My Crazy, Hectic Life...

Well, blogging can be fun but it can also be something that you feel tied down to--if I can call it that.

It's like this, over the past month, I've vowed to myself or other people to write blog posts about certain topics and ideas. Then eventually, I get to the point where I don't really want to...especially if it was an idea I 100% sold on blogging about...

...so, for now, I'm going to tell you about what's been going on in my life.

I'm 18 now, which means I'm "old enough to be free," in the words of my friend Andrew. :) However, freedom comes with a whole new boatload of responsibilities...like what you're going to do with the rest of your life, for instance. Yes, I have my ideas. Of course I have my dreams. Will it all come true? Well, who knows? What I really want...is for my life is to reflect the story that my Father in heaven is writing. He has my days planned out. All I can do is trust Him. Currently, I am still studying Digital Media Design at the local tech college. I have a couple scholarships and I'm using that money to finish up the coursework. Academically, I think I'm going to start going to university early next year and study business and marketing, but nothing is for sure yet.

I thought I would hang out with my friends quite a bit this summer...but I guess I didn't realize that my days were going to get full and QUICK. In May, my siblings, mom, and I drove to Missouri where I attended a young adult Bible conference over Memorial Day weekend. The rest of my family went down to a family Bible camp. 

We had a family vacation (2 weeks) at the end of June/beginning of July so we went to West Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, North Dakota to visit my great-aunt who turned 100 this year and to see some friends at a little church like ours up there, Medora, ND for a night, and then back home. 

When we got back, my aunt (not the same one from ND...this is one of my dad's sisters) came to visit for my homeschool high school graduation. We prepared for that. It was an amazing night spent with so many people I love that came out to support me. :)

The next day, we went to an awesome birthday party/fireworks at some of our friends' place. I got to hang out with a few of my friends I rarely ever see...and just had a great time in general.

Now, I'm really busy with another big event. During our time in North Dakota, one of our friends called and asked my sister and I to be in her wedding. That is coming up in just a few short days and so pretty much most of this month has been spent getting ready for that. I am excited to be a bridesmaid though!!!

After the wedding is done, there is a chance I may be able to go to a camp for teenagers/young adults up in North Dakota...

...and then in September we are going camping with friends...and then to California to visit family...

...oh yeah, and then once October comes around, a few of my friends from a different state are coming to visit me. 

Besides all that, somehow I still want to chill with my friends, get some things I need to get done finished, prepare for university, and continue to volunteer my time on Wednesday nights at AWANA (which starts in September). 

Guys...this is a crazy life...and it doesn't really slow down. My advice to you is to enjoy every moment, take nothing for granted, realize there's blessings in every phase of life, build your relationships with other people, and trust God with your future.

I think Stellar Kart might've put it best when they sang the words, "Life is good, eternal life is better." :)

An Unlikely Friendship...

I still remember when we were introduced to each other. Frankly, I’m sort of ashamed of what I thought of her at that time. Honestly, the person I imagined her to be was a worse and more worldly version of the girl I know and love today. 

Her name is Alexis and I met her at camp last summer. I actually had never been to a camp of any sort as a camper in my life. Well, actually there was that one time that I went for about two weeks to my close friends’ house for a “camp” experience type thing when I was twelve…but that doesn’t really count. Therefore, this was going to be my first time going as a camper. It was a family camp at a place called Covenant Heights in beautiful Estes Park, Colorado in August 2014. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon. I knew some of my closest friends (the same friends that I went to “camp” at their house/small farm) who live in Utah (where we live) were going to be arriving soon, and when they did, I greeted their daughter who had been at camp in Missouri and who I hadn’t seen in months and then kind of clung to them. We all had gotten there before most of the local people who were coming to camp, so we hung out together before everyone else started to show up. I guess my mom must’ve started talking to Alexis’ mom. I generally gravitate toward my mother when she’s making new friends, so either that’s why I went over to her or maybe it was because she called me…but either way, I remember standing next to her. Alexis came up at some point too and I think I recall her mother introducing her by name and age. I looked at her. She was wearing an Ironman shirt, jeans, and (if I remember correctly) either lots of bracelets or hair wraps. Her hair fell over her shoulders and she seemed sort of reserved at first. I honestly can’t exactly remember what I was wearing, but I would guess it was something like a T-shirt or casual-dressy blouse and shorts. My hair was probably up in either a bun or ponytail and I most likely had sunglasses on my head. From the outside, it didn’t seem like we’d really hit it off at all. So therefore, that evening at dinner (our first meal at camp), I sat with my Utah friends while Alexis went and ate with her friend Jordyn. This doesn’t mean that I didn’t glance back at her a couple times tho… 

