Funday Sunday!

Hi, loves!

I'm in a jolly spirit after painting my nails and watching The Big Bang Theory with my roomie. I wish you all a wonderful week and are having fun gearing up for the Christmas season!!! <3

 Peekaboo!

Awwww.... :'(

Idea?? :)

Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

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Why are we celebrating Christmas again?

Hello, everyone!

Sheesh, way to go, Trish, for keeping up with your blog. I know, I feel super cruddy about it...but don't worry, I am still keeping up with my faith and a part of Cru on campus! It's super fun, guys. If you ever have the chance check this group out. So awesome! But anyway...I've decided to write a post about a very important holiday coming up...CHRISTMAS! All the presents, getting presents, shopping, food, and just watching as many Christmas specials as possible!

Whoa...backup...since when did that become the definition of Christmas? Last time I remembered Christmas was a holiday to celebrate one of the most important dates in history. But, sadly...Christmas has become a holiday to help retailers make more money and feed people's greed.

I've been looking up interesting Christmas facts to countdown the days until Christmas on my Facebook, plus sandwiching in bible verses from Luke, and I found some really interesting facts about the actual day of Christmas and how it exactly came to become the holiday we celebrate today.

Around the 4th century, Christians were getting tired of the holiday, Saturnalia, that pagans were celebrating to celebrate the god of agriculture and turn the social order upside down for all of December. Slaves became masters, peasants were in command of the city, and everyone drank to their hearts content. In hopes of diminishing this holiday, Christians decided that they would celebrate Jesus' birth on the last day of the festival since they had never celebrated His birth before (just the resurrection, Easter). Unfortunately, when settlers moved to the United States in the 17th century, religious freedom was embraced and Christmas was outlawed. Finally, politicians got some sense knocked into them and made Christmas a federal holiday on June 26, 1870. Yay!

Pretty sweet, huh? So why after all that effort would we decide to turn Christmas into a holiday of greed? Well...humans are sinful and we tend to tell Jesus to shut up and take the backseat while we drive. It's even worse for those who don't believe in Jesus because they become the sole passenger in their journey through life. But we Christians can do something about it! We can tell people the true meaning of Christmas and refuse to conform to foolishness. None of this "Happy Holidays" junk and fear of offending people. It's CHRISTMAS, people, and we have the religious freedom to shout from the rooftops "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" because that's what this season is about. Sure, you can say Happy Holidays, but follow it with "and Merry Christmas!" just to get the point across.

Isn't this a little harsh to the non-believers? I don't think so. Because Jesus deserves some recognition, believer or not, because He's just that awesome. I think He really likes it when we acknowledge Him. ;)


(I think of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" every time I read these verses):

"While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'" - Luke 2:6-12

So awesome. God, ruler of the universe, sent His only Son, Jesus, King of the Heavens, to take up the form of a lowly human so that He may save us all from evil. And that's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Love you <3

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A Post of Controversy

OK, Jotters. To get things out of the way, I need to tell you all that this is going to be a controversial post, but every Christian blog gets to it at some point, and I thought it was time. In this post I will be talking about my support for the gay community.

Now before you go all "That's blasphemous!" or "It's a sin against God!" please hear me out. I know that it's not the popular view of most Christian blogs and talks.You know how I said that I had been taking some time to myself for a while this summer? Well this was one of the subjects I stumbled upon, and a subject I thought needed some research and clarification for my spiritual journey for answers.

A lot of us in the church have been told that homosexuality is a sin and that all sinners go to hell unless they repent themselves to God and agree that their sin is wrong, right? Well ever since I was in middle school, I thought that the preachings about homosexuality were too blurred and not specific enough to my liking. It was like they were completely condemning a group of people who were humans just like all the rest of us in the church or not in the church. This honestly made no sense to me in the least, no matter how many times I was told it's a sin and it's a sin to support it. How can a group of people who are taught about the love of Jesus and how we are supposed to share the love of Jesus (i.e. Christians) ignore people who's biggest wish is to feel that same love and acceptance (i.e. homosexuals)?

I felt it was time to completely turn the tables on what I had been taught since birth and my very own belief that being gay was an act that needed to be punishable by us humans and completely looked down upon. Now, wouldn't you say that's blasphemous? In my own opinion, from what I've read in the Bible, God is the ultimate judge and ALL humans are sinful. So therefore, we have absolutely no authority in the least to judge another human being as long as, we too, are sinful (and it's impossible for us not to be). Here's some verses to explain where I'm coming from.

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you." -Matthew 7:1-2

"There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you--who are you to judge your neighbor?" -James 4:12

"Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law." -Romans 13:8

I think you get my drift.Yes, I may have some of your negative energy flowing through the computer trying to bite my head off right now, but let's be real, people.

