Example

While I was getting ready for bed, my roommate, Kayla, and I were talking about growing up in the youth group. I totally forgot how we got on the topic of looking up to certain people when we were young, but somehow we did. When you were young, did you ever look at an upper classman in high school and want to be just like them? I'll admit that I did. I always thought, no one is ever going to look up to me like that.

During the week of graduation, we had a time in the youth group for graduating seniors to receive notes from the younger teens. It was sort of like an "I'm gonna miss you" session. One of the sophomore girls that I had recently become really close to decided to write me a letter. She told me how she had always looked up to me and said that I was her role model. Role Model? Me? Immediately I went back to the time when I was her age and looked at certain people like that, and now that person was me. Wow. 

I'm not perfect. No one is perfect. Being told that you are someone's role model is one of the best honors that you can get in my opinion, but it's so undeserved. I know, then especially, I should never had been labeled as a role model for anyone. I guess you could say it taught me a huge lesson...

Living your life as an example is Biblical. Christ did it. Everything He did was meant to teach His followers how to live a Christian life. No one else can teach us that. He is perfection. No one can hold a flame to Christ, but the least we can do is to live a life as Jesus-like as possible. Be an example. Live your life as honorably as you can. You never know who's watching you. 

Rescued

Psalm 13

 ¹ How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever? 
       How long will you hide your face from me?

 ² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts 
       and every day have sorrow in my heart? 
       How long will my enemy triumph over me?

 ³ Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. 
       Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

 ⁴ my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," 
       and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

 ⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love; 
       my heart rejoices in your salvation.

 ⁶ I will sing to the LORD, 
       for he has been good to me.

This chapter from Psalms is actually a song that we sing in Sanctuary. I love it...along with everyone else who knows it. It's one of the most powerful songs that we sing there because everyone sings it as loud a physically possible. Know one cares what they sound like, and that's what makes it amazing. 

I love this chapter because it's so relatable. Everyone goes through the valleys and the peaks of life. Everyone feels alone sometimes. Life isn't perfect. You're gonna go through crap in life and we all know it. If you haven't gone through anything bad yet, then I'm jealous. But it's in those valleys where most people go to God. It's kind of a bittersweet thing, but people really do draw closer to God when they're in despair. Even though that's great, I hate it that that's the way it has to be. Why is it that we feel the sudden urge to lean on God when are in desperation, but don't give him as much of our time to him as we should when times are good? 

God has rescued me. He has rescued me from a bitter fate, he rescues me from the valleys, and he reminds me every day that I'm never alone. God has been good to me. He loves me no matter what. His love is unconditional. I just need to remember, even in the good times, that I should lean on him. I should praise him in any and every circumstance. My life should be a living praise.

He has been good to me. 

Decisions, decisions, decisions...

Sometimes I wish that I didn't have to make choices. I mean, I guess it wouldn't be very good if someone else made all of my decisions for me, but still. Sometimes I feel like it would just be so much easier to just nod my head and do what I'm told. But that would get old, wouldn't it?

For example, I  just got offered a job at a restaurant as a waitress. It would be easy to just take it, but something doesn't feel right about it. My plan was to go get applications from a million different places, and the first place I went to was J. Alexanders. They offered me that job on the spot and I took it. I was so excited, but you know that little feeling you get in your chest when something doesn't feel right? I have that feeling.

So this really isn't about whether or not I take the job. Tomorrow I'm going to get more applications so it's no big deal. I guess it's more about how God's got my back. He gave me the choice of whether or not I want to follow him, and I did. I am his and it's nice. I love the comfort of knowing that he will provide for me. So I guess the choices I make aren't that big of a deal. Yes, they are, but as long as I include God in my decisions, it's gonna be alright. 

It's gonna be alright. 

Tired

Time is almost up for the 2008-2009 school year. Finally. But I'm not gonna lie, it's been pretty great. I've grown up (well, since high school at least), I've started figuring out who I want to be, I'm getting back on the right track with God again (and it's amazing...), God has surrounded me with wonderful friends...it's just been a great first year of college. 

But...I'm tired. 

Sometimes I wish God could just take my exams for me. I mean really...He is an All-Powerful, All-Knowing God, so I KNOW he could ace my Psychology final. That would be pretty cool, but it ain't gonna happen. Times like this, I just load up on the caffeine and go. If I stop, there's no hope for me.

