Magic Of Life

How do you look at the world around you? What do you see? These are questions we rarely ask ourselves, because it's something we don't think is important. The truth is, it is important. The way we view the world around us is incredibly important to our outlook on life. When we see this ugly, dirty, harsh world, that's how our lives end up feeling. Unfortunately, that's how a lot of us look at it. But we can change that. 
    There are a lot of things we miss and take for granted. A lot that we don't see, or don't pay attention to. We're so blinded by the problems we choose to see, we miss the beauty of life. Take a minute to look around. See through the eyes of a child again. Everything is surprising, and wondrous, and mysterious. Life seems so much brighter than it has in years. Why can't we see through the eyes of a child more often? The universe holds such a vast amount of mystery, why do we ignore it completely?
    Take another moment to see through the eyes of an artist. The world holds a vast amount of beauty, and all you need to do to see it is let your mind form a new image, take what you see and add to it. Light and color and designs flowing around, over, and through things. Look at things from a different point of you. A different focus. Some of the simplest things can end up making the most interesting images.
    We all have the ability to see from a perspective, and to change the one we see from. But everyone tends to use the wrong one all the time. Why is that? The news, movies, social media; it all tends to guide our view in a less desirable direction than where we should be looking. Because of this, many people fall into a trap that is very difficult to get out of, even though the way out seems so simple.
    We should challenge ourselves to take time every day to look at our life and see it differently. To see the good things, to look at the beauty in every situation. You may start to see things change; not only how you feel, but how things in your life look. Something as simple as a change of perspective can go a long way. 
    So take a moment to change it and see the beauty and wonder in the world. To see the magic of life.

I hope you enjoyed this post.
    Thank you for reading.

~SoR

Independence Day

"The President: Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in this history of mankind. Mankind -- that word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore.

We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps its fate that today is the 4th of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom, not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution -- but from annihilation.

We're fighting for our right to live, to exist.

And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice:

We will not go quietly into the night!

We will not vanish without a fight!

We're going to live on!

We're going to survive!

Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!" ~The movie 'Independence Day

I remember the first time I watched this movie, this speech sent chills down my spine. Though the events in this film are purely fictional, it shouldn't stop you from looking into the meaning behind the story. This day, the fourth of July, is marked in the history of America as the day that we declared our freedom to the world. The day we let them know that we would not be oppressed or controlled.
    I'd like to take a moment to look at the word 'declare'. This word is no longer in common use, and when people do use it they rarely think about what it actually means.
    Declare: to manifest, reveal, show.
    This goes beyond just words or a statement. This is taking the statement "We are free" and making it a reality. The United States has always been looked to as a center of hope and power in the world. We gained our freedom from the sweat and blood of men and women throughout the history of this country, and before it was a country. Most of which we will never know their names. Very few stop to think about how good we actually have it here, and how blessed we are that these people have laid their lives down, left their families behind, and taken the bullets, torture, pain, and death that many of us would have had to take if it were not for them. They did this so we, and those after us,would have our freedom and protection, so we would know safety and freedom, all the while knowing that their names may be forgotten. Even though we do not know their names, we should never forget their sacrifice.
     In the movie, the people of the world had to face a threat that would have destroyed all of them if not for sacrifices made by many people. While aliens did this in the film, we could have very well faced a fate worse than the death of those in Independence Day. Several years ago, on September 11th, terrorists flew planes into the world trade center, and a couple other places. A few of the planes were stopped by passengers on-board, who then crashed the planes into the ground or water to prevent them from hurting anyone else. On this day we realized that there are those who would see us all put to death. We should look back on this day and those before and remember why we have our freedom. Why we have our safety. This isn't a day to shoot off fireworks and get drunk, but a day to remember. A day to sing of those past and present. A day to give respect to those who gave their lives to protect us, with all our petty, meaningless problems. A day to remember why we are free.

