I Love Christmas...Flaws and All

Since my last three Christmas posts have been relatively negative, I want to make positive one. After all Christmas is the most joyous season. Even though I believe the flaws in life need to be voices, the blessings need to be cherished. So I wanted to make an outline of all the reasons I love Christmas.

1.       The classics

i)       The movies and the happiness they bring 

ii)    The decorations

(1)   The tree and ornaments 

(2)  Stockings

(3)  Poinsettias

(4)  Manger Scenes  

iii)  The fires

iv)   The crazy shopping

v)     Wrapping gifts  

vi)   The Christmas Songs

(1)   Hark the Herald Angles Sing

(2)  Silent Night

(3)  The First Noel

(4)  Come All Ye Faithful

(5)  Away in A manger

(6)  Do You Hear What I Hear

(7)  Little Drummer Boy

(8) Mary Did You Know

(9)  O Holy Night

vii)Jesus’s Birthday

2.      It is the season of giving

i)       The Salvation Army Bell

ii)    The charity fundraisers at my school

(1)   For Kids with Cancer

(2)  Gifts for underprivileged kids

iii)  The charities everywhere

iv)   Compassion everywhere

v)     Buying gifts for the ones you love

vi)   Putting a lot of thought into the gifts for your loved ones

vii)The amazing feeling you get when you find the perfect gift

viii)          My parents willingness to give so much

ix)   The love behind every gift they give   

x)     God’s first and most precious Christmas gift

3.      Love is impossible not to see

i)       People are unusually kind to one another

ii)    Entertainment romanticizes this love

iii)  You have a heightened sense of love for the people you are with

4.      Being with the ones you love most dearly

i)       The Christmas Eve party we have at our house every year

ii)    The two fantastic families we spend Christmas Eve with every year. There is much laughter and happiness.

iii)  Going to visit my extended family

iv)   Having a Christmas Party with my friends who are so great

v)     Spending Christmas day with my wonderful, fun, funny, kind, and loving family.

5.      So much Joy. It is so hard to make yourself sad on this glorious day and season.

6.      It is a month long birthday party for Jesus

               

I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas :)  

A True Christmas Song

            In my opinion a melody labeled as a Christmas Song is like a movie winning an Academy Award. There isn’t any higher honor. However just as my praise of Christmas songs isn’t universally perceived, my definition of a Christmas Song differs from the common consensus.

            We turn the radio station on and our ears are trapped by the annoying noise called “Frosty the Snowman” and “Jingle Bells”. These are the annoying non-religious jingles that get old after the first time heard. They are the rejects from the Oscars. These poorly produced tunes so desperately want to be invited. They sneak in to the ceremony only to be “escorted” out before any of their shallow notes can even set foot on the glorious red carpet. I know this is a matter of opinion, but I am sorry they are just so horrible. Yes their tune can be catchy for a half a second, but their words lack the pure holy purpose. To me the headache inducing noise is merely a holiday song. They are unworthy of beholding the honorable title of a Christmas Song. A true Christmas Song is a rich and pure melody that glorifies Christ’s entrance into our suffering world. “Hark the Herold Angels Sing” beats “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas” every single time. “Mary Did You Know” doesn’t even have to attempt to defeat the weak “Jingle Bell Rock”.  The much revered “All I want for Christmas is You” will never win when it is up against the passionate and beautiful “O Holy Night”.

            These holiday songs aren't just annoying. They are evil. Their purpose is to sabotage God’s first and perfect Christmas gift. They are an excuse for not worshiping the precious present. They are a distraction from the original meaning of this O so Holy Night. “It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth” 

I Hate Santa

            I have to announce my unpopular but honest opinion. I can’t contain the brutal truth anymore. Every moment it lingers the more damage it does. I hate Santa Clause.

            That imaginary present bearing man is the only “person” I hate in this world. He undeniably stole Jesus’s spot light! Christmas is supposed to be the day the single starlight shines on beautiful baby Jesus, but now it is Santa’s Christmas lights that make that holy glow hard to see. The glitter, the pitiful materials, the obvious superficial beauty makes Santa so easy to love and Jesus so easy to forget.

            Santa is a distraction from the holiness of the season. But I am one of those who easily becomes distracted by him. Blinded by the riches Jesus warned us against. The Hollow earthly treasures. I often cannot see the light. The riches that are worthless in the Kingdom Jesus invited us too. An invite I have taken for granted.

            I have to announce my unpopular by honest opinion. I can’t contain the brutal truth anymore. Every moment it lingers the more damage it does. What I hate most about Santa Claus is that I love him. 

The First Christmas Gift

Jesus, born away in a manger, couldn’t be more separated from the Christmas Season. His birth, His past, His existence, His life, His sacrifice, His risen spirt, His humble origins are supposed to be the center. The center of Christmas. Now the tree and the presents it protects are the center. Santa replaces the nativity scene. Elf on the shelf triumphs advent. The supposed holy season is forgotten. Thrown to the side like a tree after Christmas. Jesus’s beginnings of his gracious presence in this world has infinitely greater value than the material gifts given and received. Giving is beautiful, but when the glitter of the gifts blinds us from the love behind them, they are worthless. Gifts shouldn’t be judged on their worldly value but rather on the love woven into them. We have forgotten the love that is the foundation of the first Christmas gift. A love behind every gift ever given on earth. The love of God. The expensive wrapping paper, the outrageous bows, and the bright boxes have never held a gift so dear, as the manger did on Christmas Day. 

