Sorry Miss Doreen...

I have neglected my blog yet again! But just THREE MORE WEEKS and instead of writing papers on cohabitig couples, managing human service offices, inequality in america, and many other things, I can write in my blog =). For those of you who don't already know I got an internship with the YMCA which I'll be starting in January and I won't be working at Hoss's hardly at all so we can actually hang out in the evenings! yay!
But keep me in your prayers (especially this week) so I can get through all this crap in the next few weeks because I'm already getting a headache just thinking about everythig I have to do and all the hours that I'll be working(haha what else is new huh). As for other updates in my life, calypso is still biting her tail (any suggestions as how to stop her?)Brian is still believing for a full time job and making me laugh a lot, all my clothes smell like gas even though the leak is fixed now(hallelujah!), the snow here is beautiful, I got through black friday without seeing someone get trampled, and God is good(all the time!). So I know this isn't a real blog but just an update and a promise that sometime in the near future (as Arnold would put it) I'LL BE BACK YOU GIRLY MEN!

keep the faith

Burned or Buried?

SO i was standing around at work the other day, not because I'm lazy but there was absolutely nothing to do, and the most absurd conversation started among my co workers. I walked into the server station a little sad that my zone was STILL empty with no tables to wait on, and they were talking about what they wanted done with their bodies when they died. One lady wanted to be cremated so her ashes could be sprinkled off the empire state building. This puzzeled me a bit but maybe shes always wanted to go bungie jumping and doesn't have the guts while shes alive??? Maybe New York is the place she loves the most and wants to creep into subway, get crushed into the sidewalk, and freak a whole bunch of people out in the process. One can not be sure but those are only two possibilities I've thought of, maybe you can think of a more logical reason.

Another girl wanted to be cremated and planted directly under a tree so she could grow into the tree and be a part of it. Yet another girl agreed that she wanted to be cremated. They all agreed that they didn't want to be stuck in a box because it freaked them out. What really confused me was that when they would be put in the box and buried they would be dead...so it wouldn't freak them out...because they would be DEAD. Its like they have these weird beliefs that they really aren't going to die but be reincarnated in a tree or a sidewalk or a coffin. Or they don't really understand the concept of being dead.

I had nothing to contribute to this converstaion because honestly I've never thought about it. At first I thought I was weird or something because everyone of my co-workers had it all planned out and I am completely unprepared for my death. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that I'm not weird. When I think about death I think about no more crying, I think about streets of gold lined with mansions, I think about singing with the angels to my Lord and Savior FOREVER AND EVER!!! It doesn't matter what is done to my body because I'm going to be in heaven. I love the fact that nothing in this world can get me down. If the stock market crashes, If terrorists take over our naiton, if ants take over the world like my 12th grade science teacher predicted (seriously), It doesn't matter because when its all over I'm gonna be with Jesus forever. I just have to endure this life for a little while. My Dad talked about that in his sermon today and it completely went a long with what I've been thinking about.

Burn me, Bury me, do whatever you want my only cry is

"Come quickly Lord Jesus!" I know I say that a lot but the more I live in this world the more that is my hearts desire.

Checkin In

NOT TO WORRY EVERYONE I AM STILL ALIVE!

Right now I am very overwhelemed with all the papers, book reviews, tests, and quizzes that I have to finish and as I look ahead in my assignment book it doesn't seem to get any better! consequently I tend to spend all my time on these kinds of things (or watching csi with my family lol) and probably won't have much time to write. But I will try when I have the time. I haven't even seen my roomate in like three days! Crazy.

I really felt the grace of God last night as I just cried out to God because I DO NOT have the strength or ability to get this all done and I was encouraged by this verse:

1 Peter 5:7

Cast all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you.

So hopefully I'll be back on here sooner than later to ramble some more =)

I almost saw a squirrel die

It was a beautiful end of summer/fall day yesterday as I was walking across campus to catch the bus to my car. I had just finished a 30 question test in less than five minutes and was feeling pretty good about myself...well who wouldn't do well when the professor gives you all the answers. Hes not the brightest crayon in the pack although he thinks hes sunny yellow or fluorescent pink. Just to give you an example of his lack of wisdom, one of the questions on the test was multiple choice and asked what the seven steps to a needs assessment were. A legitimate question, BUT, when we were going over the answers for the test, BEFORE the test lol, he said to us "oh...well theres only one answer on here with seven choices so I won't even tell you what the other choices are." I just looked at him in disbelief.