I remember that at some point, my mom told my friends and I to reach out to Alexis because it didn’t seem like she had a lot of friends there…and I honestly don’t even remember how it happened…but it did. We ended up sitting together during some of the meetings and one night she asked if I wanted to come back to the lodge with her and hang out. We were staying in a trailer fairly far way from the center of the camp…so I checked with my mom and she said it was fine. Another day, Alexis told me that she and some other people from camp were going shopping in Estes Park and invited me to go along. I went and had a good time. A bunch of us went on a hike as a group, and that included Alexis and I. We hung out more in the lodge and at least some of the meals we sat together at a table. There were games of Octaball outside (whether sunshine or—pouring—rain). Hours were spent in the game room playing/watching others compete in carpetball, ping-pong, Polish, and pool. One evening, Jordyn, Alexis, Kristian (her brother—who I’m now also friends with), and I decided to play pool together in teams (2 on 2). So Kristian and Jordyn teamed up while Alexis and I formed the other team. Though we decided to play best of 5 and had to continue the tournament the next day and Jordyn dropped out, (I recall that) Kristian still beat us even though half the time he was shooting with the pool cue behind his back. :P WHAT IS THAT KRIS?? :) Yes, he's talented… One of the days I was playing around on the keyboard at camp (yes, I played it more than once…I like pianos, OK???), she came over and played a bit too and we chatted for a while. Anyway, even through all that, my sister seems to think that it wasn’t until the final day of camp that Alexis and I really clicked. It was a day of good-byes and I remember talking to her at length before we went our separate ways. I think our two families were some of the last to leave. We took several pictures (yes, including selfies) and hugged each other before we left. She went to her home that isn’t too far from camp and my family went on to meet my aunt and uncle at Bryce Canyon for a camping trip. During that next week in Southern Utah, I sent Alexis a message over Facebook and we chatted some. Our messages weren’t necessarily constant, but we did talk quite a bit over the next several months. They got deep though. Yes, I wear my heart on my sleeve…but I hadn’t really known her all that long and I was very upset about something so I messaged her all about it. She really appreciated that…and it was only the beginning. In the first months of 2015, we started to message each other almost 24/7. Around that time, we both became avid fans of Owl City and bonded over that. It also went deeper. There were pranks, deep topics, freak-out fangirl moments, and just random messages about thoughts that came into our minds or things that were going on in our lives. There was a night that we started talking about something and she got so upset that she started crying and I kept insisting that she call me over Skype…so she did and we probably talked until midnight. That wasn’t the first video call, either. We only do them once a month or so but they usually last several hours. There have been times that it’s gotten to be about midnight or later and my mom had to unplug the internet to break up our calls. Thankfully, she understood what happened and that I didn’t hang up on her. lol.  We recently were on a call that lasted between 2-4 hours and it was the last time we talked “face to face” before she left for camp. She’s been gone about 3 weeks now and has like 4 left. She really should come back because it kind of feels like a lonnnnnggggg time. I can’t message her all the time…which is a little strange since we’d start missing each other if we went a day or two…or even an hour or two sometimes without talking. Haha. 

When I met her, she seemed like a more nerdy girl who was kind of a tomboy. Her friend Jordyn seemed more girly-girl…and a lot more like me…but a bit more-so. I look at myself as sort of the kind of person that would be right in between them personality-wise. BUT…(happily) everything worked out.

Needless to say, she is now one of my best friends…in fact, I call her my “long-distance best friend.” It will be great to talk to her again after she gets back from camp, to Skype her, and to hopefully one day see her in person again! I love you Lexi! :) <3 

Celebrities!

We all love them...singers, rockstars, athletes, actors, etc. Admit it. You have a celebrity crush, right? We dream of meeting them. When they tweet us, we freak out. If they wrote us a letter, we'd keep it forever. We cherish their autograph. We listen to their music 24/7, watch their show every night, join fandoms and groups on the internet, share their pictures everywhere, talk about them all the time (drive our friends nuts), write blog posts about them, watch every game they play... Must I continue? 

