Lesson #21: There is a time for everything

Time is everything. We can't go back in time (yet), so what we do with our time is important. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, "There is an appointed time for everything.  And there is a time for every event under heaven. A time to give birth, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to tear down, and a time to build up. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, and a time to shun embracing. A time to search, and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep, and a time to throw away. A time to tear apart, and a time to sew together; A time to be silent, and a time to speak. A time to love, and a time to hate; A time for war, and a time for peace." A time for everything. I love this passage, because it covers pretty much all aspects of life. But the one I want to focus on the most is a time to be silent and a time to speak. I think this one speaks for itself. There are times when you need to be silent, but there are also times when you need to speak up for yourself. Depending on the situation, if you don't say something, you'll wish you had. But sometimes if you say something, you'll wish you hadn't.

There's a time for everything. Think about it.

Lesson #20: Make the most out of every opportunity.

Colossians 4:5, "Be wise in the way you act toward everybody; make the most of every opportunity." This verse spoke to me today (And kind of all week!). Making the most out of every opportunity doesn't mean that we should just try to do everything good enough to pass or get it done. No, what it means is that we must go beyond that! A good everyday example is school. Sometimes, we do our work with only the effort of passing. Because if we're passing, does it matter how well we do it? Uh, yeah! This past week, we had auditions for our musical, The Big, Bad Musical. I was so nervous to try out, because I've never been in a play or a muscial. But like I said in a previous blog, you have to get out of your comfort zone and do something crazy. Make the most out of every opportunity.. That's exactly what we have to do! And you know what? When you do, you might actually be surprised at yourself! I got a role I wasn't expecting, but it was the one I wanted!

Make the MOST out of every opportunity, not the half.

Lesson #19: Awkward moments are awkward..

Today I learned that I don't really do well in awkward situations...

Yeah.. Awkward moments are awkward..

Lesson #18: Who's afraid of the big bad wolf...

Today was the day of auditions for our musical "The Big Bad Musical." I have no Theatre experience whatsoever, so of course I was nervous! But I thought I did rather well! I'm really anxious to see the cast list tomorrow! Anyways, today I learned that when you get out of your comfort zone, you can have a lot of fun! I had to get way out of my comfort zone today. (And I had a blast!) So, all this to say, get out of your comfortable box! Do something crazy! Be wild! Let people know the REAL you! Otherwise you will miss out on a lot of fun things in life! And sometimes that one time is the only chance you get! So try out for a solo, audition for a lead, play a different sport. Just DO something different. It'll be fun!

"Tra la la la la laaaaaaaaaaa!"

Lesson #17: Duuuun uh. Duuuun uh. Duun uh duun uh dun uh dun uh dun uh DUNNNAANANAA!

In life, we experience some pretty crazy, and scary, stuff. I'm the type of person that loves scary movies, but when it comes to Jaws, I run away. As fast as I can. I don't know what it is, but sharks just creep me out. I remember one time in elementary, my brother was watching a Jaws movie on TV. I asked him to change it so many times, but he wouldn't! I couldn't watch TV in my parents' room because they were watching something, otherwise I would have. I was so mad at him for not changing it! So I got on the computer, which was in the same room, and instead of watching it, I had to listen to it. So later that night, I went over to my friend's birthday party. We were having a great time, I had totally forgotten about the whole shark movie. We were watching movies and eating cake, when all the sudden I heard this sound. Duuuuun uh. Duuuuun uh. The Jaws theme song? No.. But it sure sounded like it. I got so scared! I have no idea what the music was on the movie, but for a second, it sounded exactly like Jaws. So, being the third grader I was, I called my mom. She came and picked me up and I had to explain to her why I was upset. (It's kind of embarrassing to think about now!) I've never been to a beach, and I'm kind of scared to go to one, because I think that I'll get eaten by a shark. (I know, a little dramatic). I've watched too many movies that I wish I hadn't..