Anyway back to the story.

So I was walkin along feeling good because I know I just got 100% on my test which will boost my grade and GPA, knowing I'm about to go for a run which will eventually put me in really shape, and just being very positive about the future. Being that fall is approaching and soon after so is winter there are squirrels EVERYWHERE collecting nuts as I happily walk along the sidewalk to the bus stop. As I was planning what to wear on my run since it was a tad chilly outside, I looked up to see a guy on a bike coming towards me. This is a common sight on Penn State campus although I have this theory that they're all drug dealers because they roll one pant leg up all the time...or they just want to be like Joe Pa ;) haha i make myself laugh.

Back to the story again

So this guy on a bike is coming towards me and at the same time a squirrel runs across the sidewalk in front of me and just as the biker is RIGHT next to me the squirrel turns around for some odd reason, maybe because they are demon possessed, and runs right under the tire of this guys bike. The guy starts yelling OMGOSH OMGOSH OMGOSH and I look over and all I see is this tail flying through the air and spinning all around. My first thought was "O my gosh he just ran it over and the wheel flung it through the air. EW I HOPE I DON'T HAVE SQUIRREL BLOOD ON ME!!!" But then It jumped off of the guys body and seriously flew like 6 yards over into some bushes and ran away. hahahahaha like ten people stopped and started laughing hysterically and at this point we all realized that it had NOT gotten ran over but ran up the guys leg JUST in time thus saving his own life and escaping death to beg college students for food with those creepy little eyes one more day.

hahahahaha so funny.

AND this reminded me of when we were playing blurt and kaitlin was reading something about animals that fly and I said "SQUIRREL!" and she laughed really hard at me. Most people would think of a bird but no, i think of squirrels.

Ok enough squirrel talk for the day...and week.

Somewhere in the Middle

Somewhere between the hot and the cold
Somewhere between the new and the old
Somewhere between who I am and who I used to be
Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me

Somewhere between the wrong and the right
Somewhere between the darkness and the light
Somewhere between who I was and who You're making me
Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

Fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle
With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is
But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle
Are we caught in the middle

Somewhere between my heart and my hands
Somewhere between my faith and my plans
Somewhere between the safety of the boat and the crashing waves

Somewhere between a whisper and a roar
Somewhere between the altar and the door
Somewhere between contented peace and always wanting more
Somewhere in the middle You'll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

Lord, I feel You in this place and I know You're by my side
Loving me even on these nights when I'm caught in the middle

~Casting Crowns


Dont get comfortbable where you are, always let God lead you out of your comfort zone. You never can invite too many people to church, you never can witness to too many people, theres not such a thing as praying too much, and a wore out bible is a good thing! Remember when people think you're crazy thats when God knows your sane, and when sinners laugh and mock you, when they stand in anger with hurtful words, its conviction that drives their hostility. When you think you're too radical, too passionate, too crazy, don't worry you're still not far enough. We can never give God too much, never love Him too much, and never be too radical for Him. So where do you stand? Are you giving it all to Christ or are you somewhere in the middle?

Short n' Sweet

I found myself completely distracted today from school, lectures, homework, conversations, and even EATING(which is rare) because of so many different things going on in my life right now. Theres so much to be done, so many people to pray for, things in my life that need to change, so many disfunctional people and situations, and I'm at a loss as to how to even attempt to fix or at least bandage them. These thoughts left me perplexed, confused, sad, upset, and angry to the point of loss of breath. My heart was beating so fast I thought it was gonna burst outta my chest and run off without me! Since I inherited certain traits from my mother, such as being able to read my feelings by the looks on my face lol, my wonderful roomate could see my distress and sent me this lovely text message:

"Think about how awesome God is."

And I did.

Its amazing how one little simple sentence can clear the mind, slow down the heart, open up my lungs, and give me a peace. So I encourage you today, whether it was a good day or a not so good day, just think about how awesome God is and praise Him for it. =)

that was longer than I thought it would be...lol i think I inherited that from my mother as well ;)

Let the Games Begin!

