Why is X used to replace Christ in Christmas?

Check it out, I did not know this.

http://www.ligonier.org/blog/why-is-x-used-when-it-replaces-christ-in-christmas/

Washed by the Water

Very thankful to the Lord. Wanted to praise Him. So I recorded a cover of Needtobreathe's 'Washed by the Water'

It's not perfect but who ever listed a perfect way to praise God?

Kate Voegele Version of Hallelujah

I really really love this version of the song. I am making it a goal to learn this on guitar. Haven't gotten to spend more than about an hour playing this semester so far...can't wait for a little bit more time.

Girl's Weekend in NY!

So I had a PA school interview in NY on Monday at Hofstra University on Long Island. BUT, before we went there, my mom and I decided to make the rest of the weekend a girls weekend! Here are some pictures and descriptions.

We got in on Saturday morning/afternoon and then took a walk around and found a cute little street market with all sorts of interesting things. One being a corn bread sandwich with mozzarella cheese in the middle. It was interesting to try but not what we were hoping.



We then waled around some more and ended up over by the central park zoo. Mom and me by the entrance.



Here are a few more pictures from our walk...









That night we went and saw the Addam's Family Musical. It was awesome! We unfortunately weren't allowed to take pictures while in the actual hall but I wish I could have. The set was SO creative!! Here is a picture of mom and me before the show...



The next day we shopped till we found shoes to match my suit for my interview then took a long walk through central park. SO BEAUTIFUL.











Then on the subway back we got serenaded...i only caught it on film though so that will have to come later. One of my favorite things while we were there was the elevators in the hotel...you typed in the floor that you wanted to go to and it told you what car to go to. It was so awesome! It made it so much easier than trying to figure out which one to wait by and yadayadayada. SO COOL.



Here are a few pics of times square at night...





The next day was my interview. Here are pics from campus. Also, I love the pic of the squirrel. And I thought the squirrels in madison were friendly! He let me get so close before running away!









This is the building my interview was supposed to be in according to the email I got...so nerve wracking to find out they changed the place and never sent you an email!



And my favorite pic!

Totally touched...

Ok so i know I should be writing my paper right now...im 5 full pages into 8 so its getting closer! I needed a break though so I turned on Pandora on a Needtobreathe station and what comes on? Mercyme's "Finally Home" I just kinda stopped everything I was doing when I heard it. It was SO beautiful. Made me really think about things. Especially the end of the first verse..."And tell him all about the man that I became / And hope that it pleased him"

Ask yourself, are you being a person that pleases Him?? I'm hard core reflecting right now...and praying that He guides me to become that person.

Make me new...

Praying for the Lord to make me new...Praying He opens my heart to all His glories and desire to glorify Him in all that I do. Praying to become more like Him.

My brother is coming to visit!!

SO excited that my brother is coming to visit. Check back for pics from our crazy adventures!!

Beautiful, Beautiful

Wow, long time since anything has gone up! I've been crazy busy but still wanted to share...

Here is a gorgeous song by Francesca Battistelli called "Beautiful, Beautiful"

You have to go to Youtube to watch it because they disabled embedding: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbCfyZHSQbE&ob=av2e

I wanted to share because it has been one of those songs that has really spoken to me. The lyrics really seem to sum up a lot of how Christ has been in my life. Not only did He first open my eyes to Him and show me that I can be a better person, something I struggle with everyday, but also that NO MATTER WHAT, Christ will not falter. He is there for me in everything no matter if I am in the most joyful situation or suffering at the moment. HE IS THERE. His Grace is something that I can't get over. I will never be able to wrap my head around His Grace. Its something I pray for everyday. God is AMAZING. Praise Him. Suffer for Him. Grow in Him.

Here are the lyrics:

Don’t know how it is You looked at me
And saw the person that I could be
Awakening my heart
Breaking through the dark
Suddenly Your grace

(Chorus)
Like sunlight burning at midnight
Making my life something so
Beautiful, beautiful
Mercy reaching to save me
All that I need
You are so
Beautiful, beautiful

Now there’s a joy inside I can’t contain
But even perfect days can end in rain
And though it’s pouring down
I see You through the clouds
Shining on my face

(Chorus)

I have come undone
But I have just begun
Changing by Your grace

(Chorus)

We are WIRED FOR RELATIONSHIPS

I loved this mornings service at church that I decided I had to share all of the contents of it. We just started a new series called "Wired" speaking about how we are made for relationships. I think that typing up my notes may be the best way to share the message.

