New Chapter

I'm quite tired of hearing the phrase "Why would God let ______ happen?!" Why would God let there be poverty? Why would God not give us money for Christmas gifts? Why would God deprive our children of earthly things? Why would God give us this weather? Why would God do this, that and the other thing?!
Let me ask you this: Why would God bless us so much?? Here in Canada, we are incredibly blessed. We are spoiled. God gives us nice houses, cars, a healthy family, pets, nice things, freedom, He gave us EVERYTHING! God is good. He knows that if we get that new iPhone, we probably won't have as much time for Him. We'll put off our time with Him to play with our new toy, that will probably break within a year. God is forever. He knows what we do.
I've had people tell me that the people in Africa are just poor to get pity. They could come out of it if they wanted to. First off, that is not true. They are, as far as I'm concerned, the hardest workers in the world yet some of them still live off of less than a dollar a day. Is it fair? No. Did God make this happen? Yes. So, why? Why would he make those people suffer? That's the question we often ask. I am jealous of the people in Africa living below the poverty line. God knows what He's doing guys! He didn't make a mistake. He never makes mistakes. So why do we question Him? The people in Africa have an amazing bond, they are some of the strongest people I have ever heard of, they depend on Jesus Christ for everything in their lives. They're lucky! The problem is, as humans, we often just look at the money aspect of things. Money is earthly. I'm a teenager, of course I want money! I love being able to get new clothes, I love being able to go out with my friends, I love being able to spoil myself. And that's something that I have to work on, I recognize that. I just hate hearing, "Why would God do this to me?" Yes, I've said it before. I still don't know why some of the things in my life happened, but they made me who I am today, and I would not do anything in my past differently. Not one thing.
Now, I'm going to be the most predictable person on the face of the earth, because I am going to talk about New Years. I can't get over how fast 2010 went by. I remember the speaker in church talking about how cool Twenty-ten sounds like it was yesterday. This year has been crazy. In March I put on my first bake sale and we raised $700 for Haiti. I went to YC Manitoba for the first time in April. Amazing, that's all I can say. Definitely planted a big seed! I would suggest it to everyone!! In May I turned 15. On my birthday, my best friend dragged me out of my house, we almost got killed (so much fun!) and we went to the beach and took pictures. All I can say is I am blessed. In June I put on another bake sale for a blind kid in my town, we raised $900 and put very big smiles on that family's faces! In July I went to a Leadership Development Program at Winkler Bible Camp and made some life long friends and became so much closer with God. I also travelled out of the province for the first time with my LDP group, one of the most special experiences I've had. I changed for the good. Through July to August I worked 6 weeks plus 2 weeks of LDP at WBC and had the time of my life! Made so many good friends and I now have a big sister who I love to death! In September I started grade 10, yet again realizing how young I feel. In November Morden had a concert by The Letter Black and Seventh Day Slumber for a YC Manitoba Rally. It was an amazing night, and one of the best nights of my life. Then a week later I went on a youth retreat to Camp Arnes and got baptised in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues for the first time. I will never forget that experience. December rolled around and just last night I had an LDP reunion! We had a blast, we watched Star Wars, played Apples to Apples and Quelf, played in the snow, and talked for hours. Obviously, we did not get much sleep, but it was so worth it. I really believe that if you have God in any kind of relationship, whether it be friendship or a dating relationship, it'll work out. You'll have that person for a long, long time. And here we are. With a couple minutes left of 2010. It was gone in the blink of an eye.
I think that the big deal with a new year is the chance to start over. I'm going to start over. I'm going to be me. I don't want to care what people think about me anymore. I want to have confidence. I want to be comfortable in my own skin. But I want that confidence to come from God. That is my prayer request to you guys. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I love you guys, and I know you have a great year ahead of you! God is good.
God bless,
Ariel

