Finding Me-Jesus's Life

I'm going to look at some of the things in Jesus's life  that can be found in mine. Now Jesus was in the public, talking and healing people, but Luke 5:16 describes that "Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." This is huge for me, because I feel like when I retreat to myself to pray, or just to have quiet time, that I am an outcast. In a world where there are a ton of extroverts, and most everything caters to them, it is just hard to feel different, but what I love about this is that Jesus did it. Jesus could have been healing all the sick, and spreading the good news, but he took time off to go by himself. If Jesus did that when he was alive, then I shouldn't feel ashamed when I do it now. 
Another interesting thing about Jesus life, is that he didn't come to be the hero. He instead came to serve people, and he showed this with his actions. Mark 10:45 says, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." He served his disciples by washing their feet, and he served us by dying on the cross. He lead through his actions. I find this to be amazing, because I'm not always good with words. If I can show Jesus's love by my actions, than I know that I'm serving God. I don't need to have the best language to show people's God's love. Jesus showed it by serving others, and that is what I want to do too.
Now this is only two examples about how Jesus's life can make be reflected in my life. I know that we can all relate to Jesus's life some way, we just need to read the Bible. It may seem irrelevant to the times with all our technology, and advancements, but the fundamentals are the same back then and now. 

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for sending Jesus to die for us and to serve us with his actions. Thank you for giving us the bible so that we may be able to relate to Jesus, and to start to live like him. Help me to take time to go have quiet time by myself, and not feel like a complete outcast. Help me to also serve the world through my actions Lord. Amen.

Finding Me-Ross Lynch

I have many role models, especially from the Christian Music Industry, but Ross Lynch is different. Ross Lynch is from my home state of Colorado. I find that to be very cool, especially because as I was growing up, I thought that Colorado was a talent-less place, that didn't get any respect from the outside. This was also influenced when there were singers who come to Colorado and they show up two hours later to their concert, or they just didn't show. I thought that no one had much respect for the state of Colorado. It was because Ross Lynch was from Colorado that I originally watched Austin and Ally. I was going into my freshman year of high school, and I thought that it would be uncool to still watch Disney Channel. So I wasn't going to getting interested in any new shows, but once I found out that one of the leads was from Colorado, I gave Austin and Ally a chance, and I fell in love with the series. (Now if my parents ground me, they don't ground me from the computer or my phone, they ground me from Austin and Ally.) This was important to me because it not only showed me that Colorado had talent, but it showed me that if you want it bad enough, then anyone from Colorado can make it big.
Now I am not looking to get in the acting business, but I would really love to become a great musician, or a really good photographer/ graphic designer. I have already proven that I have the talent, from the solos that I have done during the performances for orchestra. I have also taken third place in state at a photography competition. I have the talent, and I shouldn't let the fact that I was raised in Colorado, become a limitation of me being able to follow my dreams. I mean my parents aren't going to pack up and move to some other state, because they promised my brother and I that they wouldn't make us change schools, until we are done with high school, which I appreciate. But if I work hard enough, than I can get my work out there, and I may not become famous, but I'm okay with that, because I know that if I can change one persons life with my work, than I know that I have done well.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you so much, for allowing me to be born in Colorado, and thank you for someone like Ross Lynch who I can look up to. Lord, please help me not let Colorado become a limitation for me, but help me to know that I can do what ever  you have in mind for me, regardless of these imaginary lines drawn on a page to create states. Thank you for the many talents you have given me, and help me to use them to glorify you Lord. Amen.