"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor." ~ The Declaration of Independence 

Broken Light

Brokenness. Lost of order, lose of control. These are things that people are afraid of. Afraid to get hurt, afraid to lose what they have, afraid for things to change, fall out of order, or fall apart. But let's take a look at something. The world  was falling apart around George Washington. Things were going wrong in so many places. He ended up becoming a general in the revolutionary war, and because of that saw some really hard times. But what happened to him through all of that? He became a greater man, and went on to be the first president of the U.S. Why am I saying all of this? Because through the breaking apart of his life and the world he knew he went on to lead a greater life. Now, let's take a look at light. Just plain white light. What happens when you break it apart? It becomes a rainbow.
    This sort of thing takes place in our lives all the time. A part of our life starts to break apart and get torn open. It's painful and hard, but in a way it's beautiful how it shapes who we are. We can guide how it shapes us as well. We aren't subjected to be a certain way, but can make choices through everything.
    We make our lives so strict and streamlined that they become plain and while we still function, we don't function anywhere near our potential. There are times when areas have to be broken apart. It helps us become more colored, more personalized. Because of this you shouldn't put all your attention into the now. Look at least a little towards the future and what you could be. There are a lot of possibilities out there. When light breaks it makes several different paths, and so to do our lives. We have to choose which one to follow. So make your choice carefully, and enjoy the beauty of the things to come.

~SoR

Advancement

Advancement is something that everyone wants. All people want to achieve greater things, become better at something, advance in the world or in their work, or maybe just in their home life. This is true for Christians as well as anyone else. But here's a problem that a lot of them face. They think that if they pray to get a raise at work but don't really try to do anything while they're working, they expect it to happen. When it doesn't they think they aren't a good enough person, did something they weren't supposed to, or aren't where they're supposed to be because God didn't answer their prayer. That's just not the case. If you go and ask someone for something, they won't likely give it to you if you do nothing at all. The same applies to how far we go in the world and in the kingdom. Like it or not you can't just sit around and do nothing all day expecting to go somewhere with life. If you want to do something you have to put effort into it. If you want that raise at work you have to try for it. You should trust God to do what's best for you, but don't just sit around and wait for it to happen. People who get what they want without work are often times spoiled brats who cause more harm than they do good. Why would God want us to be like that? The fact is he doesn't.
    Advancement and success isn't something that's just handed to us on a silver platter. Rather it's put somewhere a little harder to get to, but not out of reach. So while you should strive to work hard and do well in whatever it is you're doing, you should also trust God to help you through it so you can follow the path he's set for you.

I hope you get something out of reading this, and that you have a good weekend. Until next week.
   ~SoR

Stand Firm and Live it Out

A lot of people talk about how firm their beliefs are, then later let them fade away. This has lead to the issue that no matter how much you TALK about your beliefs, no one will really believe you. It's one of the largest reasons Christians are so rejected in the world today. Now most people think standing firm means when you get into a 'debate' (really just an argument) with someone about what you believe you don't waver at all and never admit to them having the slightest idea what they're talking about. Or at least, that's what a lot of people do. Really it shouldn't be like that at all. It shouldn't matter what other people think or do, only what you do. If you want to get people to believe that there may actually be something to this whole Jesus thing then live it out. Don't settle, don't make a compromise on something because it's not the 'cool' thing to do. Two compromises people make all the time are gossip and swearing. Those are things you can be firm about and just not do, but you have to try. Just because everyone else does it or thinks it's cool or okay doesn't mean it is and that you have to. Moreover, it sends the wrong message. You should always be telling people about God's word, but that doesn't mean you have to talk. Show instead. Strive to be a better person. Live like you are a child of God, someone that he thought was worth saving, and did save. Died, in fact, to take the punishment for all the stupid things we do on a daily basis. Living out God's teachings is THE most important thing you can do if you want to tell people about him. Why was Christianity such a big thing in the past? Because they lived it out, and wouldn't waver even when threatened with death and torture because of it. They weren't brainwashed people brought up from birth to do that, so they would have no reason unless there was truth in it. This is what drew people by the thousands to them. This is what draws people to it now. Unfortunately too few Christians actually live this way, and instead live a life of offence and a lot of the time have a massive superiority complex. How do we live in a way that really grabs peoples attention though? A way that's different, but not something bad, and actually something better? Here's a few things:
    Don't get offended- People today take offence at so many things it's almost sickening. Like "Oh you're gay? I'm not going to socialize, speak to, or even look at you, except to point you out to everyone else so they know  not to do the same." That is the WRONG WAY TO DO THINGS!! Stop getting so offended at everyone and love them instead, which leads to the next thing;
    Love others- Just because they don't share your beliefs or aren't like you, or maybe even get on your nerves at times doesn't make them any worse a person than you are, any less deserving of love, or give you the right to put them down. You really want to change peoples hearts? Impact their lives? Show them love and it'll do that better than anything else.
    Don't make compromises- Like I said before, it'll draw peoples attention, and they'll start asking why you don't do any of those things despite all the pressure.
    Stop settling for good enough- Most people just settle for being 'good enough' because they don't want to work to be better. But that's something you should always be doing. You should always be striving to resolve issues and shortcomings in yourself. It'll help with everything in your life as well as bringing attention to your morals.
    Don't get in people's faces- If you wonder why people avoid Christians or always talk badly about them, this is one of the biggest reasons. They're always getting in peoples faces about things when they have no business doing so. If everyone would just love other people instead it would create a lot less of an issue.
    Learn when to walk away- Some people are hurting and just looking for a fight or argument or some kind of trouble. You need to learn when to walk away, even if you're doing everything else on this list, people can still take it and try to get you into an argument. Instead just drop it and go about your life. It'll also make them wonder why you do that.

