Public College Smollege. Go with God!

Being in college, I'm constantly reminded that I'm "still illegal" or "too young" for this and "too innocent" for that, yet still encouraged to grow up and gain "wisdom". What they call wisdom is not really wisdom at all. My college peers think I'm "corny" and "weird" or "eccentric": I'm the one who says "Golly gee whiz!" or "Neato!" and listen to 1960's and acoustic alternative type music and instead of cursing all over the place and listening to today's current radio hits. I'm just not who they think and want me to be, and because of that I have an "extreme personality".

I used to be the home schooler snickering at all the public schoolers for falling under peer pressure. "You idiots ..." I'd mutter. "You can't make a person make you want to do something." But peer pressure is real. I deal with it every single day. I'm pressured to be accepting all of things and people. People automatically think that since I'm a Christian, I'm out to eat their bones to make my bread or something and they try to break me down. I wouldn't recommend public college to anyone: it's hard and spiritually draining (especially when you think 98% of your college is not going to heaven ...). People say and do the weirdest things! And you would think they would be a little bit more mature since they were older in actually in a proper place of learning.

Nope! It's like total bedlam!!! TEMPTATION IS EVERYWHERE!!!

Okay, maybe I'm being a bit dramatic (or not ...), but I hate to think that I often find myself getting immune to the craziness. I have to go home and spiritually recharge. When I'm at home or with my Christian pals, I feel absolutely free and the moments that I'm not at school, I cherish even more now. Although sometimes I take those moments for granted. I do fail. Repeatedly. I'm sometimes spiritually weak because I'm not getting the "food" that I need. (Don't you like the chef analogies? :) There are days where I feel like I have completely turned my back on God just to be like the fallible people at school. Just to fit in. It's like a person with a bad diet: I don't read my Bible for a number of days, than when I feel completely broken I'll read my Bible for hours, and start that cycle all over again. I have to remember that God is always there, even at my hungriest times.

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

I have to think of God, even when my Bible is not on hand to remind me. Sometimes I'll stop and say a little prayer. If I see something Bibically wrong, I'll think of a scripture or speak up about how the situation could have gone. You know the classic, WWJD. ;)

Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

There are those fun moments, college is not 100% terrible (maybe 90%? ;) and I'm positive that God has placed me in this situation for a reason. I'm learning that being who God wants me to be is okay. It's okay to be a Christian young lady. People calling me weird means that my Christian faith is showing. It's okay to be sixteen and it's okay to wait for certain "adult" experiences. I'm not legal? So what? I'm suppose to be at home, happy because a new episode of "Sonny With A Chance" is coming on. Most people don't understand how carefree Christianity really is and if that makes me "weird" or "extreme", than I'm happy to be just that. Christians are not suppose to be in this world, not of it.

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

"Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep... Okay, God?"

Sound familiar? Or "God, thank you this food we are about to receive for the nourishment of our bodies in Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen."

Matthew 6:7 And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard of their many words.
I know I have been guilty many times of repetitive prayer. Not caring if God hears and how He feels when I have "prayed". I'm not saying that God bans all repetitive prayer. Genuine, honest and sincere prayer is not what bothers God, it's the mindless and indifferent repeating of prayer that offends Him. When praying to God, our heart and mind should be fully on Him and what we're asking of Him. Not just a mumble here, and grumble there "God why didn't you give me what I asked for...?, Amen." Praying to God should be refreshing and new moments of expression to our Father. Also, when praying that sincere prayer, don't badger God to make sure He knows that you're trying to be honest or to try to speed up a certain prayer request. He heard you the first time, I'm sure! And He always answers. Not saying that we can't share our emotions, thoughts and burden's with God, even though He already knows. And not to say that God gets tired of hearing us: God loves to hear us talking with Him, more than we love talking to Him. John 14:13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. Just don't wheedle the Father. Our privilege and only bond with prayer is to be honest with God, and to have a true devotion of glorifying Him.

Matthew 6:5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
When we pray, we should pray for the right reasons. To glorify Him. Our only audience is of one: God. We shouldn't pray to be noticed holier than others; such a self-glorifying act is a perversion of the privilege of prayer! Do not pray to be impressive, praying for other people to hear. Fancy words and expressive hands. Now, Jesus doesn't rule out public prayer. He too prayed many times with His apostles and in the hub of larger crowds, but His intentions where only pure and His attention only to God.

Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
This verse here not only tells you about location, but also gears your thinking about who you're really suppose to be praying to. The location of this prayer gives us a place to be exclusive with God. Being "in secret" doesn't mean that God can't hear you wherever you pray, surely God is wherever and whenever, and even public prayer, if done right, will be just as intimate, but being "in secret" turns your focus away from yourself and others and brings your attention only on God. It shuts the world out and brings God in. It's not about the words in our prayer, but the private emotions we share with God in our heart. When God is the true audience of our prayers, He will unfailingly and willingly bless us.

Wrath

Psalm 37:8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.

Job 19:29 you should fear the sword yourselves; for wrath will bring punishment by the sword, and then you will know that there is judgment.

Leviticus 19:17-18 "Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD."

Wrath provokes impatience. The desire to seek revenge and generally wishing to do evil or harm others. Jealousy can lead to wrath. And wrath can lead to murder. Suicide was deemed as the ultimate, albeit tragic, expression of rage directed inwardly, a final rejection of God's gifts. Trying to revenge the world and also telling God that He's isn't good enough.

Wrath blinds you, making you feel no compassion towards others. It can drive you to do the most barmy things that you never thought you'd be capable of doing. For a common example, Cain and Able. [Genesis 4:5-8] Which is why we should examine ourselves daily. Not forgetting that we can also make others angry as they make us angry. Also, we should think about what's making us angry. Is it such a big deal? Don't sweat the little things. Thinking before we act will also help. It teaches us self-control. Looking inside ourselves and asking God to help us as angry humans. Be consistent with practicing the Fruits of the Spirits. Finding a joy in being obedient. Learning patience and tolerance for other humans. Sincere love towards your brother and boundless forgiveness. Approaching an anger-provoking situation with peace and gentleness. And, or course, being kind to one another.

Galatians 5:22-30 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Envy

Envy blinds us. It makes us want things that the Lord doesn't give us at the moment or want us to have at all. God has His very ideal and exclusive plan for your life: His will. We shoudn't envy others for what God has given them or compare our blessings to theirs. God allows us -Christians- certain things for a reason. His will for your life keeps you in balance with His laws. We can't go around looking for what we don't have, it takes away the gratitude of what the Lord has already given us.

• Job 5:2 Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
  
• Ecclesiastes 4:4 And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
  
• Proverbs 23:17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.
  
• Psalm 19:9-10 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb
  
• Proverbs 14:30 A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
  

Envy isn't just one of the seven deadliest sins, it can lead to other sins like back-biting your neighbor because your jealous of what he has leading to hatrd and deceit. Another sin envy can lead to is the even more common, adultry. Instead of thinking about what God hasn't given you, think about what God has already blessed you with. Thank Him for the things you have now. You never know: someone might be envying you. Pray for them. And the next time you think about envying someone or something, think it through: Would this really be what God has for you? Is it really worth commiting the horrible sin of envy? How would having this -whatever you want- affect you in your becoming closer to the Lord? The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

CALLING ALL YOUNG LADIES!

Take a peak at this article by Visionarydaughters.com.

How (Not) to Heat You Veins and Fire Your Brains.

Are You a Fool?

Take this quiz to find out. Oh-so-revealing and the absolute truth! The truth hurts sometimes. Ouch!


[thank you Jasmine Baucham for the link to this quiz]

Pride

pride [noun] - sense of one's own dignity or worth

There are many verses in the Bible that tells us to turn away from pride. Here are a few I found during my weeks of personal devotion.

• Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
• Psalm 10:4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
• Deuteronomy 8:11-14 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
• Deuteronomy 8:17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

Pride has been something that I have been dealing with, without conscience of knowing that it was a problem of mine. But as I listened to myself, I noticed that I lacked humility and modesty in how I presented myself to others and before the Lord. Humility is -in a sense denying one's self. Being humble and also being grateful and thanking the Lord for what is given, because we deserve nothing.

Pride is self-admiration and self-glorification. It's amour-propre. It's an ego. It's plain old vanity. It's UGLY. Once something good happens to us, we instantly say how good we did, not how good God has been to us. Pride boosts the ego, and it makes us feel superior. Pride can sometimes stop us from getting the blessing God has for us. We feel that we've got what we wanted all by ourselves, forgetting that instantly God -who gave it to us in the first place- could take it all away. We need to stay very close to Jesus and learn humility. The closer we are, the more we're aware that there is nothing good in ourselves. We need Jesus to produce the real beauty that we often try to reach through boosting our self worth through pride.