Learning to Sing in The Rain

We have all heard the phrase, "Dancing in the Rain." But, how you interpret the phrase depends on your point of view. On the best days it seems easy to trust God and to not worry or panic, but on hard days is  that really what we think of?

While your circumstances may change, how you look at them determines the outcome. One wise friend once told me, "If today is the worst day of your life, then tomorrow will be better." For me, this past semester has been absolutely crazy. From tournaments, to school, to outside activities, to training for an upcoming 5K race. This past semester has been a whirlwind. In fact, I haven't been taking time to spend with God. This morning I really was convicted of this. I would encourage you, no matter what to find time to spend time with Him. Because, with Him in you, your life will be very different than if you make your own choices. 

Remember: 

No Matter what you are walking through, Jesus was tempted just as you are. He understands what you are walking though. 

So, no matter how bad the storm, find a way to dance through it! 

-Anna Katherine 

Hey You All!

Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long since I last wrote, life has been really crazy lately. (I don't know about you all, but graduating high-school is a bore. Seriously.)

Today, I am going to talk about the literature that is called 'classic' in this modern age. I have been CLEPing out of English Literature this last semester, and up until the Victorian period, 90% of all literature was based on religion. (The Victorian period is...all right, with an influx of...rather...liberal information based on the idea that men should be their own rulers.) This week though...when I began the Modern period of literature, I was disgusted to find that almost all of the authors that are considered 'worth reading' were either of dubious morals, or overdosed on drugs or liquor.

What. I ask you, are we seeking to teach our children by upholding this...garbage...as literature? (Not that many young people seek to read this material voluntarly, it must be strange to others that I enjoy all this dry stuff! ;P) If this is the standard of what is deemed 'valuable' information that should be taught in colleges, what is being taught in high-schools today? Honestly!

Let me give you some examples:
Dylan Thomas, Irish poet, lived a hard life and drank himself to death at the age of 39.
Aldus Huxly, wrote 'A Brave New World', lived the life of the wealthy, and took drugs in his later life, causing his work to suffer.
James Joyce, Irish author, born Roman Catholic, later renounced his faith, wrote about young men who didn't fit into society and rejected it's conventions.
Willam Butler Yeats, wrote Irish literature, was passionate about his art, and occults.

...And it goes on and on. This is what we Americans say is worth reading? Let me tell you something, if that was all that literature could offer, I would discard my love of books without a second thought. I almost have anyway! But thank goodness that isn't true. There was, and still are, some authors who wished to bring good to this world of evil.

One bright light in this tangled mess, is someone we all know and love for the magic he brought to our everyday lives. Who am I speaking of? Lewis Carroll? Not a chance. This man was the best friend of J.R.R. Tolkien...have you guessed who yet? No?...He wrote about a winter that never ended, a sea that went to the edge of the world, a witch who sought to tunnel to the heart of all that was good, a sandy desert where horses talked, and swarthy skinned slaves who attempted to abduct beautiful women...need I continue?

C.S. Lewis, a man who from his boyhood wrote storys about mythical creatures and fantastical worlds where almost anything could happen, did not write these stories for fun, he had an alterior motive. Every one of his books were allegories of the Christian life, and what he wanted more than anything else, was to point children (and adults) towards the 'Light at the end of the tunnel'. (meaning Jesus)

So in all honesty, there is good in this world...if you look in the right places...but if you aren't careful, all the darkness that is spreading will overwhelm you, and you will lose sight of what is good.

 Don't forget that there is a Light for us to follow, no matter how dark this world gets, or how much pain you see in this world.

 

~Marissa H.

Am I royalty?

I think that one of the dreams of every little girl, at one time or another, to be a princess. I have always been in-love with the british royal family.  The thought of riches, royalty and power.
A few months ago a dear friend gave me a book. "His Princess" by Sheri Rose Shepherd. I would HIGHLY recommend this book. It is a devotional, and every day is a different love letter.
Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are his masterpiece. He has created us anew." If God is king, and we are his children, that makes us royalty!
One of the lies, that I have always struggled with is that no one loves me. And this past summer, I realized that it was in fact a deep lie. If you think about it. God, created you and I in his image. Therefore we are perfect, although we are corrupt due to sin.
Romans 5:8 says, "But, God shows his love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." If that is not true love then I don't know what is.
Rick Warren, a pastor, wrote, "God is love. He didn't need us. But he wanted us. And that is the most amazing thing."
In fact, we were not made to "fit it" instead we were made to stand out. Not to be a show off, to be lead other to God. Don't buy into the picture of love that Hollywood has painted. True love, was God creating us in his image and then sending his son to live a shameful life, and to die a painful death, for you. Someone once asked me, "When was it that you realized that if you had been the only person in the world, then God would have still sent Jesus to die JUST FOR YOU!" What an amazing thought! If you have trusted in Christ, then you a royalty! You and the son or daughter of a King. And not just "A King." But, "The King!"
-Annakatherine

Who is in Control?

Over the last few months, I have been extremely busy. From Speech and Debate to church, my time just seemed to always be running out. A few weeks ago, my computer crashed and I lost all of my files. However, the first thought in my mind was not "Why did God allow this?" But instead it was "wow, I really don't have time for this."

Jeremiah 29:11 says, 

"For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." 