Let's completely forget about the topic of homosexuality for a few and use another situation like....couples having children before they're married (ex. teenage moms, cohabiting couples, etc). In today's American society, this is extremely popular, and in many churches this has become completely acceptable because children are a miracle of God, and we can just let that slide with no judgement or punishment. Am I saying they deserve punishment? Of course not. But why is it ok to show them love when they've done something that the church should be preaching as wrong because it states in the Bible "But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband" (1 Corinthian 7:2). I hope you're following where I'm going with this.

This is what really ticks me off with how the church and Christian community operates today. They show love to everything single sinful human being on the entire planet, but when it comes to homosexuals, they're cast down as, basically, demons to the devil. Ya, harsh, but it's reality. Seriously, what gave us the right to turn them down love and hope when Jesus himself would have done the very thing we're afraid or too prideful to do? I can't even express how hurt I am that this is happening in our church and schools and Bible studies and everywhere we can think of. The secular world, anyone who is not Christian or simply does not believe in any sort of organized religion, show them more love than we do! Um, what?!?!? This is the cause for many people to label us Christians as "intolerant" and for many people to turn away from Christianity completely.

Let me clarify where I stand in regards to this article: ALL human beings should be treated with love and respect, NO ONE should be judged based upon their beliefs, lifestyle, or interests, and let's not forget we're ALL sinful. Not just the people who steal or murder or lie. No, EVERYONE sins. Got it???

To sum up my ranting, I believe that Jesus told us to show love to everyone for a reason. Feeling accepted, in my opinion, is the greatest feeling in the entire world. If someone chose to judge me because I like to eat pumpkin flavoring in everything, I'd be hurt and confused as to why they have a right to judge my choices. So let's show the world what Christians are REALLY made of, people who have nothing to give but love and hope, not a bunch of stuffy, intolerant, overly-religious nuts. Jesus would have wanted it that way.


<3


For more articles on this point of view, click on the titles below. They're convicting.

Be careful what verses you use.


The look inside the heart of a gay Christian.

Now that's intolerance...

Someone who questions their faith because they are gay.

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For Fun

Hey, JJs!!!

So I haven't posted anything particularly funny lately so I thought I'd share a few fun pics with you to brighten your day! Enjoy :)

This is so adorable!

Amen to that.....

Um.....I think you did it wrong.

Hehe, royal trolling.

Love ya guys! <3

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It's Been A While!!!

Hey, Jotters!

First of all, I am soooooooo sorry for leaving you hanging for two months. My summer was hectic, and I needed some time to myself for a while.

Taking some time to myself to figure out life proved to be very enlightening. I had slid into a state of depression since breaking up with my boyfriend, and satan kept knocking me down as soon as I would start to get better. Let me tell you guys, everyone is knocked down once and a while so don't feel ashamed if you ever find yourself feeling alone, frustrated, worthless, angry, and all that other junk satan loves to see. He knows our weaknesses, and he WILL use them against us. But good news! We have God!

I just want to use this post to stress to you all that even when our lives feel out of control, God has it under control. Like, always! Sometimes you just need to stop, take a deep breath, pray, and spend some time with God. It is SO important to use Him as your first resource to help you back up. When you use Him, He'll send the rest of the resources you will need to get better, He promises.

The Bible tell us that:

"Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up." -Psalm 71:20

And my personal favorite:

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." -Psalm 34:18

If ever you feel as though you've got nothing left, turn to Jesus because He is the only answer to fixing our problems and restoring our souls. I admit, sometimes I forget to use God as a source of comfort and try to pull through it myself. This summer I did that a lot because I was in such a pit of despair that I felt that even God couldn't fix it. But you know what's cool? He did!

No matter what you are facing, God will help you through it. I am still praying to God to help me get through this breakup and to keep moving forward. It's taking time, but God has perfect timing and perfect reasons as to why we may still be facing struggles. Many times it may be our own selves holding onto the struggle. No matter what the case, spend some time with God by reading His word and opening up your hear to him by praying and being completely honest.

God is always here for you, Jotters. Don't ever forget His awesome love!!!

Love always, Trish

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Top 10 Things My Rents Taught Me

Hey, my lovely Jotters!

Alright, so I'm taking a new approach with this blog post because I feel it's a very important subject for all those under the age of 20 (including me), and my typical format just didn't seem to fit with how I wanted to explain this topic: Honoring you father and mother.

Before you roll your eyes at me, I understand that many moms and/or dads out there don't meet up-to-par with biblical standards, but hear me out. Even if you don't have a mom and dad, maybe you were raised by family or friends or at least have someone you can look up to as a parental figure (they're pretty important to help guide you in life), just read this post.

