something more out there than just being content with the way you are. People like that sound so incredible but it is so terrifying letting them in. What makes it so hard is that you could be letting in a "Trojan Horse" or someone incredible with the risk losing them someday. Fear causes us to do crazy things like drive away the people we want in our lives most. But whether its a family member, a friend, or a significant other, treasure that relationship because it is priceless. Try with everything in you not to let fear of potential loss or hurt make you run away because if you do they may not let you come running back. It is hard lesson to learn that some people are just worth the risk of being hurt by for the sake of having them in your life now. Some of these people will be there from the start, some with come to you late in life. Some you may lose for good, some may come back in your life, or some will be constant throughout. If you are lucky, you build that relationship when you're young and its easier to let people in because you haven't been fooled by imposters so many times. You get to meet them in the fourth grade when your moms make you be friends and sit together on the bus because you are both pathetic and they don't believe you can make on your own. Then, by the grace of God, it all works out perfectly and you have the best friend a girl could ever ask (Ellie:]).
19. Live a life that if the whole world was blind, everyone would still think you are absolutely show-stopping, breath-takingly, stunningly beautiful.
Looks fade over time but personality only shine brighter. Decide now what personality you want to portray to the world because you can't live one life today and expect to turn it all around over night and live a new one when you get older. You want to be an encourager in the workplace; start encouraging now. You want to be a good wife or husband; learn to be loving and patient now. You want to be be a strong believer and follower of Christ; practice being quiet in the presents of God so that you can hear Him now. There is no time like the present to get rolling on those things. Form those habits now so you can become person over time.
1 Peter 3:4
20. Every once and awhile, take time to reflect.
Sometimes you get so caught up in what you're in that you forget your role in life and who (or Who's) you really are. Separating yourself from your life to look at it through the eyes of someone else and doing an honest evaluation of where you are can help far more than you may have realized. Pulling in a trustworthy outsider (maybe someone that fits the description of lesson 18) can be really good too. Those close friends and family you trust to be honest and real are an invaluable resource for helping you stay grounded in you are or becoming who you want to be.
There you have it. Twenty Lessons. Twenty Years.
With Love,
Gloria
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
When God Writes Your Love Story
So as many of you may know, I have been reading this book called "When God Writes Your Love Story" by Eric and Leslee Ludy. I finished it a few weeks ago now (sorry I skipped a few weeks) and it was probably one of the best devotionals I have ever done. It brought up so many topics that, out of all the relationship materials and sermons I have participated in, I had never thought of in the way they were presented in the book. So, to get right to the point I am going to share just a few of the awesome things that stuck out to me.
Throughout the book one of the most basic things that they focused on was the fact that you should, no need, to have a strong relationship with God before you can have a strong relationship with another person. A strong, true relationship with Christ will fulfill you more than any human relationship ever could, and it has to. In other words, God needs to be enough; HE has to be the one that fulfills you, not another person. It would be unfair for that much pressure to be put on one person when it was a longing that only God was meant to fill. Also, you have to make sure that you are strong enough in your own faith before you can help another person in theirs. This isn't to say that you are going to have to carry along your spouse like a ball and chain in their walk, in fact it shouldn't be like that at all, but at times you will need each other to be accountability partners for your relationship with the Lord. That being said, the other person needs to be just as mature in his or her faith, as you are in yours. This leads into the next topic; what to look for in a husband or wife.
So, let me just start by saying that in my opinion, the whole idea of dating is to find the one I am going to marry. I'm not, nor have I ever been, the kind of girl that is going to date someone just for the heck of it or just to say I have a boyfriend. So really, it's considered courtship more than dating. Anyways, the whole idea of marriage is to find someone that will assist you in your walk with Christ. This is someone that you will be spending the rest of your life with and will have a very heavy influence on your life and your walk with God. Finding someone that shares the same beliefs as you is pertinent to having a successful marriage. Also, finding someone who will not hold you back from reaching a God-filled life also should be a requirement. If a person is holding you back from having a deeper relationship with your Savior or is not allowing you to be who you believe God wants you to be in Him, then that is a sure sign that your relationship may not one God has intended for you. Don't settle for what YOU think is the best, because believe me, the Creator of the universe has something incredible in store for you and does NOT want you to settle.
