Diamonds...Diamonds...Diamonds

Now that I have hit the ripe young age of 21, all of my friends seem to be getting married and my Facebook news feed is covered in all sorts of diamond rings.  Not to mention I work with a wedding photographer and get to those rings too!  I almost feel like I'm suffocating in weddings and diamonds sometimes!!  So as my life revolves a lot around weddings these days as I'm helping friends plan theirs and working at others, I usually block out any kind of advertisement involving wedding this or wedding that.

However, the other day I heard a jewelry store's advertisement for engagement rings on the radio and happened to turn this one up.  NO, not because I was interested in their rings, but because I was almost infuriated by what they were saying! I actually found myself yelling at my car radio! (I will not say the name of the company...mainly because I can't remember!)

The commercial went on to say (I'm paraphrasing and this is in no way verbatim), "Do you have a special someone in your life?  Buy her a ring for Blah Blah Jewelers and she will know how much you love her.  So many times we have customers come into our stores to tell us their stories about how wonderful their life is because of the ring he chose.  If you choose one of our fine Blah Blah carat engagement ring, she will be sure to realize how much you really do care for her, after all, she'll know that you spent plenty of money and time picking out such a quality piece.  I know that if you buy her this high value/quality ring from our store, your marriage will end up much better.  Because when you choose the right ring, you're choosing future happiness and a longer marriage for your future!"

Wait what?! Are you kidding me?! Am I the only one who is disturbed by this advertising "garbage??"

Unfortunately, the above was not exaggerated and the man in so many words said that your marriage will be happier and last longer if you pick the right ring for your lady....

Marriage is not about what ring your man could or could not afford or even if he thought for more than 5 minutes on what ring to buy you.  As a girl who is not married or engaged, the only thing I would ever hope for is a man who knows that they DON'T need a ring to earn my love for them and that ANY ring that they give me would be more than enough.  I hate that our society has become so materialistic that even the institution and relationship of a marriage has become so watered down and convoluted that it's hardly about our God who made it anymore!

Marriage is about LOVE.  Without love it is IMPOSSIBLE for two sinners be joined in marriage.  And again, not society's definition of love...God's definition....

"Love is patient and kind; love does NOT envy or boast; it is NOT arrogant or rude.  It does NOT insist on its own way; it is NOT irritable or resentful; it does NOT rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Marriage is a beautiful gift from God.  It is a union based on the love and community of our God.  It is sacred and personal.  It is two people working together to bring glory to our Lord.  It is not about how big your house is, how much your spouse makes, or WHAT RING YOU HAVE!

I'm sorry for the rant, but its heartbreaking to see our world move farther away from God...the creator of ALL things...and more towards worshiping the THINGS that God created.  YOU can be the light.  YOU can be the change.  Thank God for the THINGS he has blessed you with, but don't put those things higher than they really are.  

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Matthew 6:19-21

Stuck in the Same Routine

Does it ever seem like your days are literally slipping through your fingers and no matter how much you did or didn't do…absolutely nothing was accomplished and you just feel drained? Then you ask, where's the coffee? where's the energy drink?  is it time for bed yet?
Sometimes I'm just tired of the repetition of every single day.

Wake up
Take a shower
Eat breakfast
Wonder what to do
Weigh the possibilities of what to do
Dread doing the things you have to do (laundry, clean,…pick your poison)
Make dinner
Go to bed

REPEAT

This really more applies to me during the school year when I have loads of  homework that has to be done or another wedding to edit.  Life just seems draining.  And those are the good days!  What about the days when you start out by waking up late, you wake up sick, you burn your finger on something, or in other words anything that could go wrong will go wrong. 

I have felt really convicted lately because I have found myself getting stuck in a routine.  Doing or not doing the same things over and over again.  Why you ask?  It's never really the same reason.  Sometimes I want to watch a movie, other times I want just five more minutes of sleep, sometimes I simply want to avoid the gas station even if that means sitting on my rear end and not doing anything all day. 

The problem with all of this is that how many times do I stop and "smell the roses"?  How many times do I use that wasted time to do things that would better suit my spirit or my time.  How many times do I sit there and complain about a wrong in my life or this world and don't do anything about it. 

I have found most recently that this extra time, this free time can be so better used.  Instead of sitting here twiddling my thumbs…how about reading into God's word.  (And I'm not talking about just taking a glimpse at YouVersion's verse of the day.)  I'm talking about really thinking about what God's words can say to you TODAY or in this moment. 