I could go on, but I figured this post is long enough and you all would want to get back to your lives. I'm sorry it was late getting out, but I hope you enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to whatever feedback you may have. Until next week-

~SoR

Rain Conferece

Here's a link to the site which has a live stream webcast on it and will be live streaming tomorrow. I hope you all get a chance to watch.

http://therainconference.com/

Past, Present, Future

Time is an interesting concept. It flows by in a seemingly endless stream where we were thrown and are now dragged along by the current. So why is it that so many people choose to stare back at something that they simply can't reach? Because the truth is we can't go back, only forward. There is no way for us to change the past. It already happened. However there is a reason to look back, but not with longing and wishes for a way to go back and change it all. The past is something to learn from, and as such should be looked at through a lens of study. Every mistake has a lesson in it to be learned from, and insight into yourself. The past can be painful, but where does that pain come from? Usually from a wound that was caused that you never let heal. Even though it can take a long time, it's the best choice to make, because there really is no point in holding onto the past. It's gone and nothing can change that. If you let go of it and look back to learn, you'll realize that there is a lot of things that happened that you can make sure don't happen later, and a lot of things you'll learn to do better. You have to remember that the best things are always to come. If you let them. If you learn then the future will be better. Here in the present is where you do that. Don't push it off until later, learn now. It's a tough process, but well worth it in the long run.
    Time isn't something we can control, only flow with. If we worry too much about the future or focus too much on the past it can mess a lot of things up. You have to balance on the three focus points to make sure that you don't go in the wrong direction. Learn how to do that and you may find a lot of things will change.

So I'm putting this post out early because this coming weekend I will be helping out with the Rain Conference.  I won't have time to put it up on Friday, so I'm doing it now. Also as a side note there WILL be live streaming of the conference, and as I said in my previous post I'll put a link up as soon as I have one to give to you. Thank you all for reading, and I hope the rest of your week is a good one.

~SoR

Rain Conference

The Rain Conference is a youth conference that is being put on by my church and youth group here in CA, and it starts next weekend. There's more information here  http://www.facebook.com/therainconference?ref=ts on their facebook page. We'll be recording a CD from the worship sets which some of you may be interested in buying later. However the main reason I'm posting this is I've heard people talking about doing a free online web stream of the conference. So if you guys want to tune in and watch, I'm sure you all would be really blessed by it. There's a lot going to be happening, and some really great messages are going to be shared, one of which by a 17 year old who is part of the youth group. All in all it's going to be really cool. So I encourage you all to check it out, and if there is online streaming I'll post a link to it here on the blog.

Announcment

Due to how busy I've been today and will be the next few days I'm not going to have time to finish my post this week, so it'll have to wait until later. I'm sorry if you were looking forward to one, and I hope you all have a good week. God bless.