Now this next one is not something anyone really would read and be super exciting about doing. In fact, it is something that I think a good 99.9% of us have tried to completely avoid doing at all cost growing up but it really is a phenomenal idea. So here it is: INCLUDE YOUR PARENTS! Yup, I said it folks. Let them in on all the details and sincerely ask for their opinion. When the Ludy's first mentioned this a big red "not over my dead body" flag went off in my head. But then they said something that made me think. They talked about how parents, Godly or not, have all been put into our lives for a particular reason. They can teach us lessons and give us a good opinion. Above all, parents (or parental figures) are people who genuinely love us and want the very best for us in life. That is an extremely rare feeling for someone to have for you and mom and dad are the best at it. Because of this, it makes no sense at all to shut them out of one of the most important aspects of our life! Including mom and dad in the dating area of your life can be really helpful and keep you feeling disconnected and like you have to hind something from them. Hiding in a relationship never turns out well, so just try to let them in on what's going on!
My favorite topic within the book was one that I personally struggle with. Giving God the pen. Key word there being "give"; He won't fight you for it, it has to be your choice. You have to come to the realization that you ideas for your life my be completely different from God's. Not only that, but giving Him the pen also means being okay with the that.Whoever holds the pen is the author of your life and to be perfectly honest I try really hard to be that pen holder. I clasp onto it with all of my might instead of giving it up to the Creator, Himself, to write my love (or life) story. This isn't just for your relationship part of your life either; its for every part! Every time I start to fall into "selfish pen mode" I try to remind myself that I am TERRIBLE at writing. I mean really, if I am going to be completely honest with myself, I have to say I have been coming up with some of the worst ideas in all of history ever since I was a child. Ideas like wanting to be a veterinarian when I can't stand blood, jumping off the roof of a storage shed with an umbrella to see if it would make me float, trying to swim with my feet together like a mermaid tail causing me to sink, putting tin foil in the microwave or watermelon rinds down the garbage disposal (sorry dad). Stupid, absolutely stupid. So when I think about it, its really for my own good that I let God do the writing. Only He knows what all I would (and often do) mess up when the pen is in my hand! All I know, is He is the ultimate Author of every life, and especially love, story because He IS love. God is the creator and utter definition of love and has shown us every example of true love that we could ever need by dying on the cross and showing us grace everyday.
I don't know about you, but I really love fairytales. Disney is, of course, my favorite. Its wonderful and sets high expectations but is absolutely pathetic compared to anything King of Kings could ever write. God knows what is best for you and believe me when I say He has the most beautiful, enchanting fairytale planned out for you that is more wonderful than anything you could ever dream about. With all of that being said I challenge you to give God your pen and let God write you love story.
Until next time,
Gloria
Throughout the book one of the most basic things that they focused on was the fact that you should, no need, to have a strong relationship with God before you can have a strong relationship with another person. A strong, true relationship with Christ will fulfill you more than any human relationship ever could, and it has to. In other words, God needs to be enough; HE has to be the one that fulfills you, not another person. It would be unfair for that much pressure to be put on one person when it was a longing that only God was meant to fill. Also, you have to make sure that you are strong enough in your own faith before you can help another person in theirs. This isn't to say that you are going to have to carry along your spouse like a ball and chain in their walk, in fact it shouldn't be like that at all, but at times you will need each other to be accountability partners for your relationship with the Lord. That being said, the other person needs to be just as mature in his or her faith, as you are in yours. This leads into the next topic; what to look for in a husband or wife.
So, let me just start by saying that in my opinion, the whole idea of dating is to find the one I am going to marry. I'm not, nor have I ever been, the kind of girl that is going to date someone just for the heck of it or just to say I have a boyfriend. So really, it's considered courtship more than dating. Anyways, the whole idea of marriage is to find someone that will assist you in your walk with Christ. This is someone that you will be spending the rest of your life with and will have a very heavy influence on your life and your walk with God. Finding someone that shares the same beliefs as you is pertinent to having a successful marriage. Also, finding someone who will not hold you back from reaching a God-filled life also should be a requirement. If a person is holding you back from having a deeper relationship with your Savior or is not allowing you to be who you believe God wants you to be in Him, then that is a sure sign that your relationship may not one God has intended for you. Don't settle for what YOU think is the best, because believe me, the Creator of the universe has something incredible in store for you and does NOT want you to settle.
Now this next one is not something anyone really would read and be super exciting about doing. In fact, it is something that I think a good 99.9% of us have tried to completely avoid doing at all cost growing up but it really is a phenomenal idea. So here it is: INCLUDE YOUR PARENTS! Yup, I said it folks. Let them in on all the details and sincerely ask for their opinion. When the Ludy's first mentioned this a big red "not over my dead body" flag went off in my head. But then they said something that made me think. They talked about how parents, Godly or not, have all been put into our lives for a particular reason. They can teach us lessons and give us a good opinion. Above all, parents (or parental figures) are people who genuinely love us and want the very best for us in life. That is an extremely rare feeling for someone to have for you and mom and dad are the best at it. Because of this, it makes no sense at all to shut them out of one of the most important aspects of our life! Including mom and dad in the dating area of your life can be really helpful and keep you feeling disconnected and like you have to hind something from them. Hiding in a relationship never turns out well, so just try to let them in on what's going on!
