candycanes. [a camera test]

weeelll... my face is a little cut off here. sorry bout that.

It's like the end of the year. OH I should blog about this.

I should really write a meaningful blog post about the end of 2011 and the start of 2012!!! Yeah, it's because all the cool kids do it, and I want to be cool. So here goes!

This year was pretty great! I did a lot of cool thi-PPFFFTTT. wutajoke.

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Aaah, another year over, and what have I done? Not much at all. I'm still not dictator of Madagascar, I haven't won the Olympics, and worst of all, I haven't made a hamster farm yet (not the place where you farm hamsters, silly. think of an ant farm-- except with hamsters). But you know what? I still have another year to go. This next one brings a lot of promise and potential with it. I hope I can use it to the best of my abilities.

I could use the time to collect all the cat litter necessary for the farm.

I really like my bed.

My bed. It's like a black hole of wonder. 

and

Sleeping on it is pure bliss.

What these days do to me...

Unsaid Words

There are too many things in my heart that I haven't said--too many things that I should have said. But how can I speak them when their time was due far too long ago? How can I utter words that would only entrap me in the past? I cannot. What is done is done, and likewise, what has been said--or not said-- has been said.

It is what it is. Learn to live and forget.

Move on.

Infinitely Small

~ 

G o d

Me.

tipping point

"most people don't want to push themselves to failure. because then we don't look good. but then we don't get better. amateurs train to get it right, but professionals train until they get it wrong." - Chris Costa

gratefulness

"...you keep on concentrating on the things you wish you had and the things you wish you didn't have, and you sort of forget about the things that you do have... what I've seen in life are a few couple key principles, and the first thing is to be thankful." - Nick Vujicic

-And When I Find You-

I want to hold you in my arms,

call you just to hear your voice,

get lost in your eyes,

sit with you under the stars,

talk with you for hours,

keep your hand in mine,

plan out our future and what we'll do forever,

because, my dear,

I know I love you.

solace in knowing there's no one

so I can use this as a journal...

I hate my imperfections. I hate knowing that I could have done better. I hate knowing that I don't live up to the standards I place upon myself. I hate knowing that I can never live up to the standards of God. I hate that there's so much I could have done to make myself better-- yet I'm stuck having to live with the decisions and performances of my past. I want to go somewhere where it'll be hard to given my scores on tests, for example. But I need to trust in God. I need to. I need to do this before I fall upon myself.

#Give Me a Sign

I feel alone, earthside. I want to be good at things I haven't been at before.

But I need to be content... and know that God is sovereign.

I am silent.

and I watch the world spin by.

it is pulling, teasing, taunting, screeching

but I cannot be pulled in, I cannot.

those around me seek to move me,

but I cannot be pulled in, I cannot.

why do I stand? why must I fight?

I must seek holiness.

and in this, I am silent, invisible.

yet knowing there is one who never misses anything...

I am not alone.

and sometimes the truth hurts

yet God uses it for the very best.

the concept of sovereignty has never sounded better than during times of pain.

Coming Home

Let us not drift away. God has moved in mighty ways this year at camp, and it would be simply foolish to let us go back to our daily lives without applying our convictions to our lives. Our pastors have been faithful to encourage us to live the lives we've lived at YC back at home. Let us do so with eager hearts-- let us build each other up in accountability, love, faith, and kindness. Let us live with gracious hearts that are willing to obey our parents. Let us live in the light where we are called to be holy before our heavenly father. No one can force your heart to do anything but God. Let him be the one that we depend on day to day, for it is not us that has made him love us. He has loved us and given his own son by his own will.

Let us devote our lives therefore in adoration and praise! Let us come together as children before our king and father in worship!

Ephesians 4:1-3
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

How has God met you at YC11? Please feel free to share. Let us rejoice with one another for the newly-saved, for those convicted of sin, for those whose eyes have been opened to the glory of the Lord.

In Love,
Jer

My Wish

I wish that I wouldn't have to wish anymore. 

I've spent a good part of my life wishing and day-dreaming about things that could never be, hoping in a small fragment of my heart that these dreams would come to pass... but looking back, I realize how much of a waste that's been. Over the years I have read numerous books and articles that encourage the reader to action. Sadly, it is only now that I have come to admit that that is much more important than continually dreaming of things that would never happen--if I don't do anything about them. Instead of sitting around hoping and dreaming for things to happen, I'm going to try to make them come to life.

