What Is Love?

"We love because He loved us first" 1 John 4:19

Love is a funny emotion, one that can't be contained to one blog post. It is such a broad topic, and there are so many opinions of what love is. It has been a constant though in my brain for the past few weeks, and it is something that is very interesting to explore, and I want to take the time to explore it, and during the process, I hope we can all discover somethings for for what love is for each and everyone of us.

To the right is something that I painted this first week of college. It shows how many wonderful things can stem from a life that has love at the center. I paired that Bible verse with the painting, because Jesus is love, and that is where we learn to love is from his time on Earth. With Jesus at the center of our life, wonderful things are made.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you so much for the love that you give me, and for the love that I can reflect onto others. I pray that I can grow closer to you and what it means to live a life full of your love. Thank you for your constant love. Amen

Let the Fun Begin

Finally classes have begun at my school, and like all the classes that I have taken at high school, it is all about attitude. We all have classes that we have to do, and classes that we may not particularly like. The thing is that our attitude plays a huge part in how you will do. I know that I have talked about this before, but with each new school year we get a new set of classes, and we need to reset our attitude for the school year. There are so many people who actually dread the school year, that it is very unusual for someone to be excited for school. I was having a conversation with a close friend of mine the other day and we were talking about our classes when I told him that I was in the honors program at my school, and he commented on hard that sounded. When I told him how excited I was for that class, he said, and I quote, that I was "silly." We are living in a culture where there are few people excited about school, and there aren't that many more people who have any sort of positive outlook on school. It is just something that we have to do in our lives, and we let opportunities pass us by.

Trust me I know how hard school is. There are days where I don't want to wake up and go to school. When I have those days, Colossians 3:23 come to mind which goes, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men" The Lord has great plans for each and everyone of us. He wants us to learn and grow into he made us to be. But when we put in a half-hearted attempt, we are missing the grand things God has in mind for us. I have had so many opportunities at high school, and now in college, and sure not every class may not be fun, but it is a way to grow and to become more knowledgeable servants for God. 

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for allowing us the opportunities to learn and to grow. I pray that during this school year  that you will come along beside me and help me with my studies. Thank you for the amazing teachers, and for the time that is set aside just to learn. Amen.

Craziness

So it is the first night after my move to Dordt. My stuff is unpacked, and somewhat organized. I met some of my professors, and some of my classmates. But one thing I like about this school, is how well it makes me feel like I am in the right spot. It is amazing to know that God has a plan for each one of us, and that in the end, we will end up exactly where we need to be.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for being there with us, no matter where we are, and thank you for having a plan for each one of us, a plan to help us grow and to prosper. Amen

Move In Day

 So today is move in day at Dordt College. So there is going to be no official post today, but stay tune this week for updates of my move.

We Can All Relate- Being Loved

Another theme that I recognized in my journal, is this feeling of being noticed and being loved.  I have written down so many times about how a boy would notice me, or how a classmate would come over and talk to me, or how someone would notice that I wasn't okay. God created us to live in community with each other, and we have a natural instinct of wanting to feel loved. The thing is that God loves you just the way you are, and you don't need to have to try to fit in. 

1 John 4:10 "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."  God loved us first, and he still loves us to this day. So when you don't feel like anyone in this world loves you, God still does. 

Romans 5:8 "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." This is a common verse about this topic, but when you think about it, even when we refused to acknowledge God, he still loved us, and he died for us. 

On top of God's love for us, we also have people on Earth who love us. The body of Christ is a family of God's people, who are there to love and support each other. 

Romans 12: 4-5  "For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." We each are different, working on different things for the Lord, but when we come together in unity, amazing things can happen. 

Not only does God love us, but people hear on Earth love us. God doesn't want us to be alone, but to live in community with each other. 

Dear Heavenly Father, 
Thank you for the love that you have given us, and for the fact that it never changes. Thank you for a place on Earth, where I can feel loved, and feel like I belong. Amen. 