My favorite topic within the book was one that I personally struggle with. Giving God the pen. Key word there being "give"; He won't fight you for it, it has to be your choice. You have to come to the realization that you ideas for your life my be completely different from God's. Not only that, but giving Him the pen also means being okay with the that.Whoever holds the pen is the author of your life and to be perfectly honest I try really hard to be that pen holder. I clasp onto it with all of my might instead of giving it up to the Creator, Himself, to write my love (or life) story. This isn't just for your relationship part of your life either; its for every part! Every time I start to fall into "selfish pen mode" I try to remind myself that I am TERRIBLE at writing. I mean really, if I am going to be completely honest with myself, I have to say I have been coming up with some of the worst ideas in all of history ever since I was a child. Ideas like wanting to be a veterinarian when I can't stand blood, jumping off the roof of a storage shed with an umbrella to see if it would make me float, trying to swim with my feet together like a mermaid tail causing me to sink, putting tin foil in the microwave or watermelon rinds down the garbage disposal (sorry dad). Stupid, absolutely stupid. So when I think about it, its really for my own good that I let God do the writing. Only He knows what all I would (and often do) mess up when the pen is in my hand! All I know, is He is the ultimate Author of every life, and especially love, story because He IS love. God is the creator and utter definition of love and has shown us every example of true love that we could ever need by dying on the cross and showing us grace everyday.
I don't know about you, but I really love fairytales. Disney is, of course, my favorite. Its wonderful and sets high expectations but is absolutely pathetic compared to anything King of Kings could ever write. God knows what is best for you and believe me when I say He has the most beautiful, enchanting fairytale planned out for you that is more wonderful than anything you could ever dream about. With all of that being said I challenge you to give God your pen and let God write you love story.
Until next time,
Gloria
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Life Is Messy
“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”
― Marilyn Monroe
Amen sister. As humans we say and do stupid things all the time...ALL THE TIME! We do them like its our job and we live in a world full of other humans who do the same stupid things! Life is a stinkin' mess and there is no way to get around it. But why would you want too!? In my opinion our mistakes are what keep things interesting and help us learn. People may ask for a perfect world, and don't get me wrong there are some things that I could do without, but just imagine that. If everything was perfect all of the time no body would know what good or bad things even were. Perfect would be the new normal, normal would be all of the time, and who just wants normal?
Even though its hard, we have to appreciate the bad just as much as the good because without the bad were couldn't savor the good. It would be a wasted wish to ask for nothing bad to ever happen again. Our bad experiences stay with us forever, sometimes even more than the good. They are so negative that we do everything in our power to prevent them for occurring again, right? When something bad happens have you ever caught yourself thinking, "Wow that was terrible! Can't wait to do it all over again." Probably not. And because of that right there, you learn a very valuable lesson. Experience is the best teacher because it is a brutal, relentless one. No body escapes it and it will play a huge part in shaping you into whoever you will be. We all know this scene from Disney's "The Lion King" (yes I'm throwing Disney in this! Like I said before...I LOVE Disney ;]):
Now that is a very physical lesson learned, but metaphorically it meant a lot more. It basically sums it all up. You can either learn from your past or run from it, but either way you'll always remember it and it will change your future decisions and reactions.
The Mess and Heaven:
So as I was doing my devos the other day I was reading about Heaven. There is very little that is actually said in scripture about what Heaven will be like, but the little there is sounds amazing! All I know is that living with my Savior all of eternity will be perfect in every way! Then I got to thinking, life on Earth is terrible and corrupt and we just make the very best of what we can, but without seeing and experiencing such horrible things we wouldn't appreciate the place God has work so hard on creating for His children even half as much! If life was all sunshine and rainbows here, why go to Heaven? Why not just stay on Earth? Through every trail just remember, someday it will get better, way better. In fact, it will be perfect! All those bad experiences will someday cause you to enjoy Heaven that much more!
