A Time For Change

I read a beautiful quote today.

"God has given us two gifts in this life. One is choice and another is chance."

We have the right to choose and pick what we want in this life and we also have the chance to take risks and explore new things. I am someone who does not enjoy change very much. I like having a set schedule that switches up every now and again, but I like things that are familiar and comfortable. I keep my hair the same color because I know I like it. I read the same books over and over again because I know I enjoyed them.

I'm afraid of dissapointment. I don't want to read a book that isn't worth my time to read. I don't want to dye my hair just in case I end up absoloutely hating it. I read another beautiful quote this week too.

"We'll always be who we've always been if we always do what we've always done."

Change is inevitable. It is going to be a part of our lives forever. So I have decided to claim change and recieve it. Tomorrow I will do something drastic with my hair. It will still be the long length but there is going to be more color in it. Am I scared? Heck, yes I am! Is this as drastic as I am making it seem? Not really... but it is for me. One step leads to more right?Bring it on!

P.S. Don't be mad at me if I start whining in the next post about my hair. My hair is important to me. Pin It

Being Single

Have you ever gotten out of a relationship and been sad it was over, but knew it was for the best but then a little bit later you start second guessing yourself and wondering was it really for the best? Is this what is meant to be? Well, that describes my week this week. I think it is sometimes hard to accept that you are single. Is being single bad? No! Does it have it's down sides? Yes!

Sure when you are single that means you don't have someone to be all cutesy and cuddly with, but that time you spent doing that stuff gets spent doing something else. For me it was growing closer to God and growing up. I found a quote yesterday that said this:

"If you're taken the by all means take it and enjoy one another. If you're single, soak it up! You can do so much more stuff when you're single, like having more friends, time, and more friends. Take it in,and when that guy comes along, I mean the PERFECT guy for you, who treats you right, then by all means go for it! You have to be able to enjoy being single, and then enjoy being taken! And let the guy pursue YOU! No need for a girl to do that job." Dustyn Cootnz

So that is what I am doing. Enjoying being single, spending time with friends, growing with God, loving my family, and preparing myself for the future. It would be much easier to meet my husband right now and just be happy with him for the rest of my life, but I know God is preparing me for him. Sure, it may take a couple of wrong turns and tearful nights, but I trust that God is doing BIG things in my life and that he is going to blow me out of this world with my husband.

So, if you're single then welcome to the club. It is not as bad as you think. You're not always going to be single so enjoy it while you have it. Take time to do things that you want to do. Travel, cross of things on your to do before I die list, grow individually with God, and see the beauty of single hood. If you're taken, then cherish your man or woman, show them love, have fun, and grow together in a relationship built around God. Pin It

Walking the Talk

I got upset today based on some pictures that popped up on Facebook. First let me mention that the pictures I saw we're not of close friends of mine, but of acquaintances. With that said, the pictures I saw still made me upset. They were pictures of people I have grown up in church with. Peers of mine and in the pictures they were drinking and they are not even the legal age. I know it is not my place to judge, but this still upsets me. Some of the people in those pictures have stood on stage at church and preached about how God is number one in their lives and how they are living for Him. Well, how can you be living for Him when you are clearly displaying that you are disobeying him.

I'll admit that I don't know of any verses that say that you should not drink, but I know there are verses that say to follow the law and the law says not to drink until you are 21 so you are disobeying by breaking the law. I'll also admit that I have made mistakes and disobeyed God, but I believe there is a difference from continuing to disobey God and disobeying God but deciding to vow not to make that mistake again.

People look up to those people that are in the pictures. Is that the example they want to set for others? Do they want to say it is alright to drink?

This got me thinking about what example I am setting. What character am I presenting to others? If they see me, do they see a life that is striving to live for God? What if they don't see that? What if I lead them down a path of destruction without knowing it? It is so easy to talk the walk, but when it comes to walking the walk it is definitely not easy. There are constantly bumps in the road looking to trip us up. And yes, sometimes we are going to fall, but we can either let that fall keep tripping us up or we can choose to get back up and walk stronger than before.

Easier to say then do! But I want to try and do that. I probably could have spent my summer doing more than I have, but I am not here to regret the decisions I have made for my summer. I actually am proud of the way I have matured from last summer. I know I am not perfect, but I am trying to allow God to work in my life. Some days I wake up and I realize that before I do anything else I have to surrender my life to God again. I've been a Christian for 8 years now, but I still have to re-commit myself to God constantly.

