Friday, May 31, 2013

Giving Thanks

   I just read a devotional written by my iron sister (aka really awesome, Jesus loving, friend) that was discussing Psalm 50:23, "The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!" I love this verse so much, there are so many layers by which we can view what God is telling us in this 1 verse! So let's start unpacking!
   My Iron sister wrote this about this verse, "God wants us to thank Him continually, and I've realized that no matter how much I thank God, I won't cover everything He's given me." I thought this was such a cool thought. We don't even know everything that God has done for us! Some things He does that we can't see, others that we don't realize, and still more, things we just don't remember came from Him. So if you're ever at a loss as to what to thank God for, snap out of it! Thank Him for each thing in all you things, for your hair, your vision, your family, ect. Imagine all the things He is preventing from happening to you each day and thank Him. Thank Him for the fact that He forgave your last sin. Now, I'm not saying I do all this but I'm going to start trying! And should we manage to thank Him every second of the day for the rest of our lives we still won't hit everything but we be offering our thanksgiving as our sacrifice, and by doing that, glorifying God!
   When I read this verse, what really stood out to me was, "to one who orders his way rightly." To me this is God saying, "Caroline honey, it's not so much about the money you give at church or teaching others or any other visible, tangible thing. It is the thanks you give me that only I can see that matters. Giving thanks privately should be your first priority. That is the right order!" This is God reminding me that focusing on inner beauty and thanking Him will lead to better teaching and other stuff along those lines! 
   This verse also tells us that God prefers our thanks over all else, our recognition and gratitude toward Him for His marvelous works! I think it's so cool that He what He puts as #1 for giving Him glory is something we all can do! Young or old, rich or poor, giving thanks is simply in the heart. It doesn't cost money or call for prime physical condition, in doesn't even have to cost time. You can really hone in on giving thanks in the shower, or while vacuuming  or some other activity where your mind would otherwise be wandering. 
   I know that I need to take more advantage of the biggest gift God's given us for this life, prayer. And I can use that gift to give glory to God! Yay! :)

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Thank You Note

   So, about 5 minutes ago I was thinking about how I think I have a gift at seeing the good in things so I was like, "Hey God, I have a gift for seeing the good in things." And then I thought for a second about that statement and said, "Sorry that's so braggatory but you gave me that gift!" And then I thought about that for a second and hit upon a conclusion I really wanted to blog about, so here we go!
   Conclusion: It is imposible to brag to God. 
   Anything good you have God has too, and way better! Besides, if you try to brag it's more like writing Him a thank you card.
   Say someone gave me a pillow. In my thank you note I might say something along the lines of, "I love my pillow so much! It's the prettiest color I've ever seen and so soft. It is the best pillow in the world!" That right there would be bragging if I weren't saying it to the person who gave me the pillow. You can't brag about something you own to the person who gave it to you! 
   That's how it is with God too. When you recognize a spiritual gift, TELL HIM! Be like, "Guess what God? I'm a super content person. Plus I have a gift for languages and a gift for being relational and hospitable! Great combo, huh? That was some good thinking you did there when you made me! Thanks a ton!" That statement isn't bragging, it's thanking God and letting Him know that you see, love, and feel confident in the gifts He's given you! 
   That said, I issue a challenge to you: Every moment for the rest of your life, try to brag to God! :)

Monday, May 27, 2013

The Great Puzzler

   Last night I was working on a puzzle with my sister and grandparents. It was a 4D map of Londen. We were working on a map of Londen many years ago and it was extremely hard because there were about 3 colors on the map and paragraphs of tiny cursive writing! When we finish this side we do a current on the looks even more impossible then attach them with double sided tape and add 3D buildings! This is an extremely hard puzzle but despite the difficulty I was having I know that there is someone else whose puzzle is much, much harder...now for the parable(not a awesome JC parable, just one of mine) of the Great Puzzler:
   Once upon a time there was a man who created a huge puzzle called "The World." He worked carefully to decide what layers the millions of different pieces went on, where they fit in, and what the were supposed to be a part of. For a man as great as this the puzzle could  have been done quite easily was it not for the pieces themselves. They were so anxious to find their place that they would run around instead of staying where they were supposed to be. They also wanted to fit in with the other pieces and worked very hard to become the same color and shape as the pieces around them so that the great puzzler had to paint and chisel instead of just putting the pieces together. One day the great puzzle will be finished but the more the great puzzler has to re-color and re-shape and re-place, the longer that day will be in coming. 
   This parable represents God's struggle with the people of the world. God is the Great Puzzler and we are the many pieces, always trying to conform ourselves to worldly people as to fit in. Because we change, we get ourselves into situation that may hurt but will lead us back to our original design so that we truly fit in to our place. We also hinder the completion of the puzzle by running around, obsessed with finding our place, instead of letting God, the one who sees the full picture, put us there and resting in his hand until then!