Trails Help Us Lean on God:
Alright, Pastor Cory literally JUST did a sermon on this and it was amazing! (I don't think it is posted yet but when it is it will be on rbcflint.org/sermons under set free and it will be February 17th's I believe). He said how there is a phrase that we all say that simple is just a lie. The phrase is: "God will never give you can't handle". He continued by saying how this is a complete lie because when we feel like we can handle things ourselves, we push God away. God purposely gives us tasks He knows are much to hard for us to handle on our own so we have no choice but to depend on Him to help us. Our dependency on God strengthens our relationship with Him making hard situations the ideal way to bring us close to Him. You see it isn't that God will never give us something that WE can't handle. It is that God will never give us something that we can't handle with HIM. And let me just say, there isn't anything the Creator, Savior, Great I Am, Prince of Peace, and King of Kings can't handle. He has earned those names for a reason! To sum it all up, trails are just a way for God to help us further our relationship with Him and when we come out of them, we will be stronger in our faith than when we went in.
Life is messy, but it is the best kind of messy there is!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Today Is Not My Day
Disclaimer: Before this sounds sad and depressing, I want you to know that this entry is not what you think it is. This is not a self-pity, poor me post at all, so if you are looking for that, this isn't the place. This is a positive blog and that isn't positive.
So, you know those days when just nothing seems to be going right? No matter what you do it just seems like all of universe is against you. Lose your keys, lock them in your car, lose your phone, step in puddles, forget something important, trip, whatever it is, you begin to think that you should have just stayed at home. I totally get it! I've definitely been there.
No matter what kind of day you've had, you have to be the one to determine how your day actually went. What I mean is that no matter if the whole world decides that it is "National Make (your name here) Miserable Day", you attitude about the situation will be the ultimate decider of whether or not it was actually a "bad" day. If you refuse to let anything ruin your positive attitude than there is not anything that can tear you down. It is totally mind over matter!
Now, believe me when I say that I know that is a tough motto to adopt. Where do you think I got this blog idea from? I tend to let a lot of things (really little, stupid things to be perfectly honest with you) get in my way of daily happiness. However, realizing that this mindset does NOT allow me to have an "enchanting" life, I came up with some tips to change my attitude. Here they are:
1. Pray!
God already know all of your struggles, doubts, and fears and gives them to you so that you lean on Him to take care of them. You can't do it alone and you shouldn't have to. 1 Peter 5:7 says "cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you". God wants to take cares of you but there can only be one captain of the ship; it's Him or you. Don't half give it to Him either, no one likes a back seat driver ;)
2. Make a list of ten POSITIVE things that have happened to you that day.
THERE ARE TEN! -God loves you unconditionally -Jesus died on the cross for you so you could live with Him eternally. There's two, I gave you a head start:)
3. Go out of your way to do something nice for someone else
Doing something nice for others will make them AND you feel good
4. Write a letter
Write the letter to whoever (or no one at all) about everything bad that happened. Then, destroy the letter! Send it away on a balloon, in a lake, river, or ocean, burn it... it doesn't matter what just as long as you get rid of the thing! This symbolizes that you are literally doing away with your problems and not worrying about them anymore!
5. Talk to someone
As cliche as it is, we are social creatures. Let someone that you really trust know what is bothering you. It will relief some of the stress and maybe they will even have some good advice!
Well these are some methods I have used in the past. If you have things that have helped you, leave them in the comment box to helps others out. Let's help spread the happiness :)
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
This Whole "Jesus" Thing.
So as you may have noticed, in my last blog I mentioned that I was a Christian. However, I just briefly mentioned it, not because it isn't important, but the exact opposite actually. I started to go into it and then I realized that it just needed to be its own blog. So here it is:
I figured I might as well start with how my Christianity started. I am extremely fortunate in that fact that grew up in a Christian home. My mom and dad took me to church every Sunday and taught me the importance of having a God centered life. I had older sisters to look up to and a great church family as well (Side note: my pastor, Cory Snyder, at Riverdale Baptist Church is one of the greatest speakers of all time. You can listen to him at http://rbcflint.org/sermons/). As I get older and get to make more and more decisions on my own, I appreciate the things I was taught as a child. Before I went to college, it was easy to make the "right" decisions. I wasn't sneaking out of the house, drinking, partying, or any of that because, yes I knew it was wrong, yes I knew it wasn't what God wanted (which should have been #1), but most importantly, I knew if mom and dad found out I might as well just run myself up to the hardware store when it was all over and invest in a pad lock for my bedroom because thats where I would be spending quite a bit of time for, oh I don't know, ever. Not that I think my parents are tyrants by any means, but because my actions would deserve a punishment and I knew exactly what it would be. Anyways, living at home made it very easy to appear to be a "Good Christian". It wasn't until we did a study on lukewarm Christians in my youth group that I realized being a "Good Christian" wasn't enough. God didn't want me to JUST be making good choices, He wanted me to be in His word, talking with Him, trusting Him, following His plans, the whole nine yards. It wasn't a concept that I grasped easily, and still don't, but none the less I knew that some things had to change. We all know the old, overused, beaten into the ground saying: "You can't just talk the talk, you've got to walk the the walk". Well, that completely applies here. Can you imagine if Jesus came to Earth, lived His whole life saying He was the son of God and preaching but never actually put any of that into practice? We wouldn't have the open communication we do now, we would still be doing sacrifices, and we wouldn't be able to repent our sins asking for forgiveness and for the Holy Spirit to come and live within in us to guide us in the path God has for us and taking us to our eternal home in Heaven with Him when we die. That is a pretty big change! Well just as Jesus was sent here to do a job, so were we. Now, clearly our job and Jesus's job are two completely different things, but they are similar in the fact that they need to get done and there is no one else to do them but the one who is meant to. This was exactly the mentality that this study taught me and realized I needed to adopt.