You Are More

I feel the need to post this. My whole life, I've had people trying to change me. I remember in grade 3 or 4, my friends would take me out to the play ground, say they needed to talk to me, tell me what I was doing that they didn't like, and tell me to either change it or we wouldn't be friends anymore. I don't remember a lot of my childhood. The other day, I got the shock of finding out I have a half sister. After 15 years of being alive, and I only find out now. She's a year older than me. I went through every single emotion possible in the 24 hours following. It was a crazy time, and I still can't wrap my mind around it, but I'm very excited. I met her when I was three, she was four, I don't remember that. I don't remember much from before I was 12, grade 7. There were some very traumatic things that happened in that year, and that's why I don't remember much before it. Bits and pieces, yes, but I don't have a lot of memories from back then. Is that normal? I have no idea what normal is anymore.
I am done with being changed. There is one person and one person only who I'm willing to change for, and that is my Daddy in heaven. I know that he does want me to change to be more like his son, Jesus is our role model. But I know that he loves me no matter what. I love that.
I do not like meat. This is something that people have been bugging me about the past year. Everyone has different tastes. I realize that God made animals for us to eat, I respect that, I'm not refusing to eat them because of some religious rule or anything, I'm refusing to eat them because I don't like the taste or texture of them. Completely different than not respecting that God made these for us to eat. So, I would appreciate if everyone would shut up and stop harassing me to eat meat, respect my wishes.
I hate it when people talk about me behind my back, so stop it. Especially when I can hear you. It's stupid, really, if you can say it behind my back, you can say it to my face. I'm tired of people mistreating me. Yes, I have gossiped before. I'm not perfect in any way. I know that. But I'm trying really hard to stop, I probably have and will slip up at times, but I'm only human. No child of the King deserves to be treated in that way.
I'm tired of being compared to people. I have a friend who seems to be the perfect daughter. She cooks supper every night for her family and loves it, she makes lunch for her brother every day, she would rather stay at home and watch a movie with her mom than go out with friends. I'm an entirely different person. People are going to have to start accepting me for me, and not comparing me to others. It's stupid, because there are many people I could never measure up to, because I'm not them, I don't have the same mind set as them, I wasn't raised the same way, I don't have the same likes and dislikes, I don't have the same opinions. I'm a unique person, and I love that.
I love helping people. People are my passion. Hang out with me long enough and you'll learn that. I love organizing fundraisers. The earthquake in Haiti got the ball rolling. God makes good come out of everything. If that hadn't happened, I might have never figured out that passion. Haiti helped me find out what I may want to do for the rest of my life. I care about and love the people in Haiti very much, I love the Red Cross for what they do in helping everyone in every situation. I care about the people in my community. I did a fundraiser for a boy in town who's going blind, they have a big family, and they needed some help financially. I was SO happy that they asked me to help! It was fun, and I loved seeing the pure joy on their faces from the results. I don't need my name or face in the paper, that's all I need, those looks of joy. I'm not telling you this to get praise from you or for you to think I'm a good person or whatever, I'm telling you this because this is who I am. I love helping people. I'll help in whatever way I can. Praise be to God, hallelujah!
I love to write! Quite obviously. I love putting my feelings out here, I love being heard, I love my readers! It makes me so happy to see people from all around the world reading what I have to say. This is definitely a gift from God, no doubt about it!
Canada 440
United States 102
United Kingdom 11
New Zealand 7
Germany 2
Denmark 2
Slovenia 2
Serbia 1
Russia 1
Singapore 1
These are the places and the amount of people from each place that have read my blog. PRAISE GOD! This is a crazy amount of countries and a crazy amount of people. Way beyond my wildest dreams! So thank YOU guys, for reading and listening to me rant on and on. My favorite thing is to get emails about how much people liked one of my posts, that's what keeps me going. Not the fact that all these people are reading, but the fact that people are getting something out of it. It's truly amazing, you guys. I love you all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4NTHkJ27nQ&feature=fvst <---watch this video. Don't just listen to the song, but watch the video. It describes my feelings so perfectly right now, and it brought tears to my eyes. I love you Jenny, and thank you for sending this to me!
Blessings,
Ariel

