A WANDERLUST. Not only is it a word, but a person. I am a wanderlust. Everyday I float through the same old cycle of life. Yet, I find myself wanting more. As I stare out of my car window, my desire grows. I am ever longing for adventure. Like a ballon my whole soul, heart, and mind are consumed with thoughts of travel and exploring. Ah, the pure thought is so overwhelming!
Here I am.
The wind... its fresh earthly smell of sea and salt; shooting my hair all about. The sounds... so vast and mighty are the waves with its thundering swells crashing down combined with the millions of shells washing back and forth by the waves. Along with the Seagulls chanting their lovely ocean songs. The scene... the water with its pure shades of sea blue and aqua, always turning. The white earthly sand, sinking beneath my feet, never-ending.
As I stand at the waters edge my heart skips a beat. The sun, in all its beauty, setting. Spewing forth rays of warmth and bursting with color! All I can do is close my eyes and take in the amazing scene around me.
Nevertheless, I do not remain content. My heart hurts when I think of all the things I haven't done or seen. I’m getting restless again. I need change. I need adventure. And I need it now. God put desire for adventure in man. Set out and find it.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Let's Talk About Sexual Temptation..
So, i never really thought that a females hormones were really as crazy as everyone said they were, until I reached age 18.
Though I am a single lady, I feel as if I have been possessed!.. By my HORMONES! :O
My body gets all tingly whenever I sit by a very cute guy. Then all these oowey-gooey, OMG-ingersnap thoughts start to pop into my head like: "Oh-oh my........ MY THIGH IS TOUCHING HIS THIGH!.." or "If only I had a BOYFRIEND!"
I get all excited! My hormones begin to zombify into a sexual mutation. Is all this sounding clear?!
I am talking about every girls sexual temptation. You know what I mean.. you feel these sexual temptations, an urge, these crazy thoughts or sensations for/of a boyfriend... even that awkward "sexual tension" that we have all at least experienced once in our lifetime!.. (OR not ^^)
Even as a christian young woman, who just so happens to be single, the struggle is real. It is real for all christian ladies, for everyone! We were all made as sexual beings by God! Let me tell you, staying pure has not been easy! The devil teases me with his sick temptations all the time. It really is an uphill battle. Yes, I did just quote Miley Cyrus...moving on.
For me, purity is a big thing. I know that it is also one of Gods greatest tests. Through Him I can be fulfilled and be strong enough to stray from temptation. It will be so rewarding one day to tell my future husband that I have saved everything I am for him, and that I am his and his alone! And I can also see God celebrating that with me! It makes me so happy to think about holding out for my future husband and for God, so He can receive all the glory!
Through Christ, all things are possible!
-Macey
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 (NIV):
"It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God".
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
What Happened To Girls Dressing Modesty?
Booty shorts, yoga pants, mini skirts, and belly shirts are the new fad in how girls should dress in today’s culture. Modesty has almost completely disappeared from society. The age of teen girls dressing too revealing and attractive continues to grow younger. No longer does the value of sanctifying a girl’s body mean something. These generally accepted norms of dressing by girls nowadays are creating an erotic impact on the male gender. Through research, the fall of modesty is clearly seen to have began in the 1950’s, and progressed from there due to the iconic celebrities seem in the media and fashion industry.
A new revolution of fashion sparked, which lasted through the 1950’s to the 1960’s thanks to British film and fashion icon, Audrey Hepburn. She introduced to the world the hourglass silhouette by wearing the tight fitted shoulder-cut dress, which accentuated her tiny waist and bust by blooming out at the hips in a fashion magazine. This style was specifically made to flaunt the body of every female and to define her figure. It overly-romanticized the female as a whole, making her seem desirable and youthful (“The 1950’s,” 2013).
Next came the hippie look in the 1970’s, which was branded by a couple of clear fashion trends for girls. The first fashion trend called high waisted bell-bottoms went mainstream in the USA after the famous singing duo Sonny and Cher appeared to be wearing the pants on television (Cobb, 1993). The way the pants tightly hugged the singer’s bum immediately grabbed the attention of young youth. People were infatuated with these unique pants. What made these so different from other pants was the way the pants started out tight then flared out below the knee. The second trend appeared after Jane Birkin landed her sexual role as Brigitte Bardot’s lover in if Don Juan Were a Woman. Jane popularized the insanely craved for “hot pants” – those skintight, barley-there excuses for a bum cover-up”…“She further accentuated the hotness of the hot pants with heeled boots or knee-highs to draw all attention to her exposed skin” (Davis, 2011). These trendy 70’s pants proved excessively tight fitted, especially around the bum. Jane perfected the look due to the fact that she has long beautiful legs. Revealing so much skin during the 70’s sent young girls into frenzy; they wanted to display more. Showing more skin gradually became more acceptable in society.