We Can All Relate-Identity

The first topic that I want to talk about is identity. As we all grow up, we question who we are, and who we are meant to be. This can be a really confusion process. When I look back at my journal, I have many poems about identity I have attempted to write. Many of them talk about the confusion I have in trying to figure out who I am, and what I am going to do when I grow up. God knows that we will struggle in finding out who we are, so he made sure there were verses in the Bible to help us out. 

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." God knows all that you are going to do when you get older, and all you need to do is trust him, because he has amazing things for your future. 

Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” God knows every detail of you, and he made you to be you. There is nothing you need to change about yourself, because God made you to be you, and he doesn't make mistakes.

John 1:12 "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." You are God's child. This means that you are loved, and cherished, and that you are accepted into a new family. 

These are only a few verses on this topic. If you want to find out more on identity, leave a comment and I would love to talk to you more on this topic, because we all go through a life trying to figure out who we are. God made you to be you, and there is nothing that you need to change.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for making me that way you made me. I know that there are no mistakes in the way that you made me, and that I was made for a purpose. As I struggle to find out who I am, I pray that you will show me how you see me. Amen.

We Can All Relate

I don't know how many of you keep a journal, or have a place to just write down your thoughts, but reading what you wrote from years ago is eye-opening. I have a spiral of poems that I wrote, and even though they aren't that good, the I can still relate to what I was going through back then. So I am starting a series, taking parts of the poems I wrote in middle school, and reflecting on the situation of the time, and how there is a common thread that can relate to most people. I pray that as I go on this journey, that you too will also look back and reflect and see just how far God has taken you from where you were then, to now.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for helping me grow as a person, and as I reflect back, I pray that you help me take what happened in the past and applying to the future, and to your plan for my life. 

Watching Our Thoughts

Many of us know that we are to watch our language and the words we use with other people, for it can either build them up or tear them down. But many of us don't think of having to watch our thoughts, because they are inside of our head, and they can't really affect anyone else. The thing is that what we think about in our heads does have a great impact on us, and the people around us. That is why God warns in Philippians 4:8 what we are to think about: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." God gives us what we are to think about, because he has our best interest at heart. If you walk around thinking that you are a failure, then you are going to act like a failure, falling short of God's plan for you. Compare that to walking through life, thinking about God's power and love, then you are going to live like that, and not only affect your life for God's glory, but it will affect the people around you too. So next time that you are left alone with your thoughts again, ask yourself if what you are thinking about is praise worthy to God, or not. 

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for knowing me inside and out, and knowing everything I think about. I pray that you help me to watch my thoughts, so that they are glorifying to you. Amen.

Art Work- Over the Blackness

I took my inspiration for this piece from Colton Dixon's song "Limitless." I know that at first look, it isn't the most uplifting piece of art work, until you connect the lyrics from the song with the picture. The bridge of the song goes:

Doubt sees a mountain, no way around it.

Faith sees a victory, no doubt about it.

Fear sees a ceiling,

Hope sees the stars,

Love be the light inside of our hearts.

The darkness in the painting with the huge dark mountains is the doubt that is in our way. There is a glimmer of hope in the sun behind the mountains, representing the hope we have in God. There is also a part that you can't see, but there is a hole in the back of the canvas where I have placed lyrics, poems, ect, back there to give me encouragement when I feel down. 

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for the hope that you give us in our times of doubt. I want to believe each day that I can overcome my doubts with you, and the hope that you give. Amen 

Art Work- Sunrise

So I was on a family trip, and we left really early in the morning. So I took pictures of the sunrise as we drove, and some of them came out really good. So below I posted some of my best ones, and the colors with the reds and oranges and yellows are so vibrant.

The last one I did edit. I removed the power lines and I then added a cross from another one of my photos. It turned out really good, and I love it. 

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you so much for your glory that is painted in every sunrise, and thank you for each new day that you bring.