Dear God,
I can't do this on my own anymore. Please take these stressors I'm dealing with and help me turn them in to something positive. I am not good with giving over control but I realize I need you. Please give me the strength to give it all to you.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Shock Value
The below post was not written by me but rather by someone I know. Her name is Sarai and she is an amazing girl. I've known Sarai for a very long time and she is a God loving woman, beautiful, inspirational, and very talented...she writes her own music and you can check it out here.... http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=25504187.
Here is Sarai's post from facebook. It really made me think and I hope it does the same for you:
Shock Value. An interesting addiction that lingers and lingers becoming more powerful by the second. It controls minds, hearts, emotions, thoughts, decisions, actions and consequences. It contains you’re darkest secrets, your deepest fears and has the power to break you. Most of you reading this will probably stop here because it has nothing to do with you. I’m afraid you’re wrong. I have researched the depths to which this illness, addiction or wound if you may, has crawled and the results blew me away. It is something that is in us the moment we are born and whether its card is played or not is our decision.
What exactly is shock value? The dictionary will tell you the word shock means …“an unexpected, intense, and distressing experience that has a sudden and powerful effect on somebody's emotions or physical reactions..” I was shocked to wake up after overdosing…alive. I’m sure you can insert your own shock here. The meaning of value…“the worth, importance, or usefulness of something to somebody.” I value love from others towards me and from me towards others. I value my faith no matter how distant it can seem sometimes. And you? What do you value? Take a minute to answer this question.
With these definitions combined we see Shock Value as this, read it slowly: An unexpected, intense, and distressing experience, that has a sudden and powerful effect on somebody’s emotions or physical reactions caused by the worth, importance, or usefulness of something to somebody.
Read it again…
Think about this. Is it possible that we are so overwhelmed with the possibility of our worth to something or someone that we have to drastically test it? Is it not enough to love and be loved and simply accept love’s existence? Shock value, ladies and gentleman, is what we create it to be. It has no general preference to its appearance, it does not affect only the “broken” but the pioneer brave enough to test the lengths of his or her value.
But God…the amazing, spotless, perfect being…cannot be shocked. He cannot be scared or surprised and he will not react at our greatest attempts to do so. I wonder why so many of my friends have turned their hearts away after being so engulfed in their faith. Disappointment came running in when they realized there was not a catch. No agenda with what God had to offer when he sent Jesus to save our dramatic back sides. It was simple. Love. A love that cannot be tested to prove its strength. Jesus proved it by doing what no man could EVER duplicate.
What are you testing in your life?
Are you cutting to test the strength of your will? If you have the will to do it, you are stronger than you think..
Are you hurting other people to test the love of your parents who just aren’t around as much as you want them to be?
Are you dousing your body with toxins every Friday night to test your “church” friends to stop you?
Are you crawling out of the backseat of a car, or from under the sheets or from off the couch with someone to test if your purity actually exists?
Or maybe, you are being as bad as you can possibly be to prove you can do it…
I’ve spent ¾ of my life trying to shock love out of people because I couldn't accept its reality. And to this day I have to fight with my own mind to refuse its calling. You and I can shock and awe the entire world, but we cannot shock Jesus and we cannot shock God and no matter how hard we try his love is what it is and will never change. I’ve cried and cried at the realization of this…after 12 years…I can finally stop trying to prove myself. The shock value factor ends here. We’ve heard it a hundred times but it has never seem clearer than now:
Romans 8:38-39
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor ANY powers, neither height nor depth, nor ANYTHING else in ALL creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
My resolution. And I pray yours. Happy New Year….Sarai
John 16:22
"For now you have sorrow, but I will come back for you again and in that day your heart will rejoice and I will give you a joy no one can take."
Here is Sarai's post from facebook. It really made me think and I hope it does the same for you:
Shock Value. An interesting addiction that lingers and lingers becoming more powerful by the second. It controls minds, hearts, emotions, thoughts, decisions, actions and consequences. It contains you’re darkest secrets, your deepest fears and has the power to break you. Most of you reading this will probably stop here because it has nothing to do with you. I’m afraid you’re wrong. I have researched the depths to which this illness, addiction or wound if you may, has crawled and the results blew me away. It is something that is in us the moment we are born and whether its card is played or not is our decision.
