Worth Fighting For

The clock ticks. Slowly. Steadily.

You chew your pencil. Day dreaming. Staring.

You inhale. You exhale.

School, chores, work, church, volunteer work, hanging out, video games...these things fill your life, your spare time, your thoughts.

Life seems boring. Dull. Repetitive.

You want adventure. Excitement. Purpose.

You know what you could be doing. You know what you want to be doing. You know what you need to be doing. 

But somehow, these things often don't happen.

Life becomes grey. Purposeless. Worthless.

You need something. Something new. Something exciting. Adventure. Purpose. 

Something worth fighting for.

Every hour, dozens of abortions take place in the US alone.

Every hour, Dalits are raped and murdered.

Every second, a mortal life ends and an eternal life or death begins.

These are battles that are currently going on in your world.

These are battles most people either don't know about, or just chose to ignore. 

These are just a few examples of causes worth fighting for.

End abortion. End the raping and murder of Dalits. Show the lost the Savior.

You have a choice.

You can chose to ignore these ongoing battles like most people, or  you can fight. It's your choice.

No excuses.

There are things in this life that are worth fighting for.

Strange how things Change

My dear readers! I am back! Three months is so long and so short a time. Short in the way that its hard to believe that I haven't posted since then. Long in the way that it feels like I've grown up a lot since then. I don't know what it is about time, but it feels like you never have enough of it and it flies so fast. 

Funny thing about time. You love it and you hate it. You hate it when you can't wait for some specific time or event to come. You love it when it's there and when it's gone it's kind of a mixture of feelings. Love-hate relationship I suppose.

What's strange is change. It's strange how these two things we love and hate work together in perfect harmony to create the constant whirl of life. As time goes by everything around us changes - and we change. It's hard to find a solid, unchanging ground to stand upon, but once you find it, it will carry you through life - through all those changes - and it alone will be unchanging. This ground is God. This solid, unchanging, firm place is our Heavenly Father. The only One who will not change, who will carry you through life with all that change, whether good or bad, and will never let you fall. 

Maybe that's what has changed most in my life in the past three months. My feet have become even more firmly planted on that Solid Ground. Daily it seems like they can't be more firmly planted, but as the next day (or challenge) comes and goes, I am over and over again proven wrong. And how glad I am that I have been wrong so many times! Because for every time I am wrong my feet are planted more firmly and my eyes more set on that which matters most of all. Yes, both my feet and eyes go astray way too often from that which they should be on, but without fail He brings me back again. That's the God I serve. 

It's strange how things change. One day you think everything is great, nothing could go wrong; the next day the clouds overhead become dark and let loose their water; and the next, the sun shines out even brighter than before. You can't ever tell what the next day - or even the next moment! - will bring, but you know that the Rock you are continually standing upon will always be the same.

Thanks, Talia, for encouraging me to come back. :)

In Christ our Rock I stand,

Buttercup

50 minus 1 Q&A about me :)

1. High heels or boots? I trip without heels. Give me heels and I'd think you were trying to get rid of me. I like boots. :)
2. What time did you get up this morning? Sevenish I think...
3. What was the last movie you saw at the theater? Pirates of the Carribean 4. Not a fave but still a good movie. :)
4. What is your maiden name? Well, right now at least, it's my last name.
5. What is your favorite TV show? Well, seeing as I don't really watch TV besides a random NCIS guess that's my fave. xP
6. What do you usually have for breakfast? Cereal. *sheepish grin* I'm lazy in the mornings.
7. What is your middle name? Don't you wish you knew...
8. What food do you dislike? Olives.
9. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Let's make that plural...Undone by Mercy Me, Restored by Jeremy Camp, Underdog by Audio Adrenaline, and Over and Underneath by Tenth Avenue North.
10. What characteristic do you despise? Self-centeredness.
11. Favorite clothing? Blue jeans.
12. Anywhere in the world on vacation? Not all that hip on vacations. Missions trip? Now we're talking!
13. Are you an organized person? Can't stand my room a mess. Drives me bonkers.
14.Where would you retire to? Right here.
15. What was your most recent memorable birthday? This last one. Awesome possum to say the very, very least.
16. What are you going to do when you finish this? Homework.
17. Furthest place you have ever been to? Belize.
18. Person you wish you could meet? *wish* or *will*? If the latter, then my Lord!
19. When is your birthday? Not tellin'. Though a certain person reading this should know all to well...haha. You know who you are. Don't ask your brother.
20. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night.
21. What is your shoe size? Ultra tiny. 6-6 1/2.
22. Do you own any animals? Nope.
23. Any news you'd like to share? (I feel...interviewed. Like, "anything else you want to say?" Anyways...) I am going to try my hardest to get Go Ye Therefore out this Friday! Don't ask how much I've done...this month has been crazy. And...I'm the world's bestest procrastinator...
24. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? Many, many things...One that sticks out in my memory though is an interior designer.
25. What is your favorite flower? Sunflower. :) They're so big and bright and just seem like they're smiling at you.
26. What day on the calender are you looking forward to? hm....probably this Friday...Co-op, Teen Club water day, and sleepover! :)
27. If you were a crayon, what would you be? I don't know...probably a mix between hot pink (excited and happy) and sea blue (calm and peaceful)...depends on the time of day and who is around me.
28. How is the weather right now? Teasing. Holding all that rain up there and just blowing away from us and dropping all it's beautiful goodness somewhere else that doesn't NEED it as much as we do.
29. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My friend, Nona. (nickname)
30. Favorite drink? Water or Dr. Pepper. Depends...
31. Favorite Restaurant? Giovanni's. ooooh man.
32. Hair color? Blonde and proud of it.
33. What was your favorite toy as a child? Giraffee. :) And *was* isn't the right word... xD
34. Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter? WINTER!
35. Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla!
36. Coffee or tea? Neither. Aw man, that's the second time now...
37. Wish you were still young? What's that supposed to mean? I'm still high school.
38. Do you want to get married? Depends on what He's got in mind. :)
39. When was the last time you cried? Yesterday or the day before.
40. What is under your bead? Nothing but carpet.
41. What did you do last night? Sat in the dark. (Power went out)
42. What are you afraid of? Needles. O.O
43. Salty or sweet? oooh sweeeeet!!!
44. Best quality you have? I feel bad answering this question. I don't know...ask someone else...
45. How many years at the current job? Random babysitting job? Maybe a year. Maybe. 
46. Favorite day of the week? Sunday!
47. Favorite movie? Don't have one, but I love Fireproof, Soul Surfer (just saw it for the first time...LOVED IT!), Princess Bride...and others.
48. Have you ever had a crush on anyone? That's for me to know. Some of these questions are creepy...
49. Do you like finding all this stuff out about your friends? Oh yeah! Especially when it's peoples like Anna, who tagged me, because she knows  how to write and make you just die laughing.

