Say Cheese!

For those of us who have been or are seniors, we all know the stressful-ness of getting everything done that ought to have been done months ago. I am just beginning to experience this type of procrastination. Yep, that's right, senior pictures! I just got them taken, like today, just. And I would like to say one thing - there is wayyy too much pressure put on the "perfect" senior photos.

All week I have totally been freaking out about my appearance. Every little detail that I found a nuisance has been blown out of proportion into a full fledged "ugly". Starting with my hair. Everyone has good and bad hair days, and I am learning to enjoy my natural hair style. There's only one problem. Once it dries, that's the way it's going to look for the day, good or bad. And with all this nice weather we're having, my hair has been drying pretty flat. Which has been stressing me out all week long! I wake up, look in the mirror, and complain, complain, complain about my hair. I probably asked my mother a thousand times what I should do if it turns out bad.

That's just one of the many things I've been fat talking myself about this week. My teeth are crooked. My eyes are too close together. I'm too pale, for heaven sakes it's summer! And goodness, gracious, I have no idea how to pose for a picture. No modeling in my future. That's a joke. I'm too short, and not skinny enough, and it goes on and on and on.

But then this morning came, and I woke up two hours early. Went through all the steps to ready myself in the morning. Voila! Fret about outfits some more. Look at myself in the mirror twelve hundred times. Check to make sure my makeup wasn't smudged. All the worrying comes down to a couple hours of harmless photography.

To wrap this all up, the right photographer can make you forget all your worries. Once we started snapping pictures, I was no longer thinking about if they were going to turn out alright. Besides, these pictures aren't for the "today". They're to remember the yesterday ten/twenty years from now. And I hope that when I look back I won't think, "Man, look how crazy my hair was!" but I'll be remembering how happy and special my teenage years were.

So if you're in the midst of a modeling session just remember: You are so beautiful! No hairstyle, number on the scale, makeup smudge, or pant size can change that.

Good Ol' Iowa State Fair

Let me begin by saying this: I am in no way, nor will I ever be a country girl. The Fair is a new world to my city-bred eyes. I had no idea cows were so big! And I made sure to cover my nose and mouth when we passed the pigs - you know, swine flu outbreaks and all. But really, I had a great time at the Fair. Apparently I've been there before? I can't remember anything but a giant pig that I was sure would swallow me whole had he the chance.

When you go to the Iowa State Fair, three fourths the experience is in the food. For real. Throwing caution to the wind, I leapt upon the chance to try greasy, deep fried dishes that are sure to stop your heart. If you ever get the chance to try fried macaroni and cheese go for it! No hesitation. Best decision I have ever made. Seriously good. That, and a German Chocolate funnel cake consisted of my dinner. I don't normally like funnel cakes, but my friend and I inhaled the entire thing in five minutes flat. Because if you're going to put cake in a funnel you might as well make it German Chocolate.

Now let me get to the real reason why, of all people, I ended up at the Fair. Concert. Yep. My first official, tickets-with-seating-on-them concert. And yes, it was Toby Mac. For those of you who live in a hole, Toby Mac is a Christian rapper artist who is totally awesome.

The other two bands that played were Jamie Grace, who is a fairly new artist, and Tenth Avenue North. You may know Jamie Grace's song Hold Me: 

She's pretty awesome too. When she was up on stage she was talking about getting some bad feedback for having love songs on her CD. Her response? Why shouldn't a twenty one year old, Christian girl write love songs? Why do they have to be about anyone other than God, who will always remain her first love? So awesome!

And then Tenth Avenue North took the stage and I went berserk. I love them so much! Their stories that they told while on stage stuck out to me the most. The lead singer talked about how you can't define yourself by your accomplishments. They weren't their songs or their talents, but God's People. Jesus' Children who He died for. Secular performers worship themselves while on stage. These guys - they were totally and completely giving their all for God. 

Sitting in the middle of the fairgrounds I was able to find God. In the midst of all the chaos of the world, I was able to worship God. It was so amazing. The whole time I was sitting there so thankful to have the opportunity to believe in the God who created me. We have the freedom to worship, and that is truly awesome. 

Beautiful Things

When I was around six years old, I asked my mother about sin. I wanted to make sure I was going to make it to heaven. Not to meantion, I was feeling a little guilty that day for making my sister cry. I had asked God over and over again, "Please forgive my sin" afraid that he couldn't hear me or that I was being insincere. When my mother told me that we had to ask God to forgive our specific sin I quickly got to work, sitting on the back porch stairs, naming off every misdemeanour I could remember, always worried that I had forgotten something.

We all worry about sin. For those of you who don't believe in God, why do you feel guilty when you do something wrong? A lot of the time when I invite a friend to church the immediate response is that God will strike them with lightening for stepping into His House because they know they aren't right with God. You were created with a desire to know Christ. Whether you want to or not, you feel guilty for your sins. That's called the Holy Spirit, people. Like our God-given conscious. It's a thing.

You can't get right with God until you believe He can forgive you of your sins. Until you mean all the "I'm sorry's" and the "I won't do it again's," He's waiting to forgive you. He's waiting for you to love Him. Because trust me, He already loves you.

John 10:10 says, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

Jesus died to give you life. Eternal life. "For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God" (Romans 3:23) but God sent His Son, Jesus, to die on a cross, one of the most gruesome and humble deaths; He took your sins, before you were created, and took them upon Himself, so that you may be forgiven.

If you ask.

Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

The other day I was sitting in service listening to a missionary speak. He lives in Haiti with his family. He talked about how Haitians are pained at being known as one of the poorest countries in the world. Mass graves, now overgrown with wild grass, hold the bodies of the victims of the earthquake. Entire villages are living out of tents around the rubble. Yet, out of all the destruction and hurt, brokenness creates healing and beauty.

Brokenness creates healing and beauty. I love that.

Jesus wants you to come to Him just as you are. Brokenness and all. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Accept.
Believe.
Confess.

Revelations 3:20 says, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in."

You have to make the choice. Jesus is waiting. And He loves you.

Disconnect.

First order of business, happy August everyone!

Second, I am happy to assure you that I did not fall off the face of the earth. As silly as it may seem, I've been kind of off in my own little world. I have been entirely unmotivated to do anything, and in doing so have wasted some of the precious weeks left of summer. No more! This is me, motivation and all, writing to you about my life. Aren't you lucky?

You may remember my babbling last year about my infamous Camp Table Rock? Back to the archives we go. Let me remind you: Fun in the Son: Year Four, Back to Missouri, Knowing Your Faith, Proving the Truth, Seeing the Face of God, Go Light The World. Because camp has a certain repetitive aspect to it, I won't bore you with the exciting details of my adventure this year. But I will say this, my fifth year as a camper at Fun in the Son has been just as great as the last four. The seminars this year were over Evangelism. This is the second year I have heard this seminar, but I learned as much this year as I did the previous.

At the beginning of the week we filled out a witnessing questionnaire. The gist of it is this: we were all created with a desire to know about Christ, God will not be disappointed if we give our all in presenting the Gospel, we are successful witnesses even when the other person does not accept Christ, people do care what God has done in your life, and it is our responsibility to share God with those around us and make sure that those lead to Christ are discipled in their walk with God.

One of the verses that really stuck out to me this year is Acts 26:17-18, which says, "I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me." Last year I really got into the evangelism kick, especially when it came to my classmates; however, now that I look back I'm not sure I was doing it for the right reasons. It is our responsibility as Christians to share God's Word with those around us, despite the consequences. James 1:22 says, "Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." The Bible says to share God's love and message with is people. James 4:17, "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." You know what you have to do. Go change the world for Christ.