Updates and Plans

I don't really know where to begin. I guess some updates on my ideas and my life.

• I have decided that I want to start blogging again. I went through most of my account and delete/updated things. My old blog (crazycarlee.blogspot.com) has been deleted. I felt that I said things on there that represented the old me. Plus, I am sure that I said or wrote about things that do not ultimately glorify my Savior, which disappoints me. I felt that the best way to move on from the reminders old gossip and problems was to just delete the blog, because it definitely contained things from stupid circumstances and dumb feelings. Let us move along!
• I have also decided to post things, on this blog, that have little reminders of things. Basically, I am going to post about the things I am learning, as I got to college, work, and other random activities.
• So, NOW, updates on what I've been doing: I am attending college, like I said above. What am I majoring in, you ask? Well, if you must know, it is nursing. I graduated in 2013, so I am a Freshman. Also, I work as a tutor ("supervisor) at a Christian Private school. It is a great job. The people that I work with make me laugh, as well as the kids. I lead a devotions class, in addition to leading P.E.. Right now, this is my life summed up. I go to school one day, then the next it's work. Rinse, and repeat. ;)
• My life is not boring by any means, but I do get anxious for some travelling every now and again. Sight seeing is exciting to me! I love the ocean, mountains, etc. Being outside = perfection, when the weather permits. My beautimous cousin, Kylie, is graduation high-school this year, sooo I have decided to take a 2 week vacation to celebrate with her this June. YES! This June! I can't even describe how stoked I am to see my family out there. Growing up we spend every single holiday and birthday together. Moving to Tennessee kinda messed that up. Don't get me wrong, we have family out here in good ole' Nash-Vegas, but we only hang once a year.
• Anything else for me this year? Well, I am planning on attending a camp that I've being going to since I was about 12.
• Oh yea, I'm 19 and a half. *gasp* I get a little teary at this moment thinking about how time flies. Friends leave, new ones come. New life. New classes. New feelings. New places.

I don't have any main point for this post, but, if I did, it would be to think about those FACES IN THE CROWD. Think about how you can help people, and show them Jesus!

Until the next post,

 

 

Carlee C.



Beauty: (n) Attractive or Appeasing to the Senses

          Beauty. What is it really? The Internet defines beauty as-appeasing to the senses; attractive; or sparking jealousy (that last one really catches me). Next question! How many of you feel beautiful all of the time? Not normally, right? Especially with all these size negative 12 models out there flaunting what they got. I just want to encourage and remind you that what's on the outside doesn't matter as much as what is on the inside.
          Matthew 23: 25-28 says, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." (NIV Version)
          In this passage Jesus is talking to the scribes and Pharisees. The scribes and Pharisees were the ones who took the Old Testament very seriously. They took it so seriously that they became extreme in their beliefs and blinded themselves to the New Testament Savior, Jesus Christ. Basically, they didn't believe that Jesus was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament (Isaiah 7:14). In Matthew 23, Jesus told these extremists that they were making themselves look shiny, glistening white on the outside, BUT their hearts (souls) were wicked and dirty.
          Jesus also shared with them that in order for their outsides to be truly clean, they must wash their insides first. So before we can truly be beautiful on the outside, we must be pure/clean on the inside. Jesus is stating that you can scrub yourself clean with a loofah, cloth yourself in Urban Outfitter/Ambercrombie/Forever21, paint your face with Ulta/Sephora, and look like all those negative sized models, but that doesn't mean that you are truly beautiful.
          Matthew 16:26 clearly states, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" Don't let the world yank you down when they try to tell you that you are not as special as those few selected beauty queens, because you are beautiful when you've been washed by the blood of the Lamb!
          The Bible also says in Proverbs 31:30, "Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the LORD shall be praised." In the end, when Christ returns and we stand before the Maker of the world, we are not going to be rewarded for those "cute new Chacos" you paid $70 for. Christ is going to examine your heart! Be prepared! Inner beauty is what it comes down to in the end.
          I would also like to add that there is nothing wrong with looking nice OR having all those items/brands that I included above. When you make those trinkets your everything, or when you allow those pieces of cloth to be your idol, main concern, and superior reason for doing things, then that is wrong. Exodus 20:3 relays to us, "You shall have no other gods before me," and 1 Samuel 12:21 states, "Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless."
          The Bible is clear on how God feels about idolatry-Psalms 97:7, "Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods," as well as in Jeremiah 2:5 (NIV), "What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves."
          Don't serve those idols! Beauty on the outside won't get you into heaven. (John 14:6 & Romans 10:9)

Happy Valentine's Day: Be Mine? With Love, God

Wow, today was Valentine's Day. Honestly, I have never really liked this "holiday", and I don't really know why. Don't think I'm a hater or anything. :)

Anyways, I just wanted to share some passages of scripture from The Ultimate Love Letter, the Bible, to let you know that God loves you MORE than anybody that has given you that classic, 'Happy Valentine's Day!" Here we go:

Romans 8:38-39
For I am persuaded that neither death nore life, nor angels, nor things present, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor death nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

That is SO comforting to know that there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, that can ever possibly separate us from the love of God!

Ephesians 2:4-6
But God who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us together and made us to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Okay, for me, those verses majorly spell out dedication and self-sacrifice. I mean, think about it. It basically says that Jesus Christ gave up Himself for...for a bunch of DEAD sinners. I mean, we were DEAD in our sins. And He gave up Himself for us, so that we could be with the ONLY God. Wow.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall no perish, but have everlasting life.

Never doubt the King's love for you! :) Happy Jesus-Loves-You Day!!

Love: Passion VS. Brotherly

The other day I was telling an adult in my church about how the guys at my school are doing "No Shave November" and how it really makes me not want to hug them because they are all furry. Well, the person then replied to me, "Well, you shouldn't be hugging boys anyways."

Me: *sarcasm* "Okay, right..."

Her: *pats me on back* "Well, I know you're still like, 'Ewwwww, boys. Cooties.'"

This annoyed me to no extent. I mean really, I wanted to whip around and say, "You don't even understand." But, alas, I didn't. I simply tilted my head and said, "Well, they are just my friends. Well, more like my brothers. So I can hug them." The conversation quickly ended after that.

You see, the reason I was so irritated was because I am not afraid of boys, or of being in a relationship. I just want to be against the world flow of things; it's really how I have come to be.

I have no problem with people dating either. I have come to a point in my life (which has no been very long) where I have decided that I don't need a boyfriend right now. I want to go to college and get my career going, and serve the Lord as a missionary. My goal is to become a nurse and go to Africa.

I guess the person's comment bugged me because I don't want people to think that that was the reason I don't want to be in a relationship.  I want people to realized that I am SO in love with my God, that am I wanting Him and only Him now. I want to serve Him, and if it is HIS will that I find a guy that I want to spend the REST of my life with, then HOLY MOLEY! That's stinking amazing!

I like guys, it's just I don't NEED a boyfriend. You know?? Plus, the Bible says in 1 Timothy 5:1-2, "Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with all purity."

That is how I am striving to be. Guys are easy to get along with, especially if you aren't flirting up a storm and trying to get their emotions going. I love all the guys at UCA, but I don't have feelings for any of them in a passionate way. They are my brothers, and I love them as brothers.

THAT is why I got upset. I don't want people to look at me and say, "Oh, she's not dating because she is freaked out by boys." I want them to look at me and say, "Wow, she is trying to focus on what God has called her to do."

I do want a family, but right now, at 17?? Heck no. I don't think God wants me to focus on that just yet. His will for some people might be to be in a relationship, but right now, not for me. You see, I am also trying to keep myself pure for my future spouse. I have never been asked out; praise the LORD! I have never been kissed by a boy, and have never dated. I am not scared of guys. I'm sorry I keep repeating this, but I want to make sure you understand. I DON'T CARE ABOUT BOYS LIKE THAT BECAUSE I WANT TO WAIT FOR SOMEONE I WANT TO MARRRRRRY! And since I want to wait a while before I get married...only brothers for now. ;)

Girls should not have to feel like that are "cool" just because they have a boyfriend. I mean, you are SO special that God sent His ONLY Son to die for you. (John 3:16) If that's not special I don't know what is.

Salvation: Written in Stone?

I recently had the great privilege of welcoming a friend into the family of God. This sister has been dear to my heart since I learned she was in fact not saved, as I assumed she was. When having a deep conversation with her she told me she felt she had been real with herself and God about her recent salvation, but still doubted whether or not it was real. I started to think back to a verse I had read that exact day: 30 minutes before our conversation. I know for a fact God had me find that verse to give to her.

Romans 10:9- that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.


Be real with yourself. Your salvation WAS and IS written in stone. Feel like God might forget His promise? "Never!" He says in this next verse.

Ephesians 1:13-14-In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with he Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

God sealed you with the Holy Spirit of promise! He is NOT a liar. Shout it to the world!

Carlee

Faces in the Crowd

The reason that I chose the name The Faces in the Crowd is because how often do we go somewhere with a large crowd, and share the gospel? No very often. As Christians we should tell everyone about Christ. That is why I chose 1 John 2:1-2 as my main verse for this blog, because Christ died for everyone! NOT just for YOU AND ME, but for YOUR NEIGHBOR, and YOUR COUSIN'S BEST FRIEND. Fore everybody, and we need to shout it to all the ends of the earth.

We have no idea how many people maybe suffering when we walk into a crowd. More than likely most are. We should try to pray for those people as we walk into a large place. It could be at Kroger, the Rivergate Mall, OR at the Gallatin Fair. Who knows!

I think as Christians we should try not to be just another face in the crowd. People should see a difference in us and want that difference too.

REMEMBER: Christ died for all of us, tell peeps about it! :P

Sorry if this bore you. I was kinda' rambling. STL,

Carlee

Hola...

Hey guys! This blog is going to be about my life as a Christian. It am going to write about my experiences, and weird things I see out in the world. I hope to blog about issues that our world is facing today, people that I meet who do not not have a relationship with Christ, and things that I may be having a problem with. I'm sorry if this blog bores you in the future. More than likely I won't post on it everyday. Love in Christ,

Carlee