In C.S Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, the imaginary dialoge of a senior demon to his nephew demon is recorded. I've been reading this book and journaling about each chapter, however, this week what I read really struck me. In fact, it is something that I'm very guilty of.
"...Conceal from the patient the true end of Humility. Let him think of it not as self-forgetfulness but as a certian kind of opinion (namely, a low opinion) of his own talents and character.... Fix in his mind the idea that humility consists in trying to believe those talents to be less valuable than he believes them to be... By this method thousands of humans have been brought to think that humility means pretty women trying to believethey are ugly and clever men trying to believe they are fools."
Wow.
I have to say that I've has this "fake humility." I've tried having a low opinion of the gifts God has blessed me with because I thought that was being humble. Just think about that. Something isn't right with the picture! If God gives me a gift, I should know it's something good and worth while. My talents are a blessing and something to be proud of! God gave them to me and it is SO wrong of me to belittle them and think of them as less than they really are. I'm not saying you should be prideful about your talents or anything else God's blessed you with (like brains or beauty). What I'm saying is that we should acknowledge that God has blessed us and not try to hide it from the world.
If my parents gave me a $1,000 I wouldn't say, "Oh, it's just a thousand dollars. It's not a big deal. It's nothing to be proud of." I would be really excited and thankful for the money! If I had the attitude of "it's nothing to be proud of" not only would I be ignoring the true value of the gift, but I would be belittling the giver's choice. If my parents gave me that money, apparently they a) wanted to give it to me b) thought I'd like it and c) thought it would suit me and my needs. Now, if you put your gifts (once again, that includes talents, appearance, smarticles) in place of the money, think about how it sounds to Jesus when we have that "fake humility." It is pretty much saying, "Jesus, that gift you gave me, is no good. It wasn't worth your time because really it's nothing for me to be proud of." We might be TRYING to be humble... but when we have this mind set we're not.
So, this really hit home with me because I'm VERY guilty of this. The sad thing is, I'd never really thought about this before. It's changed my view the talents, appearance, and brains that God has given me. :)
Who God made you is a gift.
<3
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Making the Truth Clear
So, there is this video that my sister showed me on YouTube. These guys sang several Christmas carols, then uploaded them to YouTube. Next, they used the YouTube captioning thing to find out what YouTube thought they were saying. Finally, they re-sang the songs using the YouTube generated captions...
Needless to say, YouTube misunderstood the lyrics BIG time! ;D If these guys had sang the songs slowly and really taken care to enunciate during the original recording, however, I'll bet the YouTube generated lyrics would have been a lot more accurate!
Now, how can we apply this to our lives?
Well, I was thinking. Lots of time as Christians, we know what we believe. I know that I believe that Jesus Christ is God's Son. I know I believe that Jesus died for my sins and that He was raised from the grave on the third day. I know I believe in the trinity- the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I know that I'm a sinner. I know all of these things because I've learned them at church, at home, and in my personal Bible study. I've heard them repeated over, and over, and over, and over... However, it's important to remember that other people might not know what I believe. To someone who is unfamiliar with the true basics of Christianity, these things that to me seem like such simple truths might be much harder to comprehend and understand the first time around. I have to be careful when I talk to non-believers. I've discovered that even living in Georgia- the South, the Bible belt- many people don't actually understand what being a follower of Christ is because they've just heard a few pieces of the Bible here and there. They've translated what they have heard into what makes sense. Just like YouTube took the songs that it heard and created the words it THOUGHT were being said, people have heard the story of Christ, but they totally misunderstood it, turned it into what they wanted it to be, or in some cases, the peson who they heard it from was just plain wrong. So, what can we do about this? I think that we should to out best to make ourselves very clear about what we believe and take the time to explain it completely to people when we are sharing Christ. :) Let's help make the truth clear to the world around us!
"Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it." 1 Peter 3:15 (NLT)
Anyways... Those are my thoughts :)
Needless to say, YouTube misunderstood the lyrics BIG time! ;D If these guys had sang the songs slowly and really taken care to enunciate during the original recording, however, I'll bet the YouTube generated lyrics would have been a lot more accurate!
Now, how can we apply this to our lives?