It's hard to tell yourself it's not about 'me'

The Secret to Making Yourself a Generally Likeable Person

We all like to be liked, don't we? It's like we seem to naturally subsist off of the high opinions of others; we apparently feel so insecure about ourselves that we tend to gravitate towards places where we know we'll be wanted, loved, and praised. So here's how to let people get to know and like you better as a person (oh yes, quite the pretentious statement there, as this feat can't really be guaranteed...or can it? ohohoho).

Be yourself. Yeah, it sounds like a Disney Channel Original Movie motto, but hey, think about it. By being utterly genuine in the way you live out your life, you're not only making yourself someone real-- you're making yourself into someone attractive. People are naturally attracted to those who live life confident in who they are and in the choices that they make. They also like people who are incredibly honest. What's the use in making choices in life if all you'll do with them is hide them? That's what living in the light is all about. By exemplifying the life of Christ through our own lives, we cherish integrity, authenticity, and faithfulness.

You make the choices in your life. Make them worth it. Make them mean something. Make them make you someone somebody else would like to be around. Make life worth living.

Life is short; don't waste it.

As every single second passes, we really hardly think about how fast time actually slips by. We're left to live the lives governed by the actions we made years, hours, even minutes before the present. Each and every second that goes by is gone--gone without remorse; you see, time is ruthless. Time ticks down to the point of our death...and it still continues. We have no power over it; it's an endless being that pushes us through life whether we want it to or not. We cannot grasp a moment when it's gone. Memories become precious only because we can't relive those moments outside of our minds; they become the only connection between us and the moments of our lives that have long passed away.
My point here is that every single moment counts. As each second of our lives ticks away, we have the choice of either wasting it or using it to craft our intellect, bodies, and hearts into something more. Friends, we only have less than 100 years of life to live. Don't waste your years chasing something that won't matter in the end. Earthly possessions and successes pale in comparison to that which you can gain through the saving work of Jesus Christ: eternal life. 
Live for Him; Jesus is the only thing worth living for.

holding her heart

Friends (especially guys), please don't take relationships lightly-- especially romantic ones. Yeah, hormones and feelings are hard to fight, but there's a reason why now is not the right time to dwell in them. Many of you are sick of waiting, but it's the waiting that pays off in the end. As time passes by, we only get more mature (most of the time); our eyes are opened to see the amount of responsibility needed in order to hold the heart of someone else. What you feel and maybe 'have' now may feel good, but without a longer and more realistic perspective (like hm, marriage, maybe? and will / can you really keep that relationship intact for the 5-6 years that you have of school left?) in mind and in sight, what is the reason but out of self-fulfillment? Now keeping your eye and heart ultimately on marriage isn't bad; however, making it an idol and distraction from what our focus should be isn't right. Don't blind yourself or give yourself a license to dabble in the affections of another right now by promising yourself marriage in the end because nothing is certain. Marriage should certainly be the end goal of any relationship, but don't spend your time playing around with the heart of someone who may not even be your spouse in the end. You're not only wasting precious time that you could be spending crafting your own heart to be fit for the person God has made for you, but you're also leading yourself and the other person down a path that could potentially harm the two of you and leave scars and awkwardness that will be hard to undo. Don't make promises you don't know you can keep.

Brothers, lastly, it is a man's duty to cherish, guide, hold, and protect, not deceive, misguide, or mislead a woman's heart. Treat her with respect, honor, and humility. Don't dwell in perverse speech or actions no matter how 'fun' it is (Ephesians 5:3-4). Be a man worthy of marrying. Yet furthermore, it is of utmost importance that in any relationship a man points to and promotes above all the example of Jesus Christ's love seen upon the cross. That is the key to a relationship that strives to glorify God. It is His love that should be exemplified in any relationship. 

(Most of these points are from the CC messages on relationships, so they should sound a little familiar)

The top 5 regrets people have on their deathbed

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.


Don't let this happen to you.
What can you do to avoid this? Well, maybe...

• Live a life that's not solely dependent on how others view and expect things out of you.
• Live a life where you can have time to relax with your family, spend time with your kids and spouse.
• Live a life not out of fear about how one would respond to your feelings-- we're given feelings for a reason; don't hide it (be discerning, of course haha)
• Live a life based on community and others; the 'lone ranger' technique seems to have only worked for one man. 
• Live a life of joy; you only have one life. Why waste it with a pessimistic view on everything around you?

That's what I think, at least. What about you?


Research behind the 5 regrets from: this article