The House

To the unknowing eye, everything seemed normal. The two-story gray house stood, looking untouched. And it was so; the house had not been touched. The driveway lay with only a single car parked in the middle of the pavement, so no other car could fit. The mailbox seemed to have become over-stuffed, as if no one had bothered to pick it up. In the backyard was a pool. Inside the massive water hold were dead insects, leaves, sticks, and dirt. All appeared to have grown inside the pool for multiple months, with nothing that disturbed them. Then lay the fire wood. Half of it missing, half thrown aside as if no one cared. This, out of everything, was the most disturbing. The wood was there, left alone, and cold. Next to the wood was placed a grill, man's best friend. But there was leaves inside, and weeds growing up from the sides. This was not a normal house, after all; it was a broken one.

If you passed by this house, you would think nothing of the overly stuffed mail box, or the car parked in the middle of the driveway. But if you were a friend of the people who lived in this house, you would realize it is no longer a home. Inside arose the family. Hair un-brushed, dirt on their clothes, eyes stained with tears. Something was wrong, something was missing. What was it?

The three children wept uncontrollably, with no end it felt. The mother tried to stand tall, because she was the eldest of the family now. Her role now was different then before. The eldest son dried his eyes, and promised his mother he would be the man of the house now. The mother then broke down and cried. Her strength seemed no longer strong enough. For they have been betrayed by the man who they thought they had known.

“God,” the youngest son yelled. “Why did this happen! Why can't you fix it? Please God, I just want a normal family. Please!” He broke down.

The whole family questioned God. But how couldn't you? This could never have been in his plan, could it? The questions still left in the air.

For, he was not the man the mother had married. He was different. This father had grown into a new person before their eyes. How could somebody have done this after so long? Did he not know he had a wife? Did he forget he had 3 children? Did he forget his friends who loved him? Why did he do this? Why, was the question.

The seemingly untouched man returned one day, with a smile on his face. He had no remorse in his eye. Did he not remember what he did to his friends and family? He stood at the door, and asked for the rest of his belongings. And so it was, the man was gone.

“For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” Jeremiah 29:11

Expectations

As many of you know, I am 15 years old. I have gone through a lot of difficult experiences up to this point. Many I would say, have formed me to be the strong Christian I am today. But, it was hard. I know most of you who read my blog are older, around 20 ish. So if you know a high schooler feel free to share this with them.

Going into high school I expected a culture shock compared to middle school, and boy did I get one. Everything was so different. In middle school everyone looked down at the kids who were smoking and drinking. But in high school it seemed like everyone was praising the people who did bad things. Because in high school it's normal to drink, party, and have sex. At least that's what everybody was saying.

At homecoming and prom, the teachers and faculty were EXPECTING us to get in trouble. They had so little expectations of us, they had ever person take a breathalyzer before they could enter the dance. Now don't get me wrong, it was a good idea, and over 2 buses full of students got sent home. But my point is, the teachers, adults, parents, fellow students, expect teenagers to get in trouble.

So when I was an entering freshman, I had these low expectations. I decided to live down to them, and as many of you know I got into some bad things. Many of my friends scooped down to these expectations with me. Actually most of our grade (9^th graders) decided it was cool to do it. As I went along with the crowd I realized something. None of us were happy, and everyone knew what we were doing was wrong.

But then why do no one stand up and say this is wrong? If we all knew we didn’t want to be doing this, why didn’t we stop? Simple. Peer pressure. If someone said something, everyone would go with what everyone thought everyone was thinking, and say that person was stupid, weird, a geek. When in fact, they were thinking the same thing, that this was wrong.

Guess what? You don't have to scoop down to these expectations, in fact you should rise above them and set new ones for yourself! Challenge yourself to live bigger then what's expected, live bigger then average. Become something bigger for Christ.

David was estimated to be 17 when he killed Goliath - something that a man couldn't do! God sent a teenager instead. He thought that teen's were better equipped for the job. God has bigger plans for you now, then you could even image. Live up to God's expectation's for you, not society's.

Here are some bible verse's I want you to think about:

Do not let anyone treat you as if you are unimportant because you are young. Instead, be an example to the believers with your words, your actions, your love, your faith, and your pure life. 1 Timothy 4:12

It is good for someone to work hard while he is young. Lamentations 3:27

The righteous should CHOOSE HIS FRIENDS CAREFULLY, for the way of the wicked leads them astray. Proverbs 12:26

He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed. Proverbs 13:20

You can choose to go alone with the crowd, or you can choose to take a path with Christ. I know it is hard, the pressure sometimes can be really overwhelming. But, you can say NO. Once I decided to stop living down to these expectations I found my life changing. I know yours can too.

You have a choice.

Beautiful

As a girl I know we have are fair share of insecurity’s - our bodies, hair, legs! Every girl does; models, celebrities, your mom, your co-worker, YOU. We all have a mind set of what beautiful is - you have to be skinny, have flawless skin, long legs, and just overall be perfect.

I know we look in our magazines and gossip columns, we look at the cute fashion trends and the beautiful women on the front cover, and think “Why can't I look like her?”You know the funny thing is, those "people" on the covers have been photo-shopped to look like the perfect version of society's "beautiful" - and they do!

But then we get the thought in our head "oh I don't look like her, I'm not pretty" "shes skinnier then me, I need to lose weighted" "she is tall, I wish I had her height". The list can go on and on.
Lately I've been feeling really insecure - I know I'm not what society calls beautiful. I will never be able to change that. Even if I got plastic surgery, lyposucktion, botox, whatever - I could look exactly like the girls we see on the cover of the magazines, but you know what, I wont be any happier.
 I think that's what we are really searching for when we try to look pretty. We look for something we aren't ashamed of, something that will make us happy with ourselves, and our bodies.

But you know what I found? The only thing that will make us look and feel beautiful, is the man who made us, and the man who approved every single hair on your body, and that person is Jesus Christ. He believes you are drop died gorgeous. He believes you are so amazing, you were to die for!
You don't need anybody or anything to make you feel beautiful, you need Jesus. The man who never judges, and the man who loves you unconditionally

Because guess what girls, there could NEVER be a more beautiful you... 

 

Dedicated to the three most beautiful people I know, Danielle, Mandie, and Jacqueline (: