The Best Thing

    Saturday February 22nd of the year 2014 at about 7:30 at night was the last time I took the light. The light that makes my hard-work and passion come to life. The feeling of looking out into the crowd to see you're biggest fans...you're family and most of all, you're coaches. I will always remember the feeling of having the people I worked the hardest with on that stage ready to take the fight with me. Cheerleading has always been and always will be the one of the things that God has given me. I could never put it into words about how much I have grown into a grateful state of mind all because of this passion. Of course being a senior, I am going to be saying goodbye to a lot of things. My year isn't even over yet and I have already begun to say goodbye to things. But the hardest thing yet was walking off that stage knowing it was all over.

    Sometimes we build up to things so much and work so hard towards them that it is just about impossible to say goodbye. It's natural to get attached to things that mean so much us. The love of those that makes these things our passion is so hard to say goodbye to. The people, the places, and the emotions make a way to embed them in our hearts. This is actually a great thing! Of course it is not great saying goodbye to this stuff but it is simply the best thing. Sounds crazy, right?! Really think about it...when you have ever said goodbye to something or someone, was there sun after the storm? Maybe not right away but it still came right? That is because God never closes one door without having another one for you to go into. The famous "all good things must come to end" saying really gets old when you have to constantly do it though.

    Right now, I would say I am a little depressed to be sat here and know that my high school cheer career along with all of those life changing moments are behind me. It is hard to look forward to what is ahead of me because it was such a huge part of my life. I know that God is writing the rest of my story right now but it is just so hard leaving that as mere memories in my life. As I thought this through on the long drive back home from nationals...I knew God had it all in his hands. But before I had left the beach side, I walked out of my room the first day to see the beautiful sunrise to see it reflecting it's endless light. The breathtaking view captured my stress filled heart. Up until the competition I had worked and worried alongside my team mates for 9 months of practice. Between this and school and college decisions and the emotions of life and my relationship with Christ just all weighed on my heart. But taking a simple step out into the endless sea I saw my rest. I could sit there for hours on end and just love Christ for who he is. He gave me a promise in that sunset. I remember saying to my roommates that the ocean looked as if it never ends.

    The sun was so bright beyond description, blinded me but I could capture it all in the click of my camera. God had stopped me straight in my tracks and told me this is it. This is the turning point of your life where you will have so many things that you will not want to say goodbye to but you have to. In order for me (Christ) to fill you're life with so many other amazing things the things ending in your life need to end. They will never fade from you're mind and they will always have a special place in you're heart...I will be sure of that. I have gotten you this far with the people and things you love which is why I am NOT telling you to walk away from them. This actually all just came to me because the meaning of that sunshine just hit home. As I was flipping through all my team mates pictures from the trip I saw that sunrise over and over again. But my coaches caption is what made this all click. She is also saying goodbye to the cheer world for over several years of passion for it. This whole process has been a heartbreaking experience to look at each other while the crowd roars knowing, it's done.

    The tears well on and off as I ruminate through this and that caption of my loving coach's caption. She referred to the beautiful sunset as Christ showing her that he is the one to look to for the next chapter. The next chapter in all of our lives are like that sunrise. It is endless and it is beyond our words. Our life even after such amazing events, are things that we can't keep our eyes away from. At this moment and this whole weekend my heart was confused because it was in the process of saying goodbye to something that has always been a huge part of my life. As these words come to my mind I think of the image of a person leaning on a tree. The whole idea of being rooted comes straight to my lips. We wait at the edge of the cross where Christ has and will fulfill the promise of showing us what is truly next. Man...the words of this song continue to run through my mind as my heart just seems to want to pour itself out. I'll wait for you, I'll wait for you alone. And I'll wait for you, I'll wait for you alone. Together we will fly tonight. And leave all the rest behind. I'll wait for you. This blog post might be all over the place and seem to have no point but that was kind of my point. I thought to myself...if I have this much emotion about this ending I should really journal after doing this. I might end up doing it anyways but this is where all my thoughts first fell out onto paper it seems.

