Go.

My best friend is pregnant. My other best friend is dealing with CFS and her mother's pregnancy and her father's in jail. Another one of my friend's is dealing with an eating disorder. Another one of my friends is dealing with constantly being made fun of. Another is trying to get her life back together but life constantly is trying to beat her back down. Yet another is dealing with a broken home. Another is the only Christian in her home.
I am so blessed. I love my friends dearly. I love them so much! I don't know what I would do without them, to be honest. I love them in all their imperfection. They are so precious.
If you live in this clean, white little room where you unlock the door for your friends who have no obvious problems in their lives and you just stay closed off in this sheltered little place...shame on you. Shame on you, Christians who do not go out and be the hands and feet of God, like he called you to. Shame on you, Christians who do not go out and be the voice of God. Shame on you, Christians who think you are better than everyone else. Shame on you, Christians who can take part in making fun of someone else because that will boost your social status. Shame on you, Christians who do not talk to your Savior!
What are we coming to, guys? What is Christianity coming to? The word "Christian" has little to no meaning anymore. We throw it around like it's useless. When this word came to be, it was to identify people. Kind of like people from Canada are called Canadians, or people from America are called Americans, people from Australia are called Australians, people who followed Jesus Christ were named Christians. People who went out and preached about God, brought others to Christ, praised God, prayed, read the bible, healed the sick, prophesied, spoke in tongues, people who went out and were the hands and feet of Jesus Christ and followed where he led. And now, in 2011, what is considered a Christian? Someone who says, "I believe in God." Or maybe even someone who puts on the facebook profile page that they're a Christian. That's probably the most aggravating thing I see, is looking at someone's bio on facebook and seeing under Religious Views "Christian", meanwhile you see them at school and they're swearing or talking about how much fun they had drinking and partying on the weekend or they're using God's name in vain. Are you serious? I would love for these people to really come to Christ! But guys, seriously, it's time to rise up. This generation is the generation that will show people the power of our God like no one has seen before!! I believe that full well, there are people prophesying this like crazy. We are the generation that will rise up and proclaim the name of Christ.
I love you brothers and sisters, but now is the time to stop hiding away in your perfect little container that you've pushed yourselves into. It's time to step out, step up, get in there, and get your hands dirty. Go feed the homeless. Go give a prostitute a bible. Go tell your friend who cuts their wrists that you love them. Go take someone who doesn't ever get a break out for dinner. Go write an encouragement note to someone who is under appreciated. Go. Just go! Go out and show the crazy love of the Father to this world that is desperately in need of it!
I love you guys.
God bless,
Ariel

Funny

So, I figured I would share a few moments I had on a youth retreat this past weekend. It was so much fun. I was actually considering not going, but I am so glad that I went. I'll be sharing what I learned at the youth retreat soon, but for now, I just thought I'd share some of the "oiii" moments.

My cousin, Scott, decided he wanted to wear a onesie.
I decided to document this.

Prank #1

This was fantastic, just because it was so unexpected! Scott's sitting down eating lunch, and this other guy comes up and pours a pitcher of water on his lap. So good! So Scott went and changed and then...

Prank #2

I got him! Ha ha! I went and shoved ice cream in his face. He had been threatening me for weeks to throw me in the lake (in Canada...in November...), so I figured if he was gonna throw me in the lake, I might as well have some fun.

And then...just after lunch, I heard we were taking the group picture by the lake. "Oh, crap!" was my exact thoughts. I was still confident though, that he would not throw me in the lake. So we took the picture.

And then he threw me in the lake.

Just brutal! He put me down gently, and then he pushed me.

Ha. What a weekend! Funny thing is, I didn't even get sick. I went into the dining hall after, and our hosts were my "body guards" because my auntie works there and knows them. The guys found it funny, and the girl gave me a hug, she felt so bad! Ha, it was a great weekend.

hahaha after the lake! We love eachother.