I just love the olympics. Watching your country's best athletes compete against the best athletes in the world and being able to celebrate with them as they hold up their medals(I am now a fan of Michael Phelps!) and to feel their pain when they drop a baton, fall off the beam, or trip over a hurdle. When I watch all these spectacular and very muscular athletes it kinda makes me feel...well...worthless lol BUT God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise so I'm set hehe! It always comforts me to know that I don't have to be something special or extraordinary to be used by God, I just have to be humble and obedient! Anyway, I was upset with the judging for the gymnastics because USA should have the team gold, and Nastia should have three gold medals not just one. Not only was Nastia better but its not fair to compete against 8 year olds ::angry face:: I GET TO GO SEE NASTIA AND SHAWN ON OCTOBER 24TH AND I'M SO FREAKIN EXCITED ABOUT IT!!!! So you all will be hearing about it a lot =)

The one event that really amazes me is the decathalon. They have to do so many things and by the end you can tell they are all just dragging and after the last race they are gonna go home and sleep for about 4 days. Well thats what I feel like I'm about to embark on with this semester. I have six classes, five of them are on tuesdays and thursdays meaning I'm on campus from 9am to 8pm and then mondays, fridays, and saturdays I will be at work all day paying the bills. Now this wouldn't be so bad but allll of my classes are 400 level meaning very intensive,very in depth, and alot of papers. This will be my hardest semester at Penn State BUT it will be my last semester of classes because next semester I do my internship. But I'm asking for your prayers as I go through this educational decathalon because I think I've done a good job preparing but you never know when your body is gonna say NO MORE!

As I started to walk to my last class of the day yesterday I thought to myself, "This professor better be really funny looking or something because I'm about to fall asleep". Well, hes not funny looking but he is from New York City! He went to school in Long Island, I think hes from the Bronx, and he has that priceless NYC accent. That kept me awake =) Plus hes got a lot of energy and a good sense of humor so I WILL be able to stay awake until 7:45 when the class is over. What was most interesting about him is that he was a witness to 9/11. He literally saw the first plane hit the world trade center while he was walking to work and only worked a little ways down from the world trade center. One woman who worked for him got a call saying that her son was on one of the planes and what makes it even worse was that her other son worked at the world trade center and both of them died. My professor personally knew 16 people that died on 9/11 and he witnessed people jumping out of the windows. He said to this day he remembers that sound of the bodies hitting the ground and its something you can't get out of your head. The class was very silent while he was telling us about his experiences. He also talked about a train operator who heard about the planes hitting the world trade center and he immediately stopped the trains going underneath them and he saved about 25,000 people that day. I'm sure there are a lot of other heros that we don't hear about too.

While I was at work the other day one of my first tables I got never sat down. Meaning, they pretended to go to the bathroom and then left without telling anyone or paying or even eating anything. They probably didn't like the price of the bill and just decided to split but whatever the case I was confused. I thought to myself "I wonder if I missed the rapture." lol I was only joking around with myself but it really got me thinking. What if a plane flew into the nuclear reactor at Penn State, what if the Lord returned TODAY, what if a car hit me out of no where. I think sometimes we easily forget that we shouldn't be living for this life, but living with eternal mindsets. Its easy to start thinking about the future, and who you might marry, where you might live, how many kids you'll have, where your kids will go to college, how old you will live to be, if you'll have to eat prunes when you're 86 (lol), but we need to live for today. This could be your last day on earth, you have to expect the unexpected and live for God with all that you have TODAY! You may not get a second chance tomorrow...

Ten Days of Freedom

In less than a week my days of reading of dysfunctional families and how to write a grant proposal accompanied by weekly presentations, papers, and boring lectures will be OVER! Oh happy day!!!! While day dreaming in my english class I came up with a few things I'm going to do with my ten days of freedom before the fall semester starts. Although they aren't very adventurous or overly exciting, here they are:

-Read "Hungry for More of Jesus" in its entirety By the wonderful David Wilkerson

-Get in the habit of reading Andrew Murray on Prayer every morning =)

-Write these great blogs about what God is teaching me through life and His Word

-Eat pierogies with a whole bottle of ketchup,crab ragoons as my appetizer, and my marshmallow cinnimon rolls for dessert!

