Tag: Christian

A Poem About Adulting (Part Two)

Courtney3 Comments

Good morning y’all,

I wrote sort of a heavy post yesterday, as I was frustrated trying to come up with a new blog topic and struggling with some personal things I’m dealing with in my own life. Thus, I would like to summarize my thoughts today in the form of a much lighter poem about adulting.

Please don’t take this post too seriously, as it’s meant to be comical.

Adulting

Job, job, where can I find you?

As the resumes fly here and there 

I am looking for one, searching for one anywhere 

At the store, in the morgue, oh job, you must be somewhere 

Taxes, taxes, the next thing 

Why must you be so confusing? 

With your numbers and your fancy words 

Your attempts to trip me up with your worth 

College, college, when will you start?

In my gap semester, it’s already March

With the essays and the homework that I miss so much 

Hopefully you’ll start soon, with any luck

Friends, friends, with too much to do 

When will I be able to hang out with you? 

With your classes, jobs, and miles away 

When will you come back to hang? 

TV, TV, my only hope 

To get me through this crazy road 

With your Netflix shows and weekly airings 

As my life seems to be disappearing 

I’ll get through it, oh yes I will 

Yes, before I know it, I’ll be over the hill. 

– By Courtney M. 

Feel free to post this to your blog, just as long as you link back to 1timothy412girl.com!

I promise to get back to more substantial posts soon!😜

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Some Thoughts On Labels

Courtney7 Comments

“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde 

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For most of us, labels are something we’ve grown up with. Even in the most subliminal way, many of us are familiar with some sort of labeling or another. Think about it—when you hear jock, what do you first think of? Probably not a straight A student or a profound kind of guy, right? How about a nerd? Probably not someone who’s super popular or has great social skills. This way of thinking can even expand into a particular aspect of our careers, schools, or race/ethnicity. In fact, in many ways, labeling is the very root of social ills such as racism and prejudice.

Thankfully, in the modern world, many of us have been warned against the problem of stereotyping based on one factor or the other. Many of us even try to make a conscious effort not to stereotype and assign labels that are irrelevant to the factor at hand. Nonetheless, there is one area where labeling still seems to be fairly common—gender. 

Even in the 21st century, many people still assign heavy stereotypes to one gender or the other. Girls are often thought of as being particularly “soft” or weak—while guys are expected to be strong and stoic. Girls are often thought of as being talkative and wordy while men are portrayed as quiet and annoyed by irrelevant conversation.

Nonetheless, like with most things, life isn’t always that simple. 

I remember one time, a couple of years ago, one of my guy friends got in the habit of saying that he’s not the typical guy. Oftentimes, I found this phase rather curious. I rarely compared this friend to the other guys we knew, but he often found a way of differentiating himself in his own mind—simply because he didn’t fit society’s idea of what a guy should do. Good, positive qualities such as friendliness, outspokenness, and introspectiveness were somehow dismissed as “not very manly”. Too often, we let this become the case—when virtues became vices, simply because they’re found in the wrong gender. 

I am not saying that a guy or a girl should never display qualities typical to their gender. As I’ve mentioned before, I have a serious vice for typically “girly movies” and enjoy dressing up when the opportunity presents itself. Nonetheless, we should never look down on girls for being strong willed and independent or guys for being sensitive and compassionate. God created these people in His image, and never meant for everyone to look or act the same. 

Some people, unfortunately, have tried to use the Bible to support curtailing someone’s natural personality based on gender, but the Bible never teaches this. Deborah, in Judges 4, was a prophetess, a judge, and a leader of Israel—and a serious example of a strong, independent, godly woman. Meanwhile, David was shown many times to be a sensitive and caring kind of guy—he wrote outstanding poetry, tended to sheep, and knew how to dance! The Bible never instructs women to be weak and needy and men to be overbearing and harsh. This is simply a construct of modern times, true in some cases and false in others. 

God created us all with different goals, ambitions and personalities for a reason. He values diversity in humans and never meant for us to be cookie cutters. He created every inch of our hearts, and wants to see us fulfill our God-given purposes through Him. 