Wait by Mat Kearney

The wind hit my back, cold as I remember

And caught me off guard, in the middle of December

Sometimes a crowded room, can feel the most alone

Sometimes I wonder why, I won't pick up the phone when

This wall is glaring and it's too high for me to climb

I've ran and ran and now there's nothing left behind

I see a picture of a broken man inside

I've tried and tried and now there's nothing left but time

I'll wait for you, I'll wait for you alone

And I'll wait for you, I'll wait for you alone

Together we will fly tonight

And leave all the rest behind

I'll wait for you

These hands can feel like they're not even mine

A tree and a nail and a cry in the night

Sometimes a little step is the greatest divide

Sometimes I feel your breath right at my side when

Here I am at the edge of the road

One hand on the end of the rope

One crack and it breaks alone

Wondering whose gonna take me home

On my knees when you call my bluff

Begging please from the edge of the ruff

And I know I've had enough, and I know it, and I know it

    Above all, I miss cheer more than anything and it hasn't even been one full day without it. At this point in life I feel as if nothing else could fill that void but Christ has shown me differently. That sunrise  showed me a new beginning. It showed me that yeah, it's going to be hard but it will never fade away from me. Christ has given me so many awesome relationships and hard times and victories and passion for this sport that it has change my heart. I knew cheer would always be a huge part of my life but it never hit me until now. He truly never held out on my ability to have cheer. I could never tell him how much I miss and love cheer already. He knows and sees my true desire and I pray that he leads me to cheer down the road because it is just that one thing that has and always been meant to be a part of my life. I would have never of thought I would be where I am today with my cheer career when I starting in the 4th grade. The bittersweet feeling is what tells me it is real. That feeling I have always felt on the floor with all my girls around me will always be relived when I think of that sunset and those promises.

    I cry but I jump for joy that God has given such amazing things in my life! Have you ever just had those things that are just, so...bittersweet!? Did you leave them in bad conversation? And are they things you can't bring up without tearing up? They are not settled. Yes they are extremely difficult but saying goodbye is. But saying goodbye to see it later is so much better.

Christ made this day for me. He made my heart full enough to have cheer as my passion and it will never be erased from my story...because it is my life. Through the ups and downs of saying goodbye Christ has shown me I made it through all of the tears and pain to become apart of cheer and those girls along with the one coach that changed my life. For the better. 

Psalm 119:41
"May your unfailing love come to me, Lord, your salvation, according to your promise"


Psalm 119:50
"My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life."


Psalm 119:57

 "You are my portion, Lord; I have promised to obey your words."

This is the new beginning, but it is not goodbye. That sun never stopped shining. 

Lyrics found: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/matkearney/wait.html

Through the Eyes of Others

    We have all heard it..."it could be worse." This is also the most used saying that none of us want to hear. When we have a problem or situation in our life, we want others to know about it. Our sufferings tend to not only control our minds but our outward emotions. Just the constant thinking that our hard times just seem so horrible! Even when others have hard times we automatically want to connect ourselves to that and "say" that we are deeply affected even by others hurt! Have you ever seen the times were someones family member is in a really bad car accident and the people around them for support, act as if they are part of their family as well? I look at this as the "masked emotions affect". We see the pain of others and semi understand it but we can never truly feel what they feel because that is the one time you actually cannot step into an other's shoes.

    I can remember just like it was yesterday when I wanted the best pair of sandals in the second grade. My best friend across the street had them and most of all my favorite teacher had them. Not only could I not find them anywhere to buy but I am pretty sure my mother refused to get them for me. They were kind of grown up sandals which is why I wanted them cause I saw how awesome they looked on my best friend. Of course, looking back on that now I realize those sandals were absolutely HIDEOUS! My friend would also agree til this day, and probably the teacher. But in the heat of the moment I thought that having those shoes was the one thing I absolutely needed no matter what. I thought that I just had the worst luck when I did not get them and my life was just so boring. You that dramatic stage we go through as a child? The stage where mom and dad won't buy the candy at the store or newest game that literally every kid on the planet had. And when we wouldn't get that item we would think that no body else had it as bad as we do because well without those awesome things are lives are flat our boring.

