What is Love?

(No relation to "Night At the Roxbury"...I in no way endorse that movie. But this is a clip that will make you understand my correlation between the two: Night at the Roxbury )

So here's what I've been thinking about since...March. Yep, March. The book I just read solidified the idea in my mind. (Ask me if you want to know what it was. It was kindof girly though.) I'm just gonna jump right into the thought.

What IS love? Like, for real. This is the dictionary response:
Love [luhv] noun, verb:
a. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
b. a feeling of warm person attachment or deep affection as for parent, child or friend.
c. sexual passion or desire
d. strong enthusiasm or liking for something
e. benevolent affection of God and His creatures or the reverent affection due to Him from them.

THIS is the Bible definition:
1 Corinthians 13-The Love Chapter

1 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 2If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. 3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

8-10Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

11When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

12We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

Now, tell me. Where in the WORLD does it say anything about love being a feeling in the Bible?? I'm fairly certain God knows what He's talking about. Let's dissect this, okay?

Love is NOT: sexual desire, a strong enthusiasm, passion, tenderness, or warm personal attachment to anyone. Those all have their places in life, and are not bad things(at the right time *cough* sexual desire *cough*). But here's what we do. We compartmentalize love. When I say "compartmentalize", I mean we separate it. We put our Love for God in one cubicle, Love for Family in another, Love for Friends in another, etc.

Why is this a big deal? Because it's all the same love. Love's definition doesn't change based on the person it's describing. Loving your family is the same as loving a hobo. (It's not like that in reality, I realize, but God says that that's how it's supposed to be.) Let me explain a little better.

Think about someone you love (God, your family, a friend, or even the DELUSION of a crush. [Yes. It is a delusion. Ü I say it because I've experienced it.]). Now think about the definition of love. Do your actions match the "feeling" that you have for them?

I can truly say that I love God. I love my family. I love my friends. They mean a lot to me. We're all familiar with John 15:13. ((Greater love hath no man than this: That he would lay down his life for his friends.)) Now add John 15:13 to 1 Corinthians 13. Now think about who you love.

This is the SAME LOVE that we should have for hobos, meanyheads and annoying people. It's NOT easy guys. Jesus never said that it would be. But He did it. So that means *drum roll* WE SHOULD TOO. No matter how hard it is. That brings me to my next point.

We need to prioritize love before we can ever stop compartmentalizing it. When I say "prioritize", I mean that our love for God needs to be first. Your "love" for other people will not matter unless you love God first. I say that because it's true. You won't understand love until you've experienced God's love.

Love is not butterflies. Butterflies are AWESOME, you guys. But they do not equal love. You will have them as a side effect of love, that's normal. God made us that way. But just cuz you get butterflies does not mean you're "in love". Justin Lookadoo is a really good Christian author, and I recommend his books to you guys. He said, "I love my wife...Sometimes we get into fights and go to bed upset with the other. We don't wake up in the morning and have butterflies...She turns over and thinks, "Oh. Bummer. He's still breathing."" Love endures all things. And that means ALL things.

This is what it comes down to: When earnestly love God first. Before ANYTHING and ANYONE, His love bounces off of your pretty little (or handsome, manly) self and it shows EVERYONE. That keeps your love a whole, not a little office of cubicles of love.

Okay, now everyone comment. No excuses. I want to see your thoughts! Ü

Rina

It's Monday...again.

So...let's see...

Last night was the Homecoming service for the NYC and Nicaragua people...It was extremely fun to watch, I must say. Ü

Anyway, mostly what I got out of last night. The guy who baptized was the Haitian pastor. Before he baptized someone he would say, "And I'm glad to do this" or he would say, "We're happy to have you." Now, we thought this was funny...why? Because people only say that if you've come to their house for a party--OHHHH.

Get it?