Let us never be people who try to shrink the creation of a creative God.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.” Psalm 139:13-14

 

Some Thoughts On Patience

Courtney6 Comments

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

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I’m going to be honest with y’all—growing up is hard.

Statistically, millennials are the most stressed out generation of all four of the living current age groups (Millennials, Gen Xers, Boomers, and Matures), according to a study on apa.org. Obviously, the cause of stress is different across the board, but many of the concerns are universal. College (and the cost of it), major life decisions, and trying to make it are a few of the many things that most young adults think about on a regular basis. Even for those still in high school, stress can be rampant, between bullying, peer pressure, and deciding on a future career.

Heck, even middle schoolers and elementary school students battle stress in some form or another! 

As a Christian, stress can be slightly easier to manage. There’s the assurance of a personal God who hears your prayers, a community of believers for support, and the Bible to turn to during our toughest seasons. Nonetheless, we still live in the world and have to find a way to deal with the pressures that come with it. Each of us have unique situations and drives that make us susceptible to some kind of stress or another. 

For me, I’ve always been an overachiever. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it often causes me to put huge amounts of pressure on myself to succeed. Wanting so much to be successful in life, I often find myself spending my thoughts and energy worrying about how to achieve my goals. Sometimes, it even causes me to envy those who seem further along than me—which as a Christian, is always wrong.

Meanwhile, in a crazy, stressed out, maddening world, Jesus calls us to do the opposite of what the world says. He tells Mary—the model overachiever seek him before her duties. He calls fishermen to be His disciples. He accepts the humble sinners over the knowledgable proud.

He tells us that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains.

I truly believe that if God has put something on your heart, He’ll work out the details of it in time. Nonetheless, sometimes God’s timing is different than our timing. Sometimes, He says to “seek first the Kingdom Of God and all of these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). God has a plan for your life—but sometimes, those plans take time to unfold. Many of my hopes and dreams have taken time to come to pass, and I have no doubt that my current goals will take time and patience as well. That’s how God helps us grow. Before any dream, goal, or relationship, God wants to be number one in our lives. 

So many of us are Martha’s but God wants us to have the heart of Mary.

So many of us are worried about so many things, when only one is important.

This week, let us make a conscious effort to trust God with our stories.

After all, If we have the Maker of the stars as our author, how can we possibly go wrong? 

Some Writing Tips From 1 Timothy 4:12 Girl

Courtney4 Comments

Hey everyone, I’m back again with a new Thursday post – but this week, we’re changing things up again! 

Typically on this blog, I run posts about belief, inspiration, and current events. Nonetheless, this week, I decided to do something different. I still intend to keep this blog predominantly about those things, but this week I decided to write about one medium we can use to live confidently in Christ—writing!

  • More than likely, if you’re reading this, you’ve done some writing yourself, or have at least dabbled with it at some point. Personally, for me, writing has been a passion since my childhood. Thus, I would like to take this time to give some of my very own tips on writing. 
  1. Know Your Topic – This is vitally important to the process of writing. Whenever your writing, it’s important to know your topic like the back of your hand. If you’re writing an essay on photography, research photography, if you’re writing an article on the challenges of Christians in college, research what it’s like to be a Christian in college. This even applies to fiction—maybe even more so. When you’re writing a book, you need to have intricate knowledge of your characters, settings, and storylines. Oftentimes, I’ll even write character profiles, to learn even the minor details about my characters. The information may not all be used, but it never heard to have it on file for safekeeping.
  2. Get Feedback – One of the most helpful things for me as a writer is getting feedback on my work. It’s pretty easy with blogging, as you’ll sometimes get comments on your work from fellow friends and bloggers, but it’s honestly helpful in every form of writing. I often ask my mom and close friends to read my writing and give honest feedback about their thoughts and opinions. As a writer, it can be easy to get “stuck in your head”, reading your work so many times you can’t even tell a period from a comma. It can be helpful to get objective feedback when this starts to happen.
  3. Silence Your Inner Perfectionist – We are always our own worst critics. There have been countless times that I’ve either written something and obsessed over whether or not it was right or written nothing at all. When we’re writing from a place of perfectionism, it can be almost impossible to write authentically and creatively. Oftentimes, God will take our work in a place different than we expected, and that’s OK. Listen to that inner voice. Go with it. There might just be something beautiful there.
  4. Get In The Mood – Obviously this one could be turned into a form of OCD if taken to extremes, but many times, it can be helpful to write when we’re in our element. This means knowing when to take a break, and being aware that oftentimes, our moods can seep into our writing, for better or worse. It also means making your writing environment comfortable and natural. Oftentimes for me, it can be helpful to play music fitting to the tone of my writing, having the right amount of lighting, and being comfortable, but not the point that I want to fall asleep. For me, these things combined create the perfect writing atmosphere.
  5. Have fun with it – My number one rule of thumb for writing is that if I’m bored, the audience probably is too. Thus, I try to write things that I would want to read myself. Does it sound like the kind of book that I’d pick up? Would I grow to love this character if it weren’t my own? Does this topic sound like it would make an interesting article? These are the kinds of questions we should be asking ourselves as we go through the writing and idea process.

