Forgiveness

Think back to a time where someone hurt you - whether physically, emotionally, or mentally.  I bet we can all think of one time that someone has hurt us.  But have you forgiven that person for what they did to you?  You might be thinking that you can't forgive the person for what they did.  God forgave us for our sins and asks us to do the same, so you should be able to forgive someone who has hurt you.  I can telling you that you can do it with God's help.  If you pray to God to help you forgive someone, He will give you the strength to forgive them.  Trust me, once you forgive someone, a weight will be lifted off your shoulders.  I forgave the girl who bullied me in first grade (see "Bullying" to get the story).  At first, I couldn't bring myself to forgiving her.  For 6 years I held a grudge against her.  After I forgave her, I found peace I hadn't had in a long time.  And if you look at the other side of this and have hurt someone, wouldn't you want them to forgive you?  I just hope that if you have someone you need to forgive, please try to do so.  Holding a grudge hurts you way more than it does them.

I love this song by Matthew West because of it message on forgiveness:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1Lu5udXEZI

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)"

Source:
"Matthew West-Forgivness (Lyrics)." Youtube. MattStone712, 9 July 2012. Web. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1Lu5udXEZI.

Struggle

Everyone faces some kind of struggle at some point in their lives.  I believe that without struggle, we cannot grow to be better.  If you think about it, we have growing pains as teens as a result of our bodies growing and changing as we become adults.  In the same way, we make mistakes to learn from them, to grow and change.  Struggle is a natural part of life.

One struggle that I face every day is my asthma.  I struggle with it more some days than others.  Sometimes I wake up at night unable to breath.  I've come home from school gasping for air, too.  I have an asthma inhaler in every room in my house and in all the cars.  It is especially challenging during sports and dance. Whenever I dance, whether it be in my basement or on a stage, I give it my all.  So if the dance is really labor intensive, I tend to lose my breath.  Most of the time, I can regain it within five minutes with a limited amount of wheezing.  It tends to be the worst during sports.  I am on the high school field hockey team and I play defense.  I love playing in the games but hate the practices, which you can't play without participating in.  We will run sprint after sprint after sprint, and afterwards, I will be tired and out of breath.  I remember carrying my asthma inhaler in my sock at practice so that I didn't have to run to the side of the field, grab medicine, and run back. Sometimes my asthma gets so bad during field hockey that I can't really catch my breath.  During these times when I can't breath, a song always pops into my head.  It is "Little Bit Longer" by the Jonas Brothers.  Nick wrote it about his diabetes while he was filming Camp Rock.  Even though I don't have diabetes, I can still relate to the song because of my asthma.  I'd like to share this very inspiring song with you.  Please enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVK9ZcZkEoI&feature=related

Source:
"A Little Bit Longer with lyrics Nick Jonas." Youtube. Dorakd101, 1 Nov. 2008. Web. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVK9ZcZkEoI&feature=related>.

Reason for the Season

As we approach the holiday season, I find I have a lot of things on my mind and I suspect most people do.  It can be anything from family, friends, decorations, presents, food or almost anything else to do with the holidays.  So what is Christmas really about?

Christmas is about our Savior, Jesus Christ, who was born in a town called Bethlehem.  His mom was the Virgin Mary and his dad was Joseph.  During this time of year everyone had to go back to their place of birth to be registered.  Jesus was 100% man and 100% God.  He was born in a stable with all the animals because there was no room for him in an inn.  He was born in manger because the inns were full of people trying to register.  Shepard's who were tending their flocks that night were approached by the angle, Gabriel.  At first the Shepard's were afraid, until Gabriel said "Be not afraid... the child is born who is Christ the Lord."  They followed the star to the humble stable in Bethlehem and saw Jesus lying in a manger.   Three wise man, kings from other countries, saw the northern star and knew what it signified.  They followed it to the stable where Jesus laid. As a show of respect and love, they brought Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh, very expensive things at that time, for the baby, Jesus.

Every year, on December 25th, we celebrate Jesus's birthday.  I hope that this year as you are opening your gifts and hanging with your friends and family, you will remember what this special day is all about - The man and our Savior, Jesus Christ, His birth, the life He lead as an example for us, and His death to atone for our sins.

Respecting Other Religions

 This time of the year there are a lot of different celebrations throughout the world.  Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah, December 8th-16th.  Jewish children play the game Dreidel. The Dreidal has four Hebrew words on each side. Each night they light another candle on the Menorah and the children get a present. Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25th.  This is when their Savior was born and they will put up a Christmas tree and place presents under it.  Buddhists in Japan celebrate the New Year.  On the night of New Year's Eve the go to the temple and ring the bell 108 time to clear all of humans 108 sins from the past years.  These are just a few of the different celebrations that go on.  All over the world people are celebrating different holidays.  I am a Christian, so I celebrate Christmas. On my blog, I may talk a lot about Christmas because that is what I know the best.  I am not trying to make my holiday more important then any others.  I hope this holiday season that you will respect other traditions and celebrations, even if they are not the same as yours. 

Giving vs. Getting

Imagine yourself on Christmas morning.  You run to your living room and you see a pile of presents just for you.  Imagine how excited you feel.  Now try to imagine someone who has no tree or a lot of presents, if any at all.  How might they be feeling?  Many people don't have the money or resources to provide a Christmas experience for their children.  Some people don't even have a home to celebrate Christmas in.  I love to get presents on Christmas, but it also hurts me to think of someone without.  Giving a gift to someone who really needs help brings me more joy then getting my own gifts.  I know I am spoiled and I sometimes take that for granted, but to give to someone in need brings a smile to my face, and it reminds me how lucky I am.  This holiday season I encourage you to give to someone who might be struggling to provide.  Giving is better then getting!