When you're baptized, you're showing the church that you've become a Christian. And that's a party. At our church, then it always seems like "how many" is the alpha question. But it's really not. It doesn't MATTER how many people got saved. It matters EVERY TIME someone gets saved. If it's just ONE person, then the missions trip was worth it. Cuz, "That's when the Angels Rejoice!!" (for all you Arch the Angel kiddos). Actually, even if you were NOT in Arch the Angel, this song is beneficial for your Christian walk.

When the light bulb first lit up the town, no the angels did not jump around and when the man stepped on the moon, they didn't sing a victory tune.

There's only one thing that we're sure about that can make those angels jump and shout! When a sinner makes the Lord his choice, that's when the angels rejoice!

When the United States became a nation, there was no angelic celebration. But when one lost sinner comes back home, they jump for joy around God's throne!

When the Model-T first hit the street, it didn't bring all Heaven to its feet, and when the first computer was born, they didn't blow on Gabriel's horn.

There's only one thing that we're sure about that can make those angels jump and shout! When a sinner makes the Lord his choice, that's when the angels rejoice!

See?? Now, that's not the full song, but you get the gist of it. It doesn't matter what we do if we're not doing our job. The Great Commission is for ALL of us. Not just for the "20% of the people that do 100% of the work".

Oh.My.Goodness.

Guys...today was...amazing. I caught THE best wave ever. (And no, I did NOT get knocked over today.)

The rain didn't fail us today, so we weren't out there for very long. We got Rita's (another Saturday tradition). Anyway...I've got a "World We Live In" AND a "Lost Art Form" for you today.

The World We Live In:
On the way to the beach, there was this giant truck that decided that it wanted to have both the exit and the right lane...so we honked so that we didn't crash into them, right? Well, they repay us by flipping us off. Thanks man. We saved your truck.

On the way home FROM the beach, we saw this dude in his car...SHAVING. No lie! He was actually shaving! How rushed do you need to be to be SHAVING in the car?!! I mean, really. O_O. I'll post the picture later.

Lost Art Form:
Old men in Speedos. Woooooooooooooooooooooow. Dude, Speedos aren't cool even when you HAVE an athletic body. When you're old and...uh...old, it should be a crime. No one wants to see that. I'm sorry. But have some shame!!

Alrighty....Catch you cats later.

Just Another Saturday...

In the Champagne House, we have a Saturday tradition. Mom works at Weight Watchers until about 1pm, and then we all go out to lunch(Vinny's Pizza, Sonny's, or CiCi's...basically any all you can eat food...after WEIGHT WATCHERS. Ha. Hahaha.), THEN we go to the beach and body board for about 3 hours. After that...we come back home and get in the pool. Once we've thoroughly exhausted our exercise quota for the day, we come inside and play the Wii or watch a B-Movie.

Congratulations. You now have enough information about my family to be stalking us!

Anyway...today's plan is that we're going to Sonny's. Nothing like all-you-can-eat meat to start off your Saturday. Seriously. I love that place. 2 words. Beef. Brisket. Yummm.

Last night, Kyra, Sarie and I had a camp out in my room. Kyra made a tent and everything. It was pretty great. We took pictures and stuff...SEE?? Yeah. We're insane. You love us anyway. Simply because we're gorgeous. Even at 11:30pm. Ü

My mom SHOULD be home by now, as my dad just pointed out. But yeah...I don't know what to blog about. I suppose that this is enough for an update. If you haven't met my friends Pon and Zi...'ere you go: Pon and Zi

Alrighty....I guess that's all. =]

On Boy Bands and Other Lost Art Forms...

Okay, so I may have been pretty young(pretty & young, thanks) when REAL boy bands(Not the Jonas Brothers) were popular. Before I get a bunch of JB fan-girls stoning me and egging my house, let's define a boy band.
Boy Band:a formulaically organized pop music group of good-looking young men who can sing and dance.

The Jonas Brothers do NOT dance. Not in the awesome "Bye, Bye, Bye" *NSYNC way. I remember learning that dance. I remember dancing with my MOM to that song.