How about you? What writing advice do you have to share? Tell me about it in the comments section below!⬇️

What Is Love?

Courtney4 Comments

Philosophers have been asking it since the beginning of time, and with Valentines day only two days away, now seems as good as ever to discuss the meaning of love on my blog.

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As a Christian, my first and foremost source is the Bible—which contains everything we need to know about some of life’s greatest topic. Mixing poetry with history and truth, the Bible covers a wide range of some of our most explored topics—including identity, faith, grace, relationships, life, and death. Furthermore, when it comes to love, there is no shortage of Bible verses to guide us in navigating this difficult and ever explored topic.

In Scripture, we learn that we’re supposed to love our enemies (Luke 6:35), our neighbors (Mark 12:31), and Jesus (Matthew 22:37-38), our friends (Proverbs 17:17), and if married—our spouse (Ephesians 5:33). We also learn in John 15:13 that Jesus showed the ultimate demonstration of love— by laying down His life for each and every one of us, making us friends of God.

We are also given a description of what love, ideally, should look like in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, which reads that love is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, it does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs, and rejoices with the truth. It always protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres, and it never fails.

Please note that this is not some sort of impossible standard that we’re supposed to keep 100% all of the time. Some people have said that if your relationship with someone you loved didn’t perfectly match this standard, it wasn’t love. I don’t believe this is either true or Biblical. The only one who fulfills all of these things all of the time is Jesus Christ—who is the personification of love in flesh. Jesus’ standards are always something we should aspire to, but as humans, we will never be able to love perfectly all of the time. All of us are living in the in between, where our ability to love is both broken and beautiful at the same time. We’re affected by the fall, but we’re also new creations in Christ, created to do good works and make this world a brighter and better place and point others to a perfect love in the form of Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, as likely many of us are aware of, even on a subconscious level, there are different types of love. C.S. Lewis breaks these types of love into four different categories—Storage, Philia, Eros, and Agape. According to Lewis, Storage is a general kind of love—the kind that we’re supposed to have for the world, Philia is friendship love, Eros is romantic love, and Agape is an unconditional love—like the kind that God has for us.
These different kinds of love each play a part in our life in various ways—from our close friendships, to our families, to our desire to reach lives. Each of these different kinds of love were created for a specific purpose, to touch the world in a unique way when used right and according to God’s purposes. Furthermore, the Bible gives instructions on how to wisely steward each of these loves—teaching us how to love in our greatest capacity and in the most beautiful ways.

This Valentines Day, let us strive to be people who love well. In our families. In our friendships. In our communities.

Let us be known as people who love, and people who serve the God who created it all.

How To Cope With Heartbreak

Courtney3 Comments

This post may seem like somewhat of a downer at first sight, in light of the fact that one of the most relationship-y holidays is on the horizon. Nonetheless, recently God has put it on my heart to address those who may be struggling through this Valentines Day. Thus, I put together some tips that I believe are helpful with sort of thing and wrote a post for all of those who are dealing with a lost relationship (or crush) this Valentines Day.

Valentines day can be one of the worst days of the year if you’re going through a recent heartbreak. Everywhere you look, there are candy hearts, gifts for your significant other, and too many cards to count. Combined with the fact that after a heartbreak, everything seems to remind you of them, this is a very bad combo.

