Signature of Divine...

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27

We are created in the image of God, a signature of the divine. This gives us a kind of dignity, a superiority to everything else in this world. We are essentially mirrors of God. We represent Him, even to the point where we are put in charge over all creation.
Everything on this earth is God's artwork, but we are His signature. We are the finishing touch to the painting of all creation.

Here's the thing:
1) We don't realize where this puts us in relationship to God. Not only do we fail to mirror Him and reflect His image, we fail to see His face within others. Why spend our time and money on "beautiful" manmade things when the people around us are worth so much more. We fail to love each other and value each other as images of God, signatures of divine.

2) We also fail to recognize our Maker. Without the artist, there is no painting, no signature. We don't realize that we aren't the artists. We think we deserve the credit for the beauty around us, but really we are only a representation of the real artist. We are the artist's signature, nothing more.

So not only do we not see the beauty in ourselves and those around us, we also try to take the credit for something we haven't created. What does God think of His images?

We certainly aren't reflecting His beauty through our own lives. Humans, Christians, need to start being the mirrors of God. We need to live up to our status as an image of God.

Love others. Respect yourself. Take care of the creation we've been given. Love your Creator -- reflect His image like you were created to do. Stop taking credit as the artist of the painting and start being the signature of the divine.

When Life Gets Crazy...

When life gets crazy...

sit in the sunshine
walk barefoot in the grass
watch the stars
sing a song
write a song
eat warm chocolate chip cookies
wrap up in a blanket and read a good book
wear warm slippers
cuddle with your dog or cat
watch an old movie
take a nap
color a picture
play your favorite game
take a hot bath
laugh long and hard with friends
take a scenic walk
take a scenic drive
spend the day in your favorite spot
write down your thoughts

but most of all....

pray
spend time with your Creator
read His word
find out just how much He loves you.

The Great Adventure...

In Humanities we recently read and talked about The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis. At first this book might seem like a fantastical children's story that is simply part of a series. When you really start to look into it, though, it becomes so much more than that.

One of our themes in Humanities this semester is "the good life" and what it really is. One of the questions my professor asked us is what is the "good life" according to this book. When my partner and I really started to think about it we realized that the entire book is about adventure, and according to this story, adventure is part of the good life.

Adventure has to involve danger, risk, and lots of adrenaline. It's something that is out-of-the-ordinary when compared to your typical day. In an adventure, something of value has to be at stake. It's "something worth telling a story about later" and "involves character change" as a final result. There is always a goal to be reached, but there are also always obstacles to get around to achieve the goal. Sometimes the obstacles are giants or mountains. Sometimes they are your own character flaws. Adventures involve not only physical peril but also moral peril.

The adventure cannot be a selfish endeavor either. It has to make us a better person, not a better braggart. Often times the adventures we face are not chosen, but other times they are. I did not choose to face the adventure of Type I Diabetes everyday of my life, but I did choose to face the adventure of college.

In order to live a "good life" we must have adventures. They give meaning to our lives. We become living, breathing, awakened beings and are no longer droids going from event to event without any reason or purpose.

As Christians, our lives should be adventures anyways. If our life and our relationship with God doesn't cause us to have adventures that put our faith, morals, or even lives at stake, we are lukewarm Christians. We must be so on fire for God that we want to find adventures to grow more in our relationship with Him. If we don't risk losing our faith, then we'll never see its importance and meaning in our lives. When we're close to losing something and finally gain a hold back on it, we want to hold onto it even tighter, even more.

Want to live a "good life" with meaning and purpose and a reason for being? Make your life an adventure ... someday it'll be a story worth telling.

You Take the Wheel, I'll Work the Radio....

So, today was an adventure. My roommate Kayla and I found our way around to quite a few destinations: church in Wexford, Wal-Mart, and Target in Monaca. We took a few wrong turns here and there, but we always figured it out quickly and got back on track.

It was a productive day. We now know how to get to at least 3 different locations other than Beaver Falls, and it was a fun-filled adventure along the way.

Although we had directions, they didn't always take us the easiest way. Also, we had to carefully follow them, making sure to look at every road sign. We also had to find our way back.

In a way, it was kind of like living life. God's plan is our set of directions. Along the way we have to look for His signs. Sometimes we get off track. Sometimes it takes us a while to realize it, too. Once we realize it, we have to figure out how to get back on the right track. We have to carefully listen for God's directions. Sometimes He takes us straight to our destination and other times we have to take the scenic route. Life is a road trip with God as our tour guide and the Bible as our atlas. We must remember to always look for God's plan and how to get there. It's an adventure and sometimes the road is bumpy, but in the end the destination is always paradise.