Yeah. There really is no point to arguing this. I miss boy bands. O Town, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC...this is all pre-I-went-and-ruined-my-career-because-I-threw-a-girly-tantrum-and-broke-up-
the-band-so-now-I-write-sucky-music-that-no one-listens-to, of course. The sad thing is, people DO still listen to Justin Timberlake. I'd really like to see O Town again. I loved them. I remember breaking the tape that I had because I listened to it so much.



Anyway....
I guess another lost art form would be the GIANT ROAD ATLAS. No lie. I saw one in Sam's today...and thought, "Wow. I need one of these." I don't know WHY I need one of those, because we have our loving Mother Telenav. (If you haven't heard the Mother Telenav story, you will. Right now.)

Mother Telenav was born on our trip to Liberty University (class of '15!!). We were right down the road from Liberty when my mom stopped giving my dad the Mapquest directions and my dad decided to use the Telenav on his Blackberry. Well, that was when my dad said, "Dorothy. It's over. I want a divorce." and the Telenav pipes up, "Slight Right on Candlers Mountain Road". So my mom whips out her Pocket PC and starts playing Solitaire. So she shunned my dad and they both start conversations with their respective devices. Well, we never acknowledged the PC as our father. Just the Telenav as our mother(think PAT from "Smart House")...Thus, Mother Telenav was created. Well, dad ended up divorcing Mother Telenav because she told us the wrong way to go, and we ended up driving around campus for 20 minutes in a circle (same thing Mom had said to do). Mother Telenav HAS led us astray before though....

Just in case you wanted to know: the last time Mother Telenav was married to Dad, she ended up leading us down a very creepy street at night and in the middle of a main street she said, "Your destination is on your left." It was a graveyard. No lie. **Welcome to the Twilight Zone**

I guess that could be called a lost art form as well. Marrying technology.

The last lost art form for today would have to be the lack of sun in "Sunny Florida". Yeah. Every night this week it has rained. No lie. It starts around 4 and lasts (at LEAST) til I go to sleep (10:30-11-ish).

I'll bet you anything that the sky is crying.

So Boy Bands, Giant Atlases, Rainy Florida and Marriage to Technology. What more could you ask for??

Happy Friday, everyone.

Nothing to Fear...

but "Fear Itself"....Have you guys ever seen that show?? It's actually pretty good. (If you like scary shows, that is.)

Anyway, this is definitely a spoiler, so MOM, STOP. READING. NOW. (She didn't watch it last night...)

Okay, so, this chick is getting married, right? And right before the wedding, she gets this note that says, "The person you are marrying is a serial killer." What the heck!! So, before the wedding, she's all stressing out and stuff debating whether to tell the guy about the note. The bridesmaids knew that there was a note, but they didn't know what it said. They just knew that it was making the chick upset. So the whole time, they were making faces at the groom, and the groom didn't know why.

So now, it's after the wedding and the girl was getting ready for the reception. All the lights go out, and she's alone, of course. Someone starts banging on her door, and she, guess. GOES TO OPEN IT!! (You never go and open a door when you're alone in the dark. It's just not done.) She opens it, and no one is there. There's a light on in the hallway, and suddenly it's knocked over, and she's in the dark again. Then, out of nowhere, the priest shows up. She asks the priest about the note, because he'd received it and gave it to the Maid of Honor to give to the bride. (He was old, and couldn't hear very well, so keep that in mind.)

The groom blows up at the bride in front of everyone at the reception, and then runs back to the chapel. The bride follows and they have one of those super cryptic conversations where she runs away and he follows...Anyway, she ends up in a locked closet, and he's banging on the door saying, "SAM!! OPEN THE DOOR!!" She didn't. Well, anyway, he ends up telling her that the note meant nothing. And she's all confused. Apparently, he'd taken some chick out to dinner while she was on a "business trip" or something and she'd been stalking him since then. He gave the whole, "She means nothing to me, I didn't cheat on you because I looooooove you" speech.

PLOT TWIST! She says, "Wow...I believe you. But there's still a problem with the note. The problem is that the note exists at all."

