SOOO…WHAT’S IT ABOUT THEN?

If you read my “about” page, you’ll know I struggled growing up in a strict, legalistic Christian household. So does this mean I am no longer a Christian? Absolutely not. Throughout everything, I’ve always sensed Jesus was there for me; that he was extracting me from a toxic view of Himself.

I grew up believing everything in the Bible was to be taken literally. The mental gymnastics required of this viewpoint caused me to spend hours online and in the Christian bookstore pouring over Bible commentary, different translations and the Greek and Hebrew definitions of words in a desperate attempt to make everything fit properly. Nothing did, so I kept studying. And studying. And learning. And unlearning. And crying. And studying.

As it turned out, I unlearned a lot. I’m no longer concerned with making every scripture verse “fit”. I no longer read the Bible from a literal viewpoint, but rather a literary standpoint, (more on that later) trusting that God’s spirit will guide me in understanding what I need to know, and not worrying about the rest. All of that searching and learning led me to…Jesus. That’s all. My underlying, core faith is that Jesus has already done everything. I trust that.

 

The last thing I want to do is pretend I have all the answers, so this blog is not to convince you of anything, or to convert you, or to argue over common Christian stands (my days of trying to convince anyone that the earth is 6,000 years old are over! 🙂 I’m creating it to share my random (and sometimes crazy but always fun!) thoughts, theories, musings and whatever I learn. I am obsessed with books, blog posts, and basically reading anything (when I was a child I would read the cereal box while I ate breakfast :/).

This blog grew out of the outrageously long posts and comments I wrote on Project Inspired (shout out to any PI’ers reading this!) and I am truly, and 100% thankful to the girls on there who listened, argued and helped grow and evolve my faith. Love you guys!

“God” Moments

Have you ever experienced odd coincidences or just (good) weird things that you know are God?

A few weeks ago I was really struggling with some stuff, and just felt really heartbroken and sad. I was basically having one of those God are you even there?! moments. So I asked God to show me, in some way, that he loved me and was there for me. I was on the beach, and right after I prayed I started wondering how God might show me. Then I had the thought that maybe I would find some heart-shaped coral rock (the small kind that are mixed with seashells) so I asked God to help me find a piece of heart shaped coral, kind of as evidence that he was there.

So the beach was littered with coral and seashells, and almost every single piece of coral was roughly heart shaped. It was really weird. But I thought it might be a coincidence (or maybe that I was kind of seeing heart shapes in every piece since I was looking for it), so I prayed and told God I wanted a perfect very clearly shaped heart of coral, so I would know it wasn’t a coincidence. GUYS I FOUND ONE! Literally 2 seconds later, I picked up a small, perfectly heart shaped piece of coral.

Anyway, I’m just sharing this now, because at the time like I said I was really depressed, and even though I was happy to find my heart shaped coral I thought vaguely that maybe all coral was heart shaped and I just hadn’t noticed it before.

Hahaha guys all coral is NOT heart shaped (no duh right?). Most coral is not. I find it awesome that God made all that heart shaped coral for me when I needed it most.

God loves you, guys, and he’s always there for you. ❤ Your turn.

INTELLIGENCE

 

Awhile back I was studying science for school. The reading passage was surprisingly interesting; it made me think about how wondrously complex the earth is. It’s strange to think of all the incredible things going on around me (and in me) that I rarely give a thought to.

Consider this: right now the blood inside your body is transferring oxygen and nutrients to your cells, and carrying away metabolic wastes. It’s composed of plasma, white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. Each component consists of many different elements and has a specific job it carries out.

Your blood is only a tiny part of what’s keeping you alive and healthy. Think of the other incredible functions of your body that are so intricate, yet working in perfect harmony without you even having to think about it!

Now expand your mind and think of the rest of the world. Why is the sky blue?  What about the fact that the earth is spinning at a crazy speed yet we walk and run with perfect balance?

We consider people who understand and teach these things to be smart; but if we consider people who simply learn science to be smart, think how much more intelligent God is for creating these concepts in the first place! Think of the brilliance it would take to create trillions of particles and compounds and elements—each with a specific purpose and all working together perfectly.

In the past, I’ve never thought of intelligence as being a quality of God—of course I knew that He’s all-knowing and that he created everything, but I’ve always thought of Him in terms of love, wisdom, etc.

I encourage you to expand your view of God to include all His amazing attributes. We know God is wise, faithful, generous, and good. But he’s also brilliant, creative and so much more!

Do you realize what this means?

You were created by the most intelligent being in the entire universe—in all of existence!

Let that sink in for a second.

Not only are you the product of brilliance, but we are considered his masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10).

A masterpiece is a creator’s best work.

Imagine the mountains of Switzerland, or a waterfall splashing into a crystal clear lake. Imagine the infinite universe full of shining stars. Yet as awe-inspiring as these works are, God considers you his masterpiece.

You are the best work of the most intelligent and brilliant being in all of existence.

 

 

CREATIVITY

So I’m searching pinterest (as one does at 1:00 in the morning, why not right?) and I come across a list on how to be more creative. And I start thinking that there’s nothing I want more than to be creative because it’s so interesting. When you’re being creative, something new is happening, something is being discovered. So what is the best way to be creative?

Guys, it’s just by being you. By quitting your attempt to be someone else’s version of perfect, and being honest about what you truly believe, being true to your understanding of current issues, and following your curiosity and ideas, even if other people don’t understand.

 

So few people actually do this, so few people are honest about what they actually think, instead deferring to “experts” or just being what other people want them to be. Which, really, makes this creative living thing all the more interesting because there’s clearly so much to be discovered.