I have Philippians 4:13 taped on my computer because it's my life in college. It's my little reminder that I can do it. No matter how hard it is, or how heavy my eyes feel in the middle of my math class, I can do it. God may let me feel weary at times, but there's a light to the end of the tunnel. I can do anything through Him who gives me strength. That's all I need to know. 

Emily

The Ultimate Sacrifice

I spent this past weekend at home with the family. I love going home. I feel so comfortable, so blessed, and so incredibly loved there. I thank God everyday for the people in my life that love me so much and that I can love in return. 

During my amazing stay at home, the movie John Q was OnDemand. I haven't watched it in a really long time and I was bored, so why not? If you've never seen this movie, I recommend you first to watch it asap, and second to STOP READING THIS RIGHT NOW. MOVIE SPOILER.  

So I'm a major cry-baby when it comes to movies. In this movie, there is a family who isn't financially stable. They have one son, who is probably around ten, and he ends up in desperate need of a new heart. Since the family cannot afford this procedure, or even the amount to place his name on the recipient list, the father decides he has to do something drastic...so he holds up the emergency room. After a while, it comes down to his son really needing the heart. So the father decides that his son can take his heart. He will die so that his son can live...

Of course I am BAWLING by this point. If that doesn't describe love, I don't know what does. My parents always tell me that they would die for me, and as I've grown up, I've begun understanding what they mean. I would do the same for them. 

God did that for me. He came down in human form, through his Son, and died for me. He loved me, an undeserving sinner, so much, that he took my death. He bore my punishment, for no reason at all. But there was a reason...He Loves Me. That's all it takes. Love. 

Love is the easiest thing, but it's the hardest thing to grasp. God loves me. I love Him. Enough said. 

Emily

Easter

Today is Easter. We all know what Easter is. Even if you are not a Christian, you know what it is, but may not associate it with Christ. Maybe you associate it with a giant bunny or egg-shaped Reeses cups or those gross things they call Peeps (they are disgusting...).

What made Easter turn into such a corporate holiday? Who the heck came decided that the Easter bunny should represent the day believed to be when Jesus Christ died and rose again? Doesn't quite click to me. 

I think that society diminishes the whole concept of what Easter really is...even for Christians. Even just sitting here thinking about it, I don't think I've truly grasped the meaning of it all until just now. Well I don't know the meaning to it all, obviously, but I mean I'm just now getting down to the significance of it. 

I cannot even begin to image the reality of the Cross and the torture it must have been. Even moreso, I cannot image the horrors of hell and the torment that Christ went through for three days...all for me. And then to top it all off, He came back. He rose from the grave. Wow.

God is an awesome God. He let his Son die for a sinner like me. He watched Him suffer for someone so unworthy to be saved. I cannot even begin to thank Him for this gift. My second chance. My salvation. 

All I can do is believe, have faith, be aware and thankful for all my many blessings, and to live a life as close to the example of Christ as I possibly can.

Thank You, Jesus, for saving me. 

God First, Others Second, I'm Third

I often wonder how many minutes...more like hours of the day spending thinking about myself. Better yet, I don't really want to know that number because it would probably scare me. Now I'm not going to speak for everyone, but I think a lot of people have this problem. We live in a materialistic culture that tells us what we don't have enough, what we have isn't good enough, or that we aren't good enough. A lot of times, we'll give up things to make our lives easier or better, but when it comes the time to give up the same thing to help someone else, we aren't always too happy about it.

1 Chronicles 16:11 says, "Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his presence continually." We're called to always seek his face, but I don't think I focus on that as much as I should in my day-to-day life.

Some of you may have heard the saying "God First, Others Second, I'm Third." Think about it. How many of us can honestly say that we prioritize our lives in this order 100% all day, everyday? I'd be willing to bet that most of us wish we did, but we can't say we honestly do 24/7. Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." This verse is in the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus calls us "not to store up money and riches on earth (6:19-24), not to worry about the future (6:25-34), to refrain from self-righteous judgement (7:1-5), and to go to God for all our needs (7L7-11)."

I think that if we truly believed this, we wouldn't be rolling our eyes when it comes to helping someone else when it's not according to our schedules. God is always there for us. No worries. Go out of your way to do something nice for someone today. 

"God First, Others Second, I'm Third."

Lord, help us to live in this world, but not to be OF this world.