Tag: Musings on Life

Thirty Day Blogging Challenge #2: Day Eight

Courtney5 Comments

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Day Eight: Write fifteen interesting facts about yourself

Hey everyone, I wrote this yesterday, but I guess it didn’t publish. Thus, here it is today!

1. I learned how to sign to John 3:16 in middle school

2. My middle name derives from my grandma’s first name

3. I’m fairly decent at basketball

4. I didn’t get my permit until I was seventeen

5. I decided to start this blog after discovering a good friend of mine blogged

6. I’m part Italian

7. I have seven cousins, all on my dad’s side

8. I used to take ballet as a child and stunk horribly at it

9. Becoming a successful author has been my lifelong dream

10. I’ve worn glasses since I was eleven years old

11. When I was a kid, I used to swallow my vegetables whole

12. I prefer winter to summer

13. I’m an only child

14. I’m currently listening to Mary’s Song by Taylor Swift as I write this.

15. It’s currently exactly 8:30 as I type this sentence out.

I’ll see you back tomorrow for day nine! Until then, be sure to keep following my friend Emily as she partners with me in this challenge! You can find the link to her blog in my previous post! 

When Questions Consume

Courtney4 Comments

“Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.” ― Voltaire

I’m a questioner—I have been since I was a child. I was one of those excessively curious kids who would ask questions about everything. “Why is the sky blue?” “Why is the grass green” “Why do birds fly but people can’t?” Not sure whether these were ever my exact questions but you get the picture. Obviously I’ve out grown those questions, but in there place are more complicated ones—ones that can’t get immediate answers.

Some of my questions are about theology. I’m kind of a Bible geek and stuff that intersects theology with the lives of human beings fascinates me. I regularly read magazines like RELEVANT and Christianity Today and have spent heaps of time researching random current issues in relation to the Bible. The only problem is that sometimes I end up with more questions than answers. The Bible covers most topics, but what about the ones that it doesn’t address or is unclear about? What do we do then?

Other questions are more immediate—questions about my own life and future. Will I be able to find a job? Will I be able to break into the writing industry? Will I fulfill all of my dreams? Will I end up lonely? Will I have a roommate? If so, than who? These questions can be simply maddening at times! As someone who is kind of obsessed with fiction, I find myself watching movies, TV shows, and reading books to try to get an accurate picture of adult life6356388427610595271282450916_969748_10103227871636285_1801255318_n-1.jpg
Here’s what I’ve found over the years—questions aren’t bad! Questioning something about your faith doesn’t mean you’ve lost it. Questioning something about the future doesn’t mean you don’t have faith. You want to know what it means? It means you’re human! Congratulations on surviving as an earthing! You have a pulse!

All jokes aside, God wants you to bring all of that before Him. Matthew 11: 28 says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” I think sometimes it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking we have to have it all together before we come to Jesus. I’ll be honest, if that was the truth than I’d be in trouble—because I don’t have it together! I’m just one young college student trying to figure out this rapidly spinning world. And, if you’re experience is anything like mine, you probably also don’t have everything together. You probably have doubts and questions of your own, and that’s OK!

The key is to be honest—with God and with each other. God gave us family and friends for a reason! It’s OK to open up sometimes—in doing so we become a bit more human and a bit more connected. We weren’t meant to keep everything inside and try to look perfect—we were meant to be real! Real messy, real transparent, and real people!

We may not be perfect, but God is! We may not have it all together, but God does! And, He’s big enough to handle any questions, doubts or fears that we have.

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.” Hebrews 1:3-4

“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

My First Ever Vlog: How To Stay Strong In Your Faith

Courtney10 Comments


Hey guys, I’ve thought about doing a vlog for a while now and I finally decided to throw one up on my site today.

I’m just going to warn you guys ahead of time, I probably said “um” about fifteen hundred times…the joys of improv, lol! 😂

If you can think of any other good vlog topics, I’d love to hear them in the comments section!

Thirty Day Blogging Challenge: Day 29

Courtney8 Comments

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Day 29…A confession. 

I am a nerd. 

If you’ve known me for a while, you’ve probably figured this out. Even if you haven’t, you may have pieced this together somewhere along the way.

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Though I’m not a fan of labels, many of my interests fall into the “nerd category”. I enjoy subjects like history, literature, psychology/sociology, and theology, and could honestly ramble on about any one of these subjects and the intersections between them (e.g. the sociology and history of Christian thought process…nerd alert!). I even enjoy the occasional discussion about politics, so long as it doesn’t turn heated and crazy.