Now that I am at college, things are a little different. I don't have my parents looking over me as closely as they previously were. This is were everything I had been taught as a child had to kick in. I knew that things were going to get tougher and that it was my job to keep my relationship with the Lord strong now. Luckily, I have my best friend, Ellie, here with me who is also a Christian to be accountability partners with, but all the same, choices had to be made. Getting into the new college lifestyle was a difficulty all on its own. Establishing a new way to maintain a relationship with Christ was on a whole different playing field. I will be the first to admit, devos were not on the top of my priority list and praying was not the first thing that popped into my head on the mornings of those lovely 8 a.m. chemistry classes. I used the excuse that I was just too busy and stressed out, God would understand, right? The old mentality of early high school years started to set in. I wasn't really doing anything "wrong" so I was okay. Thankfully, just as this was becoming a norm, God placed the Mason's in my life just as He did for my sister Natalie when she was at OC. This brought me to the services at Nashville Baptist Church that I desperately needed to hear. One in particular that Pastor DeGroot preached, was a sermon called "Holy Book". With many verses backing his every point, he taught about sowing the word. What made this stick in my mind are three statements that really stood out to me: 1. "The problem is not with the seed, but with the sowers and the soul." 2. "Never be ashamed of the Bible, its truth is the ONLY thing that can changes lives." 3. "I used to try and hid the fact I was praying in public and now I WANT people to know that I am praying to the God of the universe! I WANT them to know I am NOT ashamed of my Savior." Wow. Talk about conviction. Well for starters, I guess if I'm not in the "Holy Book" I'm really doing anyone any good and that would definitely be considered a problem with (me) the sower! With the second one all I could think was that if I was ashamed of the Bible, that means I'm ashamed of its' author: God, which was definitely not okay. That lead right into the third statement. He mentioned how at one point he was trying to hid the fact he was praying. Being totally honest, I'm so guilty of that; but why? Well, why else would I hid this except because of shame or fear? More importantly, why was I embarrassed to let others know that I was exercising the privilege the Creator of life itself gave me to talk to Him whenever I want? As an imperfect, sinful person being treated as a flawless princess of the Lord of Lords, I have absolutely no right. Needless to to day, this was the a rude awakening for me and I knew that some things had to change.
Where I am now, finally feeling renewed:
I determined that it was time to "turn over a new leaf". I had some serious, much needed one-on-one time with my Savior. I prayed for forgiveness, help, strength, courage, and everything I could think of. I wasn't sure what exactly I needed but I knew that He did and that was good enough for me. It dawned on me that I really needed some good devotion material. It took awhile to find something that really stuck, but I think I've got it now. Its actually quite ridiculous how long it took me to come up with a devotion to keep me focused to be perfectly honest with you. I literally have a collection of about 15 Christian books sitting on my shelf in my dorm 6 ft away from my bed. When I looked at this neglected shelf all I could think was "You're an idiot, how did you forget about all of these!" Nonetheless I know have material for quite some time. My first pick was "When God Writes Your Love Story" by Leslie and Eric Ludy. So far, its amazing. What they have to say its awesome. They talk about the direct connection between God and your relationships and why it is so important that a relationship is for the purpose of serving and coming closer to God, not your own personal benefit. Another big point is how God doesn't want just part of us, but ALL of us. He wants the Captain's seat and the key to every room and won't settle for less. (For anyone who is interested just contact me I would LOVE to discuss it with you or lend it to you if you want to read it!)
