Words

The power of Scripture is truly remarkable.

A friend of mine that has been plagued by night terrors for years happened to read a very reassuring psalm before going to bed. I bet you can guess what happened...she didn't have a single night terror that night! Praise God.

I remember when I was little, and my parents told me that if ever I was scared at night or in some other circumstance, I could call on the name of Jesus to calm my fears. When I finally got my own room years ago, I recall verbally calling on Christ to cast the devil out of my room and feeling immediately calm.

I believe in the power of the Word. I believe in the power of speaking Christ's name. I believe in the power of prayer, the power of faith, and the power of our great and awesome God.

The question is: do you?

Lovely, lovely peace

At home, if I ever needed a quiet place to relax, read, or gather my thoughts, I would sit on my front porch. Once I was comfortably nestled into the wooden rocking chair on the right, I would rest my legs on the railing and prepare to be restored by the peace that I felt. I could read. I could think. I could close my eyes and breathe in the beautiful scent of God's earth. I could shake off the day and restore myself.

This was my quiet spot, even though I could have easily been distracted by cars zooming by my house, kids racing each other on their bikes, or the voices of my family through the kitchen window behind me. The sound of the birds fighting on our lawn below, squirrels clamoring in the branches above. I could easily get distracted and lose my focus, but I didn't. I don't.

Sitting in the lounge of Starkenburg floor on this beautiful fall day, I hear doors slamming, friends chatting, music blaring, and skateboards cruising down the sidewalk. But I don't care. All I have right at this very moment is peace. I feel completely at peace. I have soft piano playing on my laptop. I'm surrounded by books, papers, assignments, and writing utensils. I have so much I need to conquer. So many mountains to climb, hills to clamber over. But I don't care. I'm comfortable. I'm rested. I'm relaxed.

That doesn't mean I won't get anything done, though. I am simply enjoying this time of peace and quiet. The distractions are there, but I don't notice them. Today was a beautiful day. The leaves are changing, the air is turning crisp. And on top of it all, I know that even though I am alone right now, I am definitely not lonely. I have a family that misses me (at least they say they do!) and friends that enjoy my company. And knowing that, I can rest. I can slow down. I can think, I can dream, I can write. I am floating in peace. Lovely, lovely peace.

Welcome Home

Last night, a group of girls hosted a Women's Retreat for all the women on campus. It was a fantastic night of worship, prayer, games, food, laughter, and fellowship. After hearing some testimonies, we were given some quite time to reflect on our own stories. While flipping through my journal to find an empty page, I happened upon something I had written on the 25th of August, this year, just a few days after moving to Trinity. I thought I'd share it with you:)

"Trinity can be summed up in one word: community. A community is a place where you can feel accepted for you: your personality, your quirks, and your opinions. Sure, not everyone will get along perfectly all the time. We aren't perfect. This is part of growing up, I suppose. We learn to quit being silly, judgmental high-schoolers and become college kids who are hopefully a little less judgmental. On the note of silliness, however, I am happy to report that that gets even worse! :)

Back to community, we are here to support each other. We meet roommates, those on our hall, in our building, and in similar classes. And through them, as well as our hobbies, interests, and characteristics, we find our niche. Our place in this puzzle. Our spot on the gigantic map that is trinity. And that's what freshmen year is all about: finding our place. And that's exactly what I'm going to do."

I'm so glad I happened upon this because it proves to me that I have indeed come a long way in these, what, two months? I have hilarious friends, classes are actually fun sometimes, and I'm finding groups and categories that I enjoy being a part of. I'm thankful that I chose Trinity because the aspect of community is so important. I'm overjoyed and thankful to call this place my  home.

I don't even know what to call this.....

Sometimes society just makes me so mad.

Yahoo pops up because it's my homepage, and there's an article called "What's really in Chicken Nuggets." First of all, when I think of chicken nuggets, I think of McDonalds, and I'd rather not know what's in most things from McDonalds. I thought this was public knowledge, but apparently people still don't understand what really is in chicken nuggets. I don't know how many people have read this article or ones like it, but I don't understand the purpose of them. Is Yahoo trying to throw society into a frenzy? Are authors constantly trying to freak people out?

I feel like so much of what people think stems from the media. "Oh my goodness, Kim K tried this new face lift thingy? It must really work!" "Oh no, chicken nuggets are even worse for us than we thought? I'd better stop eating them!" Really people? Have we no true common sense left??? Celebrity endorsed items don't always work! And since when did we consider chicken nuggets even remotely healthy?