Let's all be honest, (remember I do this too), how many times do we check Facebook/Twitter/Instagram, only to check it in 5 minutes to see what else may have popped up in someone else's life.  I do it ALL THE TIME.  "I'm bored!  Let's see how much more interesting everyone else's life is!"  When in reality it only makes me feel much worse. 

So here is a challenge…to you AND definitely me.  Use those moments of spare time.  Take a day where you aren't constantly relying on what the internet can tell you about someone else and how awesome their day seems to be.  Open your bible.  Take a look at what God has to tell you today.  He really does make for a GREAT conversation partner! :)
I've found that the more time I spend with God, the more I have days where things don't seem so mundane.  I have more days where I go to sleep satisfied.  We were meant for community and ESPECIALLY a community with him.  Find that relationship, revive that relationship, awaken that relationship.  It really is a great one.

I guess the point of this post, like most of them, is to just share a thought.  My thought today (hopefully it wasn't lost in this huge pile of words) was that more and more I find myself completely tapped out because of the routine of every day life.  But I have discovered that the solution isn't what else can I do, or what coffee or energy drink will get the job done…it's really what can I do differently with my time to make it more worthwhile? 

Answer:  Spend time with the One who gave me this time.  I find that on days where my sole purpose is to seek Him and only Him and bring Him glory…I am happier…I'm free…I'm filled with rest and peace.  Make time for your Father.  There will always be plenty of time, regardless of how busy you are or think you are.  Start tomorrow with His words, praise Him in EVERYTHING you do!  Find out what your christian radio station is and keep it on every chance you get.  I PROMISE it'll make the biggest difference in the world.

"Lost time is never found again."

-Benjamin Franklin

Home Sweet Home

I don't know how typical this is for someone my age, but I almost feel like all I do is move.  Since I started college, I have moved a total of 5 times.  I am about to start my senior year.  Needless to say, I feel like the definition of a nomad.  For those of you who have tried to keep up with me via snail mail…I do apologize. :)

For those of you who do not know, I moved almost 2 months ago.  Of course I was a little irritated because once again all of my things are in boxes and I have no clue where anything is…Well, I do now.  For me, one of the hardest things about growing up has been moving out into the big world on my own. 

Whenever I go back to my parent's house, my room that I grew up in is now my little sisters room and all of my things (that I don't have with me) are in boxes in the attic.  Oddly, I'm okay with this.  It's sad because I realize that I'm a big girl and I'm never going to live at home with my parents again, but its SO exciting!  I'm a big girl and I'm kind of on my own! 

The frustrating things is that I'm tired of moving and I know that in, what's not less than a year, I will be packing my things up in boxes and be moving into a new home…which I have no clue where that is at the moment.  But that's OKAY! I have a while to figure that out.

When it came time for me to figure out my living situation for this next year I was really concerned.  My best friend who I was living with was graduating and moving back to Georgia and everyone else had pretty much found a place to live.  I wasn't exactly sure if I wanted to stay in the same house or try to find somewhere else.  I prayed and prayed for God to lead me in my decision.  There were pros and cons to just about every situation that arose and I was completely BEFUDDLED (love that word)! 

God always answers prayers…and He always surprises us with His answers.  One day I was talking with some friends of mine and Zack who have 3 beautiful children from Peru.  I really love them all so dearly.  He is the youth minister and the church I am attending and he and his wife have played such a major part in my life and mine and Zack's relationship.  They really are some of our best friends!   Anyways…they invited me to come and stay with them for the year.

Little did they know it was an answer to so many different prayers that had been on my heart for quite some time.  Of course I asked them a million times, "Are you really sure about that?!"  Long story short, here I am…another resident in their home!  And if you haven't talked to me recently…I'm LOVING every single second of it! 

I love hanging out with their 2 daughters and letting them paint my fingernails many different colors.  I love watching kids movies all the time and listening to the crazy things they have to say.  I really love being around a family who love the Lord as much as they do and who is willing to share their lives with a broke college student who doesn't have as much to offer.

Never in a million years did I expect to be living where I'm living given the circumstances that I was in over the past few months.  Circumstances filled with confusion and uncertainty and a little fear.  I had no idea what God had planned for me and I still don't see the whole picture…and I won't until I see Him face to face.  But I do know that He DOES have a plan for me and he will always take care of me.  It may not be in the way I expected, but it will ALWAYS be better than I could have every imagined.   

"And we know that ALL things work for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
-Romans 8:28