Look at Who God Made You to Be

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 makeup 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 photoshopped), 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 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!

Dear Heavenly Father
Thank you for making me beautiful. Help me to love myself the way you love me. Amen.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNqQUojBg84

Loving Everyone

Over the semester I have been doing research in sharing the gospel with non-believers. During my research, I stumbled across 1 Corinthians 9:19-22, and below is a section of my paper that breaks down how this passage in the Bible relates to us sharing the gospel.

When it comes to sharing the gospel, there are no bounds on racial and ethnic backgrounds on who can receive the good news. God called all people to be his people, Jews and Gentiles. Christians are not the ones who pick and choose who comes to God, but they are the ones who just tell the message of what God has done. One thing that Jesus emphasized in his teachings is the concept of loving everyone. 1 Corinthians 9:19-20 summarizes the best what it means to love everyone that God has created. Paul described in his letter to the Corinthians that Christians are supposed to be “a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible” for God. Paul goes on to explain what this means. For example when Paul was winning over Jews, then he would “become like a Jew.” He wouldn’t become a Jew, but he would hang out where they hung out and associate himself with them. Paul concludes his letter by saying he, as well as every Christian, have to “become all things to all people,” to save some of the people we come in contact with. We don't shun people just because they are different than us, but we instead learn what they are about and we love on them.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for loving me, Lord. Help me to reflect that love back onto everyone on I come in contact with, no matter what their race, or religion. Amen. 

Building Altars

One common theme I have found when reading the Old Testament is that the Jewish people were into building alters. They built these altars as a reminder of all that the Lord has done for them. When they crossed over to the promised land, they built an altar. Whenever a battle was won they built an altar. It was a way to remember for generations to come what the Lord has done, and how he has blessed them.
I wonder what our lives would look like if we remember all the good that God has done for us or all the times he guided us out of a tough situation. We all go through hard times in life and if we had something that we can look at to remind us of a time when God came through for us and how he can do it again. For example, if you are wondering about God's timing, if you had a note or a mason jar where you can store these memories you can then go back to a time where God timing worked perfectly for you even when it wasn't when you thought it would happen. That is something I found interesting as I was reading the Bible that I wanted to mention.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for all the times you came through for me. I pray that I can remember all the good you have done for me when life starts to look bleak. Amen. 

Grateful Attitude

One thing that has continuously been coming up in my life, whether through devotionals, church services, Bible studies, or TV shows, is being grateful. And more importantly being grateful when times are hard, or we are completely stressed. In a book that I am reading for Bible study, the author talked about how we have to work at being grateful, but when we are grateful for the things that we have, we find more joy in life and we aren't as stressed.


One thing that is hard is when we are down or stressed, we don't often know what to be grateful for. I have some suggestions for you to think about when you are looking for something to be grateful about.


-Look around the room you are currently in. Find something that you can't live without, or something that you find enjoyable, and give thanks to God for whatever it is.


-Go though your phone and find a conversation over text, or pictures you have of a friend. Give thanks to God for that person, and all the good memories you two share.


-Browse the internet, and find the sites that you spend most of your time on. Give thanks to God for the websites that you spend hours on.


-Find a modern piece of technology that you use on a daily breakfast. Give thanks to God that you live in an age where there is technology.


-Go through your closet and find your favorite outfit. Give thanks to God for all the cute clothes you can wear.


There is a lot to be thankful for, we just have to go out an look for it. And when we feel grateful for what we do have, the worry of the things that we don't have begins to shrink and that stress will fade away.


Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for dying for me on the cross. That you for all that you give me even though I don't deserve it. Help me to be grateful even during the days where I am stress and tired. Amen.

Lesson From Girl Meets World

So I don't usually post two on Saturday, but I feel like this was a special case, and it couldn't wait till Wednesday. So Friday, the new Girl Meets World was released, and one part of the show that I like is that in some way or another I can relate with at least one of the characters. This week though hit close to home, and I wanted to talk about it.

This week the plot of the show was the conflict between Riley and her mom. Riley believed that she was old enough to make her choices and do what was important to her, even though it wasn't as important to her mom. She defied her mom's orders and after a while of arguing, Riley moved in to be with her best friend, Maya.

The basis of this disagreement is that the teenager thinks that they can make their own decisions, but they go against what their parents want. The teen feels entitled to be in charge of their own life because they are a good person and they can have made good decisions in the past, just like how their parents raised them. Then they think that it's not fair that they don't get to do what they want to do, forgetting all the wonderful things their parents did, like pay for the house, food, clothes, etc. The said teenager thinks they can do it on their own. Both teen and parent are hurt because of what happened because the teenager doesn't know that they are the world to their mom. They realized they need each other, and they go back and mend the relationship.

This is a cycle that happens over and over again in our lives and watching that episode put it into perspective how much I hurt my mom when we argue, and I feel like I am entitled, so much so that it felt like I was looking into a mirror. I don't care who you are; we have all fought with our parents growing up. I know I have. It's not because I don't love her, it's just we have separate ideas on what is important. When I am in the battle, I can only see things my way. But looking at it from both angles, I do hurt my mom, when I don't mean too. I thought after I watched this episode, that if I were suppose to have a different mom, God would have given me someone different. But God didn't, and I am so lucky to have the mom he did give me.

