A Trip to Africa?
suggested by Pachydom Elephant Decor
“Have you ever considered taking a trip to Africa? What would be your favorite thing to experience in such a country?”
Out of all the places I would like to travel to, Africa is probably number two on my list (Israel is number one). There are two things in Africa that I would love to do: go to Egypt and go on a safari.
Who honestly wouldn’t want to go to Egypt? The country sounds fascinating. I’d love to see the pyramids, the Great Sphinx, and the Valley of the Kings. Those are only the most-known attractions; I can only imagine what else there is to do and see in Egypt since I have not really looked into it before.
I’m not so sure that I really would want to go on an African safari. I mean, how fun does that really sound? Not very. Just kidding. My bedroom is African safari-themed for crying out loud! I would love to go on a safari. Seeing lions, cheetahs, leopards, rhinos, elephants, hippos, giraffes, zebras, gazelles, wildebeests, and so many other animals up close would be so cool. I really hope I get the chance to go on a safari one day. As cool as going to Egypt would be, going on a safari would be much cooler.
My Bucket List
suggested by confoozled.com
“Just like the movie ‘The Bucket List’, create a list of things you want to do before you die.”
I’m only 17 (18 in less than a month), so some of these goals might change, and I’m sure plenty will be added, but here’s an idea of what is on my bucket list:
1. Write a book
2. Ride a gondola in Venice
3. Go canoeing or kayaking
4. Learn to ski
5. Become fluent in Spanish
6. Learn Greek
7. Learn how to play a musical instrument
8. Ride in a hot air balloon
9. Go scuba diving
10. Go white water rafting
11. See the Grand Canyon
12. See the Amazon Rainforest
13. Go to Israel
14. Go on an African safari
15. Go to New York City
16. Go to Disney World
17. Go to an island
18. Visit all 50 of the United States
19. Go on a cruise
20. Get a college degree
21. Get married
22. Have kids
23. Meet Josh Hamilton
24. See a game in every major U.S. sports league
25. Go on at least one mission trip
26. Have a pet
27. Swim with dolphins
28. See the Olympics in person
29. See Thousand Foot Krutch perform
30. See someone from Reach Records, Cross Movement Records, or Lampmode Records in concert
31. See a Super Bowl in person
32. See the Kentucky Derby in person
33. Adopt a child
34. Travel to all 7 continents
35. GLORIFY GOD!
Please share some items on your bucket list in the comments. I’d love to hear about them. 
I used the following website to help me come up with ideas:
http://www.squidoo.com/100things
My Last Blog Entry…
suggested by DS Fly Fishing
“If you could post only one more blog entry forever, what would you say?”
Thank God that barring any unforeseen event, I don’t have to worry about this being my last blog entry ever. If it was, however, this is something along the lines of what I would say:
What you’re about to read is perhaps the most important thing you could ever read. You’re probably thinking, “How in the world can you possibly judge what the most important thing I could ever read is?” That’s a decent concern. However, if there is a place of being with God and being free from pain and sorrow forever (heaven) and another place of eternal punishment (hell), wouldn’t you want to know for sure how to get to the former place and avoid the latter?
I start with a question: Are you a good person? You’re likely thinking, “Yes, I’m a good person. I don’t kill people. I’m not a rapist. Look at me compared to so-and-so. I don’t do half the bad things that he/she does.”
Here’s a test for you:
Have you ever lied?
Have you ever stolen anything—regardless of its value?
Have you ever used God’s name in vain?
Have you ever looked at a man or a woman with lust? If you have, you have committed adultery within your heart. Jesus said, “Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28).
That’s just four of the Ten Commandments. How’d you do? If God were to judge you by those commandments, would you be innocent or guilty? Would you go to heaven or hell?
God has to punish sin because He is perfectly holy and sinless. The place of punishment for sin is hell. Everyone on earth deserves to be sent to hell for breaking God’s commandments and sinning against Him. However, the good news is that God provided a way to be saved from eternal punishment in hell. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth to live a perfect life, die on the cross for the sins of those who would believe in Him, be buried, on the third day rise again, and ascend into heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father. Whoever repents and believes in Christ and His finished work on the cross will be saved and inherit eternal life. Believing in Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved; no amount of good works could ever merit salvation for “all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).