Strength

Our own strength is something every human being relies on. If we're strong enough to do something we do it. If not then we don't. Yet some people become stronger. How is that? It isn't anything they did because no one just gets stronger by themselves. But maybe it is something they did. A simple choice. Because the fact is people are weak. We don't have a lot of strength in us to overcome things without help. But what help is there? God tells us that he will give us the strength we need. It sounds simple because it is simple. You just have to ask and rely on him and he'll give you the strength to overcome things. However what he never said was that it would be easy. It's never an easy thing to be strong. It's always a fight, a struggle. Something you have to work hard for. That's the only way to truly be strong. But as you fight and struggle, as you climb that mountain inch by inch, you become stronger. Things that might have seemed hard before cease to be so. There are things that will come up again that will take another fight though. That's just the way the world works, and people are too weak to deal with it, which is why so many fall. But God is strong enough for everyone, all you need to do is trust and rely on him. It isn't easy, but it's possible. Once you do you'll see a whole new world open up to you. A world where dreams can happen, and things you never thought were possible fall out in front of you. So why don't we all take some time and just get ourselves in a position to receive from God and see what he's got planned for us. Listen to what he's saying and lean into him through whatever is going on right now. Because any time is a time for change. You could change things later today, or tomorrow, or a week from now, or a year from now. But why not change them right now and lean into true strength? 

I hope you enjoyed the post this week and that it made sense and I wasn't rambling too much.

~SoR 

Don't Hide

Everyone has dreams and talents. Gifts that they can use. But a lot of people don't really use them. At least, not to their full extent. They hide them away in a little box, sometimes even from themselves, because they tell themselves that there are other people who are better. Though in some cases that may be true, there is something important that no one ever thinks about. You're the only person that's you. You are the only one that has your ideas, your thoughts, your mind. So while skills in things vary, you're the only one who can think up certain things. Showing who you actually are is a risk, and finding who you are in this world is a hard road. But some risks are worth taking, and some journeys are required if you ever really want to be happy. So don't hide who you are, especially from yourself. Find and embrace it, because you'll be a lot better off if you do.

On a different note I'm sorry for not posting yesterday and for the shortness of this post, I've been extremely sick for the past week and haven't had the time, energy, or even the level of thought I would normally have put into anything, so I apologize that it's late and not very long. I hope to have a better one on Friday.

~SoR

Stories

There are millions of stories out there. Books, movies, old legends, etc... A lot of them have a lot of things in them that are really unnecessary, and there are quite a few that really have no meaning to them what so ever. But still, there are a lot of stories that do have meaning, and there is a way that it can tie into many things, for authors, film makers, and other groups who enter the realm of art. As a writer and artist, being part of the church group has always made me very cautious about what I write and draw. But here's the thing. Everything you do should reflect not only who you are but what you believe. There should be a recognizable style of the individual, and a readable meaning in each piece of work. This however doesn't mean you have to be as restricted and careful as many people would have you believe. There are a lot of people who say any sort of magic in a book is witchcraft so they can't read it. But I myself have read many books containing magic with an undeniably christian meaning behind the story. There are lessons in everything, especially books. Stories are an important part of a persons life from when they are just little kids. So wouldn't it be a writers job to make sure they are teaching the right thing in their stories? Or a singers job to make sure what they are singing has a significant meaning to it that is designed to help people? A lot of what people read and listen to is full of garbage and meaningless words, or worse, damaging words. The moral compass of the world keeps getting further and further from pointing north. Why is that? Perhaps because people don't learn what they really need to learn. They don't understand what's right and wrong. Art, music, books... Most of it is full of poison, but everyone drinks it willingly. Why? Because the poison is mixed with food and all they know is they're hungry and that the food is there in front of them. Too many Christian authors sacrifice good stories that would interest a lot of people because they think that it's bad to have say... An alien race in the book because God doesn't talk about making any other intelligent beings in the universe. Or that a character who has magical abilities is wrong because that would be witchcraft. However, there is something that's very important. You need to look behind the story. Because that's all it is. A story. Something to feed the imagination. If you look behind the stories and read the meanings, then suddenly you'll find yourself looking at everything that happened in a different light. See what was really going on that was hidden before. While there are a lot of books like this, sometimes the authors are Christian, sometimes not, there isn't enough good meaning in stories anymore. At least, not in the ones people read. But why don't they read the ones with good morals and meanings in them? Well, think of it this way. A lot of Christian books are very dry and not all that entertaining, but they have some very good morals to them. Then there are books that are all spiced up and are very interesting to read, but with bad morals behind the story. Books are food for the brain. I've heard a lot of people talk about how healthy food tastes bad. But it doesn't have to. You can make food that tastes way better than most of the stuff around today that is much, much healthier. So why can't we do the same with stories today? The fact is we can. The two most important things to a book is first a good story, second good morals. Too many authors focus on having good morals and not so much the story that the story loses most of what makes it interesting. Sure it's got a good meaning, but the book isn't going to grab the attention of many people. You want to create something that nearly everyone can and will read while at the same time it contains a lot of good lessons, or even just one good lesson. We shouldn't sacrifice one for the other.  We should have the normal, and at the same time, something different. But not just different something more, something better. Like if you walk down the street wearing a cowboy outfit because you think that's what you need to do to be a good christian, people are going to avoid you. However if you wear just normal clothes, but the way you live reflects Jesus and his love towards others and yourself, then people will notice you not because of what you look like, but because there's something different, something more. That should be the case with stories as well.