The point of this post isn't to go on and on about the famous and popular people we love. In fact, I only said that to make a point. This morning I started thinking about God. I know what you're thinking at this point. Wait, we went fro actors, singers, and athletes to God? Where is this going? 

So all the kinds of people I mentioned above have a platform. They've done something to get to the place they're at. Think of God though. He's not a mere human...He's done so much! He created the earth and everything in it. That includes people...so what are their accomplishments? 

"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" 
-Psalm 8:4 

To top it all of, Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world through His death on the cross so that we could have eternal life. If we're talking about celebrities, nobody could be more of one than God and Jesus are. Interesting thought, isn't it? 

So...the question--do we treat God like a celebrity? We may say we love Him, and perhaps we do. However, we don't act like it. Do we freak out about Him? God deserves the love we give to the famous people...and much more. We really should be cherishing His word as much as we fangirl (or fanboy...don't get mad at me) over a tweet or letter we get. We should want to spend time with Him praying and reading the Bible. I'm comparing it to a fandom...but honestly, He deserves so much more. I just don't understand how we can give so much of our attention, time, and energy to some imperfect human when God is the only one who truly deserves it. I'm not saying I have it all together because I don't. It's easier to freak out about what you can see and forget about what you can't...but I'm challenging all of us to reach out to God and give Him our love and admiration. :)

My Thoughts Lately...

Life has it's ups and downs...the good days and the bad days. But through it all, we must realize that we are blessed.

Like the other day. It was a bit rough and things didn't go the way I wanted them to. First off, my computer hasn't been working right. I lost my iPod months ago and don't get it back until the end of the month...and so I've been using my computer like crazy. I had been dragging it to school with me each day until one night the screen decided it didn't want to turn on anymore. I had already gotten the screen replaced, so you can probably imagine how frustrated and heartbroken I was that it wouldn't come on now. I honestly don't think that the screen is the problem, but rather something else that is blocking the power from going to the screen. Thankfully, the computer has been working with an external monitor attached and my mom and dad are going to get me an entry-level MacBook Pro for a combined birthday, high school, and tech college graduation (#grateful). I can't wait to order it, but my mom has been swamped with tons of stuff and so we haven't gotten to it yet. So yeah, I'm getting impatient and my life sure doesn't feel perfect at this point. I mean...I don't have my iPod (which makes life more complicated) and my computer is busted. I know I'm going to get a new computer, but it's not happening too fast and that bugs me. 

But everything got worse on Tuesday. I usually use Firefox as my primary browser and one of my favorite things is to watch YouTube videos on my computer. By that, I mean videos from the comedy channels I follow, random tips on how to tame my curly hair, earn money, etc., or perhaps my favorite, episodes of The Brady Bunch (yes, I love that old show). I noticed something wrong with my YouTube site on Firefox. My videos were in theater mode and didn't have option to make them the smaller, normal size. This sort of freaked me out so I started to research ways to fix it. But before I knew it, I'd somehow made it worse because when I'd click on a video, the audio would start playing but the video portion was only black. I tried uninstalling and re-installing Firefox but that didn't help either. I decided I'd have to use Chrome but still researched ways to fix my Firefox browser. But about then I got into a total frenzy about something and got really angry...and my mom took away the cord that connects my computer to the external monitor (the only thing that makes it really work). I was pretty heartbroken and went to the home computer and began researching ways to fix my computer again. However, I haven't backed up all the files I want to off my computer yet and things weren't working right where I was trying to get the bottom of the laptop off so that I could try to follow the YouTube tutorial I was watching. Besides, I'd probably make it worse so I put it back in the box and put the computer into a room that we usually use for storage. It was really an emotional moment for me...having the computer back in the box it was in when I got it in over 3 years ago. I began to have flashbacks about all that it used to be. I remember coming down that same hallway when I was 14 and being psyched! I reminisced about showing my grandma it and how we wrapped it up and I opened it on Christmas Day. I burst into tears...and couldn't really take it anymore. In this way, my world felt like it was falling apart...but what I didn't realize was how I could look at this as a blessing.

