Growing up

I only have three quarters left of my high school career. Can the last day of my senior year come soon enough? Not a chance. Do I really want leave this old place behind? It will be tough. 

There are days that I loath another day of being trapped in the walls of my sunless high school. Then there are some days that I think on all of the people I have gotten to know. Are there any chances that I will see them after I leave? The answer is no.

While most of my days are spent daydreaming about my open future and what adventures I will have there are some days that I fall into despair over what I will lose. I will lose the comfort of home. The companionship of my friends. The worry less life I lead. I will have to gain responsibilities of having to pay bills and manage money. 

The downsides of growing up do seem intimidating but they are also far outnumbered by the promises of what I can do with the life I will lead. I can hardly wait to make new friends and meet people who sweep me away with their love of life. I can't wait to learn everything I can. The promise of adventure excites me. And the number of trips I dream of taking is overwhelming and exciting. The places I want to live, the things I want to do, and the passionate life I want to live all run through my mind daily. I want to make a difference, I want to stick out, I want to blend in and observe, I want to live life to its full capacity. I will not live long enough to experience all of the living I dream of. 

My only fear in life is not being able to do all that I dream. The only comfort I have in knowing I will choose the right adventures is Christ. God knows exactly what I will do with my life and because of this I must remind myself to always go His way. I must strengthen my faith in The Lord so as to not get lost in the storms of life. And through the perils of life with Christ I will know I am on the right path and that I am living out what I was made for.

The years I have spent growing up are all I have ever known and when I leave them my world will change. But a change for the better is all that can be promised from God. So, am I excited for my future? Yes. Will I miss my past? Yes but that is life. Do I worry about my future? No. My life is The Lord's.

Homecoming Advice

Advice for “Homecoming Newbies” is being handed out and  it is all worth listening to. The dos and don'ts of homecoming are simple prices of advice for anyone with a question or two. So here is my advice to you:

The don’t list is a long one, this is a night you don’t want to look back on with regret. Don’t be stupid, don’t do drugs, don’t consume any alcohol, don’t participate in public displays of affection, nobody enjoys seeing that stuff. Don’t eat too much, you want to be able to dance. Don’t cause drama. Don’t wear those super cute heels you can’t walk in, no one wants to listen to your complaints, buy the flats instead. Don’t spend all of the money you, or your parents, have. Cut out all of the extras, for example the limos. Years down the road you are going to wish you had saved the money from that 15 minute limousine ride and the dress you are probably never going to wear again. Don't try to be the center of attention. Don't watch everyone dance, get on the floor and get crazy yourself. Girls, don't act like a princess. Guys, don’t be rude and don’t take the girl who is rude to you, everyone, guys and girls alike, deserve to be treated kindly. Don’t let your homecoming date bully you into spending the big bucks and  wearing a tux, kakias look just as nice and rumor has it they are much more enjoyable to wear.

The do’s are so much more fun. Do enjoy your night, do dance, do take too many pictures. Do paint your nails and do your own hair, it’s so much cheaper and when you get compliments, all of the credit goes to you. Do be thoughtful of everyone elses feelings, it’s their special night too. Do show loads of school spirit the week before homecoming. Do laugh. Do step out of your comfort zone, ask the cute girl or boy to dance. Do be modest, this is not a club it is a school event. Do have a plan, it’s no fun to be worrying about where you will go for dinner the day before homecoming. Do find something nice to complement everyone about, it’s no secret that everyone spends a lot of time trying to look nice so, make them feel like all of the preparations were worth it. Do make it a night to remember! Do go to homecoming you only get four.

Homecoming is not going to be the best day of your life, your wedding day will come and beat homecoming without a second thought. But it is still important to make this day something to remember. Be kind and gracious and always thoughtful of other people. When you make someone happy you make yourself happy, simple as that. Be safe, glorify God in everything, and make some memories!

War

I often find my own mind at war with itself. One side against the other. Warring, making a mess of my sanity and confusing my heart very much. Oh, it is no secret that my heart gets into the middle of my warring mind. It is the only thing that ends up getting hurt.
My thoughts keep me up at night. I get not even a wink of sleep. Why must a mind be such a blessing and a curse? One half says, "you must do what is upstanding and right! You mustn't be a stranger to the Lord." I, more than anything, want to follow this voice. But then the other side urges me towards the way of the world. Saying you must belong to us. You must long for things you cannot have, please compare yourself to this person that looks to be way better off than you.
I have a war in my mind and you would never guess it. It is a pain that can only be cured by the peace of the Lord. But things are always easier said than done.

