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A Letter To My Twelve-Year-Old Self
June fifteenth of this year marked my eighteenth birthday. By God’s grace, I’ve successfully circled the sun enough times that I’m considered an adult.
When I was twelve I was encouraged by the leader of my Bright Lights group to write a letter to my future self. It’s funny to see how dreams can change over the years. I wanted to share with you the letter I wrote, and a response I wrote to my twelve-year-old self.
Sometimes it’s encouraging to look back and see that some things really do work out how you hoped. And at the same time, the things that don’t turn out how you want them to are God’s way of saying He has something else planned for you.
The Land of the Free Woman?
The Fourth of July is tomorrow! When we, as a country celebrate our independence. Our freedom. Our country. But something got me thinking about how our country expresses our freedom. In some ways we express our freedom through love, through religion and other ways that represent good morale. But for the most part, I think America expresses it’s freedom with an arrogant, headstrong selfish attitude.
One of the most prominent ways America expresses its freedom is through feminism. Feminists have such a huge megaphone right now and they use it in any way they can to shovel their ideas and lifestyles down this country’s throat. I know that that is a very strong statement but I feel like it is no longer the “Land of the Free”, or the “Home of the Brave”. I think it is the Land of the Free Woman and the Home of the Feminist.
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.
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 Modern Christian Girl
Katherine Hudson was a normal girl living in California… She grew up in a Christian home with her little brother and older sister. Her dad was a pastor and her mother was involved in the ministry as well. Katherine loved music. She loved singing and she loved hearing new music-especially secular music which was not allowed in her home. Katherine knew that when she grew up she wanted to be a singer. She planned on it her whole life growing up.
When Katherine was 13 her parents gave her a guitar. She practiced as much as she could until she was really good. Something happened within the next 5 years of her life. Katherine began sneaking secular music into her room. She broke her parents rules. The more sneaking she did the more she slipped into a secular lifestyle.
Letting Go of Pain and Suffering
When we look around at the circumstances of people in the world today, we discover that there is a vast amount of suffering and pain being endured. Many different people struggle with many different types of suffering. Hospitals are full of horrible diseases and injuries, parents are getting divorces, babies are being aborted, war is raging, people are being sold into slavery, drug abuse and..
What Your Dream Guy Wants in a Girl
I recently did an interview on the topic of dating, marriage and courtship. I was giving my thoughts on romance, boundaries, guys and how I want my future relationship to work out.
One of the questions the lady interviewing me asked was “what qualities are you looking for in guy?”
Talk about a super basic question that I should easily know the answer to. Wrong! I was totally caught off guard..
Be the Influence Instead of Being Influenced
The other day I was listening to a conversation between my youngest sister and youngest brother. As I sat there (harmlessly) listening to this conversation I heard my sister mimic something I had said earlier that day. I had no idea that Cali had been in the room when I said it but apparently she was and had just repeated me. Same tone of voice and everything!
This got me thinking. It just goes..
A Hospitable Heart for the Holidays
Oh yes, it’s that time of year again and I am soooo beyond excited for the upcoming holidays. At my house we have many traditions that I like to hold dear to my heart and it’s what makes me so cheery right around this time of year. Another reason why I love the holiday season is because of all the warm friendship that is felt between friends and family members. Home is at the center of..
Purity, a Thing of the Past
Last night was the launch of Taylor Swift’s new and “improved” album, 1989. Girls everywhere are raving about the new pop icon’s greatest success and her amazing new style of music. I can’t help but notice that Taylor got her popularity by singing about broken relationships and whimsical love story songs. Don’t get me wrong. I love Taylor Swift and I used to truly respect and look up to this..