Repent and believe today. You might not live to see tomorrow, so do not think, “Oh, I’ll get right with God when I’m older.” Today is the day of salvation. Nothing is more important than where you’ll spend eternity.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment.
“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
~Romans 10:9
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
~John 3:16
The Scavenger Hunt of my Life
suggested by Gaia Community
“If this week were a scavenger hunt, what would it be for? What are you searching for these days? What do you want to find? “
I have been searching for a greater knowledge of who God is and for a closer relationship with Him. Like in a scavenger hunt, finding what I am searching for is not always easy. In fact, it hardly ever is. Growing closer to God is a struggle for everybody. Now try growing closer to God without a solid, biblical church and Christian friends and with an environment where you have to keep your faith on the down-low, praying and reading the Bible in secrecy.
I cannot let my circumstances stop me from growing closer to God, however, but I believe that I have been doing just so. I feel like I’ve been at a standstill in my relationship with God, not really growing for months.
That must not be so! I want to grow closer to God every day—no, every moment—of my life. I want to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him with my life. I can’t exactly say that is what I am doing right now. I feel like my love for God is so small, and my service to Him is even smaller still. I want to be so consumed by a love for God that I would be willing to lay down my life at any second if that’s what would give Him glory. I want to live my life following the Great Commission at all times, all because of a great love for the One who died for me.
That’s what I search for; that’s what I long for. The only problem is that I have no idea how to get there.
I conclude with a Bible verse and a song (“From the Inside Out” by Seventh Day Slumber) that describe the sort of yearning that I have inside for God.
“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God…”
—Psalm 42:1-2a
Living in the Country
suggested by Hogscald Hollow
“Have you ever dreamed of living in the country? Where would your ideal “country” home be located?”
I don’t know if this is weird or not, but my ideal situation would either be to live in a large city or live out in the country. This in-between stuff that I’ve dealt with my entire life is just not for me. I either need the excitement of the big city with all its sporting events, concerts, restaurants, stores, etc. or the adventure of the country, being surrounded by beautiful nature.
So yes, I have dreamed of living in the country. Those dreams come to the forefront when my family is taking a vacation to the Black Hills or Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. There is a special place in my heart for those places. I dream of living somewhere in the forest, in the mountains, near a river or a lake, being surrounded by God’s creation. I dream about the adventures I could have hiking, fishing, canoeing, and whatever else I could come up with. The possibilities are virtually endless.
I’ve grown up in a family that doesn’t take advantage of the “great outdoors.” We’ve never camped and never hunted. We don’t own a boat. I’ve only fished twice. My dad goes crazy in Theodore Roosevelt National Park because of the slight possibility of encountering a rattlesnake, and he does likewise in Yellowstone with the possibility of encountering a bear. It’s great to be careful about such things, but living your life in fear isn’t good. One can enjoy nature so much more if he or she decides to embrace nature and all it has to offer and not live in constant fear of what might happen.
Because I got to experience the wild so little, I took full advantage of every chance I got on vacations to the Black Hills and Yellowstone. My brother and I went exploring at every opportunity, climbing up boulders, trying to get as close to waterfalls as possible, doing whatever we could to enjoy ourselves. Those are some of my favorite memories. Experiencing such things daily would be such a blessing.
Would I get lonely sometimes? Yeah. However, being isolated from city life would be so wonderful for me with all the adventures and beauty that the country has to offer. Who knows, maybe I’ll live in the Black Hills or in the mountains and forests of Montana and Wyoming one day.
Money buys happiness? NO WAY!
suggested by The Occasional Editorialist
“They say that money can’t buy happiness. Do you believe this to be true?”
Money may bring us to a vain, temporal happiness, but not true happiness. In the Bible, Solomon, the richest king the world had ever known, said this about wealth in Ecclesiastes: “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). While money may enable us to buy that new car or that boat we’ve been dreaming about, in the long run, it only leads to discontentment. Those who seek happiness in money and possessions will never be content with what they have, and their lives will be consumed with how to get more money and more possessions. That doesn’t sound like a happy life to me.
True happiness is found elsewhere. The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” How do we know how to enjoy God? The answer to the second question of the catechism states, “The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.” Thus, to understand true happiness, I will go to the Bible.
Hebrews 13:5 tells us: “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” God is enough to keep us content and joyful because He will never leave us. We can find true joy in God, our Creator. Our happiness was meant to be found in God.
