I’m feeling so nostalgic today. It’s my last official day of high school today, and it’s crazy to think how far I’ve come. I’ve grown so much in the past four years, and especially in the last two since moving to Oregon. I’d like to thank everyone who has impacted me, but there are far too many people to list here. After June 7th, I will be a graduate, and that’s amazing. I’ll be going on to do new and exciting things, and to meet new and wonderful people. There’s so much that I’m excited to do, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store, both for the next year, and the rest of my life. It honestly seems like just yesterday that I was meeting my kindergarten teacher for the first time, and now here I am, ready to graduate and go on in the world. This is it. It’s the end of my beginning. 

thebridgechicago:

xxpatchworkxx asked:

On the event of Obama’s statement about the legalization of gay marriage, I’ve been unsure of what the Christian perspective on this is? I am respectful to homosexuals and those who choose to take that path. However, I know God says what they’re doing is a sin. Should…

YES. I wish more Christians would act this way!

One of the biggest problems with religion is that we like rules. We like to have a sense of what we’re supposed to do, when we’re supposed to do it, and with whom. But here’s the thing: Jesus doesn’t necessarily want you to follow the rules. He actually often condemned the religious leaders for being too ritualistic.

No, I’m not saying run wild and go stealing or murdering or getting drunk or whatever, but the greatest commandment of all is simply to love God with everything you have. And with that comes loving his people. To me, it’s like we’re afraid to practice self-control on our own, like if we don’t have some specific black and white list of rules with no exceptions, we’ll have no idea what to do and will fall into oblivion. Guess what though? We won’t. Jesus redeemed our current sins in the past. That means that back then, those sins were future. Jesus loves us anyway. And not to mention, that we’re all different.

If you think about it, sin is really anything that keeps us from God. It’s something you have to pray about. You have to be, like, “Hey God, is this thing that I’m doing keeping me from doing your work? Is it keeping me from moving into a deeper relationship with you? Is it harming myself or others? And is it something that is going to turn people away from you?” If the answer to any of those is yes, then it’s probably something you shouldn’t be doing. But if it’s something that you feel isn’t causing any problems, it’s probably okay. Just love him, and the rest will follow. If you love him, you’ll want to move closer to him and you’ll find yourself gravitating toward him and his will. 

I keep asking God what he wants me to DO so I can have the future he wants for me. Then in church today, the pastor made a point that I often hear but has never really taken root in my heart: faith is not about performance. Faith is about the process we go through to get to where we are supposed to be.

I don’t really have to do anything. I have to just say yes, and believe that God will handle it. He always comes through, often sometimes at the very last second; we just have to rely on him rather than trying to use our own devices. God will show me, when the time is right, where to go and what I should do. He will give me strength and opportunities to do great things in his name, just like Jesus said in the gospels. He is always good, no matter what, and it doesn’t really matter if I have no clue where he will lead me; it only matters that I keep trusting him, keep saying yes, keep loving him and sharing his word and showing the joy that is within me. That’s what matters. Not my performance. Not whether I read a chapter in my Bible a day, like clockwork, and certainly not whether I’m doing the right “Christian” things like I’m checking off a list. It’s what’s in the heart that matters, and whether what I’m doing is out of love. Sometimes I get caught up in that, in the fact that I feel like I have to do all the right things all the time, never mess up, say the right things, make sure that things are in order, and the list goes on. All I really have to do is trust him. That’s it. No catch. No gimmicks. Just Jesus.

Society’s perception of beauty is astounding. Women are expected to be tan, have flawless skin, have a size 2 figure, and have completely frizz-free hair. Men are required to be buff, always hide their emotions, and are only allowed to appreciate “manly” things. But what are the repercussions of such views? Women starve themselves, literally bake cancer into their skin, cake on the makeup, and are constantly looking for the next big beauty product so they can please the rest of the world. Men find themselves in self-esteem issues that society won’t even allow them to express because that’s not the “manly” thing to do.

But what if there’s a different way? What if people can just be people for once? True beauty isn’t something that can be obtained. It’s something that each and every one of us is BORN with, because we were made in the image of God. The human spirit is a truly beautiful thing that we must embrace, cherish, and nurture. A while back I was on the bus on the way to a church retreat in Sun River, Oregon. To get there we had to go over the mountains, and the view was breathtaking. Then God showed me something: as beautiful as nature is, the Bible doesn’t say that it was made in God’s image. It does say, however, that we are, and that we should fill the Earth and subdue it. So if mountains, and really just nature in general, are so incredibly breathtaking, how much more beauty should we be seeing in ourselves and each other? Shouldn’t we be embracing who we really are rather than who some magazine says we should be? Shouldn’t we raise our children to see the beauty in all things rather than pointing out the flaws? I feel like we as people could do so much more if we could just do this and be comfortable in our own skin. All too often we find ourselves throwing away who we are and what we want to do only to take up who people want us to be and do. Just a thought.