An Intermission

I know I dedicated the month of July to "Love Lessons", but God has been laying this blog on my heart for awhile, and I'm finally releasing my stubbornness and just writing it. Here's a list of things I've learned (and relearned) my Freshman year of High School...Hopefully it doesn't sound too cliche.

Most importantly...God is faithful. Yes, it's repetitive, but it's true. I wish I could explain to you how I've come to relearn this this past year, but I can't. Hopefully I've given you enough reason to trust me, but more importantly I hope that my words and actions have inspired to you become closer to God. The LAST thing that I want to do is drive you away from Him or distract you from Him. If I do, I fully expect you to tell me. If I've built you up in Him, just remember that it's not my doing. All of these blogs have been His words through me. All of my "revelations" have been from Him, and that's the end of it. The thing is...I don't WANT the recognition or praise because it's not mine to take in the first place. I'm not doing anything but relaying a message, so the praise is HIS. Not mine. End of subject.

On FORGIVENESS, God is faithful to forgive you when you ask. "For a CLEAN feeling! No matter what!" (I'm thinking the Orbitz lady knows what she's talking about...) The problem is we don't forgive others and we don't forgive ourselves. We tend to hold grudges(more tomorrow) against other people but they grudges we hold against ourselves are worse. Learning how to forgive others and yourself is a hard lesson to learn, but it shouldn't be. Most of the time forgiving others is easier than forgiving yourself because of guilt. The important thing to remember is that God has forgiven you and cast your sin as far as the east is from the west never to be seen again...so STOP BRINGING IT UP!! when we don't forgive others, we're not giving them a chance to forgive themselves. It's a vicious cycle.

On PROMISES. Don't make promises that you can't keep. Yep, it's Biblical. God kept every single promise He's ever made, and we're expected to do that. Yes, we're human. We're not going to be able to keep all of those promises. It's more logical to just not make the promise in the first place. It doesn't make it easier, it just makes it right.

On FRIENDSHIP. True, real friendship is totally irreplaceable...you shouldn't even have the opportunity to replace it. The term "best friend" is a term that people overuse. It's putting your friends on a scale, and it's not fair to them. They're gifts from God, and God didn't mean for you to put them on scale. Yes, you will be closer to some people. That's also a gift from God. Scales are never ever a good idea(ie. pretty scales, friend scales, "love" scales). They're not fair OR Biblical and they just end up hurting people. So, that should be enough incentive for you not to do it. Always remember that crushes are going to come and go, but your friends will always be there. So don't ditch your friends for a guy/girl. Seriously. It's not worth ruining friendships.

On HAPPINESS. You can't depend on anyone but God for your happiness. When you depend on anyone else, they let you down, and you blame them even though it's your own fault. People can't give you eternal joy--that's God's job. ((Short, I know...but incredibly true.))

On LETTING GO. Letting go isn't ever easy. Especially when you think you're right. After you've thoroughly screwed up your life, relationship with Christ and several friendships you finally realize that you were wrong(Thank God). That doesn't make it easier to let go. We always hear that sin is fun for a season, and that's true. And then you look back and think, "My GOODNESS. I'm SO STUPID." And THEN you realize how many people you neglected and hurt...including God--and that's the worst part. Knowing that you let God down. ((check out the forgiveness part. Again. It doesn't make it easier. Just right.)) Then, once you let God forgive you, and you forgive yourself, you realize that it's best for everyone. There's a song called, "If You Wanted a Song Written About You, All You Had to Do Was Ask" by Mayday Parade. In one part of the song then it says, "Even broken hearts may have their doubts". Very true...but, check out Jeremiah 17:9-10. A better example is "Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same."(("All at Once"-The Fray)). That's the case a lot of the time.

On FAMILY. No matter what, your family is your family. You're placed there for a reason. Even when they annoy you. Even when you THINK they're wrong. Even when they ARE wrong. They're still your family, and you're still a part of them. I know that not everyone has the best family situation. I know that. But they're still your family, even when it doesn't feel like it. Trust God, because He can be trusted. That's all I can say.

On GROWING UP(or trying to). Contrary to popular belief, growing up is NOT doing whatever you want. It means being mature enough to accept and follow through with God's will, disregarding what you want, and making His will what you want.

On PRAYER. Telling someone that you'll pray for them is not an excuse not to listen to their problems. God wants you to care about other people. Praying for them IS good, but sometimes, all people need is for you to LISTEN and CARE.

Hopefully, you guys took this to heart. These lessons were not EASY to learn. They weren't easy to share, either. It brought up a lot of stuff that I didn't want to think about. Looking back, it was worth it. God often works through you in hard situations. You just have to keep your eyes on Him, and let Him.

Life is not easy. We weren't promised that it was going to be easy. But, Someone loves you. Even when you don't think so. Don't you know? You've got me and Jesus. By your side, through the fight, you will never be alone on your own. You've got me and Jesus. (("Me and Jesus"-Stellar Kart)) It's true. You HAVE got me and Jesus. I promise you that, dear reader.