God bless,
Ariel

How Great?

I find Jesus himself just so amazing. I love reading the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) because you see how Jesus acted, who he is, how he treats people, his morals. Jesus says that you can't see God, but he is exactly like him. How privileged, how blessed are we that we get to see right into the Father's heart? That we, as humans, got to experience his tangible love? And compassion? And grace? And forgiveness? We got to see our Lord with our own eyes! I often imagine seeing Jesus in the distance, and running at full speed towards him, and hugging him. That is truly the greatest thing that I want, is to hug him. I can't wait until the day that I do.
I love reading in John 8...these religious nuts want to stone a woman to death for committing adultery. You know what Jesus says? "Anyone here who has never sinned can throw the first stone at her." [John 8:8] Wow. Like a punch in the gut, eh? It just shows you how compassionate he is. Jesus is the only person in that group of people who had never sinned, and even he did not throw a stone at her. We serve such a compassionate, loving God. He protects us.
How many of us have wondered why God's put us in the circumstances he puts us in? I've wondered that countless times. Or rather, not why he puts me in it, but why he allows it to happen. This verse shook my world: "Jesus answered, 'It is not this man's sin or his parents' sin that made him blind. This man was born blind so that God's power could be shown in him.'" [John 9:3] God's power can and will be shown in my circumstances. I believe that full well! I'm comforted by the fact that all things work out for the good of those who love Him [Romans 8:8]. God can take your crappiest situation and turn it completely around, using it for the greatness of his kingdom! I love that! Jesus does not take joy in our trouble, though. I want to get that across very clearly. "When Jesus saw Mary crying and the Jews who came with her also crying, he was upset and was deeply troubled.....Jesus cried." [John 11:33&35] This was after Lazarus died. Jesus knew that he was going to use this for his good. He knew that he would raise Lazarus from the dead and many people would be saved through this miracle. But did that take away the pain and sadness? No. The emotions that we feel, God feels them ten times more strongly. When you cry, God cries. When you're laughing, he's laughing. When you're filled with joy, so is he. When you're angry, God is too. He's our father. What father wants their child to hurt? So even though he knows his plan, he knows how he's going to use these horrible things that happen to us, he still feels pain, he's sad for us, he's angry for us, he feels our hurt. I love him.
I read this verse last night: "I tell you the truth, whoever believes in me will do the same things that I do. Those who believe will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And if you ask for anything in my name, I will do it for you so that the Father's glory will be shown through the Son. If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it." [John 14:12-14] We have the power to do miracles. By Jesus saying that we will do the same, and even greater than he did, he's saying that we have the power to make the blind see, make the deaf hear, raise the dead, speak with authority! He has given us power!! This is just incredible to me. To think that I, this 16 year old in a small town, have been given the authority to perform miracles? Wow. Wow! I am just blown away by God's goodness. I love him so much!!!

I found this video today, and I could not stop smiling!!! How great is our God?! Oh! He is so, so, so good. Words can't even describe. I feel like I've fallen in love all over again. Listen to those people sing. Look at their faces. See them raising their hands in ultimate surrender to God! I just love this. This was the absolute best way to start my day. Her prayer is my prayer.
Have a blessed day!
Ariel