Scrooge

I've never particularly liked holidays. Actually, that's wrong, I've always told myself that I liked holidays. I always told myself that the next one would be better. I always told myself that it was better than I was making it out to be, but I was wrong. I've completely given up on holidays. Thanksgiving, Valentines day, even Christmas. Actually, especially Christmas.
It's not that I don't love God, OF COURSE I love God! Who doesn't?! (Don't answer that.) I love that after so many years ( I have no idea how many) of Jesus dying we still celebrate his birthday. Do you celebrate your great grandma Edna's birthday after she's been dead for only one year?? Probably not. But it's just incredible that after all these years, we still celebrate. But the thing is, he did die, but he's still alive! He rose from the dead after 3 days, and if you remember correctly, he did not die again. He was taken up into heaven, ALIVE!! So that's the difference, we are celebrating Jesus' birthday, a man who is not on this earth anymore, but is not dead. Incredible.
The thing that I don't like about Christmas is everything else. I love celebrating Jesus birthday. But people have put something into my head that just irritates me. Whenever I would mention Christmas, CHRISTmas, and Jesus birthday and everything, many people felt the need to correct me and say, "Jesus birthday is actually in the summer, we just celebrate it in December." Yes, I know this, yes, at this moment, I do not care. If we celebrate his birthday now, then let us! Let us have our joy and not have to think, "oh, well it's really not his birthday." Because that's what drives me insane, that little stupid phrase runs through my mind every time I see "Happy birthday Jesus" on facebook. And it makes me want to punch myself. I can't tell you the reason we celebrate Christmas now instead of in the summer, but I'm sure there's a reason for it, and I'm sure that Jesus is excited that so many people still celebrate his birthday and acknowledge him after all these years. I'm sure it makes him so happy, dates don't matter.
Another thing, presents. I hate that everyone gets presents on the same day. Why? Because it makes people feel so small compared to others. Like ants. "New ipod touch!" "New laptop!" New this, new that, new $500 whatever. I want to be happy with my gifts, but we are so spoiled here in Canada. Lots of times I wish that I was born in Africa so I would have no choice but to depend on the Lord, to need him. The poor are truly blessed. Of course I want a new ipod touch! Yes, I am selfish. Yes, I am spoiled. Yes, there are people more spoiled and more selfish than I am, but in the big picture, I am those things, and that needs to change. I don't want to be selfish. Jesus wasn't selfish. I don't want to be spoiled. Jesus was the King of kings, yet he walked around in the desert and went without food for days. I want to be like him.
Family stresses me out. Anyone who knows me knows that. My own family knows that. Yes, I love them, but they drive me bonkers. Really. I like being by myself. I like hiding up in my room for hours and not having to be with anyone. Come to think of it, that's why I like the bathroom so much. Everyone leaves me alone in there! No one even tries to talk to me when I'm in the shower, and that's when I can really talk to God. Because it's just me and him, no one else.
Kay, guys, I'm really not a scrooge. In ways, I guess I am, but I love Christmas for the reasons that I should. I don't want to be so spoiled that I become shallow. Of course I want all those nice, expensive things, but if I do get them, I might not have enough time for God, and that scares me. I hope all of you had an amazing Christmas, filled with laughter and family and joy and good food and Jesus!
Blessings,
Ariel

Breathe Today

You can only move as fast as who's in front of you
And if you assume, just like them, what good will it do?
So find out for yourself, so your ignorance will stop bleeding through
You can breathe today