Signs Page Explanation

              God is mysterious. God is difficult to see. God doesn’t just show up one day as the glowing white bearded man depicted in images and say “Hey, I am God. I exist.” Why though? Why can’t God just appear in a dream, and say “Whats up!? I am here.” If God did that, finding and maintaining faith would be so much easier. But if something is easy to obtain, it would be less valued than something that is hard to obtain. It is like the grades received from different classes. Last year I took the most time consuming, challenging, and stressful course I have ever taken. If you are a high school student or know one, you probably have heard of a little class called APUSH(AP United States History). I spent one to three hours every night studying, making flashcards, reading the book, taking notes on the book, and mentally preparing myself for the next quiz, test, or in-class essay. It was exhausting, but not in vain. I got an A. That A was awesome, and I still thank God today for giving me the abilities to achieve it. I got As in other classes as well. For example, for my fashion design class the grade was primarily determined by participation. So basically because I put an honest effort in that class, I received an  A. Let’s be realistic now, the effort I put into fashion design was nothing compared to the effort I put into APUSH. I didn’t need to in order to achieve the same result. I ended up receiving the same grade in both classes, but the grades were not at all equal in value. I find greater happiness when I think about my grade in APUSH than my grade in fashion design. That is simply because my A was not easy to achieve. My grade was not given to me as a delicately wrapped gift. The grade required hard work, doubt, and perseverance. My relationship with God was not easy to achieve. My relationship with God isn’t a delicately wrapped gift God just handed over to me. Building a relationship with God requires hard work, doubt, and perseverance (and a whole lot of other stuff). If God revealed Himself to me as glowing figure and said, “Hello. I am God. I am here. I exist. I love you”, I know I would effortlessly accept God into my daily lives without truly understanding His value. God would become like the sun. A reliable and inescapable constant aspect of life. So easy to accept its presence. So easy to acknowledge its importance. So easy to forget its value. So easy to not appreciate. So easy not to notice. My life wouldn’t be worth living, if I never noticed God.

            My faith in God has not been achieved through direct contact with Him. That would be too easy. My faith in God comes from indirect communication. I guess you could call them signs. Gods signs serve as validation of His constant presence with us and His endless support. Living life while noticing all of the different ways God is communicating with us is hard. It is easy to focus on the world and all of its demands, but it is hard to make time for God. However, when we fixate ourselves on God and notice His signs, God gives us something more valuable than anything on Earth. God allows us to see Him.

            I think God wants to make his presence known, but He wants to do so in a way that will keep us actively engaged. If God makes himself harder to see, we put in a greater effort to connect with Him. And because finding God is a difficult task, we are given a greater sense of glory when we do see Him. When I finally notice one of God’s signs that I desperately need, I feel like the Miracle Mets when they won the World Series. I feel like an underdog who has won the championship. The championship being Gods infinite grace. I have been filled with strong doubt, worry, and confusion that only God can and has repeatedly beaten. God is here. We just need to perceive his presence.

            God graciously gives me many messages that teach me lessons and validate his eternal love. God’s signs are one of the best paths to experiencing God’s message. That is why I wanted to make this page. To illustrate the signs I have received from God that have inspired my blog posts. I feel as though when people (myself included) talk about their faith, they do not typically talk about the personal and intimate ways God has shown Himself to them. I do not view this as in any way wrong! All of my religious blog posts I typically talk about what God does for me, and what his teaching mean. I have explained the what but not the how. I have not explained how I have come to believe what I believe. How something has come into existence is just as important if not more important than what actually is existing. I want to share. I want to explain how my faith has evolved to be what it is today. How has God shown Himself to me? How did I become a Christian? How can I be so sure about my faith? Simple. It’s all about God’s unquestionable signs. 

Thanks Be to God

           In honor of thanksgiving being tomorrow I thought I would post a little blog post about gratitude. Typically in elementary school they might have you write down what you are thankful for on a decorative sheet of paper. Their lists typically consist of friends, family, pets, and a few other points of interest. Yes their space is limited, but their list shouldn’t be limited to the most noticeable areas of gratitude in our lives.

            One day at church we watched a short video about experiencing life. Yes I know. Blah blah blah. I have heard it all before. While watching I arrogantly assumed he wouldn’t be saying anything different from what I have already heard or said. Oh how foolish I was. He would say something so much better. We are constantly told (even by me) that we must live in the moment to fully experience life. We are rarely ever told how. The creator of the video does enlighten us . He said to be completely connected to each moment or our lives, is to be grateful for each second. We have to look at what we are doing each moment and find the thanks we have to give.

       In the moment I am writing this post I can find many things to be thankful for. Not because I believe I have anymore than anyone. Because there are so many unnoticeable sources of gratitude we need to be motivated to look for. I am thankful for my parents who generously gave me the laptop I am writing on for Christmas last year even though I didn’t ask. I am thankful they work hard but also well-paying jobs that enable them to afford such luxuries. I am thankful for my ability to write and read. I am thankful for this countries and my cities amazing education system. I am thankful I got to experience that life changing video my church provided. I am thankful I attend such an amazing church. I am thankful for the man that made the life-changing video. I wish I remembered his name. I am thankful for my own room that I am writing in. I am thankful for its messiness. I am thankful for my own full sized bed.  I am thankful for my warm blankets surrounding me. I am thankful for the house my room is in. I am thankful that my two wonderful parents and three incredible sisters and I can live in it with extreme comfort. I am thankful that it is in a safe neighborhood and in a safe city. I am thankful for my overactive mind. I am thankful for this opportunity of peace.  To whoever is reading this I am thankful for you. If you know me, thank you for caring enough about me to read what I have to say. If I do not know you, thank you for giving me a chance. I could continue, but I think the list would probably be three pages too long. Again not because my life is of any more value than yours, but rather we all have so many hidden treasures in our lives.  
            There are so many aspects of life to be grateful for. It doesn’t matter if they are major or minor. We are blessed to have these priceless riches in our lives. We often forget to search for life’s buried treasures. I hope we remember to dig deeper. I also hope we remember God is the one who blesses the world with sources of gratitude. God has given this life to us as a gift. A gift that does not deserve to be wasted. A gift that deserves every aspect to be appreciated. A gift whose giver deserves to hear, “Thank You”. 