Imagine That

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This song just gets me so pumped up. Every word of it is true for me. I know that God has so much more planned for me than what I'm seeing right now! I will say this, though: God, you are absolutely crazy, but I love you for it. Ha, I have no clue what he's got up his sleeve for me. I think he's going in one direction and then he 180's it and veers the other way. It's interesting, I must say. Even now, at 16, I'm starting to get a little taste of his plans, and the fact that what he has planned for me is so much greater than anything I could ever plan or imagine for myself.
I never would have guessed that I would organize bake sales. I never would have guessed that I would begin to organize a concert and have phone calls from booking agents in Tennessee! I never would have guessed that I would help teach a kindergarten class. I never would have guessed that a bunch of youth leaders in town would know my name and say that I'm going to go so far in life. I never guessed that I would be apart of a fashion group. I never ever ever would have guessed that I would have the life I have. How many 16 year olds can say that they've done all these things?? Not many. God is doing big things. I know it, because Satan has tried with the hardest stones he can throw to knock me down because he knows that God is going to use me for huge things! How dare he try to stop God's plan for my life?! You know what? Game on, buddy. God has fought for me time and time again, and I love him to death. He literally fought for me, he told me. And I can feel him protecting me when Satan wants to attack. Psalm 91:4. I love him, so much.
I cannot wait to see how my life plays out and how God will use me. Am I excited? Yes! Am I scared? Oooh, yes! But I trust. He's protecting me. He's guiding me. He loves me, and that's all I need in my life.
God bless,
Ariel

Alien

"Fashion Fairytale" or nightmare?
It is not even humanly possible to achieve this look.

What the heck is that?! I'm sorry, but to me, this looks like an alien, not a "Fashion Fairytale" as the people working and creating at the Barbie company would put it. I wish I could go work there just so I could give them a good, solid smack upside the head. This is the most unrealistic thing I have ever seen (well, maybe not ever, that's a slight exaggeration). Is this what we want to teach the little girls who are playing with this? I've already slammed Barbie in the past, and I sure am not afraid to do it again! Why are there grown adults sitting around a table thinking up new ideas, saying that it would be great to give little girls unrealistic expectations that they're going to look exactly like Barbie, and if you don't, then you're a piece of crap. Yet Barbie advertises that you need to be yourself, that you should love yourself. Yeah, Barbie? Well then create something normal, forget normal, just create something humanly possible! For crying out loud!
I definitely grew up thinking that Barbie was perfect and that I would look like her when I grew up. With the perfect makeup, wearing heels all the time, charismatic, the perfect body. Did any of that happen? Ha! Nope.
Let's dissect this "Barbie's Fashion Fairytale" for a second. First off, do you really think that sparkly pink skin is attractive? 'Cause it's not, not even maybe. Well, I guess if you want to be an alien when you grow up you would have a different mindset. I was looking at this Barbie during work today, and thinking, where do her freakin' legs end?! No one person on this planet has that long of legs. It's just not natural, by far. Oh, and no one's that skinny. You wanna teach your children to be anorexic, then buying them that Barbie is step one. Why do you think so many girls today have so many issues? They have to be skinny because that's what all of society says. And the sick thing is, no one's denying it! Why do we give girls these false beliefs? I don't understand. And now, my favorite part, (I really hope you heard me roll my eyes at this point...) her clothing. *Cough* Slut! *Cough* ...Yeah, 'nough said. Ew. Ew, ew, ew! Any guy, and I mean any guy, Christian or not, seeing this girl walking around would automatically have his eyes boggling and mind racing. Her butt is hardly being covered by that short skirt! And really? I don't think I've ever seen any girl wearing that short of a shirt in public. It's pretty much a sports bra.
This disgusts me. I honestly hope that Barbie somehow gets destroyed, because it is doing no child any favors. Please hear me, girls, when I say this. Modesty is beautiful. You will attract the kind of guy you dress for. And if your boobs are hanging out of your shirt and you have to keep having to pull your shorts down to cover your butt, then you are going to attract a guy who only wants you for your body, and I guarantee it, he will shatter your heart. Any boy who is worth your time will tell you that you look absolutely beautiful when you've just rolled out of bed because he woke you up to surprise you. He'll love you for you, and not for your body. And he'll be looking for a relationship that will last the rest of your lives, instead of a one night stand. These boys are rare, yes, but they are worth it, and you will never regret it. They are out there. God has the perfect one picked out for you, you just have to let him take the drivers seat and lead you to him.
God bless,
Ariel

