The Skinny Jeans Dance

We all know it.

We all do it.

That odd little jig you do when you pull on your skinny jeans.

The one that gets a little more...enthusiastic when they're fresh out of the dryer. It looks like some twisted combination of an Irish Jig and a tribal rain dance. And then you do a few squats at the end just for good measure.

We need to put our thoughts into spiritual Skinny Jeans.

The Bible tells us to take every thought captive. The whole point of the Skinny Jeans Dance is that the pants are tight, difficult to get into, difficult to get out of. But not so bad once they're on. We need to put our thoughts through a little bit of dancing and stick them in some nice, tight, spiritual Skinny Jeans.

Which is where God intended them to be. He intended our thoughts to be pure, focused on Him. Not running every which way with every little idea. It takes a bit of a dance to get them there.

A sort of mental Skinny Jeans Dance. You have to jiggle them around, force them where you want them to go. Kind of like forcing your heel through the leg hole of a pair of skinny jeans.

But once they're on, Skinny Jeans aren't to bad. They're pretty comfortable, really. If we could make our minds focus 100% on God, on what is pure and good and holy and right, imagine how comfortable we'd be.

I wish I had more personal experience to say, "Yes! I've tried it, and it's so comfortable keeping my mind focused on the right things all the time!" But unfortunately, this is an area in which I struggle. I don't keep my mind where it needs to be. I tend to wear spiritual sweatpants. But I feel pretty confident saying that keeping our minds focused on what God wants us to focus on would be better and more pleasant for us.

So go forth and clad yourselves in spiritual Skinny Jeans, my friends!

Suck It Up

So I've been thinking. Awhile ago, everyone was doing these things where they came up with a manifesto, or a life motto or something like that. And I was like, "Eh, that's cool. But I don't really have one." I don't really have one thing that can sum up how I view my life. I could tell you lots of things in life I enjoy; rainy days, cool breezes, good stories, the feeling of sticking a landing, a hug from my coach, but none of that is the sort of thing I could use to sum up my life, or how I try to go about living my life.

Well, the other day I was thinking about gym, and I was laughing about all the things our coaches say to us. The most common being some version of "Suck it up!". This, I realized should be my life's motto.

Suck it up!

I know you're all probably thinking, "Isn't that more like a sports thing, Robin? That doesn't apply to the rest of life." I know it sounds like something you would only hear in the gym, or the pool or the playing field. I know it sounds harsh and mean, and usually life mottos (or whatever you want to call it) are sweet or inspirational or something like that. And this, well it sounds like an irritated coach who is tired of complaining. (Probably because it came out of the mouth of one). But it really actually applies.

When I'm at gym (logical place to start), and I start complaining about how my arms are about to fall off, or it's not my fault my legs aren't straight, they have a mind of their own, or how I'm not flexible and this really hurts, I hear, "Suck it up!" (or some variation there of) from my coaches. Or sometimes from my self mentally. Suck it up, and deal with the pain. Get over it, you're not going to die.

In school, when I have tons of homework and I'm driving home thinking that all I want to do is lay on the floor pretending the world doesn't exist, I have to remind myself of this (hard). Suck it up, girlie. Just get home, get the work done. Suck it up, and deal with it. You can handle a little extra work.

When my plans for the week get thrown off, and I have to be super busy, or someone forgets to tell me that something needs or doesn't need to be done. I have to say, (you guessed it), suck it up. Pull yourself together, and get a move on. So you have to stay up till midnight writing a paper. Suck it up. Sleep is for the weak.

It even fits in with my Christian walk. Okay, now I know you're probably thinking "What in the world? That one really doesn't make sense." Who knows. Maybe you're not and this all makes perfect sense. Either way I'm going to explain it. When trials come (even little ones) and I want to get grumpy, and not do the right thing, I need to say to myself, "Suck it up!" No one ever said the Christian life would be easy, in fact, Christ said it would be hard. So when bad stuff happens, and I want to complain, or take the easy way out, I need to suck it up and deal with it. Even in the small things like reading my Bible every day. A lot of times I say I'm to tired, or to busy. Too bad. Suck it up, kid. Get yourself out of bed and do what you have to.

So there you have it. Life motto. Suck it up.

3 Hours and 32 Minutes!!!!!!!

Well, in exactly 3 hours and 32 minutes I will be leaving for the airport to go to Krapina Croatia on mission trip with my church. We're going to do an English camp, for the kids there, and share the Gospel through an assembly each morning, crafts, English lessons, and games. It is going to be a wonderful time of service and fellowship! Please pray for us, that we would be willing servants, despite being tired and worn out. That we would be a light to these kids and their families.
Needless to say, I won't be posting for a while (10 days to be exact), but Joanna from Castles in the Air will be guest posting for me at some point, and maybe even my mom, who is an awesome and amazing lady, and hopefuly she'll post so you all can meet her!!
Adios my wonderful readers! Have a great week!