Let me explain... Right now, all I really want is to get my computer back (which I do tomorrow) and to order my new Mac. But once I have both of those things (and my iPod by the end of the month), there will still be something else I really, really want and won't feel complete without. I'm always going to be discontent. At the moment I can say that what I need is those three things and then I will be completely happy and my life will be perfect, but that's not true. It may seem that way right now, but, believe me, it won't. I'm sure I'll want something else and feel incomplete without it--like maybe a phone for example. YOUR LIFE ON THIS EARTH WILL NEVER BE PERFECT. However, if you look at it the right way, it's pretty darn good. While I kind of feel broken right now, I can choose to be content. I realize that I'm pretty blessed to be able to have a computer at all. Most people across the world would feel extremely privileged if they had the problems I deal with. We shouldn't take our life for granted because tomorrow everything could be taken away from us. We are pretty blessed, even on the days we don't feel like we are.

So basically, I want this blog post to accomplish three things. I desire for it to tell you three lessons I've learned from this experience: 

1. Your life on this earth will never be perfect and you'll never be completely happy all the time here.

2. Don't take the blessings you have right now for granted.

3. You may think things are bad right now, but they could always be worse.

And not to end this on a negative note, just remember that God has blessed us with so many things. We would be nothing without His love and grace. He makes the sun shine down on us every single day. He keeps us alive. There are many more blessings I could list that I experience in my own life, but I know the two I stated above everyone enjoys. :) But above and beyond all that, He gave us His Son who came to earth to be sacrificed for our sins so that we could live with Him in heaven for all eternity. We will be truly joyful and happy all the time there...and our lives will be perfect! :D

Choices

So after our main service at church yesterday, we had a little Bible study that one of the men put together. I thought I'd share it with you. 
It was based off Luke 18:18-23 which reads, 

And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal

life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

We discussed a lot of things about this passage, but I'm only going to share a few things and maybe it will leave you with a little bit to think about. Obviously, the rich young ruler kept on living his life the way he had before and didn't get rid of his possessions. But what if he had? How would the outcome be different? So what we did was take our whiteboard and divide it into two sections--"Temporal" and "Eternal." We then discussed what came/would've come out of each decision. If you look at the left side of the picture, you'll see a few of the things the rich young ruler obtained by not getting rid of all the things he owned. He would've lived securely on earth because he always had enough money, the praise of men, status among his community and peers, pleasures, and comforts...at least for the present. However, if he took his eyes off the here and now and looked toward eternity he would lack peace and be disappointed that he didn't listen to Jesus.

Now take a look at the other side of the photo. If you look at everything he would obtain if he had chosen to give up his riches for the glory of God, the young ruler would probably have been a very happy and joyful man. He would've had peace, security (both here and during eternity), joy, fulfillment, the fruits of the Spirit, some praise of men and status (but more importantly, he would have God's praise), blessings, provision of needs, comfort, crowns in heaven, a rewarding life, etc. Sound pleasant? I think so.

If you look at the very top of the whiteboard in the picture you'll notice the word "choices." The rich young ruler had a choice. Was he going to give up his riches and live for Jesus or was he going to keep them and live for himself? What do you think he should've chosen? To give up his riches and live for Jesus? Good choice. Seems so obvious, doesn't it? It's totally the better choice. Right...but...it's easy to see that when you step back and analyze both options. We may think that the rich young ruler was stupid and foolish to make the decision he did. However, if we were in his place, we probably would've made the same mistake. You see, we face choices like this every day. I know that I often choose the side that allows for temporary pleasure. It's easy to follow your flesh when it's what you can feel and what you can see. The eternal and spiritual can feel so far away. It's not tangible and is harder to consider when you make a decision...at least for me. It's so easy to just look at the here and now instead of forever. It's like putting your hand up near your face and concentrating on that instead of looking at everything that's all around you. 

I'm just here to share this with you and challenge you to take a step back and consider everything. The next time you have to make a choice, even if it is a little one, think about what you will gain if you decide to choose the path that give you temporary enjoyment versus the one that will give you eternal fulfillment. :) 

Friendship...

Friendships are wonderful...they are also very complex. I've learned a thing or two about them in the last year...here are some things I know now.

1. Just because someone is moving on to a different chapter of their life doesn't mean you have to quit being friends with them. It may seem that way at times and they might not be in your day-to-day life anymore, but you're still friends.

2. Your friends are going to move on and meet more people and make new friends. It may hurt sometimes, but honestly, you're going to do the same thing...whether you're conscious of it or not.