An old thought but a good thought

I wrote this post awhile back and never had the chance to post it. So, here ya go:

Schools out for the summer, work training has been undergone and right now I am on my way to San Francisco. I'm going with my school band, nerdy I know, but a wonderful opportunity. I'm getting to know my classmates so well and I can't wait to see the busy streets of San Fran.
I have been watching many of my school mates and they seem to have a lost passion for life, or maybe they never had a zealousness for it. It makes me sad that they have already lost the curiosity of their childhood. To me life should be something to get excited about and something that should be explored. As children we all were little explorers, discovering the world around us. We went everywhere we wanted, put everything in our mouths, and stuck our fingers everywhere. So, where did that curiosity go? For people like me the curiosity isn't gone I ask a million plus one questions daily, I go where there is no path simply because that's what I want to explore. I have no clue why it is but I have and inexplicable obsession with the ever present possibility of adventure. Everything I do is an adventure like going on a walk or to the store. I believe that anything can be an adventure if one thinks of it in such a way.
Others on the opposite spectrum must find everything so routine, everything is same old same old. Nothing is exciting and adrenaline rushing. I was talking to a boy and I said something about visiting San Fran again when I'm older and he looked shocked, "why would you do that? You have already been there," he said. I told him that there are tons of things to be discovered and it can't all be done in a single trip. He was simply baffled and I must admit that I was too, but for a very different reason. How can my generation be so un-thrilled about going places? If I love a place I want to visit over and over until every corner had been memorized.
I want to be an explorer of the world and I guess I have a hard time finding tolerance for people comfortable with the boring and expectable. Life is short, live big and meaningful while you have it.

This is a touchy subject, of that much I am aware.

I recently had to write a paper on my opinion of the very controversial subject of sexual orientation. If you don't agree with my opinion, let me know, I would love to hear other peoples outlooks on this topic.

Gay rights have become a subject that everyone seems to have a opinion on. It seems more and more people are coming out of the closet. In my opinion being sexually involved with the same sex is wrong. I do not agree that same sex marriage should be legalized or given the advantage in workplaces and in society. People are too caught up with being discriminated against these days.

I disagree with same sex marriage simply because the Bible names it to be a sin. It is wrong for a man to lie with another man. At the same time we are all sinners therefore I will love the sinner and not the sin. I am very accepting of the person who is gay, just like Christ would be, but I am sure to make it clear that I do not agree with their sinful nature.

If a person is gay, fine, but if they are sexually involved with someone of the same sex I find it completely unacceptable. Marriage and sexual involvement is for man and woman to enjoy together, not man and man or woman and woman. If this “coming out of the closet” things is kept up at the pace that people are coming out now I can very easily see the population going down causing problems in our society. With the lack of children coming into this world, workplaces would suffer by not having enough workers and the economy would drop at the lack of a work force.

If a person is adamant on being attracted to the same sex then I think there are many ways for them to avoid sin. The Lord says in the Bible that He loves it when a couple gets married and works together to do His will, it pleases Him immensely. But at the same time He admires the person who decides to stay single and dedicate their entire lives to Him. I think the gay person could go down the path of non-marriage. They would not be sexually involved and, just like every other Godly individual they would steal away their minds from adulterous thoughts. They would be sexually pure, and though they would not be completely sinless, none of us really are.

God is a forgiving God who hates sin but loves every single one of us sinners, whether we have given our lives to Him or not. He would not love the gay person's sin of yearning for sexual interaction with people of the same sex, He doesn’t love any of our sexual yearnings.

Basically, I do not support being gay at all. Man and woman were meant to be together, not man and man or woman and woman. I have no problem with being friends with the person, I am by no means “homophobic.” But if I were to ever be friends with a person who was gay or lesbian I would make it known to them that I do not support their being gay. I feel like too many Christians are unkind to people with confused genders and if gays are shunned by people who are supposed to reflect God’s love than the person would not feel any love for Christ.

Recently there was the disagreement between the CEO of Chick-fil-a and gays. The Gay Rights leader sat down and had a couple of talks with the Chick-fil-a CEO. The leader of gay rights said that he did not feel discriminated against by the CEO, they sat down and had great talks and the CEO came to understand the gays side of things and the gay activist learned the CEO’s side of things. They are now reportedly friends.

I think a relationship like this is a great way to treat a person you disagree with. They know that you disagree and you know they don’t feel the same as them but you both understand each other's sides and can look past the differences.

I do not believe that people are born gay, I think it is a choice. This is my opinion and though 

people may not agree with me, I will stick strong to it. Everyone should be loved, despite their sin.