What are YOU thinking about? July 20, 2008

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
                                                           Philippians 4:8-9
Whatever is true…
What is it that we find to be true?

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
                                                                       John 8:31-32
Well, what ever it is, it is going to set us free. Let’s get a definition of “truth” going here.

Truth-

• 1. objectively 

1. what is true in any matter under consideration
   1. truly, in truth, according to truth
   2. of a truth, in reality, in fact, certainly
2. what is true in things appertaining to God and the duties of man, moral and religious truth
   1. in the greatest latitude
   2. the true notions of God which are open to human reason without his supernatural intervention
3. the truth as taught in the Christian religion, respecting God and the execution of his purposes through Christ, and respecting the duties of man, opposing alike to the superstitions of the Gentiles and the inventions of the Jews, and the corrupt opinions and precepts of false teachers even among Christians

1. subjectively
   1. truth as a personal excellence
      1. that candour of mind which is free from affection, pretence, simulation, falsehood, deceit

(KJV New Testiment Greek Lexicon)

So this may give you somewhat of an idea of what truth means. And this is what will set us free!
But to be exact…

“So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed”
                                                                                                                                                        John 8:36
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
                                                                                                                                                        John 14:6
Jesus is the truth that sets us free!!

What is it we are being set free from? I’m glad you asked!

“It was for freedom that Chrst set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.“
                                                                                                                                                   Galatians 5:1
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
                                                                                                                                             Romans 8:11-13

The truth will set us free. What a concept to dwell on. With such thoughts roaming through your head, there is no time to think on ungodly things. And this is just the beginning! Stay tuned for more on the rest of Philippians 4:8!

 

Tonight’s Entertainment July 17, 2008

Tonight I am going with my best friend, Katy, to see her friend perform in High School Musical.

It is at Florence High School. We are going to grab some dinner at the local Italian restaurant, Ricatoni’s, where we will meet one of my buddies. I am pretty excited. It is like a mini roadtrip!

Stream of Consciousness July 13, 2008

I like photography. I think it is a beautiful artform and so much can be done with it. There is nothing like looking back on old photographs and remembering past events, friends, achievements, vacations, etc. I am going to by a new camera with some of the money I have saved up from working this past year and I am going to take up photography as a new hobby in college. So now maybe my blogs with be more interesting. (Actually, it is just a pain in the neck to put pictures on this silly blog…so I will have to figure that out a better way to do that, first…any advice?)

Rainy days are fun. As long as you don’t have to do anything. It is very calming and relaxing, great for reading, writing, and sleeping. The earth just looks alive afterward especially when the sun comes out and all of the colors are so vibrant. I am glad God is creative.

“Our God is an Awesome God” is a great song. A lot of church music talks about us. Not that it isn’t fitting that we are thankful that we are saved and such, but this song is different. It is just singing about who He is and why it is that we are deeming Him awesome. To God be the glory. That is another song, isn’t it.

We have lost the true meanings of many words and use them incorrectly too much. Take “awesome,” for example. Awesome-  inspiring awe. Awe-an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like. So, what are we calling awesome? Does it really deserve that word? There are many other words like this. What other words can you think of?

My family is fun. We are a very loving, affectionate, and silly; we are intelligent, kind, and lighthearted. We always joke around on eachother and we know its all in good fun. Mom and I always sing in the car together, have been known to have impromtu “radio shows,” and have very good heart to heart talks. It is always exciting going on Krystals and Freds “dates” with Dad. Nicholas and I are always cracking up with each other when he is home and yes, I go on dates with him too. Good memories.

As I am growing older I am becoming more and more comfortable with myself. Now, this in no way means there is not room for improvement, because, believe you me, there is. I mean this in the way of I have really had self esteem problems and it has really worked against me. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Inside and out. Yes, there is maintenance, but that is no reason for it to get in the way of who I am to be. I used to not wear shorts very much because I hated my legs. Now…either I have better legs, or I just don’t care and wear shorts anyway. Silly example, I know, but I am who I am. There is no reason to let petty little things weigh so heavily.

Ok, I am going to wrap this up. It seems I am doing a lot of wrapping up lately. Wrapping up the first chapter of my life. Wrapping up old friendships and entering into the “Oh we’ll totally hang out over Christmas break” phase. Wrapping up dependence and on to the semi-independence.