I think after all of this tying this post into my blog theme really isn't a stretch. Its a simple concept: God is great. His love is above all love, His grace is the greatest gift, and if anyone could come up with something "enchanting", its God. He is the creator of goodness, wonder, and the only definition of perfection. Nothing can compare to the enchanting life that God has planned for you if you allow Him to lead you through it. To put it simply, if you truly want to "Live Life Enchantingly", walking hand in hand with the King of Kings and Prince of Peace is the best way to accomplish that goal.
Sorry this blog was a little bit longer than I plan on making the usuals (thanks for putting up with me), but even after all of this, I don't think I did my Savior the justice He deserves. He is an indescribable God that I have roughly attempted to put into mere, insufficient worlds. Nevertheless, hope you enjoyed this blog and it puts you in an uplifting, inspired, positive mood and given you some food for thought. :)
P.S. Sorry I am technically posting this a day late, I'll do better next time ;)
I figured I might as well start with how my Christianity started. I am extremely fortunate in that fact that grew up in a Christian home. My mom and dad took me to church every Sunday and taught me the importance of having a God centered life. I had older sisters to look up to and a great church family as well (Side note: my pastor, Cory Snyder, at Riverdale Baptist Church is one of the greatest speakers of all time. You can listen to him at http://rbcflint.org/sermons/). As I get older and get to make more and more decisions on my own, I appreciate the things I was taught as a child. Before I went to college, it was easy to make the "right" decisions. I wasn't sneaking out of the house, drinking, partying, or any of that because, yes I knew it was wrong, yes I knew it wasn't what God wanted (which should have been #1), but most importantly, I knew if mom and dad found out I might as well just run myself up to the hardware store when it was all over and invest in a pad lock for my bedroom because thats where I would be spending quite a bit of time for, oh I don't know, ever. Not that I think my parents are tyrants by any means, but because my actions would deserve a punishment and I knew exactly what it would be. Anyways, living at home made it very easy to appear to be a "Good Christian". It wasn't until we did a study on lukewarm Christians in my youth group that I realized being a "Good Christian" wasn't enough. God didn't want me to JUST be making good choices, He wanted me to be in His word, talking with Him, trusting Him, following His plans, the whole nine yards. It wasn't a concept that I grasped easily, and still don't, but none the less I knew that some things had to change. We all know the old, overused, beaten into the ground saying: "You can't just talk the talk, you've got to walk the the walk". Well, that completely applies here. Can you imagine if Jesus came to Earth, lived His whole life saying He was the son of God and preaching but never actually put any of that into practice? We wouldn't have the open communication we do now, we would still be doing sacrifices, and we wouldn't be able to repent our sins asking for forgiveness and for the Holy Spirit to come and live within in us to guide us in the path God has for us and taking us to our eternal home in Heaven with Him when we die. That is a pretty big change! Well just as Jesus was sent here to do a job, so were we. Now, clearly our job and Jesus's job are two completely different things, but they are similar in the fact that they need to get done and there is no one else to do them but the one who is meant to. This was exactly the mentality that this study taught me and realized I needed to adopt.
Now that I am at college, things are a little different. I don't have my parents looking over me as closely as they previously were. This is were everything I had been taught as a child had to kick in. I knew that things were going to get tougher and that it was my job to keep my relationship with the Lord strong now. Luckily, I have my best friend, Ellie, here with me who is also a Christian to be accountability partners with, but all the same, choices had to be made. Getting into the new college lifestyle was a difficulty all on its own. Establishing a new way to maintain a relationship with Christ was on a whole different playing field. I will be the first to admit, devos were not on the top of my priority list and praying was not the first thing that popped into my head on the mornings of those lovely 8 a.m. chemistry classes. I used the excuse that I was just too busy and stressed out, God would understand, right? The old mentality of early high school years started to set in. I wasn't really doing anything "wrong" so I was okay. Thankfully, just as this was becoming a norm, God placed the Mason's in my life just as He did for my sister Natalie when she was at OC. This brought me to the services at Nashville Baptist Church that I desperately needed to hear. One in particular that Pastor DeGroot preached, was a sermon called "Holy Book". With many verses backing his every point, he taught about sowing the word. What made this stick in my mind are three statements that really stood out to me: 1. "The problem is not with the seed, but with the sowers and the soul." 2. "Never be ashamed of the Bible, its truth is the ONLY thing that can changes lives." 3. "I used to try and hid the fact I was praying in public and now I WANT people to know that I am praying to the God of the universe! I WANT them to know I am NOT ashamed of my Savior." Wow. Talk about conviction. Well for starters, I guess if I'm not in the "Holy Book" I'm really doing anyone any good and that would definitely be considered a problem with (me) the sower! With the second one all I could think was that if I was ashamed of the Bible, that means I'm ashamed of its' author: God, which was definitely not okay. That lead right into the third statement. He mentioned how at one point he was trying to hid the fact he was praying. Being totally honest, I'm so guilty of that; but why? Well, why else would I hid this except because of shame or fear? More importantly, why was I embarrassed to let others know that I was exercising the privilege the Creator of life itself gave me to talk to Him whenever I want? As an imperfect, sinful person being treated as a flawless princess of the Lord of Lords, I have absolutely no right. Needless to to day, this was the a rude awakening for me and I knew that some things had to change.