So many lies swirling all around you
You're suffocating
The empty shape in you steals your breath
You're suffocating
Logic forces me to believe in this and I have learned to see
And I can only say what I've seen and heard and only you can choose
And every choice you make will affect you, search your own self
You can breathe today
So many lies swirling all around you
You're suffocating
The empty shape in you steals your breath
You're suffocating
So many lies swirling all around you
You're suffocating
The empty shape in you steals your breath
You're suffocating
BREATHE
Big enough to fill the void that inside of you
It's just a breath away
So many lies swirling all around you
You're suffocating
The empty shape in you steals your breath
You're suffocating
So many lies swirling all around you
You're suffocating
The empty shape in you steals your breath
BREATHE
So many lies swirling all around you
You're suffocating
BREATHE
The empty shape in you
Breathe today!
This song is Breathe Today by Flyleaf. Something I've always loved about this band is the raw emotion in their songs. How they don't sugar coat anything. In their song Red Sam they say, "Here I stand, empty hands, wishing my wrists were bleeding, to stop the pain from the beatings, there you stood, holding me, waiting for me to notice you". They make themselves very vulnerable, but that's why people love this band. Because they can relate. The lead singer, Lacey Mosley, has gone through a stage in her life where she did cut herself and she was suicidal. The day she was going to kill herself, her grandma made her go to church. She said that before, she was an atheist, her life mission was to make people see how stupid it was to believe in God. At church, the preacher started talking about what seemed to be exactly Lacey's life. Then he said, "There's a suicidal spirit in the room, please come up here and let us pray with you." She knew he was talking about her, but she didn't go up there. After the service, the preacher came up to her and said, "The Lord wants you to know that even though you’ve never known an earthly father, he will be a better Father to you than any earthly father could ever be.” This man could have never known that she didn't know her father, she thought it was just a coincidence considering she had purple hair and wore a rock t-shirt. He asked to pray for her, and while they were praying, she felt God's presence in such a powerful way, she felt all the sin in her, she knew that it would have been completely the right choice for God to turn her away, but instead she just felt his love. Isn't that incredible? God wanted her on this earth for a reason. Someone who never believed in this God, who was going to kill themselves, and because one person who loved Him forced her to go to church, her life was saved. She sings about God and his amazing love, she prays with and for her audiences, God is using her, 100%.
I think this song has the coolest lyrics. I had never really thought about the meaning before, but I wanted to dissect this song for you, because I think it has such an incredible meaning!
"You can only move as fast as who's in front of you
And if you assume just like them what good will it do?
So find out for yourself, so your ignorance will stop bleeding through"
They're talking about your friends. Your friends have such a big influence on who you are, you can only grow so much without them getting involved. If you have really spiritual friends who are on fire for God, chances are, you'll be on fire for him too, but if your friends are drug addicts and swear a lot, you might fall into that trap. Now, I'm not saying that you shouldn't be friends with them, come on, Jesus hung out with the prostitutes and the drunks, he loved everyone, of course we should do the same. I'm just saying, that you also need to surround yourself with people who allow you to and want you to grow. If you think about everything in the same way as them, basically, if you share a brain, how will that help you or anyone? You need to be yourself. You need to be who God wants you to be, not what people want you to be! You need to explore, you need to be YOU, because at the end of the day, it's not other people who matter, right? Ignorance is not bliss.
"You can breathe today...
So many lies swirling all around you
You're suffocating
The empty shape in you steals your breath
You're suffocating"
I feel like they're saying that Satan fills your head with lies about yourself. That you're not pretty enough, good enough, no one likes you, nobody cares, you have no friends, no one loves you. Yes, I struggle daily with many of these things. These thoughts soon fill your mind and you start obsessing. You can't think of anything else. You're suffocating in these lies. The empty shape is the person you want to be, or are trying to be. The person you think people will like better, who'll be prettier, who will have love and friends and will feel good enough. But you soon lose yourself in this person you're trying to become, who is not you. Soon, your own self will die. Suffocate.
"Logic forces me to believe in this and I have learned to see
And I can only say what I've seen and heard and only you can choose
And every choice you make will affect you, search your own self"
If I told you that there was a baby born to a virgin, impossible, who lived a sin free life, impossible, who died and was brought back to life three days later, impossible, and God took him up to heaven, alive, also impossible, would you believe me? Well, that's your choice. Quite honestly, I could never and would never even try to force someone to believe in God. He gave us the freedom to decide for ourselves whether we want to serve him or not. If he forced us, what good would that do? We wouldn't have a choice to love him or not. And if we didn't have a choice, he wouldn't feel our love and want us to follow him as much as he does now, because we would have to. I have seen God work, I've witnessed it, I have proof. I have heard many stories of what he's done in the lives of my friends and people I don't even know. It's incredible. So choose for yourself, do you believe in this man who did the impossible? Basically, God came down to earth in human form. Simple as that. God is known for doing the impossible. If you do decide to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and have not yet, PLEASE talk to me! I can pray with you, for you, or direct you to someone else if you're more comfortable with that. I just want to help YOU!
"Big enough to fill the void that inside of you
It's just a breath away"
You always hear people talking about how they have everything the world can offer them, everything they've ever wanted, a big house, nice cars, spending money, designer clothes, everything, but they still feel empty. If you don't have God, you don't have anything. "Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being." [Matthew 6:19-21, The Message] Things on this earth are only temporary, but God is forever. All you have to do to fill that emptiness, to ask Jesus into your heart, is say a few simple words.
This song, before I actually listened to the words and understood what they were saying, was just something I liked the tune of. Songs can be so much more than that. Look at your favorite song or songs, dissect it, really listen to what the lyrics are saying. Is that the kind of person you want to be? Is this how you want to define yourself? If not, I have plenty of music choices for you!
God bless,
Ariel