So point being, we all get scared in life. Even if it is about something that rarely happens. Joshua 1:9 says, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." God commands us to be strong and courageous! That might be hard sometimes, but He knows we can do it. He'll never put us through something we can't handle. So next time you're in a situation that scares you, don't forget that God is with you. So be strong and courageous!

I hate sharks.

Lesson #16: Just keep on keepin' on

Endurance noun; the ability or strength to continue or last. Romans 15:5, "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus." Times get tough, but God gives us the endurance to get through them! No matter what we're going through, God will help us. It may be through strange ways. Whether it be a positive encounter with a stranger, or simply a short sweet conversation with a friend. God will send someone or something into your life during your struggle to help you get through it.

So just keep on keepin' on, my friends.

Lesson #15: I just absolutely love the Bible!

I love the Bible. I have many favorite verses and passages, but I just want to share a couple that really stuck out to me today.

Zephaniah 3:17 says, "The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah is one of the more well-known books of the random books of the Bible. (If that made ANY sense at all). But this verse is one of my personal favorites. It gives me hope and encouragement through life when I am struggling. It reminds me that God is always with me, and He will be forever. He takes great delight in me! How awesome is it to know that God, our Creator, takes delight in his own creation! As artists take delight in their masterpieces, so God takes delight in us. As a poet takes delight in his poetry, so God takes delight in us. How awesome it is to know that!

James 2:1 says, "My dear friends, don't let public opinion influence how you live our our glorious, Christ originated faith." This is from the Message, which I personally really like. (The NIV states this verse differently, but for what I'm trying to say, we'll stick with the Message). We are a very influenced people. But shouldn't we be the ones who are influencing? Like this verse says, we shouldn't allow public opinion to influence how we live our lives! No matter what, we need to stand firm in our faith and live our lives to the best of our ability to show Christ in us! A lot of times we want to conform to the world so we will be liked or appreciated. But it says it Romans 12:2, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." So let's quit being the influencees and become the influencers!

I just absolutely love the Bible. Who's with me?

Lesson #14: It's what's on the inside that counts

Sorry I've been so behind on my blogs lately. I really should work on that. Anyway. Tonight at huddles, we talked about our appearance. We had to draw ourselves by following a certain code, I think it was called "bioglyph"? Mine looked rather interesting.. hair sticking up straight, eyes cross-eyed, one ear, a triangle for a nose.. But hey, that's me! The point of this whole exercise was this, (or at least this is what I got out of it, with a few of my own thoughts thrown in there): We are judged based on our outward appearance. What sports we play, what activities we're involved in, when we were born, who we hang out with, and what we look like. But what does that matter? God doesn't care about any of that. He looks at our heart. If we were to draw our heart, what would that look like? Would it be broken? Full of love? Full of regret? In pain? Everyone's would look different. I know mine would be broken and hurt, but it would also be full of love and compassion for the people around me. So since God looks at the heart, so should we. That's the only thing that should matter when you look at a person. I can tell you right now I am terrible at judging a book by its cover. But I have come out of that and have gotten to know some really neat people, and I absolutely would be lost without them! I know that everything these days says that image is everything. And yes, it IS a big part of life. We need to make sure that along with our inward appearance, our outward appearance shows Christ as well. Obviously we aren't perfect, nor will we ever be. It's what's on the inside that counts.

Let's make it count.

Lesson #13: Listen to your heart..

Listen to your heart.. It might tell you something important.

Lesson #12: I have the best friends in the entire world. Literally.

I have THE best friends, ever. I've had a hard week, just very stressful. And my friends have been there for me through it all! I have been blessed richly by the people in my life. I know I can always call up any of my friends and they'll be there right away for a pow wow! Or a sonic run! Or just an hour long phone call! I know I can always count on my friends. I can tell them anything and everything, anytime of day (Or night). Girls' nights are always a personal favorite of mine. Movies, ice cream, crazy pictures, and tons of laughing and talking about boys! My friends always make me feel good about myself, and I love how we can just sit there and laugh for hours.  I can't even begin to describe what my best friends do for me, I owe them SO much. Thank you to all my friends, I love you all so much and you are a tremendous blessing in my life.