During the 1980’s a huge change in fashion occurred in 1982 when Time Magazine displayed a model wearing a miniskirt. The miniskirt ended up, as the first of it’s kind. It stopped a couple inches below the girl’s crotch, giving girls a new defined sexy look. Not only did it barely cover a female’s crotch, but also overly tight fitting. Miniskirts helped girls gain all the attention that they lusted for. Suddenly, Madonna stepped out into the spotlight flashing a leather leotard and crop top tied just above the midriff (“Miniskirt,” 2009). Young girls all around the world quickly copied Madonna, dubbing her as the biggest fashion icon throughout the 1980’s and 90’s. Crop tops left little to show when paired with a miniskirt. Society finally showed how little respect remained tords the female body and it only grew worse.
The twenty-first century grew increasingly hypnotized by the immodest imagery that the fashion industry advertised everywhere. A famous clothing store called Hollister appeared in malls all across the nation due to their sexually revealing advertisements featuring an almost naked man and woman together. Girls raced to the nearest Hollister to get a hold of the new stores hot clothes. An explosion of sexual and provocative imagery has bombarded the media and now it is gaining the full attention of younger audiences. Here’s the truth, sex sells everywhere in todays culture.
As of 2013, a recent survey shows that when men were shown pictures of young girls dressed very revealing, they were no longer looked at as people, but as “objects”. Females dressing so inappropriately cause issues for the male gender. A celebrity icon like Miley Cyrus, who greatly influences teens, continues to drag young girls to the lowest of standards and gives them the impression that it is okay to dress sexy and attractively to get the attention that they want. The media might show that more skin is best and the new fab, but it is teaching teens that in order to be accepted by society they need to show off their body to the world. Parents need to protect their children from corrupt influences in the world and strive to raise their children dressing modestly.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Fixing the Problem with Todays Church Youth Programs
The number of teens leaving the church and its youth programs continues to increase everyday. According to a 5-year study by the Barna Group, nearly 3 out of 5 teens leave the church as a whole after age fifteen. Less than half of them ever return to the church as an adult. This is appalling to any church family. The problem is with the churches youth programs not giving teens the essentials they need for spiritual growth, causing them to give up and leave the church. Teens need to be discipled and challenged. Instead of growing in Christ, these teens are completely disconnecting from the church. Today’s teens are looking for intimacy and maturing so they can be transformed. Four main causes are to blame for this problem.
The first cause is how church youth groups put too much focus on the social aspect of engaging teens. Nowadays, youth programs solely emphasize social events such as laser tag, ropes course, canoe trips, and pizza parties. Social events should not be the definition of youth groups. This is not engaging teens to contemplate about God or come together in fellowship. Teens are going to youth group due to the “fun” aspect of it. Since teens are only going to youth group to participate in the social events, this goes to show that church’s youth programs are not serving their purpose to help disciple teens. Instead, youth programs should gear tords activities that push tords engaging teens in fellowship and digging deeper into God’s word. Having activities that involve teens talking about scripture will bring spiritual growth and a yearning to want to learn more. In addition, there are ways to make activities fun and still incorporate those things.
Secondly, the church is overly protective when it comes down to the topic of discussion. Youth groups do not address the major struggles that teens go through, as they get older. They find the hard-to-talk-about subjects such as pornography, sexual temptations, sexuality, drug abuse, and masturbation as irrelevant, even taboo to talk about, when these are major issues that teens are experiencing. These teens should not have to deal with it alone. That is not fair for them to have to “try” to deal with such struggles all on their own. The church seems to want to shy away from these issues because they are awkward subjects to talk about, yes, but it is also very important to address to teens that these issues are real. Youth ministries should not lay aside these issues, but instead, address them to teens. Incorporate what God’s word says about committing these sinful acts and that they are not alone. Everyone struggles with at least one of these temptations. It is also important to let the teens know that the youth pastors are always available to talk with any teen about his or her struggles and that things will stay confidential. Stating that private talks with a teen will stay confidential brings trustworthiness. Having the opportunity to talk about a struggle with someone who is trustworthy will also help rid of that struggle with the guidance of an adult. Not only will it help rid of the struggle, but also the burden of having to deal with it alone is lifted.