I Love Random Stuff

IMPORTANT NOTE: To understand the purpose of this piece you must read my previous blog post “What do You Love?” Thanks J

            I love blankets. I love sweaters. I love my bed. I love cold nights where I have to pile blankets on me to keep warm.

            I love the warmth and happiness of summer. I love the refreshing smell of fall. I love the beauty of winter. I love the atmosphere of December. I love the flowering warmth of spring.

            I love learning. I love being surrounded by people at school. I love how school isn’t boring as long as you make it interesting. I love reconnecting with old friends. I love meeting new ones. I love when teachers are enthusiastic. I love the unknown aspect of learning.

            I love history. I love learning about past people, society, economy, and nations. I love the different opinions on past and present. I love forming opinions from past events. I love the increased sense of understanding and appreciation we have for the present after we learn about its beginnings.

            I love music. I love how a love of music is something the majority of humans share. I love the variety of music there is to choose from. I love 5 Seconds of Summer. I love fangirling over them with my good friend. I love listening to their CD with my little sister in my car. I love how she guesses what member is singing. I love telling her if she is right or wrong. I love how she is usually wrong. I love jamming out to their song “18” with my littlest sister. I love the catchy and popular pop songs (until they are overplayed). I love classic rock. I love Queen. I love Billy Joel. I love Journey. I love AC/DC. I love Elton John. I love listening to the classic rock stations. I love listening to the classic rock stations on long car rides with my Dad and older sister. I love when my older sister and I try to guess who is singing the song playing at that moment. I love how my Dad always knows the artist. I love how songs are more than the lyrics and music. I love how songs can be memories.

            I love driving. I love my ten year old car named Woodrow. I love the freedom. I love the independence. I love that my parents were kind enough to get me my car. I love that my parents trust me to drive. I love that my parents pay half the price of Gas. I love my parents. I do not love the price of Gas. 

The Pleasure in Pain

             Lately, I have been struggling to understand the concept of pain. Pain is more complicated than just an unpleasant state of being. There are different types of pain. There are different emotions attached to the different types of pain. There are different ways of dealing with pain. There are different people who experience different types of pain. However, I have been relatively ignorant to the essence and complexity of suffering. Pain is a relatively unfamiliar topic to me. There have been a great deal of times where I have suffered from sadness, anger, anxiety, exhaustion, and many other forms of emotional pain. There have also been a great deal of instances where I have suffered stings, aches, soreness, bodily illness, and many other forms of physical pain. I just haven’t experienced pain with as intense severity as others have in the world. I am very grateful that God has spared me of such extreme pain. However, I hate, more than anything, that millions of people do experience intense suffering. I love and dislike my relationship with pain. I love how we are just acquaintances, but I don’t love how we are not friends. If we were friends, I wouldn’t be ignorant to pains character. If we were friends, I wouldn’t have the guilt of not being friends with pain while millions of others are. If we were friends, I would have a greater level of empathy for those who are also friends with pain.  I pray to God every night asking Him to end the pains of others and to allow the sufferers to allow God to strengthen them. Can I righteously ask this? Although I have had such little experience with the coexistence if pain, God, and faith, can I honestly just assume that their suffering can easily be subdued by faith in God. The correct is no. I can’t. I lack the basic understanding.

            Having faith in and praising God while life is going well is so blissfully easy. God has granted me glorious peace and happiness in situations where if I didn’t allow him in my heart I would still have peace and happiness. Please don’t misinterpret this as me saying I don’t need God. Every moment of my life when I feel Gods presence is infinitely greater in value than moments where I shut God out. The logic of my relationship with God would make it easy to assume that in moments of pain I would remain strong through faith and maintain a certain level of peace and happiness. Well for me personally quite the opposite happens. I have experienced incredibly intense physical pain before. I felt as though my stomach was being twisted, stretched, and burned all at the same time. This is not a common occurrence, but it has happened. I tried praying to God, but the pain was too much. It shames me to say in that moment of weakness I told God that I was ready to die if that meant my agony would end. My soul gave up trying to fight my suffering, but even worse I gave up on God. My surrender to pain validated that I wasn’t strong enough to let God strengthen me. I let God down.

            Months go by and I am training for a 5K with my mother. She got this app called “Couch to 5K”, and it is meant for non-athletic people to build up the endurance to run a 5K. Each workout gets harder as we slowly begin to walk less and run more. When we first started it was relatively easy, but as weeks went on it increasingly became harder to complete. I again was experiencing moments of great suffering. I tried to pray, but I found it easier to be consumed by my discomfort. It was like my pain was demanding to be felt.** I could only remain focused on my burning lungs and how every breath only fueled its fire. I couldn’t stop thinking about how my heart was beating so fast as if on the verge of explosion. My mind couldn’t begin to understand how can and how has anybody survived this kind of exhaustion. After you run, the body’s and mind’s sense of accomplishment motivates you to run another time. This is how many runners find the strength to run frequently, but I was not okay with just running for the feeling afterwards. I realized how I dealt with hurt during my runs and in general needed to change. If I want a strong and durable relationship with God, I must learn how to allow him to help me deal with pain.