Never Underestimate My Jesus...

I'm sitting here sweating to death in this cramped dorm, exhausted from orientation and wondering when in the world am I going to be able to wash my clothes. It's moments like this that make me wonder if I'm even in the right place. Why am I at Geneva? Why have I only been able to make a few good friends so far? Why does it seem like there is SO much to do in so little time?

It's a little disheartening, feeling so unsure about life and the future. How do I know if I made the right decision or not? Why on Earth is there no air conditioning in this tiny residence hall?
After so much going, going, going, it's easy to lose sight of God's plan.

Then there are moments like yesterday during one of our Life Lessons, or laughing hysterically at the Princess Bride movie, or finding some of the nicest people I'll probably ever meet. These are the moments where God really shows me that this is the place for me. Regardless of the tiny, hot room or the whiny voices or the lack of sleep, these moments prove to me that Geneva is where I'm supposed to be.

Who knows what the future holds for me here? There are tons of opportunities to build relationships, have fun, and serve God everywhere. This is a place where I need to be. Somewhere I can learn and serve. Somewhere I can laugh and live. Through all the exhaustion and annoyances I see that this is really what God has planned for me.

I don't know what will happen a year from now, a month from now, or a week from now, but every second I'm on this campus I can feel that I made the right choice. I'm following God's plan, and I intend to go wherever He takes me.

I'll Take Calligraphy and Then I'll Get a Fake Degree...

Going to college is an experience that most Americans have. Some students are really excited for it, some not so much. I guess you could say that for me, it's both.

I'm excited to meet new friends, hang out with my awesome roommate, figure out what I want to do with my life. But on the other hand, I'm very reluctant and I guess scared to go.
What if I don't make many friends? What if I hate college? What if I lose all my friendships at home? Not to mention the band. What if we get a recording contract? What if we break up? What if, what if, what if?

The biggest problem I have is not letting God take control of my life.
Instead of trusting that he has it all planned out if I simply follow Him, I'm selfishly worrying. I'm sure most of us experience this about a lot of things.

Americans are used to planning everything out. If things don't go as planned, they supposedly they fail. I think we need to look at it in a different light. If things don't go as planned, then maybe we should learn a lesson from that or take a different direction.

If only I could get myself to take my own advice! But really, I pray about the decisions I've made everyday, and although I do feel fairly confident that it's what God wants, there is always that bit of doubt there. But I have to remember that I can't listen to doubt. It only comes from Satan and is only there to lead me astray.

So....college. Who knows how many friends I will make? Who knows if I'll even like it or not?
God knows. So I'll just have to trust Him.

Don't Sit On Downhill Benches...

It's pretty obvious what happens when you sit on a bench that's placed on a hill. Although you might be ok at first, you start to slide after a while. In fact, the longer you sit there, the harder it is to keep still. It's not any better if you have people sitting beside you. They might hold you in place for a while, but as soon as they move, you move too. Then you begin to feel squished and uncomfortable.

No matter how hard you try, it will never be easy, fun, or comfortable to sit on a downhill bench. It might seem like a nice resting place, but you end up wasting more energy trying to maintain position than you would have if you had just walked a little farther to find a better bench.

This often happens to us in our spiritual lives. We look for a church, community, or circle of friends to fit into, but we tend to pick the easiest setting around us. Although this might be okay at first, the effects of a lazy decision eventually start to show ---

You can't seem to stay grounded in your faith. You slowly stop reading the Bible and even praying. You get into a routine where church is only included because it "should be." You start to live a complacent life, and you never seem to get back to where you started.

EVERYTHING STARTS TO GO DOWNHILL.

What's worse is when you start becoming like the people around you. They drink, you drink. They fight, you fight. They swear, you swear. You begin to get caught up in an endless cycle of "monkey see, monkey do."

Then, when you realize your caught, you CAN'T FIND A WAY OUT. At least not without leaving your current life behind.

So many Americans especially get caught on the "downhill bench" of life when it comes to God and faith. They don't want to get up from their supposedly comfortable spot, but inside they are frustrated and unhappy.

If Christians would take the time to sacrifice their "comfy" lives and find where God wants them, they would find that their lives would be so much better. We need to get off our easy-to-reach downhill benches and go find another bench to sit on. It will be a more peaceful bench in the end.

Don't sit on downhill benches.