Where I am now, finally feeling renewed:
I determined that it was time to "turn over a new leaf". I had some serious, much needed one-on-one time with my Savior. I prayed for forgiveness, help, strength, courage, and everything I could think of. I wasn't sure what exactly I needed but I knew that He did and that was good enough for me. It dawned on me that I really needed some good devotion material. It took awhile to find something that really stuck, but I think I've got it now. Its actually quite ridiculous how long it took me to come up with a devotion to keep me focused to be perfectly honest with you. I literally have a collection of about 15 Christian books sitting on my shelf in my dorm 6 ft away from my bed. When I looked at this neglected shelf all I could think was "You're an idiot, how did you forget about all of these!" Nonetheless I know have material for quite some time. My first pick was "When God Writes Your Love Story" by Leslie and Eric Ludy. So far, its amazing. What they have to say its awesome. They talk about the direct connection between God and your relationships and why it is so important that a relationship is for the purpose of serving and coming closer to God, not your own personal benefit. Another big point is how God doesn't want just part of us, but ALL of us. He wants the Captain's seat and the key to every room and won't settle for less. (For anyone who is interested just contact me I would LOVE to discuss it with you or lend it to you if you want to read it!)
I think after all of this tying this post into my blog theme really isn't a stretch. Its a simple concept: God is great. His love is above all love, His grace is the greatest gift, and if anyone could come up with something "enchanting", its God. He is the creator of goodness, wonder, and the only definition of perfection. Nothing can compare to the enchanting life that God has planned for you if you allow Him to lead you through it. To put it simply, if you truly want to "Live Life Enchantingly", walking hand in hand with the King of Kings and Prince of Peace is the best way to accomplish that goal.
Sorry this blog was a little bit longer than I plan on making the usuals (thanks for putting up with me), but even after all of this, I don't think I did my Savior the justice He deserves. He is an indescribable God that I have roughly attempted to put into mere, insufficient worlds. Nevertheless, hope you enjoyed this blog and it puts you in an uplifting, inspired, positive mood and given you some food for thought. :)
P.S. Sorry I am technically posting this a day late, I'll do better next time ;)
Monday, February 4, 2013
It Starts.
Well, I meant to start this blog a long time ago, New Years actually, but things got crazy and busy and it was put on the back burner. For starters, I was getting ready to go back to college (I'm a Freshman going into second semester). Also, long before my winter break had even began, my grandma Gloria, who I was named after, had began to get very ill. As many times as she had made a turn around, my whole family assumed that she would recovery. There just had been so many times in the past that she had gotten better, it was almost wasn't even questionable. Of course she would get well? Why wouldn't she? It sounds so silly but it is almost like we thought nothing would ever happen to her. This is a completely unrealistic thought to think nothing would ever happen, but nevertheless its what we just assumed. At first, she began to get better, she was even released from the hospital to a nursing facility, but on Christmas Day her health began to rapidly decline again. Much to our dismay, my grandmother passed away on January 4, 2013. It felt so unreal. I almost didn't even believe it to be honest. The women that I spent so much time with, went on all those donut runs with, played restaurant and washed dished with, and shared all those great talks and laughs with, was gone? That couldn't be right. She was a great women, someone I truly admire even now. Life seems so very off without her, especially when I'm not at school. It's strange to not see her when I visit home or have her over for Sunday lunch. Regardless, there isn't a day I don't think about her and all of my special memories of her. I miss her incredibly and love her like crazy, but I know that she is so much better now and is with her Savior in Heaven.