This subject is often disregarded as "unnecessary", "lame", or even painful. But over the years I've been taught a lot of things by my parents (even if they never realized what they taught me) that I wish I knew when I was 10 so I could be ready later on, but I had to learn the hard way by ignoring them and being kicked in the butt later by my mistakes. That's why I want you guys to know now what I've learned over the past 20 years before you decide to ignore really important advice, because God instructs us clearly:

"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." (Exodus 20:12)

1. Try new things, even if you DO NOT want to.
    

So this was one that probably would have come in handy if I didn't enjoy TV so much. Although I enjoyed going places with my parents on vacation or enjoying a new flick, I should've gotten WAY more involved in school and with friends than I did. Unfortunately, I missed out on a lot because I failed to get out of the house once and a while and actually do something during my middle school years. Even in high school I ignored my dad's advice about visiting a college I had no interest in whatsoever. I eventually did and guess what? I'm studying there now. Lesson learned, take advantage of opportunities while you're young because it prepares you for later on when you'll be bombarded with twice the amount of responsibilities, and you never know, it could become a lifetime passion.

2. Save, save, SAVE.

Spending money used to be my job. I couldn't have enough stuff. Whenever I'd get a paycheck, it was off to the mall. I hadn't a care in the world because what's the fun of having money if you can't spend it? Answer, you can use it for you education so you can get way more money in the future with an actual job. If I would've saved as much as I spent, my college would be half paid for. So start saving now, you won't regret it.

3. Getting sleep is a good thing.

"Go to bed!" was THE worst and most annoying thing I've ever heard come out of my parents' mouths when I was still living under their roof. Who needs sleep when I can nap after school, there's too many things to do at night! Now that I'm busy in college and HAVE to stay up late, I really wish I would've taken advantage of those glorious nine hours a night while I could. Plus, sleeping prevents old age from setting in faster. Let's stay young as long as possible.

4. Study and do your homework.

I admit, I'm a procrastinator big time and a lot of that can be blamed on the bad habits I developed before college. I got good grades regardless of studying a lot because school was way too easy. I say that now because college gave me a huge wake-up call. I now have tons of homework, even though I take half the classes, and I have a harder time studying and doing my homework because it's way harder. So develop good habits now, they'll stick with you and will be extremely useful. 

5. Dating in middle school and high school causes too much stress, so skip on that for now.

This was a huge realization after I got to college. I had wanted a boyfriend since 5th grade and finally got  my wish when I started high school. I was a pretty big airhead so looking at other relationships I was like "That's never going to last, they're awful together" or even "They're way too young. Why are they even dating?!" I should've put my money where my mouth was on that one because looking back now, I could've been doing so many more things I wanted to do and finding myself and what I was all about before I had to pick a major for college. So my advice, wait until college because it saves you time, stress, and a broken heart.

6. You're not as smart as you think you are. 

Maybe it's the fact that once we all turn into teenagers we think we've developed super powers and our parents got dumber, or that all that TV and internet gave us really big egos and we think we're full of the world's knowledge. I don't know, but I thought my parents were really stupid. Everything they said was pointless and would never be useful later. Hmm, now that all their advice is being used today now that I'm basically living on my own, they got pretty smart in a hurry.

7. You're going to get a lot farther in life if you get your nose out of the air.

Teenagers are just stuck up, and I was one of them. I thought I was better than everyone else and that whatever everyone else was doing was stupid. Let me tell you now, treating everyone with respect and kindness is going to subtract your enemies and multiply your friends. Trust me on this one, even a simple smile can get you farther than an eye roll, and you feel a lot better about yourself and others in the end. So pop that ego bubble and start being nice for a change, even if you hate the person(s).

8. Spend time with loved ones while they're here.

I love my family and I always will, but I realize that I spent so much time hanging with friends, doing school stuff, or just staying at home that I forgot what the most important thing next to God was, family. I have lost two grandmas, a cousin, and an aunt in the past 6 years and if only I had taken more time to visit once in a while than maybe I could've developed stronger relationships with them and would have gotten to say goodbye. So please, spend as much time as possible with the ones you love while there's time. Our time here on earth is going to flash by faster than we know.

9. Who cares what you look like.

This is a tough one to process because we always think someone's constantly judging us on our appearance and how we dress. I always had to have makeup on and dress super neat whenever I went out in public because I always felt eyes on me no matter where I was or who the person was. I admit, that habit is still hard to break but I've realized that typically people just don't care! The truth is, you only THINK someone's looking at you, and even if they are, who cares! Their opinion doesn't matter. You look good no matter what.

And the most important thing my rents taught me....

