Christmas Time

Can you believe that on Thursday it will be Christmas? I feel like this whole year has flown by! There are so many things to prepare for, baking, shopping, wrapping, and of course just spending time with my family and loved ones. If you are like me and grew up in a church, you are familiar with the Christmas story. How Mary went with Joseph to Bethlehem, and gave birth to Jesus, our savior, in a barn. Obviously, we should keep this story in mind when going about our holiday activities, but that is really hard to do a lot, at least for me. We get caught up in making sure that all of the people are marked off our lists and cards are sent before the day arrives. Something that I find easier, though, is just spending time with my family. Eventually everybody is going to grow up and move out and these occasions might be the only times that you get to see all of your family together. You may not be in the mood to bake your mom’s famous chocolate chip pie, or play yet another game of cards with your family, but you should do it. You never know when life happens and you aren’t able to make it to a family gathering. I guess my message today is short and sweet, don’t just make Christmas about presents, but make it about Jesus and family as well. Merry Christmas!

- "Mary did you know, that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?"~ Mary Did You Know by Mark Lowry 

                      ~Ana~

Respecting ourselves and setting examples

As a teen, I realize that I do not have the experiences that the adults around me do. However, I am still affected by what goes on around me, and especially the things that revolve around the younger part of my generation. It makes me upset to see how many pre-teens think it is cool to post pictures that show way too much skin. These postings even bother me when someone my age is the owner. I think it is in no way attractive when I see pictures of guys wearing their pants too low and smoking a cigar, or doing drugs. In fact, I find it horribly disgusting! I also don’t like how girls now think it is only attractive if they show off all their cleavage, or if they go so many times to the tanning bed that they turn out orange. I’m not as upset about the pictures themselves, rather the message they send. So many pre-teens look up to teenagers, and by posting these pictures, we aren’t really setting a good example for them. While media from celebrities has an impact on what society defines as beauty, we somewhat have the same effect on the younger part of our generation. I remember when I was in 6^th grade and walked into the middle school for the first time. The eighth graders seemed so cool, and the seniors in high school were like celebrities. I can’t be the only one that looked up to them, and hoped to be like them someday. Doesn’t that mean, then, that others do the same? That when those 6^th graders see posts from 10^th, 11^th, 12^th graders on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, they put it in an ever-expanding file in their mind? That when these tweens find themselves posting on the social websites, they might recall those files, and use them as examples? That’s why I think it is so important to remember who is going to see those tweets and pictures. Likewise, God says in 1^st Timothy 2:9 “I want women to show their beauty by dressing in appropriate clothes that are modest and respectable. Their beauty will be shown by what they do, not be their hair styles of the gold jewelry, pearls, or expensive clothes they wear.” I realize that most of us want to look nice; we want to wear the jewelry and makeup. However, we can do that without exposing all of our skin. Aren’t we supposed to respect our body? Isn't our body a temple of God? I can’t imagine that God finds all these pictures ‘cute’ like the girls that post them do. I respect my body, and I know that by being modest and not worrying so much about how short my shorts are, it will be easier for me to keep my eyes on God. 

                             -"Stand tall but above it all, fix my eyes on you" Fix my eyes by For King and Country 

                                         ~Anna~

Love

 Love seems to be something everybody searches for. We all want love from a significant other, most of us want to settle down someday and spend our lives with said significant other. There is only one love we need though and that is God’s. With his love, we are capable of doing anything. In order to emphasis this point, there are countless numbers of verses in the Bible that reference God’s love. I think the most popular one is John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” There have been infinite amount of discussions about this verse, but I think it is one that we should have more discussion about. GOD SACRIFICED HIS SON for us! We are all sinners, but God saw some sort of hope in us and loves us so much that he gave his own son to save us! Not only that, but he gave us the promise of eternal life. All we have to do is believe in him. His own son died so that we can get eternal life just by believing in him. This is further emphasized by the verse Romans 5:8 “Christ died for us while we were still sinners. This demonstrates God’s love for us.” I want love like any other person, but I know that God has a plan for me and I trust that he knows what is best for me. The Bible goes even further and in 1 John 4:8 it says “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”  

In order to make this subject something I can better relate to, I want to discuss God’s part in a relationship. I think that in a relationship, God should definitely be present. Talking about God should not be a taboo subject for a couple. By including God in a relationship, I feel like an unspoken agreement is made based on what God would want. That is why I believe that sex should be saved until after marriage. Adultery is something God spoke out against, and in my eyes that includes saving sex until after marriage. Once I am united with my husband before the eyes of God, will I let myself shed my virgin status. Something that I have stood by and said many times is that I want to be able to proudly wear white on my wedding day. I feel like that a relationship should grow spiritually before it becomes physical. If a relationship is all about physical wants, then it more than likely won’t survive rough waters. Since I don’t believe that divorce is something that should be taken lightly, I want to make sure that my husband and I are on the same page and strong enough spiritually before introducing more intimate parts.

                        

                           -"And when the oceans rage, I don't have to be afraid, because I know that You love me. Your love never fails" Your Love Never Fails by Jesus Culture. 

                                    ~Anna~