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Though, like I’ve admitted before, I’ve never been in a relationship, I have dealt with heartbreak in the past. It’s ignored or forgotten too often in society, but sometimes a crush gone wrong can cause the same sensation. There were real feelings involved and somewhere along the way, they got squashed. Stomped on. Broken.

It’s a feeling that can feel almost like an illness. Your stomach hurts, your throat feels swollen, and you don’t want to move out of your bed. You listen to Taylor Swift songs on a loop, as the situation goes from “sad, beautiful, tragic” to hating on his “stupid old pickup truck” (If you’re a Taylor Swift fan, you saw what I did there😉). You feel like you’ll never recover. You do, but you certainly never forget. Even years later, you’ll still remember the sound of their voice and meaningless details about them, but that’s OK. It’s a part of your past, and those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it.

Because heartbreak is such a universal topic—and ever so relevant around this time of the year, I decided to write a post about it, and give some advice on how to get through it.

Pray about it 

This is something that, admittedly, I didn’t do enough during my times of heartbreak. I journaled about it. Boy, did I journal about it! As a writer, my journals were the first thing I ran to when I faced heartache and my first one got quite a bit of air time, looking back. Nonetheless, I believe I may have healed quicker if I had prayed for God to take the pain away. As embarrassing and painful as heartbreak can be, God already knows about it, and as our friend, He’s a safe person to talk about this kind of thing with. I tell my earthly best friend practically everything, so why not do the same with our Heavenly friend and Savior?

Let yourself Rest

Going through heartbreak can be physically exhausting. One of the most tempting things during this time is to turn into a vegetable—lying in bed in sweats and watching too many episodes of Gilmore Girls. We should never remain in this position, but it’s OK to give yourself a break. You’ve been through a lot and your body needs time to recover just as much as your heart. Be nice to yourself during this time and give yourself a little thing we as Christians like to call grace.

Be wise

Thankfully, during the times that I went through heartbreak, I didn’t have social media. If I did, I’m almost positive I would have at least been tempted to pull the “social media stalking trick“. But please do yourself a favor—don’t do it! Looking at their pictures and status updates is only going to make this thing a hundred times worse. You don’t need to give this person that much thought. They’re a part of your past, and right now, your job is to find your way into the future. Which brings me to point #4.

Focus On Other Things

You don’t need another person to make you happy. The only one who can fill the emptiness that often accompanies heartbreak is Jesus. Turn to Him! Read your Bible, and maybe some good books. Hang out with some friends. Take up a hobby. Too often, we can make a person into an idol, and let them take up the place that only God should have. Never forget that another person doesn’t complete you—God does.

Allow yourself to remember and move on

The truth is, if the relationship/crush/person was significant enough, you’re never going to entirely forget about them. From time to time, you’ll wonder what ever happened to them and who they became. That’s OK. Like I said before, you’re going to remember them. They were an important part of your life, and hopefully, you learned more about life and yourself through that experience. You can’t live in the past, but you can be thankful for the lessons learned—and choose to move forward in your life.

When I first started this blog, I often used to post a song at the end, and for this post, I believe it will be especially fitting.

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” – Pslams 147:3 

Thirty Day Blogging Challenge Day #2: Thirty-Nine

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Day Twenty-Nine: Bullet Your Whole Day

  • I woke up (Although, considering you’re reading this, I guess that’s pretty obvious!).
  • I wrote a couple of blog posts (Which you can find in previous entries)
  • I ate lunch (Vegetarian chicken nuggets)
  • I brushed my teeth and washed my face (Yeah, the boring morning routine)
  • I drove to the grocery store (Three cheers for Wal-Mart!)
  • I began my application for Liberty Online (I’m going to start soon!)
  • I studied for the CLEP test (Yay?)
  • I emptied the dishwasher (My day just keeps getting more exciting…)
  • I talked with my mom (My day is finally looking up!)
  • I worked more on blogging (Hey, it’s my responsibility to keep this site going!)
  • I ate dinner (Spaghetti!)
  • I finished a book by Karen Kingsbury called Return (It was really good!)
  • I’m about to wants TV with my mom (The Middle, and than Black-ish)

That’s all for today! I’ll be back tomorrow with the last day of the challenge. Until then, I hope y’all have an awesome night!