Purity and Relationships

Purity. Simply say that word, and every teenager in the room cringes. But really, it shouldn't be that difficult of a topic. It doesn't refer exclusivly to relationships. The phrase "pure in heart" means two things. First, that you are saved. Becaus that is the only way to BE pure. You have to be washed clean by Christ to have a pure heart. Second, it means to be growing in righteousness. As we grow spiritualy, we become more righteous, more pure. A part of this includes our relationships. So, in order to live righteously, how should we act around guys? I don't have a list of do's and don't's, though if I did it would make life a whole lot easier! I have some ideas though, that hopefully point in the right direction.

When a girl has a "crush" (why do they call it that, anyways?) on a guy, what does she want from him? We all know the answer: Attention. So what does she do? She flirts. UrbanDictinary defines flirting as  "anything someone does to get the attention of someone they like." So flirting is basicaly saying, "Ooh! Ooh! look at me!" It's drawing purposely drawing attention to yourself. At it's root, it's selfish. you want all the attention to be given to you. Selfishness. And selfishness is the wrong attitude to have. So I think flirting's not ok. If your like me your thinking, "I don't know flirting if it's right in front of my face! How am I suposed to know if I'm doing it or not?" If flirting is purposly drawing attention to yourself, then the simple answer is make sure that whetever your doing is not done in order to draw attention to yourself. I think the best way to acomplish this is to just act like yourself around everyone. You don't have to change the way you act just because a guy walked in the room, even if it is for the right reasons. You don't have to stop talking and sit there in akward silence just because there is now a guy in the room. Would you do that with your brother? No, of course not! Well, Christian young men are our brothers in Christ! Act yourself!

I think that one thing (not calling attention to yourself) covers everything else I could say. I could talk about how we should be polite, but being rude would fall under the branch of caling atention to yourself. I think the same goes for pretty much every other thing we could talk about. Dress. If you dress modestly, you're not calling attention to yoursself. If you don't, you are. It could go on and on.

I think that about wraps it up. Thanks for listing, and I hope this was at least somewhat helpful/ecouraging! If you have any thoughts to add, I'd love to hear them!

Our Brothers in Christ

Ok, so we know we shouldn't be "boy crazy" and we know why, but how should we treat believing young men? "...to the younger men as brothers, the older women as mothers and the younger women as sisters in all purity." (1 Timothy 5:1). Here, Paul is telling Timothy how he should treat other members of the church. But I think it applies to us girls as well. We are told to treat young men as our brothers in Christ. Besides, if they are treating as sisters in Christ, doesn't it make sense that we treat them as brothers in Christ?

None of this means that you can't get married of course. God designed marriage. He created Eve so that Adam would have a wife! "For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24). Marriage was designed and created by God, and therefor it's good, but it is NOT our job to chase after every boy you see! Remember that our focus should be on Christ, not anything else. And if our focus is on Christ, we will trust Him. Trust that He has a plan for our lives! "For i know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'Plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope," (Jerimiah 29:11). "Not that I speak fom want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." (Phillipians 4:11) I think it's pretty safe to say that we can take "whatever circumstances" to include single or married.

The point is, we need to trust God. Being content in any circumstances means trusting God with our lives. If He wants you to remain single, then that's what's best for you! It's really remarkably simple! All we have to do is trust, and God will bring the right guy along at the right time! Unfortunatly, we in human sinfulness, complicate things incredibly by thinking we know better than God, and try to find the guy WE think is right at the time WE want. This is obviously not trusting God, which Christ commands us to do. So, if we keep our focus where it should be, (on Christ) then we will learn and grow in ALL areas, including this one. We will learn to trust God in this area, learn to treat the young men as brothers. This is where the purity part in the 1st Timothy verse comes in, but I'm going to talk about that, and few other, realated things tommorow, because it's getting late. Thanks for listening; I hope this is helpful!

Treating Young Men as Brothers in Christ

Hey everyone! I apologize for the long absence, and delayed start on these blog party posts. When I decided join in on the blog party, I did not realize that it would take place at the same time as a camping trip my family planned to take. So, the camping trip is over, and if you can find it in your hearts to forgive my absence, I'll begin my posts now, and keep going till I've made up for all three days.

Our topic is treating young men as brothers in Christ, and not being boy crazy girls. There are so many places to go with this topic that it seems hard to know where to start. But the answer should be simple. Obviously so, actually. The best place to start, is of course at the start! (Duh!) So, what exactly do we think of when we think of a 'boy crazy" girl? We all know them; always chasing after the boys, never happy unless they're with someone, or at least have a crush. And they are always on an emotional rollercoaster that doesn't ever stop. Sometimes they're happy, and sometimes they're horribly depressed. But it seems to me, that to some girls, being boy crazy is simply normal. Not wrong; normal. Like school and hair and friends. But it IS wrong. Why? Well, let's look at how the Bible talks a bout wrong. It isn't simply a list of do's and don'ts. The Sermon on the Mount starting in Matthew 5 reveals this. It takes the whole Law, and shows how it demands the right heart. To God, obedience is primarily a heart issue, not an appearance issue. So we've established that being boy crazy is the wrong attitude to have, and that right and wrong are heart issues.