"The Image of the Relational God"

Pastor Chris shared a story of the games he used to play in summer when he was younger with his neighborhood friends. Talked about building a fort, hiding from girls(to avoid cooties of course, or else you needed the cooties shot), and playing superman. What this came down to was him asking us to think about a story we would tell about our childhood summers. What games did we play? Who were we with? He explained that, as we were thinking about these stories, there were others involved. It would not be very likely that people would tell a story of their childhood and speak of how much fun they had playing by themselves, alone, without others.

Why? Because we are WIRED FOR RELATIONSHIP.

Genesis sets the stage for the rest of the Bible. Relationships are in the beginning of the Bible, change throughout and are restored again at the end.

Genesis 1:26-27 "Then God said, "Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

God did not create human beings because He was lonely. God in and of Himself is a relationship: The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. IF WE ARE MADE IN HIS IMAGE WE ARE MADE TO BE RELATIONAL BEINGS.

Pastor Chris then spoke of an analog. A battery with a circuit. A battery was not created to be by itself, but to be connected to something else. Only once it is connected can its potential be realized. God is like electricity(not just the battery, He is MUCH MORE POWERFUL)

Pastor Chris also took a little bit of a side note because he wanted to address the actual meaning of the passage. The passage talks about the special standing that we as human beings have. We are set apart from the rest of what God created. We are to rule over the birds, fish, cattle, etc. We should be SO thankful for the standing we were given.

Matthew 22:34-40 was read and spoke of the Great Commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.

In John 13:31-35 another commandment, a new commandment is set forth: "Love one another as I have loved you." We are to follow in this relational state that is God.

All in all, because we were created by God, who is the essence of relationships, we were creating to be relational beings.

BY NO MEANS are relationships easy. We need to look to God for help in all of our relationships. We need to truly desire to seek the work John 13:34, loving each other as Jesus loved his disciples.

I challenge you to think about the relationships you have. Are they healthy? Are they seeking the glory of God? Are they in God's image? Trust me, I have a long ways to go. Praying that God will guide me in His will and His image.

My brother is a married man!

For those of you who didn't know...I'm pretty sure everyone did, but MY BROTHER GOT MARRIED last weekend!! The ceremony was amazing. I couldn't hold it together. Paul and Amanda are truly so blessed to have such wonderful support. Watching my parents and her parents support them the entire way through was just amazing. Things went so smoothly(minus the limo driver not wanting to drive the limo up the hotel ramp-it all worked out though).

The night before we had the rehearsal dinner at the weber grill with a Hawaiin theme. We had to help them practice their hawaiin spirit before the honeymoon!! It was a blast and I think everyone had a great time. Patrick presented his gift to them. He hand drew the picture that was taken of Paul proposing to Amanda on the pier in Key West...you had no idea he was so talented did you?! So proud of him.



The girls spent the morning getting our hair and Amanda make up done. We hung out and chit-chatted a little bit while doing so and then before we knew it, it was time for Amanda to put her dress on!! SO FREAKING GORGEOUS.





We then hung out at the church waiting for the ceremony to start...and then it was time! I got to walk down the aisle with my baby(GIANT baby) brother. I kind of looks like a midget but thats ok :) The ceremony seriously was beautiful. The church was so decorated already that they didn't even have to have any decorations put up. The ceremony lasted about 45 minutes and I have never seen my brother happier!



After the ceremony it was picture time. The photographer was great. She was fun, happy, kind and just all around great. We did pictures at the church first and she was very clear on "DO NOT leave until you are dismissed" haha. Made everything go faster. After church pictures we drove around in the limo to a couple different places. I cant wait to see the pictures, especially after the foot pain that was involved. The shoes we were wearing were fine, except for taking them on and off. Then our feet started to hurt from the shoes. And then when we took them off the ground burned them to crisps! Lets just say when we got to the reception I wasnt doing a lot of standing at first. My mom took them off for me(since I had major problems doing ANYTHING with the fake nail I had put on). And I had bright pink flip flops to match the shoes from before.

