The Wrong of Relationships

So, I had a few more thoughts while sitting in the back of our van on the way to visit my grandma:

The problem with so many of today's relationships is that it's all about you. You are trying to find someone who can make your life complete and make you happy. You are so focused on getting the best possible dates or the best-looking spouse, you forget what you're really supposed to be doing-

Matthew sound familiar to you? "But seek FIRST the KINGDOM OF GOD and His righteousness, and all these THINGS will be added unto you?" Things may not be directly referring to a spouse, but, hey, it is most definetely a thing that can hinder us from seeking God. Plus, if marriage relationships are going to be completely changed in heaven, then why should that be the primary focus?

I've seen it in so many Godly couples from my parents to many one28 leaders- marriage is about sacrifice and putting your spouse first. It's not a "you" thing! Adam may have been lonely no longer, but he probably didn't treat her like dirt or force her to cook all day for him (this sounds like I'm fighting for women's rights! :) Nope, women are under the authority of their husband and must take care of the househould!). Divorce was not an option, it's not the cure-all when you get too tired to work on your marriage. Only one reason is given in the Bible for divorce being ok, but I doubt many of the divorces follow that. One man one woman for as long as you both shall live, ok?

Let's get our focus off of loving relationships and the search and onto loving God!

My Thoughts WAAAAY Past the Expiration Date

Oh my goodness! I cannot believe I have not written in so long. Well, I guess I can believe it because... well, it happened... But enough of that! I have wanted to post a blog about the awesome purity/lust/relationship messages we've had "surround-sound" style (i.e. for a while there Sunday mornings from Pastor Z and SKH and Wednesdays with SKH). So many deep and challenging things were convicting me and encouraging me to listen to the warnings before I put myself in stupid situations. I might not be able to elaborate as fully as I would like seeing as Christmas lunch with my family is about to begin, but I'll God-willing be able to write the basic gist:

I have discovered what kind of pleasure-seeker I am. Ironically enough, SKH mentioned it in a sermon indirectly after I had my little revelation, but I hadn't posted a blog about it. I am...

A "Happily Ever After Pleasure Seeker"!! As many of you know from my enthusastic glee while at Disneyland, I am a huge fan of many things Disney. I watched all the classics as a little girl and had the happily ever after mentality seared into my little blonde curly-headed mind (sorry for all the needless adjectives there). While having a depressing moment a few weeks back, instead of turning my thoughts to God, I said to myself, "Well, it'll all be better once I'm married." That one little thought made me first, laugh, then stop and search for the source. Why do I think that once you are happily married and find "the one", your life will be perfect?! By the horrific divorce rate present in America, that obviously is not true, so why would I even think that?! Hmm... (thinks deeply while "Once Upon a Dream" goes though her mind)... could it be the obvious message portrayed in so many Disney princess movies? Think about it... most of their lives are "oppressive" (The HORROR of having to do housecleaning, live under the sea, have a feast served by magical silverware, pick berries, or, GASP, live in a palace!) and what saves them? Finding prince charming, no less! They get to sing a romantic little song and ride off into the sunset. You ever notice they didn't show life after marriage until the ridiculous set of sequels popping up everywhere. Even then, the movies still have happy endings! I will admit the only kind of movies I truly enjoy have happy endings although for life on earth that's extremely unrealistic. For a Christian, of course, death is a happy ending leading to a glorious beginning of eternity praising God in His holiness. But, if I don't seek Him fully now or fail to control my attitude and act like a little brat, how can I expect one ceremony to bring out my best and completely sanctify me? How can I believe that once I have my own house, my own kids, things will be different? What in the world!?

Well, I just got the lunch call. Perhaps God will allow me to finish my thought later! Merry Christmas! Praise God for His wonderful, merciful, gift of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

After a delicious meal...

Interstingly enough, I have no desire to get married anytime soon, which is a very good thing, I'm sure. I am quite aware of the fact that I am still an immature adolescent and I need to be much closer and more in love with God before I can take any sort of "relationship" seriously. I know how important having the right spouse is and I take that very seriously. I also was reminded a few messages ago that if I'm focusing on finding a guy so much, that means I'm not satisfied with God and I have such a small heart to think it's all about pleasing myself and having some guy who'll tell me I'm pretty or something. Obviously, if the marriage relationship will not be present in heaven, we shouldn't be focusing on that and certainly not more than our love for our Eternal Father! It makes me so sad to see the pathetic boyfriend/girlfriend relationships of elementary students all the way to high school. Some, granted, are going about it the right way, but can you honestly say the majority are making the right choices? Obviously, God will use it as part of His plan for their lives, but still, we make mistakes! It seems like each year opens the door of "dating" to younger and younger people! I once heard a 2nd grader talking about the woes of his girlfriend who kept him on a tight leash. WHAT?! Aren't these kids supposed to be watching cartoons and playing with action figures or building forts or something!? What are the parents of America and the stupid media teaching these children? Sure, it's "cute", but don't you realize how much of a set-up it is? You are setting them up to have a ridiculous heart break and continue to have fruitless relationships that only end in emptiness!