Moving on to the third cause, which is that youth programs do not prepare teens to defend their worldview, nor do they teach on the meaningful depth of God’s scripture and really understanding what it says. Teens grow up, sent out into the world expected to know what they believe, but completely fail because they do not know “why” they believe what they do, nor how to defend it. Too many teens do not know how to defend the truth of their faith. Atheists shoot down young Christians with tough questions regarding their faith and why they believe what God says in the Bible to be truth. Almost all young Christians have no well-rooted response, making it hard for any conversations regarding religion to continue. Implanting the teaching of a Christian worldview to teens can easily solve this. Teens need to be taught scripture with logic and truth. Doing so, allows scripture digging and understanding, resulting in a solid worldview. Most of all, teens can love God and know enough intellectually to where it is comfortable for them to speak freely about religion and not falter when faced with difficult questions.
Lastly, youth programs do not make new teens feel welcome. By not kindly welcoming new teens to the youth group will make them feel rejected and like an outcast. New teens joining, a youth group is delicate because they are in search of a place where they can feel comfortable and accepted. Regular attending teens of a youth group do not attempt to welcome new teens. This prevents fellowship and interaction with one another. Youth programs are suppose to be an outreach to teens. This is the youth group doing the complete opposite. An easy solution is to make a welcome committee of teens whose job is designated to welcoming new teens to the youth group and introducing them to others. This makes the teen feel cared for and welcome to the youth group, which will cause them to want to get involved.
The solutions to these causes will fix the problem of church youth programs completely. It will only take creativity to come up with engaging activities that incorporate fellowship and God’s word. In addition, it cost nothing to brainstorm, meaning, no more money wasted on social activities that do not focus on spiritual growth. To talk about subjects regarding the struggles that teens face with might mean that an additional youth pastor assistant hired. Same thing goes for teaching teens how to defend and know their worldview. It might also have to be confirmed as “ok” to teach the teens by the whole elders of the church and its committee. Making a welcoming Committee, on the other hand, will also be of no cost and help engage teens. By implementing these solutions, youth programs can return to how they were and fewer teens would leave the church. Teens would be well prepared to face the world as a strong Christian.
(Tell me what you think.)
The first cause is how church youth groups put too much focus on the social aspect of engaging teens. Nowadays, youth programs solely emphasize social events such as laser tag, ropes course, canoe trips, and pizza parties. Social events should not be the definition of youth groups. This is not engaging teens to contemplate about God or come together in fellowship. Teens are going to youth group due to the “fun” aspect of it. Since teens are only going to youth group to participate in the social events, this goes to show that church’s youth programs are not serving their purpose to help disciple teens. Instead, youth programs should gear tords activities that push tords engaging teens in fellowship and digging deeper into God’s word. Having activities that involve teens talking about scripture will bring spiritual growth and a yearning to want to learn more. In addition, there are ways to make activities fun and still incorporate those things.
Secondly, the church is overly protective when it comes down to the topic of discussion. Youth groups do not address the major struggles that teens go through, as they get older. They find the hard-to-talk-about subjects such as pornography, sexual temptations, sexuality, drug abuse, and masturbation as irrelevant, even taboo to talk about, when these are major issues that teens are experiencing. These teens should not have to deal with it alone. That is not fair for them to have to “try” to deal with such struggles all on their own. The church seems to want to shy away from these issues because they are awkward subjects to talk about, yes, but it is also very important to address to teens that these issues are real. Youth ministries should not lay aside these issues, but instead, address them to teens. Incorporate what God’s word says about committing these sinful acts and that they are not alone. Everyone struggles with at least one of these temptations. It is also important to let the teens know that the youth pastors are always available to talk with any teen about his or her struggles and that things will stay confidential. Stating that private talks with a teen will stay confidential brings trustworthiness. Having the opportunity to talk about a struggle with someone who is trustworthy will also help rid of that struggle with the guidance of an adult. Not only will it help rid of the struggle, but also the burden of having to deal with it alone is lifted.
Moving on to the third cause, which is that youth programs do not prepare teens to defend their worldview, nor do they teach on the meaningful depth of God’s scripture and really understanding what it says. Teens grow up, sent out into the world expected to know what they believe, but completely fail because they do not know “why” they believe what they do, nor how to defend it. Too many teens do not know how to defend the truth of their faith. Atheists shoot down young Christians with tough questions regarding their faith and why they believe what God says in the Bible to be truth. Almost all young Christians have no well-rooted response, making it hard for any conversations regarding religion to continue. Implanting the teaching of a Christian worldview to teens can easily solve this. Teens need to be taught scripture with logic and truth. Doing so, allows scripture digging and understanding, resulting in a solid worldview. Most of all, teens can love God and know enough intellectually to where it is comfortable for them to speak freely about religion and not falter when faced with difficult questions.