    Being in the body of a child you never truly understand how good we have it living where we are. And even as adults we tend to never realize how good we truly have it. We all get so caught up in our jobs, marriage, school, activities, material possessions, and everything else on this planet. This world is so beautifully made and crafted by the one and only but it is so distracting. Tell when the last time was that you actually sat down to do your work for the evening and you did not have ANY setbacks?? I can't even walk up the stairs with my work for the night without checking my Facebook probably a thousand times or ranting to my family members about my day. It is definitely not a bad thing to debrief your day to your family or relax on your phone but it is such a horrible thing when it takes you away from the true task. You know...when I come home from a busy day at work or school or an activity all I see is that it is really late and I did not even touch my homework. Or I will have those days where I have absolutely nothing! I mean, come on those are truly THE BEST DAYS EVER! You could watch TV all night until you finally have to turn in or you could catch up on your favorite book or go out and actually socialize with other humans!

    Those nights where I have nothing, I tell myself that I really should catch up on my quiet times but I compromise and say I will relax from the day by watching some TV for an hour or so. My plans of TV for no more than two hours turns into six hours, no workout that I desperately needed to get back into, and most importantly...no quiet time. Actually relaxing and not worrying about anything is such a huge flaw in my life! I will literally watch the hours pass and I just am too lazy to get up. Yeah it is great having that time where I can just relax by myself but it is too the point that I forget the world around me and its not like I'm doing a quiet time.

    There was a time where week where I removed the Facebook icon from my main phone screen. The only thing I got on for was to post my blog post for the week. The first few days was horrible because when I found myself bored without anything to do, I had NOTHING to do. That one little social network had consumed my mind so much that there was never new feed for me to see because I was on every single second. These were the seconds that I could be filling to read the bible and do the devotions that I  was neglecting. I was (and still do at times) focusing so much on the material things that I had no heart for the word of God. Possessions of this world are great things but they are so destructive. They are not all bad...tools of this world that we acquire daily help us live especially with technology today. It literally runs this world! For prime example, I use this blog site to get the words or God through my viewers and this computer is definitely a material possession. We can get connected through the things of this world that can actually further our missions field. But when it comes to the point that the ways of this world rules ours, is when we lose sight of what truly matters.The best thing to tell yourself when you can't put your phone down or you just want to go to the next level of angry birds is that the things of this world will all melt away and will not leave its mark in our hearts on their own. The ways of this world will leave its mark if we allow it!

    We just went a bit off topic there so let us narrow back to the main point of the lesson! Having all these things is life is actually hard. We have to make sure we are happy! Now a days, if you don't have the newest iPhone (they must be at like iPhone 45s now right!??!) then you do not have all the world has to offer. I never noticed how "awesome" the iPhone was until literally every single human on the earth had it. I love my smart phone, the android is the way to go and I could care less if I have an iPhone. But some people consider having a track phone or a phone WITHOUT internet (yes they still do exist) is roughing it through life.

    There are few times were I really sit back and look at my life and say, "I really am more than okay and my prayers for myself can be cut short to be more focused on those that really need it." The number one problem with telling yourself that others out there have it worse is how we do it. We think that we have to totally neglect ourselves to the point that for a couple of prayers solely on others we tell ourselves that we owe it to ourselves to treat our lives right. This is the point that we shouldn't reach! God calls us to look to those the we would consider "below" us and make ourselves equal. Maybe we don't need to bring them up to "our level" but on a level that neither of us are on.