From experience, I can say that this is true. My life is not easy. Try being a teenager in high school without friends. That’s not easy. Yet I am able to move forward and persevere. My only reason why: my faith in God. I honestly don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have a relationship with God right now. I find little joy outside of Him, and whatever joy I do find is only temporal. The joy I experience in God is eternal. I get to enjoy a relationship with Him here on earth and then, when I die, I get to be with Him forever, away from all the pains and sorrows of this world. That’s true joy.
It is hard to buy into the “money can’t buy happiness” philosophy, but we must, for we “cannot serve both God and money” (Luke 16:13). If we seek after money, we may find temporal happiness (or maybe not), but we will miss out on true happiness—having a relationship with God and enjoying Him forever.
Since I usually include a photo and/or video with my posts, I will conclude with “Satisfaction (Hedonist)” by Trip Lee that deals with true satisfaction:
I’ve Made a Mess of Myself on my Own
I hate when I am asked what my favorite song is. I just can’t do it. I wonder how anyone can honestly have ONE favorite song. I mean when you like as many genres as I do (granted I only listen to Christian music, but it is still a great variety), how can you choose just one? It is hard enough to have a favorite Christian rap song, a favorite Christian rock song, etc. If I ever even have a favorite, it isn’t long before I’m obsessed with another song.
So quite honestly, I don’t have a favorite song. However, in order to be able to answer this prompt, I will call “Already Home” by Thousand Foot Krutch my favorite song because I have been listening to it almost non-stop since I got TFK’s new CD.
Here are the lyrics:
The trouble with truth is it never lies
And the trouble with wrong’s
That it’s never right
So I rest my head under Your light
The trouble with peace, is it never fights
And the trouble with love’s
That it’s always blind
I want to walk to the edge of it
Tonight, and I fall downI am on my knees
‘Cause You’re everything I need
And I’ve made a mess of myself
On my own
Now I am on my face
And I’m calling out Your name
And I won’t run away
‘Cause I’m already homeThe trouble with tears is that they dry
And the trouble within
Made me wanna cry
I’ve never felt so much like I’m alive
I wanna open my eyes and see Your face
If I have to wait a thousand days
I’ll still be right here, right next to You
And I fall downAnd I know I haven’t always been
Where You wanted me
I’m standin’ here, arms out
Broken down
Before you
It’s such a beautiful song. There are parts that I really relate to, namely:
I am on my knees
‘Cause You’re everything I need
And I’ve made a mess of myself
On my own
Now I am on my face
And I’m calling out Your name
And I won’t run away
‘Cause I’m already home
The entire chorus is my favorite part of the song. I relate to it so much. I make an absolute mess of myself on my own. Leave me to follow my sinful passions, and I will destroy myself and everyone around me. I need God to step in and change my heart—and He has. I am a big enough mess with the Holy Spirit working in me making me to be more like Jesus; the mess that I would be without Christ is sad and scary to think about. When I make a mess of myself on my own, I need to fall to my knees and call out His name, rather than run away and make an even bigger mess trying to fix things on my own.
I wanna open my eyes and see Your face
If I have to wait a thousand days
I’ll still be right here, right next to You
I really like these lines. It describes the kind of patience and trust I have to have in God. It might seem like He isn’t answering my prayers and that He doesn’t care about me at times, but maybe He just wants me to “wait a thousand days” and have a patient trust in Him. We learn and grow so much more in adversity than when things are going smoothly.
And I know I haven’t always been
Where You wanted me
I’m standin’ here, arms out
Broken down
Before you
Then, of course, the ending of the song is so true. We need to recognize that we fall short of where God wants us to be, but that if we repent and ask for forgiveness with a broken and contrite spirit, He will grant it.
I find this song so relatable and so deeply profound. I hope everyone finds it to be the same.
I’m with the band!
suggested by Bri is unashamed. Are you?
“If you could become a member of any band, which would it be and why?”
A couple weeks ago, I posted another prompt of my own to mindbump. I have been planning to answer it since, but I’ve been busy with school. Now I’ve finally found some time to answer.
If I actually had musical talent, I’d much rather start my own band than join an existing band. My band would either do Christian rock or praise and worship.