The most infuriating thing to me is the people who can only be described as flirts. UGH! Disgusting! What do they really expect to get out of parading themselves as stupid little drooling giggling masses of hormones?! (And the adjectives come back again) (Wow. Killer quote right there!) Do you really want to be in a relationship with someone who falls for your foolery? What's stopping them from dumping you after a few weeks for the next hot person who makes them feel special to come along? How dare you dress in suggestive clothing and try to entrap guys into liking you! Do you really think that gives you any value whatsover?? Where's your sense of self or protection of the temple where God resides (or if you so boldly act like this maybe He isn't the one residing in your heart!)? You people make me sick! Although my first response is obviously one of disgust (slight understatement), I do have some pity hiding behind the fiery eyes of disbelief. I have had many friends who act like this and most often it's due in part to the lack of love in their life. They have not chosen to accept Christ or their Heavenly Father and they have families who are barely holding on. That does not excuse this ridiculous action, but I should definetly be praying that their heart will change. I want them to have a wonderful, Godly man who will protect them and their honor for the rest of his life. I want them to know the love of their Lord and Savior and treasure their unique personality and talents. Why they feel they have to act in such a flirtacious way when they are often the prettiest and most amazing people, I don't understand. Be who God has called you to be! Don't cheapen who you are or ask others to indulge in your lust for feeling better about yourself.

Wow! I haven't thought about that for a long time, but that's my two-sided thoughts on flirting. Anger and pity. Weird. Maybe the first reaction is that of selfishness and perhaps even jealousy of the attention they receive and then I realize how sad it truly is and my heart wants to help them to God. I'll have to think about that some more. I need to go get my notes from the past sermons so I can elaborate more for your reading pleasure. Actually, I think it's more a of a self-helping thing to have my thoughts be typed into something I can see more clearly. Well, whatever the case, I'll return later... By the way, why do they even have a wingdings option for a font?!

Do you always do what everyone else does?

Ok, I admit it. I got a myspace. The only reason was actually pretty random. I wanted to have a pretty star background but blogger.com has a limited amount of templates, so I thought, "Hey, why not get a myspace?" It seems like it will help me keep in touch with old friends too, so I'll give it a try! I'll definetely have to delete it, though, if I keep getting questionable comments or whatever. Let me know if you see anything that concerns you on it! :) Thanks!

Who knew the Colonists and the British looked so stylish? Esther and I pose during the making of a history video about the War for Independence. It's the debut of Cowco, the colonists' cow insurance of yester-year!

Now... I Need You Now... More Than the Air I'm Breathin'

Ok, so admittedly, it's been a pretty long time! But I have a ton of things on my plate and not that many people read this anyway... :) I've always thought of my blog as a fun way to record memories and have a reminder of some of the things God has done in my life.

Well, basketball started this past Monday. That is very exciting! I always seem to forget how much I enjoy basketball. It just feels good to be able to run and score points (which doesn't happen THAT often, but I'm gonna work on it!). So far, we've come up with a play I fondly call "I don't know". So, if you ever hear me shouting that out on the court... it's not a mistake! :) I'm so grateful to the Lord for preserving me so far (after my bad ankle ligament tear last season) and allowing me to really enjoy this sport. It always cheers me up! I've played basketball the longest, so I have more experience and a more important role on the team. I'm not saying that I don't like soccer, in fact, I think I have more respect for talented soccer players than basketball, but I'm just better at basketball. That's kind of a "duh" reason why I would like it better. Plus, there's always a bunch of people hanging out at the home games and it's fun to see old, new, and current friends to chat with. I'm also a huge fan of the concession "stand"! I LOVE helping out with it... so much fun! Well, my biggest concern this year is being a Godly example to the other girls and working hard. I'm praying that we'll pull together and truly feel like a team... not JV vs V or younger girls and older girls... but together! I think it will be a good, but hard season.

Maybe we'll be blessed with a lot of wins... maybe not... only God knows! :)

My main struggle these past few weeks has been being faithful in reading the Word and battling lack of sleep, homework, and sore muscles. I had kind of a break down today because I was so disappointed with my lack of spiritual growth. I guess that's a good sign, but I'd better do something to change it, or it's worthless. I ended up reading my Bible during school for a long time to get refocused, but my mind kept going away from the page and into prayer and thought. I was, of course, directed to the perfect passages for me to hear. The infamous section about being tested but never too far. I found such comfort in hearing that even in my dispair, God was still there protecting me from destruction. I absolutely must focus more on heavenly things, though! I find myself disgusted with an attitude I had during the day or the way I said something... an opportunity to talk about Christ that I wasted... He was not my main focus, and that caused me to have so much grief! Thankfully, although the No Tresspassing talk is preventative medicine in my life, I was really deep in thought over one of SKH's comments. In essence: people are pursuing these silly relationships because they're not satisfied with God. WOW! What a revelation that was. Even though you'd think it would be obvious, I never directly thought about that. It made me realize, not with relationships necessarily, but just in all areas of my life, seeking other things means I'm not satisfied with God. How utterly pitiful! I don't think Solomon could've been any more clear about this, but many people, including myself, just aren't getting it! I imagine we must look completely lost and pathetic to God. Amazing that He would love and save us! I'm so thankful for that hope. I want to break free from the ridiculousness of searching after life under the sun... definetely something to pray about!

By the way, my title consists of lines from a song I love that has been encouraging me for the past few weeks. It's so true... we need Him more than the air we breathe... more than every second... He gives us each breath anyway!

More thoughts to come... (hopefully within a reasonable time period unlike my last blog gap!)

Your Sister in Christ, *Nat*