            I listen to music when I run, but instead of interpreting the lyrics literally I manipulate the meanings to reflect my relationship with God. For example, the song “I’ll Be There” by Jackson Five played, and I imagined it was God singing the lyrics directly to me. God helped me this way by giving me the tools to help myself while simultaneously remaining attached to him. Each time I ran, each time I suffered, the pain consumed me less until my praise and communication to God consumed me more. While each run became more physically demanding, my spirt was lifted and distanced from the hurt by God. Each run I tried to run faster than the last, and paradoxically I suffered a little less with each run. However, listening to music while running seemed like an accessory I couldn’t afford if I wanted to genuinely receive Gods help. On the day of the actual 5K I knew I had and could run without any musical assistance. It was just me and God. I completed it to the best of my physical ability and also with a happy heart. Pain didn’t defeat me. God protected my spirt.

            Completing the 5K was not the greatest accomplishment achieved through my training process. I learned something extraordinary. Something I never thought was possible, but was the answer to my question-“How do we deal with pain?” God has answered this question, in my favorite way… A PARADOX. Thanks to Gods endless grace, I know now there is pleasure to be found in pain.

            Running has become an amazing spiritual activity for me. I have become closer to pain and effectively closer to God. Moments of pain were once the moments when I was most separated from God because I felt as though He wasn’t there. Now moments of pain have evolved to become the moments where I am closet to God because I have never been more aware of His presence. I hear God in the lyrics to songs. I feel God in my rapidly beating heart. I taste God in my dry mouth. I smell God in the crisp refreshing autumn air. I see God running alongside me and cheering me on. That strong and beautiful connection to God is the pleasure I find in pain. Faith in God exceeds experiencing only the easy and peaceful times. Having a relationship with God involves all the painful and hard situations God can change into pleasant moments. After my last run before the 5K, I did something I have never done so seriously before. I actually fell to my knees to pray. I thanked God for increasing my understanding of pain. I thanked God for the strength He has given me. I thanked God for the stronger sense of empathy for those who suffer He has blessed me with. I thanked God for giving me hope that people who are experiencing pain can reach out to Him and gain pleasure from the pain. I feel so enlightened now that I have gone through this process of confronting pain directly and coming out victorious because of God. There are personal flaws in this lesson. I know that pain shouldn’t be a goal, and I shouldn’t intentionally make myself suffer. I also know that there is so much more complexity to pain that I have yet to encounter. However, I have found a source of attainable hope. When I look at the world and see the inevitable and excruciating suffering of my neighbors, I can confidently and happily say that God can graciously give the sufferers "the strength to face all conditions" Philippians 4:13. We just have to spread Gods love.

**Credit for this idea goes to John Green (an awesome human being). It is featured in his book The Fault in Our Stars

I Love My Dad

           I love my Dad. I love all the hard work he does for me and my family. I love how much he has sacrificed for us. I love that he is a good model of what a father should be. I love how my Dad works a stressful job to support us. I love how he never brings that stress home. I love that he always puts his family before his work. I love how he takes my little sister to doctor’s appointments. I love the amount of time and effort he gives to coaching my other little sister’s softball team. I love his effort to stay connected with his family in Pennsylvania. I love how he is almost always in a good mood. I love his attempts to be funny. I love when he actually says something funny. I love how much he loves my Mom. I love when he gets her flowers. I love when he makes sure his daughters are doing enough for her on mother’s day and her birthday. I love how my Dad finds ways of connecting with each of his daughters. I love how he has read my littlest sister every single Harry Potter book even though she can read perfectly fine. I love how he acts like a ten year old boy when he plays Clash of Clans with my other little sister. I love the personality traits my Dad and my older sister share. I love watching TV shows with my Dad. I love how he has introduced me to most of them. I love watching superhero movies with him. I love his constant support. I love that he knows he can trust me. I love how I couldn’t have asked for a better Dad. I love how God choose him to be my Dad. I love how God choose me to be my Dad’s daughter. I love how it’s my Dads birthday today. I love how it is the perfect day to post this post. I love how today I can say, “Happy Birthday Dad! I love you.”   

I Love God

            I love God. I love everything God does. I love knowing I can trust God. I love how God puts different and wonderful situations in my life for a reason. I love discovering signs from God. I love that God cares enough about me to strengthen our bond. I love how when I wonder away from God, God comes and finds me. I love how when I am the lost sheep, God is the shepherd. I love God’s consistent forgiveness. I love God’s mercy. I love how God welcomes all. I love the peace I find with God. I love praying to God every night. I love how my prayers are like conversations with God. I love God’s Son. I love Jesus. I love how Jesus saved me from my sin. I love how Jesus was willing to suffer so greatly because he loves us. I love how Jesus teaches me how to be a better person. I love the happiness God gives me. I love the places God gives me. I love the things God provides for me. I love the life God has given me. I love how I can elaborately elaborate on each of the things I love about God. I love how much he cares about me. I love how much I care about God. I love that God is always there. I love how everything I love is a gift from God. I love God with all my heart. 

"What do You Love?"

