There Goes The Fear Again

Do you ever struggle to be fearless? I think we all do. We're all human. We have circumstances that seem insurmountable and situations that seem hopeless. We get discouraged and exhausted. Imagine being fearless! Never worrying, never being afraid to try something outside of your comfort zone, and never being surrounded by a constant cloud of fear. It would be wonderful, right? Well, I have good news. You can overcome fear and keep it from dictating your life!

In Zephaniah 3:12-13 (we're going Old Testament with this one!), God spoke to Zephaniah (one of the OT prophets) about the "day of hope," the day when Jerusalem would be occupied by God's people once again, a people pure and dedicated to serving God. What kind of people would God use, exactly? Verse 12 states that they were both "meek" and "humble," and that they "[trusted] in the name of the Lord." We're going to break down that sentence before going on. I looked up the definitions of "meek" and "humble;" the word "meek" means "gentle and enduring," while "humble" is defined as "not proud, not...showy." These words are mentioned first to establish the type of person God was going to use in His country. The next line really caught my attention though! The end of verse 12 says that these people "trust in the name of the Lord." In order to put all of your trust in God, you would have to know who He was. Think about it. Would you just hand off your child to someone you don't know? (If you don't have a child, substitute something pretty important to you.) Obviously, these people knew God and were confident in Him, so much so that they could trust him no matter what.

And now comes the most amazing part. Verse 13 says that these people used by God will "...eat and lie down, and no one will make them afraid." Right? That's pretty incredible. Because these people trust God and know Him so well, they know that nothing could be greater than Him, ever, and they will not be afraid unless they choose to be. As long as they are looking at God and have complete confidence in Him, fear has no place in their lives.

Fear is something that we all experience, but if we let it run our lives, we can't be the people we were meant to be. Besides, God has not given us a spirit of fear. This part of scripture was challenging and encouraging to me, and I hope it is to you as well.

And if you get the song reference in the title, I want to be your best friend.

How to Make Friends

 How do you make friends? Well, it's easy and hard at the same time. But I'm going to let this quote do the talking:

That is a true statement. If you just really want some more friends, just ask them questions about themselves. Easier said than done, of course. But you can learn a lot from listening to someone else. You may hear a new perspective or a new fact you never knew.

Sorry if that disappointed you. I know I read a "how to" article and come away unsatisfied with the answer they gave. Ask your mom for advice. That's the best I've got.

If I eat a banana too fast, it makes me sick. Fun fact.

Well, my training is over and NSO (New Student Orientation) starts tomorrow! It's just so exciting. I almost put that in caps. There's going to be a lot of new students coming and it's neat to see how they'll acclimate to college. Let me tell you, it's a hard thing.

I met another person from Colorado during training. Let me tell you, it's a wonderful, wonderful thing to meet someone from your home state, especially when they live in your relative area and your state is far away.

Have a wonderful week, everyone! I'm working on a post about the name of God, so that'll be up soon!

What's an Off Day?

This is an important time of year, everyone. Know why? The Olympics just happened. I don't know about you, but I love the Olympics. Most of the time sports don't really hold my interest, but there's just something about all the different countries gathering together and competing, bringing their best athletes, that gives me a lot of enthusiasm. And there's been a great deal to be enthused about. How about the way Team USA competed? Our team is amazing. And many athletes have been mentioning God and giving Him glory and recognition for their triumph (which is so awesome!) Plus, I almost cried at least three times (because every time I see someone crying, it makes me want to cry.) I'm just extremely proud of Team USA. 

Most of all, I'm proud and impressed by their dedication. There's a reason they are competing at such a high level. They've spent years of their life training and sacrificing to improve themselves. Their goal is not guaranteed. Once they reach the Olympics, they may not even medal. But still they push on, completely focused. They reach top physical condition. And it leads me to a serious question. Am I that dedicated? That focused on my goals? And the answer is....No. It doesn't make me happy that I realize that about myself. But it's been brought to my attention. So I'm going to fix it. Imagine what people could do if they showed the focus and dedication in their lives that Olympians had. Imagine what Christians could do if they followed God with that dedication and focus...if they loved people with that clear-minded goal of showing everyone unconditional love. 

For me, personally, if I want to improve, I need to work as hard as any athlete to accomplish my goals. To pursue God's plan. Olympians don't take a day off. They may do training that they don't like, or work out on an off day. But it pays off for them. I think the same can apply to my life. Perhaps yours. 

One Week. And I Am Not Crafty.

The first finished product

Work in progress

This is why I hate crafts

Hey, everybody. I decided to try something I haven't attempted since I was forced to in Sunday School: crafts. I know some people who are fantastic at crafts, and I admire them for it. But I can't find that passion for glue sticks and fuzzy pom-poms in my little heart. But. I did see this really cool project on Pinterest and worked up the courage and funds to finally attempt something crafty. So far, so good, except for the blister on my finger from the hot glue gun (and I made fun of Elena on Project Runway for whining about how much glue guns hurt). And you might notice that the letters on the first picture are uneven and not proportionate. But that's okay. Because I'm not perfect.

Try something new. You may enjoy it. Even if it doesn't turn out the way you expect.

One week until departure from Colorado. Second year of college. Two jobs. As a certain fellow would say, "LET'S GO."

Oh My

Isn't that cat funny?
God is amazing. Last night He reminded me of some things and touched me like I've never been touched. Have you ever seen anything so beautiful it made you cry? Well, God is so beautiful and so indescribable it made me cry. I think it was a little taste of heaven.

Have you watched the Olympics at all? I know, right, I'm so creative, talking about a world-wide televised event that everyone and their mother watches. But hey, I'm not the slightest bit athletic and I LOVE the Olympics. Have a favorite part or event? Mine are 1. Ryan Lochte beating Michael Phelps and 2. Gabby Douglas winning gold in the all around gymnastics.

And I was a bit nervous about going back to school (I'm leaving next week), but not any more! I'm excited! I'm going to audition for the worship team, so keep me accountable! Otherwise I might chicken out.  I'm ready to see what's next in my life, even though I'll have to suffer through a 40 degree winter in Texas. (Oh, how I wish I could be in Colorado for all the snow! NOT.)

I think I'm going to make it a goal to be single when I graduate from my college...I might be the only girl to ever accomplish it. Guiness World Record, anyone?

Sometimes I just ask Jesus why He's so cool. I'm a bit jealous.

Maybe I can be kind of cool. Just not as cool as Jesus.