    The two wonderful trips I took to the Dominican Republic for missions trip was the most rewarding thing ever. I remember being scared of what I would see in those villages that were hit so hard. I pictured myself not being able to connect to the poorest people I have ever been in contact with. My hear was so ready to serve God but when we drove through the countryside on the back of an open truck I told myself God brought me here as a child of God, not as a child brought up through plentiful possessions. As soon as we pulled into the village the kids came running and screaming! For the first time in my life I finally knew what it felt like to be famous, no lie! They were so excited to have people come to just constantly love on them that they were literally "jumping for joy." All of the children wanted to be picked up and held for eternity which made it so heartbreaking to leave them. As soon as I had one of the children in my arms I looked into the little girls eyes and it seemed as if everything stopped. God was there...he was there the whole time.

    This little girl was so quite but that did not stop her from gently feeling the strands of my pulled back hair and just being in awe of who I was and she didn't even know me. Through the eyes of this girl I was hope. I was a child of God that loved her and cared enough to pick her up even though her outward appearance did not match mine. For once I thought that this world could be on one level and boundaries would disappear. As I walked through the village it really hit me that the children the words of that village because the people in it were simply out of words. Some still had hope but a majority of them I saw that the hard things in there life took everything out of them.

     From then on I knew that I did not have it bad at all. Yeah I will have rough times and the one thing that will continue to save me from falling completely into that is the hope in that little girls eyes. Her world screamed  disaster but her heart showed more peace than I could ever imagine. You would think that us having more things in life and being better off, that we can show them to rise above their adversity. But I find it to be the opposite...maybe it is when we look like we are at our lowest when we truly learn the best lessons in our lives. I think the problem with most average people, they tend to give everything to the world that they lose themselves. You can guess what verse this applies to...

Luke 9:25

"What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?"

    We worrying so much about gaining everything in this world that we lose sight of what life is truly about. This makes us think that we have it the worst when things don't go our way but let us not forget what others lives are like. This doesn't mean that we won't have rough times, this means that we should take those times to better our lives instead of dwelling on them. The hard things ARE worth it they just need the most work. 

    When you find yourself complaining about your life and you know that you are just letting life get to you...not only remind yourself that others have it worse but Satan can outwit our emotions very easily.

2 Corinthians 2:11

"...in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes."

Word of the Day: "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night."

                                                     ~Psalm 1:1-2

Reaching for Yourself

    When I was asked what I wanted to be at the age of 7 I probably replied with, a singer. The classic of course. Or a princess for most little girls. For the majority of my childhood I probably wanted to be a star if it was being an actress or a singer I was down. Who didn't want to be famous though!? We have all watched the famous on television and think, “Well I can do that and be just as amazing, and I should be famous!” Of course we all know that fame is not all it is cracked up to be nor is this the point of the lesson.

    Now if you flash-forward to our lives now, what do you think the chances are that we would say we want to be famous or be princes and princesses? We tend to pick more rational things to do for the rest of our lives and our minds simply change. We will always have those dream jobs in the back of our minds that we would love to do but can’t because it’s just not logical. Some might look at this as giving up on ourselves. Which it is! I am not trying to say that your dream of being a reality TV star is what your job should be but it is the idea of settling that we need to focus in on here.

            When we think of our future we don’t think about how we are going to settle in life and have the mindset that we must live with the fact that we will be unhappy in order to have a job that pays. But there is such thing as having an outstanding career and being happy with it PLUS having a good salary. Now, not all of us may be unhappy with our jobs but there is always the alternative that we could do that would top our jobs already.

            Besides being a star I have always wanted to be a vet. I simply loved animals and I wanted to help them grow. I loved the idea of rescuing animals and speaking up for them when they were abused. As I got older and my faith in Jesus Christ strengthened and I noticed my outlook on what my future was to be like, changed drastically. I first wanted to be some type of pastor, either a youth pastor or a pastor of my very own church. This mindset was right before I started my blog and I was full of words to share (this is what started my desire for a blog!). I wanted to share my wisdom that I mustered up in my mind through just listening to what God had to say not only directly to me but through the actions of those around me. It is so amazing to clear your mind and think of yourself as a motivational speaker. Cheesy, I know but it’s the truth and how I first got my wisdom. But shortly after I was led to being a pastor I jumped into the passion for missions. Many of you may know that I went on several trips throughout my high school career and that is what led me to love missions. Through all these changing options for a job I can finally say I have an idea. Yes I will keep it at an idea because that’s all that I have, because Christ could change the vision at any time now.