I hope you found this post interesting, helpful, and understandable.

~SoR

Love, Faith, and Courage

What is Love? It isn't just some nice feeling you get when you think about someone. It's not just some meaningless emotion that has been labeled to be something special by misguided people. There's a reason that it's been projected this way, and that's because Satan doesn't want real, true love to be seen or understood in any way. He wants us to keep living a lie that we believe to be truth so that we never harness a power that is infinitely greater than his. Real love is so much stronger than anything he could ever do. However, there are also so many different kinds. It's something that's hard to understand unless you look it up in say... Hebrew. Because the English language decided it would smash all the meanings down into one word. Yeah, how helpful is that? It makes things incredibly confusing sometimes, wouldn't you say? I won't even pretend to understand all of it, I'm still quite young, and I don't think anyone will ever understand everything there is to know, or even know everything there is to know. Why? Because there is one person who IS Love. But He is infinite, which makes it just slightly hard to learn everything there is to learn, since of course He never, ever, ever ends. However, here is what I do know. Love isn't something that just goes away. But it's not something that just stays either. You have to build it and take care of it, or it will fade. But it's strong enough to last through testing and trials. Love is stronger than anything, but like everything else we have to choose it over fear. Something that I have observed, experienced, and been taught by some very good people is that love and fear can't exist in the same place. If you trace back something that happened in your relationship with someone, anyone, and it ended badly or the relationship was never what it should have been, almost always it can be traced back to some kind of fear. Love pushes out fear, but fear also pushes out love. You have to choose which side to stay on. That is where courage comes in. Even if you are afraid, you can choose to move with love and courage, to beat fear and force it to leave. If you think about it, faith is similar to courage in that way. Faith isn't the total absence of any doubt. Because there will always be some measure of doubt in your mind at some point, just as there will be some measure of fear at some point. So how can you have great faith? By trusting. By choosing to trust in God, who is Love, and to move forward in what he has planned. Just recently I gave a drawing to someone with a note written on the back. I didn't hardly know the person at all, didn't know what was going on with them, and had written the note and done the drawing before I ever talked to them. But for some reason I felt that they needed it. I had doubt, but I trusted what God was asking me to do and gave it to her. Just from the reaction on her face I could tell she needed it. But even doubt is back to fear. Fear that you may be wrong, or that something bad will happen, or that nothing will happen. Courage and faith go hand in hand with Love. You can't have any of them without the others. Isn't that perfect though? Three things that cannot be separated, just as God is a trinity, and while can be addressed in three different ways, cannot be separated from any of the others, because He is a three part being. So to get the fullness of Him you need all three, just as to get the fullness of Love you need all three.
     That bunny trailed off in a direction I wasn't planning on, but getting back to the main point; love is something that needs to be practiced, built up, and strengthened. We need to learn how to love everyone despite things that they have done or are doing. That doesn't mean you have to just roll over and ignore the problem. Help them see the problem and try to fix it if they're willing. You can still love someone without doing anything to help them except that. Loving them. But it comes from a place of trusting God, having the courage to do what's best for everyone, and most of all listening to what God has to say, not only about someone else, but about yourself. If you don't listen to how He loves you, you will never be able to learn how to love yourself, and then others. Loving yourself isn't being a arrogant jerk. It's understanding who you are and who you were made to be, and not condemning yourself for things that happened, are happening, or will happen in the future. It's not any easy thing, but it can happen. So my advice is to listen to God and learn how to love and how to be a whole, full person in Him.

