Radical Standards.

"Never apologize for having high standards. People who really want to be in your life will rise up to meet them"

Purity is something that is often looked down upon in today's society. If you don't cuss, date every guy you meet and listen to the latest secular music (which is often terribly written... not to mention the horrendous lyrics) you typically can't fit in with the popular crowd, which means you often don't get a second look. (Or you get multiple looks because people can't believe how different you are.)

According to God, though, that's okay: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2)

As Christians, we're called to a different code. We're called to strive to live above the standards of the world and to be renewed by Christ. It's easier said than done, though. There's always someone that's going to tell you your standards are too high.

:"Call me crazy, but I think the first kiss is so special, I'm saving it for the altar.

For example, as a personal standard, I've decided to save my first kiss- yes, my very first kiss- for my wedding. (There's only one first kiss and I want to save that for my husband.) I know that's not a popular goal, but it's one I've set for myself. It's more than saving your body for your husband, it's going that extra step and saying, "I've been waiting for you, thinking of you and I've saved everything for you. That's how special you are to me." The other day, I was telling a friend about that goal and she disagreed with it. I have a few friends that do. They've said things like, "But what if he's a bad kisser?", "What if that first kiss is awkward?" and "How will you practice?". My answer is usually "So, what?"

There are always people that are going to ridicule you for the goals, guidelines and principles you set for yourself, but God calls us to the next level of purity. He calls us to be Holy; to be set apart; to be examples to fellow believers and for the rest of the world. Are we striving to reach those standards?

(Also, for the record, that standard I mentioned above is possible. Joel Smallbone from For King and Country and Moriah Peters, two popular Christian artists, saved their first kiss for the altar. It's possible. Not easy, but possible. Just a little side note there ;) )

People Pleasing: Part 1

Recently, my youth group did series on relationships. Really, the whole six part series was great and I gleaned a ton from it. The fifth sermon really hit home for me, though. It was titled "Escaping the People Pleasing Trap."

       People pleasing is something that I think, if we're honest, we all deal with. We want others to like us. We want to please them and make them happy. We never want to let them down. But it's a grave mistake to try and please everyone.

     Here are five ways that the people pleasing trap can hurt you:

       1) It causes you to miss God's purpose for you. When you're focused on other people, you can't focus on what God has for you as an individual. Instead, you're constantly trying to put all of your efforts into people you're trying to please, living in constant fear that you won't measure up.  Proverbs 29:25 says, "The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe." When you're trying to keep everyone happy, you become a clone. That's not what God wants for you. He has a unique, wonderful purpose for you.

       2) It keeps you from growing in your faith. If you're all wrapped up in what other people think of you, you're looking for glory from other people.  John 5:44 states, "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?" Others' glory is unnecessary. We only need God's approval.

       3) It leads you to sin. People pleasing leads to following the crowd- it leads to conformity. According to Exodus 23:2, “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd." 

       4) It makes you a hypocrite. When you're trying to be everything to everyone, you start putting on masks, using different expressions for different friends, telling different lies to each social group you hang around with. It's easy to forget who you told what. Luke 16:15 says, "He said to them, ‘You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.’” 

       5) It silences your voice. John 7:12-13 describes a time when people were gossiping about Jesus.  "Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, ‘He is a good man.’ Others replied, ‘No, he deceives the people.’ But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders."

     Guys, (and girls, of course) it's time to stop following the crowd. Stop trying to make everyone happy. Take the words of Romans 12:2 to heart: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will."

-To Be Continued-

One Year.

This year's flown by. As most of you (probably all of you) know my family had a kind of rough start to 2012 with leaving our old church. That was a weird season and I'm super glad that we're out of it, for the most part. (What I mean by for the most part: I still have days where I miss people a ton and wonder what it would be like if we had never left, but other than that, we're out of it.)

Seriously, despite the sleepless nights, tears, fights and (sadly) loss of friendships and family members that the whole ordeal brought about, tons of good has come from it. I'm not even sure where to begin.

This weekend marks the weekend we started going to CCC. A year ago this weekend, we stepped into our first service at our current home church. It took a ton of prodding and dragging me to get there. I didn't want to go. AT ALL. I was "happy" where I was. (Ha! Not. But I pretended I was.) I didn't want to leave all I'd ever known.

When we got there, I remember thinking it was a little weird. I don't know why I thought that, but I did and I sat in the row of chairs with my parents and a couple friends thinking about how much I didn't want to be there.

Anyway, flash forward to today.  I literally spend at least 3 days of the week there. This week, I'll actually be spending 5. And I love every minute of it!

Okay, that's a very brief recap of the year. I'm not done yet, though. What good things came of what I would consider to be the worst time of my life, so far? Where do I begin... the list is SO SO long.

1.) Faith. Through that stormy season, I didn't really have anyone to lean on except God. (Who's the best and only One you can lean on at all times.) I wasn't sure who I could trust. I felt like everyone was betraying me. God got me through that and He can get me through anything.