Well, I was thinking. Lots of time as Christians, we know what we believe. I know that I believe that Jesus Christ is God's Son. I know I believe that Jesus died for my sins and that He was raised from the grave on the third day. I know I believe in the trinity- the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I know that I'm a sinner. I know all of these things because I've learned them at church, at home, and in my personal Bible study. I've heard them repeated over, and over, and over, and over... However, it's important to remember that other people might not know what I believe. To someone who is unfamiliar with the true basics of Christianity, these things that to me seem like such simple truths might be much harder to comprehend and understand the first time around. I have to be careful when I talk to non-believers. I've discovered that even living in Georgia- the South, the Bible belt- many people don't actually understand what being a follower of Christ is because they've just heard a few pieces of the Bible here and there. They've translated what they have heard into what makes sense. Just like YouTube took the songs that it heard and created the words it THOUGHT were being said, people have heard the story of Christ, but they totally misunderstood it, turned it into what they wanted it to be, or in some cases, the peson who they heard it from was just plain wrong. So, what can we do about this? I think that we should to out best to make ourselves very clear about what we believe and take the time to explain it completely to people when we are sharing Christ. :) Let's help make the truth clear to the world around us!
"Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it." 1 Peter 3:15 (NLT)
Anyways... Those are my thoughts :)
Sunday, December 11, 2011
My Favorite Artist
So. Everyone has favorites... favorite food, favorite color, favorite pair of socks, favorite scent of perfume/cologne, favorite genre of music, favorite sibling (Kidding! xD), favorite day of the week, favorite actor...
But today I'm thinking about a particular favorite of mine. It's a person... and his music. Wanna guess who he is? Well, let's see... I think he has brown/dirty blonde hair. He has glasses. Ummm... xD He has a tattoo on his arm I think. Okay, that describes like TONS of guys. I'll give you a better hint. He sings "Starry Night." Maybe you know who he is now. ;)
it's... *drum roll* CHRIS AUGUST! ^_^ *crowd cheers*
He. Is. Amazing. End of story. Okay, so I don't actually know that HE is amazing, but I know his music is amazing. Hahaha, ever since I bought his album "No Far Away" when it was on sale on iTunes, I've fallen in love with his music and voice, which is why I get rather excited anytime I hear his music! (I'm listening to him right now actually! "Like a summer warm breeze, in a warm July, it's you and I..." If you are already a fan, then good for you! *high fives* You know good music when you hear it! ;D If you're not already a fan... or if you're decidedly against his music, well... that's okay too because, as I said, everyone has favorites. I'd highly suggest listening to his music though, if you haven't already.
Anyways, here's a couple of his songs that make me particularly giddy. ;)
While I'm on the topic of music... I will go ahead and say that I MISS J93.3! JOYfm is cool... They have very good interviews and they have really good stories. Buuuuut, J93.3 was my ole' faithful. ;) Waking up, washing the dishes, and falling asleep are just not the same! I know, I know. I'm making way to big of a deal about a radio station. Pretty much all that changed was the morning show (which I was like never awake early enough to hear to start with, haha), the other show (is it Prevenings now?) and the theme song. But still. I miss that little jingle... And although I love Christmas music, I miss hearing Chris August! I think he only has one Christmas song that I know of. :/ I've only heard it once or twice so far...
Anyways, I'll get used to JOYfm eventually. It's from Florida, so that makes it cool, right? Ahh, I'm rambling...
Happy Monday! :D
But today I'm thinking about a particular favorite of mine. It's a person... and his music. Wanna guess who he is? Well, let's see... I think he has brown/dirty blonde hair. He has glasses. Ummm... xD He has a tattoo on his arm I think. Okay, that describes like TONS of guys. I'll give you a better hint. He sings "Starry Night." Maybe you know who he is now. ;)
it's... *drum roll* CHRIS AUGUST! ^_^ *crowd cheers*
He. Is. Amazing. End of story. Okay, so I don't actually know that HE is amazing, but I know his music is amazing. Hahaha, ever since I bought his album "No Far Away" when it was on sale on iTunes, I've fallen in love with his music and voice, which is why I get rather excited anytime I hear his music! (I'm listening to him right now actually! "Like a summer warm breeze, in a warm July, it's you and I..." If you are already a fan, then good for you! *high fives* You know good music when you hear it! ;D If you're not already a fan... or if you're decidedly against his music, well... that's okay too because, as I said, everyone has favorites. I'd highly suggest listening to his music though, if you haven't already.