"Don't believe in all that you've been told
The sky's the limit, you can reach your goal
No one knows just what the future holds
There ain't nothing you can beat
There's a whole world at your feet
Never, ever forget that I got you
And you got me"
--S Club 7, "Reach"

Today (and yesterday, and the day before) I learned that I have the best friends ever. I knew this already, but it's good to be reminded :)

Lesson #11: NASA here I come!

I love math! I'm actually really good at it, too. I really want to be a physicist. I have the math part down, now all I need to do is get better at physics. Haha. Physics really interests me and I'd really like to do something that has to do with the space program. I think it is so neat what they do! I still need to do more research, but I think it would be so amazing! And TONS of fun! Definitely hard, but I think it would definitely worth it. Not sure which one I'd rather major in though. Mathematics or physics? I still have a year to decide, but we'll see. Depends on what programs LCU has. It's exciting to think about what I want to do with my life!

NASA here I come!

Lesson #10: I can't eat tacos right now.

Braces are horrible. They hurt and they are unattractive. But they are so totally worth it. (So I've heard..) That's just what I keep telling myself, at least. I ate pancakes for dinner because that was literally the only thing I could eat. (See previous posts for lessons on trials.)

So what did I learn? Even if you're craving tacos, don't hurt yourself.

Lesson #9: It's not a one sided thing

Today's lesson in class this morning really impacted me. Evan got a clear plastic bin and wrote the word "you" on it, representing us, the people of the world. Empty. Then sin (a smaller plastic bin) comes into our life, and it's noisy and annoying. It rumbles around in our life, and we feel the need to get rid of it. So we take sin out of our life. Well, does that do anything? It just leaves us empty again. We don't just need to take sin out and leave ourselves empty, because odds are, sin will return. Once sin is out of our life, we need to fill ourselves with CHRIST (another bin, but this one has light). Once we have Christ, we need to seal our life with his mercy and grace (put the lid on). We immediately are illuminated and we brighten the world by sharing the light! Matthew 5:14-16 says, "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." We need to let our light shine! So that when people look at us, they see Christ. They see that Christ is living in us and through us. Every day, every moment.
 
Deuteronomy 6:5, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind." Notice it says "all" and not "some". ALL of your heart. ALL of your soul. ALL of your strength. ALL of your mind. What does that mean though? What does it mean to love God with all your heart? With all your soul? With all your strength? With all your mind? Every emotional decision, every fiber of your being, every trial, every thought needs to be centered around Him. BUT-- the most important thing before you can do ANY of these things is to love yourself. How can you love something so important to you if you can't even love yourself? How can you show others that you can love if you're constantly putting yourself down? It's easy, you can't. God gave us a heart, a soul, and a mind, and He gave us the strength to USE those things. We use our heart to love. We use our strength to persevere. He gave us a soul to define who we are. He gave us a mind to think and then share what and who we are: God's creation.

I learned a lot today, but if there's one thing that I learned the most, it's that you must love yourself to FULLY love God. It's not a one sided thing.

Lesson #8: "Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up."

Very wise words. And they're so true! Sometimes I ask myself, "why is this happening to me?" "why me?" Well, the answer is simple: We fall sometimes in life so we can pick ourselves back up. We become stronger from our trials. Whether it be something physical or emotional. Trek, for example, is one of the hardest physical and emotional things I have ever done, but I can say that I have summitted two mountains. Did I become stronger from this? Most definitely! It tests your endurance and capability. I have always hated the outdoors, until I went on Trek. Now, I count down the days until I get to go again! It lifts you up spiritually. Not only because you're so high (haha) but because you just feel so close to God. Being on summit, you see everything around you clearly. It doesn't even seem real for a moment. Not only is the view of nature clear, but the view of life is clear. You see the beauty of the earth that God created, and you realize that you are just one small part of His story and history! You realize that all the small things you let become a problem, really don't matter as much as they used to. You realize that all those things that keep you from following your dreams aren't there anymore. You realize that you are stronger than you've ever been. (And it's not just because of the adrenaline rush!) You realize that you can do anything. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've fallen in life. Physically, spiritually, emotionally. But God always brings me through and gives me the strength to pick myself back up. Every time.

