Reflective Essay

Hi everyone, this is an essay that I wrote for my english class about my year. I thought I’d share it with you. 😃

Reflective EssayĀ 

Have you ever looked back on your life, and realized that everything; every pain, every joy, and every ounce of beauty, has led you to where you are today? This has been my experience this year, as I look back on the past four years of high school. There have been times that I’ve felt like I was on top of the world, and there have been times when I felt like I’ve hit rock bottom, but I wouldn’t be who I am today without each and every valley that I’ve gone through. This year has been a wonderful experience for me, and I believe that I’ve grown spiritually, socially, and academically because of it. I’ve accomplished goals and have grown closer to my friends, feeling more like the real me than I ever have before.

This year, I’ve had the opportunity to sing a song that I wrote in aĀ talent show, a dream that I’ve had since freshman year. It took lots of hard work, as dreams often do, but I finally managed to accomplish that goal after years of hard work and dedication. Recently, I was chosen to sing Walk on The Water by Britt Nicole at my high school graduation, which I am very much looking forward to. Both chances to sing on stage have been blessings from God that I am very much thankful for. I have also had more opportunities to share my faith through the internet this year, as I started a blog and a twitter account, giving me a chance to be heard and hopefully, make a difference.

Socially, I have grown closer to my friends, and have realized that God is truly faithful to provide close friendships in your life when you least expect it. A couple of years ago, I dealt with a situation where I lost some of the people who I considered to be my closest friends. I felt really alone and wasn’t sure that I’d ever have friends that close again, but God has provided me with amazing new friends who have proved to stand by me through thick and thin. One of the things that I’ve always loved about the Gospel is how Jesus calls all believers a family. Though I’ve been raised in my household as an only child all of my life, I can truly say that many of my friends are like brothers and sisters to me.

Lastly, I believe that I’ve grown immensely spiritually and as a person. Just a couple of years ago, I was incredibly shy and struggling in my faith more than I let on. Now, standing here today, I’ve become confident in myself, outgoing, and have never felt more alive in my faith. I used to think these things would all come at once, but they’ve come slowly, as God has helped me grow a little more each year. And, I’m all the better for it. I don’t claim to have it all figured out, because I’m still learning, but I’ve come a long way since I was that 9th grade girl walking through the doors of her high school career. I have developed in my hobbies of singing and writing and have learned how to use them for the glory of God. I’ve made new friends, and have grown closer to old ones, as we’ve navigated this thing called ā€œhigh schoolā€ together. I’ve taken a theater class for three years, and have laughed until my sides hurt with many amazing, talented peers. I’ve lived through four years of high school and realized that I never could have dreamed it would turn out this great.

This upcoming year, I’m starting college. I know it will be new and in some ways, quite different from what I’m used to, but I also know that I’m strong enough to handle it. I would like to close with a thank you. Thank you to my friends, to my classmates, to my teachers, to my family, and to all of you who have forever affected my life. Times change and years pass, but memories forever remain, and I believe that these four years are a time in my life that I’ll always remember; a period of my life that I’ll never forget.

 

 

Summer Playlist

Hey everyone, summer is in the air and you know what that means! Beach trips and summer vacations! Thus, I decided to make a playlist of some of my favorite upbeat Christian songs to enjoy the summer with. I hope you enjoy! ā¤

  1. Ready Or Not by Britt Nicole
  2. Sunshine Girl by Britt Nicole
  3. Shine by Salvador
  4. Heaven by Salvador
  5. Waiting For Tomorrow by Mandisa
  6. If You Say Go by Blanca
  7. Turn Up Your Light by V. Rose
  8. Light For You by Anthem Lights
  9. Free To Be Me by Francesca Battistelli
  10. It’s Your Life by Francesca Battistelli
  11. Starry Night by Chris August
  12. God Is On The Move by Seventh Time Down
  13. Origional by Royal Tailor
  14. Making Me New by Royal Tailor
  15. Dive by Steven Curtis Chapman
  16. Save Your Life by The Newsboys
  17. Live With Abandon by The Newsboys
  18. Show Me What It Means by Meredith Andrews
  19. This Is Not A Test by TobyMac
  20. Backseat Driver by TobyMac
  21. Ā I Feel So Alive by Capital Kings
  22. Fireblazin’ by Capital Kings
  23. What Are You Afraid of By Kerrie Roberts
  24. Closer To Your Heart by Natalie Grant
  25. The One by Brandon Heath