What exactly is shock value? The dictionary will tell you the word shock means …“an unexpected, intense, and distressing experience that has a sudden and powerful effect on somebody's emotions or physical reactions..” I was shocked to wake up after overdosing…alive. I’m sure you can insert your own shock here. The meaning of value…“the worth, importance, or usefulness of something to somebody.” I value love from others towards me and from me towards others. I value my faith no matter how distant it can seem sometimes. And you? What do you value? Take a minute to answer this question.
With these definitions combined we see Shock Value as this, read it slowly: An unexpected, intense, and distressing experience, that has a sudden and powerful effect on somebody’s emotions or physical reactions caused by the worth, importance, or usefulness of something to somebody.
Read it again…
Think about this. Is it possible that we are so overwhelmed with the possibility of our worth to something or someone that we have to drastically test it? Is it not enough to love and be loved and simply accept love’s existence? Shock value, ladies and gentleman, is what we create it to be. It has no general preference to its appearance, it does not affect only the “broken” but the pioneer brave enough to test the lengths of his or her value.
But God…the amazing, spotless, perfect being…cannot be shocked. He cannot be scared or surprised and he will not react at our greatest attempts to do so. I wonder why so many of my friends have turned their hearts away after being so engulfed in their faith. Disappointment came running in when they realized there was not a catch. No agenda with what God had to offer when he sent Jesus to save our dramatic back sides. It was simple. Love. A love that cannot be tested to prove its strength. Jesus proved it by doing what no man could EVER duplicate.
What are you testing in your life?
Are you cutting to test the strength of your will? If you have the will to do it, you are stronger than you think..
Are you hurting other people to test the love of your parents who just aren’t around as much as you want them to be?
Are you dousing your body with toxins every Friday night to test your “church” friends to stop you?
Are you crawling out of the backseat of a car, or from under the sheets or from off the couch with someone to test if your purity actually exists?
Or maybe, you are being as bad as you can possibly be to prove you can do it…
I’ve spent ¾ of my life trying to shock love out of people because I couldn't accept its reality. And to this day I have to fight with my own mind to refuse its calling. You and I can shock and awe the entire world, but we cannot shock Jesus and we cannot shock God and no matter how hard we try his love is what it is and will never change. I’ve cried and cried at the realization of this…after 12 years…I can finally stop trying to prove myself. The shock value factor ends here. We’ve heard it a hundred times but it has never seem clearer than now:
Romans 8:38-39
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor ANY powers, neither height nor depth, nor ANYTHING else in ALL creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
My resolution. And I pray yours. Happy New Year….Sarai
John 16:22
"For now you have sorrow, but I will come back for you again and in that day your heart will rejoice and I will give you a joy no one can take."
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
ABC's of Me
A= Available~ No I've been married 3 years.
B= Best Friend~ God, Brian, Lori, Julie, Sherrie.
C= Cake or pie~ Both.
D= Drink of choice~ Milk.
E= Essential item you use everyday~ Computer.
F= Favorite color~ Purple, blues, and hot pinks.
G= Gummy bears or worms~ sour worms or sour patch kids
H= Hometown~ Waverly
I= Indulgences~ Chocolate and getting my hair done.
J= January or February~ Feb. Brian's birthday and Valentines Day.
K= Kids and Names~ We have a baby on the way! No certain names yet.
L= Life is incomplete without?~ Love, Faith, Hope, and Trust.
M= Marriage date~ Oct. 9, 2004.
N= Number of siblings~ 2 brothers 1 sister.
O= Oranges or apples~ Oranges.
P= Phobias or Fears~ Losing the ones I love.
Q= Favorite Quotes~
I don't know why others do not see their faults. I would if I had any. (Regarding judging others).
-In Loving Memory of my Mother, Judy Kempton
Be who you are and say what you feel because those that mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
-Dr. Seuss
Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.
-Mother Teresa
R= Reason to smile~ Becoming a mommy!