10. Even if no one else is there for you, God always will be.

If you haven't paid any attention to anything I've said so far, listen to this. God will NEVER stab you in the back, use you, cheat on you, break His promise, abandon you, hurt you, talk behind your back, steal from you, lie to you, or disappoint you. God knows what's best for you and that's why he gave us parental figures. My friends, nothing is more important than knowing God loves you and is planning your future this instant. Sometimes we may stray of the path intended, but He uses our mistakes so that we may be redirected back to Him towards a future full of hope and our wildest dreams, because when all else fails...God won't.

Love you.

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Tearing The Mask

Hello, my lovely friends :)

I recently joined tumblr ( http://all-for-his-name.tumblr.com/ ) and I've been following some really cool young Christians who have such amazing faiths and ideas about Jesus.

For this blog, I decided to take a post from one of the people I have been following about the pressures on Christians in today's world. This post really spoke to me because I struggle often with pressures to be perfect and live a sinless life. But the truth is, WE CAN'T. Read this post and be filled with the astounding mercy and grace of God. Hope you enjoy!

Tearing The Mask by Megan Dutill

The problem with being a Christian is that somewhere along the line people got the idea that Christians are really good people.

We’re supposed to have it all together. Good grades, families, jobs. We’re always happy, always giving, and if we occasionally run into snarls, they’re not big ones. We don’t cheat on tests or boyfriends, get pregnant outside marriage, or get addicted to anything.

As Mary Poppins would say, we’re practically perfect.

Except we’re not.

We’re so afraid to fail this standard (that apparently everyone else meets), that we’re expected to meet – that we hide. And we carry an awful lot of pressure, shame, and guilt into that hiding spot with us.

Have you ever felt that you just couldn’t tell someone what you’re really going through? You don’t want to tell people that you’ve been depressed, because that might mean you’re a “bad Christian.” “Good Christians” are joyful all the time, right? You can’t tell people that you struggle with an addiction. Or your parents. Or even that you’ve been abused.

All of those things would ruin your image. You wouldn’t be a “good Christian” anymore. Maybe you would be downright rejected.

So you try to hide it.

A few years ago, I doubted my faith. I didn’t know if I really believed that God existed any more. I doubted that praying would do any good if He did exist.

And I was terrified. I wasn’t supposed to doubt Jesus and Christianity. Maybe I had never had any faith at all. What was the matter with me? Dare I tell anyone? Maybe people looked up to me. What would they think? Was I failing everyone and everything by having questions and doubts?

It took a long time for me to muster up the courage to talk about it. But when I finally did, it was so wonderful to be able to walk through it with someone.

Now, lest you get the wrong idea, doubt isn’t a sin. In fact, I would even argue that having questions – and doubts, for a season – is a normal and necessary part of spiritual growth. But this fake mask we try to wear condemns both the things that are sinful and the things, like doubt and depression, that are not.

Both things need to be exposed to Light. We can’t hide them any longer, and we can’t carry the burden of all those secrets and shame by ourselves anymore.

Because when we hide, we’re hurting ourselves by not getting help and not being real. We’re hurting others because we’re continuing the mad masquerade. When we break free, reach out, admit we’re not paper-doll perfect – we find healing. And we give others the courage to follow us, to speak up and find hope and healing for themselves.

The truth is that none of us is perfect. I’m nowhere near it. I don’t know why we feel such pressure to look perfect and pretend to be so, pressure to have others think we are. But sadly enough, the back-breaking pressure is there.

I’m not talking about glorifying our sins, but breaking free from the shame and darkness that hold us back and breaking free from the rules that say no one should know this and we definitely can’t talk about this in church. For we weren’t made to live this messy life alone; we desperately need a safe place where we can be real. And frankly, if we can’t find this strong community among Christians, we’re going to turn somewhere else.

You just can’t spend your entire life hiding and pretending.

And yet, Christianity should be the ideal place to turn to: a place where people understand, can encourage and challenge you and always point you back to the Cross.

Sometimes, we are a part of a community like that. And other times, even in our churches, that freedom just isn’t there. Other people are hiding and wounded and afraid to admit they’re not perfect either, and sadly that can lead to more wounds and judgment.

We’re all in the process of being healed and made new. No one is there yet. And whatever the secret you are hiding, I promise you that God’s grace and mercy are bigger.

And in the meantime, I pray that we would have the courage to be honest and full of grace. The courage to get help if we need it, and give help when others need it. To live honestly with others and let them be genuine with us. To be a safe and grace-filled place that others can confess secret sins and troubles to.

Life is messy. We are messy. But the glorious truth is that Christ is making us new and making us whole – that because of His sacrifice, God already sees us as righteous. In His eyes, we already measure up.

And that is the truth that will set us free and let us rip off the mask.

Much Love <3

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