 

Stewardship

Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others. Be good servants of God’s various gifts of grace.” 1 Peter 4:10

Stewardship is a concept that has been around for years. It’s earliest origins trace all the wayĀ back to the Garden of Eden, whenĀ God placed humans as stewards over the land. Many churches have taught courses by Dave Ramsey and Larry Burkett and if you’ve been in church long enough, you’ve heard the “tithe talk”. But, is stewardship only limited to finances?

I used to see it that way. Admittedly, theĀ past, when I’ve heard the word “stewardship” I’ve let out a bit of an internalĀ exhale. As an extreme right-brain-creative-people-person, things that pertainĀ money and numbers tend to make my brain feel like it’s going to spill out of my ears. I have a lotĀ of respect for people who are interested in finances (after all, without them, we’d all be in trouble) but for me personally, financial termsĀ tend to sound a lot like gibberish.

But, recently, God has helped me realize something: stewardship isn’t just a financial word. It relates to every single thing in our lives. Even if we’reĀ young enough to not have much of an income, weĀ can still be good stewards of ourĀ resources.

Our time? Stewardship.

Our relationships? Stewardship.

Our spiritual gifts? Stewardship.Ā 

Our dreams? Stewardship.

Stewardship, in short, is basically offering everything we have back to God as a gift. Psalm 24:1 saysĀ “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” If your best friend asks you to look after her dog while she’s out of town, you’re going to take good care of that dog; you’ll feed him, take himĀ outside, and make sure he doesn’t escape. This is what God wants us to do with everything that He’s entrusted us to.

Use our time well.

Invest in our relationships.

Share our talents for his glory.

Chase our dreams in a way that points back to God.Ā 

God calls each of us, from the wealthiest to the poorest, to be a steward.

We are each called to steward different things, just as Jesus teaches through his Parable of The Talents, but we all have gifts that God wants us to steward. Stewardship, in short, is a call to obedience and wisdom. A call to wisely let ourĀ blessings overflow in a way that blesses others. A call to live, love, and give to the fullest.

How can we, in each of our unique places of life, steward our relationships, our dreams, our talents, and our time in a way that points back to the Creator of all of these things?

So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship.” Romans 12:1. ā¤ļø

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Get To Know Me Tag

Hey everyone, I just got tagged by my online buddy Mfon from Dainty M. Thus, I’m going to answer this awesome questionnaire and tag Ā some people to pass this on to!

So let’s get to it!

Vital Stats

Name:Ā Courtney

Nicknames: None, although one time my theater class decided to create nicknamesĀ for each other based on the last letters of our names. Thus, my nickname in that classĀ was temporarily “Ney”

Place of Birth: The East Coasts of America

Firsts

Best Friend: Mikaela. I haven’t seen her in years but I’d love to get back into contact with her!

Award: A participation award in a science fair and some kind of Webkinz trophy (Remember that craze?)

Sport:Ā Basketball

Real Holiday: A beach vacation near home.

Concert:Ā A concert at a local mega church for Steven Curtis Chapman, the Afters, and Josh Wilson. šŸ‘

Favorites

Film: God’s Not Dead, Do You Believe, and Lemonade Mouth

TV Shows: Boy Meets World, Full House, Who’s the Boss, and Friends. (Nineties TV was the best!)

Color: Blue

Song: Right now, I’m really into The One by Brandon Heath and anything by Blanca Callahan, but I’ve also always loved Ready Or Not by Britt Nicole and I’m a huge fan of Fight Song by Rachel Platten.

