Daniel Fast

My family and I are doing something called the Daniel Fast, which is basically a fast from diary, yeast, sugar, and meats. Basically we've been eating fruits and vegetables. Today is our second day of doing it. It definitely takes getting used to. For instance, at Subway I get to have a free sandwich everytime I work. But now I can't! I can't even have chips or delicious cookies. So now I just eat salads after working. I also biked to work today which made me feel especially healthy. The Daniel Fast though is cool. I would recommend it. It's nice to know the food you eat is actually good for you! Such a great feeling! Anyways, today we tried smoothies, which were alright.

Before...

Yummm.....

The finished product

Music :)

I tried to upload one of my piano videos on my blog, but it failed miserably and was super slow so I decided to attach a link to youtube of me playing. The first one is a song I played for my piano recital...and the second one is an original song I composed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGPSeMCjwSE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tEh9TjD9Nw&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Nepal

Teaching Sunday School

My team...the Freedom Truth Seekers

Alisha

Alisha changed my world. Even though I only spent about 30 minutes of my time with her, I’ll never forget her. Never. My prayer for my mission trip to Nepal was that God would break my heart for what broke His. When I got to Nepal, I saw the poverty and hurt around me. I saw it everyday as our driver skillfully wove through the streets of Nepal. I saw children running through mud puddles, “sacred” cows wandering by the side of the road, and beggars. For one of our first days of ministry, we went into the slums and worked. We preformed our drama and other funny skits, and played with the children. Though I enjoyed my time, I remember feeling disconnected and distant.

But the last time we went to the slums…that’s when I met Alisha. We joined up with another ministry group from our team that was doing crafts with the children. Alisha came right up to me with her huge, beautiful smile. Her eyes were so big and inviting. After introducing herself to me, she pulled me into a hug. From that moment on, we had an instant connection. Over the next half hour, we drew pictures for each other. Alisha told me about herself and I told her about me. When I asked her if she knew Jesus, she laughed and replied, “I think I like Jesus too much!” I laughed and responded to her, “No, Alisha, you can never love Jesus too much.” I could see Jesus in her eyes. She had Jesus eyes, you could say. His love from overflowing out of her in a way that I don’t even understand. Alisha represented joy in a slum of grief. She represented light in darkness. I miss my precious girl so much!

Dis and Dat

wellllll....since everyone has been posting pictures recently, I decided to join because I don't have anything to write about. My awesome cousin Liz and I had a photo/art display at our library and I displayed a couple of the photos above. They were taken with my all too amazing Canon EOS Rebel XS named Tommy. Right now, he doesn't have a battery charger (long story...) so I can't use him because his battery's dead. But I miss him so bad! :(

Cushy Christianity

I know most of you have read this...but I wanted to post it anyways. I updated it some. Don't think my church is some terrible, evil church because it's not, though I realize that this speech might possibly make it sound like it. My church definitely isn't perfect, but the people there really do try to love Jesus and learn more about Him and how to serve Him better.

“While we’ll be in heaven 10,000 years, they’ll be in hell-black as charcoal.”

What did he just say? Please, don’t tell me you just said that. You’ve got to be joking. Tell me you’re joking!

But it wasn’t a joke. Not in the least.

I watched in horror as the other students and teacher joined in laughing at the joke.

At Sunday School.

Yes, you read that correct. Sunday School.

I wanted to walk over and slap his face and then sit him down and inform him of how wrong he was. When did people going to hell become a joke? Isn’t that the exact purpose Jesus came? He cared enough about people’s eternal destination to hang, bleeding and bruised, on a cross. When, over the thousands of year since He resurrected, did we stop caring? Not only stop loving and caring, but making jokes about it? Jason Vana said, “Jesus spent time with prostitutes, hung out with traitors, thieves and liars, drank wine with his disciples, spoke against the religious institutions of the day, called religious leaders sons of hell, stood up for adulterers, and invited murderers to follow him. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that Jesus would be welcome in your church. Christians look down on such things.”

A couple weeks before that, our Sunday School lesson was about idols. My teacher commented that people who followed and worshipped idols become like their idols. While he didn’t use the exact words, it was obvious what he meant: useless, mute, and dumb. I found myself appalled as he went on say people choose to live in darkness, that they chose to ignore the truth. Last year on my mission trip to Nepal, I saw the exact opposite. Yes, I did see people who lived in darkness because they’ve never known anything else. How can they choose to live in spiritual darkness when they’ve never heard the truth proclaimed? I saw, met, touched, and led people to Christ who were blinded by thick darkness. It was like they were stumbling around in a dark room, searching for the light switch. They are so trapped in the bondage of culture, but I’ve experienced first-hand how desperately they not only need, but desire, the truth. They want to experience freedom, not prison walls caving in on them. But do we notice?