-Admire my beautiful fake nails that were applied by a nice asian boy who has a degree in engineering from Penn State and is attending grad school...yet working at B&B nails lol

-Convince my roomate to dress up with me and go out to dinner! (hint hint)

-Spend time with Brian =)

-Take my dog on a run through the park

-Use my magical powers to change my dirty smelly dog into a apple scented black and WHITE dog

-Teach my doggie how to roll over

-FINALLY get to hang out with Zeph when he asks lol

-Have a movie night with Kendra including "A little Princess" (makes me cry!), Balto (we both have huskies lol), and happy feet (love the little songs they sing lol)

-go hiking!!!!! Theres something about a hill that makes me want to walk faster even though in reality i'm walking slower...its like the hill is challenging me and I MUST NOT STOP lol I could just hike for hours and hours

Ok so I think theres enough here to fill up ten days and most of my time will probably be spent working but a woman can dream can't she? Hopefully I get a few done especially the first 2! I hope you all are doing well, letting God work in you, and I'm excited to meet with you for the first time in our new church on Sunday! yay!

Au Revoir

867-530niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine

Acts 2:21 - Who so ever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Late nights, long weekends, and too many papers to write for class often cause me to revert to my very emotional side. Mole hills begin to look like mountains and my mustard seed of faith seems to disapper into thin air leaving me stranded on a hidden island surrounded by ravenous sharks and heavy fog. But you know what I love about God? He permeates every inch of every hidden island, He is the best shark slayer you'll ever find, and at the snap of His fingers all the fog disappears and when it does you see a large ship there waiting to take you home.

I had this bad habit of calling my closest friends, venting to people at work, or just wallowing in my problems instead of calling on the name of the Lord. My cell phone was the first one to hear about my stress and my confusion and not the ears of the only one who can bring me comfort and wisdom. Should I be surprised that when God is the first one I turn to, I never leave the conversation discouraged? I never leave that time left in confusion and filled with anxiety? Shouldn't I really understand this concept already?

I was convicted by my own word as I shared a message with the campus group. I have nothing to complain about, and do so is a bad witness (Phil 2:14-15). Philippians also tells me to be anxious for nothing but just PRAY. I remember learning this lesson as a freshman in college and realizing the freedom and joy that it brought, but I'm ashamed that I somehow lost this tendency to call on the Lord right away.

Thank God for this Holyspirit who convicts, reminds, and empowers to change! I find these days are a lot easier to get through and even though sometimes I feel overwhelmed and out of place, when I call on the Lord, he is faithful to hear and faithful to save me. And thank God after I seek Him, I have godly counsel and wise friends and family =)

I had a tick!!!!!!

This weekend had its ups and downs but no matter what happens on friday and saturday, SUNDAY always makes up for it. Not only do I get to go to church but church is with the people I love the most! And this sunday I got to go up to the mountains with some of those people!

Our day started out with a delicious dinner of beef, au jus, mashed patatoes, corn on the cob, and some brownie sundays for the desert, and if a spider had not fell into my au jus during our delightful picnic I think I might have eaten a little more lol. Brian tried to help but he just squished it more and the nasty little things legs were floating around just begging to be eaten. GROSS!

I was in a weird mood all day, not because i was upset or angry, just because I was REALLY tired and when I'm tired and feel weak, for some reason I just like to lay down and listen to other people talk. So thats what I did for the most part. Although after the good news that we will hopefully hear about tomorrow if everything works out, I did perk up for a little bit lol. ::crossing fingers::

But after watching a handsome young pirate brave the fire swamp and ROUS's to save the true love of his life we decided to go for a walk. Now when I think walk I think of a 15 minute stroll down the sidewalk, but considering they dont' have sidewalks up there on the mountain it was more like a HIKE. I LOVE HIKING. I had forgotten how much I love hiking! My legs were burning, my back was tight, the oxygen wasn't getting to my lungs too quickly for some reason, and I loved it! The mountains are a reminder to me of how awesome God is. He created every tree, every plant, every delicious huckleberry that we ate, every rootbeer tasting plant lol, every creature in that forest, including the tick that attached itself to my leg! It just amazes me how beautiful the forest is, how big and vast, and I like to just think while I push myself to the point of exhaustion because I'm so out of shape lol.