Thirty Day Blogging Challenge #2: Day Twenty-Eight

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Day Twenty-Eight: Where You’d Like To Be In Ten Years 

Life goes by way too quickly y’all. Calculating this, I’ll be almost thirty in ten years, which I literally cannot. Even. Imagine. Nonetheless, if the next ten years go as quickly as the last ten, it will likely be here before I know it. Thus, here are my goals for the next ten years!

1. Have my series published – As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been working on a particular series since I was fourteen. I don’t want to say too much about it, but it’s basically a Christian series for teens with a strong emphasis on faith and friendship. This series is very close to my heart and it’s evolved so much since it’s conception. I’ll be sure to update you guys if anything changes with it!

2. Have a couple of songs published

From my early days of high school, I’ve been writing songs that I hope to someday see come to life. I can play instruments a little, but my goal is to become a lyricist—as the words are really my passion. I have been inspired by the lyrics to songs by artists like Britt Nicole and Francesca Battistelli and I want my words to be that inspiration for someone else. And, like with my novel writing, I’m willing to work hard to see this dream become a reality.

3. Work at a journalism company 

This will be, as some say, my ideal job to support my writing habit. I love writing and reading articles by companies such as Christianity Today and RELEVANT magazine, and hope to someday get the chance to write articles similar to the ones they regularly publish. In addition to writing, social issues fascinate me and I would like the chance to write about them in a way that is unifying rather than divisive, and that brings hope and healing to the people most affected.

4. Volunteer teaching at a youth group

In the midst of my middle school years, I was heavily involved in a youth group that I remember fondly to this day. During this time, I learned, grew, and connected with fellow students in a way that rarely happens in the world today. Because of this, I would like the chance to someday work at a youth group as a pastor or leader and create an atmosphere that would help other young people learn and grow in faith and fellowship.

5. Become stronger in my faith 

I think this is the goal of every Christian, right? Faith is a journey and as much as we grow, there’s always more we can learn. Whether it be through independent study of the Bible, reading commentaries by reputable Christian authors, or discussion with other believers, we can always take the steps necessary to grow in our faith.

6. Own a house and a car 

Though I’m in my first year out of high school, I still don’t have a car of my own. Nonetheless, I expect that within the next ten years, I’ll probably own a car, in addition to my own house. Someday, when I’m a little older, I’d like to room with a friend, so I can see myself in that type of living situation ten years from now.

7. Have most of my bucket list completed 

Like many people, I have a pretty substantial list of things that I’d like to do, and hopefully, ten years from now, I’ll have a couple more items checked off. Some of the things on that list include visiting New York City, attending a Passion Conference, seeing snow, and riding a roller coaster. I believe it’s safe to say that most of those items can be checked off within the next ten years.

8. Have my own website 

This one was actually inspired by a fellow friend and blogger, who also plans to start a website someday. I believe a website would give me more opportunities to share my faith and get my name out there as a writer—giving me a change to grow in my writing and voice through the process. Thus, I hope to have a real website to my name in a couple of years.

9. Have a BA in journalism and a Masters in Theology 

In an ever-changing world, education is becoming more important than ever, and I’d like to assure that I have a degree that would give me options for my career and opportunities down the road. I’m planning to start at Liberty University this summer, which will be the first step to achieving this goal.

10. Become more involved in my church 

I have been attending my church for about three years now, and have really grown to love it. I pray that I can grow and serve more there over the course of the next ten years.

How about you? What are your goals? I’d love to hear about them in the comments section! 

Thirty Day Blogging Challenge #2: Day Twenty-Seven

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Day Twenty-Seven: A Letter To Somebody

This is a letter to my thirteen year old self. During this time, a lot of changes began to happen, and if I could tell my younger self anything during this time, this is what I’d say.

Dear Younger Me,

Congratulations on making it all the way thirteen and preparing to embark on journey through your teenage years. As we both know, you’ve already seen a lot in your life. You’ve seen a near impossible prayer answered in a way neither of us could have expected. You’ve started attending church with your family. You’ve made a group of close friends in your classes. You’re already beginning to form in to the person you’re going to become. But, there’s more—there’s so much more.