            Becoming a new college student is unfamiliar ground. I am in a part of my life that is so strange and unbelievable that I couldn't put it into words. It is not necessarily bad; it is the matter of seeing your future unfolding before your eyes. And through the college and major search I have found out so many things about the daily things around me. It just now seems like a known fact to me that most people settle for an average job. Most people in this world play it safe with everything. Well not all people. I am not saying that safe is bad but there is a vast gap between settling and submitting to your calling. I have gotten the strangest combination for a calling of Christ of so many things that it seems crazy that I could ever do all of that. When the idea of what I wanted to do for the rest of my life came to my mind I could not tell other people because it simply sounds ridiculous! I was not ashamed of my vision from Christ whatsoever but it sounded too much like a fairy tale that I was afraid that most people would tell me, “Well that is going to change once you see how much work that takes.” I have even told myself this as my vision is still the same but I am now confident that it’s not just a fairy tale. I know for a fact that this has to be the Lord’s vision for my life because there is simply no way I could think of it myself!

            What if we were all like college students? Not the rebellious behavior or wild side. I am talking about what if we had the eyes of vision just like they do. Of course anyone can have a sense of vision to be more than they are but going out into the real world is the coming to the cliff that takes the plunge into the new territory of your life. We need to renew our minds to become fresh through Christ! Not only evaluate your job but your relationships. Your family, your free time, your relationship with Christ, your thoughts. Everything in our lives need renewed every now and then. When we stir up this dust we can see clearer and know where we should reach for ourselves more. There is always a way to improve our lives it is just the matter of doing it.

            Of course it is easier said than done in reaching for the stars and not settling for less in your life. But who ever said it was going to be easy? The most famous line must be inserted here, “It’s not going to be easy but it is worth it.” Isn't that so true though? The things that are worth it are the things that take the most work! We need the time and chance to reach within our true motives and dip into God’s inclinations as well to find the true map to our lives. This week I challenge you to think about all the things you have ever done in your life where you have settled. And pray about that, of course you can’t undo it but you pray for future prevention.

            Let us no longer settle for the average job or an okay relationship with Christ or a lukewarm love for our families or just dragging ourselves out of bed. We need to really dig deep and ask God what he wants for us. Ask God what he wants to happen in our lives and then determine how to get there. If we do not change our ways and act upon the fairy tale life that God realistically set out for us then how are we living as true children of God? Wouldn't you rather live a life free of regrets for following your gut and faith rather than sitting on the sidelines? Yeah it's easy and comfortable to settle but it is not what Christ wants for us. Comfortable is good but Christ calls us to an active life full of adventure. He wants us experience all the different things in life and he hopes that we learn from them. It is the matter of stepping out of our comfort zones. He sees what holds us back and knows what can push us past that we just need to open up the door so he can come in to unlock more. 

            Take a breath, jump feet first, and hang on for the ride because your life is about to become real…live and exciting life and take the leap!

Wisdom: “Having the eyes of your heart enlightened , that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you , what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,”

                                                              ~Ephesians 1:18

All a Hoax

    So, have you all heard about the speech that came from Pope Francis a little while back? It has recently come to my attention that he declared that there is no hell while Adam and Eve are just a fable. To people that may have been a part of hearing this speech you as a believer were probably floored. I mean we are raised our whole lives as believers based off of the Adam and Eve story. That is what set our world into sin and hell is the place that we would go if we did not commit to Christ. Now years upon years later we hear that one of the biggest religious icons claims that it is all wrong??? This tends to make us ticked and dizzy for it messes with our hearts and minds with what's truly real.

    Before we jump straight into this argument of what the Pope himself said about religion let us read a little bit more about hell as well as Adam and Eve. 

What the bible says this about hell...