Flashes to the "tall, red-scarfed lady's" house(who'd given the priest the note). During all this the bride had called her brother to tell her that she was scared, etc. The "red-scarfed lady" turned on the answering machine and checked "her" messages. It was the brother's house!! He took off the wig and the scarf, and he turned on the light to reveal a bunch of dead people all in the room.

Flashes back to the chapel. The bride says, "The note wasn't meant for me. It was meant for YOU."
Then the groom says, "I don't care about the note!!" and she says, "You don't even wanna know what it says?" And he says, "You'll show me when you're ready...you promise??" To which she replies, "...I promise..." all creepily...BOM BOM BOMMMMMMM.

So yeah. That was my excitement for last night. This morning/noon I'm running errands...Hopefully, I'll have another great story to post later. Ü

Peace, Love and Happiness! ((The Calling-Phil. 3:14))

P.S. The purpose of this was for me to tell you that if you're a serial killer, you BETTER tell me. I'll extend the same courtesy to you.

A Day in the Life of a Teenage...person.

So, recently, I posted about the World We Live In and the stupidity thereof. This one takes the cake over Wal-Mart employees, I think.

At the Dentist today, before I had my "revelation"....I was listening to "Check Yes, Juliet" on my iPod and rocking out(in my head) and my mom was writing her blog. She looked up suddenly and looked like she was trying to stifle a laugh. So I took out an earphone in time to hear the nurse call back a brother and sister for the second time...Wanna take a crack at their names? Yeah. Well, their names were Gabriel and Gabrielle. No lie. What kind of a person is SO uncreative as to pick [essentially] the SAME NAME for BOTH of their children?!! Too bad they weren't twins...

In other news, my iPod decided to go spastic on me. The menu button wasn't working...Dano fixed it. Rina was happy.

Guess what?!! My fish died yesterday. You didn't know that I had a fish?? Well, now you do. And he's dead. Thanks a lot. I don't believe he died of natural causes. It was a series of murderous things (that have NOTHING to do with Meredith). Some goofball unplugged the heater for the fish tank. The other fish were always jealous of...my fish...and they shoved him into the filter. As if that wasn't enough, Sarie decided that she wanted to take the tank cleaner and play with my fish's DEAD BODY!! Not cool, man.



That's my today....later gators.

Christian Life Compared to a Dentist's Office

Alrighty, it's time for a "revelation" moment...(as lovingly named by my lovely readers who are loving).

So, today we went to the Dentist's office because Sarie had messed with her silver cap and it came off. We got into the car, and she was explaining what Dr. Stratton aka. Mr. Dentist-dude, had told her. It was something like, "Um, then he took this blue stuff, and um, he told me that, um, it would hurt for a little while, but um, not forever."

Ringing any bells??

It should be. In this analogy, God is the dentist and Sarie is our human representation. (I'll get to the blue stuff and the cap later.) So, let's start at how Sarie got herself to the dentist in the first place. Last night, she was messing with her cap, and it came off. Now, the dentist had given her that cap to replace the old one.(Sound familiar? Let's call the cap 'Salvation' and the tooth 'Life'. Does that make more sense?) It is true that you can never lose your Salvation. So keep that in mind while I explain the rest.

Now, Sarie couldn't have gotten a new tooth. It was there for life. No matter how ugly and yellowed(Sorry, Sarie...=]) it was, it was hers forever, and there was nothing she could do about it. Then, this awesome Dentist came and was like, "Hey there, Sarie. I could fix your tooth! Bear in mind that you will be different from everyone else because you didn't take care of your teeth the first time, but it's okay. I forgive you."

At this point, Sarie has two options. She could say "No way, dude, I don't want your freaky silver tooth." or she could say, "Hey. That's going to protect me. I want one of those." Either way, Sarie had a choice. It was her choice to get the silver tooth.