Friday, May 24, 2013

The Light

   Just a quick thought about 'The Light' analogy. I was studying my astronomy vocab last night for test and the definition of 'Black Hole' really struck me. One of the characteristics is that it's gravity field is so dense that even light can't escape. 
   Besides the true weirdness of the fact that gravity attracts light, I was like um, what about Jesus. No, not like, "Oh no, Jesus isn't all powerful because black hole's will suck Him in so He can't get out!" But I was like, I bet some non-believer has or will at some point use that against God, the flaw in His example. So what I actually thought was, "Hey God, I've always loved the light example so much but could you have maybe thought of a perfect one?" 
   But right after I thought that it occurred to me that there were two extremely plausible answers to this question that both made me the dumb one (not that there was any doubt about that!:)) So, here they are:
    #1 God didn't want to give us an example of something in nature that can truly be a full explanation of Jesus because we haven't discovered what it is yet and therefore wouldn't know what He was talking about. (especially in Bible times)
    #2 Jesus is the only real deal example because He is all powerful so it would make since that nothing can be a perfect analogy for Him because there is nothing even close to His caliber. But since we are humans and need examples to understand things, He gave us one in light (which truly is a great example).
    So that's that and by now you've probably realized that this blog really is what I said it would be, a collection of some of my random thoughts and snippets of my conversations with God! :)

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Our Ocean

   Today I was listening to one of my favorite songs, Something Beautiful by Need to Breathe. (Click here for lyrics.) While listening I was trying to fit my life within the lyrics but discovered our lives and situation are all different songs(sorry for the cheesiness of the last statement!:))With that in mind I resorted to creating my life analogy based off of the said song but, obviously, not the same. I ended up having created my own ocean.
   Lately I've been struggling with wanting to know what God wants to do with my life. While I know this is silly as no amount of thought on my part is going to change His perfect plan and I'm still years away from graduating high school, I continue struggling as if the arguments listed above were nonexistent. I want to know out of curiosity and the longing to prepare myself with any special skills or just mentally. This too is silly because only God can truly prepare me. And that concludes the backstory belonging to this analogy! :)
   You grow up on a beach of golden sand and palm trees. The water is lovely, crystal clear, and fairly shallow near the beach. The water contains beautiful fish and coral and is always the perfect temperature. There is not much that can cause lasting harm unless you go a little deeper. To truly go deep you need special equipment. Now, if you are planning on going to collect data about dangerous sharks you aren't going to sit in a shark cage for a year before hand just to be prepared. If you are planning on scuba diving you aren't going to wear a wetsuit until you're about to go in. You trust that you will be provided with the correct equipment by the overseer and planner of your trip just before you go.
   In the same way, here in America we grow up on a golden beach and while we occasionally get hurt by no fault of our own and can often if we are reckless, we are very sheltered and happy. Not many people venture out into "the deep." When we choose to follow God's call we are venturing out. We have to trust that God, the overseer and planner of our trip, will provide us with all we need when the time comes.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Proverbs 24:17 (don't rejoice in other peoples suffering!)

   

   My first reaction to the picture above: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!:) And it is really funny but hits on what I feel is a serious issue for me and our society today. As people we love to see other people fail. Take the show Wipe Out for instance, every time a contest falls in the mud or whatever most of the audience laughs. Why? Because it's funny but why is it funny? I'm not sure there are any good ways to answer that question.
   Now, I'm not saying it isn't funny when a friend trips up the stairs (but is okay)or that it's wrong to laugh. It just makes me wonder why we humans think it is so funny. Personally I don't think Wipe Out or laughing WITH friends is bad at all. God created laughter and as long as we recognize the line between funny and mean, I think it God definitely wants us to laugh. Since we naturally think these things are funny, I don't think it's a bad thing. But apart from my interesting, thought provoking and somewhat pointless commentary above, this verse definitely has a more serious side. 
   I know I've definitely sinned in this way and still do though I try hard to fight against it. An example would be one time when I was secretly jealous of this one girl who was so sweet and was very respected by adults. Try as I might, I couldn't teachers and coaches and other adults to respect me in the same way. During soccer I would always want her to mess up because I wanted to be better than her. I would make excuses for myself to myself but at the end of the day it was a sin. 
   Another sports example would be when there's a really good girl on the other team and she gets hurt. There was a time I would feel happy about that because she now wouldn't be able to execute her ability towards us but thankfully God has done quite a bit of reshaping regarding that part of me.
    All this to say, don't wish bad on anybody or be happy if bad comes upon them. I guess you could have just read the verse! It sure is a good thing God didn't call me to write the Bible, if so it would be about 5 times as long but in the end say the same thing! :)
   

Monday, May 6, 2013

Jeremiah 18 (the potter and the clay)

  Today in my bible study I read through Jeremiah 18 and realized that despite who many times I've heard of the potter and the clay analogy I'd never actually read it's OT origin. So, here it goes...