AND my beautiful husky got to go on the hike leash free! It was an accident at first because this four month old is SO strong she escaped the leash for the second time that day and started running down the mountain. Knowing that huskies are prone to run away and never come back, I was on the verge of tears and ready to run 20 miles to catch her BUT she waited for us. Then she would run a little more and stop and wait for us. When we called her name, we would see some bushes move and hear her little feet running and then she would pop out of the forest and come right to us. This may sound a little silly but THANK YOU GOD she didn't run away, Brian and I have become so attached to her, and while her poop surprises on the floor and never ending engery sometimes make us very angry, she seems to always make up for it, and shes so cute you soon forget about all the things that made you mad. I <3>=)

Thanks to those of you who opened your home and let us eat all of your food, thanks to those of you who provided interesting conversation, and thanks to God for such a beautiful mountain and wonderful day =)

poetry?

Ok so everyone has been really into writing poetry lately and I feel a little left out lol. Even my brother writes hiku's? Apparently his hiku's are about birds soaring through the air...and getting blown up. So I think to myself if my little brother can write a poem about birds getting blown up in mid air, I can think of something. Right now I'm in more of a silly mood so we'll see how this goes....

I love my peeps
they are so much more reliable than jeeps
When I'm down they always know what to say
and encouarage me every day
they still love me when I burn the food
and defend me when Brian calls me a "dude" (lol)
they love and care for my dog
and they read my opinionated and colorful blog
they understand its really late at night
so they will try to appreciate my poetry with all their might
they like to come over and play the wii
and my dog loves them so much she can't help but pee
they know that i'm not good at writing poetry at the drop of a dime
so they'll understand why my next two lines don't rhyme
Although this poem is a bit silly and fun
I thank God for all of you and can't express how much you mean to me =)


lol so theres my poem...if thats what you want to call it haha. But seriously I love wednesdays! We have good times of discussion, self disclosure, and fellowship and I honestly feel like these people are like family. The more I'm around them the closer I feel to them and the more God uses them to bless me. I can only pray and hope that I'm a blessing to them in return and that God will use me in the same way he uses them. THANKS FOR THE ENCOUARGMENT!!!!

Persevering...refusing to get discouraged =)

In Christ Alone

In christ alone
I place my trust
and find my glory in the power of the cross
in every victory
let it be said of me
my source strength
my source of hope
is Christ alone

The past week or so I've been on the verge of tears at least once a day. Just thinking of all the school work I have to get done, how I have to work yet never make any money, I'm having difficulties with my....well... just difficulties, I have to somehow pay very large car bill plus so many other bills. I've thought of not eating anymore but was quickly rebuked by the boyfriend and handed money for lunch (thank God for a boyfriend with cash in his wallet! =) I was so encouarged on wednesday when the girlies had our accountability meeting because as my roomate put it "THIS ISN'T IT!" This is not what the end result is going to be! I'm living for eternity and I'm living for heaven and that thought never fails to bring me out of my worries and problems of this life and this world and put me back on the solid rock of Christ. I know that he will provide and I know that if I put my trust in Him he will never fail me. Yes, life can be stressful BUT the joy of God will keep me through it all and make my life a whole lot less infuriating. Even when people do their BEST to make it that way ;)

IN CHRIST ALONE....COME QUICKLY LORD JESUS

MEDIA and SEX EDUCATION

Just as I did in the last blog, i'm gonna start this off with something from the word of God and then i'll move on to media and sex education. Just because I want to =)

I was so encouraged in the last week because I got a chance to spend some time with a lot of godly people from my church and some from another state but either way it was so refreshing! I read in Ephesians not too long ago that I should...

EPHESIANS 4:29"let no unwholesome word proceed from 'my' mouth but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment that it may give grace to those who hear" AND

EPHESIANS 5:4 "there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or course jesting, which are not fitting but rather giving of thanks."