S= Season~ Spring. I love to see the rebirth and birth of things.
T= Tag 3 or 4 people~ Ummm...just play if you want to.
U= Unknown fact about me~ I play World of Warcraft.
V= Vegetable you don't like~ peas.
W= Worst habit~ slouching and biting my nails.
X= X-rays~ just one I sprang my ankle.
Y= Your favorite food~ doritos with melted cheese.
Z= Zodiac Sign~ Sag.
B= Best Friend~ God, Brian, Lori, Julie, Sherrie.
C= Cake or pie~ Both.
D= Drink of choice~ Milk.
E= Essential item you use everyday~ Computer.
F= Favorite color~ Purple, blues, and hot pinks.
G= Gummy bears or worms~ sour worms or sour patch kids
H= Hometown~ Waverly
I= Indulgences~ Chocolate and getting my hair done.
J= January or February~ Feb. Brian's birthday and Valentines Day.
K= Kids and Names~ We have a baby on the way! No certain names yet.
L= Life is incomplete without?~ Love, Faith, Hope, and Trust.
M= Marriage date~ Oct. 9, 2004.
N= Number of siblings~ 2 brothers 1 sister.
O= Oranges or apples~ Oranges.
P= Phobias or Fears~ Losing the ones I love.
Q= Favorite Quotes~
I don't know why others do not see their faults. I would if I had any. (Regarding judging others).
-In Loving Memory of my Mother, Judy Kempton
Be who you are and say what you feel because those that mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
-Dr. Seuss
Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.
-Mother Teresa
R= Reason to smile~ Becoming a mommy!
S= Season~ Spring. I love to see the rebirth and birth of things.
T= Tag 3 or 4 people~ Ummm...just play if you want to.
U= Unknown fact about me~ I play World of Warcraft.
V= Vegetable you don't like~ peas.
W= Worst habit~ slouching and biting my nails.
X= X-rays~ just one I sprang my ankle.
Y= Your favorite food~ doritos with melted cheese.
Z= Zodiac Sign~ Sag.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
I know what Chillicothe needs
Where is the Barnes and Nobel? That's what Chillicothe needs not another restaurant! I love bookstores and yet Chillicothe owns no massive bookstores. I would start a petition but who is going to listen? Ahhh...story of my life lol!
Monday, December 3, 2007
Sunday's Message & Mondays Ramblings
Some of this post is from Steve's message on Sunday. It was a good message for me. It made me think. Other than that you will find a good mixture of Steve's message and rambling. I'm having one of those days today...the kind where your sometimes the bug and I can only hope to be the windshield soon.
Here are some questions that Steve posed on Sunday:
Q: Is your life built on the rocks or on the sand?
A: I did write an answer and then I erased it. I'm not positive I can answer this question right now. My life is not entirely built on rock...this is a constant struggle.
Q: How do I simply live my life so that others want to follow?
A: I try. I try to love my God, I try to be a nice person, I try to be compassionate, I try to be loving, I try to be caring, I try, I try, I try everyday. Hopefully, people will see that trying is enough... you don't HAVE to be perfect to do this thing...to believe in God...to have this Christianity thing down perfect. Just try. Have faith.
These questions were then followed with a quote..."In this life, we cannot do great things; we can only do small things...with great love"-Mother Teresa.
I try to do small things constantly and I try to do this everyday. However, I think maybe if I just do this great thing...I put to much pressure on myself. I think I can hit the Easy button...this one great thing will take care of the rest. Wrong! It won't and it probably won't even feel good. This isn't a rush thing. You can't push fast forward you have to push play. Small things are a life long process...if you do one big thing then you probably aren't doing the small things everyday to love someone daily.
Elemental Faith
*Love one another.
Sometimes this is hard. I love people and I love being around people. But, people sometimes make me feel really down on myself. People have discouraging things to say and people don't appreciate you. I'm a big Words of Affirmation person and this not appreciating thing is really getting to me. I don't want high praise (I don't even deserve it) I just wish people could find more good than bad. And, people probably do find more good than bad we as humans are just not good at giving people compliments. Anyways, there is much more than loving one another than this. Love takes on many different aspects.