Love

For the past little while I've felt overwhelming love. Being given to me and my love for others. I've wanted to talk about love for a long time, but I could never find the words. Love is just that amazing. It leaves you speechless. It's indescribable. And we all want it. That's one of the number one things that Jesus asks you to do. "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:13
I've felt so much love from people. I had been asking God to just show me that he loves me. Somehow, I just want to feel his love for me. I didn't realize it at the time, but I think that this is his way of showing me how much he loves me. The topic of me being baptised came up during English one day. Two friends of mine, who are awesome friends but I'm not super close with, said that they would love to come and support me on that day. That was so special. That they cared enough to go out of their way and come to my baptism. I did not expect that, and it was the highlight of my day.
My sister, Jenny, has poured out so much love on me. And I love her so much!!! I've never had a big sister before. The first time that we ever really talked, I was having a rough week, and she just talked and prayed with me. She loved me. Even though we had never really talked before, she loved me. Now, we do think of each other as sisters. Sisters in Christ! God is so good! I go to her with so much. It's so comforting to know that she's praying for me, that she cares so much about me. And I can't even explain the love that I feel for her. I think that when two people bond through Jesus, it's such a strong bond. It can't be broken. I was having a really bad week, and I get a message from her in the morning saying that she loves me and is praying for me and hopes I have a sweet day. That was the best day I had that week. And in a long time. Knowing that she was thinking about me and feeling that love, so unexpected, was just the most awesome feeling.
In this year, I've been trying to get reconnected with my family. I didn't have a lot to do with my dad's side throughout my childhood, and now I'm really trying. I feel so much love from them and for them. It's completely God's timing, I fully believe that.
I cracked at school this last week. I had a really overwhelming afternoon, dealing with personal stuff, friend stuff and school stuff. By the end of the day I was walking up the stairs and the flood gates opened. I really didn't want them to, and I was trying to stop crying, but my best friend saw me, and she came over and hugged me. Love. Then a teacher came out of his classroom, asked if I was okay, asked if he could do anything. Love. Another teacher asked if I was okay, and later came back, talked to me a bit more, asked if I wanted to see the guidance counsellor, and said he wasn't trying to be a creep, he was just worried. Love.
God has very recently blessed me with an overwhelming feeling of love for others. I think that this is only a fraction of what he feels for each individual person that he's created, I can't even imagine his love for us! Imagine this: The person on this earth that you love most. Picture their face, now, picture them hanging on a cross, being crucified. Hard, isn't it? Painful. That's what God did for us. He gave us his beloved son for our sins. I can't even imagine the pain he felt when Jesus was hung on that cross.
I have some friends who I feel incredible love for. I can't even begin to explain it. I cry so hard for them, I want them to do good, I want them to have the best life possible, I want to just protect them from everything, but I know I can't. When they hurt, I see it, and I hurt too. I think that God's revealed this love to me for a reason. I don't know that reason yet, but I can't wait to find out!
Personally, all I've ever wanted is love. I love love! I love giving love, I love receiving love! It's the most amazing feeling in the world! You don't have to be cheap with it guys, give out all the love you can. I'm begging you.
Blessings,
Ariel

