Recently, certain things have come to my attention. Like, how much people really do take for granted, or , just simple things that come about in life. Also, it is hard for people to realize how much we have. Until recently, I was one of these people, always looking at the negative, and never really trying to be positive. And if I did try, it was forced.
It wasn’t until Lent came around this year that I started really thinking about these things. As a kid, I was always told I had to give something up at Lent. My dad, who didn’t really go to church, always gave up brussel sprouts because we never ate them anyways. This lead me to believe that you really didn’t have to give something up or that it wasn’t that important. Now, I’m not blaming my dad for my thoughts now, that is just the way he is, and I love him either way.
Really thinking about the word sacrifice takes some time. Yeah, I might sacrifice a night out with friends to hang with my family, or sacrifice my phone for a fews hours during school. But really, sacrifice is so much bigger than that. I don’t want to just preach to the choir when I say Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice but ,He did.
It is so hard to wrap my head around, and many others to that Jesus did actually die for us, for our sins, so we could have a better life. I feel like such an awful person when I really put that into perspective. Some days, I want to cry because i’m so stressed or because i’m so tired but when I take a step back to really look at things my life is beyond great. So are many others.
A guy who I have become close with in the past semester recently got back from a trip to Cambodia. Before the trip, I saw him as outspoken, outgoing, media savvy, and just an all around guy who had many friends. Not to say that none of this changed, but upon his return I noticed a sort of humbling about him In class he quoted that the people of Cambodia are so happy with so little and this is something I struggle with everyday, and I know I’m not alone.
If everyone really took that same step back and thought about how much is given to them, not just by others but by God. The sacrifice that He gave for us is so big, and we can’t even sacrifice a few hours for prayer, instead we watch TV or give the all around excuse that we are “getting around to it.” When in reality, we just aren’t making time for what is really important. I find myself struggling with this daily.
I want to change the world. Change the way people feel about the world, how they feel about themselves, and how they feel about God, but I can’t do that alone. In fact, I rarely feel I can do it at all. Sacrifice is just what I want people to think about. When I talk to people about this, most of them don’t even realize they are taking such things for granted.
By realizing how much I have, and how little time we have on this earth I have taken a new approach. I appreciate my family so much more, my friends, my teachers, my pets, my life in general and what and who has made me who I am today. Most importantly I appreciate how I got here and what is going to keep me going. I know God may no answer every prayer, but He answers the right ones. All it takes is a little sacrifice and knowing that little things do matter. What matters to you?
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Perspective
It’s something we all do. Everyday. Take thing in life for granted. I’m not talking like, “oh I wish i’d gone here” or “ I wish i had done this.” For me, this is about the bigger picture. The people I care about most. My family, my friends, and most importantly, God.
I was reading this book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan yesterday and a quote popped out at me. On average, people spend 10 minutes a day with God , but Americans can watch four hours of TV a day. And here I was talking to my sister, my 13 year old sister and we both were just taken aback because you never really stop to look at it that way. So, at church that night, I felt like the worst person. That’s just the beginning. I love God, as do many people, and I know he will always be there. I guess what I take granted most, or what it seems, is the people I love around me.
My friend recently lost her mother. Her MOTHER. This is the person a girl is supposed to be the closest with, tell all her secrets to, and be a best friend. For me, hearing that was unimaginable. My mother has always been around and I have never been put in that position. When that happened, I realized how short life can be. I not only called my mom that day, but my dad, my sister, my grandparents and others who I love. Everyday, people take life for granted, when it can be gone in a second. It’s hard too, not to get caught up with everything else going on. School, work, sports, girlfriends/boyfriends/ and social life. At then end of the day though, you have to realize who is always there for you.
My friends are a different story. Well some of them. I once read that you have 3 types of friends : Your lifetime friends, your reason friends, and your season friends. My lifetime friends, whom I love, will always be there, and I know this. I’ve learned that I can fall back on them whenever I need and I love each and everyone of them for that. The next two are the people I tend to take for granted.
I recently transferred from a school in NJ. Not until I left did I realize how much I missed it and everything about the people there. It’s one of those things where I miss it so much, it hurts to think about. Maybe I don’t talk to those people everyday anymore, or see them and that is the hard part. I know though, that God put those people in my life for a reason. To get me through some of the hardest times up there that I had. He also put some of them into my life for a season, to make everything better.
The even harder part about leaving some of them, is the fact that I haven’t really found anyone like them at my new school. I love my new school : the teachers, the classes, and my sport, but friendship is missing. This has led me to go on and find out new things about myself , which is why I am pursuing this blog, and pursuing my faith and growing as a person while I am at it.
When I take a look back to a year ago, and realize the change in my life, it almost makes me sad, until I realize how LUCKY I am to have been blessed with so many people in my life. I do not want to take any moment for granted, even the bad ones, because that would mean I disagree with God’s plan for me. So when I look to the future, I am to love more, appreciate more, open myself to anything, because I don’t know when my last day here could be, no one does.