Paired with the vice of being an overachiever, you can pretty much get the picture of what I was like in middle and high school. 

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Yes, I was “that kid“.

I even went through a phase where I wanted glasses (before I knew that I needed them) because I thought that glasses made you look smarter. My mom didn’t quite believe me at first when I told her I thought I needed glasses, as I always talked about how cool I thought they looked. Initially, she thought I just wanted them for appearance-sake. Nonetheless, she took me to see an eye doctor and soon found that I actually did need them to see. I still wear the same frames today, as I can’t seem to get contacts in to save my life and have no interest in getting a new pair.

I think we all have our quirks; and nerdy-ness is just one of many for me. If you also have nerdy tendencies, I urge you not to be ashamed of it. Some of our greatest world changers would be considered “nerdy” by the world’s standards. Imagine where we’d be today if Einstein or Edison had suppressed their interests to fit in with the world!

God made each one of us different and unique; the world would be boring if we all looked, talked, acted, and thought alike. The people who I enjoy hanging out with the most are the ones who are fearlessly and unabashedly themselves. Never change just to try to fit in with the crowd. When you’re authentic, it inspires authenticity in others and helps us all to be a little more honest and transparent.

As an old song by Jonny Diaz says “You were made to fill a purpose that only you can do, so there could never be a more beautiful you.” 

 

Three Day Quote Challenge: Day 3

Courtney8 Comments

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” Helen Keller.

I believe it’s fair to say that most of us enjoy things that are felt by means of the five senses. Music. Art. Film. Nature. It’s engrained in human beings to enjoy beauty in the world. As created beings, we were given the unique opportunity to create, and enjoy the creations of others.

But, we don’t just enjoy these things for their own sake. Most often as human beings, we connect with the world around us by means of feelings and shared experiences. I can recall many times in my own life when I heard a song, or read a story that seemed to completely get what it was like to be me. I felt understood.

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Some of the greatest things in life aren’t things that we can see with our eyes. We cannot see God, but we hold onto our faith in Him. We cannot hold concepts like love or friendship in the palm of our hand, but we know that they’re abstracts as real as you and me. We cannot see altruism and charity in tangible form, but we can see their affects in the lives of very real human beings.

So much of our living experience is made up of things that we cannot see, hear, smell or touch. Yet, these are the very things that seem to connect us the most. They’re universal things that cross divides and join us as a human race. They separate us from the animal world and give evidence that we truly are image bearers of an intelligent God. 

The Bible even speaks about the importance of setting our eyes upon what is unseen in 2 Corinthians 4:18. It says “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Faith in Jesus Christ and a personal relationship with Him is without a doubt the most significant thing in this world. We cannot see Jesus, but whether or not we choose to accept Him affects our entire eternity. 

Let us never get so caught up in this world that we forget a world that is far greater and more amazing than we can even imagine. 

The last nominees for the quote challenge are…

Cherry Drop Princess

Juni Desiree 

Musings of a Millennial

Thirty Day Blogging Challenge: Day 21

Courtney6 Comments

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Day 21…What makes me sad 

*Note-I’m just going to apologize in advance if this post ends up being a downer.

  1. Death-Kind of self explanatory, right?
  2. All of the problems in the world today-Seriously, I feel like the world has gone completely crazy, violent, and hateful. I can’t even watch the news because it’s too depressing.
  3. The end of something exciting-I’m always kind of bummed when Christmas or another big event comes to an end
  4. When a show I previously enjoyed goes downhill-As I’ve gotten older, it’s become harder to find decent television shows, so when one goes downhill, it’s pretty frustrating.
  5. When food drops on the floor-Loosing food (even if it’s just one french fry) bugs me. It’s like your taste buds just got deprived of the yummy deliciousness you were about to devour.
  6. When I don’t have any free time-If you’ve lived through high school, there’s a good chance you’ve had this problem before. I’m kind of bad about procrastinating, so oftentimes, I would save all of my homework for Sunday night, and go into complete panic mode. I would have twenty things to get done before the morning when all I really wanted to do was turn on the TV and relax.
  7. Having too much free time-Between this and number six, I basically have a loose-loose situation. If I don’t have enough free time, I get stressed, but if I have too much, I get insanely bored. Go figure.
  8. Seeing a homeless person on the side of the road-I always feel bad for them, as I’m sure it must be hard to not have the assurance of shelter, food, or water. I once heard a former homeless man speak at my youth group and that caused me to have a lot more compassion for the homeless community
  9. When people are mistreated-Bullying, exclusion, harassment, prejudice, and any form of mistreatment of fellow human beings seriously gets under my skin.
  10. The fact that there are people in the world who don’t know Jesus-I think this one is sad for pretty much every Christian.