My Generation

Swearing, smoking, sex, drugs, money, partying. This is what teenagers have become. This is what we think is "cool". I'm honestly becoming ashamed to be called a teenager. Because when you think "teenager", you think "swearing, smoking, sex, drugs, money, partying". There are people, adults, who are afraid of teenagers because of the name we've made for ourselves. And I'm sick of it.

Swearing. Oh, swearing, how I hate that you've become a part of my every day life. Would someone please tell me what the point of swearing is?! Yes, I realize it feels good to swear when you hurt yourself, or when you're ticked off, but really, what is the point?? As I have said before, there is a whole dictionary of words that can express the way you feel! You can even say them in french, spanish, german for all I care! "I'm pissed off" could easily be turned into "I'm ticked off" or "I'm cheesed off" (my personal favorite.) Yes, I am guilty of saying that something is pissing me off almost daily. And that's not something I'm proud of. But it's one of those "little" swears that no one cares about. Lately, it's been really annoying me. I catch myself saying it very often and it's really not needed. That's why I'm taking responsibility for my actions. I am making it my personal goal to not say "piss". Please correct me if you catch me. I'm not going to go through the whole dictionary of swears we have. That is just an example. But seriously, the next person who says "the f word" is gonna get a smack. It's really not necessary. At all. It's a stupid word. I have friends who put that word into the middle of sentences for NO REASON AT ALL!!!! And it makes me mad. Because it wasn't necessary. At all. You can say, "Look at that effing motorcycle" oooor, "Look at that motorcycle." Big difference, eh? So hard to take that one word out of the sentence! Or so say my friends.
Smoking. I will actually just show you a video to express my thoughts on smoking.



I love Brad Stine. He doesn't sugar coat stuff. Christian comedian. It just proves that you don't have to have dirty jokes or swear to be funny. Watch some of his stuff, so good!
Sex. Seriously, I have never understood the big deal with "getting it over with". This is something for you and your husband or wife to share. Not you, your husband or wife, that guy from 10th grade, the one night stand, the 3 guys from 11th grade and the other one you thought you would marry but he got away. When you have sex with one person, you're also being exposed to all the previous people they have slept with. This is the one thing I have to say to all the teenage people: GET YOUR HEADS OUTTA YOUR BUTTS AND SAVE YOURSELF!!!! It's really not that hard. Remember that word that we've been saying to our parents since we could talk? What was it again...oh yeah. No. Really not that hard. Just saying.
Drugs. Same thing as smoking. Well, kind of. But just like smoking, I have never seen the point in snorting a powder up through your nose. Or injecting it into your blood stream. What attracts people to that? I don't understand.
Money. Have you noticed how young people start to apply for jobs now? Grade 6 or 7, I'm  pretty sure. Because we're so obsessed with money. We want money because we want material things. We want material things because that's how we were raised. But in the bible it says that material things do not last. They don't last. I had a pair of boots that I loved. They are now broken. Material things do not last. You cannot care about money and about God. It's one or the other. I choose God. And that's a hard thing to do as a human, because naturally, I want that new perfume. I want that designer purse. I want it all. But I have to get my priorities straight.
Parties. I have never been invited to a party. Apparently, people hear things about Morden. It's where all the Winkler people go to party. That also makes me ashamed. To live in a "party town". You could either have fun with a bunch of your friends at Tim Hortons and get completely healthy (or healthier than beer) coffee, or you could invite a bunch of random people to a party, get drunk, and not remember a thing the next day. Seems like a no-brainer when ya put it that way, right?
I'm tired of seeing my generation sinking. Because that's what we're doing. We've stopped caring. We're doing whatever we want. And it has to stop. I am sick of it. I don't want to be known for swearing, smoking, sex, drugs, money or partying. I want to be known for being on fire for my Daddy, the King, my God. Being a teenager, that's not easy. But I'm trying. I'm also in the process of taking a 22 Day Challenge. Go check out the website http://www.iamsecond.com/ . Very encouraging.
God bless,
Ariel