Anyways, here's a couple of his songs that make me particularly giddy. ;)
While I'm on the topic of music... I will go ahead and say that I MISS J93.3! JOYfm is cool... They have very good interviews and they have really good stories. Buuuuut, J93.3 was my ole' faithful. ;) Waking up, washing the dishes, and falling asleep are just not the same! I know, I know. I'm making way to big of a deal about a radio station. Pretty much all that changed was the morning show (which I was like never awake early enough to hear to start with, haha), the other show (is it Prevenings now?) and the theme song. But still. I miss that little jingle... And although I love Christmas music, I miss hearing Chris August! I think he only has one Christmas song that I know of. :/ I've only heard it once or twice so far...
Anyways, I'll get used to JOYfm eventually. It's from Florida, so that makes it cool, right? Ahh, I'm rambling...
Happy Monday! :D
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Simply Because
Yesterday as I was spending time with God, I read 1 Samuel 12:20-22. It was pretty encouraging to me and so I wanted to share it. I really like the way the Message puts Bible verses into a straight forward modern translation, so here is the Message version. :)
"Samuel said to them, 'Don't be fearful. It's true that you have done something very wrong. All the same, don't turn your back on God. Worship and serve him heart and soul! Don't chase after ghost-gods. There's nothing to them. They can't help you. They're nothing but ghost-gods! God, simply because of who he is, is not going to walk off and leave his people. God took delight in making you into his very own people.'"
- 1 Samuel 12:20-22
No matter what you've done or what you're going through, God's not going to "walk off and leave his people". And it gets even better, in my opinion. Why is God like this? Why does he care so much? Well, it is "simply because of who he is." It's not because we deserve it or because he owes us. He does it because of who he is. He is Awesome. There is a very real God who loves us like crazy just because, even though we don't deserve it. I know that it's a comfort to me that I've got an awesome God on my side, fighting for me, and teaching me through everything. Well... that's what I wanted to share. :)
Stay warm! :)
"Samuel said to them, 'Don't be fearful. It's true that you have done something very wrong. All the same, don't turn your back on God. Worship and serve him heart and soul! Don't chase after ghost-gods. There's nothing to them. They can't help you. They're nothing but ghost-gods! God, simply because of who he is, is not going to walk off and leave his people. God took delight in making you into his very own people.'"
- 1 Samuel 12:20-22
No matter what you've done or what you're going through, God's not going to "walk off and leave his people". And it gets even better, in my opinion. Why is God like this? Why does he care so much? Well, it is "simply because of who he is." It's not because we deserve it or because he owes us. He does it because of who he is. He is Awesome. There is a very real God who loves us like crazy just because, even though we don't deserve it. I know that it's a comfort to me that I've got an awesome God on my side, fighting for me, and teaching me through everything. Well... that's what I wanted to share. :)
Stay warm! :)
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
You Are God Alone
Sometimes when I worried about stuff I tend to just look at the small picture of the moment and what I can do to fix things. But sometimes there comes a point when there isn't anything that I can do anything about situations aside from seek God and give it over to him. Recently I've been reminded that I need to just step back, remember who is in control, and that God is God alone. I can't fix things, because I'm not God. I have to have faith that he will never let me down and that his awesome plan for me and everyone around me will come to pass. :) This song is kind of my life song at the moment...
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
both now and forevermore.
- Psalms 121
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Ginger Bread House
Christmas time is here people! It's cold. The trees are like bare fingers sticking up out of the frozen ground. There are black birds, pecans, and frost. My little siblings are wishing for a snow day (and I admit I am too ;). Our family has a lot of Christmas traditions, but one thing we've never really done every year is make a ginger bread house. However, this year Emily and I made one. We just finished it actually. We were making it for a center piece on our table for the ladies brunch at church one Saturday this month. So, here is the story of how two teenage girls made a ginger bread house... *hands a hot cup of hot chocolate* Enjoy! ;)
Once upon a time I was in my bedroom reading 1776, a very informative and interesting, but slightly... looonnngggg... book about the Revolutionary War. Down stairs I could hear mom and my siblings going about their daily task- school, school, school. Suddenly Emily burst into the bedroom to remind me that we had to make a ginger bread house, so we marched down stairs to conquer the little red box of ginger bread, candies, and icing.