OK, hopefully I got through that without seriously depressing anybody. 

Now…funny cat pictures!

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Thirty Day Blogging Challenge: Day 5

Courtney7 Comments

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Hey everyone, I’m a little late, but I made it! I had a Bible study with some of my friends today and we celebrated two birthdays, so that’s why this post is coming later than the last four. Today’s topic is about my proudest moment.

Truth is, I’ve been very blessed and have had a lot of really awesome moments, so I decided to narrow it down to my top three proudest ones!

  1. When I saw my first book in print. I was only about thirteen when this happened. I felt the Lord calling me to write a teen devotional drawing parallels between the struggles Biblical figures faced and modern day problems that people encounter, so I sat down at my computer and began typing. After a lot of hard work, I managed to find a publisher and earn enough money to self publish it. It was an incredible feeling to see something that I wrote in print and I’m very grateful for that opportunity.
  2. When I sang a song that I wrote in a talent show. From the time that I was a freshman in high school, I had a dream to sing one of my songs on stage, and October of my senior year, that dream came true! It was a great feeling and I’ll always remember that night. I wrote about it in detail here.
  3. When I won a Liebster award. A couple of months back, I was nominated for a Liebster by my good friend Mfon from Dainty M. It was super exciting to win an award and be acknowledged for my writing. Plus, the feedback from all of you has inspired me to keep pushing forward and posting new content. I’m very excited to see what God leads me to write in the future.😊

I can’t believe that I’m already on day five of the challenge, I hope y’all stay with me until the end! 🏃

 

Thirty Day Blogging Challenge: Day 3

Courtney7 Comments

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“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” C. S. Lewis

I have a lot of favorite quotes-some by classic authors, some by modern writers, and some by well known public figures. Nonetheless, I have decided that for today’s post, I’m going to write about the above quote by C.S. Lewis. I love his metaphors used and the meaning behind the quote.

Plus, C.S. Lewis is just awesome.

In this post, Lewis makes the point that our faith determines our actions; how we think inevitably affects the way that we live. If we believe that there is no God, that means that there is no such thing as absolute truth and by default, no absolute meaning to life. Nonetheless, if we do believe in God, we’re called to live in a way that honors Him and make our lives here count. The earth we live in isn’t all there is, but the decisions that we make have eternal consequences (e.g.. To follow God or not follow Him).

Our beliefs shape how we see the world; this is called our worldview. It is the shining light that guides our thoughts, words, and actions. When a person is truly committed to their faith, it is bound to show in their life. The personal testimonies of those around us provide some of the strongest evidence for God’s existence. What else could change a hardcore drug addict to a committed Christian? What else could give that young single mother hope to keep going and raise her child? What else could drive the bar-hopper from the local club to the local church?

As amazed as we are when we hear stories like these, simple stories of faithfulness can be just as moving.

The timid person who finds the courage to speak up about their faith.

The person who battles temptation but finds the strength and courage to resist.

The person who has seen less-than-perfect-attitudes in fellow believers, but continues to have faith in God and their brothers and sisters in Christ. 

How we live our lives doesn’t just affect how people see us, but how they see God. We all have stories that have affected our lives, and we’re called to be a living testimony for those around us. 2 Corinthians 5:20 even goes so far as to call us Christ’s ambassadors. We cannot see the full picture of our lives on this earth, but God does. Through our relationships, work, and calling, God wants to reveal His love for the world. We all have different talents, personalities, and situations, but if we believe in Jesus and accept Him into our heart, we’re all part of one giant spiritual family. We are called to keep adding to this family. We are called to be salt and light. We are called to show the world who God is through our lives and actions. We may not be able to see God, but we can see His presence in the lives of others and in our own lives. Though we are currently earth-bound, we can feel rays of the sun from above, signaling it’s presence in our lives. And, we are called to share that light in the midst of the dark around us.