So here I am re-committing myself again. God, I am giving you my life because it is not mine to have. It is a gift! You allow me to wake up each day because you have given me a purpose and I pray that each day I can live out that purpose. Take me as I am! I was too scared to start now I'm too scared to let go! Teach me to walk the walk and live the talk. Amen! Pin It

Mending the church first

Tonight at church I was very distraught. After having a conversation with a friend, I was amazed at how much damage was being done within the church by the people in the church. My friend was so tired of all the damge that she is ready to leave the church. She is going to leave the place where God is supposed to dwell. We, the people of the church, are pushing the people in the church out when we are supposed to be bringing them in. I will take the blame for this too. There have been too many times when I will whisper to the person sitting next to me and gossip about someone sitting in service.

How are we supposed to bring people into the church when we are pushing people out of the church? It completely blows my mind how the church has become a mini-high school or middle school. The same troubles that students are dealing with in school can be found in the church. People spreading lies about each other, picking on each other etc. We are reflections of Christ. What are we reflecting? Are we reflecting that it is alright to gossip? That it is alright to sleep around? That it is alright to tear each other down?

I find this problem at every church I attend. Maybe we should start mending the broken relationships inside the church before we start trying to mend the hearts of the real broken people. Pin It

The Power of a Piece of Paper and a Pen

Have you ever thought how powerful a piece of paper and a pen are? I never did until tonight. By connecting pen to a paper a story is formed. Words are written and feelings are shared. Writing has always been a passion of mine. I get these urges to form these words in my mind and to pull them out of my mind and on to something visible. Something that I can see with my own eyes.

A pen and paper can share feelings and emotions too. You can express yourself in a way that everyone can read. Maybe some people read exactly what you are feeling or they read it in a way that translates it to mean something else.

It's quite amazing!

I know you're probably thinking what is wrong with this girl, but let me tell you where I get this crazy urge to write from. I just went and saw Letters to Juliet and it is a movie that I would recommend to any one. It was funny and I believe beautifully acted. It is the first movie in a while the completely pulled me in and had me wanting to see what happened next in every scene. It also kepts me guessing. Anyways, in the movie girls from all over the world come to Verona to write their letter to Juliet. Then a group of women take the letters written to Juliet and relpy. There words can help change, encourage, or strengthen girls all over the world searching for their Romeo.

So this got me thinking. What if I did this? What if I just had an adress that was available to people. People could write their concerns, fears, wants, desires, feelings, and so much more. And what if I responded? What if I encouraged them to pursue their dreams, their wants, their desires? What if I encouraged them to be bold, to have faith, to live their life to the fullest? What if? I was inspired to do what God has called me to do. I believe I am an encourager. Is being an encourager an actual thing? I think so! I may not always think the most positively, but I do believe in the unbelievable and the impossible. I believe that we can all have our own Romeo and Juliet story. Sure, it may not be the exact plot, but we all have a love story written for us. I believe and I encourage.

So here it goes. This is my school adress. I know right now no one currently reads my blog, but maybe this is the day someone does. Maybe you need some encouragement or direction. You don't have to take what I say to heart, but I promise to write you back with the words I hope you need.

Rachel Jones
1100 East Fifth Street
Anderson, IN 46012

Write me! Pin It

Me? A Letter? From God? NO WAY!

I was at church two weeks a go when the preacher said something that caught my attention. He said something along the lines that we are all letters from God and that idea intrigued me. I've heard all my life that the bible is a love letter sent from God and I think that is the best love letter I have ever read, but then I think about how we are also love letters sent from God. God sent us to our parents, to our friends, and to the strangers in this world.

This also got me to wondering what my letter says. I know at times my letter probably had a note on the front of it saying, "Do not read this letter. It is filled with lies and ugliness." and I am alright to admit that is the letter I have sent out before. I know I am supposed to be an ambassador for God, but this world just brings me down sometimes. I forget that I was not created for here; I was created for someplace else. I get lost in the pressures the world presents to me everyday and the next thing I know I am in the mud trying to dig myself out and then there is God. He pulls me right out and puts me on dry ground.

