Christian Life
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Obsessed With Your Own Beauty
I am obsessed with my looks. There, I said it.
Not the type of obsessed that I can’t pass a mirror or other reflective surface without checking myself out. I’m not arrogant in that I think I’m so beautiful that I simply must have another look at myself. I don’t take selfies anywhere and everywhere and scatter them throughout various outlets of social media. I don’t make selfie books for my husband, Kim Kardashian-style. But I’m obsessed with certain aspects of my appearance.
I don’t quite know how or when this “obsession” started, but I suspect it had something at least in part to do with an unkind boyfriend I had my freshman year of college. Though I was 5’ 7” and maybe 110 pounds on a water-retention kind of day, he made the remark at some point that I could “stand to lose a little weight.” For someone who’d endured some hurtful comments about my looks (something about me not being as pretty as other girls) early in my youth, I had already suffered a few dings to my self-esteem, so this jab about my weight was particularly stabbing and I took it straight to the heart.
10 Cool Ways to Minister to Friends
Friends are awesome. I hope that everyone has at least one, true, amazing friend that they stay in contact with for their whole lives. I have been blessed to meet so many different people from different stages of my life. My family moved a lot. And I mean A LOT! I’ve met so many amazing people and each group of friends that I’ve had have ministered to me for the specific time of life I was experiencing at that time.
Having friends should inspire us to be good friends to the people in our lives in return. Growing up, I couldn’t wait to start driving and asking friends to meet me places so that we could talk about our lives and about the Lord. Ministering to friends and encouraging them in the Lord is one of the most special, genuine, things you can do for your friendships.
When Curse Words Become Normal
How should we speak as Christians? This is something that I have been pondering a lot lately for my own life as a Christian young adult. Right now in our culture we seem to be oftentimes bombarded with people speaking cuss words or talking in a mean or foul way. You hear it on TV and in movies, you find it on the internet and through social media, sadly, you can even it hear when you’re out and..
Fierce Women Needed!
FIERCE
“I’m hot, I’m sexy and I’m in control.”
A few years back a friend of mine pulled up the computer to show me pictures of a semi-finalist on the popular show America’s Next Top Model. It just so happened that the girl competing for the Top Model title attended my friends university.
My friend was so shocked by how “fierce” this girl looked in her photos that she just had to show me. This girl definitely had the “I’m hot, I’m sexy and I’m in control” fierce look going on. She must have been trained well by the shows host, Tyra Banks.
This whole idea of being fierce was attractive to me. I wanted people to look at me and think “Wow! She’s got it”. But then I remembered that I was a Christian and the idea just didn’t seem right.
Happily Ever After vs. Right Now
Let’s talk about happily ever after.
Several years ago I created a list of 30 things I wanted to do before turning 30 years old, a bucket list, if you will. When I originally created this 30×30 list and gave my dreams to God, I had no idea that I would be blessed to cross off 29 of those 30 items. God is good.
To be quite honest, I almost put “get married” on the list. Almost.
A happy, healthy, long-term relationship–sounds like a normal thing for a twenty-something girl to want, right? So why wasn’t it on the list? If it’s something I want someday in my future then that seems like a natural thing to put on the list, right?
Being Outgoing With Guys Without Being a Flirt
Here he comes, Mr. Wonderful is walking towards you. He is everything you’ve waited for. He is handsome, he plays on your father’s worship team, he has an endearing smile, and he knows your name. But what will you do to make sure he likes you back? To secure a friendship (or even better: a relationship!) with him?
I know that this seems like a silly scenario but honestly, how many times have we all had that fleeting feeling when we notice a guy we like? Sometimes, we condemn ourselves for feeling this way because we are supposed to leave all of that romance stuff up to God and our parents.
But are we to just sit back and let the guy do all the hard work of figuring out if we are worth pursuing or not?
Are we to be standoffish, quiet and discreetly shy until he proposes? I would like to say forthrightly, NO!
Stepping Into the Unknown
Today I had to do something very difficult. Right now I am on a plane headed back to California. I am going to be a youth counselor at a Christian retreat center in the beautiful Redwood forests of Santa Cruz. But I had to leave behind my beautiful home in the mountains of Montana, I had to leave my friends and church body. But more than that, I had to say goodbye to my big, wonderful, amazing family. I am literally stepping into the unknown, leaving behind everything I’ve ever had close to me 24/7.
I know I’m being called to minister to the youth and to be a young women’s counselor, but sometimes, following God’s lead is scary. We don’t have everything figured out, and I don’t think we ever will. But isn’t it comforting to know that we are following the ONE who does?
A Summer Break Challenge
You made it through another year of school and hallelujah, summer is here! It’s time to finally get away from the books and indoor boringness. It’s time for fun. You’ve put up with the whole “scheduled life” for long enough. Congratulations by the way!
I know that we all make plans for the summer-even when we have no plans, we still are planning to have no plans. Anyway, in all the fun and busyness of summer we can easily put God in the background. Among the swim parties, the BBQ’s, the camping, and everything else that summer break entails, God is not at the forefront of our minds. It’s very easy to get swept up in the tide of “summer break” and skip out on alone time with God.
Sometimes, without mentally confessing this, we don’t really want to think about God during our free time. We don’t want to let conviction set in and spoil the fun that we are so looking forward to having. In a way, we want a vacation from God.
Confessions of a Lusting Christian Girl
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It had started out as a simple girls night out then it turned wrong. You were spending the night at your friend’s house with three other girls. They decided to watch a movie that you had never seen before. It was a romance comedy. You thought it would be fun to watch and you were also curious to see what this movie was about. Even though you knew your parents would have wanted you to ask them if this was a good movie to see you went against your better judgment and decided to just go with it.
Then you saw it. The sex seen that has stayed in your mind months after even watching the film. You keep telling yourself that it was just a silly movie and that you should just forget about it but when you are in your room and it’s dark, your mind replays that scene from the movie.
Sex and the Single Girl
We’re heading for something
Somewhere I’ve never been
Sometimes I am frightened
But I’m ready to learn
Of the power of love…
Steamy, huh? If you are a female who lived through and remember anything of the 90’s (or if you just enjoy love-power ballads), then you know where these lyrics are from. Celine Dion immortalized the “power of love” in her hit song describing the glorious and dynamic force that is romantic and sexual love. And girls, she is right. Love is powerful!
Why is it that we as women, as a culture, as a human race, long so much for this love? For centuries, songs, stories, and now movies have immortalized romantic love and its power. Why is it such an obsession?!