I’d love to hear your stories in the comments! How has the faith of another person helped you grow in your own faith? 

Thirty Day Blogging Challenge: Day 1

Courtney17 Comments

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Big news everyone…I have joined the challenge! Both my friend Mfon from Dainty M. and my friend from Papberry have done blogging challenges, so I have decided to try one myself! Today’s post is about my blog’s name, 1timothy412girl.

I started my blog a little over a year ago, after discovering that a good friend of mine had a blog. I chose the name 1timothy412girl after the Bible verse 1 Timothy 4:12, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” I’ve always loved this verse because it is a reminder that even though I’m fairly young, I can still make a difference.

Recently, I added the tagline “Striving to live confidently in Christ.” My goal on this blog is to inspire fellow believers, no matter how young or old, to live as an example and find their identity in God. I remember during my freshman year of high school I wanted so much to be confident, but I looked inward so much that I neglected to look upward. It can be so easy to try to form our identity around academics, hobbies, or our appearance, but God tells us to “Seek first the kingdom of God” in Matthew 6:33.

I soon found that once I made my faith a priority, I began to grow more confident. Today, I feel that I have a pretty firm grasp of who I am, and more importantly, who I am in Christ. 

To conclude, I’m very excited to take on this challenge and I hope you guys will journey with me on my longest series yet!

So What About Feminism? (Part Two)

Courtney8 Comments

Perhaps one of the most volatile discussions surrounding Christian feminism is “Should Christian women be allowed to teach in the church?” There are faithful, goodhearted Christians on both ends who strive to uphold Biblical doctrine.

Most people have good reasons and intent in their beliefs, but a conversation that determines the fate of women who feel called to ministry is bound to get messy. As previously stated, I hold an egalitarian view of scripture, and thus, support the notion of women in ministry. I have done extensive research on this topic and believe that scriptures support women in ministry. In this blog post, I’m going to lay out my case for women teaching in the church, and give passages to support my stance.

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  1. The Greek words used are gender inclusive. To quote Charisma magazine “1 Corinthians 14:26 gives a list of things that everyone is expected to participate in. “When you come together, every one of you has…” The Greek word for every one, hekastos, is a word that encompasses both genders. This list includes teaching. Several times in chapter 14, the word “all” is used. Verses 24 and 31 both say that all may prophesy, and we know from Paul’s teaching in chapter 11 that this includes women.”
  1. We need to understand the context of Biblical passages. Most often, knowing why the Bible says something is as important as knowing what is says. For instance, we know that the Bible talks about slavery, but we should by no means believe that it supports the unbiblical practice of owning slaves. In fact, I believe that the Bible set the very framework for abolishing slavery, particularly in the book of Philemon, where Paul urges Philemon to think of his former slave as a brother. Similarly, many understand passages like 1 Timothy 2:12 to be a command to a particular context, rather than one that should be applied universally. An article in Christianity Today says “Because women in Ephesus at this time were uneducated and secluded, Paul was warning that they could be misled by the false teachers trying to lure new Christians away from the church Paul wanted to establish.” Paul’s job, first and foremost, was to protect Biblical doctrine so that all might be saved. If the women in this particular church did not have a stable foundation for their faith, it would have been necessary to forbid them from teaching for the greater good. This does not mean that he was forbidding every women in every context from teaching.
  2. If women were not allowed to teach, it would literally handicap the body of Christ. More and more each day, Bible-believing Christians are becoming a minority in society. It is estimated, according to Washington Times in 2012, that thirty-two-percent of people in the world are Christians. This is literally less than half of the world’s population. Numbers are bound to be lower if we exclude women (Half of the world’s population) from the percentile. There are thousands of people out there who don’t know Christ, and by limiting women from leadership, we’re making it harder for people to hear the Gospel. I do not believe this is what God wants for His children, especially in light of The Great Commission, which instructs every believer to “go and make disciples of every nation.”

To conclude, I believe that God is calling both genders to work in His kingdom. We are all His creation and though there are some obvious differences in men and women, both genders are equally loved by our Lord and Savior. He died for both men and women and I believe that He is calling both genders to spread the news of His glorious resurrection. I believe that equality in leadership is one of many ways that He is using His people to be a light, redeem the world, and spread the awesome love of our Lord, Jesus Christ. “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”* Galatians 3:28 

*This verse in context is referring to salvation, but I believe that it can also be applied to ministry and leadership.