Unconditional Love

Unconditional (adj.): not conditional or limited; absolute, unqualified (Merriam-Webster)
Love (verb): Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. . . it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinithians 13:4,7) 

Sometimes God uses the smallest things or events to remind us of the greatest truths, and that is exactly what happened to me today at Vacation Bible School. This past week I have been helping in the Hand in Hand VBS class, which is a class for kids with any range of specials needs, but they are some of the sweetest kids you will ever meet. Not to go into too great of detail, but today I saw some third grade girls laughing at/mocking one of my friends from Hand in Hand; I was furious to say the least. But why? Well, on the surface it was because these girls were making fun of someone just for doing something that she can't change, but the longer I thought about why I was angry, I realized something much deeper than that. Despite the fact that many of us don't like to admit it, we all have our flaws, and most of us do our best to try and hide those flaws from the rest of the world. However, some people may not be able to cover those flaws as well as the rest of us, but does that give us license to judge them? Genesis 1:27 says, "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." The verse does not say, "God only created people with blonde hair in his image," or "God only created people who can walk and talk 'normally' in his image." No, the verse says, "[M]ale and female HE created them." Obviously God has a plan for each and every person he creates, he didn't "slip up" or "make a mistake" by creating someone with special needs, or anyone else for that matter.
Take my sweet friend from hand in hand for example, she may not be able to walk or talk in the same way as everyone else, but I can guarantee that she has one of the kindest souls of anyone I know; her hugs and smiling face that greeted me every morning this week were exactly what I needed to start off my day right. And just like my friend, we all have our pros and cons, but God loves us just the same, so shouldn't we do so as well? Luke 10:27 says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself." So next time I see someone who may be slightly different from me or what I perceive as 'normal' I will remember (and I encourage you to do the same) to look for the positive qualities in that person and keep in mind that none of us are perfect; Christ--the greatest example of unconditional love that there ever was, is, or is to come--died for us ALL.
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Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.
Psalm 143:10

No Fear in Failure

So this past Thursday was one of the most exciting days of my entire high school career (actually, that may be an exaggeration....but it was still a pretty great day). "Why was this such a great day?" you may ask. Well, the reason is this: I GOT A ZERO ON MY MATH QUIZ!
This probably seems like a really ridiculous thing to get excited about, and on most days I would agree with you! But for this one extra special day, getting a zero was one of the greatest feelings ever! I guess this will take some explaining for you to understand why I wasn't crying my eyes about getting a zero, so here it goes. In math we have to take trig quizzes (sort of like the multiplication tests from fourth grade, except for high schoolers and harder...) and we had to take five of them, but after we took all five our teacher was going to drop the lowest score. On the first four quizzes I got a perfect score, so when it came time to  take my fifth quiz, no matter what I got I would still have a perfect score on the four quizzes that counted, meaning that I was free to not worry about my grade and let go and get a zero! I put a lot of expectations and standards on myself, so to have the chance to not worry about being perfect is one of the greatest feelings ever! And the best part is that I get to experience this feeling EVERYDAY! One of my favorite songs is called "Jesus Paid it All," and I think it does a really great job of explaining what I'm trying to say. This is how the chorus goes....
Jesus paid it ALL
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
HE washed it white as snow
So basically, as a follower of Christ I get to live each day with the knowledge that Jesus paid it all! And living in that grace is probably the most liberating feeling ever! I know that no matter how many times I mess up (which is A LOT!) I don't have to worry about God turning his back on me because, guess what? Jesus paid it all! In my trig quiz, no matter how good I did, there was no way for me to make my score any better than it already was. And my salvation works the same way, no matter how many times I give food to the homeless, or go on a mission trip, or read my bible, or how much money I give, my salvation still comes from God alone! And for this, I will forever sing praises to my heavenly father! My favorite line from the song I talked about earlier goes like this: "Oh praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead." Jesus paid the price that I can never pay, no matter how hard I work, so now I have new life in Him! Galatians 3:13 says, "But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing." So each day my goal is to praise God with my life and my actions because of the price he paid for me!
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My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20

Life Lessons From Red Mango

First things first, if you have never been to Red Mango, you are missing out on the best thing that will ever grace the presence of your mouth. So, needless to say, you should go to red mango AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!