The reception was a lot of fun. I gave the blessing before the meal and told myself I wasn't going to cry. Well, that didn't quite go according to plan. I got up there, got about three words out and then had to stop and say "oh man, im gonna cry" pull myself back together and then continue. The speeches were great, and Ryan was too too too funny. "Before we get going on this best man speech thing, we need to take care of some housekeeping business. Can all of Paul's old lovers and girlfriends please return those housekeys you have?" A whole bunch of the female's in the room proceeded to get up and hand them to Paul(as Paul and Amanda are laughing so hard it looked like they were gonna pee their pants(or dress)) Even Amanda's grandma was in on it. Plenty of dancing occured. My cousin Ethan = DANCING MACHINE. If you were there you know what I mean. If not, it's sort of like "Woah, i just discovered that I can move in really crazy ways and people like to watch me!" Needless to say, he provided some great entertainment, and even gave the best man a run for his money(supposedly, dancing crazy was Ryan's thing).

The pic at the bottom is with Amanda and her grandma...





One of the greatest things about the reception I thought was the photo booth. They brought in one of those photo booths where you pose 4 times and then it prints out. Then they had a scrapbook next to it and each person was suppose to cut out one of the pictures and put it in the book for them to keep. Such a cool idea!

Pictures with my dad. He jokes that the 2nd picture is what he's gonna send me alongside the tuition bill that normally is addressed to my parents.


We ended up leaving at about 12:30AM after finding Pauls camera that he apparently gave to the bartender to hold on to. Who knows when he did that...unfortunately their new shock-proof, water-proof, dust-proof, freeze-proof camera is not also, "Paul forgot he gave it to the bartender proof" Hopefully this does not occur again soon.

The next morning all the family had breakfast before saying goodbye to Paul and Amanda and everyone else.

I hope they are having a BLAST in Hawaii!! Amanda's birthday is today too so I am sure they are celebrating!

Had a blast. SO Happy for my brother and new sister in law(I finally have a sister...yes I will continue to say that for probably another year).

Love,

Carolyn

God gave me you...

I wonder how many first dances were done to this song?? Love the lyrics!


Dave Barnes - God Gave Me You (Official Music Video) - Funny video clips are a click away

Fighting Gravity

You HAVE to watch this video. So freaking awesome!!!

Fill us up and send us out...

God of justice, Saviour to all
Came to rescue the weak and the poor
Chose to serve and not be served

Jesus, You have called us
Freely we've received
Now freely we will give

We must go live to feed the hungry
Stand beside the broken, we must go
Stepping forward keep us from just singing
Move us into action, we must go

To act justly every day
Loving mercy in every way
Walking humbly before You, God

You have shown us, what You require
Freely we've received
Now freely we will give

Fill us up and send us out
Fill us up and send us out
Fill us up and send us out, Lord

How modest am I??

So I was reading a friend's blog and she addressed the issue of modesty.

Wait, what's that again? This has never been a priority for me when I am truly honest. Yes, I say I don't feel comfortable in that skirt or that shirt shows a little too much I think...but those comments are always based on ME, not what I am doing for(or to) others.

My friend challenged me and all the other readers of her blog to dress more modestly. That includes not wearing that tank top that shows more skin that you ALREADY own. This made me take a look at my closet...this is going to be a challenge. And with not having a job and clothing being so expensive I think I might have to do some real downsizing.

You might be saying...I don't get it, WHY?! That tank top is so cute! Truthfully, SHOULD we be wearing those things? Think of the thoughts we are putting into a male's mind when we do. It does not exactly help the pressure that society already creates for a man and his sexual thoughts of women.

But, as my friend said, we can do our part. This will be a challenge as it has never been something that I have put foremost while shopping or choosing an outfit. I have always looked for an outfit that I think flatters me and the body I have, not putting others first. I NEED to start putting others first and not always think about myself. God did not create clothes for us to cut them shorter and shorter...God created clothing because MAN SINNED.

Will you also do your part??

.........................

Here is her post

With nice weather comes less clothes-that is people wearing less. Pants become short skirts. Sweatshirts become revealing tank tops. With melting ice comes barely bathing suits.