I found that these things are SO easy when you're around people who love God. Not only is it easy but its so fun, uplifting and envigorating. You leave the conversation with your focus on God and His promises and it gives you so much more material to meditate on later =) Tonight was really cool because I spent it with two lovely ladies and we talked about a variety of things but it was all centered around Christ. It was really cool because a lot of our conversation went along with EPHESIANS 5:1 "Therefore be imitators of God..." and this is so important because its easy to look up to people who are wiser and more spiritual than us and follow their example in EVERYTHING which makes us disregard personal conviction. I really enjoyed my conversation with these two ladies because I knew I could share my convictions and they would know that if my convictions are different from theirs I won't think any less of them or get angry with them and vice versa. Obvisously if its plainly written in the word theres not room for "different opinions" cuz its very clear, but with other things that are more of a seeking after God to see what he wants for ME, sometimes people are gonna hear different things depending on where they are and where God wants them to go. God really reminded me in the past few weeks that its doesn't matter if other people think certain things are ok, its about what God has shown me personally and the personal convictions that I have. I need to compare myself to Him not anyone else. For example a while ago God convicted me about reading fictional books because I could be reading something like Andrew Murrey or Hudson Taylor etc instead of wasting my time on some christian romance novel. But as soon as I saw that everyone else was reading them I began to "forget" about that conviction and I realized just recently (thanks to my pastor) this was VERY wrong. This was a big OUCH but I'm so glad God showed this to me again.

OK BACK TO MEDIA AND SEX EDUCATION lol

I just took a class in which we learned about the effects that media (tv, advertisements, music, video games, and so on) has on kids, children and adolescents. Let me tell you the effects that media has are OUTRAGEOUS. People think its stupid to blame childrens violent behavoir on violent video games like grand theft auto but study after study after study shows that these kinds of things really get into kids minds and makes them do things they normally wouldn't do. Ok so we were talking about violence and one really stupid intervention tried to deter kids from playing violent video games by teaching them how to creat the violent video game and make the characters bleed all over the place. Basically they were teaching them how to kill. THIS DID NOT WORK. Doing this only made the kids more violent and want to play the violent video games even more. Most people would hear that and say to themselves DUHHHH but then theres sex educaiton...

We think its crazy to try to teach kids not to be violent by letting them be violent, BUT we think that if we teach kids how to have sex we can prevent it. BUT I guess now a days its not really about preventing sex its about preventing pregnancy. My main point here is that if we are teaching kids how to have sex, how to put the condom on, what the different parts are and what their functions are, THEY ARE GONNA DO IT. They are going to get curious and hormones are gonna be raging and its going to encouarge them to do it.

Obviously I'm a big advocate of abstinence but at the same time I don't think thats gonna work either. I hate to say that but its the truth. I've read so many peer reviewed journals and research articles its ridiculous and all the results say that teaching abstinece doesn't work and when they teach abstinence there is actually more pregnancy than when they have sex education. I HATE TO HEAR THIS. The reason is because with abstinence teaching they aren't being educated about birth control (how to use it or where to get it) so the result is more pregnancy. And heres where the media plays a HUGE role (in my opinion).

First of all, I beleive that teaching abstinence is most effective among christians because theres a desire in a christians heart to please God and follow his commandments and theres also the grace of God to guard their hearts and not let them give into temptation. I also think that the abstinece teaching would be more effective among secular crowds as well if it wasn't for the sex that kids see everyday on tv, in movies, on cd covers, on MTV, in songs, and allllllll over the place. Its almost impossible to try to teach kids who couldn't care less about God and his standards to stay pure in a culture that no longer values saving yourself for your partner and flashes body parts moving in very sexual ways before their eyes every single day. And we then encouarge the sexual behavoir by showing them how to do it in sex education classes (I know because I had to go through in the public school system.)

So WHAT DO WE DO????? I'm not trying to scare any of you future parents out there but this is a very serious question to which I have an answer. GET EM SAVED AND PREACH ABSTINENCE. Now this is the most important part but another very important part is to limit their access to media. Limit their tv watching, censor alllll of their music, magazines, and internet use, and just be involved. You're probably gonna put scars on your knees from praying so much and if there aren't any scars you aren't praying enough!!!! This stuff is really powerful but thank God He is more powerful than it all!!! Then theres the question of "what about all the other kids in public schools without praying parents?" Pray for revival people!!! Pray for God to fill those hallways because the percentage of kids who have sex before they graduate from high school is shocking. And it doens't have good effects on these kids, especially girls.

This wasn't very uplifting I know but its something that we need to address and its something us future parents need to be very aware of. So go pray and pray hard!!!

"To honor and obey"

This has nothing to do with the main topic of this post BUT I feel the need to share it anyway before i get into other things. I'm overwhelmed with the sweetness of my salvation and greatness of the cross of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:12-13 --> we had "no hope and without God in this world" but Jesus has "brought us near by the blood of Christ!" I just can't go without thanking God for taking me out of the muck of sin in which I was chained to do the works of the enemy and considered a "child of disobedience" (eph. 2:2) He washed me clean of EVERY wrong doing and gave me a grace to stay that way!!!!! THANK YOU GOD!! lol I can't help it, I gotta praise Him!