And so the story begins.....These past weeks I have been SUPER busy, so I decided that it was time to reward myself for making it through a whole four days of school, and there is no better way to reward yourself than a hearty helping of Red Mango! All day Friday I was waiting in eager anticipation to make the long sought after trip to Red Mango, so naturally when we had a break during our labs in biology class I couldn't help but telling everyone about my plans for the afternoon. I found myself trying without success to put the indescribable goodness of Red Mango into words, no matter how hard I tried to explain the semi-tart yet sweet-but-not-too-sweet flavors, I just could not fully convey how delicious this frozen yogurt actually is. So I finally just came to the point where I just had to say "you have to try it for yourself!" Now you may be wondering, "I thought this post was called LIFE LESSONS from red mango?? So far I've only seen a lot of red mango and no life lessons...." Well, fret no longer, because here come the life lessons! During all of this I began thinking, my trip to Red Mango (which will give me enjoyment for maybe a day) makes me so excited that when I have 5 minutes of free time I start telling random people about it, but when it comes to sharing the gospel (which will have rewards that last for eternity!) with people close to my heart or sitting next to me in class it is suddenly 'not the right time,' or 'I don't know enough' or 'they will think of me differently' or any number of other ridiculous excuses. Why is it that I am so willing to share with the world all about food for the stomach but when it comes to telling them About the bread of life I back away? 1 Peter 3:15 says, "And if someone asks you about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it." I don't know about you, but I couldnt tell you when the last time someone asked me about my "Christian hope" was. Should I blame this on others being too shy to ask? No, I should blame it on myself for not living in a way that my faith in my lord and savior Jesus Christ radiates through everything I do! so this next week it is my prayer that I will proclaim the love of Christ with the same excitement that I had for red mango and that I will find myself saying, "It is just so amazing that you have to try it for yourself!" and maybe if I have been living my life the right way, they will!
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So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31

What it Means to Love....The meaning behind the name

So here it is. Drumroll please. MY FIRST BLOG POST!

Over the past few days I have been trying to come up with some super-awesome creative name for my blog. I tried and tried with not much luck, and then as I was driving to dance listening to a CD my friend gave me, a song by Meredith Andrews came on. The song is called What it Means to Love. Listening to the lyrics, I was reminded that my life is not my own, it is not about having the best blog name, or the most followers, but instead my life is an offering to God. So incase you have never heard this song, here are some of the lyrics:  

Now I no longer live for myself

Your words are so clear

Help me live it loud enough so they can hear

So how could I go back to life as usual

And how could I return to who I once was

I just want to take your story to the world

'Cause you have shown me WHAT IT MEANS TO LOVE

 In today's instant gratification culture, the meaning of love is dramatically different than the love that God calls us to show and that he himself showed through the death and resurrection of his son. It is so easy to "love your neighbor" by dropping change in the Salvation Army bucket at Christmas time or bringing cans to school during Thanksgiving, neither of which are bad things, but these kind actions alone are not true love. Well, now that we have established what showing God's love isn't, I guess we should say what is, and there is no better place to turn than God's word. The first passage that comes to my mind is in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 4-7. It says:

"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice, but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."

I think what Paul is saying to the Corinthians (and us as well) is that love is not one kind act, love is a lifestyle, and if we live our lives right, it will radiate through all we do. The second verse that helps me to see what it means to really love comes from John chapter 15. In verse 13 John says:

"There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friend."

Laying down one's life for a friend requires becoming selfless, thinking of others instead of yourself and putting God's will first in your life. Also, if the greatest love is laying down one's life for a friend, then Jesus is the complete embodiment of love; he suffered death on a cross so we could have life, and for that I am eternally grateful! 

I hope this gave you a little insight into my life and what God has been teaching me, and I am looking forward to see how God continues to move and show me what it truly means to love. 

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Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:39.