Have you ever thought about why we wear clothes?? In Genesis 2:25 (a book in the Old Testament of the Bible) it says, "And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." The man and woman here are Adam and Eve.

In Genesis 3:6-7 says, "...she (Eve) took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband (Adam) who was with her and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths." (A loincloth is something that covered them up.)

From these verses we know a few things:
1. They were naked (this was before sin entered the world) and they weren't ashamed-Gen. 2:25.
2. After the fall of man (when sin entered the world), they knew they were naked. There was shame in nakedness, which is why they sewed fig leaves together-Gen. 3:6-7.

From these verses, we see that needing to wear clothes is a result of sin entering the world. Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed until they sinned.

It is really unfortunate that we take clothes, something that was intended to cover us up, and we make them a little shorter, the scoop a little lower, and we continue to pervert the use of what clothes we intended for.

No, I am not for ankle dresses with long sleeves. I personally really enjoy clothes and looking "cute". When I get up in the morning and get dressed, I need to be reminded that my sinful nature shifts towards wanting to wear something that is more revealing or tighter fitting. I need to be brought back to the cross in this process of getting dressed and not think so selfishly.

I truly do have a desire to dress modestly. I didn't always think like this, though. It was about three years ago when I started searching more into my heart about my motives to wear what I did. When I did this, I primarily saw that my desire to dress a certain way came out of wanting attention from the opposite sex. Instead of thinking FOR guys, I was thinking about ME.

I not only desire to honor RJ in what I wear, but I also desire to honor other guys-to help them not struggle with lust when they look at me. I don't want to hinder a guys' thoughts because of what I am wearing. I do not want to distract people with what I wear.

I am finding this to be a really hard thing as I go shopping. Everything is cut low on top and cut short on the bottom. Most of the shirts and shorts that I try on are really cute, but are really COMPROMISING. I have found myself getting annoyed because it is INCREDIBLY hard to find clothes that fit, but that think for others. THERE ARE NOT A LOT OF MODEST CLOTHES... what the heck has our fashion come to? It makes me so sad (and a tad frustrated because shopping isn't my favorite thing in the world to do anyways) that my search for spring clothes is so difficult.

What I have decided, though, is that no matter how many shirts and shorts I have to try on, I will continue to compromise my time to NOT compromise the thoughts of the guys' around me.

MY CHALLENGE FOR YOU: Do a heart check. Ask yourself "Why am I wearing this? Am I thinking for others with my outfit?"

MY SECOND CHALLENGE: Respond to your heart check if it's in light of TRUTH. Show the opposite sex you care about them by not buying that tank top and by not wearing the others that are in your closet or drawers ALREADY. YEP, I'M ASKING YOU NOT TO WEAR THAT FAVORITE SHIRT OF YOURS THAT COST $60 IN ORDER TO SHOW OTHERS YOU RESPECT THEM.

If you to decide to respond and not wear those clothes, before giving them away, think about this: Should you give them away so someone else can wear the clothes your conviction says no to or should you throw them away?

Through talking through some of these things with RJ, he brought up a great point: Dressing modestly does not eliminate the struggle issue for guys but that you are doing your part to help reduce the issue.

GIRLS-lets do our part!

I'm forgiven...

Beautiful song by Sanctus Real - "Forgiven"

Volcanoes!!!

Have I ever mentioned my fascination of volcanoes?!?! Seriously...I find them so intriguing and want to learn more about them!

Also, thought one of the comments was funny...I would with my sense of humor :) "it's quite ironic to say "the lava is so cool"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HURs_JxnKdg

Sermons from Mars Hill Church

I received a tip from a friend last semester to watch some sermons from Mars Hill Church(in Seattle, oops - i wrote Minneapolis before but that was incorrect!) and have finally gotten around to it. I would highly recommend it. They are phenomenal and truly preach from the Gospel.

A few quotes that have really inspired me:

"You need to distinguish between temptation and sin, they're two totally different things. If you don't get this distinction, satan will absolutely destroy your conscience. Temptation is when we are presented with an opportunity to sin. Sin is when we act on it."

"He lived the life we couldn't live, He died the death we should have died, He rose to give forgiveness, grace, and mercy that we didn't deserve. There is no one like Jesus, no one."