I wish I could prepare you for something that’s going to happen soon. I wish I could warn you somehow, and numb the blow, but I have a feeling that you’re going to have to find out the hard way—the way I did. This may sound impossible now—as a Bible toting youth group student, but you’re going to start to struggle in your faith after watching Christian leader take a fall. You’re going to have a hard time going to church and become more aware of other problems you were previous unaware of. Your life is about to be turned upside-down, and you’ll feel a little lost for a while.

It will get better though. You won’t always be as jaded as you’re about to become. You’re going to meet two friends in high school who will help you stay afloat in your faith, and eventually, you’ll stumble upon a blog that will help you find the beauty in faith and church again. You’ll find your own voice and find that maybe you’re not a freak for asking questions—you’re human. What you’re about to witness would be enough to shake anyone’s faith, but it won’t remain shaken. You’ll climb out on the other side, victorious.

I want you to learn to humble yourself. I don’t know if this will change a thing, but I have to say it anyways. Please don’t let the reputation that you hold so tightly to, the reputation of being a good girl, stop you from being real. Don’t slip into the horrible habit of pretending to be fine when you’re crumbling inside. You’re not a bad Christian for having questions and doubts, and you’re not the first person to wrestle with their faith. You’re not the first Christian to go through a period where God feels distant—like He’s a million miles away. You’re also not loosing your faith. It may not seem like it right now, but you’re actually growing in your faith. You just don’t know it yet. God hasn’t turned His back on you.

Also, don’t be afraid to let people in. During your time in high school, you’re going to loose a couple of people, but you’ll also make some of the truest friends you’ll ever have. Don’t let one fallout ruin your desire to make new friends, and don’t let it dim your light. Pretty soon, you’ll meet a girl who’s also in a rough season. Befriend her. She’ll eventually become your best friend.

There’s so much more I could say, but for now, this is the best advice I could give you. Stay true to yourself, keep following God, and believe that it will all work out in the end. Your moment will come, and you’ll eventually find the confident version of yourself that you’ve been searching for.

Sincerely,

Future Courtney.

Thirty Day Blogging Challenge #2: Day Twenty-Six

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Day Twenty-Six: Write About Someone You Really Care About

Friends are the siblings God never gave us – Mencius

I’m blessed to be able to say that I have a lot of people in my life that I really care about. Many of them, can be described as friends.

I didn’t grow up with siblings to hang out with, but I can honestly say that my friends are like the brothers and sisters I never had. Some of them, I’ve known for years—since middle school, even. Others, are newer friends. Hopefully, all of them will stick around for years to come.

For me, my friends have been the people who have seen me during my best and worst times. Together, we’ve gone through crushes and heartbreak, successes and failures, and from zits to clear skin. I can also say that I’m blessed to have a very mixed group of friends—some guys and some girls, some introverts and some extraverts, some like me and some as different from me as possible. But, each one of them has made a mark on my life and helped shape me into the person that I am today. 

To me, true friendship is an extension of family. It’s staying up late when a friend has a problem, even if you’re really tired and want to go to sleep. It’s staying together even when you disagree, or when they drive you absolutely crazy. It’s praying for each other, laughing together, and vowing to be the insane old ladies hanging out together in a nursing home someday.

In my view, friendship is forever, and ideally, beyond if they share your faith. 

Things change in our lives, but I believe that if both parties work at it, friendship doesn’t have to end—especially when social media makes it so easy to keep in touch for years on end. Boyfriends and girlfriends come and go, college starts and eventually finishes, and most people go through various jobs, but I believe that if we truly see our friends as family, those ties don’t have to fade away. Too often, friendship is seen as something disposable nowadays, when it should be seen as something permanent, the way David and Jonathan saw friendship (1 Samuel 18:1-5), Ruth and Naomi saw friendship (Ruth 1:16-18), and Jesus seemed to view friendship, based on the closeness He had with His disciples.

Let us always strive for these kinds of friendships.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” – Ecclesiastes 4:9-10