Wuv, Twu Wuv

"Love is in the air" , True love, "Love at first sight",  We've all heard the terms before, but does anyone really know what that last one means? Has anyone ever felt "Love at first sight"? Now, I know we all have that celebrity crush that we say we are going to marry and we believe that we've loved them from the first sight, but that's not exactly what I mean. TRUE love a first sight, what does it mean? Does it actually exist? And can it actually work? I'm not exactly professional in the area of love, but someone asked me to write on this topic, so I am going to do my best.
Now, the girl who asked me to write on this said this, "I was wondering if you have ever met a guy, and it just took a couple hours of being with him to know that he is the one for you." I will say, I have actually felt this way, but soon enough, reality checks in and you have to realize that in those few hours, you still don't know nearly enough about each other to really call it love. True love does exist, don't get me wrong. Honestly, it's not necessarily all up to you. As I said in my last post, God knows who you are going to fall in love with, He has it all planned out, you just have to trust Him. Also, it sometimes can be easy to confuse "love" at first sight with "lust". Remember, it is not all about the looks, but I know, the looks do play a significant part in it. There may be a wonderful initial feeling, but you can't really love until you know someone. You've got to think, do you love them just for the outside, or for the inside as well? I guess the point I am trying to make is that true love exists, but love at first sight may be slightly unrealistic. Just trust in God, and He will bring you to your significant other, which will, in turn, bring you joy in your life.
To finish this off here is a video of spoken word by Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye called "When Love Arrives". Enjoy

Meet me in St. Louis

 I live in Texas, go to school in Wisconsin, and where do I end up? That's right, good old St. Louis. It's funny how things work out, sometimes, you know? Something always takes me back there; family, friends, church, just the scene in general. When I was there for fall break, a friend asked me “Why do you love St. Louis so much?” and I really did not know what to tell her, I guess you are just always connected to your roots somehow. Since we moved so early in my life I spend half my time trying to get back to something that I never really got, trying to rekindle friendships that had a very dim fire going in the first place, and wondering whether or not a love could have been had I stayed in St Louis. Now, having said that last part, I'm starting to sound like a friend of mine. He liked this girl so much; The crush lasted 12 years, and might still be there now, but the thing is, the girl moved away from him 10 years ago, and when she lived near him she was too young to even realize. Their relationship never even had a foundation and they did not even know each other, yet he tried to start something that wasn't even there. Anyway, the whole thing just ended in heartbreak, on both accounts. I guess the lesson, or point, that I am trying to convey is that it is very difficult, almost impossible to start something that was never really there in the first place, especially if you never see each other and you live far away from each other. In the off chance that you have the opportunity to start something, do not be obsessive about it, but let things go as they should. God has a plan for everything. He knows who you are going marry and what you are going to do in life. Trust that everything he does has a reason and it will be explained in time. If he moves you, he has something better in store for you.

Therefore, the moral of this story is this: God has his reasons for everything and there is really no use in arguing with him on it because you will always lose. So, you moved away from the place you'll always call home? There's no reason you cannot keep those friendships, just be careful how you go about them. Let God work things out in his time. You don't have to forget about the place you called home to make a new one. They say “Home is where the heart is”, so what if your heart is in two places at once? You don't have to forget the memories, the friends, the house, you can just revel in the amazing opportunity that God has given you to start fresh, make new friendships, new memories, and discover a new house, all to go along side the old ones.

To finish, here are some comforting words from one of our Lutheran hymns (Lutheran Service Book 754):

Entrust your days and burdens to God's most loving hand;

He cares for you while ruling the sky, the sea, the land

For he who guides the tempests

Along their thunderous ways

Will find for you a pathway

and guide you all your days.

Text by: Paul Gerhardt

The beginning of the end...?

" The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things… The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things, and make them unimportant. " The Doctor

You're starting your first year of college. It's is the first day of the rest of your life. Your adrenaline is pumping, excitement is racing. You're meeting new people left and right, making friendships that are hopefully going to last a lifetime. Good thing? CHECK. Now, what's actually going on behind the scenes? No one wants to talk about it. No one wants to admit that there are still hardships going on in their life. They do not want anything to ruin these next four years. So, yes, the bad things can be pushed to the back of your mind, for a little while anyway. They may not ruin your day, your week, or the next few months, but, they come eventually, and usually pretty unexpectedly.  You never know what is going to come up. Disease, death, stress, work load is too overwhelming, relationship problems. To find the joy in life, you can't always let the bad things spoil the good things, likewise you have to realize that the good things might not always make the bad things not seem so terrible. Everything happens for a reason and you have to remember that God has a plan. 