(Before Writing)  

            Last Week I found myself sad. I wasn’t exactly sure why, but there were so many negative thoughts surrounding me. I was tired of being upset for unjustifiable reasons. My recurring worries and issues were becoming too much for me to hold. So I turned to God and asked what do I do? My mind instinctively went to writing. I have had this one blog post idea for a while where I would write about how a terrible historical event could have been prevented, through faith and peace with God (I will write about it eventually). However, negative and angry thoughts would be the basis of that post, which would be counterproductive to the problem at hand. So I was stuck. “God, what do I do?” Well he answered my question. The best way to defeat negativity is to battle it with positivity. Many of my blog posts have been… I don’t know… not super positive and joyful. Do I regret writing them? Absolutely not. It is just time for a change. Asking God questions during difficult times is an action most religious people do, and I do not escape this generalization. “God, what do I do?” God answered my desperate call for help. However, he didn’t answer it the traditional way. He didn’t give me a statement, order, or suggestion that would clarify my confusion. He answered me with another question. “What do you love?”

**Here is where I would have put my list of everything I love. I started every sentence with, “I love…” For example, “I love God.” I would then elaborate on what exactly it is I love about God. I also wrote about nature, objects, experiences, and people I love. 

(After Writing) 

            Wow. Just Wow. I only generalized what I love, and I wrote more than I ever could imagine. We are talking around 3,000 words. God has taught me an immense amount from this love filled writing process. I originally thought I could put everything I wrote in one blog post. I understand now that it is simply too long. So I am going to break up what I have written in to smaller sections, and I will post each section at different periods of time. Okay moving on. Have you ever been told to “count your blessings”? I sure have… plenty of times! Whenever I heard the suggestion I would think, “Yeah that is a good idea. Okay thank you God for everything you have blessed me with.” I made an ignorant and unemotional statement of gratitude, and consequently I did not really understand the extent of my appreciation. Actually counting my blessings has healed my blindness to the variety of love I have to be grateful for. I now feel happier and more content with my life.  There is so much to cherish in the world, and I thank God that I can clearly see the beauty of my existence. I have also learned how exactly what we love impacts our lives. Does it shape who we are? Well what we love definitely influences who we are, however, what we hate does to. What aggravates us. What we want to change. What makes us sad. They are all ingredients in the recipe for “Who We Are”.  For instance, I wrote, “I love that I live in a place where I can eat food for pleasure.” I did not say, “I hate that there is hunger in this world.” Both sides of the story influence who I am. So what does only love do for us? What does love do that is uniquely loves? After writing what I love, I began to imagine my life without my blessings. Imagine my life without my sources of happiness, without my friends, without my hobbies, without my family, and without my faith in God. I would live a life full of anger, disappointment, mental instability, and misery. It would be full of nothing I value. Nothing of worth. What we love makes our lives valuable. Our blessings make our lives worth living. When we look at the world and see the injustices we hate, the wrong we want to make right, and the hurt we want to heal, we can look back towards our blessing and say, “Hey this life isn’t so bad.” Writing what I love has truly been too great a gift from God not to share. I HIGHLY suggest taking the time to write about everything you love. I know that I have many blessings, but I know everyone else does too. Take the time to focus on the positive side of life. The side that makes life worth living. 

Flyin By

Really quick post, but it is necessary! School starts tomorrow and I am experiencing many different emotions. First utter disbelief at how fast the summer went bye. One of the downsides of enjoying life in the present moments is things just seem to fly by. However, I would rather live a short and happy life than a long one where I am always anticipating the future. This summer has been too good. God has been so good to me. I am so humbled by his love and the support and strength he gives me. Yes I am feeling sad that summer is ending, but I am also excited for what is going to happen, and I trust that everything will work out according to Gods plan. But I need to cherish the moment I am in right know. This school year is like a delicious ice cream cone, and once it is all gone I will I wish I could have it all over again. I will wish that the cone is not empty, but full of ice cream and potential. I now realize I am in that moment that I am going to want to relive again. The moment where the ice cream cone is fresh, and hasn't been licked. The moment where I know an abundance of enjoyment will follow. So tonight as I fall asleep, I will try not to spend the night thinking and anticipating for the new school year. I will spend it cherishing the fact that a new wonderful  journey is standing right in front of me. A journey that hasn't even begun, but one that is is full of promise and potential. Thank you God for allowing me to see the value in all moments of life.

In the Moment

“Live in the present”. “Life is too short to be worrying about the future”. “Today is a gift”. Those are just a sampling of the cliches that have never stopped being told, but at the same time they are not listened too by the human ear. If anyone has never been told told to live in the moment, because life is a gift and worrying about the future ruins the present, then this blog post isn’t for you. Go explore the world. Find people to tell you to live in the moment and then come back and read this. Why? I am not here to tell the already told. This post is for people who have heard and believed in the ideal all their lives, but struggle to put the word to action.

I and many others believe that being fully engaged in the present moments of our lives is the ideal form of existence. The classic cliche is a book we have read that proved to be an enjoyable and agreeable read. It was so widely accepted and beloved they even made a movie adaptation of it. However, the movie didn’t do the book justice. Parts were left out. Favorites things were overlooked. Important parts were not emphasized. Nothing turned out the way you imagined and hoped it would. But what can you expect. Putting words to action is a difficult task.

I believe I have been receiving signs recently telling me to stop worrying about the future and focus on the present. I know I should. Life is too short. We need to cherish the time we have now. One day we will look back at these moments and miss them. The logic and beauty behind the philosophy is undeniable, but it is hard to give the philosophy life in our reality. It’s just simply hard to stop worrying, imagining, or hoping for the future. Its hard to not fear what tomorrow may bring. It’s hard to not worry about the pain that might be encountered. It’s hard not steal time from the present in attempts to prevent future misfortune. It’s also hard not to hope for a future better than the present. It’s hard not to try to imagine what a better life will entail. Its hard to stop trying to do the impossible and live in the future, and consequently distancing yourself from the present. Its too hard. However, struggle can add value.