*Love your enemies.
This can be hard. What if you truly believe someone has wronged you? What if you think they need to apologize? It's hard to get past it but according to Matthew 5:43-44 it's something I need to strive harder to do. Something I really like that Steve said was that he realized "this will have to come somewhere outside of me." I think that loving our enemies is an extremely hard task and that we just can't do it alone we have to pray about it and rely on God to take care of this for us. This may even mean he wants us to step out of our comfort zone.
* Don't fight back.
This is hard for someone that thinks they have to have the last word.
*Work out your difference.
Another thing Steve said that I liked "I realized I was mad at this guy and that he was renting space in my head for free." lol! I just love that!
*Check your motives.
Sometimes do you every wonder what it was really about in the first place?
Anyways thanks Steve for a great message on Sunday that has entertained my mind enough to write a blog about it!
Here are some questions that Steve posed on Sunday:
Q: Is your life built on the rocks or on the sand?
A: I did write an answer and then I erased it. I'm not positive I can answer this question right now. My life is not entirely built on rock...this is a constant struggle.
Q: How do I simply live my life so that others want to follow?
A: I try. I try to love my God, I try to be a nice person, I try to be compassionate, I try to be loving, I try to be caring, I try, I try, I try everyday. Hopefully, people will see that trying is enough... you don't HAVE to be perfect to do this thing...to believe in God...to have this Christianity thing down perfect. Just try. Have faith.
These questions were then followed with a quote..."In this life, we cannot do great things; we can only do small things...with great love"-Mother Teresa.
I try to do small things constantly and I try to do this everyday. However, I think maybe if I just do this great thing...I put to much pressure on myself. I think I can hit the Easy button...this one great thing will take care of the rest. Wrong! It won't and it probably won't even feel good. This isn't a rush thing. You can't push fast forward you have to push play. Small things are a life long process...if you do one big thing then you probably aren't doing the small things everyday to love someone daily.
Elemental Faith
*Love one another.
Sometimes this is hard. I love people and I love being around people. But, people sometimes make me feel really down on myself. People have discouraging things to say and people don't appreciate you. I'm a big Words of Affirmation person and this not appreciating thing is really getting to me. I don't want high praise (I don't even deserve it) I just wish people could find more good than bad. And, people probably do find more good than bad we as humans are just not good at giving people compliments. Anyways, there is much more than loving one another than this. Love takes on many different aspects.
*Love your enemies.
This can be hard. What if you truly believe someone has wronged you? What if you think they need to apologize? It's hard to get past it but according to Matthew 5:43-44 it's something I need to strive harder to do. Something I really like that Steve said was that he realized "this will have to come somewhere outside of me." I think that loving our enemies is an extremely hard task and that we just can't do it alone we have to pray about it and rely on God to take care of this for us. This may even mean he wants us to step out of our comfort zone.
* Don't fight back.
This is hard for someone that thinks they have to have the last word.
*Work out your difference.
Another thing Steve said that I liked "I realized I was mad at this guy and that he was renting space in my head for free." lol! I just love that!
*Check your motives.
Sometimes do you every wonder what it was really about in the first place?
Anyways thanks Steve for a great message on Sunday that has entertained my mind enough to write a blog about it!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Ramblings
This 4 day weekend off of work was amazing. Wednesday night started everything off with a bang. Big Wednesday at RVCC was just...indescribable. That's right I can't put any words to it. That is the best I have felt in a long time. I'm not the normal lift your hands type of girl or even one that cries in front of people. I let that go on Wednesday because I...well I just needed to do that for myself. Someone "new" that I was sitting with loved it as well...her comment was "This is great. If people can cheer and get excited at a sporting event they can cheer and get excited at church."
Thanksgiving...this was the first year without my mom. I was dreading Thanksgiving. Really really dreading Thanksgiving (emphasis on really really). Can I add my God is AMAZING here. Yes, I must...insert...MY GOD IS AMAZING. He got me through this holiday....this holiday I really really dreaded. He made this holiday special and I just praise him for that. I think I had my mind set that it wouldn't be good and celebrating Thanksgiving without my mom not here was wrong. It was wrong because I should be sad. God had other plans...praise him he had other plans.