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written; 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Romans 8: 35-37

With God we can do all things. He will bring us through any hardship. My prayer to all of you is that you find the joy God has in store for you. He only wants what is best for you. So, welcome everything with an open heart and an open mind, trusting that God is going to get you through it. And welcome to the first day of the rest of your life.

penny for your thoughts?

Sometimes, given the time to think, just sit in silence and think, can be more of a curse than a blessing. Maybe you start to think of good memories with that person who did you wrong, but that makes you sick. So you start to think about the fun you're about to have where you are going, but you begin to get sad when you realize that some of those people who bring that joy are not here anymore. So your mind switches to something that you pray to God will not make you want to cry, like how much fun you're about to have at your churches youth conference, but of course, your mind shifts to the expectations people have for you, to the hope people hold out for you and all you can do is pray that you will not disappoint them. It is almost as if no space in your mind is safe. When you are given the time to just sit and think, your mind wanders to those things that you've tried to put aside, in a little box away from the rest of your thoughts for good.

I urge you, do not be overcome by the hardships of this world. The Lord took you down this path for a reason, and I guarantee he will lead you through it. So therefore, if you are given that time to sit and think, pray. Put yourself in his word if you can.
1 John 5:4 "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world- our faith."

So, take that person who did you wrong, forgive him/her, and then put their memory in a little box in the back of your mind. When the time is right, pull out only the good memories, and do not dwell on the pain they caused you. Pray for strength, the Lord will help you through it.
James 1:19 "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry."

When you begin to think about that fun loving person who is no longer with us, think only of the good times, the times of laughter and of joy. Keep a good image of that person in your mind and in your heart, and find peace in knowing that they are in a better place now and you will see them again one day. Pray for courage, the Lord will bring you past this hard time.
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

And finally, when you think of the expectations people have for you, and how you do not want to disappoint them, remember that it is impossible to please everyone (see "Sacrifice all for HIM, not him") All you can do is be yourself and do what is best for you. Pray that God will protect the hearts of those with high expectations. Do not let yourself become overwhelmed by the "ifs" "ands" or "buts" of things that you do not know the answer to. The Lord has a plan for both you and that other person, so just put your trust in God, He knows what is best for you, and He will make it happen.
2 Corinthians 12:20 "For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish-- that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, gossip, conceit and disorder." 

SO, I guess having this time to think was both a blessing and a curse this time around. Remember, as our friends on veggie tales remind us, "God is bigger than the boogie man, he's bigger than you and me."

Go to God for everything. He will help you through the hardships of life because he is the joy in life.

Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything be prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God"

mirror, mirror on the wall, I'm too skinny, I'm too tall

1 Samuel 16:7  "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.'"

Especially as teenagers, our idea of our self image becomes twisted. All of the sudden every part of us seems wrong. For some, this image is more dramatic than others. Girls, in particular, are not happy with how they look. We've all fallen into the trap at least once, I will honestly say I have done it a lot. Sometimes, people have this idea that they need to be "perfect". Perfect for that special guy or girl you have a crush on to like you. Perfect for your parents to be proud of you. Perfect so that people will look at you and they will not be able to point out one flaw, therefore you can sit there and point out all of theirs. When we get this idea of being perfect in our minds, it's really our sinful nature wanting to be higher than others. Wanting to "out do" everyone else. We can never just be happy with our bodies the way they are. Say that you have something disproportional on your body. You sit there and think that everyone can see it, no matter how miniscule it may or may not be. There may even be man made things to cover it up, but you will always sit there, self conscious of your body. Here's the thing though,
Genesis 1:27- "So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
     male and female he created them."

God created us, in his own image. How amazing is that? He created us, from him. He took his time on every single one of us, and in his eyes, we are perfect, because his son came and died on the cross to save us from our sins. So, maybe you do have a disproportion on your body, or your not as skinny as you hoped to be. Just remember, God created us all, in his image, and He loves each and every one of us equally. He has a plan for you, and he made you that way for a reason. So the next time you look at your body and think "Man, I wish I looked normal", remember that you are perfect in God's eyes, and that is all that matters. You can go ahead and cover your flaw with the man made items, but do not dwell on your problem, for the Lord loves you, no matter what. If you go through life with this idea in mind, you will find 'joye' in your life.
God Bless.