All of the wise men and women who tell us the wise statements I am addressing usually leave out how one would actually become successful in forgetting about the future and fully living in the present. But I think the how is an open ended question on a test. Answer it how you want, but you might not get it right. Jesus, as usual, has something to say on the subject. In the passage titled Trust In God (hint hint) Jesus asks, “Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?” Luke 12:25. Now imagine this is an open ended question on Mr. Jesus’s final exam. Now the obvious correct answer is no, but what if Mr. Jesus pulled the oldest and cruelest teachers trick that there ever was. What if he added one simple word to the instruction. EXPLAIN. His students have been stumped for years trying to figure it. We know the answer. We know what we should do. We just don’t know how. Some have succeeded and some have not. Only if we students actually listened to our teachers lessons. Answering that question on Mr. Jesus’s final exam would be much easier. If we listened to our teachers lectures,we would remember when he talked about the human need for food and clothing and telling us not to worry.“Your Father knows that you need these things, Instead, be concerned with his Kingdom, and he will provide you with these things.”Luke 12: 30- 31.   In this passage Jesus addresses the common human worry of obtaining the necessities of food and clothing. Here we are 2000 years later and our worries for the future have multiplied dramatically, but that doesn't mean that God can’t be trusted to provided. Jesus tells us we need to become focused not on future needs, but on our present relationship with God and his people. He tells us we don’t need to worry so much about the future as long your faith in God remains stronger than our fears. Sometimes finding the answer to the question is as easy as opening up the textbook.

“Trust God and everything will turn out alright”. “God has a plan for our futures”. “Focus on your faith in God”. I realize I have just presented a new set of classic cliches that need acted out in our lives. There is a question that still reigns. How? I don’t know. I only know how I have personally come to trust God. This is a new open-ended question, but everyone’s answer is going to be different. Some answers might still be wrong, but there are also multiple right answers.  Everyone's path to discovery, faith, and trust is different. I do not know other followers paths, nor do I think it is my business to know. However, despite the many different paths the destination is the same. The destination of trust in God is what's going to offer us deliverance from fear or anticipation for the future, and allow us to be truly connected with our present state, our present relationships, our present beliefs, and our present trust.

Prayers of the People

I got the wonderful opportunity to write and say a prayer for my church this Sunday. I was definitely nervous, however, I don't think I totally failed. The type of prayer I wrote is called the prayers of the people. This type of prayer in my church is a chance to say thank you to God for all he has blessed us with, but also to pray for the end of different misfortunes around the world. We will also collect prayer slips that our church members have written. The prayer slips will have anyone or anything needing prayed for written on it. I loved writing the prayers, and reading them in the service wasn't as bad as I feared. So everything went pretty good, and I wanted to post them on my blog. I don't have a good transition into the actual prayers soooo yeahh. Here they are! 

Dear loving and gracious God

Your love for us is shown in every moment of our lives

Let our gratitude for your infinite love be a reminder of our faith and devotion to you

We are very thankful for all you have blessed us with

From our hectically enjoyable lives and our chaotic daily experiences

To our moments of relaxation and peace  

From the food on our plates

To the water we drink

From our comfortable homes that shelter us

To foreign places we get to visit

From the beautiful areas of nature that surround us

To the exciting places and opportunities urban areas have to offer us

From our close and comforting relationships with friends and family

To our special encounters with strangers

From our sacred moments of individual solitude where we can independently pray, connect and grow in our faith with you

To moments right now where we as followers of Christ have congregated to pray, connect, and grow as a family of faith

We are thankful, O’ Lord, for your gracious blessings

Despite all of the wonderful blessings present in life we look at the world and see that pain and misfortune is inevitable

May our joyful blessings, be our source of hope in a world full of pain, and may our prayers reveal our optimistic desire for the hurt present in the world to be healed.

We pray that those who are lost in the world are guided by your ever-present light  

For the people whose hope has been taken by sorrow

We will hope for them when we pray that they regain their joy

For the places, households, and stomachs of the world where hunger is existent

We pray that food will no longer be a stranger

For all the children and adults without a solid education

We pray that they will find the people, resources, and motivation to learn and grow

For those who are treated immorally and unequally because of their gender, sexual preference, race, culture, or religion

We pray that the importance placed on the classifications of human kind will vanish and we all become one people

For the Christians of Iraq forced out of their homes and for those affected by the conflict between Israel and Palestine,

We pray that their faith in you remain strong enough to give them strength, and that their tragedies may end

For all of those effected by the Ebola virus,

We pray that their bodies and spirt be healed

And for those who fear its expansion

We pray their fear be replaced by trust in God

For those sufferers who are unknown to us, we pray and trust that their anguish will end

And for those who we have the blessing of knowing, for the people in our lives, for the sufferers whose suffering we personally witness,

 We pray for (Insert pray slips)

Loving and gracious God, we know despite all the difficult and easy situations present in the world there are blessings from you to be found

Let them be a reminder of your love for us but also may it be our motivation and strength to do our part to heal the hurt of the world

We pray all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught us when we pray to say… Our Father… 

Genuine Hypocrisy

            I am a hypocrite. I am not proud of that particular title. However, I am not completely ashamed. There is a sincerity in my hypocritical words and actions that shapes who I am as a person.

            From writing various blog posts I have learned that I don’t only write my posts for my readers. I write them for myself as well.  I normally write about the ideal form of human behavior, but even though I am the one attempting to persuade others, I also am in need of influence from my words. My writing reflects the vision of the person I strive to be. It is not a portrayal of who I am. For that reason, I am a hypocrite. I attempt to tell people what to do even though at the same time I struggle to abide by the morals I preach. Even though my hypocrisy is much less than ideal, it demonstrates a character trait more abundant than the air we breathe. Imperfection. But it’s okay. God knows we aren’t perfect and loves us anyway. This is a cheesy cliché, but oh well. 

