Mulligans for Everyone!

For those of you who aren't big golfers out there, a mulligan in golf is (according to dictionary.com) a shot not counted against the score, permitted in unofficial play to a player whose previous shot was poor. In other words, a little bit of grace shown to the other player.

A couple months ago my family and I visited some very dear friends in Florida over our fall break. We had the opportunity to see where they live, shop, eat, swim (they live about 10-20 minutes from the beach), and attend church. Now the weekend we were there just happened to be the Sunday when their pastor was out of town and they had a guest pastor speak. He spoke on grace and talked about the mulligan in his message. (Yes, I am repeating lots of what he said because I thought it was a wonderful life lesson.)

I know I keep talking about grace, and some of you might not even know what that is. Basically, it is something freely given that no one can ever earn. God extends grace to us when we sin and He did this when He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus did nothing wrong and lived a perfect life, but the gift of salvation was given to us when He sacrificed His life for everyone in the world. Because He paid the ultimate price for our sins on the cross, God can look at us as holy and blameless and pure. However, you have to accept the gift of forgiveness that God gave us for Him to view us in this way.

Anyway, back to the story...

The speaker kept talking about how God has given us grace and how we need to do the same for others. We need to show people God's grace. Because God has extended grace to us, we need to follow His example and do the same for others. We need to be carrying mulligans around in our pockets and have some ready to give to others.

Now, you might be wondering why I'm sharing all of this with you. You see, grace is something that is very hard for me to give out. I tend to view things in a more just manner. My thought a lot of times is, "Well, you really deserved that." But how dare I think like that. There are so many times people have extended grace to me when I don't deserve it, and I am so grateful they have. Not only that, but God has extended an abundance of grace to me. I am a wretched person who deserves death and to be separated from God for all of eternity. But God has extended grace to me that I have accepted, and I now get to spend a lifetime with Him. I don't deserve to, but He gave me that wonderful gift. (Now, are there times when you will still receive consequences and punishments? Yes. This is because God is not only a God of grace, but He is also a God of Justice. And I know all of that can be confusing, but that's another story for another day.)

God has been making it very clear to me these last couple of months that I need to extend more grace to people. The other day I found this verse on my iGoogle home page...You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Philippians 2:5 (New Living Translation). Then, on facebook, I found this post on a friend's status...Grace will be my song. These were both reminders to me to show grace to people. The verse got me thinking about how God would act and what He would do. His whole attitude would be that of grace and love. That's exactly the attitude I need to have.

These are just some thoughts on where I am on my journey learning more about extending grace and love to people. So I hope we can all remember to carry around some mulligans in our pockets to give out to people. :)

♥ Annie ♥

The Feast

The Feast. It sounds like a Thanksgiving feast filled with turkey and corn casserole and rolls and the other traditional Thanksgiving day foods, right? Well, not exactly. The Feast is an event at my church that we have been holding for four years now. And what it is is a school-on-school competition to see who can eat the most hamburgers. I know this sounds crazy or insane or weird or gross or any of the above, but it is an event that many students at the local high schools have come to know.

I love the Feast. It is a time for worship and a message, as well as a time for stuffing your face with tons of hamburgers. However, it's a little more than just that. It's a time for a seed to be planted. These kids may come for some free food that they can actually eat, but they are also being able to intake some free spiritual food. It gives them an opportunity to experience God's love and what He has to say to them. And I am someone who is all about the seed being planted...because it only takes one. After it's planted, it's our job to leave it up to God to grow it. Now that may include God nudging us to invite them to church again or it might include just loving them and showing them who God is. But one thing I do know is that every single kid there last night was there for a reason and I can't wait to see God's plan unfold in their lives. :)

Role Model

Have you ever had someone in your life who you consider to be a role model? Hopefully you do have that person that you can look up to and learn from. Well, I was recently assigned to write a memoir for an English class I am taking. It is to be based off of the book, "Tuesdays with Morrie." (If you haven't read it, it is a very touching book, one in which I cried through at the end.) We could choose any person we wanted to and after a few days of praying about it, I chose mine. As I am writing my memoir (or really a memoir mostly about her life and my relationship with her), I have to examine how she has impacted my life. I can't simply say, "Oh yeah. She was really helpful. However, I have no idea what role she played in my life." I have to truly examine the things she's taught me, who she is, etc. This project has also gotten me to think about all of the other people in my life who are role models. I have been able to see that there are many people in my life who have impacted me in some way, whether big or small. And they have all touched me in different ways. For some, it is that they stand up for what they believe in no matter what the cost. For others, it is the obedience and trust they have put in the Lord. And for others, they are teachers that have taught me and gone beyond their job of teaching. We all have role models and mentors that are all around us....the questions is, "Who are they, and what are they teaching us?"

Let the Countdown Begin...

We are less than one week away from our county's fall break this year, and everyone knows it.

It is now the time of year when the sandals and sundresses go away, light jackets are worn, students are more talkative than normal, and everyone is taking their last trip to Florida before next spring. It is such a wonderful time of the year with the leaves changing, having bonfires with friends, and going to a few more high school football games.

But for me, it is more than that...
There is something that happens to me every single year around this time, and that is...HOW MUCH I TRULY LOOK FORWARD TO FALL BREAK. Sure, Christmas, spring, and summer breaks are great. However, I feel like those are just nice breaks to have from life. Fall breaks are much NEEDED for me. I always start feeling exhausted and physically, emotionally, and mentally drained. I feel like I have very little left of me to keep giving people and putting into school and life in general. Right now, I am running off of a LACK of sleep and lots of sugar ;) My weekends are filled with football games, band competitions, and church. Now don't get me wrong, I love participating in each and every one of those activities, but they do keep me very busy. And right now in school, teachers are concerned with new benchmark tests and craming all the information they can down our throats, so we will be caught up when we return to school after fall break. So let's just say that this year more than ever, it is a much needed and looked-forward to break.

Therefore, with all this said, let the countdown to fall break begin...

I'm Worn Out!

I know I haven't written in a while and I apologize for that. This is so for two reasons: 1) I haven't really thought of anything too exciting to write about, and 2) Like the title states, I AM WORN OUT and in the midst of a busy life...

We have been in school for a month now. And I can't tell you how much I love this year. Everyone says junior year is your hardest academic year, but it isn't so much that as it is that I am simply so busy. And to be honest...I'm tired. For the past two or three weeks now I have just been going, going, going. Not that I don't take my little rests and breaks every day, but there is always somewhere someone in my family needs to be and something I need to do for school, even if it is only to help me get ahead. In fact, we have so many things to do and places to be that my mom had to put up a family calendar on our fridge so we can keep up with everything. This is just something we aren't quite used to.

But I also know that God is in control and He is helping me get through all the busyness. In fact, there is one way in which He has helped me and I just keep thanking Him for it. I just noticed it this week, but I am so thankful that I don't have a job. Crazy sounding, I know...especially coming from a high schooler's mouth. But it's true! Towards the end of this summer I applied for three different jobs (well, two of them were the same place just at different locations). I was really hoping for a job that would put a little money in my pocket and I just prayed that I would get a job at the place God wanted me at and at the time God had planned for me. This was such a hard prayer to pray, because I really wanted a job. But I am so thankful that I did not get a job. My life right now is too busy for one. I think my stress level would put me beyond breaking point and I would be in tears right now. But I'm not. Just this week, I have had/will have SIX different club meetings to go to. That's more clubs than there are school days!!! And I know that I would be even more exhausted if I had to go to a job on top of all that. So, again I will say, THANK YOU GOD THAT I DON'T HAVE A JOB!!! ☺ This is just another way God is showing me that He knows what's best for me and how He is taking care of me with my best interests at heart. So until next time...

Annie ♥

Junior Year is Finally Here!!!

If you are anything like me, then you are the type of person who can't wait for the next school year to get here. You are someone who can't sleep the night before and ends up staring at the ceiling for hours. You are also someone who gets really excited over school supplies, finding out your class schedule, and organizing your papers with dividers. Well, this is how I have been for the last week or two...

As of today, August 2nd, I am officially a JUNIOR in high school. This completely blows my mind! I am so ecstatic to be entering into this next stage of my life. I am also trying to grasp the idea that I am almost finished with high school. Common knowledge is that junior year is one of the hardest years in high school. Not only is the work starting to get harder with A.P. classes, but this year I will have to start visiting colleges, zoning in on a college and major, taking the ACT and/or SAT, looking up scholarships and which ones I can apply for, trying to get a job, and the list goes on. But hopefully it won't be as bad as everyone says and I will have some fun. I also cannot wait to see what God teaches me this year and how I grow spiritually and emotionally.

Freedoms

"Why don't we use our freedoms and liberties that so many people fought and died for?"


This quote came to me from a man who came to speak to my church family and me one Sunday at the end of May. The thought of it is so fascinating and, at times, earth-shattering. When you think about it, it gets you to analyze how we, as Americans and Christians, use our American freedoms in our daily life to live out our Faith. We have to ask ourselves, "What am I doing in my daily life to make sure I don't let those freedoms go to waste?" Part of using our freedoms consists of being conscious of our actions. Be intentional of how you live. And continue to use the freedoms our country was built upon and the freedoms men and women fought and died for in order to give us a better life. If we don't, we might wake up one day and find ourselves without the freedoms and justices that are so important to us.

Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16 NIV

P.S. I know it is past the Fourth of July, but I believe anytime is a good time to talk about our freedoms, especially before the start of a new school year filled with opportunities to use them.