-both quotes are from Mark Driscoll in his Sermon "How Human was Jesus?" in the Vintage Jesus series.

http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/vintagejesus

"I am a Christian"

"When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'"

I'm whispering "I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven."

When I say... "I am a Christian" I don't speak of this with pride.

I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not trying to be strong.

I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not bragging of success.

I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not claiming to be perfect,

My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I still feel the sting of pain..

I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not holier than thou,

I'm just a simple sinner Who received God's good grace, somehow"

- Maya Angelou

Prayer

Pray for yourself, pray for others, pray for the grace of God, pray for forgiveness, pray for kindness, pray for strength, pray with others, pray alone, pray at night, pray during the day. Just pray - glorify God.

A faithful example...

So I just found a quote as a friends facebook status and I really like it.

"True spirituality is not based upon religious observance, but upon illuminating the darkest places with the power of your faithful example."

faithful example....those are the powerful words. Illuminating those dark places with a faithful example is something I pray I can do - that Christ uses me to speak to others. Being a faithful, however, example is SO much harder to do than it sounds. It perfectly fits with the quote "Easier said than done" because truly being a Christ example is difficult. This reminds me a lot of last weeks sermon. Being a Christ example is stepping across boundary lines and the exact opposite of a stepladder mentality - going higher at the expense of others. We all have this stepladder mentality but we need to trust in God enough to let go of it. Eventually we get so high that it isn't possible to see others as Jesus does. I dare you to ask yourself...how high on the stepladder are you? It's a difficult task to come down but through Christ is possible. I found it really encouraging that even our pastor fully admitted to a stepladder mentality. It's not just something that we are faced with everyday - but all the time. Knowing that others are trying to embrace the same mindset as I am is encouraging.

Needtobreath

I want to write a TON write now but should put my writing towards my paper due tomorrow. However, I am going to the Needtobreathe concert tomorrow night and have been listening to their songs. I absolutely love their music. I would even consider them in my top 5 bands. I have been listening to this song Garden and really thinking about the spiritual meaning that they connect to it. I wanted to post it with an intro from them at a radio station. The beginning explains the story behind it and its beautiful. I love the way music and faith comes together!

A FULL RIDE to Westminster College?!?

So I got a call from my brother today...my phone was on silent so I didn't hear it ring but saw that my younger brother Patrick had left me a message. It said "Call me back as soon as you get this, I have some really good news for you." Assuming it had to do with his decision to college, I called him back actually expecting him to say that he decided to come here to Madison. BUT, to my surprise he informed me exactly the opposite. He said he got a $100,000 scholarship to Westminster in Salt Lake City, Utah. HOLY BUCKETS, $100,000?!?!!? His tuition will be completely paid for off that scholarship. I am so excited for him and I can see how God has been working in his decision making process of choosing a college.

It has seriously been a rollercoaster but every event has had purpose - God's purpose. As sad as I was to hear that he would not be here in Madison with my next year(neither of my two brothers and I have ever attended the same school at one time), I am truly happy for him and his accomplishment and decision. He is such an amazing person and he has been through so much, with a deferral from his original number one choice(Madison) then an acceptance and then choosing to attend Madison until he got the scholarship phone call. This is so amazing. I ask that you all pray that he does find peace in his decision and journey of attending Westminster College. I know I will be doing the same. I am so happy for you, Patrick!

Where to begin...

So I am not exactly sure where to begin. I've never blogged before and didn't even consider it until recently. I guess for me the reason for wanting to blog is to be able to share my journey of not only becoming a Christian but the joys and struggles that happen along the way. I want it to be a way to share things with the people in my life and think this a great way to do so.

So I think for now I just wanna get things up and running but definitely have a lot of thoughts I want to put out there! But a first one - I am so blessed to be able to turn to God in everything that I do, even when it comes to starting my blog! He is my strength, my Savior, my Lord. Without Him I would be nothing.

I received a song from Andrea and her fiancee RJ today, that I listened to and it has put so many thoughts into my head, all beautiful.

"Love is not a fight" by Warren Barfield. I feel like the lyrics in this song relate to something we all have or will experience. Here it is. I feel like this is a good song to start my blog with(there will be MANY). Love is IT though. We all need to love one another and GOD IS LOVE. Love IS something worth fighting for.