This video is from the movie "The Christmas Shoes" and it really touched my heart.  I pray that your holiday season is good, and please enjoy this video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fKI50MhzVM

Source:
 "The Christmas Shoes." Youtube. Smithandchin2, 13 Sept. 2007. Web. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fKI50MhzVM>.

Practice

Most of us are familiar with the term, "Practice makes perfect."  To some extent, I believe this is true.  If you don't practice something, whether it be music, math, or a new language, you won't be able to grasp it and be successful in it.  I think that a better way to say it is, "Perfect practice makes perfect." In my own life, I have found it quite tedious to take the time and really practice something.  I just practice for a few minutes and then move on to the next thing.  Doing that doesn't really help improve my skills.  I find I'm only doing it to say I did it.

My favorite instrument to play is the violin because it is what I know the best.  When I'm practicing my violin, I try to practice the right notes and rhythms.  Obviously, if I'm practicing the wrong notes or rhythms, I will not be able to make the music sound right.  I also believe that repetition is key to practicing most things.  Practicing something once will never result in perfect.  I remember when I was auditioning for chairs in the Colorado Youth Symphony Orchestra and I practiced the music only once or twice.  When I got to the audition, I totally freaked out because everyone knew their music and I really didn't.  Afterwards, I auditioned and I was so disappointed with myself.  I got placed in the second violins instead of the first like I'd hoped.  After I practiced the music the way I should have, I knew that I could have been in first violins.  Because of this situation, I learned that no matter how tedious practice is, it will pay off in the end.

Music

Music is very influential in our society today.  There are many genres of music, from classical to R&B and hip-hop.  The type of music you listen to can affect your behaviors and life.  Are you making the right choices when it comes to what music you listen to?  Do you listen to music that is positive, or do you listen to music that promotes drugs, sex, and bad language?  These messages, good or bad, can come from almost any style of music.  Just because you may listen to rap doesn't mean that the lyrics are bad.  It is just a different style of music.  But you need to pay attention to the lyrics used.  What about the music videos you watch?  Do they promote bad things?  The lyrics may be clean, but is the music video clean to match the lyrics?  Visual images also affect our behaviors, beliefs and attitudes.  I have had to evaluate what music I am listening to and see if it is appropriate or not.  Mostly I listen to Christian music (Casting Crowns, Steven Curtis Chapman), Disney Channel Stars (Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez), and Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift.  They have good, meaningful lyrics.  Despite this, some of them have a strong beat which is fun to dance to.
In addition to what you watch or listen to at home with music you own, a contributor to all this comes from the radio stations we listen to in the car or at home.  If you listen to a radio station that plays music that have bad lyrics and meaning, you are more likely to want to purchase songs of the same type.  The main radio station I listen to is K-Love.  They play uplifting music, have funny DJ's, and have insight about what the artists are writing about.  I know pretty much every song that they play and when I'm down, I know that they will lift my spirits.  So I suggest that you should find a station that you love to listen to but that also promotes good behavior rather than bad in the type of messages the music can expresses.

You are Beautiful

Have you ever awaken in the morning, looked in the mirror and thought you just looked awful?  Your hair is sticking out at odd angles, your eyes are red and you just feel fat.  I think everyone has felt like that at one point or another in their life. It's those days that you might put on a lot of make up and put a lot of hair gel in your hair to get it to stay in place.  Maybe you are flipping through magazines and everyone in them is skinny with perfect skin and a perfect smile.  You look at yourself in the mirror, comparing yourself to her and you look nothing like that girl in the magazine.  But there is a secret that sometimes young girls, and even older ones and sometimes men, need to know.  Let me tell you what that is:  You are beautiful no matter what you look like.  God created you and He made you perfect.  Sure, he didn't make you look like that perfect model (who has probably been very photo shopped), but He made you exactly the way He had in mind.  And you are beautiful in His eyes. 

We all have those days when we feel like we're the ugliest person on earth.  Remember, though, that God made you perfect in His eyes.

A song that really touches on this idea is Jonny Diaz's "More Beautiful You".  I love the first verse where he is talking about the fourteen year old girl flipping through the magazine, because that is me some days and I can relate!  Please watch his music video and remember, You Are BEAUTIFUL!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNqQUojBg84

Source:
"Jonny Diaz-More Beautiful You." Youtube. JonnyDiazVevo, 17 Mar. 2011. Web. <www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNqQUojBg84>.

Love

I believe it is a part of our nature to need to feel loved and accepted.  I wonder what some people do to try to obtain that love.  Are you placing yourself in a unhealthy relationship?  Maybe you are looking for love and settling for someone that isn't right for you, who is compromising who you are. Or are you turning to material things to fill the emptiness?  Are you becoming greedy or looking for something to do that isn't legal?  Trying to fill that void in a negative or dangerous way will only make you feel emptier.  Sometimes a person may not have any source from which to obtain that love and acceptance.  But there is a place you can always turn.  Our Father in Heaven has enough love to fill that void or emptiness.  And He always loves you.  We actually have a never ending source of love!  How cool is that!?!

This song by Jesus Culture tells of God's never ending love.  I find this song truly uplifting and I pray you will, too.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_KXsMCJgBQ

Source:
"One Thing Remains-Jesus Culture (Lyric Video)." Youtube. TheCommissioned, 12 Mar. 2011. Web. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_KXsMCJgBQ>.