We took the pre-made house out of the box, and Emily ran hot water over the package of icing. The icing was... challenging. It took us a while to realize that we were supposed to put the icing into this little plastic baggie, rather than leave it in the shiny foil bag that it was packaged in. Then after a bit more decorating we realized that there was a plastic tip for the plastic bag so that the icing would come out in a smooth line. Goodness! xD
We iced the roof, made cute little doors and windows, and even made a pile of snow balls and a snowman! I think we were supposed to put icicles on the edges of the roof, but we didn't attempt that. There were shiny little red and green candy balls and some sparkly, sugary candies too. They made the ginger bread house look pretty, but I'd never actually eat it... The candy doesn't really feel "edible" when you touch it. Haha. ;)
Then... Emily discovered that there were directions! xD Mom was like, "Yeahhhh... did y'all not use the directions?"
I didn't even know that ginger bread houses came with directions. I thought you were supposed to use your imagination. (Although Emily and I had been following the picture of the house on the front of the box, so I suppose we weren't being all that imaginative.)
Anyways, that's my happening of the day ;)
Moral of this story? Ginger bread houses come with directions! xD
Once upon a time I was in my bedroom reading 1776, a very informative and interesting, but slightly... looonnngggg... book about the Revolutionary War. Down stairs I could hear mom and my siblings going about their daily task- school, school, school. Suddenly Emily burst into the bedroom to remind me that we had to make a ginger bread house, so we marched down stairs to conquer the little red box of ginger bread, candies, and icing.
We took the pre-made house out of the box, and Emily ran hot water over the package of icing. The icing was... challenging. It took us a while to realize that we were supposed to put the icing into this little plastic baggie, rather than leave it in the shiny foil bag that it was packaged in. Then after a bit more decorating we realized that there was a plastic tip for the plastic bag so that the icing would come out in a smooth line. Goodness! xD
We iced the roof, made cute little doors and windows, and even made a pile of snow balls and a snowman! I think we were supposed to put icicles on the edges of the roof, but we didn't attempt that. There were shiny little red and green candy balls and some sparkly, sugary candies too. They made the ginger bread house look pretty, but I'd never actually eat it... The candy doesn't really feel "edible" when you touch it. Haha. ;)
Then... Emily discovered that there were directions! xD Mom was like, "Yeahhhh... did y'all not use the directions?"
I didn't even know that ginger bread houses came with directions. I thought you were supposed to use your imagination. (Although Emily and I had been following the picture of the house on the front of the box, so I suppose we weren't being all that imaginative.)
Anyways, that's my happening of the day ;)
Moral of this story? Ginger bread houses come with directions! xD
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Beloved
Did you know that there is someone who is in love with you? He loves you beyond anything you could ever comprehend. Not only does he say he loves you, he has lived it out. He died on a cross- one of the most painful and cruel deaths ever devised by man- for your and my sins. Can you imagine someone taking the punishment you deserve. I know that it would be pretty hard for me to do that. After all, if someone messes up, my human thinking says that they should pay for it. However, this lover defied all of human reason and died for his beloved. If you are a child of God, then you are that beloved. He took the sin of the one he loves on himself and paied the debt.
Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."
John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Ahh, so you know who the lover is now. :) He is Jesus Christ. Each and everyone of us who have been given eternal life in Christ is his beloved. We are sinners; obviously we sin. I know I sin every day. However, my lover gave me a gift. He died for me and gave me life, when I didn't deserve it.
Some times it's easy to get down about life and the things going on around us, but if you are a child of God, remember that you have a lover who is crying "love of my life, look deep in my eyes, there you will find what you need."
God is the only one who can satisfy you or me. Friends, belongings, and hobbies are all great, but will they ever give us wholeness and satisfaction? I know from experiance that the answer is no. As Christians, though, we can rely on our lover to satisfy us completely. Christ is all we need. If we focus and rely on him, then he will bring everything else into place. He's our lover, so there's no doubt that he is working our lives out for our best. :)
You are loved.
Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."
John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Ahh, so you know who the lover is now. :) He is Jesus Christ. Each and everyone of us who have been given eternal life in Christ is his beloved. We are sinners; obviously we sin. I know I sin every day. However, my lover gave me a gift. He died for me and gave me life, when I didn't deserve it.
Some times it's easy to get down about life and the things going on around us, but if you are a child of God, remember that you have a lover who is crying "love of my life, look deep in my eyes, there you will find what you need."
God is the only one who can satisfy you or me. Friends, belongings, and hobbies are all great, but will they ever give us wholeness and satisfaction? I know from experiance that the answer is no. As Christians, though, we can rely on our lover to satisfy us completely. Christ is all we need. If we focus and rely on him, then he will bring everything else into place. He's our lover, so there's no doubt that he is working our lives out for our best. :)
You are loved.
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