This verse shows how God is in control of every situation. And regardless of our current circumstances His plan will prevail. I know for me,  I often have doubts of how God can turn whatever I am walking through into something good. But, scripture teaches in Romans 8:28-32,

 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those who God foreknew he also predestined to be contromed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those who he predestined, he also called; those who he called, he justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" 

These verses always encourage me that whenever I am walking though something, God is in control and He has a plan that is for my benefit. I heard one pastor say onetime that he used to worry that if he was focused on God, he might miss meeting his future wife. And then he read these verses. And what he realized was that God wanted the best for his life. (And his future wife's) So, that even if he missed her the first time, if it was the best thing for his life, then God would show both of them. (P.S. He did meet her and they got married, and now have several children.) 

No matter what your circumstances are; Either sunny or rainy. God is in control and he will work for the good of his children! 

-Annakatherine 

Battle Number Seven

 

 

 

My last and final battle that I will be talking on is the battle that we all fight in our day to day lives. 

The battle of Tolerance, and what that word really means.             

 

The definition of the word tolerance has changed over the years to something in the opposite of its original meaning. Tolerance is identified as “a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry” (Dictionary.reference.com 2014). To be tolerant of another person’s ideals, religion, or belief system sounds reasonable unless one looks at the living evidence that show this is no longer an accurate description.

The following excerpt comments on this subject: “Moral relativism is the view that ethical standards, morality, and positions of right or wrong are culturally based and therefore subject to a person's individual choice” (Moral Relativism 2011). Essentially, it is the idea that while there may be some reason for believing that there is a right and a wrong, everyone can make up their own mind about this. Since when has it been neither right nor wrong to murder a man?

From the beginning of time, murder has been punishable by death. Taking the life of another human being is not man’s right, but God’s. Therefore, how can this be justifiable? Man is taking the responsibility of being god, and setting himself up as greater than any other. He can then say it is his right to kill if he feels led to for whatever reason he believes applies.

A Christian apologetics blog speaks on the idiocy of this ideal: “…here appears a non-refutable self-refuting moral statement. What if another culture exists that does not share the same value of tolerance?...The moral relativist’s own belief system forbids him to judge the moral belief system of the other culture based on his own moral belief system and thus forbids him from making his original statement about tolerance” (Moral Relativism Failure 2011)

Tolerance is defined in modern culture as tolerating all beliefs except those beliefs that do not tolerate others. An obvious example is Christianity. Christianity is coming under relentless fire because it cannot tolerate homosexual relationships. This is simply because the teachings that Christianity is based upon condemn those that live this lifestyle. Therefore, while tolerance is a good thing, without a correct definition, there is no hope for a “tolerant” society.

~Marissa

Battle No. 5

                Fear has the capacity to disarm soldiers, turn people against their kings, and destroy relationships. Fear is defined as “something that causes feelings of dread or apprehension; something a person is afraid of.” (Dictionary.reference.com 2014) A word that adequately defines this fear is xenophobia which is derived from the Greek word for stranger. There are many things that humans are fearful of for good reason. A person does not tread on a snake purposefully if he knows that it could kill him. Likewise, if men misunderstand the cultures of this world, then fear is a natural side effect.

                Take for example the ancient Indians of South America. The first indigenous group encountered by Columbus was the 250,000 Taínos of Hispaniola who represented the dominant culture in the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas. These people were grossly mistreated and persecuted for no other reason than that they were considered heathens who had little or no understanding of what it was to be human. (Wikipedia. Article “Indigenous peoples of the Americas” 2014)

                Another example is the Salem witch trials, which were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. This atrocity is in fact the result of lack of information and ignorance. Those that conducted the trials said many years later that they were ashamed to have taken part in such barbarities.

                It is comprehensible that what we as humans do not understand that which we fear. What we should consider though, is the fact that we need not fear what we cannot comprehend, but rather, seek to unravel the case itself. In doing so, we will have not only conquered the fear of the unknown, but also acknowledged that God is in control of the circumstances, and that so long as we trust Him there is nothing to fear.

-Marissa

#4

 

Battle Number Four.

Time Management.

Now you're laughing. A teenager talking about time management? The sky just fell! But honestly, time is our most precious commodity, and in America, it often seems that life is becoming crowded with so many things, that time is obsolete. We rush, we hurry, we scramble to get as much done as possible each day, and we crash in the early hours of the morning, totally drained and exhausted. And we tell ourselves that we can handle it.

We jam more and more things into our lives, thinking that we can do all things without paying the price. But there is a price to be paid for everything we do, just like magic had a price in the old fairytales that we read as children. And the price of cramming so much into our lives is less and less productivity. The quality of our work rapidly takes a downward turn, and we experience burn-out like nobody's business.

As you can probably see, I'm mostly talking to myself. Time management has always been difficult for me, and this year has been harder than any other that I can remember. It seems that everything I am doing is causing me to forget my Bible study time and other important things. I crash late, and drag myself out of bed in the morning way too late. It's a good thing I am still in school, or I would probably lose my job.

This does not mean I don't care about this, rather, I am disgusted with myself. I often think that being a 'young adult' would mean that I should grasp the concept of time management. After all, it would just be in my favor. Being a 'young adult' brings it's own challenges and trials, but that doesn't mean that we should forget that we have the responsibility to manage our time in a way that is glorifying to God.

The solution is simple, but difficult. Give up some of those things that we do, and spend that empty space in our lives on God. Giving Him some of our precious time results in a lesson on humility and organization. While time may mean so much to us that we measure it in nanoseconds, we all need to remember that every bit of that time is God's. He created it, therefore we should give it back to Him.

-Marissa