So, why do we fall? So we can pick ourselves back up.

Lesson #7: Life is wonderful when you have the best friends and family.

Fridays are my absolute favorite. It's the end of the school week, and you get to stay up late and then sleep in the next morning. No worries about doing homework, no worries about getting your stuff together for school, no worries at all! Weekends are when you get to do the things you can't or don't normally do during the week. Whether it be go out of town for an event such as sports, choir, or family, or simply just going out with friends and having a great time! Or, you could be like me and get sick. And not go anywhere. The good thing about this, however, is I got to spend time with my family. I love having dinner and a movie with my family. My parents take care of me all the time, and I am so blessed to have such a great family. My friends care about me so much, I can tell just by the texts I receive! I am immensely blessed. So, thank you for being in my life! I love you all.


Life is pretty great when you have the best friends and family!

Lesson #6: God is absolutely stinkin' amazing.

Today we watched a story in Bible class about the man with the golden voice. I'm sure everyone has heard this story by now. (Here's a link to the Today show if you missed it: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/40944077/ns/today-today_people/) This man worked and had a family, but became involved in drugs, alcohol, and other bad things that just led his life into misery. He became homeless, and finally went to begging. But, only a few days ago, a video of him speaking went viral and his whole life changed. And you know what the most amazing part of this whole thing is? Not the fact that he was offered jobs. Not the fact that he is famous. Not the fact that he is getting all this attention. None of those things. The fact that he gave all the credit to God amazed me! He said that this time, it will be different. He says, "This time, I have God. Before, I never thanked God for anything. Now, I thank Him for everything!" This really hit me. Everyone deserves a second chance right? I sometimes feel like the people who become famous rarely recognize God and how He is the one who gave them the talent to get them where they are now. There are some who do, and I absolutely love hearing it. This man will go far in this world, and I cannot wait to see what he will do!

We need to do this as well. In everything we do, we need to acknowledge that God is the one who gave us the ability to do it! God gave us a voice to sing or speak. God gave us a brain. God gave us the ability to act in theatre. God gave us the ability to run and play sports. God gave us the patience to do all these things! So, in EVERY single thing that we are involved in, let's thank God for giving us the ability to do it. Because He really deserves the credit. We don't give it to Him enough!

In my own life, there have been many things that I've struggled with, that my family has struggled with. But  our prayers have always been answered. Prayer is powerful, don't ever forget that.

God is so good. He can do anything and everything.

Lesson #5: Sleep is good.

So if you're wondering why I'm posting right now, and not yesterday, there's a reason. I hardly got any sleep the night before last, and when I got home from church, I was exhausted. Plus, blogger.com wasn't working at the moment and I was getting frustrated, so I decided to go sleep.

So the lesson today/last night? SLEEP IS GOOOOOOOD.

Lesson #4: They don't have pillow pets at JCPennys.

Procrastinate: verb; to put off till another day or time. Yeah that was me today. And yesterday. And the day before. And the day before that. Basically this whole Christmas break. I told myself I would go run, get all my Christmas shopping done, get my room clean, return my library books, and get all my stuff for school ready, such as new pencils and pens and more paper and such. Did I do that? Well.. I didn't go running ONCE, I actually finished my Christmas shopping TODAY, my room is actually pretty clean! I still haven't returned my library books.. Good thing ACU doesn't charge.. I got some new pencils, but I forgot to get pens.. So, I was *kind of* productive today. I get really distracted easily. Jaci and I went to JCPennys to find last minute Christmas presents, because I have a giftcard to there, and ended up trying on dresses. Why? Because formal is 3 months away. Haaaaaa wow. Unfortunately, I didn't find any gifts there, but had fun while I was at it. The point is, I need to learn self-control.