2.) Family. My family grew a lot closer to each other. I don't know how to explain it, really. I just know that my sister and I are now best friends, when we used to be enemies. My mom, dad and I get along better than we did. (though I'm occasionally (read: often) more stubborn than I should be on some (most) issues and argue with them...) It's kind of funny, because people said Kylene and I were going to fall away from our family because my parents were teaching us to rebel against authority. Really? They didn't teach us to rebel... and we're closer than ever... so I guess we proved THEM wrong.

3.) Friends. I used to be super popular at my old church. It was a small church in a small town and I'd grown up there. Then I came to CCC and thought I knew no one. Surprisingly, I found out that almost 1/2 of our co-op families go there, so I did have friends! It was (and is) really cool getting to see old friends at church. I hadn't seen some of them in years. That's not the end of it though!

About 8ish months ago, we became part the youth group, C7. This youth group is amazing. At the same time, we joined "Revo Band" (currently "Heirs") the church's youth group worship team. We were immediately welcomed and accepted. We didn't have to try to impress anyone, we didn't need to wear any masks... it was like a whole new concept. There are currently 18 (I think? About? I don't know...) teens and leaders in the band and it's just awesome. I've gained some amazing brothers and sisters from Heirs. It's so encouraging to be able to gather with people that are there to support each other and above all, glorify the Creator.

4.) Dreams. Again, how do I explain this? It's... difficult. In a nutshell, I'm able to dream again. To think about the future, while living and loving the present moment. Those dreams are coming true, too! I'll have to give more on that in a couple weeks though... there's some very exciting news!


In the meantime, go follow Heirs on facebook and on twitter.

More Like Family: Co-op

Omygosh, guys. It's almost June. We're a month away from 2013 being half over. How crazy is that?! However, I still have over 7 months of this year left and I plan to use them and enjoy them fully. That being said, summer has begun. Well, for me it has.

Monday marked the last day of co-op for the year. (Ah!!!) It was so exciting and so disappointing at the same time. No more homework? Yay! No more super early Monday mornings? Hallelujah. Plus, co-op being over means that summer plans get to come to being soon. (Summer camp, bonfires and crazy sleepovers, anyone?)

On the other hand, though, I'm really sad. I'm going to miss watching the little ones and trying to corral them. (Easier said than done, but hey!, they're worth it.) I'll miss singing with my worship team girls. I'm going to be depressed when I don't get to see my amazing friends. I'll miss my teachers. I'm going to miss the random conversations, (Journalism class. Enough said.) the crazy laughter, the occasional shocking moments, the weekly memory making... okay, you get the picture.

My co-op's more than an intense once a week class day, as I often describe it as. It's a family. It's a place to belong. It's a community.

I could list so many things I love about co-op, but I kind of already did that. I can't list all the crazy memories of the year- that would take all of summer break. (AND I am NOT spending all of summer break blogging photos and memories of the school year JUST to go back. I WILL enjoy this summer and it WILL be the best yet. (Seriously, though... it will be.)) But I can't leave this post without adding a few highlights from this year. It was truly amazing.

Twister Hobbit Movie night with my best friends, Mary, Bekah and Ky. Ky and Mary were talking the entire time: quoting the movie, speaking in whale, (thank you for serenading us, Mary. (-_-) ) and freaking out about Gollum. Of course, Bekah and I weren't much better... we talked a lot too. But, hey, at least WE didn't get locked out of the movie room!

Little kids. They're amazing. Most of my year was spent with little kids, believe it or not. They're a ton of fun! They're not really worried about making themselves look like idiots. They're more concerned with having fun. I think some adults (and teens) could learn a thing or two from the little ones around us.

The last day of co-op is always themed. This year was "Superhero day"! I dressed Thor inspired. (He is the BEST superhero, after all.) Before the morning started, I was helping watch the Z kids and I "borrowed" Cole's ninja mask so I could pose with the infamous "Nacho Libre" (Tommy)

The formal. I wish I had a decent photo of our whole group. Josh, Danielle, Lizzy, Bekah, Mary, Ky and I all went. It was a night to remember. We danced our feet off, we went a little crazy and when we were too tired to dance any more, we kept dancing. I saw some old friends and made some new ones. We danced and danced and danced and sang and made total fools of ourselves. So much fun!

Not sure why, but this photo makes me smile. Isaac got his hands on my camera and started snapping away while he was sitting in my car after co-op, talking to my sister and a couple friends. He got around 20 shots. This was definitely the funniest!

Omygoodness, don't get me started on how much I love this girl. She became like my little sister this year. She's super mature for her age and she's super fun to be around. From this year alone, we have a ton of memories and inside jokes.

The King Tut field trip was a blast! I love Ancient Egypt. The mystery and richness of the history... it makes me stand in awe (and shock) when I think of some the events that have taken place there. It was awesome to be able to see some of it in front of my very own eyes.

Oh, this picture makes me laugh, worry, (what WERE they doing?!) and tear up a little... Dani's not coming back next year and that... well, that's super sad. We've known each other for forever and she's not going to be in the area any more. (I'll probably post more on that later...)

This was taken on the last day of co-op this year. We always go to a park. I guess they were practicing their superhero moves? I don't know... still, so fun!