3. There are different levels of friendships...sometimes you're so close to people that they get on your nerves like family but all you want is to be with them... :P Some people you're just getting to know, but you think they're super cool and want to hang out with them more.

4. Making friends with folks you usually wouldn't talk to can be amazing. They usually end up being really cool people.

5. Sometimes the people you would least expect to be great friends with end up being some of your closest friends...or you just have fun with them unlike you do with anyone else.

6. You can't ever fully let go of your close friends because you know each other so well that you pick up where you left off, go back to old inside jokes, or just tease each other.

(Also, as a Christian, I've found that when I meet other Christians I can almost immediately trust them and it's like I've known them forever. :D )


So there are a couple thoughts. Comments welcome and appreciated. :)

My final thoughts as a 17-year-old...

I turn 18 tomorrow! Yay! Wait, did I just say "yay"? I think I did. Actually, I don't know what to think of this...really...I don't. Part of me is very excited. I am now old enough to do things I couldn't before...such as go to conferences and get jobs. But then again, there are the cons. I'm going to be a legal adult, which carries with itself a lot of responsibility. So I guess you could say I'm a bit torn.

On the other hand, it's a new year of my life and I should welcome it with gratitude. There will be more things to learn, places to see, people to meet, and things to do. There will be the stressful days...but there will be the fun ones too. It's a new year--a blessing from God, and I am thankful.

Looking back on this past year, it really has been awesome. There were changes, and it was hard...but all in all, I wouldn't trade it in for the world. I think every year has its pros and cons. 

Let's look at the pros...

Seventeen was great. I got to be in one of my favorite places on earth for my birthday--Arizona. We met some family down there and went to some San Francisco Giants Spring Training games. 

In June, we took a little trip to Lagoon, which was so fun!!! We got to go with our friends, the Alvarados, which made it even better!

I got the chance to go shooting for the second time in my life. I'm so thankful to have an awesome friend like Caleb, who helped me plan that. It was so awesome! Oh, and we wrapped the day up with an Adam Cappa concert. I got to shake his hand and personally talk to him for a minute. We even got a picture. He's such a sweet guy!

I started school at the DATC in July. It was an answer to prayer and has been a great blessing and good experience for me! :)

In August, I went on an amazing vacation. We first headed out to Estes Park, Colorado for family camp. It honestly was one of the best weeks of my life. Camp itself was a blast, but I think I look fondly on that week because I met so many cool people including my "long distance best friend" (as I call her), Lexi (she's in the bottom left picture). :)

From there, we headed to southern Utah and met my Aunty Ren and Uncle Bob and visited both Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. 

In September, I got the tremendous privilege of going to Hawaii for the first time in my life. I know I didn't act grateful enough then, but it really was an amazing place and experience. Thank you Mom and Dad! :) <3

And that ended the family vacation for the time when I was 17. So I was mostly home after that. But what would life in your hometown be without family and friends? I got to meet some new people this year...and hanging out with the friends I already had...so here are a few pictures. Thank you all for loving me and being my friends!

So there's a short list of the great things about the year I was seventeen!!! :) It's crazy thinking about everything and how much cool stuff can all be crammed in one year! Oh, and that's not even all of it...just a little bit! Haha. Thank you, Jesus for a great year and I pray that this next year would be one that I draw closer to You this next year as I enter adulthood and its responsibilities. :) 

Thank you all for reading. Feel free to leave me a comment. Let me know what you thought of this post...or share some advice with me on how to be a "grown up." Lol. :D You all are awesome!!! :)

My Struggle With Growing Up

So I'm turning 18 in about 2 weeks. That means I'm going to be a legal adult. (Wait, what?!) I'm growing up. In fact, I actually won't be considered a "kid" anymore. Not that my parents and grandparents and other people won't call me that anymore, but I'm not a little child...which is cool, but it's not. I have mixed feelings on the topic, hence the title of this post. :) Therefore, without further ado, my thoughts on the concept of becoming an adult and "growing up."

I'm very paradoxical so one minute I could be saying that I'm happy I'm growing up and that I can't wait for my 18th birthday, when the next minute I'll turn around and say that it's absolutely horrible and I want to be a little child again. Weird, right? Not really. Think about how easy life was as a child...you really had nothing you needed to do besides school and probably a few chores. Life was easy and your days were carefree. Adults have way more responsibilities. They're way busy and, naturally, have lots of stress. However, there are advantages to being 18 and over...you really have more freedom to do what you want. You can make your own decisions. 