So what did I learn? Procrastination is NOT a good idea. Don't do it.


Oh yeah, and they DON'T have pillow pets at JCPennys. I'm rather crushed. :(

Lesson #3: Scary movies aren't scary.

Today was a rather slow day for me. I cleaned, I sat, I ate, I slept, I was bored out of my mind. So I watched the movie Devil, expecting it to scare the pants off me. Buuuuuuuuuut it didn't. It was a good storyline, but M. Knight Shyamalan can NOT do horror. I LOVE Shyamalan, don't get me wrong. He did  Sixth Sense, Signs, and The Happening. They were all good thrillers. But this ''scary'' movie shouldn't be in the horror category. Let's call it a thriller.

I love scary movies. I love the adrenaline rush you get while watching them! I love being scared. I love the feeling. (But only when I'm watching movies. In real life, I hate being scared).


So the lesson today? Scary movies aren't scary. Because they aren't real. Come on Hollywood.
I WANT TO BE SCARED.

Lesson #2: Everyone has their own opinion.

Everyone has their own opinion, about everything. Movies, music, books, religion, etc. Religion is probably one of the most popular discussion topics. I wasn't sure how I was going to start this, or what to say. But, this is what I learned today, and here I go... 

There's a common stereotype that the older generation disagrees with everything about the way the younger generation worships, and vise versa. This isn't true at all. I'm not saying that there isn't disagreement, because there is. What I am saying is that the generalization needs to disappear. Everyone is raised differently in different times. We (being my generation) need to respect the older generation, because they ARE adults, and it is what God intended for us to do. Even though we don't always agree with everything they do, we are to honor our elders. Now, this doesn't mean that they should completely disregard our opinions, because they need to realize that things have changed. There's new technology, such as PowerPoint and video, that can help us understand what the speaker is trying to say. When my generation grows older, I'm sure there will be things that we do not agree with about the way our grandchildren worship. We have to remember that everyone has their own opinion, and no one is right or wrong. If we are staying true to the Scripture, does it matter HOW we do it?

One question that was asked tonight was, "Why do kids get fired up at camps/retreats, but don't at home?" Some of the answers didn't make sense to me. Probably because the people who answered haven't been to a Christian camp recently! I really wish I could have stood up and answered. We go to camps and retreats and mission trips to go into the world to get out of the world! The whole purpose of going on these trips is to grow spiritually. To help others. To do something for someone else. To bring someone else to God. To love. To grow. The reason we come home so high spiritually from trips is because we are with people our own age, worshiping the same way, helping others while helping ourselves. I do realize that we should always be on fire for God, and we should always be ready and willing to serve others. I know that our youth groups ARE always on fire for God, and we ARE ready and willing to serve. But sometimes we just need that reminder that there are other people outside of our little bubble called Abilene. We need that reminder that the world isn't perfect. Not every city has the most churches per capita. Not every city has a Christian university. Not everyone gets the chance to attend a Christian school. Aren't we supposed to go out in the world and spread the good news? That's why we get so fired up. It isn't an everyday thing. I wish it could be, I'd love to just go to other states or countries and just help them. But unfortunately it isn't. We just need that reminder. There's my answer.

Everyone has their own opinion. Some are easier to agree with, some aren't. Just trust God.

Lesson #1: The heater DOES get hot.

It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, by the way. I know it's hard to believe that sometimes. I have trouble believing it myself. Everyone gets hurt. It's a fact of life. (So get over it, you can't always be happy. Sorry!) That's why God created emotion. I sometimes wish that nothing could ever hurt me, that I could be happy ALL the time. But, honestly, what good would that do? Even though hurting, well, hurts, we all grow stronger from pain. (No pain, no gain, sound familiar?) We learn to love what needs to he loved, and hate what needs to be hated. Back to what I was saying originally, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. Be crazy. Be yourself. Be stupid, and love yourself while you're at it! Don't let someone stop you from doing the things you love. I learned that the hard way.


And by the way, the heater DOES get hot. Don't leave it on too long. I'm sweating.