Restaurant:Ā Chilis. TheirĀ fries are amazing!

Books:Ā The SouledOut Sisters by Neta Jackson, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and The Bailey Flanigan series. For classics, I love the book To Kill A MockingBird (Spoiler-It doesn’t actually have anything to do with mockingbirds).

Currently

Feeling:Ā Half asleep, lol!

Single or Taken: Single

Eating: Nothing at the moment, but I’m going to have breakfast soon!

Wearing:Ā Pajamas.

Watching: The letters show up as I type them (stole this from Katie but I find it very descriptive!šŸ˜€ *I’m going to use Mfon and Katie’s answer here*

Future

Want Children:Ā Way too far in the future to think about right now, lol!

Want to Get Married:Ā Dito.

Careers in Mind:Ā Writer, lyricist, and educator

Where You Want To Live: My current state, but I want to visit New York one day.

Do You Believe In

God:Ā Absolutely!

Miracles: You bet!

Love At First Sight: Yes in the movies, but no in real life. *Again, taking Mfon’s answer here because I agree with it.*

Ghosts: Spirits, yes. Ghosts, no.

Heaven: Yes!

Hell:Ā Yeah, but because of Jesus we have the opportunity spend eternity in Heaven.

Kissing On The First Date: No.

Yourself:Ā Yes, God’s helping me to become a little more confident each year. 😃

Now for the new nominees!

Fearfully Wonderfully Me

Christian Song MeaningĀ 

Agape Love For You

AschultingĀ 

Anyone else who reads this and wants to answer it!

That Post About Being Healthy

“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” 3 John 1:2.

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Health. Though it is something that we know we all want and need, it can often conjure up interesting images in our head of crazed exercise trainers andĀ extreme diets. As I’m writing this, I’m remembering an episode of Friends where Monica goes completely crazy training Chandler. Rest assured, that is not what I’m advising in this post.

What this post is about is being all-around healthy. This means taking care of the temple that God has given us and making smart choices to feel great from the inside out.Ā We were made for something great, and we can’t accomplish God’s amazing plans for us if we feel like dog-poo. Because the Holy Spirit is literally living inside of us, it is our job to create a goodĀ home for Him. When company comes over, we take care to clean our homes and make them look nice for our guests, so how much more effort should we put into the place where God resides? Thus, here are some tips for living healthy and being healthy!Ā 

  1. Eat well-Few things can affect our physical well being more than the fuel that we put into our bodies. This isn’t just aboutĀ addingĀ fruits and vegetables (Though that’s important too!) but also knowing what your body can and cannot handle. Some people have allergies and intolerances to certain foods; which could either require a cutback on those foods, or a complete cut-out. Recently, I found out that I was gluten intolerant. It’s not severe, like an allergy, so it took me a while to figure out that it was causing problems. At the beginning of this year, I noticed that was sluggish, having trouble concentrating, and generally feeling down. One morning, I had a gluten-free waffle and realized that I felt better than I had in months. From there, I began cutting gluten out of my diet and have felt much better since then. And, they make gluten free desserts like cupcakes and cookies so this doesn’t mean that I have to give up my sweet tooth! šŸ™‚
  2. Exercise-This is probably this most difficult one for me. If you’re the kind of person who would prefer a book to a day at the gym, exercise mayĀ very well feel like a drag. But, there are other ways to get exercise besides typical working out stuff, like swimming, playing a sport, or dancing. Basically, the point of exercise is to get moving, feel good, and stay healthy!
  3. Be spiritually healthy-I cannot stress this one enough; honestly, it should be first. Staying spiritually important means staying close to God, reading your Bible and praying. Admittedly, I’m not always great about keeping up with daily Bible reading, but I’d like to get better! Being spiritually healthy also helps you stay emotionally healthy, make good choices, and have good relationships with others!
  4. Be emotionally healthy-This means enjoying and savoring the life that God has given us and taking care to work through problems rather than letter them fester. Some things that can help with emotional health are enjoying a good book/movie, spending time outdoors, listening to music, and spending time with family and friends, with brings me to my next point…
  5. Surround yourself with family and friends-It is so important to have close relationships with other people. God didn’t create us to be cut off from others, that’s why He created both Adam and Eve. That doesn’t mean that everyone has to get married, but it does mean that everyone needs people. Even the most introverted person needs friends. Take the time to invest in your friendships and keep them strong. There are few blessings greater than the people that God has placed in our lives!