Now, back at school, my semester has begun and we are already in exam period. It's crazy to think that the time is flying by so fast. Now that things are beginning to go back to the norm, I figured that I could finally, officially start my blog. First order of business, I want to give a little background on myself. My name is Gloria Elizabeth, I am 19 years old, I love Jesus, and I am currently attending college. I am an Exercise Science and Biology Pre-Med major with a minor in Fitness Management. Here at my college, I am also on the cheer team. Cheerleading is a long time passion of mine so I am thrilled to be doing that. Speaking of things I love, of course family is bound to come up. I have a wonderful set of parents, Marc and Lynn, that have been married for 30 years. I also have an awesome beachbody coach/psychologist sister (you can check out her blog here: http://candispiceandallthingsnice.blogspot.com) named Candice who is married to a super tough military man named Jordan. My next sister is an elementary school teacher for special needs students (major props to her, I could never do it!) named Natalie. This lovely lady was just married this past summer to Aldo (he's Chilean) who is probably the most outgoing person on this planet! Next, is my baby sister, Gabbie, who is the most intelligent 7th grader ever (she wrote a novel and is working on the sequel now, yeah you read that right. A novel: a book with over 30,000 words) and no she isn't married:) That makes up my beautiful little family and I love them dearly. Next on my list of things I adore is Disney. I could watch DIsney movies all day every day and never get tired of it. I listen to DIsney soundtracks in the morning while I get ready, while I'm running, or any other daily tasks throughout the day. I just love it. I want to be a princess at Disney World or on the Disney Cruise line and will hopefully be trying out over spring break. Well, I think that is pretty much the brief synopsis of my life. I will be posting new little things that are going on every Monday.
So, as random as this first blog may seem, the point of it is simple. I want to take the challenge to focus on the good; all the positivity around me. I chose the title "Live Life Enchantingly" because I think that is the best way to live. Enchantingly means "in a pleasant way" or "delightful, charming, or attractive". Who wouldn't want their life to be pleasant? Sounds good to me! And I truly believe that anyone's life can be just that if they so choose. I don't believe that life is what you are given; but what you make it into. So if you choose to focus on the positive and to see all the blessings, happiness, and magic around you, that is what your life will become. Each post will have be about something that will hopefully brighten your day, make you smile, and cause you to "stop and smell the roses", if you will. There is a better world all around you if you just open your eyes. Life gets crazy, busy hectic, and can really tear a person down, but hopefully this will challenge you to take notice of the good things that are happening too. So from here on out, it's all up hill, are you ready to make the climb?
Now, back at school, my semester has begun and we are already in exam period. It's crazy to think that the time is flying by so fast. Now that things are beginning to go back to the norm, I figured that I could finally, officially start my blog. First order of business, I want to give a little background on myself. My name is Gloria Elizabeth, I am 19 years old, I love Jesus, and I am currently attending college. I am an Exercise Science and Biology Pre-Med major with a minor in Fitness Management. Here at my college, I am also on the cheer team. Cheerleading is a long time passion of mine so I am thrilled to be doing that. Speaking of things I love, of course family is bound to come up. I have a wonderful set of parents, Marc and Lynn, that have been married for 30 years. I also have an awesome beachbody coach/psychologist sister (you can check out her blog here: http://candispiceandallthingsnice.blogspot.com) named Candice who is married to a super tough military man named Jordan. My next sister is an elementary school teacher for special needs students (major props to her, I could never do it!) named Natalie. This lovely lady was just married this past summer to Aldo (he's Chilean) who is probably the most outgoing person on this planet! Next, is my baby sister, Gabbie, who is the most intelligent 7th grader ever (she wrote a novel and is working on the sequel now, yeah you read that right. A novel: a book with over 30,000 words) and no she isn't married:) That makes up my beautiful little family and I love them dearly. Next on my list of things I adore is Disney. I could watch DIsney movies all day every day and never get tired of it. I listen to DIsney soundtracks in the morning while I get ready, while I'm running, or any other daily tasks throughout the day. I just love it. I want to be a princess at Disney World or on the Disney Cruise line and will hopefully be trying out over spring break. Well, I think that is pretty much the brief synopsis of my life. I will be posting new little things that are going on every Monday.
So, as random as this first blog may seem, the point of it is simple. I want to take the challenge to focus on the good; all the positivity around me. I chose the title "Live Life Enchantingly" because I think that is the best way to live. Enchantingly means "in a pleasant way" or "delightful, charming, or attractive". Who wouldn't want their life to be pleasant? Sounds good to me! And I truly believe that anyone's life can be just that if they so choose. I don't believe that life is what you are given; but what you make it into. So if you choose to focus on the positive and to see all the blessings, happiness, and magic around you, that is what your life will become. Each post will have be about something that will hopefully brighten your day, make you smile, and cause you to "stop and smell the roses", if you will. There is a better world all around you if you just open your eyes. Life gets crazy, busy hectic, and can really tear a person down, but hopefully this will challenge you to take notice of the good things that are happening too. So from here on out, it's all up hill, are you ready to make the climb?
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