Friday, well I usually get up at the crack of dawn Friday...you know black friday...and go shopping. Not this year I slept and it was good...really really good. I then spent the rest of the day with my sister and then had a youth leader meeting that night. Can I just say how much I like the other youth leaders at RVCC? I mean wow! Our RVCC kids are lucky...Eli, Jenn, Marty, Jenn, Chris, Tesa...they are amazing. I'm so thankful that they are helping me with this goal of mine to become a youth leader. This is really important to me and these people are taking me under their wing without resistance. They are the definition of small things done with great love. I just want to conclude with RVCC.
Alright, I decided RVCC needs it's own paragraph. lol! Again I am thankful for all the people that support me and are helping me reach my goal of becoming a youth leader. Also, I have been attending RVCC for about 4 1/2 years now...since age 18 or 19 and I'll be 24 next month. Anyways, I've always loved RVCC and called it my church and but now it's really "my church" it's "my home church". Lately I have felt so connected to this church and the people that go there. I love our pastor and his family. I love when Steve preaches, I love Jaki's smile, I love Laura Tiu's greetings in the morning, I love a quick chat with Mark Percell, I love the youth leaders, I love Julie P.'s enthusiasm, Jodi & Julie are down to earth, Paula and Shawn White are great to talk to, I love the youth kids, Vicki is amazing and Guy Hause has been around me since jr. high, Marty is amazing at worship, and Anna knows how to choke a sista up every once in awhile with her voice...there are many more people that go to my church that I adore...I love the people that go to my church. They are a group of loving amazing people. I am happy at RVCC. I am blessed at RVCC. I am myself at RVCC.
Anyways, that was a lot of rambling. But, It was good for the soul to blog tonight!
Thanksgiving...this was the first year without my mom. I was dreading Thanksgiving. Really really dreading Thanksgiving (emphasis on really really). Can I add my God is AMAZING here. Yes, I must...insert...MY GOD IS AMAZING. He got me through this holiday....this holiday I really really dreaded. He made this holiday special and I just praise him for that. I think I had my mind set that it wouldn't be good and celebrating Thanksgiving without my mom not here was wrong. It was wrong because I should be sad. God had other plans...praise him he had other plans.
Friday, well I usually get up at the crack of dawn Friday...you know black friday...and go shopping. Not this year I slept and it was good...really really good. I then spent the rest of the day with my sister and then had a youth leader meeting that night. Can I just say how much I like the other youth leaders at RVCC? I mean wow! Our RVCC kids are lucky...Eli, Jenn, Marty, Jenn, Chris, Tesa...they are amazing. I'm so thankful that they are helping me with this goal of mine to become a youth leader. This is really important to me and these people are taking me under their wing without resistance. They are the definition of small things done with great love. I just want to conclude with RVCC.
Alright, I decided RVCC needs it's own paragraph. lol! Again I am thankful for all the people that support me and are helping me reach my goal of becoming a youth leader. Also, I have been attending RVCC for about 4 1/2 years now...since age 18 or 19 and I'll be 24 next month. Anyways, I've always loved RVCC and called it my church and but now it's really "my church" it's "my home church". Lately I have felt so connected to this church and the people that go there. I love our pastor and his family. I love when Steve preaches, I love Jaki's smile, I love Laura Tiu's greetings in the morning, I love a quick chat with Mark Percell, I love the youth leaders, I love Julie P.'s enthusiasm, Jodi & Julie are down to earth, Paula and Shawn White are great to talk to, I love the youth kids, Vicki is amazing and Guy Hause has been around me since jr. high, Marty is amazing at worship, and Anna knows how to choke a sista up every once in awhile with her voice...there are many more people that go to my church that I adore...I love the people that go to my church. They are a group of loving amazing people. I am happy at RVCC. I am blessed at RVCC. I am myself at RVCC.
Anyways, that was a lot of rambling. But, It was good for the soul to blog tonight!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
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