As for me, growing up has been an interesting process. Emotionally, it's taken/taking me quite a while. I just don't mature quickly emotionally. This year brought a lot of change...I made new friends and so did some of my friends. Even though I sometimes feel like I'm forgotten by them, I know I'm not...and I really wouldn't turn this year in for anything! I began going to tech school which really was a leap into adulthood. It's been hard, but good. Again, I wouldn't want something different. A lot of times, people (myself included)  are discontent with their position in life. They want to be younger...or older and wish their days away. I did that with my childhood, and frankly, it's really hard to not do that with my life now. I just hope and pray that I will take life one day at a time, seek God's will, and enjoy the moment. :)

So Tomorrow's Thanksgiving...

Well, it's here. The day we thank God for all the wonderful things He has given to us and stuff tons of food into us while others are going hungry. Oh, and if that isn't enough then we have to go to the store and basically plow people over to acquire more possessions as if what we have isn't enough. So right when we thank the Lord for all He has given us as if we're content, we decide we are not and go and buy more things. BUT, I'm not going to make this blog post all about that--how we get it wrong, how we should be giving to the poor, and how we really aren't thankful. None of that. Although I do encourage you to think about what I just said. 

 This post is about what I am thankful for.

This year has been very different from last year. I started tech college. That means I'm not really homeschooled anymore. My friends (and I) have been going in different directions. Yes, sometimes I feel like I am losing them. In addition, I've made new friends and visited new places. Had new experiences, basically. This year has had its ups and its downs...but all in all...it's been AMAZING! I am seriously so blessed to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior, to live where I do, to have wonderful and loving parents, a family that adores me, and friends that care so much about me. I couldn't ask for more!

Thank you Lord for all the blessings You have given me!!! I don't deserve anything and yet You love me so much that You give these great things anyway. May I never take them for granted! And not just on Thanksgiving, but every day, give thanks to You! You give and take away...and Lord, blessed be Your name! THANK YOU!!!

The Post That's ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS

Did I get your attention? I probably did. Well, at least if my estimations are correct. It seems these days that the goal of every teenager is to get their crush to like them and start a relationship with them. I've just begun to realize this as a few of my teenage friends have gotten into relationships recently. I feel the need and desire to share how I feel on the subject.

Disclaimer

First off, I would like to say a few words. If you are in a relationship with someone and are a teenager, I'm not judging you. I know I cannot convince every single one of you to believe what I believe. Some of it is just a matter of opinion after all. I encourage you to think about what I say in this post.I challenge you to think outside the box of our culture's expectations on teenagers these days. I think there's more to this life than fitting in. Standing out in a Godly, moral way is awesome! Don't ever forget that. We are to please God and not man.  

 When Can I Start Dating?

Yes, I had to address this question. Some of you are just waiting to hear what I have to say because you want to argue with it, some of you are truly curious, and some of you cringed when you saw that I even put that question in here. I think it's a very popular question and I wanted to answer it so here it goes...

Some people say that you can start dating at 16; others say that's far too young. I don't think it's necessarily a debate over age. I think that the question above is the wrong question. The right question (I believe) would be, "Why would I date someone?" Think about that for a minute--why would you date someone? What is your ultimate goal in a relationship? To have fun? If it is, you're doing it wrong. There's only one good reason to be in a relationship. It's to get to know someone for the goal of marrying them one day. It's not to have fun. Relationships aren't small things...they're serious. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'll talk more about that later.

Simple Answer: Whenever you're ready to get married.

How Will I Find "The Right One?"

By this time, most of my readers are probably thinking. Yeah, Sydney, that's all fine and good, but seriously--if I don't date people, how am I ever gonna find the right person? You will find the right person without dating a bunch of people first. Really? You say, "How is that possible?" Can't you trust God with your life? Isn't He bigger than you? He created the world, forgave us of all our sin, and keeps you alive from day to day. Don't you think He can bring the right person to you in His perfect timing? Absolutely yes! I know a couple that met only because of God. They lived in very different parts of the country and met over the internet because she and her sister stumbled across his blog. It's an amazing story. They wouldn't have ever met otherwise. God brought them together at just the right time. He will do the same for you, my friend.