Craaazy

I don't understand anyone who can be a Christian and not be crazy. Seriously!!! I am absolutely insane. But I kind of think that you have to be crazy to follow God. I mean, how crazy is the Holy Spirit? "I want you to send a verse to this person you've talked to once because he needs it right now." Umm...that was random. Alright God! Ha, totally happened, and was such a God thing.
I'm 16. I love being 16. I love the fact that I have so much fire, so much energy, so many ideas, so many opportunities, so much time! When those little God moments happen, no matter how small, that's fuel to my fire. Oh man, I'm so pumped right now! When people tell me that they see God in me and they can see he has a calling for my life, dude!!! How can that not fuel my fire?!?! One of my friends told me to "start a forest fire". Ha, I love that! And that's exactly what I'm going to do.
If I'm not encouraging people, if I'm not showing people the love of Jesus, if I'm not living for him, then what am I doing here? I was made for him. I was made to worship him and glorify him and be a "Lion of God"! I love my name, because it totally fits. I believe 100% that God himself chose that name for me.
I've noticed a lot of stuff these past couple of weeks, the big one being that I am not perfect. I get angry. I get really, really angry...and that's been shining through this past week. I've had to make my apologies, I've had to reevaluate my life and my actions. But this is the thing that I want to stress so much: Just because I'm a Christian does not mean I'm perfect. I'm a work in progress!
Quite honestly, I don't know if I would ever want to be perfect, because that would mean that I would stop learning, I would already know everything I need to know, I would never make mistakes, and I really wouldn't have a testimony.
God has some big things going on in me. I have no idea what he's doing, but I like it!!


Humm...I'm just in such a it-has-to-be-a-God-thing joyful mood right now...:)

Blessings,
Ariel

Change

There has been such a huge change in me in the past year, it's unbelievable! I've even had people I barely ever talk to say that they notice something different about me. And I love it!
I used to be the most self conscious person ever. Sometimes, I hardly even recognize myself. I used to not even be able to tell the teacher that he missed giving me the worksheet because I was too scared. That was last year! I used to never take pictures because I just hate how I looked. I used to never just walk up to someone and say, "Hey, I like your shirt!" And I never ever would share Jesus in the way I do now. I've got a long way to go, but even just having the sticker "I will go, send me!" on my binder draws attention. It's awesome!! Or wearing shirts that say "Captured By Christ" or "I want to hold the hand that holds the world", it gets people thinking. Ha, even reading my bible in the hallway, oh my word, that is a huge leap for me. God's given me such confidence, it's amazing. My face still turns red as a tomato at the slightest bit of attention, but I honestly can't help it. I'm not embarrassed, not even close. My face just has a mind of it's own, unfortunately. (My face turns so red sometimes that people think I'm gonna pass out...and I can't even feel it!)
One big thing that God's been doing in my heart is changing the way I view myself on the outside. I used to hate being tall, now I wear 3 inch heels because it's fun. I love my height! I used to spend such a long time in front of the mirror. I now spend 10 minutes; put my hair in a ponytail, put on mascara, clean my piercing and go. Ha, I got out of the shower yesterday and I looked  in the mirror after towel drying my hair. My hair was all over the place, and I had no makeup on, and I was like, woah! That's me? I am beautiful. But I am 100% certain that that beauty, that confidence, comes from Christ and Christ alone. Before I was living for him, I thought I was so ugly. So what changed? My entire life. Girls always seem to think that they need to wear tight short shorts and a tight low cut shirt. You know what half of my wardrobe consists of? Big, baggy, band t-shirts. Yupp. And I'm proud of it! People notice that I'm different. When I wear shorts that go to the middle of my thigh instead of shorts that hardly cover anything, people notice. When I wear my one piece bathing suit instead of a bikini, people notice. When I wear shirts that boldly proclaim that I love God, people notice!
God is transforming my life, hardcore. I love it. He's coming back, and I'm suiting up. I know that I haven't been doing all that I can for him, but when's a better time to start than now, right?
God bless,
Ariel