I was reading this book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan yesterday and a quote popped out at me. On average, people spend 10 minutes a day with God , but Americans can watch four hours of TV a day. And here I was talking to my sister, my 13 year old sister and we both were just taken aback because you never really stop to look at it that way. So, at church that night, I felt like the worst person. That’s just the beginning. I love God, as do many people, and I know he will always be there. I guess what I take granted most, or what it seems, is the people I love around me.
My friend recently lost her mother. Her MOTHER. This is the person a girl is supposed to be the closest with, tell all her secrets to, and be a best friend. For me, hearing that was unimaginable. My mother has always been around and I have never been put in that position. When that happened, I realized how short life can be. I not only called my mom that day, but my dad, my sister, my grandparents and others who I love. Everyday, people take life for granted, when it can be gone in a second. It’s hard too, not to get caught up with everything else going on. School, work, sports, girlfriends/boyfriends/ and social life. At then end of the day though, you have to realize who is always there for you.
My friends are a different story. Well some of them. I once read that you have 3 types of friends : Your lifetime friends, your reason friends, and your season friends. My lifetime friends, whom I love, will always be there, and I know this. I’ve learned that I can fall back on them whenever I need and I love each and everyone of them for that. The next two are the people I tend to take for granted.
I recently transferred from a school in NJ. Not until I left did I realize how much I missed it and everything about the people there. It’s one of those things where I miss it so much, it hurts to think about. Maybe I don’t talk to those people everyday anymore, or see them and that is the hard part. I know though, that God put those people in my life for a reason. To get me through some of the hardest times up there that I had. He also put some of them into my life for a season, to make everything better.
The even harder part about leaving some of them, is the fact that I haven’t really found anyone like them at my new school. I love my new school : the teachers, the classes, and my sport, but friendship is missing. This has led me to go on and find out new things about myself , which is why I am pursuing this blog, and pursuing my faith and growing as a person while I am at it.
When I take a look back to a year ago, and realize the change in my life, it almost makes me sad, until I realize how LUCKY I am to have been blessed with so many people in my life. I do not want to take any moment for granted, even the bad ones, because that would mean I disagree with God’s plan for me. So when I look to the future, I am to love more, appreciate more, open myself to anything, because I don’t know when my last day here could be, no one does.
Monday, March 14, 2011
The Past
Just like any other normal person, I can’t help but look back on my past. Past relationships, past friends, past experiences. It all adds up on my mind and I realize that maybe we live too much in the past. Does our past really define us? I’ve never really been a firm believer in everything happens for a reason, until this year. My faith has grown tremendously in the last few months and I realize now that maybe He does have a plan for all of us. It might not be our plan, but it’s one that works.
I used to be one of them...the people that live in the past. I still look back on my past and wish I could change things, but that’s all it is, wishing. Making a wish is like waiting for rain to fall in a drought, you never know if it’s going to come true. The past, defines each and every one of us. Our past, our decisions , our mistakes defines who we are, and without it we would all be the same.
Recently, i’ve started to realize that living in the past will get you no where. If one always has the mindset of “ I wish i’d done this” or “ if this happened..” then we wouldn’t really get anywhere. I never really looked toward my future much , besides the fact of what I’d eat for dinner that night or plans for the weekend. In recent months though, I’ve started to take what comes at me and plan for the future. God didn’t plan for us to always look back, He wants us to look forward. He has a plan.
It’s hard, extremely hard, to not hold on to what you love. We all know the feeling of when you lose something, and your heart literally hurts. It’s hard, to not hold on to memories, of good times, of bad times and everything else in between.
My past, your past, all defines who we are. People, however, don’t see that part of you until they get to know you. It’s so intriguing to me, when you are talking to someone, and you can tell their past is unfolding before you. When people let down those walls, and let someone in to see who they are. It’s like a movie playing in your head. Everyone has a different story to tell and the ending is left open.
The ending is the most important. How YOU write your ending. How YOU change your future. Whenever you hear the saying “the opportunities are endless” don’t ever let yourself settle. I can tell you one thing from experience, settling with the way things are will get you no where. You have to dream big. Even if no one listens to your dreams, or they sound absurd, you won’t get very far if you don’t dream big. So here I am, laying here, with seven thousand different thoughts in my head about my past, but more importantly , my future. Where will He take me next?
I used to be one of them...the people that live in the past. I still look back on my past and wish I could change things, but that’s all it is, wishing. Making a wish is like waiting for rain to fall in a drought, you never know if it’s going to come true. The past, defines each and every one of us. Our past, our decisions , our mistakes defines who we are, and without it we would all be the same.
Recently, i’ve started to realize that living in the past will get you no where. If one always has the mindset of “ I wish i’d done this” or “ if this happened..” then we wouldn’t really get anywhere. I never really looked toward my future much , besides the fact of what I’d eat for dinner that night or plans for the weekend. In recent months though, I’ve started to take what comes at me and plan for the future. God didn’t plan for us to always look back, He wants us to look forward. He has a plan.
It’s hard, extremely hard, to not hold on to what you love. We all know the feeling of when you lose something, and your heart literally hurts. It’s hard, to not hold on to memories, of good times, of bad times and everything else in between.