Finding Me- Frozen

I am behind the trend of what is popular, but I had recently watched frozen, and like everyone else who watched it, I am in love with it. My favorite character is Elsa, and if you have been reading this series you could guess why. I do find that I have somethings in common with Elsa. (No I don't have power to freeze things so don't ask)
Like younger Elsa, I used to be outgoing and I would love to interact with people. Then something big occurred in our life that changed that. Afterwards, Elsa locked herself in room, and I cut myself off from most of my friends. But the difference here is that Elsa went and hid to protect the people she loved. I went and hid to protect myself from the people who loved me.
Through out the movie of Frozen, the viewer goes on this journey with Elsa as she has to face the fact that the people she was trying to protect was actually hurting them. By cutting herself from Anna, she creates this space between them, and in Anna's attempt to fix it, Elsa actually hurts Anna which is what Elsa was trying not to do. When I cut myself of from the people who are trying to help, I have actually hurt myself. By creating a distance from the people who love me, it is hard to find someone to be there to help me.
Another concept from the movie that I cling to is the one of "conceal, don't feel." Acting like everything is fine, builds up. I have kept so much to myself, and last week I just let it go. I got my math test back, and it wasn't close to the score I wanted, and I failed the test. I broke down in class and I let everything out. I found that when I let people in, they are there to help me. I had people help me with the test corrections, and they did all they could to just cheer me up.
At the end of the movie, it is explained that love can thaw a frozen heart. It was love, that thawed Anna, and it was love that help Elsa thaw the snow that covered the whole kingdom. When I was able to let the love of my close friends back into my heart, I became happier, I had more love to give. Fear has the ability to stop you in your tracks, and it can cause you to turn away from every thing you know. Love, can overtake fear, and it can make things new, and whole, and beautiful again.
To sum this up, I tried to protect myself, from the people who loved me by cutting them off. I let fear enter and rule my life, when instead I should have let love in.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the movie, Frozen, because it was an incredible movie. I pray Lord that I won't let fear be the ruler of my life, but  I would let love in to feel and consume my heart. Thank you for putting such incredible people in my life Lord. Amen

Finding Me-Hamlet

Now if you looked at the list that I laid out Sunday, Hamlet might be the most uninteresting work that I'm going to go over. I wouldn't discredit it yet, because there is actually a lot of amazing detail that was in Hamlet. One of the biggest aspect of Hamlet, was this idea of action verse thinking. Hamlet was a thinker, while his foil*, Laertes, was a man of action. Both of their fathers were murdered, and back in the 1600's it was honorable to kill the man who killed your father. (We no longer do that in modern society.) Laertes immediately went to go kill the man who killed his father, as soon as he found out about his death. Hamlet on the other hand was told to go avenge his fathers death, but instead of taking action, he thought about it. Out of these two characters, I am most like Hamlet. I may be told to do something, but I will probably do more thinking on the topic, then actually doing what I was told. This is a big problem when it comes to sharing the gospel because, I think about everything that could go right and wrong, and I eventually talk myself out of doing anything. At the end of Hamlet, four people died, and it was partly due to the fact that Hamlet was thinking about ways to avenge his fathers death, and he wasn't actually doing it. Don't get me wrong, thinking is needed, because Laertes was going to kill the king, not knowing that it was Hamlet who accidentally killed him. I need to find a balance, between action and thinking in my life, because right now I'm leaning a lot to the thinking side of life.

*Foil- A character who goes through the same events as the main character, but what he does as a result of the events, is different.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for giving me such a lovely mind that loves to think. I pray Lord that it wouldn't get in the way of taking action, and doing what you are telling me to do. Help me to use my ability to think be glorifying to you Lord. Amen.