Here's what ends up happening to so many of us. We get the silver tooth. It's good for awhile, until we mess it up and the dentist tells us that it's going to hurt to get it fixed. We end up blaming the dentist because HE'S the one causing the pain, but it's our fault. We didn't brush our teeth(QT, prayer, church, etc.) and we ate the "forbidden foods" (sin). Then, once we've thoroughly ruined what he did, we have no choice but to go back to the dentist. He fixes it. He tells you the rules again. He forgives you. He expects you to follow them, knowing that he's going to end up fixing it no matter how hard we try. And he ENJOYS it. It's his job.

With that being said, just because it's his JOB does NOT mean that we can do whatever we want. We're making him do more work and after he's been so cool about fixing your tooth, you realize that awesome dentist dude doesn't deserve your crap. He fixed you!! You try to be a good little kid and follow the rules because you know that it will hurt. It's the punishment for your disobedience, and you totally deserve it. You remember that it will only hurt for a little while. Check this out.

Let it all out (get it all out)
Rip it out, remove it
Don't be alarmed, when the wound begins to bleed

'Cause we're so scared to find out (what this life's all about)
So scared we're gonna lose it
And knowing all along
That's exactly what we need

And today I'll trust you with the confidence
of a man who's never known defeat
But tomorrow, upon hearing what I did
I will stare at you in disbelief
Oh inconsistent me, crying out for consistency

And you said "I know that this will hurt
but if I don't break your heart, then things will just get worse.
If the burden seems too much to bear,
remember, the end will justify the pain it took to get us there."

And I'll let it be known (at times I have shown)
Signs of all my weakness
But somewhere in me, there is strength

And you promised me (that you believe)
in time I will defeat this
'Cause somewhere in me, there is strength

And today I'll trust you with the confidence
of a man who's never known defeat
And I'll try my best to just forget
that that man isn't me

And you said "I know that this will hurt
but if I don't break your heart, then things will just get worse.
If the burden seems too much to bear,
remember, the end will justify the pain it took to get us there."

And you said "I know that this will hurt (I know this will hurt)
but if I don't break your heart, then things will just get worse. (things will get much worse)
When the burden seems too much to bear, (seems too much to bear)
remember, the end will justify the pain it took to get us there."

Reach out to me
Make my heart brand new
Every beat will be for you, for you

And I know you know
You touched my life
When you touched my heavy heart
and made it light


I think that that song describes it perfectly. The end WILL justify the pain it took to get you there. No matter how it looks now, He's gonna be there to fix you up.

What Time is It??

SUMMER TIME!!

(It's our vacation!)


My lovely readers...I must say that summer has brought an absence of free blogging time! That is no excuse for my blatant disregard for the Golden Rule of Blogging. (Thou Must Update Frequently). I ask for your forgiveness. Ü

Upon receiving your forgiveness, I have written a very long blog for your enjoyment! My pledge is to try to update at least once a week...ish. Ü ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?!! (*cue music*)


A description of Rina's Summer so far!

Vacation in the Mountains: Part 1
Vacation in the Mountains: Part 2
Vacation in the Mountains: Part 3
Friend-ish Stuff

Yes, I have been quite busy-ish. The pictures tell the story of each event, and I hope that you enjoy the insanity of my family. Ü

My Summer oH EIGHT Movies to Watch list is as follows:

Get Smart
I saw this on Monday and I enjoyed it. Really anything with Steve Carrell in it is something that I end up enjoying. (With the exception of "Dan in Real Life". blehh.) There were a few negative elements. Check out Plugged In Online for their review.

Kung Fu Panda
This movie was very cute. Jack Black plays Po, a panda who is chosen as the Dragon Warrior. You see his journey from a Noodle Soup Maker to a Kung Fu Mastaahh. It's very funny, and a good movie to go see with your family! The only "bad" (notice quote/unquote) part is that they say that there is no "good" or "bad", there is only what you choose. The whole movie doesn't revolve around that phrase. It says it once, and they never really reference it again. Overall, a very good family movie.

