Time for Christmas!!!

Have you ever noticed the escalating tendency in our culture to rush the holidays as quickly as possible?!

I mean, seriously... October 31st, midnight...Halloween is over, we wake up November 1st & BAMMM, Thanksgiving is taking over the world. Very similar to what we experience the moment Thanksgiving is over...CHRISTMAS takes over the TV, department stores, and the world! Just wait though...once Christmas/New Years is done with it'll be Valentines Day before we even blink an eye!!

So on and so forth, is the way we experience holidays year after year. I think maybe, just maybe...we all collectively need to work on simply savouring each holiday as it comes and not worry so much about rushing on to the next.

I'm not saying all this to say there is anything wrong with the excitement and anticipation people may feel towards the coming holiday! I just think we should enjoy each day, and moment for what it brings us, and not only look forward to the next.

Anyhow, I need to finish decorating my Christmas Tree with my Mommy (hehe!) And then just enjoy it...for the next month :)

Merry Christmas (ALMOST!!) to everyone! And remember the reason we even celebrate this holiday to begin with. Our sweet Saviour was born, to give us life and freedom & to make a way for us to enter the Holy place with the one and only God. 

oxox

Being Thankful!

It seemed appropriate to me, that this being the week of Thanksgiving, I should take a few minutes to say a little bit about how good God is! :) & state how thankful I am for that goodness!

This Thanksgiving, some of my dearest friends in the world, trekked here from Chicago to spend this week with my family & I! I love when Thanksgiving is spent with people who are truly precious in my life, it makes it such a rich time :) Also, we have a few more wonderful friends spending the day with us as well!

Another huge thing I am thankful for, is that last week I was hired on at our local Hobby Lobby!! I am stoked!! It was a good season at Qdoba, but I was ready to move on, and get into a new scene with work! One thing I love about this company, Hobby Lobby, is that it's a Christian establishment, and they're closed on Sundays to allow their employees a time of worship and a day to spend with their families! Something I rarely have gotten on Sundays, so I am extremely thankful!

Lastly, the semester is winding down, and I am thankful to be finishing the current classes I am in, and moving on to better ones! :)

All in all, I know I've got a lot to be thankful for, and I know so many others do to! I hope everyone has a blessed time with their families this week, and cherishes every moment.

P.s. I miss Jason & Michelle!

Echoes in Eternity...

In my Philosophy class this semester we've gotten to do some pretty legit things, such as....watch Troy! And at the moment we're watching Gladiator. I've always liked this movie because I went to Teen Mania, and all the men there LOVE it, and love the main character Maximus (played by Russel Crowe) and how he is a man filled with integrity and just epic manliness. I definitely share the same sentiment towards his character, and one thing he says in this movie just catches me every time, this is what he says:

"What we do in life, echoes in eternity."

It is a powerful statement in my mind, it is thought provoking and even convicting.

I absolutely want to live my life with eternity in mind. When you think about it, this life is so short and fragile- such a tiny part of our entire existence. It makes logical sense to me, to be living this life with eternity in mind, because that is where the real living will be happening, on the permanent level.

Jesus Christ is the one and only way to the eternity that people are going to want. Reflect on His love for you, and the price He paid to buy you from the chains of sin, and live out of that understanding.

Teen Mania Ministries

In the past week I've seen all this craziness on Twitter about Teen Mania, The Honor Academy and that ministry in general. I've been researching MSNBC and the other news sources who have done articles on this whole "Mind Over Mania" program.

I want to begin by stating that I love Teen Mania Ministries. I spent a year there as an intern at The Honor Academy <The Honor Ring!> and it was a wonderful, pivotal and essential part of my maturing in Christ and as an individual who was set on living my life for Jesus Christ. I think the people coming against this ministry are coming against something that God has established and would do well to back off now. The fruit of TMM far outweighs the handful of disgruntled individuals and I think that alone speaks for itself enough. Ron Luce, David Hasz and the other leaders involved at TMM are some of the most integrity filled, honorable men of God that I have ever had the privilege of learning under even for just a short season of my life.

I understand that people get hurt. It's a normal part of life, as hard as that may be for some people to cope with and handle. No ministry is perfect, and unfortunately no one can stop ill effects that certain situations have upon people. I have personally been in ministry for the past 5 years since I graduated from The Honor Academy. I know firsthand that no ministry is perfect, but that when the hearts of the leaders are set on God and HIS best for their mission, good comes from it.

It is the responsibility of the hurting individual to seek out restoration and reconciliation with those who offended, BIBLICAL TRUTH. And from what I am reading, and from the integrity I know resides in the leadership at TMM I know they have done all they can do to make things right; and I am only saddened by the unresponsive hearts of those coming against TMM.

I pray this all ends well, and I will only continue to uplift the ministry that God began through Ron Luce and I pray that the general reaction to all of this would be of the same nature. I also pray for those who have been hurt, and I sincerely hope that they find forgiveness within their hearts and that they would be restored to right relationship with TMM and its leadership.

The Office.

If you know me, you knew this had to be coming.
There is no way that I could not write a blog dedicated to one of the single best shows ever made on planet earth...

Yes. That is right. The Office. Despite the sometimes crude humor in this series, it is filled with some of the most witty, hilarious, ridiculous humor I've encountered in my mere 25 years of life.

When the show premiered I knew that I was destined to be a fan! Then a few short years later, I moved and got involved with ministry in an intense way, and basically never watched TV and missed 5-6 seasons in the midst of it...only to be able to catch up on the happenings in this hysterical little world in the recent months of life. I must say, I loved every moment of that catching up!

Regardless of Season 8 now plowing ahead without my personal favorite, Michael Scott, it has still proven to keep it's wit and humor--even though in my opinion he was an irreplaceable part of the show. So, there you have it! For all you Office fans, and even for those of you that aren't!! ;) (My Mom! :)) Hehe!

Cheers!