My past, your past, all defines who we are. People, however, don’t see that part of you until they get to know you. It’s so intriguing to me, when you are talking to someone, and you can tell their past is unfolding before you. When people let down those walls, and let someone in to see who they are. It’s like a movie playing in your head. Everyone has a different story to tell and the ending is left open.
The ending is the most important. How YOU write your ending. How YOU change your future. Whenever you hear the saying “the opportunities are endless” don’t ever let yourself settle. I can tell you one thing from experience, settling with the way things are will get you no where. You have to dream big. Even if no one listens to your dreams, or they sound absurd, you won’t get very far if you don’t dream big. So here I am, laying here, with seven thousand different thoughts in my head about my past, but more importantly , my future. Where will He take me next?
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Changes
So I sat down thinking last night. I couldn’t help but ponder what I had talked about earlier that day. When you die, what happens? Is it really up to us to have faith to just hope that we make it to some sort of afterlife? or do we just disappear as if we never lived. For centuries, thousands of people have died, and we only remember the few influential ones. So that’s it, either you have to become God, or everyone just forgets about you. It really is a scary thought, probably one of the scariest. Nobody wants to die, everybody wants to live, but are they really living? Living means you are breathing, but what does living really mean.
To love someone so much that it hurts, that’s living. Needing that person there for you. It’s a hard concept for one to wrap their fingers around, loving that is. Lot’s of people think they love, but do you truly love the people in your life? Unconditional love, that’s what everyone strives for right? This is the love God has planned for us, to love someone so much that you care more about them than yourself. This can be a friend, a family member, a child, a mother, a father, or a lover. I don’t believe some people are capable of unconditional love. I think they might love a person but to love so deeply is different.
To never take life for granted. This was and still is a bad habit of mine. Everyone falls into this trap occasionally of “oh, my life is so hard” or “ I hate my life,” but have any of you really taken a step back to look at someone else’s life. With the recent tragedy in Japan, I have realized a few things: many of those people lost their homes, their loved ones, and their whole lives. They were not ready for this, nor did they ask for this. So there it was, for them, the end to their lives, and now, most are gone. Then it’s back to the first paragraph, who’s going to remember them in a week, or two, or even a year. It’s sad really. We never take a step back and realize that any day could be the end. Recently, my attitude has shifted. No matter what is thrown at me, I try and take it day by day and ask God for help whenever.
Most people don’t realize this but God is like a help hotline, you can’t really see the person you are talking to but He can see you and He listens. That’s the other scary part, it’s all up to our faith. Our Faith in God, and our faith in ourselves to believe what we can do. It all comes down to this : Life is Hard, but why would God make it easy for us? He suffered for us, He died for us, He wasn’t going to just let us sail through without wind.
So yes, these were all my thoughts on the first night of Spring Break, and it came with so many changes that have occurred in my life. New school, new friends, new surrounding, new major even. And to me, It’s all so scary. I might seem like I have it all together, a lot of us do, but really these are the things I think about everyday. Who’s going to remember me when I’m gone, who’s going to help me, push me, make me who I am and who I want to be. We are all looking for that Unconditional kind of love, but we aren’t seeking who really helps us with it and that’s the big guy upstairs, God himself.
To love someone so much that it hurts, that’s living. Needing that person there for you. It’s a hard concept for one to wrap their fingers around, loving that is. Lot’s of people think they love, but do you truly love the people in your life? Unconditional love, that’s what everyone strives for right? This is the love God has planned for us, to love someone so much that you care more about them than yourself. This can be a friend, a family member, a child, a mother, a father, or a lover. I don’t believe some people are capable of unconditional love. I think they might love a person but to love so deeply is different.
To never take life for granted. This was and still is a bad habit of mine. Everyone falls into this trap occasionally of “oh, my life is so hard” or “ I hate my life,” but have any of you really taken a step back to look at someone else’s life. With the recent tragedy in Japan, I have realized a few things: many of those people lost their homes, their loved ones, and their whole lives. They were not ready for this, nor did they ask for this. So there it was, for them, the end to their lives, and now, most are gone. Then it’s back to the first paragraph, who’s going to remember them in a week, or two, or even a year. It’s sad really. We never take a step back and realize that any day could be the end. Recently, my attitude has shifted. No matter what is thrown at me, I try and take it day by day and ask God for help whenever.
Most people don’t realize this but God is like a help hotline, you can’t really see the person you are talking to but He can see you and He listens. That’s the other scary part, it’s all up to our faith. Our Faith in God, and our faith in ourselves to believe what we can do. It all comes down to this : Life is Hard, but why would God make it easy for us? He suffered for us, He died for us, He wasn’t going to just let us sail through without wind.
So yes, these were all my thoughts on the first night of Spring Break, and it came with so many changes that have occurred in my life. New school, new friends, new surrounding, new major even. And to me, It’s all so scary. I might seem like I have it all together, a lot of us do, but really these are the things I think about everyday. Who’s going to remember me when I’m gone, who’s going to help me, push me, make me who I am and who I want to be. We are all looking for that Unconditional kind of love, but we aren’t seeking who really helps us with it and that’s the big guy upstairs, God himself.
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