Finding Me- Austin and Ally

For the TV show that I will look at, I chose Austin and Ally. Besides the fact that it is my favorite TV show airing right now, I can really relate to the character of Ally Dawson.
One similarity between us, is that we both are smart. In the beginning of the series, Ally is talking about doing homework, or managing all her clubs, especially in the episode, "Kangaroos and Chaos." In my life, I am normally doing homework, or volunteering for a club I am in. As the series progresses, we see Ally become more balanced between her homework and her friends. In the episode, "Zaliens and Cloud Watchers" Austin tries to let Ally experience some of the things he liked, and she had a blast doing something out side of school. We do see Ally still help with the Glee Club and in the newspaper, but there is a balance between that and hanging out with her friends. This year is my senior year, and I am finally figuring out the balance, like Ally has between school, and your social life. I wasn't the person to go to the mall to go shopping, but I tried it with a close friend, and it was fun. Before Homecoming this year, a group of girls and my brother ate dinner together and then we went to the dance, and the whole night was a lot of fun. It is about just finding that balance between school, and social life.
Another thing that we have in common, is that we both have some sort of journal. Ally has her songbook, and I have a journal where I write down all my crazy ideas that I would like to accomplish someday. We both keep what is inside a secret until it is fully ready to be shared. Ally keeps her lyrics in there which then become songs for Austin. I write down my project ideas for digital arts, or some lines to a poem which then I work on to create a final project. It is our way to form our ideas, and shaping them until they become reality.
A similarity between us is that we both have a fear of "performing." While Ally Dawson has stage fright, I have a fear of performing in small groups or one on one. I love being on stage in front of a crowd, but when it comes to interviews, or speaking to a small group of people, I try to find a place to hide. Often in my school's bible study, we break into small groups and we ask questions about what we have learned. I know the answer to most of the questions, but I'm too scared to actually say it out loud. My reasoning, is that in a small group, you are so close to the other people, you can see there disapproving looks. On stage, you have the lights, and that makes it hard to see past the first row, so I can't see if any one is disapproving of what I'm doing and it doesn't effect me.
The big difference between Ally and I, is that she has overcame her fear. She is now singing on stage, and having a blast. I on the other hand am still afraid to talk one on one. I try and I practice, and while I have improved some, there is still along way to go. One of the big reasons that I believe that Ally overcame her stage fright, is that she had good friends by her side, and they encouraged her alone the way. I do have friends, but I don't necessarily communicate to them where my weakness are so they can encourage me. They can all see that I'm not social, but if I don't ask for help, or at least talk to them about it, then they can't help me. I can overcome my fear of talking to people, like Ally over came her stage fright, but I need the support group to help me.

To summarize what I talked about, I am working at being more balanced between school, and my social life. I make great use of a journal to write down my ideas to make them reality. I also see where I need to improve, and how my friends are there to help me along the way. I know that I'm not exactly all, because she is a made up character, but it was good to reflect on her strengths and weakness and see how my strengths and weakness compare, and how to improve on my weaknesses.

Dear Heavenly Father, 
Thank you for the TV series Austin and Ally. Thanks for the journal that I keep, because it really has helped me to keep track of my ideas, and keep track of the process to make them reality. Lord, I pray that you will help me to utilize the friends who you have put in my life, so that I can overcome my fear of talking to people. I can't thank you enough for this series. Amen.

Finding Me-Intro

So I’m am doing something a bit different this week. Instead of posting on just Wednesday and Saturday, I am posting a blog every day of the week. I have a week long series called “Finding Me.” Today is just an intro to this series.

For this series, I’m going to be looking at a TV show, a book, a movie, and a role model. I have chose a specific example to each category. I’m doing this because I can relate to some aspect of each example I picked. As the audience, we tend to like things that we can relate to. The movies that we watch over and over again, there is normally something in there that you can relate to. So this week, I’m going to look at things that I relate to and how they shape who I am. I am then going to close on how my life can relate to Jesus’s life while he was here on earth. I am ending with a conclusion of what I have learned, because I’m learning from this whole experience. I challenge you this week to find thing that you can relate to, and use it to find you you are.

Week Schedule

Sunday-Intro

Monday-Austin and Ally

Tuesday-Hamlet

Wednesday-Frozen

Thursday-Ross Lynch

Friday-Jesus’s Life

Saturday-Conclusion

Dear Heavenly Father,
As I enter this new series, just help me to find out more about myself, and help me to inspire people to dig a little deeper in who they are. Amen.

Difference in Words

I am giving you a warning now, today's post is going to be a English lesson. We were talking one day in our Bible study, and at the end we were given the task of finding the difference between purpose and calling. From what I found, purpose is the reason or motivation of why you are doing something, while calling is a job that you do. They are not interchangeable, and even I have been found guilty of thinking that they are one in the same. If you are Christian then our purpose is to bring glory to God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." That sentence describes our motivation behind everything we do, and it is to bring glory to God. Calling is the job that you do, weather it be a teacher, or an engineer, or the CEO of a company. The members of Casting crowns were called to work at their own churches, but they were also called to form a band and write such amazing songs for people. That is their calling. They do everything that they do to glorify God, and that is their purpose. 
I just want to make you more aware of the difference between these two words, because understanding the difference may help develope other understanding of God and yourself.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Help me to understand the difference in these two words. Help me to serve you in all I do, because that is my purpose. Help me understand what your calling is for me, because it is different for everyone. But knowing that I have my own individualized calling is refreshing to know. Thank you Lord for that. Amen.

P.S. I'm doing a series everyday next week, to give you a heads up.