Being Joyful Always!

Lately, I have not been posting as many posts with thoughts and discussions I have had. The first weeks of college have been extremely busy ones, so I have sadly not had time. What I have been doing, however, is trying to regularly post quotes or Scripture passages that I have found to be extremely applicable/helpful to my current situation or state of mind. Even though these are not my own original thoughts, they are inspirational and educational. I hope you enjoy reading them! Today, a friend posted this verse on Facebook and I very much needed the reminder, so I thought I would share it here:

Be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Jesus Christ. -1 Thess. 5:16-18

Open-Minded

‎"Do not be so open-minded that your brains fall out." -G. K. Chesterton

Optimism

‎"[A]ll the optimism of the age had been false and disheartening for this reason, that it had always been trying to prove that we fit in to the world. The Christian optimism is based on the fact that we do not fit in to the world....The modern philosopher had told me again and again that I was in the right place, and I had still felt depressed even in acquiescence. But I had heard that I was in the wrong place, and my soul sang for joy, like a bird in spring." - GK Chesterton

Facing the Unknown

Education

"Education ought to be a searchlight given to a man to explore everything, but very specially the things most distant from himself." - G.K. Chesterton

First Night at Berry!

Today marked the beginning of a new and significant phase in my life - college! As I enter into this auspicious time, there are so many thoughts chasing each other through my mind. I will, no doubt, share many of them with you through the medium of this blog. In the meantime, it is enough to say that I have entered this new phase in one piece and will continue through with mingling anticipation and trepidation.

Courage

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all."

(quote from Princess Diaries)

The Dream

Frank: What about you, is there someone else?

Kathleen Kelly: No...But there's the dream of someone else.

(quotes taken from "You've Got Mail")

Celebrities' Comments in a Celebrity-Crazed Culture

Last night, I was watching "Princess Diaries" with my mom and something particularly struck me this time, though I have watched it numerous times prior. Before it became public that Mia was a princess, she was largely ridiculed by her school and ignored by her home-city of San Francisco in general. Even after her physical makeover, which drastically changed her from gawky and shy "Ugly Betty" to a lovely and classic princess, people still didn't pay much more attention to her (except the people who already liked her). However, the moment she was a princess, every media source in the city were trying to interview her and get her opinions on every issue under the sun. What I found interesting was that the same opinions which the day before the reveal were utterly insignificant and meaningless to the media, became suddenly a matter of great interest once she was a princess. Why should her opinions matter any more today than they did yesterday? Is she any more wise because of a title? She has potentially more influence on others, yes; yet just because she is a royal now doesn't mean that she has any more to offer than she did before. It's just interesting to remember in this celebrity-crazed society that just because someone is famous or has a title or important position, it doesn't mean they are any wiser or astute than your average Joe. With this in mind, perhaps we should pay closer attention to who will listen to. Remember, your next door neighbor is just a celebrity without a microphone - a person with opinions and possibly intelligence who just may not have an outlet through which to share his/her ideas. Don't give more credence to what celebrities say for the sole reason that they are famous. Accept wisdom and discard foolishness, no matter who the source is.

100 Posts!!

I waited until today, my parents' anniversary, to post my 100th post on this blog! It's hard to believe that it has been that many. For a little over a year, I have been sharing thoughts, observations, quotes, Scripture verses, and ideas. To those who read them, I hope not only that you have enjoyed reading these posts, but that I have somehow helped you - even if it is just to see some small thing in a different light. I hope that this blog has become a blessing to you and that it will become increasingly more so as time moves on. I will continue to utilize this blog as a medium through which to share with you. I hope that you will keep reading. My posts may not always be as wise or as insightful as they should be, but they are full of my thoughts. Perhaps my blog would be better called "Life Through My Eyes", for that is what it is. My final wish is that somehow through my life and my thoughts, your's will be made better! Thank you!

29 Years!

Happy 29th Anniversary, to the best parents a girl could ask for!! I love you both so much!! Here's to many, many more!!

Love is not a place To come and go as we please It's a house we enter in Then commit to never leave So lock the door behind you Throw away the key We'll work it out together Let it bring us to our knees Chorus: Love is a shelter in a raging storm Love is peace in the middle of a war And if we try to leave, may God send angels to guard the door No, love is not a fight but it's something worth fighting for To some, love is a word That they can fall into But when they're falling out Keeping that word is hard to do Love will come to save us If we'll only call He will ask nothing from us But demand we give our all I will fight for you Would you fight for me? It's worth fighting for

(Warren Barfield - Love is Not a Fight)

To be vibrant or common..? That is the question!

Something that occurred to me recently... It is a well-known (and accepted) fact that everyone, especially teenagers, want to "fit in" with their peers. On the surface, nothing appears wrong with this endeavor, though it can often cause heartache and mischief. However, it occurred to me that when you finally do "fit in" with everyone else, you have suddenly become common. If you don't fit in, that usually means you are one of a kind. While this can be lonely at times, it is not a bad thing. It means you're special. What's sad is that, at least in my own life, I sometimes want to fit in so badly that if given the opportunity I would be willing to give up every bit of uniqueness to achieve it. When I stop and realize how tragic that would be, it makes me think... It's like the world is filled with a mass of all different colors - each one positively beautiful, and each one completely unlike the others. Yet in this culture, we are all taught that we should all be the same shade of grey. The world is stripping us of our vibrancy and beauty and making us dull and common. The same God who made every color in the rainbow and every ultraviolet ray made us exactly the way we are. Maybe we should think twice before trading such an incredible treasure for the boring and utterly identical rocks the world offers.

Rob Costlow - Woods of Chaos

I stumbled across this artist this morning and found this video in my searches for his music. This is a remarkable and heartbreaking piano solo on one of his albums. It's truly beautiful!