Dating and Life

Wow! I haven't been on here in forever! I am so sorry you guys! So I have been pretty crazy lately but I finally got a chance to write on here. So today, I had Bible Study and the teacher is teaching on hard decisions we will have to make in life that aren't necessarily mentioned or talked about directly in the Bible. So its been a very good and helpful class and I am super thankful to be taking it.

Well today, we talked about dating. And it really was a blessing to me. We all put on a card something that we were unsure what the Bible said about and handed it in and mine happened to be dating. So it was really cool. But sometimes, when I really like a guy, I will be distracted by him but I never put it into the perspective that he gave us today. So I am going to share a little bit of what he talked about today and how it spoke to me.

So first I am going to define dating:
Dating is an exclusive relationship with a member of the opposite gender. So I am going to give you a few of his points and some thoughts of my own.

1. First he talked about how EVERY young heart longs for acceptance, dreams of love, but teen hearts are not prepared for exclusive relationships. 
2. Exclusive relationships are meant to progress, but teen relationships have no where to go. So what he is saying is that relationships and dating is eventually supposed to lead to marriage. And when your a teen, there is really no where for that relationship to go because you cannot get married yet and so you end up doing things that you regret. 
3. Every date is a potential mate.
4. A teen's biggest struggle is: waiting. "I am tired of waiting." That is often what we say and its our excuse for a relationship. But you should understand that You Are Not Waiting, You Are Preparing! 

If you make a habit (like a lot of teen girls do) dating a guy for 6 months, breaking up with him and moving on, only to break up with the next guy and then go to another, it will only develop a bad kind of thinking. So when you actually get married, when something happens, your mind automatically turn to leaving him like you have always done with every other guy. We need to prepare now so that we can be a good spouse one day.

So these are some things he encouraged us to think about:

• I will maintain friendships that honor God and help me grow in His grace.
• I will recognize the dangers of exclusive relationships.
• I will keep God first in my life and all my friends will come after Him.
• I will pace my friendships and focus on what I am becoming rather than who I like or who likes me. 
• I will not date an unbeliever, a backslidden Christian, or someone my parents would dissaprove of.

The difference between young and older people's relationships are: that a teenagers relationships are based on feelings and that he makes you feel good. But our feelings change so easily. When we are older, our relationships are based on love and its a lasting love. That is another reason to wait until God brings the right one into your life. But it also has to be the right time. If he is the right one in high school, he will still be there and the right one in college. 

And then here are two good points he made regarding waiting.

• Exclusive teen relationships trade preparation for pretend, and that's a bad trade.
• You focus on the preparation and let God focus on the person.

So I could really relate to wanting to be accepted and loved for who I am but sadly to say it, I have let a guy cloud my view. I let a guy distract me and he even took the place of God in my life. That is idolatry. Thankfully God has helped me to just be friends with this person. I think that often, when we don't wait and we struggle, we make mistakes that will ultimately effect our lives. Not always in a good way. So I pray that the Lord will help me to wait on His timing and He will bless me with the person He knows is best for me. So hopefully, this kind of made sense and helped you.

Well, tomorrow morning, I am leaving for the beach and I am so excited..pictures to come. And I have been praying about college and where to apply for scholarships but I am praising the Lord because I have the opportunity to BJU (Bob Jones University) to look at the school next week. So please pray for me that the Lord would lead me in the right direction and provide the finances that I will need to go. 

What is Your Heart's Desire?

I am so sorry you guys! I honestly feel terrible about not being able to blog recently at all. It just seems that life gets quite chaotic sometimes. But I wanted to share with you whats been on my heart recently. I post a lot of thoughts on being different and how hard it is sometimes, but i want to take it one step further. Hope and I have been talking about this. We need to show others how different we are but we also need to show them that living for God brings a good life. Its not some boring life that everyone thinks about when they think about being a devoted Christian. But Its impossible to help people if they don't have any kind of desire driving them to be different. But where does desire for God and that kind of stuff come from? Please leave comments and tell what you think. But two questions and I'm done...what is your hearts desire? Is it a desire for God and Heavenly things, or for this world and it's earthly possessions?

Friends

I honestly had no idea when I started writing this what I wanted to talk about tonight. But I am gonna talk a little bit about friendships. Often I ask myself if I am truly being the kind of friend I want or expect someone else to be. I very easily slip into the habit of wanting everything done for me and to please me. If we are honest, I would say we all do. It is a hard thing to always be in check. But sometimes, I have a hard time with what I say to my friends as well. When they say some unnecessary comment, I can be quick to bite back because it hurts. But I think would Jesus do that? Its hard to constantly fight your feelings and your flesh. Especially when your friends become close to you. They become kinda like your family in the way that you take stuff out on them. But I want to work on that. I want to constantly make sure that my conversation is what it should be. These are photos of my friends and I at the mall Saturday. I am very thankful for them and these are really for you Hope! :)

A Life in God's Will

Hey guys! I wanted to share with you guys the opportunity to reach out that the Lord gave me today. I have been sick all day, my voice is gone, I have a sore throat, and congestion. But honestly, I am thankful for the sickness! It has helped me to take a step back and realize where I am at and see things or people differently then I did before. I am going to share two things on my heart. They both tied together which I thought was pretty amazing the way it worked out. Lately, I have been trying to accept the Lord's will for my life. I have the personality that wants to fight about whether or not its the Lord closing the door, or someone else. I realized this week that I needed to honor my parents and my friends decisions about certain things because that is how God will bless me. My parents said no about something yesterday, and it was really hard for me. I prayed for God's will but I was fighting this feeling that told me that it didn't matter what they really thought. Through prayer, it was great to see God work in me. My mom told me that she realized that I didn't fight about their decision and I dropped it. She thanked me for trusting them. It was very difficult for me and I realized that God really does put parents in your life to guide you (even if you think they might be wrong, most of the time, its you! I had to realize this the hard way). They thought it best if I waited for something I wanted and they were right because I ended up being sick anyways. 

The second thing was because I am sick, I didn't get to go to school or go out. It was nice because I could relax but God put this girl on my heart again. I met her at camp 3 summers ago and then saw her again last summer. We are friends on Facebook and I have seen for a long time that she is hurting. Her best friend left her and she doesn't really have anyone. I had sent her messages before, but she never replied. But today, I was able to message her and try to encourage her. I couldn't get away from the feeling that she needs someone. I remember being in the same situation. I was hurt and confused. Everyday, I felt like I needed to come up with new ways to make everything go back to the way it was. I didn't have anyone though. And that was really tough! So I want to be there for her. She is not a very open person so its difficult to talk to her sometimes, but I would really appreciate some prayers as I try to minister to her. I know she has been hurt a lot. I can almost see it in her eyes. A sadness and loneliness that can only be changed by Christ. But someone needs to help guide her to Him. I feel that I am the person God has chosen to be there for her. So thanks in advance for your prayers! They mean a lot. 

P.S. I am going to work on the prayer bar as soon as I get a chance. I need to talk it over with storyteller and see what all I can do. Thanks for you patience. 

  

Be Different

Sorry I haven't been able to blog in a while. I have been super busy with school and work. Its been pretty crazy! So I thought about have a prayer list on my blog for pressing needs. Maybe to the side so that when people see it, they immediately stop and pray! I know that I could use the prayer and I am sure all of you could too! I am going to challenge you guys today. Be different. Its so easy to blend in and to just not care but the world needs Jesus. My youth pastor says, "look at everyone you pass by or look at as eternal soul that is going to live somewhere forever." We have the power of Christ in us to witness and to share His gospel. So I encourage you today as I have challenged myself to be different!

So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. -Hebrews 13:6