   

"The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God."   ~Psalms 9:17

"For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead."   ~Psalms 86:13

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started! You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?"   ~Matthew 23:29-33

"The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."   ~James 3:6

"For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment"              ~2 Peter 2:4

"When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."   ~Revelation 1:17-18

   

    Can you imagine a world without discipline? Or a world without evil? How exactly would the Hollywood movies occur if there was only good without an evil force working against them? There would be no plot…I am not saying that sin needs to be so the world is more interesting. Punishment of sin needs to be. And there is no possible way we can do without a hell. I know this might sound odd saying we need a hell because it’s horrible to see anyone deemed to that. But what would this world be like if there was no punishment for sin? Of course sin can and needs to be forgiven but only if you choose to ask for it. I just do not quite understand where exactly Pope Francis is getting his logic in saying hell is fake. Christ himself did not create sin man did (aka, Adam and Eve…the other half of this argument). Do you think if God could choose to have a world with sin or a world without which do you think he would choose? He does not want to see us suffer which is why he loves us so much to constantly be there for us. It is such a hard thing in life to be a Christian and it is that struggle that makes your relationship with Christ. God wants to see you growing and learning things for the better half of your life. There has to be two sides to a situation. Christ says that all that trust and profess through him will have eternal life while those doing the opposite will go to the fiery pits of hell. If there was no literal hell then we would not need to have those standards because everyone would receive the same relationship with Christ. So saying that there is no hell means to say that one person with a strong relationship with Christ would have the same relationship as a non-religious person with God.

    God created those boundaries because we are bound to sin naturally. I am not quite sure what is the logic behind the Pope’s reasoning for saying hell is basically a figment of the religious world. Most people would love to think that. I mean what person actually wants there to be a hell? It is such a horrible thing to know that the nonbelievers around us that we feel could never see our side of Christ will live in eternal hell. It is such a horrendous reality of how this world came into sin and that we would struggle with it for the rest of our lives which brings us to the coming of Adam and Eve.

    The second part of the Pope’s speech was stating that Adam and Eve were just a fable. Before we get deeper into that let us actually look at what Pope Francis said word for word.

“Through humility, soul searching, and prayerful contemplation we have gained a new understanding of certain dogmas. The church no longer believes in a literal hell where people suffer. This doctrine is incompatible with the infinite love of God. God is not a judge but a friend and a lover of humanity. God seeks not to condemn but only to embrace. Like the fable of Adam and Eve, we see hell as a literary device. Hell is merely a metaphor for the isolated soul, which like all souls ultimately will be united in love with God.”

    The whole point of this lesson is not to bash Pope Francis on what he believes is right it is to simply take the idea of anyone saying that we no longer believe in a literal hell while Adam and Eve are fables. Sometimes we can find it very hard to believe that Adam and Eve were real because the story sounds like one from an evil fairytale. But if there was no Adam and Eve then who and where did the sin come from? I doubt it that God himself created sin so that we would repent and run to him. Like anyone else neither I nor the Pope will ever know if there is a true heaven or hell. Yes I truly believe that they both exist but clearly his belief varies on faith and background through Christ. I am not saying that the Pope has a rough relationship with Christ but he clearly has different views. The one thing that just makes no sense is that he states that God simply loves us to much to ever have a literal hell. Yes Christ loves us beyond measure which is why there is a hell. This may seem like the biggest oxymoron. But Christ sees that justice is due fit for every single person. He wants to see everyone repent and be his child eternally in his presence but I also think that if we don’t make that step and frankly never want to then he simply has no control over that once it is done because he would have never of known us.

    If there simply was no consequence for sin then there would be not deviation between the saved and not saved. There seems to be so many points and sides to this story that you can simply become confused with what is real and what is not. The facts are out there and the bible is the number one back up of this story. It comes down to what you believe is true through Christ.

Word of the Day: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”   ~2 Corinthians 4:18

*For further insight on the speech Pope Francis gave read further into the article used during this lesson at, http://www.naijaurban.com/no-hell-fire-adam-eve-not-real-pope-francis-exposes/