ON TO THE MAIN TOPIC OF THE DAY =)

Bridesmaid: You aren't going to put anything about honoring and obeying in your vows are you?
Bride: Oh no, nothing like that. I wouldn't do that.
Metheotherbridesmaid: WHAT?

People have no understanding of what the bible means when it says "Wives obey your husbands" AND they completely miss the part that says "and husbands love your wives as Christ loves the church." People get this view of the wife being the frail and helpless woman who gives up who she is to be who her husband wants her to be and as her husband barks off orders while sitting in front of the tv the wife does a little curtsey and says "yes your majesty" and works into the wee hours of the night while waiting hand and foot on her husband. YES being a wife is a lot of work (or so I've heard lol) and as my Mom just said you are to be the helper of your husaband, and YES the bible says to obey your husband but that isn't a bad thing. Every structure needs a leader or it won't get anywhere, that includes the family structure. AND the husband isn't going to make decisions without first going to wife and discussing it with her (every house divided will fall). The wife doesn't lose who she is when she gets married either, she shouldn't anyway. The husband is marrying her because he loves who she is in Christ and loves her personality and is being pulled in the same direction as her (by God) so wouldn't you think he would be very disappointed if he lost the person he fell in love with? You can be a WIFE and a MOTHER and a ARTIST and a MUSICIAN and a FOLLOWER OF POLITICS and a BASKETBALL PLAYER, and whatever other things that you are all at the same time. There are sacrafices you have to make to be a wife but losing who God made you and called you to be is not one of them.

One thing that really bothers me is that no one recognizes the sacrafices the husband makes as well. He works hard every day to provide for his family and pay all the bills and gives up his free time to take out the trash and mow the lawn and maybe even do the laundry or dishes if you're lucky ;) Even though the bible says that he has the final word on things and wives are to obey him, this final word isn't just something he pulls out of the air. If he is a man of God he will seek what the bible says, seek godly counsel, and thoroughly discuss it with his wife. REMEMBER the bible says that the husbad has to love his wife as Christ loved the church???? HELLO THATS A LOT OF LOVE!!!!! Christ is God and sits on the throne by his father yet he decided to become one of us, thats like us deciding to become a little ant to go save the little ant colony. AND he dedicated his whole life on our ant colony to try to save us and not just try to but actually did it thank God! He didn't indulge in the pleasures of life or seek out the most satisfying things that this world has to offer but he was persecuted, imprisioned, beaten beyond recognition with his flesh being ripped out and his bones being broken, he was mocked and humiliated and hung on a cross as a criminal even though he was sinless and guiltless. There he DIED because he loved us so very much. Thats how the husband is supposed to love the wife. And we have the nerve to complain about this scripture?

The marriage relationship is a symbol of our relationship with Christ. I don't obey Christ because he imprisoned me and I know that I should and everybody else is doing it (which is FAR from the truth) but because I want to! I want to forsake sin! I don't want to drink or swear or party or watch dirty movies or date ten million people or become sexually impure! I DON'T WANT TO! I WANT TO OBEY CHRIST! And this is how it is when you're married. You love your husband and you trust him so its not hard to say "okay, you have the final say in this." And more importantly you trust God to help him make the right decision.

Ok, this is the end of my ranting for the day and it felt so good to get that out. Oh how i've missed writing =)

First one!

Its really late at night and I should be in bed but I had the urge to create a blog. I've had some things on my mind lately and as I told my friend I feel the need to "rant" but its not so much ranting as it is voicing my very controversial opinion. =) Being that I'm a christian who goes to a secular college I feel that I have VERY different opinions and beliefs than everyone else hence the bolg name counter culture. Since I am very tired and covered in dog hair (my husky does NOT like baths or getting brushed) I'm gonna wrap this up and go to bed. Things to look forward to in the future:
--Why I support "to honor and obey"
--preparing for marriage (haha there are so many weddings this summer and I've just been thinking about it)
--Sex education and the media (i'm also taking summer classes in which we discussed these things and I want to get my opinion out there!)

Alright you fellow bloggers, you all have a wonderful night and we will talk soon =)