If you want to do this, please feel free! :)

Have a SUPER DUPER FANTASTIC rest of week!!!
Love in Christ,
Buttercup :)

The Legal Mass Murder

It’s a mass murder that goes on both continually and legally. It has claimed 15,167,502 (fifteen million, one hundred and sixty seven, five hundred and two) lives since the year 2000. It tears families, friends, and a country apart. This ominous monster is known as Abortion.

          Abortion is the killing of unborn infants in the name of freedom. But what freedom is this? This so called freedom is the freedom to kill defenseless children, to end their lives that have hardly even begun, just so that the woman doesn’t have the “burden” of raising a child. But what freedom does this child have? If you are honest, then the only answer is that they have none at all. This unborn child has no say in whether or not their life will end right then and there. They are completely defenseless in the arms of the ugly fiend known as “choice”.

          Many people are unaware of how this monster works. And many people, like me, know as much as they can handle knowing. The act of abortion is utterly sick. It is brutal. The unborn child is not thought of as human excepting where the furtherance of science is involved. They are inhumanely murdered – taken from their only life support (their mother’s womb) and then they are killed in one of the many indescribable ways that man has thought up. When dead, they are used to further science, not buried or cremated like a normal human being. Their still forming, beautifully designed, little body is treated like garbage. Tell me there are not people that evil in this world who take pleasure in doing this! But there are.

          Here are a few reasons why you should not support abortion.

          1. By supporting abortion you are supporting murder – which is sin. Period. From the time of conception that baby is a human being – nothing less.

          2. The woman who goes through with an abortion usually regrets it. There have been many testimonies of women who had abortions having nightmares and hearing the cries of their baby whom they wanted dead, and other horrible things that only succeed in causing great grief, regret, and depression.

          3. You end a life. The numbers are unreal, the process horrific, the regrets exceeding painful. But the worst part is the fact that that child, that unborn person, doesn’t have a chance to live.

         

          I think that the most intelligent people on earth cannot truly believe that the unborn baby is not human. If life does not begin at conception then when does it begin? I think that doctors know deep down, even if they don’t admit it, that the unborn baby is indeed human. How can they not when they hear that little heart beat, feel the feet kick, see the baby suck his thumb? And then still, they can take that baby out of his or her mother’s womb and lay it on the table to suffocate, or worse – why?

          There is nothing good about abortion. Choice? Why should we have a choice? The choice to commit sin and not to commit sin is prevalent all day every day. Abortion is murder. Murder is sin. Abortion is encouraged; therefore murder (and sin) is encouraged by the giving of a choice.

          It very well may be that the way to end abortion is to steal away the hearts of those who carry them out – by communicating to the doctors the truth about the awful task they are carrying out and the implications of it. And then telling them of the love and forgiveness that Christ alone supplies.

          What will you do? Will you assent to the murder of innocent unborn babies? Will you allow it to carry on when you can do something about it? Will you promote this mass murder by your admission of being “Pro-Choice”?