Simple Answer: When God brings him/her along at just the right time.

  

Courting VS. Dating

By now you're probably thinking, "Oh, she's got conservative views on the subject. She probably believes in courting." Well, you're right. But there's more to it than that. I don't really care what you call it; I care how you do it. Let's think of it this way--when I think of dating what do you think of? Probably a couple who's hanging out (usually for fun), hugging, kissing, holding hands, and maybe even living with each other (which is not OK, by the way)--just your stereotypical couple in the US nowadays. Now think of courting...what comes to your mind? Perhaps some old-fashioned ideas of a really strict relationship. But can we just agree on one thing? Courting takes everyone into consideration, the parents, the family, and the other person's heart. When two people are in a courtship, they tend to be more cautious and try to not get too attached to the other person in case they have to break up and end up heartbroken. They also pay attention to the wisdom of their parents. Couples who date tend to just go off on dates one-on-one and do whatever they want. OK so, I'm not bashing people who date...again, this is just my opinion. In fact, I know a couple who is now happily married that "dated." However, their parents were involved, he did things with her family and they were conservative about it. That's exactly why I said that it's not necessarily what you call it, it's how you do it. 

Simple Answer: It's not what you call it, it's how you do it.

It's More Than Just Your Purity

So look back up at my last "simple answer." You're probably wondering, "how I do it"? What does that mean. Does it mean I'm never supposed to hold hands or sit next to my boyfriend/girlfriend. This is the question of the ages. I don't have it all down and don't claim to know all the answers, but here's where I am with this whole thing. It's called standards. When you begin a relationship with someone. Talk to them about what they think is appropriate to do. Maybe you think it's OK to hold hands, or maybe you choose to just give one another side hugs occasionally. It varies from couple to couple because everyone has different convictions. Whatever you decide, though, tell other people and have them keep you accountable. Make sure there are other people around when you are together. The more physically attached you get to someone, the hard it is to let go of them if you need to. Sometimes you will definitely need to break up, and when you do it can scar you if you've given too much of your heart away. I was talking about this very concept today with a friend and she illustrated it this way. She said that two people are like two pieces of paper glued together. When they have to break up, they have to separate. Have you ever had to pull apart two pieces of paper that were glued together. I mean when the paste is dry. You know that at least one of the papers is going to leave some of itself on the other piece of paper. That's how it is in a relationship. If you get too attached to someone, if you have to break up you will leave way more of your heart with them than you ever wanted to. Yes, your purity is important--I would daresay that it is the most important thing to save for your spouse--but I also think that you should be careful how close you get to someone before you're married. 

Simple Answer: Make standards, have others keep you accountable, don't give too much of your heart away, remember you don't own the other person, and stay pure.

Lists?

How will you know it's the right one when he/she comes? I highly suggest creating a list of the things you need in a spouse and a seperate list of the things you would like/prefer in a future mate but don't need. I have made one and it really helps you see in black-and-white when you like someone. You can see that they don't fit your list in one way or another and that they are "out." I highly recommend writing a list. It really helps. Also, as my mom says, become the person now that is worthy of the kind of spouse you want.

Simple Answer: Make a list of things you need and want  in a future spouse and become the person they deserve.

My Resolve

You can agree with what I've just written. You can disagree with what I've just written. You can be somewhere in between. Wherever you stand, I'm encouraging you today to make a stand. Come up with a resolve that you're going to wait on God's timing. Tell others. Have them keep you accountable. The temptation's out there. It's really easy to fall into. Maybe you have. It's never too late to start over. Wait on the Lord. He won't fail you. Make that resolve now so you won't give in to temptation later. Pray that the Lord will help you. Pray for your future spouse. This is what I'm going to do. Buy a purity ring (guys and girls) or (for the girls) a heart locket that reminds you that your dad will give the key to your locket (symbolizing your heart) to the man he trusts and believes that God has made you for. TRUE LOVE WAITS!

Simple Answer: Resolve to wait on God's timing and stay pure!

  

I know that if I'm meant to be married, God has the right one out there for me and that He will bring him along in His perfect timing. For now, we'll just be praying for each other, dreaming about one another, and longing for the day that God will show us His plan for our lives. <3