How about you? What do you do to stay healthy? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section!

 

1 Timothy 4:12 Girl Mission Statement

I have been blogging for a while now, and one of my hopes for this blog is that it is each thread of writing is a pieceĀ that inspires.

I’ve read many bloggers and authorsĀ who have inspired me in my own faith, including but not limited to Emily P. Freeman, Neta Jackson, and Sarah Bessey. These authors all focus on the beauty of living into God’s best, and that is a theme that I try to emphasis on 1timothy412girl.

Each oneĀ of us, regardless of are callings, backgrounds, and life situations are called to something beautiful by the God and Creator of the universe. This may look different for everyone, as we live in an incredibly diverse world of various callings and vocations, but I believe that whatever God’s plan is for our lives, it is bound to be out-of-this-world, which brings me to my next point…

I believe that we are living a story, and God is our author. We all have individualĀ stories, but they are all connected, which is why I try to highlight different testimonies on this blog by posting links to the experiences of fellow believers. When I address different social issues on my blog, I try to take in account real-life stories that correlate to the topic. In one blog entry, I posted a link about a girl who overcame cancer. In another, I posted a story of a guy who found incredible friendship and community in college. Most of the time, I try to focus on positive accounts, but at times,Ā I have linked to more downtempo stories to raise awareness for situations that I don’t believe are being handled well.

In many of my topic-centered-posts, I’veĀ chosen to focus on topics of faith, staying true to ourselves, and following our dreams, as those are all topics that are very important to me.Ā We are all called to shine for Jesus through both our unique shades of personality and through our hopes and dreams. Thus, this is also a point that I have emphasized throughout my time blogging.

Ultimately, in each post and each letter, I try to glorify God. I try to follow where I believe that He’s leading and make my blog a song that sings to my Creator.

I look forward to continuing my blog and would love any suggestions that you have for future blog-entries. Feel free to post your ideas in the comments section! 😊

Role Models

A couple ofĀ months ago, I did a two part blog about being a role model; and lately, I’ve been thinking about something closely related.

Having role models.Ā 

Speaking from my own life, I can testify that God has put many people in my life to help me grow. Some ofĀ have been friends, others have been teachers/leaders, while still others public figures who I’ve never met in person.Ā At a time when I was struggling in my faith after a particular incident at my old church, God brought fellow Christians who became like a mini-church into my life. More recently, I’ve been inspired by authors like Emily P. Freeman, whose books shine inĀ authenticity, and Karen Kingsbury, who managed to be superĀ -successful in the humbleĀ genre of realistic-Christian-fiction.

I’m sure that if you looked to your own life, you can find similar examples of role models and friends who have helped shape the person you’ve become. Maybe it was a teacher, friend, or writer. Regardless of who it was, I believe that we all have crossed paths with people who have impacted our lives profoundly.

Since role models are people who influence us, I believe it’s important to pay attention to who we’re looking up to. From my own readings of Scripture and my own life, I’ve found that there are a couple of important things to keep in mind.

