You HAVE to watch this video. So freaking awesome!!!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
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
Monday, May 10, 2010
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!
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!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
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
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
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
Monday, April 12, 2010
"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
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
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