I guess I'm just annoyed that most juicy shared news of the day isn't always helpful, productive, or even worth sharing. Why do I care about when Miley Cyrus' "wild streak" began?

However, what does make me glad is seeing news about government, economics, and politics. These are the areas that most people seem either uninformed or misinformed about.

This was kind of a rant, I guess. I probably should stop getting so upset about chicken nuggets and such...

Self-worth

It's so difficult to be confident sometimes. I know who I am. I'm aware of my strengths and my weaknesses. My faults and my flaunts.

You know what our society is good at? Making "normal" people feel like junk. Why is that fair? There is no such thing as a truly flawless person, so why do we all try to be perfect? It's impossible!

Sometimes I get really down in the dumps because I feel all the pressures of our culture weighing down on me, telling me to get better. I know what qualities I need to improve, but I don't want society to make me change them. I want to change them because I want to personally improve myself.

I'm not skinny, and I'm judged for it.
I'm a loud person, and people mark me by it.
I have my own opinions, yet sharing them make me enemies instead of friends.

In our society, if you have at least one great quality, they put you on a pedestal and praise you for only that. If you don't possess anything worth praising, you aren't given any worth.

Sometimes I wonder if I would have more friends if I was different. If I would be more popular or more successful. If I would be happier if I were different.

 After typing out this whole vent, I'm considering not posting it. It's easy to share my thoughts with a screen instead of pouring my heart out to however many people will read this post. Please don't take this as a cry of insecurity. It's just that sometimes I don't feel as important, unique, and beautiful as I am. I just wanted to reflect on how our society seems to encourage the wrong things while discouraging characteristics that make each of us beautiful.

It's in these times that I realize even more that I have to lean on God for my ultimate source of encouragement. And so should you:)

Words.

The Bible calls the tongue a double-edged sword. Sometimes the things we say can carry more punch than the things we do. It seems our culture has taught us to speak anything that is on our mind, even at the expense of others. Have an opinion? Share it with the world! Update that status, tweet that tweet, text that comment, or publish that blog.

Occasionally while I write these blogs, I have to delete portions of them because they are too blunt or even rude than I deem necessary. I apologize if anything in my blogs has ever offended you or swayed your impression of me. The last thing I want to seem like is a person unlike my actual self.

Typing words on a screen is much simpler than projecting our thoughts through voice, especially when they're negative. Social media and the Internet in general for some reason cause us not to think before we "speak" with the words we type. Why is that? Why is it so much easier to be rude through the words we type? Why is cyber bullying becoming seemingly more "popular" than actual bullying? We throw out any opinion we want to this screened-in world without realizing that actual people are reading it and interpreting it in their own way.

Lesson of the day: think before you speak, especially when "speaking" through typing something on the Internet somewhere. Once a thought slips from your mouth, it's out there forever. It's the same thing with our digital words. The tongue is a double-edged sword. Let's form our words for encouragement, not destruction. This is something that I and I'm sure many others need to work on.

Thanks for reading:)

For the love of Chicago

I'm used to little farming towns, not huge cities.

Knowing everyone, not seeing strangers everywhere.

This city is beautiful, and yet it holds many ugly secrets. The fast-paced "high life" is what most notice upon first glance. But now look deeper. See that homeless man on the street? Can you tell that that woman there just lost everything this very day?

It's easy to get caught up in the bright lights, breath-taking buildings, and well-dressed citizens. I feel drawn to it, but like I don't quite belong. I'm just a random college kid, walking around in jeans and a long sleeve sweater thingy. What good can I do? What impact can I have on this beautiful, mystical, majestic city?

Hopefully...someday....a lot!

I'm like Maria, spinning on the tops of the beautiful hills of Austria (yes, I just referenced The Sound of Music!). Free as a bird in this wild jungle of a city. Yet I'm tame. I'm mature. I try to notice the things that others don't. How cool would it be to someday live in this lovely city? To walk these streets with such purpose and power. To be "one of them" and yet still be me.

I recall watching one of my favorite episodes of Arthur in which Muffy and Sue Ellen take a trip to Crown City. Muffy, in her obnoxious voice, kept singing:
             "Crown City, you're dynamite you're peaches and cream....."
And the song went on accompanied by Muffy's voice.
Here I am. Little Muffy. Singing away about the beauty of the big city. And I'm the little country girl. Just taking it all in.

Funny how opposites attract, huh? Well, this is my home for a while. I'd better make the most of it, and make the most of it I shall!