A Young Life Experience- Megan's Reflections

You might have seen some Young Life related Instagram shots this past week.  I may or may not have flooded your Instagram feeds a few times with blurry shots of feet, human pyramids, soda challenges, and other ridiculous things.  But don't worry, it was just an Instagram-themed Young Life.

Young Life is amazing and I want to pour my heart and soul into so many posts describing why it is so, but I first put up a picture of it on Instagram.

 

I first decided to become a leader with Young Life because of my friend Michael but I was really moved to see that Young Life was a part of many of my friends' lives as they were growing up.  Admittedly I was a little jealous because little Catholic Kim would have loved to have gone to Young Life as a high school student.  Now I didn't go girls gone wild in college, but I definitely wanted a stronger foundation with the Lord and Young Life gives high students that opportunity if they want it.

After I saw the comments, I asked a few of my friends if they would be interested in being a guest blogger and talking about their experiences.  Megan responded right away!  She and I grew up together and one of my favorite memories was her love of Nsync and performing in talent shows together.  Today is an incredibly confident, fashionable, smart, trendy, and lovely woman who is a very witty blogger.  Big thanks to Megan for sharing her Young Life story.

I May Be a Friend of the World

Not that I've committed adultery or anything but I've been thinking of that concept of being a friend of the world for awhile now.  In one of my small group Bible studies, a lady brought up how she thinks that the movement of tolerance is causing us to be less-Godly people.  That definitely struck a nerve with me.  The topic of being a friend of the world versus being invested in God has been circulating through this specific small group and it's caused me to think on that so much in terms of my relationship with God.

"You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God," James 4:4

Well shit, am I an enemy of God because I care about tolerance? I certainly don't think so.  I don't think that being gay is a lifestyle because I know that's just another human being, many of whom are close friends of mine.  It's just another person who has feelings, emotions, cares, struggles, and sacrifices.  Do I think that a culture that surrounds hyper sexuality and the degradation of women is terrible and unGodly?  Definitely.  However, I do think that there needs to be more open discussion and conversation about sex because people have no idea what they're talking about or understanding what birth control does.  I think we need to be encouraging our young men (and young women) to be better people.  Do all of these things make me more of a friend of the world.  It just might.  I certainly don't want to be an enemy to the Lord but after so much praying, I truly know that God doesn't care that I support certain things because I see the good in people.  Now you may disagree with me on that on so many levels, but at this point, I'm not going to struggle with that.  I try to be a good person, follow scripture, and spread love.  That's it.  I talk about my relationship with God on my blog and other social media accounts but I certainly don't mean to shove religion down others' throats.  If people are interested, I love to save a seat in church so that they always feel welcome.

I recently discovered that many Christians don't celebrate Halloween because they relate it to devil worship.  I grew up very Catholic and had never heard of that.  I also come from a culture that celebrates Day of the Dead in the Philippines.  Aspects of Halloween, dressing up, celebrating our ancestors, candy, whatever- I just simply don't equate that to devil worship.  I love Halloween. I think it's so much fun and is completely innocent.  If you don't celebrate it, I have no qualms with that but I will be frank in saying that its origins come from various sources and often times relate to poverty and entertainment. 

I've seen folks choose not to celebrate Christmas with the idea of Santa or even silly things like Elf on the Shelf because they believe it doesn't truly celebrate the meaning of the holiday.  Maybe they're right, however, some of my happiest memories are of Christmases filled with Christmas decorations, presents, and goodwill.  My family was able to dually celebrate with gifts and instill in me the understanding of what it means to share that with others and to understand why we give gifts.  The fact that my parents went out of their way to make sure we got a letter back from Santa on Christmas morning was something that I cherish.  I know that my children will have the character of Santa and Elf on the Shelf and the Christmas mouse or whomever in their lives.

Maybe these things make me more a friend of the world, but I can guarantee you that I will continue to do my best to be a good person and to share that with others.   


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Bread Not Cake

I came across this verse and it touched me to the core.

How incredibly true and accurate is this?

If you're a Christian, you are given a tool to help reinforce your faith, trust, and understanding and yet how many times have I missed out on my opportunity to celebrate in God's word everyday?

Without a Bible study group, everything gets prioritized in front of sitting with my Bible and journaling.