No.

Because we’re too busy judging them and making jokes about them going to hell to reach out and share the love of Christ with them. In Nepal, we had the chance to show people the light-the truth! How will these precious people know anything else but darkness unless we go and tell them? Sending a check just doesn’t cut it sometimes. And what about people who worship idols becoming like the idols? On every street in Nepal, vendor’s have tables spread out with hundreds of graven idols. The people who follow these idols aren’t mute and dumb and unresponsive. They’re blinded.

Every Sunday on the way to church, my Dad prays the same prayer. He prays that God will convict the world of “sin and judgment”. But what about love? Why not pray that God will convict people of love and compassion? Take India, for instance. Girls are literally thrown out the door and treated like garbage. My heart aches for them! The only things these girls have been told is how worthless they are. They have never known anything but the sting of pain and rejection. Mother Teresa said that when we judge, it leaves no time to love. I couldn’t agree more. Instead of throwing their sin back in their face, why not proclaim a new message-one they’ve never heard? My cousin recently saw a church signed that boldly declared: “Ready or not, here I come. -Death.” I hate it when people try to scare people into heaven. I don’t want to go to India to preach fire and brimstone. I don’t want to go tell sinners how lost they are. I don’t want to go to India to tell people that unless they become a Christian, they are going to hell. Instead, I want to go to India to tell people how loved and cherished they are.

Jesus Himself said He didn’t come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners. It’s not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick. Jesus Himself didn’t pat the Pharisees on the back and tell them how righteous they were. He reversed the religious normalcy of the way when He boldly proclaimed that the assumed “righteous” of the day were sinners and the “sinners” He called righteous. He graciously accepted the rejected and felt compassion on the people because they were like “sheep without a shepherd.”

A few years ago in Sunday School, another episode occurred a few minutes after the teachers disappeared out the doors. One of the girls in the class started telling us about a woman she’d seen. Correction-making fun of the woman she’d seen. The woman, who was obviously poor, was dressed in shabby clothes. She had, the girl informed us, most likely bought them at a cheap store.

When I went on a mission trip to Italy a couple years ago, one of my highlights was meeting Emon, a Muslim from Iran. After sharing the Gospel with him, he peppered us with questions about Jesus. Though he was a devout Muslim, he didn’t try to hide his interest in Jesus. But he told us his fear: “If I convert to Christianity in my country, I could be killed for my faith.” Three years later, I still remember his words. In America we are privileged to have religious freedom…but it is a “freedom” that comes with an enormous price tag: complacency. It is so easy for us to lose sight of what it looks like to radically follow Jesus, to radically abandon everything for Him, while misusing our religious freedom. Another time in Sunday School, the teacher asked as if it was hard for us to follow Jesus. “No,” the pastor’s daughter laughed, “I have a pretty cushy Christianity.” How can we radically follow Jesus while we are too busy enjoying our cushy Christianity?

Christianity has been morphed into a label instead of something that people are willing to sacrifice everything for. Modern Christianity is so diluted I’m not even sure that Jesus would recognize it. This is why I’m often ashamed to call myself a Christian. It’s not that I’m ashamed to be associated with Jesus, but with some Christians I know. What’s the definition of Christian, anyways? It’s definitely not a word that Jesus invented. I probably wouldn’t know some people were Christians unless it was for their Facebook religious views, and even then I seriously wonder. People frequently put “I love Jesus with all my heart!” on their Facebook information. My question is…where’s the evidence? Jesus Himself said that people will know us by our fruits. Our actions should speak louder than our words. Yes, I’m one of those crazy people who believe our love for God and others should be so obvious that we don’t need a Facebook status to reassure people of our loyalties. Don’t get me wrong. I know some of the best, most compassionate, caring Christians. They truly want to serve God, live out Christ’s words and reach out to the hurting and broken. They inspire to preach the Gospel in the slums, to the rich, and to the lost. They are willing to abandon everything for their Jesus as they radically follow Him no matter where it leads.

Christians like that are refreshing, but perhaps that is because they are so far and in-between. These days people post their Facebook statues something like, “Jesus said to pick up your cross and follow him. He also said that if you deny him before people, he’ll deny you before God in heaven. So re-post this status unless you want Jesus to deny you in heaven!” I can assure you that’s certainly not what Jesus meant when he said that. If we think that is all Christianity is, we are sadly mistaken. When Jesus invited people to pick up a cross and follow him, it was an invitation to die. The cross was an emblem of torture and death. The cross states that we must give up every thought that we have the right to do what we want to do or say what we want to say. Let me tell you something: just because you have your Facebook religious status as “Christian”, doesn’t mean you are. Just because you say you love Jesus, doesn’t mean you do. And posting some stupid status on Facebook isn’t picking up your cross.