*originally written as a speech for a homeschool co-op class assignment*

Healing Begins - Tenth Avenue North

So you thought you had to keep this up
All the work that you do
So we think that you're good
And you can't believe it's not enough
All the walls you built up
Are just glass on the outside

So let 'em fall down
There's freedom waiting in the sound
When you let your walls fall to the ground
We're here now

This is where the healing begins, oh
This is where the healing starts
When you come to where you're broken within
The light meets the dark
The light meets the dark

Afraid to let your secrets out
Everything that you hide
Can come crashing through the door now
But too scared to face all your fear
So you hide but you find
That the shame won't disappear

So let it fall down
There's freedom waiting in the sound
When you let your walls fall to the ground
We're here now
We're here now, oh

This is where the healing begins, oh
This is where the healing starts
When you come to where you're broken within
The light meets the dark
The light meets the dark

Sparks will fly as grace collides
With the dark inside of us
So please don't fight
This coming light
Let this blood come cover us
His blood can cover us

This is where the healing begins, oh
This is where the healing starts
When you come to where you're broken within
The light meets the dark
The light meets the dark


(http://www.christianlyricsonline.com/artists/tenth_avenue_north/tenth_avenue_healing_begins.html)

Hope's Song

Who cares that it's a kids movie? The song still holds a powerful message.

James - part 13 - "Not listening!"

Dear readers,

Last time I wrote of how we must ACT like Christians. James is still going on with this topic, so just read on. For now though remember this: what's inside comes out. Good and bad. Get the inside fixed by Christ and the outside will follow along.

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James 1:23-24

For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

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Take note that the first word in verse twenty three is the word "for". This word is in the same family as all the therefores and wherefores we already talked about. So remember what I said - if you find one of these, be sure to read what's next in light of what came before! With that in mind, let's go back and see what the last few verses were.

Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

James, it seems, is spending a lot of time on this, so we should probably take it pretty seriously. James wants us to know that we are not to be HEARERS of the word only, but DOERS also. 

Getting on to our current text: James tells us WHY we should be doers as well as hearers. He tells us the consequences of a mirage-like faith. A faith that in only in your head and not your heart. 

He writes that the person who is a "hearer-only" is like a man who looks at himself in the mirror, then turns around and  forgets what he looks like. We girls especially can see how crazy this is. The question I asked in utter shock at how stupid this guy was, was this: Why look in the mirror if you're just going to forget as soon as you turn around? What good does that do? I look at myself in the mirror - I know what I look like. I don't look, turn around, and utterly forget. If I did that once I'd probably give up on looking into the mirror! Just a waste of time if you don't remember. 

So what is James' point? "Hearers-(or Lookers-)Only" will disregard (forget) what they hear (look like). His point being that if you don't act on what you know then you are as bad as the man that forgot what he looked like the instance he turned away. You turn your back on Christ. You heard. Yes indeed! But you didn't act on it. You didn't believe in Christ while you had the chance, now you are nothing. You have disregarded and turned your back on that which you needed most. You have become unresponsive to the Gospel because you chose this world instead of Him. 

As a final note, I think it interesting that James puts in the little phrase, "and goeth his way". I believe this implies not only a turning your back on Christ, but also of a rebellious "going your own way"; going the way YOU want to go, not the way Christ has offered to you (which is way better!).

So, what is James trying to communicate to us? That if you only hear and don't do anything about it, then you are lost.

Don't just be a Christian in word, but also in action. That's the definition of a true Christian.

In Christ alone,

Buttercup

A lesson from Toy Story 1? Oh yeah.

Near the end of the movie, when the toys are in the moving truck and Buzz and Woody are on RC trying to get into the truck, Bo Peep says: "Look! It's Buzz! Woody was telling the truth!" And among other comments by other toys, Rex says, "Oh great. Now I have guilt!" When he found that he had done wrong in accusing his friend of lying, he regretted it - he felt guilty.

This is what happens in our lives. At the moment, we may make false accusations on the basis of presuppositions, but later we may find out that we're wrong.

When you find that you have sinned against God; when you realize that you have done wrong, you feel guilty; you feel guilty because you know that you're wrong and God's right.

This line, even though it was in a slightly cheesy kids movie, is incredibly true when you think about it. "Oh great. Now I have guilt." It reveals that this guilt was very uncomfortable. It implies that guilt wasn't a thing to be treasured, caressed, and kept forever, but one of those things that "the sooner it's gone the better"!

The Holy Spirit (aka: your conscience) tells you "hey, that was wrong" - guilt. You KNOW you did wrong. This is called guilt. You feel guilty because what you did was wrong and you know it.

Guilt can lead to salvation. Once you realize that YOU have sinned against GOD - that YOU were wrong (guilt) - then you may choose to repent and believe in Jesus Christ. Or, you may choose to push that guilt behind you...not a happily ever after ending there.

So, we just got ALL THAT from a little line in a kids movie...wow. I encourage you, my dear reader, look around you. What lessons can you learn from the world around you when you compare physical things to spiritual things? There's so many out there! Just keep an eye out for them! Just be careful when you compare; you can get some pretty wacky doctrine by comparing the wrong things! The safest thing you can do is look at God's word first, then DO NOT go looking for comparable things, but rather, let them come to you. They will. Promise. :)

In Christ my Rock,
Buttercup