But what, specifically is the wrong heart attitude that exists in being boy crazy? Let's say your enjoying some time to yourself, and your younger sibling asks you to get something down for them. You say no, because you don't won't to disturb your free time. What heart attitude dictates such an action? Selfishness, right? You want what you want, and you're not going to let any one get in the way of getting it. You're preferring yourself ahead of your sibling. The action was to tell your sibling no, your attitude was selfishness. So we return to the original question. What is the heart attitude that accompanies being boy crazy? What does a boy crazy girl care most about? The answer should be pretty obvious: Boys. What should we care most about? That answer should be pretty obvious as well: Christ. When we put anything, anything ahead of Christ, whether it be nail polish or boys, it is sin. That's the wrong attitude that goes along with being boy crazy.

So, we've established that being boy crazy is wrong, and why it's wrong, but how can we change? It's not like chewing your nails, or something, which is a physical thing. Fist and foremost, you have to ask forgiveness for your sin. Then you have to change. But we can't change our hearts on our own. We have to have help. Christ sent the Holy Spirit to live in us, and help us grow. He provides the strength that we cannot so that we can change. Specifically, your focus has to change. It has to change from boys, (where it shouldn't be) to Christ, (where it should be). This has to involve a LOT of prayer (just like everything else in life). You have to consciously work to change your focus. Realize when your becoming focused on boys and refocus on Christ. Seperate yourself if you have to. It's not going to be easy; nothing that's worth having is, and the Christian life is not easy. But we've been promised in Hebrews that He will never leave us or forsake us.

Thanks for listening, and be sure to comment if this doesn't make sense or if you have something to add! Comments make my day! And I'll be back tommorow! 

Fight the Good Fight

"You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier."
                                                                                                      2 Timothy 2:1-4

As I read these verses this morning, I was struck by the wording. Here, Paul uses the familiar analogy of a soldier; though not always directly. The comparison of a soldier happens to be one of my favorites, probably because I enjoy adventure stories, and heroes of honor and valour. But like I said before, these verses just sort of struck me this morning.

 be strong: A soldier cannot be faint-hearted in the moment of battle. He must be strong. For the Christian, a battle is constantly raging. A christian cannot lose heart for a moment. (Even though sometimes, okay, alot of times =) we do). But the great thing is, in battle, we don't have to rely on our own strength to fight the battle. Christ supplies us with His strength, and when we fight, His strength is in us, so we CAN be strong!

entrust these to faithful men: The word entrust brings to mind (for me, anyways) the image of something immensely  valuable. Some treasure that cannot be lost. Handing over this all-important treasure to another and saying, "Keep this safe". Paul speaks of the doctrines he's taught Timothy. He says entrust them to other men. Give them to others to be protected and guarded. But they are not to be given to any men, they are to be given to faithful men who will protect them, and teach them to others. As Christians, we are to guard these things (the doctrines) with everything; like a faithful soldier; make sure they are not tampered with. But we are also to share them with others.

Suffer hardship... as a good soldier of Christ Jesus: A good soldier will endure hardship for his cause. Think of the soldiers at Valley Forge. A good soldier endures to the end, sacrifices what needs to be sacrificed. Endurance. They suffer for their lord. We are soldiers of Christ and we are to suffer willingly for our Lord.

No soldier in active service entangles himself ...: A soldier doesn't burden himself with unnecessary concerns. In the heat of battle, his mind must be clear, so he knows what to do. So a wise soldier, who never knows when he will be called to fight, won't burden himself with the extra cares of everyday life. We are always in battle. We cannot be concerned with the cares of the world. To do so would only serve to distract us, and perhaps cost us the battle.

so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier: Every soldier desires to please the one who enlisted him: his captain, and further up, his king. But right here I'm going to stick with the image of captain, because that seems more personal. A soldier wants to please his captain, and when he does, the captain feels a sense of pride in this soldier. When the soldier is praised by the captain, it's a feeling of, well, rather hard to describe, but I assume you know what it feels like to be praised. Not flattered, praised. That is what the soldier feels upon pleasing his captain. Our Captain is Christ. We live to please Him. Every Christian soldier longs to hear "Well done My good and faithful servant." One could just as well insert "soldier" for "servant" and it would mean the same thing. Let us live and fight in such a way as to please our Captain.

Biblical Counseling Conerence

This weekend I had the privelage to attend the first weekend of the Biblical Counceling Confrence at our church, FCC. The short version: Best. Weekend. Of. My. Life. But you should know me better than to think that I would leave it at that! I learned so much over today and yesterday that I feel like I'm on overload, but it was soooo worth it! I was so incredibly blessed by the teaching, and I am so thankful that that the Lord gave me this oportunity. But now comes the hard part: Application. It's all fine and good to say I've learned so much, but the point of teaching, the point of life is to grow in Christ-likeness. I can't simply talk, I have to do. When God provides tools for us to grow, we are expected to use them. So, Lord willing, I will prove to be a doer of the Word, and not merely a hearer who deludes herself.