Dear Mom,
Thank you for you love every day, even when I can be an entitled brat. I know that we may not agree on everything, for we are two different people, but I don't need to turn these disagreements into battles that harm you. I do love you. I am thankful for all the prayers you pray for me. I am thankful for the food I eat, for the clothes and shoes I wear. I am grateful for every time I get to see you. I am blessed to call you mom, for I have learned so much from you, about volunteering and going out there to get donations for fundraising events. I learned how to be independent. I know I don't say this enough, but I love you mom, and I couldn't have done any of this without you. 

Kaitlyn <3 

The Small Things in Life

One of my favorite parables is the Parable of the Bags of Gold. (Matthew 25:14-30) One reason why I like this parable because it talks about taking what you have been giving and putting it to use. In the parable there are three servants. The first two put the bags of gold that they have been given to work/investment and because of that they made more money for their master. The third servant hid the money that was given to him, and he did not make any extra money for the master. The first two servants were given more to be in charge of because they wisely used what was given to them. The third, on the other hand, had everything taken from him because he didn't invest what was given to him.


When I read this parable, I think about using the gifts that God has given us to benefit his kingdom. He puts us in places that may seem insignificant at the time but they can help you in the future get to where you want in life. For example last year as my work study, I worked in the commons. It wasn't the most glamorous job on campus, but I made sure that I worked on it to the best of my ability. Then I was offered a job as a football filmer. It was more related to what I wanted to do, which is to work with cameras. After working hard at that, God than gave me the opportunity to next semester work for one of my professors as their TA. Now at the beginning of freshman year, I didn't expect to ever be in a place where I would be working right along side my professor. But I worked hard at the jobs that God provided, and when he saw that I could invest what I have been given to do more, he gave me more.


I have to admit, none of us want to start at the bottom. It will be so much easier to start at the top, but we need to show that we can be responsible for what God has given us, and then we can move up the ladder. So no matter what you are doing now, work at it with all you heart as if serving the Lord and not man. (Colossians 3:23)


Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for giving me these jobs that may not always be what I desire, because I know that by doing well at them that I can than be trusted with more. Help me to work where I am placed with out complaining so I may bring glory towards your kingdom. Amen.

Relational Evangalism

This semester at school, I am doing an independent study on the topic of sharing the Gospel with non-believers. One theme I have found in my research, whether it is reading books or talking to the dean of chapel at my school, is that one of the most successful ways to share the Gospel is to create a relationship with them.


So the question becomes, what does this relationship look like? One thing that was emphasized was this relationship is not a tool in the goal of sharing the Gospel. This is a genuine relationship where you care about the person, where you can empathize with their struggles and celebrate their success. This is a relationship where both people trust each other so you can be open and honest and share where you are struggling and connect with them. This is a relationship just like any other relationship that you may have with a Christian.


Now to do this, you may have to, as the dean of chapel says, "get in and deal with the messiness." This means getting out of your comfort zone. He started about talking about how Jesus hung out with the worst sinners possible and how his relationship with them changed them. Jesus got down in the messiness, and he interacted with people, who the Jews had already dismissed as being people who couldn't be saved.


He then gave some modern examples. The two examples he used were drinking at a bar and smoking on break. For the drinking, he suggested that you go to the bar, but don't drink. No one says that you have to drink at a bar, and by not drinking it gives you the chance to help someone who is drunk get home safely. Another thing he talked about is that people are most willing to talk when they feel comfortable, and they aren't preoccupied. He gave the example of the smokers, because they are usually on break when they smoke, and so they can just hang out and not worry about work. Lastly, he talked about how you being in the same area as they don't mean that you agree with what they are doing, or condoning what they are doing. You are simply enjoying each other's company.


Now, comes the important part, actually sharing the Gospel. One thing that was talked about was the fact that we, as Christians should act and looked so different than everyone else around us that people wonder what do we have. Just this summer I have been called someone's good influence, and as the summer went on, they hung out with me more and more, because they liked who I was and they wondered why I was liked that. That led to discussions about my faith, and it created some good conversations about our values and how they affect our life.


It is also suggested that you pray about God giving you the opportunity to share the Gospel. A prayer is a powerful tool, and it can be very helpful when sharing the Gospel with someone. And even if you have to leave, for example, go to college, prayer can be very helpful in still reaching out to a person over a distance.


Now I know this is a quick and dirty version of a semester worth of research, but it is so valuable that we should at least be thinking about this. Once I write my paper, I hope to go into more detail about each of the points I mentioned, because I am very passionate about reaching out to the people in the cities I live in who aren't perfect, and they are looking for their good influence in their life.


Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for placing people in my life to create a relationship with to share your love. I know that I am not the one who saves people, for that is for you alone. Please send me out to be your messenger to the people who need you most. Help me not to be afraid of the messiness that will follow for in all of this I trust you. Amen