[CHRIST]mas

I was sitting at the stair case during lunch, checking my facebook, as per usual. I was so done with the day by about 10am. Obviously, my day was not about to get any better. I'm scrolling through the statuses, and see: "23 more days until presents!" PRESENTS?! And so my status became: "Can we please put CHRIST back into CHRISTmas?" What happened, guys? The worst part was, I had went to camp with this person years ago. She knows about God. I hate seeing people fall, knowing I can't do anything about it. That's been the heaviest burden on my heart, lately. I see what all my friends are doing, knowing what the consequence is going to be, knowing full well that they're not going to listen to me. It makes me want to cry.
But honestly, guys. Have we not heard enough about the "true meaning of Christmas" yet? Do we have to keep coming back to this? I understand little kids being excited about presents. They're small, they get new toys, what kid doesn't want that?! I always wanted new toys! But as of last year, it just hasn't felt the same anymore. I bought a bunch of presents last year for my friends and family, and I was so excited to watch them open it. To be giving them something that they may have for a long time. I loved it. That was my favorite part about Christmas last year. Giving, not getting. Sure, I always like getting new things, but I didn't look forward to it as much as I used to.
I remember someone saying that everyone loves Jesus around Christmas time. Well duh. Jesus birthday and everything, everyone's cheerful, it looks gorgeous outside (but does not feel gorgeous, i might add), there's twinkly lights everywhere, snowmen. Everyone just seems happier for some reason. Joyful. And I'm not saying that we shouldn't like Christmas, or that those are shallow reasons to like Christmas. I'm just saying, remember what we're celebrating. After Christmas is over, many people couldn't care less about Jesus. That makes me sad. I hate that right after Christmas, is New Years. Perfect reason to get drunk, right? No. Parties do not equal drinking. Want to have real fun? Be yourself and just chill out with your friends. Drinking ruins you. Really.
Another thing I'm sick of: this Santa dude stealing credit for Christmas. He's fake. Not real. Never has been. Never will be. Sorry to burst your bubble, but if you're reading this blog and you still think santa is real, well I really have nothing to say to that...
You always see those blow-up santas on people's lawns. Some fat dude in a red suit whose reindeers can fly, and he delivers presents to every single person in one night. How does he do it?! Hmm, I don't know, maybe it's the fact that it's your parents stashing the presents under the tree, not some fat dude, and it's your parents eating the milk and cookies, not some fat dude. He's not real. It's fun for little kids. But honestly, we need to grow up. If we're still having santa decorations everywhere, and giving him credit for Christmas and talking about him all December, then we've missed the mark. Santa is not real. Jesus is. He was a real person. He's still alive. Guys, if we celebrate a fake person who gives us material things during Christmas rather than Jesus, who gave his life for us, who loves us so much, then we've missed the mark. Have you ever once heard your parents say, "Santa loves you." ? No. Exactly. He doesn't. Because he's not real.
I find this next thing kind of interesting. I made a typo while spelling 'santa'. Can ya guess what I said instead? Satan. That was my typo. Now I'm thinking, did satan create santa so that Jesus wouldn't get celebrated during Christmas? Satan knows that Jesus should be on everyone's minds right now, but instead we're filled with shallow things like presents and santa and decorations.
My request to you right now, is to look past those shallow things and really spend time with Jesus. Not just now, not just during the Christmas season, but for the following week, month, year, decade, life!! You will never stop learning. I can guarantee you that.
Blessings,
Ariel