Let me close by asking you a question: is this all your Jesus-your religion-means to you? a label? a Facebook status? Something that is neatly tucked in its own compartment, but doesn’t impact the rest of your life? It is wrong of us to boldly proclaim one message, but live an entirely different one.

Wowzers....

Where does all the time go? I mean, seriously? Why does time fly so fast? I realized today that I am going to college next year. Yes. NEXT YEAR. So crazy! Sometimes I'm ober excited to get done with high-school and out of our small town. But other times, like now, I love high-school...despite how school can be frustrating often. I'm so excited about this year...Our home-school play about the Titanic, NCFCA forensics, this summer with camps and hopefully a weekend on the lake, having my friend from Joanna visit, going to Rebekah's graduation in California. But I'm excited for what next year will bring, too! Lately I've been learning to live in the present, not in the future or past. It's easy for me to think that when I go to college I'll be in the "real world" or when I'm a missionary I'll start living. But I'm living NOW! Enjoy life and peace out!

Why I Love Jesus, but Hate Religion

I love this! Wanted to share it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY&feature=g-logo&context=G2adc8f3FOAAAAAAABAA

Here's the dealio

Ok. So here's my confession.

I've been thinking about it a lot lately and.......I don't really like Facebook.

Let me reword that. I like Facebook, but not the idea of FB. Does that make sense?

After getting super addicted to FB, I decided I'd only get on once a day. The more I don't get on, the more I realize how silly it is.

Let me explain more.

Here's why I DON'T like it:

(1. It's SO self-centered. (I.E. "Who liked my status?" "Who liked my status?" etc.)

(2. It's time consuming. It sucks up so much time and leaves you wondering "Where'd my time go????"

(3. It's super distracting.

(4. It can leave you feeling frustrated/jealous with people. Sometimes leaves you wishing you'd been invited to do things with people.

(5. A very CHEAP and EASY way to get involved in people's lives without caring too much. Bad.

So...what's the good about it?

(1. It can be used as ministry. When people get on my FB wall, I hope they see Jesus!

(2. Encouraging. Use it as an encouragement!

(3. VERY easy way to get ahold of people (since we don't have cell phones)

(4. Nice and fun to keep in contact with friends from my mission trips, etc.

I decided not to get on FB until next Wednesday. Not just to practice self control, but also to challenge myself to get really, personally involved in people's lives. To live in the present. Two of my great friends Grace and Joanna don't have FB so it forces me to try so much harder to get involved in their lives and stay in contact than just a little post on their wall (or Timeline).

Anyways, what do you think? How do you use FB for good?

And the truth will set you free

During Christmas break, I've been working a lot on NCFCA Speech and Forensics. It's crazy it starts next month! What categories are you competing? What are you most excited about it? Are you ready? I'm currently working on my persuasive, which is about pursuing the truth. I'm opening with an intro about martyrs in Islam and Christianity and how they both believed they're dying for the truth. I stumbled on this Islamic website with history in Islam. Here's what it said at the top of the page:

"We apologize to anyone who may be offended by the history of the founder of Islam (Muhammad) below."

I am so glad that we don't have to apologize for what Jesus said! I won't apologize when people are offended by the truth. It's interesting that there's been more Christian martyrs in the last century than in the past nineteen centuries...combined. People have found something worth dying for. I love how Jesus never made Christianity seem appealing and easy. He wasn't like, "Look at all you'll get!" but instead He urged them to pick up their cross, die to themselves, and follow Him. He demanded total, 100% commitment.

Very cool. Jesus is awesome.

I HAVEN'T POSTED AT ALL IN 2012!!!

Wow. Only a dork would have that as their title for the post. My New Year's resolution is to be a better dork. Haha, just kidding! ;) Do you have any New Year's resolutions? I'm not a big resolution person, but I like to think about how I'd like to change and grow throughout the year. Considering how I slept most of the day, I had a great New Year's day! I went to church and saw my old youth pastors, which was overall fun, helped my cousin Liz Sunday School, and played the piano. Teaching Sunday School reminded me of when I helped teach Sunday School in Nepal. It was so precious when all the little Nepali girls and boys sang Jesus Loves Me. It was so special. Today we had all the little kids pray for each other, which was equally touching and sweet.

I'm excited about 2012! Can't believe I'm going to be a senior this year. What are you most excited about this year? I think I'm going to get high-lights this year, which'll be cool. I want to learn how to sew, crochet, and play guitar and violin. I think it'll be a great learning experience to write piano music for our home-school drama. I hope I'll grow a lot spiritually and learn how to do many more things!