Recently, as in the past month or so, I've started following more Instagram/Bloggers who are awesome at sitting down with their Bibles everyday and some even journal.  To see their faith celebrated on something as simple as social media, inspires me to be better about sitting down and enjoying God's word as my daily bread.

 

Thankful for community and the impact it has on my life. Thankful for the Word and the encouragement that these hard times are for His glory. They are to serve as an avenue for me to point to Him.

- nicolevcole 

Blogger from Bloom the Blog

   

  

-itsjuliwilson

 

   

 

Our pastor talked about "defining moments" today in church, asking us to think about our character and what we will do to define those moments when they come our way. I was reminded of my freshman year in college when my roommate had a cardiac arrest in our room. In a moments time, my life was changed forever as I was reminded how precious life is. Thankfully (and only by God's grace!) my roommate was okay after a few days.

- michaelanoelle

  Blogger from Michaela Noelle Designs

 

 

Soaking up the word this morning with my HUSBAND💛💛💛 #omgihaveahusband

 -laurenalexis19 

     

 

Always ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ #unfailinglove #reading #Bible #GodsWord #GodsTime #PerfectLove

- kyleemae605 

                   

This morning, take a moment to write down some of the things you think are important factors of His love language. Then DO them. Not out of obligation. Not because our actions save us. But simply because we love Him. #shereadstruth

-hersoutherncharm

   

 

(best way for me to overcome heartache is to make someone else smile. Stay tuned......... My stomach is in my throat....coffee spilled all over my devotional doodles journal. Every original picture ruined with a huge coffee stain. I won't let this get the best of me though. As much as I want to throw in the towel, I'll use it as God saying....create MORE, and I shall use you more!

-amylouhawthorne 

         

 

Starting my writing day by reading "Girls With Swords" by Lisa Bevere (highly recommend!). And I have to ask - is our generation of women going to be known as being too scared of God's Word to read it? Can we please NOT be? Could we be the generation that was terrified to be unarmed? Could we be the generation of women who feel the weight and necessity to use the Sword of the Spirit to being light and life to our world?

- naptimediaries 

         

Isn't this incredible and so beautiful? All of these women journaling, creating graphics and simply being awesome to celebrate God's word!

It inspired me to create a little inspirational chart to help you focus your daily prayers and Bible study.  I know in my heart that I need to focus more on my daily prayer and sitting down with a Bible.  I always find so much encouragement from God's love and grace and I want to share that with others but I need to sit down and focus on that aspect of me first.

Free Download!

What inspires you to take in your daily bread?   If you liked this post, share it with others! If you feel particularly moved by it, leave a comment because I love feedback and discussion. Social media links are provided below and thanks for reading!

Inspiring My Love for Jesus

//TELEPHONE//

Aubrey Kinch creates beautiful freebies weekly and "be blessed beautiful" is my computer's background and iPhone's wallpaper.  Its simple message reminds me that regardless of how I feel today, tomorrow, or anytime, I am blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people things.

I came across the Back to the Bible app via Instagram and it's a 60-day devotional of sorts.  I really like the layout and not only is it an app, but it also has a coinciding journal app to record your thoughts.

//DEVOTIONALS//
I love both of these so far! The day that I read my first passage in The Confident Woman Devotional, I penned my first site on alert all by myself.  I know this means nothing to 98% of you reading this, but it was a big deal to me.  I sometimes lack confidence when it comes to my AF careerfield because I didn't choose it and I was not a tech major in college.  Despite these two fatal flaws, the AF made me an operator.  I work really hard to be both competent and confident in this careerfield.  The passage talked about having courage and faith in yourself and voila, coincidentally I penned it that day, too.

One Thousand Gifts and the Devotional both were in my hands at Barnes and Noble and since I really (really really really) like journaling and writing, I went with the devotional.  Now I wish I splurged and got both!  The purpose of "one thousand gifts" is literally that, to learn to appreciate at least 1000 gifts/blessings/praises/mercies in your life.  It's a life dare that's so simple and so meaningful- it's something that I think most people would appreciate having that perspective in their lives.

//BIBLES//
Jud Wilhite's new Bible release, The Uncensored Truth, is a pretty awesome Bible.  It's a NLT version and although I do not attend his parish or church, he seems like an AMAZING pastor.  Please check it out and have a read through.  He is casual, yet inspiring and it's incredibly refreshing.  I know I get excited about things, but when I was reading this while on alert, it captivated me.