            I am not perfect, and I never will be. I am constantly attempting to improve myself and my actions. I guess, in a way, this post is an attempt to elaborate on my personal purpose for writing. Writing is the key to unlock the hidden secrets within my mind. I learn new things when I write. I write to discover my beliefs and the person I desire to be.  However, if people are influenced by or share my views, I would be overwhelmed with gratitude and happiness. On that note, I have two suggestions for anyone (including myself). First, we should be careful of how we view hypocrites. Second, we should attempt to battle the hypocrisy that may be embedded within us, but also we can’t hate ourselves if we are hypocrites.  

PS: Jesus does acknowledge hypocrisy in the gospel of John 7: 25-53. I would address it but it is scornful to a certain type of hypocrisy and if I elaborated on it would appear as though I am condemning a fellow hypocrite. I do not think it would be fitting to do that. But I always recommend reading anything Jesus says, so I would suggest checking it out. 

The Hunger Games: The Tragic True Tale of a Torn Society

**NOTE: Before I begin I want to give credit to my inspiration for writing this post to an awesome volgger named Hank Green.  When I say inspiration I do not mean he gave me the ideas I have, but he inspired me to expand on my beliefs towards this topic because his views are very similar to mine.  I also want to credit any non-Bible quotes I might be using throughout this post to Hank Green.            

           

Over 35 million copies sold. 1.5 billion dollars in movie revenue for the first two movies alone. 1.2 million dedicated fans and followers on twitter. The Hunger Games franchise has undoubtedly achieved enormous success. The complexity and extremity of the plot in combination with charismatic and crazy characters and the absurd society they live in creates a compelling and addictive tale that millions are attracted to. The characters in this novel series are forced to live in a society where the government is so obsessed with retaining its power that it will actually have children fight to the death as a reminder of their supremacy. This is a scary situation, but it’s the extremity and terror associated with this plot that makes it seem fictionally fascinating. Even though the issues and ideas associated with the tyrannical government are essential to the plot, I am going to ask that you forget that important part of the story for the duration of time you are reading this. Why? Because I think there is another aspect to this remarkable story that needs to be addressed. The broken, separated, and unequal society in which they live in. There are basically two different generalized types of characters. There are those who live a clean life in the comforts of the capitol, and there are also those who live a decent but deficient life in their district. The people of the districts work miserably to provide food, clothing, energy, and basically everything else they need for the Capitol, and they do not receive enough of any of the items they are providing while the people of the Capitol are comfortably drowning in their amount of possessions. This abundant and apparent inequality is a source of outrage and disgust, but there is also a sense of fear and relief reader’s gain when reading this series. “I don’t want this world to become like that, but I am glad that it isn’t now”. I regret to inform you that we live that very world that we fear.

“Susan Collins does an amazing job of… showing us basically a world that looks a lot

like the world we live in and having it look at it and say, “How could anyone live in a world like that!” A world where someone’s joy is the source of someone else’s sorrow. A world where a trendy article of clothing, special toy, or even energy means hours of intense labor for someone else. A world where the wealthy upper class’s need of fulfillment feeds the suffering and struggle for those who they may never meet.  A world that is broken into 1st worlds, 2nd worlds, and 3rd worlds. A world where the affluent are unaware or simply uncaring to the struggles of others. A world where someone’s ignorance causes anything but bliss.  How could anyone live in a world
like that?

          

Painted skin, brightly colored hair, and eccentric outfits are all iconic characteristics of the comically crazy and contemptible citizens of the capitol. The capitol people’s exaggerated fixation on superficial belongings appears to be completely ridiculous. However, if looked at from a different more open-minded perspective we can see that there are unsurprising parallels between the world we live in and world the people of the capitol live in. A spray tan, frequently dyed hair, designer and trendy clothing are all iconic characteristics of the society the affluent areas of the world. Is there any similarity? The “Capitol” in the Hunger Games is simply a hyperbolic representation of the materialistic society we live in. I once watched a short documentary video describing the economy of Bangladesh. I was surprised to learn that the Bengali economy is dominated by the textile industry. I also learned how the majority of the textile industry is women and their working conditions are inhumane and their payment is an unacceptable injustice. Another noticeable statement made was that if the textile industry divest, the country of Bangladesh would be in economic ruin. I find it completely disturbing that the corporations and economies of 1st world countries yield excessive and destructive power over these nations. I live in a great country that gives me plenty of resources and opportunity to find well-paying job that will provide for a comfortable life, but it bothers me that my country’s economic success only deepens the economic dependency of other nations. A couple of years later when reading the Hunger Games series I felt the very same disturbance that I had experienced while watching the informatory video on the textile industry, but the only thing different about the two uncomforting situations was the degree to which the disturbance was shared.  Millions read the Hunger Games and were appalled at the horrors of inequality the districts are burdened with. Millions were appalled at the fact that the districts lives are structured around the Capitol’s needs. Millions were appalled that the people of the districts starve, work intensely, and suffer to provide for the Capitals pleasures. It is an undeniably terrible situation, but my question is why aren’t millions of people appalled at the situation the people of Bangladesh are burdened with? In the video I watched the people of Bangladesh live an unjustly unequal life compared to the affluent people they are providing for. The people of Bangladesh lives are dependent on the wealthier society’s needs. The people of starve, work  intensely, and suffer to provide for the wealthier society’s pleasures. The circumstances the people of Bangladesh live in are very similar if not identical to burdens the people of the districts face, but why aren’t millions appalled?