Camp Rock
Stop trying to stone me. It has the JONAS BROTHERS in it. You can predict the plot from the first scene in the movie! No one can act!! What more could you possibly want in a movie?!!

High School Musical 2
No, not High School Musical. Who are you?! That's SO last year. This is another movie that you can predict the plot. It has some catchy songs, and like Camp Rock, no one can act. So, go ahead! Give in to your inner Wildcat!!
Another great way to watch a movie without having to spend money is to check out the Sci-Fi channel. Yes. I know. I'm a nerd. It's okay. Ü Anyway, one night, while surfing channels, my family started a tradition. B-Movie night! It's a fun way to spend time together as a family. We can (guess.) predict the plot, the acting sucks and it's just a really good time. Most recently we watched "Shark Swarm" and "Earthstorm". Great movies. Ü

Boredom Busters!! Try these:
Crazy Monkey Games
Kyle introduced me to this last year. Lots and lots of games for seemingly endless fun!
Funbrain
This is a kiddie site, but I found it fun. Ü You get to go around the board. The best game is the one with the cicadas. Have you ever seen a cicada? They're TERRIFYING!! No lie! I saw one in the mountains. It was scary.
Miniclip
This one is slightly LESS of a kiddie site, but I still like it. Brain games!! Flatbread Express is pretty fun...in case you were wondering. ;)
Postopia
Shut up. I like kiddie sites. And this one is fun.

If you're the outdoorsy type...(*ahem* not me.)...then try this. Go swimming! It's good exercise and you people need to work on your tans. Ü If you don't have immediate access to a pool, try this! Put your iPod on shuffle. The first song that comes up is your theme song. Learn the lyrics. Make up a dance. THEN, perform it for your neighborhood kids. Yes, we're 15. That doesn't mean we can't still play with the neighborhood kids!! If you really feel THAT uncomfortable with it, then do it for your family, you wussy. No, it doesn't matter if you can't dance. I can't either, and yet...I'm in a dance troupe. It's amazing fun. We rock the world. Stop being boring and DO SOMETHING! (And no, that does NOT mean hunting me down at church and telling me that I need to update my blog. ;) ) Kidding. Ü

It's summer time, and yeah, that usually means church attendance is down. Most people are on vacation...if you're not...you should do something to serve! During the summer, churches have a variety of different summer activities like Vacation Bible School, Upward Camp and even Epic Surf Camp. They're ALWAYS in need of volunteers. Here's the VBS information for FBC: Outrigger Island
This isn't JUST a way for you to serve God, it's a way to have fun doing it. If THAT'S not enough incentive for you, it's another good way to store up community service hours for your college application!! (Liberty all the way, baby. Ü )

Welcome to the World We Live In. In this segment, we'll view the incompetence of your average American. I take you now to the Wal-Mart on Monument(when did it become the ghetto, by the way?? Seriously!! Three people got arrested the last time I was there). Now, it's a Saturday night in SUMMER. How many check out lanes are open?? Four. No lie. There were FOUR check out lines open. There were literally FIFTY people waiting in line. Finally, we were next in line. Bear in mind that it is 9:15pm, and we were in the EXPRESS check out line (for you non-shoppers, that means we have 10 items or less), and if that wasn't enough, it was also a SELF check out (again, you non-shoppers, that means we have to ring stuff up ourselves...we should get paid). The dude in front of us had 11 items, so we were like "yeah, okay. Whatever. It's one more item then ten." Well, he got about half way through, and he proceeded to BREAK the machine. Thanks, dude. The Queen of the Checkout Lanes came and tried(using the term very loosely) to fix it. After she couldn't, she decided that she was going to try out her foreign language on us(French, if you know what I mean). Well, we moved to a different check out, and SUCCESS. We were out. After 20 minutes and a slew of people who lack common sense, we finally made it out of Wal-Mart. O_O Applause the customer service, everyone. Ü

Alrighty, kiddos. Thanks for reading!! Before you go...check out this blog!
Always Be Prepared...
Okeedokee! Love you guys!

Rina