I have had my eye on the ESV Study Bible ever since I saw ShesSewSassy's account on Instagram, raving about it.  I really love reading different translations of the Bible and despite this love, I haven't read the entirety of the Bible but it's a goal of mine :)

//JEWELRY//
My favorite Christian jewelry just involves a simple cross.  My sideways cross necklace has been accompanying me everywhere, especially on alert.  My devotion to Christ while starting this career path has provided a lot of solace from stress.  I also like having it as a simple of what I've been focusing my life on.  If you're looking for something similar, try ThreeBirdNest's sideways gold cross.

What inspires you? I've started listening to Christian radio stations, especially after I realized how ridiculous the song "Blurred Lines" is and the fact that Robin Thicke completely dismisses the song's impact.  If you have any Christian song recommendations, books, devotionals or just inspiring things (doesn't have to be Christian-related), I would love to hear them!


If you liked this post, share it with others! If you feel particularly moved by it, leave a comment because I love feedback and discussion. Social media links are provided below and thanks for reading!

20 Things About Myself at 23 (Part II)

6. I love to read and I'm sure many people know this from the two blogger books swaps that I've hosted in the past.  I have loved to read every since I was a little kid.  At a time when there were probably few opportunities for my parents to go out and buy things or pay for activities, the library was free entertainment.  I don't think I ever realized that as a kid, but I did know that I loved the adventures that I read in books and getting completely soaked into a story and its characters.  That love continued on as I grew older and went to student competitions, like Battle of the Books and the English Writing Festival.  Although it was slightly dampened by required reading, some of those high school and college classes introduced me to new favorite books.  I'm sure that my fellow book lovers would also like to know that our next blogger book swap will be in November with one of my great friends, Nicole :)

7. I firmly believe that developing a relationship with Christ is a journey and one that people need to go on at their own time and rate.  Although I post spiritual pictures/text on my blog and Instagram, that doesn't mean that I don't respect your needs and concerns.  For me, sometimes it's hard to identify as a Christian, in fact I still don't.  There are still so many negative connotations that go along with being a Christian, none of which I support.  I'm a follower of Christ but there are a ton of Christians that I don't necessarily like (ahem, Fox News).  I like Jesus and what he stood for and I'm doing my best to follow in his name and to be a better person.  As a follower of Christ, I think there are things that he lived for and taught that still help the world today.

8. One day when I'm a mom, I totally think I'm going to be a hipster mom.  I can totally picture myself with a pumpkin spice latte in one hand, Etsy shop diaper bag, and a little baby boy who could be a mini GQ model. I'm excited to plan birthday parties, trips to Disney World, and take a stab at sewing clothes (not that I don't do these things already). I'm excited for the opportunity and privilege to hopefully become a mom one day. I talk about it enough on my blog but I'm really excited to have kids with Ryan.

9. My dream job would be to be paid to craft and design. I would love to scrapbook, design birthday parties, or create DIY tutorials as my main source of income. I swoon at the thought of a crafting chain, like Michael's or Hobby Lobby, sending me free product to create a tutorial for them. If I could blog all day about crafting and DIY or really get my blog going, that would be amazing.

10. I think it's incredibly important to pay attention to your audience. This is kind of a broad idea, but I believe it's important to understand your privileges and what you bring to the table. My perspective and life experiences will most likely be different than the people I talk to through my blog. I try to respect that and understand that people might get it and sometimes they might not. When I first wrote about the difficulties of a young marriage, I got some backlash. But then I realized that the audience I was talking to is very diverse. One comment I received was that marriage for her was easy. All I kept thinking of was that's awesome, but my experience has been otherwise. In looking more closely at the situation, we have two very different lives. Not to get into too much detail, but at 23 (and Ryan being 22) we are very different financially than let's say a couple in their 30's who have been in their careers for some time. Whereas some people would be done with college at Ryan's age, he's just starting and that's because of his service to the military. I would also say that our experiences in the military have also fashioned a different outlook on live than other people may have. Our experiences help fashion our outlook and it's important to keep that in mind.

Be sure to look out for Part III!

If you liked this post, share it with others! If you feel particularly moved by it, leave a comment because I love feedback and discussion. Social media links are provided below and thanks for reading!