But that isn’t the question; the question is what band I would join and why. My answer to that would vary from day-to-day, but two bands would likely be my answer most often: Thousand Foot Krutch and Casting Crowns.
I would so love to be part of the adrenaline rush that is Thousand Foot Krutch. TFK’s music hypes me up, and I’d love to help make such music. If I joined TFK, I’d do my best to influence Trevor and the other guys to write lyrics a little more Christian. Don’t get me wrong; there’s nothing wrong with their lyrics, but considering they are a Christian band and they have quite a platform, they should make their lyrics a little more Christian. But man, other than that, TFK is perfect. Their versatility is amazing; I love their rap-rock; I love their ballads; I love their adrenaline rock; I love their music period.
Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this?
As for why I’d want to be a part of Casting Crowns, it’s obvious. The impact that they are making for Christ is unbelievable. The lyrics to their songs are so inspiring. I’d love to be a part of the band and just minister to people and share Christ with them through the music and also away from the music. That would be so amazing.
I’d love to perform their wonderful new song, “Until the Whole World Hears.” It’s beautiful.
I should mention too that if I wasn’t so horrible at it, I’d love to be a Christian rapper. For those who don’t know the greatness that is Christian rap, here’s a taste:
When I’m Gone
I don’t want to be remembered for being rich, famous, or popular. Those things are of no eternal value. Living for such temporal things makes no sense.
Rather, I want to be remembered for living my life to the glory of God. I want to be remembered for living my life in a way that is pleasing to Him. I want to be remembered for having a heart for the lost and the broken. I want to be remembered for sharing my faith and for making disciples of all nations, as the Great Commission calls us as Christians to do.
If I’m remembered for things other than those, I truly wasted my life.
I fear that has been the case so far. If I died tomorrow, people would remember me as the nice, shy, smart girl. Do I try to be nice and should I be? Yes. Am I shy? At times. Am I smart? You decide. But if that’s what I’m remembered for, I’m living a wasted life. I should be remembered for someone who lived her life trying to glorify her Lord and Savior at all times.
I strive for righteousness. I strive to live a life that doesn’t bring shame to Christ’s name. I do a decent job of those things. However, I don’t go out of my way to make a difference in people’s lives and to tell them about Christ. People who don’t know me very well probably don’t even know that I’m a Christian. Surely they could guess since I don’t do all the things that everyone else does and of course, virtually everyone where I live is a “Christian.” I need to step out of my comfort zone and live an obvious Christian life.
That’s so difficult, though. It’s so much easier to go through life, making sure to read my Bible and pray everyday, and just live my life the rest of the day. It’s about time that I refuse to do the easy thing and strive to not waste my life. The only way to not waste my life is to live my life in a way that God is glorified at all times. I pray that God helps me to do as such. I ask that you pray for me as well.
I would most like to meet…
It’s funny how I was hoping that a prompt like this would pop up sometime, and it already does on only my third response to a prompt.
If you know me, you already know the answer. If you don’t, it’s about time that you know that I absolutely adore Josh Hamilton.
Josh Hamilton’s story of redemption is most likely the greatest I’ve ever heard, and that’s not hyperbole. If you don’t believe that God still does amazing things, I suggest that you take a look at what He has done in Josh’s life. It’s seriously amazing.
Rather than try to summarize Josh’s story myself, I’ll let Josh do the talking:
Here’s another good one:
If you’re a Christian, I don’t think there’s even a need for me to explain why I love Josh Hamilton, but I will anyway. The guy hits a record 28 home runs in the 2008 Home Run Derby and is asked during this year’s All-Star Break what his favorite part of it all was and he says that his favorite part was sharing Christ to millions on TV. Josh is using his platform to give glory to God on and off the field. I can only hope that I can live my life in a similar way.
Josh’s story gives hope to drug addicts and warns those who aren’t addicted to never even be put in a situation that could cause one to fall into an addiction. I hate the taste of alcohol, so I doubt I’ll ever drink, but even if I liked the taste, after hearing what happened to Josh, I really don’t think I would start drinking.
I hope with all my heart to meet Josh one day. I want to encourage him and talk with him about what God has done in his life. I think that would be so cool. Josh, if you read this, contact me, lol.
I’ll conclude this with the verse that Josh found so helpful when he was trying to get his life back together:
“So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
—James 4:7 (NLT)