Lastly, youth programs do not make new teens feel welcome. By not kindly welcoming new teens to the youth group will make them feel rejected and like an outcast. New teens joining, a youth group is delicate because they are in search of a place where they can feel comfortable and accepted. Regular attending teens of a youth group do not attempt to welcome new teens. This prevents fellowship and interaction with one another. Youth programs are suppose to be an outreach to teens. This is the youth group doing the complete opposite. An easy solution is to make a welcome committee of teens whose job is designated to welcoming new teens to the youth group and introducing them to others. This makes the teen feel cared for and welcome to the youth group, which will cause them to want to get involved.
The solutions to these causes will fix the problem of church youth programs completely. It will only take creativity to come up with engaging activities that incorporate fellowship and God’s word. In addition, it cost nothing to brainstorm, meaning, no more money wasted on social activities that do not focus on spiritual growth. To talk about subjects regarding the struggles that teens face with might mean that an additional youth pastor assistant hired. Same thing goes for teaching teens how to defend and know their worldview. It might also have to be confirmed as “ok” to teach the teens by the whole elders of the church and its committee. Making a welcoming Committee, on the other hand, will also be of no cost and help engage teens. By implementing these solutions, youth programs can return to how they were and fewer teens would leave the church. Teens would be well prepared to face the world as a strong Christian.
(Tell me what you think.)
Thursday, October 24, 2013
When the Pressure is ON!
You all know or either will know what it is like to prep yourself to fly off to college. Well, right now I am in that stage and feeling very discouraged. I have always had a problem with test taking. I have ADD and ADHD, this makes sitting in a class room very difficult and I tend to get over stressed about everything. I am a great student though! I get high A's and B's on my report cards. But when it comes to testing......... its a whole different story.
Most of you probably don't know this, but I am a fraternal twin. My twin is super smart! She has always had A's on her report card ever since she was wee little. Yes, i do build up jealousy since she has always been looked upon as a smart girl. Recently I took the ACT test and let me tell you, it was HARD. At least I thought it was hard, but i think my nervousness and stress really made me freak out and not think while taking it. Anyways, I got my score back and was speechless. I got a 17. I felt so sick to my stomach, and discouraged. A 17 was unheard of! After talking to my Parents I decided to take a 6 week-1day ACT Prep Program. So I took that and took the prep classes ACT test. I got a 19! More colleges would be willing to accept my ACT score! Then came time to take the ACT again, I felt just as nervous as before. Weeks later I got my score back.... a 17....AGAIN.
I felt like there was no hope. All my friends would be going around saying: "Yeah, I ONLY got a 32." ...........I would stand there confused. ONLY A 32?!!!! ARE YOU FOREAL?! THATS AMAZING CAUSE I GOT A FLIPPIN "17".....................O_O
**Sorry I shall continue to rant, bear with me please!**
Seriously, it is so discouraging... like you don't even know. When i hear someone has almost received a perfect ACT score and they are complaining and saying that they want to bring up their low score from a 32 to a 35..... How does that make my score look?! Like- I am so stupid and dumb. I want to be able to be proud of my score and make my parents proud of their daughter!...but that was just not possible. I felt broken, stressed, unworthy, discouraged, anxious, nervous, worried. How can ANY college accept me with such a low score?! My options are almost at ZERO!
Then one day it hit me.. when a quote popped up on a scholarship website: "I AM MORE THAN A TEST SCORE". Talk about words of wisdom. That quote really hit me hard. God knows that I am so much more than a test score. He will direct me to where I need to be! God knows the plans He has for me! I do not need to worry, but cast my worries on God. He is my refuge and my strength, He shall build me up! I know that I need to Continue to pray to God and ask for wisdom and guidance. God cares that I am trying my very best and glorifying His name. My Dream is to become an ER NURSE and then become a part time missionary overseas to help use my skills to spread Gods word to everyone. I know that if this is what God wants me to do He shall Lead Me.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
My Introduction..
Hello beautiful flowers!
My name is Macey. Welcome to my Blog. What you can find from this blog is pretty much about my lovely life. This includes every little thought that pops up in my mind and the various events that take place everyday in my life. This is also where I shall share my deep feelings for all things.
Thank You and Enjoy My Lovely Readers! May God Bless You All.
-Macey
My name is Macey. Welcome to my Blog. What you can find from this blog is pretty much about my lovely life. This includes every little thought that pops up in my mind and the various events that take place everyday in my life. This is also where I shall share my deep feelings for all things.
Thank You and Enjoy My Lovely Readers! May God Bless You All.
-Macey
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