So it Begins… July 12, 2008

It’s less than a month! Move in day is August 9^th and I am stressed out about it. Yes, I was an Army brat…I should be used to this…but I haven’t moved in 9 years! Maybe that is why it is stressful; nine years worth of stuff has accumilated in my room! It really is not too bad. I just need to go through my clothes.    

So…my new home…at the University of Mobile…     

                                                         

North Hall is the newest dorm on campus and the rooms have their own bathrooms (yay for not having communal bathrooms) and I will have one roommate. They have not told us who our roommates are yet. It would be nice to know so we can coordinate on some things for the room! Oh well. The reason it is taking a little while is because there are so many new students…so I guess that is a good thing!

We have been doing a lot of shopping lately for bedding, school supplies, toiletries, a few new clothes, ya know…the necessities…haha. It has been pretty exciting!

This is my actual bedding I got…not just a random picture.

Before the moving in extravanganza begins on the 9^th, our family is going to head down to the beach on the 2^nd.

Again, this is the actual house, not a random picture.

That means I am moving from Madison on August 2^nd. I am looking forward to this time of relaxation on the beach with no stresses about getting ready to move…because everything that can be done will be done before we leave. No worries about packing and sorting and making lists. It will be very good to spend time with family. (August 3^rd is Pawpaw’s 80^th birthday. They live in Pensacola, so they are going to come to our beach house for the day and we are going to celebrate his life J. He is pretty much the best Pawpaw ever.) There will be a lot of down time so I believe it will be a perfect time to intensively prepare myself for what lies ahead. I have a 17 hour courseload this semester!

Not of This World… July 10, 2008

It seems quite simple…
    Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
                                                                                          Matthew 22:37
But how seriously do we take this? This chapter in Matthew goes on to say that this is the greatest commandment and that the second is to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” No, we are not bound by law anymore. Yet, the law is fulfilled by love. In loving God with all our heart, mind, and and soul, everything about me is to be showing my love to God. My motives, passions, actions, and words should all be a reflection.

We can show love through… 

   I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,    holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 
                                                                                         Romans 12:1-2

“Discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
I have been trying to get a CD together for my grandparents (and whoever else wants it…but the grandparents keep asking for one) of me singing. I haven’t had much time (and the creative juices just haven’t been flowing) to write my own songs, so I have been trying to find a few songs to cover. So I thought of a few songs and started listening to them and practicing them. One of the songs I was considering has been played numerous times and I cannot tell you how many times I have heard it. The last time I listened to it, I actually listened to the words and looked them up on the internet (her enunciation isn’t too terribly wonderful and I think when I was singing along I was singing something completely different than what she was actually saying…haha). I was in tears when I saw what the song was actually about. They weren’t “oh this song is touching” kind of tears either. The song is about something that I feel very strongly against and I am so glad that I paid attention to what the song was about instead of blindly recording it as I was about to do.

As an artist who is a Christian, I really have to watch out for such occurances as this. I was about to say I would need to watch out for my reputation, but thats not really the point. I cannot control what people think of me. The only thing I can control is my motives and heart. If I had recorded that song without looking into it that would be a severe lapse of judgement, especially with what the song is about. It would show that I am okay with the message it speaks. I liked the song for the music and it worked really well with my voice, but why would I sacrifice my morals to show off talent? That is taking the gift God gave me in vain. I am to give my body as a living sacrifice to Him. That includes my voice and my mind which makes the decision of what to sing.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind”
I not only like to sing, but I love to act. I have been in…4 kids musicals at church, 4 school musicals, one dinner theater, and numerous skits. (I am not trying to brag; I am just trying to show how much I love acting) In all reality, I could have gone very far with the drama department at school. When I began high school I had to make the decision of whether I wanted to go with drama or choir. After weighing the pros and cons of each, I obviously went with choir. The main reason I decided to not go with drama is because of the things that go on behind the scenes. I got a taste of this when I was in the musicals. Of course, one does not have to take part in whatever is going on, but isn’t it better to just flee? Yes, it could have been a witnessing opportunity, but so was choir, which, in the end, was more beneficial. Also, the plays, skits, and one acts they did were always questionable. Church always provides a good, clean environment for acting anyway.

All of that to say this. Remember who gave you your talent and do not take it for granted or in vain.