  1. When you look to a person for guidance and wisdom, make sure that person is looking to God-Hebrews 13:7 says “Remember your leaders who spoke God’s word to you. Imitate their faith as you consider the way their lives turned out.” It’s super important to have role models who share ourĀ faith. By having Christian role models, weĀ get the chance to see what living out our faith looks like ten, twenty, and thirty years from now. It can also help us stay on the straight-and-narrow path.
  2. Make sure the person isĀ wise, and known for making good choices.-1 Corinthians 15:33 says “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.“” Though no one is perfect, it’s important to find role models/friends who are committed to making good choices and following Biblical standards.Ā As we set guidelinesĀ for ourselves of what we will and won’t do in life, it’s important to find others committed toĀ similar patternsĀ of living.
  3. Be sure that the people who you consider role models have good character-Galatians 5:22-23 says “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” This one is similar to the last one, but focuses on the character qualities of the person, or the “fruit of the Spirit” As Christians, we’re called to live out this fruit, and thus, the people we look up to should also share in these traits.
  4. Above all, always remember to ultimatelyĀ follow in the footsteps of Jesus-John 8:12 says “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ā€œI am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.ā€” Lastly, our ultimate role model should be Jesus, who calls us to a radical kind of grace. He taught to turn the other cheek in a world filled with violence, to love our enemy, and pray for those who persecuteĀ us. He is and always will be the best role model a person can have.

Who has impact your life? I’d love to hear about it in the comments section!

 

One Poem

OneĀ 

From the first two people made

To those standing here today

We are one

From the southern country hills

To the towering skyscrapers built

We are one

From the wealthy one-percent

To thoseĀ struggling to pay rent

We are one

From those looking forĀ a place to stay

To those who hide away

We are one

From the woman to the man

To nationalities of every land

We are one

God came down as person

Though none of us deserve Him

He sent His Son

And because of His amazing grace

We’re one big family in His embrace

We are one.

Written by Courtney Whitaker at 1timothy412girl.wordpress.comĀ 

Feel free to share this poem, but please link back to my blog for credit. 😊

Self Image

ā€œYou are the only you God made… God made you and broke the mold.ā€
― Max Lucado, Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot

Is this the right answer? I don’t want to sound stupid…

How will people perceive me based on my clothes, weight, height, hair color, etc. etc. etc.Ā 

Does this tweet make me sound too quirky/serious/nerdy/ditzy?Ā 

Oh great! I missed that shot! Now I look horribly un-athletic/un-cordinated!

At some point, all of us have dealt with these attacks. Attacks on our self image, and how we perceive ourselves. It can come in the a variety of forms, as shown above, ranging from appearance, to academics, to athletics.

Personally, I’ve always struggled with the tendency to define myself by my academic ability and competency. As a child,Ā I literally used to feel a sense of defeat over B’s on tests, because in my mind, it should have been an A. And,Ā If I don’t know how do something, I often get discouraged and refuse to ask for help. One of my most frequent phrases during my childhood years was “I’ll do it myself.”

I’ve improved in these areas, but at times, I still find myself reverting back to these patterns of thinking. Maybe you have a different aspect of self image that you struggle with. Perhaps yours isĀ with the mirror, a hobby, or how others perceive you. It’s different for everyone, but it all has the same root.

Every time we see ourselves as less than God’s wonderful creation and child, we’ve believedĀ a lie. Psalm 139:14 says “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,Ā I know that full well”. Emily from fearfullywonderfullyme.com once said in her post The Most Beautiful Girl, that if we don’t love ourselves, we cannot love God or others to our fullest potential. We are made in God’s image and we are His masterpiece. Matthew 22:39 even says that we are called to “love our neighbor as ourselves.”

To paraphrase Pastor Dave from God’s Not Dead, if God is incapable of making mistakes, than can each one of us be a mistake? Of course not! We are all here for a purpose andĀ when God made us, He broke the mold! As hard as it can be when society tells us that we’re supposed to live up to a certain standard, we need toĀ remember we were neverĀ meant to be like everyone else. We were meant to be us.Ā 

All of our quirks and appearance “flaws” are part of the the beauty of God’s creation. Just as a flower glorifies God by being a flower, and not a tree, we glorify God by being ourselves, and not someone else. Imagine how boring it would be if everyone looked the same and had the same talents. We were made to be different. God gives us different gifts so that we can glorify God through our own unique talents.

Next time you feel discouraged orĀ struggle with self image, remember this.

Different is beautiful.Ā 

And, in the words of Jonny Diaz, there could never be a more beautiful you. šŸ™‚