The Journalism team. This year was so much fun! Everyone brought something new and fresh to the table (literally... we had a round table...) and our articles were top-notch this year. Way to go, team!

Last day of co-op photo op with the girls! Next year just won't be the same without some of them. Each of them have impacted me in positive ways. Love these girls.

Meeting Hazel was a major highlight of my year. She's so precious and sweet. I love her so much already. I can't wait to watch her grow and follow God's plan for her life! She's going to do great things.

Well, I guess it's with that I say "I'll see you in my memories" to the co-op 2012-2013 school year.

And let's start summer off right with a fantastic quote.

What does it mean to be a Princess?

*Note: This post is for girls. Guys, feel free to read it\. It's how a girl wants to be treated. Just make sure you don't start acting  like a princess. We want a Prince or a Knight. :)


What do you think of when you think of royalty? Maybe you picture a castle with lush gardens and gushing, overflowing fountains. Maybe you think of a Princess in a far away land with long hair cascading down her perfectly fitted gown. Maybe you think of a valiant prince, awaiting the moment that he can set out to find his destiny. I think of Christ's followers.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," you might be thinking, "Christ's followers are royalty? I think you need a reality check. I follow Jesus, but I am far beyond royalty."

If this is you, I have some awesome news that will make your day. You are Royal.

Think about it: God is the King of Kings, right? You are His child. What does that make you? It makes you a princess.

What does it mean to be a Princess? It means that you are of royal lineage. You deserve to be treated with respect and kindness. You should act like a Princess, as well.

What does it mean to be treated like a Princess? Well, it was hard for me to put this into words, so I did what any smart girl would do: I googled "What does it mean to be a princess". What I found impressed me. I was left speechless. I came across a blog, http://theslickguy.xanga.com/, that answered the question to a T in my mind. After a little more exploration, I found out that the author is Christian!

Here's a couple paragraphs from the article: (Read the whole thing at http://theslickguy.xanga.com/553109820/what-does-it-mean-to-be-treated-like-a-princess/)

If a man treats a woman like a lady or a princess what would it look like?




There would be the obvious expressions, such as opening doors, offering coats etc. Another example would be a man treating a woman as though she has something valuable to say therefore listening to her intently. If this woman is a princess then he should be hanging on to what she says.



however, there are also things that if a man does he is not treating her as a princess. Some of these things however women generally like. For example, if a man calls a girl up the night before or the day of in order to ask her out he is not treating her like a princess. Also if a man hugs, pokes or otherwise flirts with a woman he is not treating her as a princess. Some may disagree with me, but if you think about it, try going to a land where there is a princess, and hug, poke and otherwise flirt with her. See what happens. I guarantee you it won't be a pretty sight. Why? because it is not being respectful of her, doing so is bringing her down to his level and is no longer viewing her as a true princess. He is viewing her as someone who is a friend and not someone who is to be revered, or held up in a special light. If he is to hug poke or otherwise flirt with this princess he needs to be dating engaged or married to her, and as such he would then hold a place where he would be allowed to physically and emotionally connect with her.




I honestly believe that this definition is spot on. Do you ladies agree?



How is a Princess to act? Once again, I decided to Bing the answer :) Here's what I found. (From Chacha.com)

A princess should act confident, have good manners, and be charitable. A princess should also be gracious, polite and patient. She should be compassionate and thoughtful and smile a lot.

I agree with this, but only if you are to be a Princess of the world. A Godly Princess should not only be those things, but even more. Let me add on my own 2 cents here.

A princess should act confident, have good manners, and be charitable. A princess should also be gracious, polite and patient. She should be compassionate and thoughtful and smile a lot. A princess should be secure in who she is because she is strong in the Lord. She should shine with His light. She should be a person people long to be around. She should be a Proverbs 31 woman. A Princess should carry herself with grace and dignity, but she shouldn't be afraid to laugh at herself. A princess is never stuck up and is always looking for ways to help others. A princess should be dependent on God.

Let me end this blog post with infamous Proverbs 31 chapter. Remember: YOU are a Princess.


10 A wife of noble character who can find?


She is worth far more than rubies.

11 Her husband has full confidence in her

and lacks nothing of value.

12 She brings him good, not harm,

all the days of her life.

13 She selects wool and flax

and works with eager hands.

14 She is like the merchant ships,

bringing her food from afar.

15 She gets up while it is still night;

she provides food for her family

and portions for her female servants.

16 She considers a field and buys it;

out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17 She sets about her work vigorously;

her arms are strong for her tasks.

18 She sees that her trading is profitable,

and her lamp does not go out at night.

19 In her hand she holds the distaff

and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

20 She opens her arms to the poor

and extends her hands to the needy.

21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;

for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

22 She makes coverings for her bed;

she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,

where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

24 She makes linen garments and sells them,

and supplies the merchants with sashes.

25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;

she can laugh at the days to come.

26 She speaks with wisdom,

and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

27 She watches over the affairs of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

28 Her children arise and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

29 “Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all.”

30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate