Low temperatures. Fireplaces on. Christmas trees. Decorations. Too much food. The smell of cinnamon. Hoodies. Family.
The holiday season make me so happy. I might be a little early this year, but when I actually enjoy going to Lowe's (my least favorite store in the world) because the Christmas stuff is out... well then, you know it's time.
I'm extra excited this year, but I'm not sure why. I feel like I must say that every year. The weather has finally gotten very cold. All the stores are completely covered in red and green decorations and I'm just happy. :)
I can't wait for Thanksgiving to come... and then go. Of course, I absolutely love Thanksgiving also, but the day after, Christmas trees get to go up. It's exciting. It really is.
This past Friday I spent all day with 4 kids and had such a great time. I realized that I actually love children. I used to always hear people go on and on about how young kids are a gift from God. Well, no lie. It's fascinating to watch them learn new things and interact with each other. I love listening to them tell their super long never-ending stories and hold on to my leg so I won't leave them. It's amazing.
So, we went to the playground, and since I had my camera with me, I decided to take pictures. Most of which turned out really good.
But now, as I'm sitting, with ear buds in, music on, ice pack on my neck, trying to recover from my tonsil surgery, I figured I could finally stop procrastinating and write this long, long, long awaited blog.
First of all, the new name.
Hephzibah: Me delight is in her; my delight is in my child.
Back, many, many years ago, the first BarlowGirl song that was ever produced was put as a hidden track on their very first self-titled CD. The song was called "Image." One of the lyrics says, "It's in me that my God takes delight."
Well, many years later, I discovered this band and this song. And I remember when I first heard Rebecca Barlow's testimony. In it she recited this verse that God spoke to her from Isaiah which says "You shall no longer be called forsaken or desolate, but you will be called Hephzibah, for it's in you that your God takes delight."
I didn't think as much of this back then... but just recently, this verse has become my favorite verse and Hephzibah has become my favorite word. I've pasted sticky notes with this verse all around my room and read it as often as I can. I think, [especially as girls,] we spend so much time telling ourselves how worthless we are or how ugly and forsaken we are... Which is either because of what we see when we look in the mirror, or what we hear from people around us, or whatever it may be. We take those thoughts and tear ourselves down.
I love this verse because it reminds us of how highly God thinks of us as His children. He doesn't want us to call ourselves those names, but instead He gives us a new name. And this new name, simply says that He takes delight in us.
I love HEPHZIBAH because at first look, nobody knows what it means. I love being able to explain to people that this is God's given name to His children for He takes delight in them.
Next, yes, I got my tonsils taken out yesterday. I've had throat infections for more than a month now and every time one would go away, a new one would come. I think I've been on about every antibiotic out there. And I am officially sick of medicine. So, after going to the Ear, Nose, Throat doctor, he said I had to have my tonsils removed immediately, and that's how I ended up here... in extreme pain.
Definitely not the funnest thing I've ever done in my life. But I did face a few of my fears so I guess that's a plus.
Thirdly, I can never seem to write a blog post without talking about a movie... so I just have one word: INCEPTION. If you haven't already seen it, then go see it. If you have, then go see it again. :) Seriously, the only movie that I didn't regret paying 10 ridiculous dollars for because it was that worth it. After all the hype about it, my brother and I went to go see if it was as spectacular as everyone claimed. Well, it was. We both walked out of the theater with mouths open, saying "whoa." It was just that good. I'd definitely pay to see it again.
Let's see... what else is going on? Well, I started my second year of college, which up until now was going great. I have 4 classes: Economics, Pre-Calculus, Psychology, and Spanish... and I've discovered one thing:
I. Love. Learning.
I absolutely love sitting in class and getting new things planted into my little brain. Then, I love going home and doing homework (depending on the amount) and telling people the new things I've learned. I feel like I gain more knowledge and get smarter everyday, which is a great feeling. I never want to stop learning.
Finally, I seriously have the best family in the whole entire world. I'm 100% sure they couldn't get any better and I'm extremely thankful for them everyday.
<3 Amy
Below I shall post some pictures I have recently taken and edited... I've been kind of obsessed with this editing website, picnik.com... If you want to see all of the pictures, then visit my flickr. Which is *HERE*
I am the absolute worst blogger ever.... I'm sorry about that.
So, I just recently thought of something I could write about.
Just a little while ago I was talking to an old friend and something just kind of hit me. I've been seeing something in my life that God has really been changing in me, and it's something that I think is really important. A lot of times in life, especially as Christians, we kind of see the need to "fix people" or to teach people the difference between right and wrong. We take this responsibility upon ourselves to help people in life by teaching them and guiding them. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that. But, sometimes I think we kind of do it in the wrong way. I see a big difference between helping people, and helping people. Yes, they are the same words, but I think the meanings are very different.
One way we help people, is by telling them what's right and what's wrong. When they do something that we know is not going to work out, we tell them that it's wrong. If we see something in another's life that we don't like or something that we know is wrong, then we tell them. We take our position in life as a Christian in a way where we have to help direct people in life. We kind of make it our job to show people the path they should take in order to live a "good" life. This is one way of helping people. Through my life, this plan hasn't always worked. With this kind of "help" I may be pushing this person out of my life. Sometimes, we may be farther ahead in life of the people around us. We may see things that they don't, and even if we do it out of care, I don't think that it's our place to tell them what they can't see yet. We put ourselves above them, and maybe even above God. Instead of letting God reveal things to them in His time, we push Him aside, by doing it ourselves. This may not always work.
Another way of helping is the one that I am trying very hard to work on. This is help through love and care. If I see something in someone's life that I think is wrong, or something that I think may not end up as they want it to, I don't tell them. I decide that it's not my place to correct them, but instead, I show love and support for their decisions. Obviously, in some cases, this may bot be the best decision, but for me, I think it's more important to show love for a person and support their decisions, rather than telling them they are wrong. I think that may be one thing about Christians that others don't like. We try to hard to fix everybody else. We try so hard to lead everyone in the right directions, instead of just loving people. We push God to the side and try to do His job. But this isn't our job. We just need to love people and care for them, and let God lead their lives.
I think that helping people through love and support is much more effective than just telling them they are wrong. Because honestly, people don't need to hear that they are wrong, and they may not take it as advice, but an attack. It's easy to lose friends by trying to direct their lives. Even in families, we have to be careful. We all have differnet feelings and we're all at different places in life. What we see in someone else, they may not see themselves. It's easier to just love them and support them, then to try and "help" them in another way.
By caring, loving and supporting, you are letting God shine through your life, instead of pushing God to the side and trying to do His job. He will change people in His timing. We can just love them.
Each and every one of you that's reading this should shake your head in diappointment. I've really been bad on writing this new post. I am so sorry. Every time I sat down to write it, I started and then stopped.
So, I've been thinking about this since before Christmas and hopefully I will finally sit here and finish writing it.
So, a lot of you might know that on May 21st of 2008, Steven Curtis Chapman, Christian artist and musician, lost his five year old daughter when she got accidentally hit by a car and passed away. I remember my mom and I crying when we heard that news back a few years ago. Both Steven and his wife were on Larry King a little while after the incident and I remember the extreme hurt they showed. The pain that was coming through their words. But, I also remember their extreme faith. Steven is still writing songs, he just recently released a new album. His two sons are also successfully making music. The oldest daughter is in Ireland with her husband working. And the other 2 little girls are being homeschooled by their mom.
I cannot even begin to imagine what this family had to be going through at this time. I follow all the members on twitter, and on a lot of days, they still express their pain. Like Christmas without their little girl.... they talk a lot about how she's happy in Heaven with her Heavenly Father right now. Sometimes it's so hard to watch them go through this. I don't know them personally, but through the music and through their blogs, you can hear their pain.... but this family has been such a huge encouragment to me. Their never ending faith is just so incredible. After having 3 children, Steven Chapman and his wife adopted 3 little girls from China. One of these little girls, Maria was the one that passed away. She got hit accidentally by a car that one of her older brothers was driving.
I can't even imagine how each of them must have felt. As a brother, as a sister, and a mom, and as a Dad. I am sure that they must have been angry with God... or even questioned God, like "Why us God?" "Why Maria?" But, even though they may have had this anger in the beginning, they now have a stronger faith than ever before. They know that God took Maria to be home with Him, and they know that she is safe with Him in Heaven. Steven wrote a new song on his new album called "Heaven is The Face." (Click name to watch video) that talks all about his little girl and how he misses so many things about her, but also how he's trusting in God until he sees his little girl's face again.
I think that so many of us would have given up on God in this situation. We would have just thrown it all away and given up. We would have blamed God and been angry at Him for taking away someone we love. What amazes me the most about the Chapman family is their faith and their trust. Their faith in Heaven and their faith that God will carry them through the hard times, and their faith that their little girl is safe in His arms. I can't even begin to think of the sorrow that they were and are going through, especially during the holidays and everything.... but it's that extrmeme faith that I think has brought them through these hard times.
Just the fact that this family didn't give up on God and didn't give up on each other is incredible to me. Sometimes, when something hard or bad happens in our lives, I feel like we get angry and blame God. We question God and we lose our faith, because something went wrong. But from this situation, I see that it's at those hard times in our life that our faith grows stronger. We gain more trust in God, because it's only Him that can take us through those times.
The Chapmans built a huge orphanage in China and named it 'Maria's Big House of Hope' after their little girl. That young 5 year old girl lived a short life, but I'm sure that her experience and her family have changed the hearts of many in the world, including me.
Just like the verse in Matthew, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to the mountain 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
This story makes this verse just speak to me. Just that small amount of faith can really take you through hard times. We can't give up on God. He will lead us through our lives, we just have to trust in Him.
So, I can feel and sense your excitement as Christmas is rapidly coming. I am also extremely excited... 5 more days :) And then, I am so thrilled to be finishing off 2009 and starting a new year. In the midst of everything that happened, I would still consider 2009 as one of my best years because I feel like I grew a lot. I learned a lot and blogged a lot.
But before I skip ahead too far, I want to do a Christmas post and then tie it in with a picture as well. Since, I am somewhat on time for once. It has been one week since my last picture post. So, I was thinking about Christmas. Obviously. Who couldn't think about Christmas when the decorations, movies, music, and food surround you day and night? But anyways, I feel like an average "Christian" would write a blog post saying, "keep Christ in Christmas. It's about Him not the presents." Which, don't get me wrong. I FULLY agree with 100%. But it sounds too automatic to say that. Instead, I am going to focus on something a little different. And it can basically be summed up in one word. Emmanuel. (or Immanuel)
Out of the whole story of the birth of Jesus, my favorite verse, or line, is the one that says this: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel --which means, "God with us." (This particular one is Matthew 1:23)
I think sometimes, we may read that and overlook the deep meaning and truth behind those three small words. I love to talk about and write about the presence of God, and how He will always be with us, through everything. It's just something that's important in my life and I like to share that. I never realized this in the "Christmas story" until this year when.... like usual, someone posted it on their twitter. I mean, I always knew the verse, and I always loved it, but I didn't realize until a little while ago how much it really meant to me. It's incredible how amazing God's works are. All the way back to the birth of Jesus, it's evident that God sent his son, giving Him the name Emmanuel to be with us forever. And, like one of my previous posts, it's all in His name.
I love how something from so long ago, is so important in many lives today. That name that was given to God's own son is a name that can mean so much to so many people today. The whole birth of Jesus, and the whole meaning of Christmas centers around this baby that was born to be with us, eternally, forever. And it's all in His name. Just the promise that is in those 3 little words is amazing to me. "God with us." It couldn't be more simple, yet it couldn't get more deep and meaningful. God is with us forever. For the rest of our time on this earth, and forever with us in Heaven when we will see Him face face. I feel like Christmas is one of those times when we remember this promise. Life gets crazy and sometimes we just get so overwhelmed and busy all the time, but I think that on Christmas, we can just relax and remember this promise that came out of Jesus' birth. The promise that God would be with us... now and forever.
Of course, I will be posting again in a week, or earlier... but in case I am late... I want to wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS. It's such a wonderful season. A great holiday to celebrate family, eat lots of good food, reflect on the year, and enjoy one another's presence all while celebrating the birth of that One who saved us all. It's pretty much amazing. :) So, I hope you all have a spectacular Christmas!
*Amy :)
"Hallelujah, Light has come. A child is born to save us all. Jesus. Hallelujah, we've been found. A Savior who will set us free. A promise for those who believe."
Nick Jonas recently made a solo album aside from his band, the Jonas Brothers. He made it clear that he was not splitting from them, but he just made a side project with a group of big musicians. The first single just came out, and it's called 'Who I Am.' I won't go into the music and how much I really like the single, but I want to talk about the second single that has not actually released, but was performed last week on a show. It's called 'Rose Garden.' Just a little while ago, Nick posted on his twitter that he realized in his [short] life- "Roses last a long time if you hang them upside down." Later, someone wrote back saying it was like relationships- "They are going to remain strong and beautiful for a long time, even when things are upside down."
I thought about this for a long time, especially after hearing the song because it's a beautiful song. It really is.
As if you haven't already figured out, I compare almost everything to people or life. Well, once again, I will keep it predictable. I kind of took the rose example in a different direction than relationships. I kind of saw it as a new picture.
Roses are beautiful, we can all say that. No matter what color they are, they're just beautiful. But what about the thorns? Those beautiful roses have thorns that can really hurt. It's almost like a "flaw" in the design of the rose. But even though roses have those thorns, those "flaws," it doesn't take away from their beauty. Which is pretty incredible. (To me anyways)
We are also like that. We have all those little flaws and we get so mad about them. Sometimes they may cause pain to other people, and sometimes we just want them to disappear. But, even though we have those "thorns" in our lives, they don't take away from our beauty. They don't take away from the person God created us to be, the beautiful person.
I know that this sounds a lot like my last post, but it's just a message that I think we can't hear enough. I, myself, strive so hard to be perfect. I try so hard to please everyone around me, because I don't like my flaws and I don't like those imperfections that [unfortunately] I have. But, the more I try to be different, and the more I try to be perfect, the more I lose myself. Of course, it's important to change and try to be better, but through that, we have to remember to be ourselves, and God will do the rest.
It also goes back to what Nick said about roses. When they're upside down, they last longer, and they are stronger and still beautiful. Even though sometimes we may think our lives are upside down and just messed up, we're still beautiful. And it may just be in those "upside down" times, that our beauty shines through the brightest. I think that sometimes, finding the imperfections that we have, makes us find ourselves, and who we really are. We all have those flaws and "thorns," and at some point, all of our lives have been or will feel like they are just completely "upside down." But it's in those crazy times, that we find who we are and we find that overall beauty that we have, just like the rose. One pointy thorn will not take away from the beauty that we (and the rose) will always have.
*Amy :)
P.S. In writing this, I totally forgot about Christmas! Sorry, this has nothing to do with December or Christmas :) Hopefully, the next post will!
Well, well, well... it's been a long time, hasn't it? I was just scrolling through my blog yesterday and realized I'm a few days overdue for a new picture... so today is the day.
(P.S. side note on my life- I am just a few hours away from my last final exam, therefore officially completing my first semester of college. And even more exciting... Christmas break starts! Yes!)
Ok, back to the blog...
So, my creative mind has failed me as I have had lots of trouble coming up with pictures, especially that relate to this season... I really wanted the Christmas theme to run through December all in my blog. Well, I probably write about this way too much... (in every post) but I found a picture and an idea... so here goes...
Food. It's not exactly Christmas related, but honestly, which one of us doesn't eat too much during this season? Yeah, nobody. We all eat like crazy. So, at this moment, I am actually eating some chex mix that my mom made. This one has a lot of different snacks and flavors in it... so here came the idea...
My Grandma made a cookbook this year for every member of our family that had a short biography and recipe for each person. My recipe was for Monster Cookies, and I remember writing in my biography that all the different ingredients are so different from each other, but when they come together in the mix, they make a delicious cookie. Just like Chex Mix.
Sometimes we put things in Chex Mix that we may not think go together too well. Right now, I've mixed pretzels, chex cereal, peanuts, Ranch, Taco seasoning, crackers, wheat thins, and more all together in one little baggy. When you think about it, it doesn't sound so great, because each of these foods is so different. But the cool thing is, that when they all get mixed and jumbled together, they make a very great snack.
Now, let me get to how this applies to more than just food... We are all made up of so many different things.... (not biologically) but our interests and hobbies and personalities. Sometimes we like photography and dancing, or guitar and writing, or drums and art, or cooking and couponing. Whatever our interests are, a lot of times they all vary. Each hobby is different. I love to play guitar, but I also love to write. Two very different things. But all of our interests mixed together make a great mix... or in this case, a great person.
Sometimes there may be things in that mix that we don't like... a burnt pretzel or a flaw that we have. An imperfection or something we don't like about ourselves... and sometimes we think that that small little flaw or problems will ruin the whole mix... but once it's mixed in with everything else, it's actually ok. It tastes pretty good. I'm not saying that we should always ignore our problems... but I'm saying that we're not perfect and one little flaw in our mix won't ruin us. We all have so many great qualities and characteristics about us. Sure, we all have those imperfections, but they will never ruin us as a whole.
*Amy :)
"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
PSALM 139:14