The Potter and the Clay

18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.
Then the word of the Lord came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LordBehold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I willpluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken,turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says theLord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’


  Right off the bat I think this story is so cool because Jesus taught with real life examples/parables to help the people understand, and here, thousands of years earlier, God does the same thing to help Jeremiah. He could of just told him but God knew that without the visual the words wouldn't make since. In His perfect plan and timing He told Jeremiah to go to the potter's at the exact time the vessel he way making spoiled and he reworked it into another vessel. 
   Although this analogy was meant for the House of Israel it, like so much, can be applied to us today! We are the clay, God is the potter. As  God is hard at work shaping us we often spoil in His hand. Although it hurts when He decides to break us apart and do quite a bit of molding, in the end we are a new creation (vessel) that is much better than the one before. 
   Jeremiah's presence in the story also reminds us that people will be watching us through the process. Many times they can't see the potter's hands and their focus is how we (the clay) react. Whether we willing let God have control of how we turn out in the end or if we harden and fight every time he breaks the tiniest piece of us. The more we fight the less time we give Him to shape us into His likeness. 
   Anyway, I just thought it was a super cool reminder the God is never changing and an awesome teacher!  

Friday, May 3, 2013

Rejection

   I'm sure it must be terribly crushing for a guy to get rejected but it is terrible for the one rejecting as well. I've never had an interest in any guy I've ever known. This is not to say that I'm not super awkward around guy and don't sometimes long for the since of protection and intimacy so girls seem to have, of course I do. I just haven't met any guy I feel like I want that from. My iron sister (Proverbs 27:17) tells me this is a extreme blessing and I totally agree, except on the subject of rejection.
   Just because I don't like guys doesn't mean some don't like me. I wish this wasn't the case but since it occasionally is I am in a situation where I need to say no. I know enough to know it stinks to get rejected but it stinks to reject to. Knowing you have just hurt someone in a way they can't just put a bandaid on isn't fun. Because of me not having liked someone in a romantic way I don't know how I would want to be rejected(and yes I am aware no one wants to be rejected but it seems like some ways would be more appropriate than others.) 
   I just read 2 post about things single Christian guys don't want to hear from girls. Combined, there were 10 one-liners that I had previously thought were fine but apparently not so. And the why made perfect sense. So how do you say no? 
   I've concluded it is probably best just to tell the truth. Obviously it's not like you should say, "No, I don't like you." I'm thinking something more around the lines of, "I'm sorry but I'm just not interested in dating right now." Sometimes it seems to me like the perfect conclusion to that sentence would be 'Maybe later on' but then you are giving the poor guy false hope and what happens when 'later on' comes? My real problem will come when I do start liking guys as more than friends. Then it becomes even more personal. 
   Final Conclusion to my rambling is that you should tell the truth in as non-derogatory a way as possible without leading on.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Inhumane

   In LA we're studying the Holocaust and Night(a personal account by Elie Wiesel). It hurts my heart to hear about the death and torture displayed during this time period and the sad part is that it's still going on. The LRA in northern Uganda, camps for political opponents in North Korea, and persecution in places like Indonesia are just horrific. It hurts me that I can wonder how people sat by and watched the holocaust while I sit by and watch equally horrific things in our world right now. The holocaust was inhumane. These horrific things are inhumane. What is inhumane?
   I feel like we hear the word applied to awful things to much to not really take a look at the word itself. 


in·hu·mane

  [in-hyoo-meyn or, often, -yoo-]
adjective
not humane; lacking humanity, kindness, compassion, etc.

The Definition above is from dictionary.com but other sources describe it in a similar way, they all equate human to kind or compassion. I honestly don't think humans are kind. We were created loving and kind, in God's very image, but we have fabricated a society that kills God's image in us asap unless we work to keep it. Humans are the ones who cause war, genocide, persecution, ect. Humans could stop starvation, death from curable disease, poverty, ect. But do we? NO! We started good but are now motivated by selfishness and greed. I don't think inhumane, or humane for that matter, are really correct words. I think maybe humane should be replaced by Godly and inhumane by ungodly. 
   My apologies if my thoughts are a little muddled but they are just a sneak peek of what goes on inside my brain! :) Please join me in praying that one day inhumane will actually mean things humans don't do because humans are kind and compassionate! Praying that we will allow God to restore us back into His image.