I hope you found this post interesting or helpful, but more than anything I hope it made sense.
~SoR

Announcement- March 13th

I've begun construction on a new blog type site where I will be posting my artwork and thoughts/explanations about what it means and some possible insight into it. I hope to have this site up soon, but it may take a while to get it up and running and get some things prepared for it so there will be something there by the time I post a link. However, I will be posting a link as soon as it is finished.

On another note, I have decided that I will post no more than one post a week in the hopes to keep the updating of the blog less sporadic. So check in on Fridays, as that will be the most likely date for posting them, but I will notify you of any change. I may add a news page to the blog, so check that to see if there are any updates on what is happening. It is also possible I will chain multiple blogs with the page gadget to make up one sort of site. I'll do some experiments with that to see how it works.

But thank you for following my blog, I have a post in the making right now and I will almost positively have it up on Friday. I hope you all enjoy it, and take the rest of the week easy and know that God loves you more than anything else, and you are His favorite person ever. 

~SoR 

Struggles and hardships

All of us, everyone in the world has their own set of hardships. No one can be compared to the other. No one should be saying "Oh, you think you've got it rough. Well look what I've got to go through." Everyone is different, and difficulties weigh differently on different people. Trying to compare them would be like trying to compare the weights animals can carry. Some can carry larger, some can carry smaller, but it would be the same physical strain on each in comparison. A mouse can pull a stick while an elephant can pull a tree, but the exertion on each, if scaled, would be the same.
    But moving onto the main point of this post, I'll start with this. Sometimes we feel like giving up because things feel too hard. We're tired of fighting and don't feel like we have the strength to keep going. But here's the thing. We will never be faced with something that's impossible to overcome. No matter how hard it is or how tired it makes us, it's not impossible. Sometimes you you'll lose ground, you'll fall back the the very edge, teetering on the edge of oblivion. But that's where it matters most to fight, to push forward. You never have to give in to it. Even if you lose a lot during any struggle or hardship, you'll gain ten times more when you've overcome it. They aren't something to be feared. Just know that you have to push through each one. Look at the light at the end of the tunnel, not the darkness around you. Because staring into the darkness gets you no where, but looking at the light gives you something to strive towards. Everyone has struggles and hardships, that's not something we can control. However we can control what we do when we're having them, and how hard we push to get through them. So a word of encouragement, don't give up or run away, because the reward is worth the work.

Some Recent Thoughts

Before I go into the post I'd like to apologize for my lack of posting since I started this. I've had a lot to do and a lot going on recently, especially with the holidays and everything. I'm sure all of you know what that's like. Anyway, I just wanted to share some thoughts I had not too long ago after watching a video by Danny Silk called "Culture Of Honor".

In Danny Silk's DVD Culture Of Honor, and in other DVDs, he talks about how people are so used to either controlling, or being controlled by others. Where one person in the relationship has the power, and the other doesn't. I find it so true looking around at people today, and seeing that almost everyone around has been treated in this way. There are far too many people who always feel the need to control, and far too many people damaged by being controlled. What people need to realize is that relationships weren't meant for that. It's supposed to be two people with equal power, not one with all of it, and one with none. This kind of thing shows up in every relationship there is. Parent/child, siblings, friends, etc... But how hard would it be to change that, right? Well, extremely. It's like going against the grain of everything you've been taught your whole life. The main issue is people either don't know, or don't want to go through the trouble of fixing this problem, and it is a problem. So many of the issues we see around us could have been solved if people weren't taught to be this way. One of the worst things about this is that most, if not all people rarely realize when something like this happens in a relationship because that's what they've had their whole lives. They don't know how to treat others, or be treated by others any differently. When the ones trying to control see it or are shown it, it's hard for them to stop doing that, because that's what they were taught to do, that's what they've done, and that's what they are used to doing. When the ones being controlled see what's happening or are shown what is happening, it is often times very difficult for them to stand up for themselves. I personally have had this happen many times in the not so distant past, and have even had it happen today. So why should we try to stop letting this happen? Well, if we don't, who will? We can't just say "well, I'm sure someone else will stand up for themselves at some point" or "It'll get better on it's own". That's simply not true. You have to actually work for it. It won't be easy, and actually, it will most likely be very difficult. But someone has to do it, so it might as well be us, right?

Thanks for reading this random little post. Hope you enjoyed it. I'm going to try to get another post out soon so you all don't have to wait so long. Until next time.

~SoR