I guess the point on this post is to remind us that we all our God's letters. We have to be careful in what we are putting on to that letter because we don't want to send out the wrong words. But also remember that we make mistakes. We need to help each other write our letters and be the example God has told us to be, but we cant tear people down. We need to hold each other and lend a hand when we are in the mud. Pin It

Holding on to my dreams

In January, I applied for two great opportunities. One was with an internship in Alaska for the summer and the other was to be an RA for this coming year. In February, I was introduced to the word, "No." Two BIG No's. Since then I have been suffering with those two decisions that were decided for me. All I could do was let these individuals look at my life and decide whether they wanted me on their team. I was upset with these decisions for a long, long time. Before the college process, I had always given up on my dreams. I dreamed of being drum-major, gave it up. I dreamed of being in the top 10 in my class, gave it up. I never had the confidence I needed to believe I could achieve these goals and I always regretted that.

When I started to apply for college, I was the most scared I had ever been. What if I wasn't accepted anywhere? What if I'm not smart enough? The first letter of whether I was accepted or not came and it increased my fear tremendously. It was another No. I started to panic as to what I would do with my life if school was not an option for me. Fortunately, the next letter I got was from Anderson University and it was a YES! From there out, all the acceptance letters I got were Yes's and the school that said No eventually turned to a Yes too. I was amazed at how amazing and faithful God was in helping my dreams come true.

So, in the fall I made my journey to Anderson. When second semester came around, I knew which dream I would accomplish next. I would become an RA! I went through the whole process and felt good about everything. I thought my interviews went well and I felt like I was completely honest with everyone. I wasn't perfect and I wasn't afraid to admit that to them.

Over Christmas break, I began to desire to do something more with my summer than just work after my sophmore year of college. So I found some Christian websites that showed the variety of Christian related internships and I found one that was too good to pass up. So I applied for the coming summer. The whole summer in Alaska! I completed the application and the interview and felt that God was really calling me to this.

Then rolled in February. My birthday came, my first valentines with a boyfriend; nothing seemed like it could bring me down. The last week in February proved me wrong. I had made it into the top 2 for Alaska for the girl's choice, but I was not selected. I was bummed, but I was also happy because that meant I could spend the summer at home and that I could still apply for it next year (which I was encouraged to do).

Next came the RA letters. My friends and I had planned to met at the mail center at school. I arrived first and was too anxious to wait for them so with my roomie by my side I opened the letter. I just knew it was going to be a yes. It was my dream, my goal, and my desire to be an RA. I began to read those first words and I felt my smile turn downward. I had been selected as an Alternate. If anyone would decide to not be an RA, I could have the chance to fill their spot. Even though it was not a complete No, all I heard was "NO!" My friends came and asked if I had gotten the position and I sadly told them no, but I was eager to see if they had made it. Well, to my surprise, they all recieved a Yes. I wasn't surprised as in I think they didn't really deserve it, I was surprised in the fact that I was the only one given a No. I left the group to get to class and I felt that one tear fall.

My dreams had been crushed...

I wrestled for God for a couple months after that. I went back and forth with accepting the decisions that had been given to me. Some days I knew it was for the best, but most days I just did not understand it. Eleanor Roosevelt said this, "You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face...You must do the thing you think you cannot." I had faced fear in the face. Where was that strength? Courage? Confidence?

It was not until this week when I realized where that strength, courage, and confidence was. It has been inside me all along, but I have been hiding it from myself because I did not want to accept that God had something better for me. I thought what I went for was what was BEST for me.

After not being selected for RA, I was offered a poistion as a DC (Dicipleship Coordinator). I gladly accepted since I wanted to be on a leadership role in some way on campus. All summer I have been reading a bible study that I think I want to do with the girls on my floor and todays devotion showed me just what I have needed to see. These is a part from the lesson today:

"Hold on to your dreams! God is Ironic sometimes-What you might view as a set back, God just may be using to shape you into the person you are meant to be."

I can't deny that God has used these two No's to shape me into the person he has designed me to be. I accept these two No's with a thanful heart now. I will wait on God's timing for my life and I know he will do great works withint me.

"Hold fast to the vision God has given you for your life. The difficult things we go through one to prepare us for the realization of the vision on God's timing and by his power! I will not deny the vision that God has given me even when the circumstances seem to contradict it." Dr. Llyod John Ogilvile. Pin It