           

Inequality transcends beyond the country of Bangladesh and the textile industry. Food, energy, tourism, toys, must have electronics, everything that is made in China, they are all a part of the long existing cycle of consumer happiness, miserable labor, and inequality. A distinctive feature of inequality is that it exists everywhere, even in the countries that appear to be choking from their own wealth. (Bible reference). I live in an interesting place. There is a city near where I live called Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and it is the third wealthiest city in the United States. I also live close so Detroit, Michigan, which is battling with its own bankruptcy. I find it interesting but also depressing how two places so close in proximity to each other can be total opposites. Is Bloomfield Hills responsible for the deterioration of Detroit? Maybe.  No one can really be blamed for the epidemic of inequality that has existed for ages. It is a complex issue and as Hank Green will put it “It is not an easy problem to fix”.  However, despite the complexity, I do believe there are many reasons for its existence, but I also believe, despite the difficulty, there is a solution to the problem. As usual Jesus has the answers.

           

For as longs as humans have been civilized there has been an importance placed on wealth, and possessions to demonstrate that wealth, and for as long as humans have been civilized there has been inequality among each other. I realize that the problem of unjust human suffering may never be fixed here on earth, however I feel as though we should do our part to minimize its influence. The issue of wealthy societies and poor society’s dates back to biblical times, and it is an issue Jesus does not ignore. Jesus wisely says, “Do not store riches for yourselves here on earth. Where moths and rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal.” Matthew 6: 19. I think Jesus is trying to draw attention to the negative aspects of material possessions which discredits their commonly perceived high value. When we value wealth and materials over the relationships with our fellow human beings, suffering and misfortune will surface. “For your heart will always be where your riches are.” Matthew 6: 21. If our hearts are where riches are, what happens when our riches are with us on earth? Where should our riches be? What should we value? Jesus tells us to “Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven.” Matthew 6:20. I like to think of riches that would be in heaven to be our emotional and spiritual connections with each other. The faith we find in God, the comfortable love for family, the happiness found in a friend, the simplicity of conversing with a stranger, the hope you have for the troubled, and the sympathy you feel when you see a person in pain are all some of the spiritual treasures found in heaven. When superficial and earthly riches capture our hearts, emotional riches have a difficult time setting us free. However, if they do, our concern for others would replace our desire for extensive wardrobes. Our appreciation for one another would lessen the importance of social reputation and electronics. Our devotion towards one another would minimize the obsession with beauty. (Not just female beauty boys) Our love for everyone would counteract the selfish acts precipitated by selfish and hollow desires found on earth. All of the words I just wrote express emotion and belief. Our beliefs are an incredibly important influence in our lives. So then, how would one act on the previous stated ideals? Maybe they would pray for those in need every night, or talk about  their concerns for others with a friend.  Maybe they could set money aside they would normally spend on clothes, electronics, or life accessories and use it to donate to a charitable cause. (one of my favorite charities is Kiva. Check it out :) ). Or maybe take time out of their busy lives to volunteer. It is easy to believe and see that unequal suffering is a tragedy that taints the world, but it is more difficult to bring those beliefs to life.. Where is the value and essence of a person found? We are not what we believe. We are how we act on our beliefs

           

Now I know it seems as though I am condemning a large group of people, but that is not what I am trying to do. If I was condemning (something I don’t have the right to do anyway) the wealthier societies of the world I would also be criticizing myself, my family, friends and basically the majority of the people I know and love. I think an interesting point Hank Green pointed out in his Vlog is that the author of the Hunger Games “does an admirable job of not blaming the participants of that society”, which is something that holds great truth.  It is easy to blame wealthy consumers for creating world and domestic economic inequality and dependence, because we are the ones buying the inhumane labor tainted products. We are the ones dependent on the products these companies produce, and consequently we make other nations, people, and industries depend on us and our money. However, the wealthy consumer has been raised in world where the materialistic possessions are a deemed as a necessity for happiness. The consumer may need dozens of different trendy outfits or many of their favorite sports teams shirts to be happy with their wardrobe, and they couldn’t handle a life with a three or four different tops and bottoms. They may need their own personal bedroom, and wouldn’t be able get along happily in a house size of the others bedroom shared with five other family members. They might need an IPhone because all of their friends have one, and they would never be seen with just a flip phone or a land line or maybe nothing at all. The environment anyone is raised in plays a pivotal role in the character of a person. Some environments may be a forest or a jungle with many resources to live on. Where others may be a desert, where resources are not as abundant, but there is beauty to be found and life is able to be lived happily. We adapt to our environments and living or even imagining trying to adapt to another one is a difficult task. It is hard to blame someone for being who they are, because it is kind of out of their control. The people of the Capitol didn’t choose to be born into that life, and neither did the people of the district. So I am not writing this post because I think everyone who lives on the wealthier side of the world are horrible people and should completely change their lifestyle. I am also not writing this to say that the people who live on the poorer side of the world live hopeless and miserable lives. Both of those statements would be false. I am writing this so people will hopefully gain appreciation for environments and people who are completely different from them. And may that appreciation inspire sympathy for environments where material possession captures their lives, and sympathy for those environments where material possessions are more of a stranger than a friend. Hopefully  that appreciation precipitate gratitude for others we may never meet but are still connected to. But most importantly, may that appreciation spark kindness to help end the hurt and tragedy present in our world, but also let it be the hope that guides use through the hurt and tragedy of the world.