Just Some Thoughts :)

AND JUST LIKE THAT, SUMMER COLLAPSED INTO FALL.

September is officially here guys, and I am deliriously happy, evidenced by the fact that I am quoting Oscar Wilde- truly I am beside myself. It takes a lot to get me to quote Wilde.

I've had the best of both worlds and have been enjoying weather in the high 60s and low 70s all last week. I pulled out my cardigans, started looking up pumpkin spice recipes, and happily looked up journal ideas for fall. I could not be more excited about the season of rainy days, crisp fresh air, flannels, candles, football, gorgeous landscapes of leaves, and PUMPKINS.

But anyways, today I wanted to shake things up a bit and do something a bit out of the ordinary. Today's blog post doesn't have a specific topic or theme. Instead, I thought I'd share with you guys some random things that I've been learning and thinking about.

(The above sentence is code for I really didn't plan out this week's issue and therefore this is going to be something of organized chaos.)

Essentially, this is something of my scrapbook of ideas. Everything that wasn't developed enough or long enough for a full blog post has most likely made it here.

I'm considering putting out one of these issues at the end of each month. If you enjoy this one, comment below and let me know what you think!

So without further ado, here is my list of crazily messy and wildly random thoughts. ♥

1.) If we really want Jesus to 'take the wheel,' we don't get to determine the way He does so.

This is something that was almost a breakthrough moment for me a couple months ago when I was dealing with severe anxiety about my future.

Everyone would agree that we want to give control over to God (never mind the fact that we never really had control in the first place). And yet, when it comes down to it, we still don't fully trust Him. We want to have the final say in our lives.

I get it and relate with it more than I would like to admit. It's nerve-wracking and panicking to think of our lives being in someone else's hands. No one likes to not understand what's happening, especially when it's their life.

But, if we truly believe that God is in control, that He orders and designs our entire lives, and He is good and faithful, we have to act like it.

Acting like it means fully and completely letting go. It's not a half-in, half-out proposition. We don't get to promise to trust God and then hang over his shoulder, putting in one finger every now and then to make sure it's going how we want it to go.

We don't get to decide how God orders our lives.

And quite honestly, that's for the best. We are finite, fallible human beings, not the all-wise and all-loving Creator who has so carefully crafted every bend of our lives.

How freeing that is, to understand that our lives are not in our hands. Praise God for His goodness- imagine if we had to order our lives with only the knowledge we have right now! We would fail and fall flat on our faces.

Thank the Lord for His kindness to us!

2.) God cannot be separated from His attributes.

This year, I'm taking a biblical counseling course, mainly to prepare me for college and a career as a biblical counselor, if God leads me down that path. Last week, one of the lectures I had to watch was on the doctrine of God. I don't know why this was so mind-blowing to me, but they made the point that God cannot be separated from His attributes, and His attributes cannot be separated out from one another. An example would be that God is always loving, even when He pours out His judgment, or that God is always patient, even when He is jealous over His people.

Subconsciously, for years I have reduced God to a human mind. Because I am a flawed, sinful human being, my attributes can be separated out. I can be loving, but I'm not angry in my love. I can be angry, but I'm not patient in my anger. I can be gentle, but I'm not just in my gentleness. And I assume that God is the same way.

This should remind us that we are the creatures, and He is the Creator, but rather we tend to forget His power and might.

Unlike us, God is not constrained. He can be all things at once, and we should stand in awe, amazed that we serve such a magnificent Lord!

3.) Siblings should not be taken for granted.

I am the oldest of five kids. Three of my four siblings are brothers.

It may sound like a lot, but I absolutely love it. The silliness of our home is something I adore, and what makes my home my favorite place on earth.

But as I've gotten older, naturally there's been a shift in my relationship with my siblings. My interests aren't in hot wheel tracks and Playmobil towns anymore. I don't spend hours on my knees, playing with little people or Legos.

For a while, I didn't handle this rightly and let this push me farther and farther away from my siblings.

But, oh, how much I came to miss them. These are my four favorite people in the whole wide world. No one else can make me laugh so much. No one else can make me feel better no matter how I'm feeling. And there's no one else I would ride through a wall, brandishing a sword to rescue them from a dragon for, without hesitation.

I'm still not perfect at it. I still put my writing over them far too often. I still go to bed at night wishing I'd played with them more.

My point is this: siblings will be your best friends forever, and they are some of the most important people in your life. They shouldn't be taken for granted, because we actually don't know how long we'll have with them.

No matter how many siblings you have, they are one of God's greatest blessings. ♥

4.) Teenagers don't have to be stereotypical.

I don't really fully understand when people started to see teenagers as stupid, phone addicted, sleep-loving disrespectful idiots. It seems that these days, everyone expects teenagers to be disrespectful and immature people who barely have any social skills.

Teenagers are trapped between childhood and adulthood. It's the awkward phase where you get to graduate to the adults table at family gatherings, but you still get sent out of the room for important conversations.

I think the real problem is that most adults assume that teenagers are functioning adults who don't need them anymore, and so they become "hands-off", creating teenagers who are clueless about the real world because no one has taught them the basics of the real world.

I'm about to say something very controversial here: teenagers need parenting too.

Yes, teenagers are not children anymore. But that doesn't mean that they should be thrown into the deep end of life. They need guidance, and help. They need people to give them advice and help them learn.

Which means that teenagers shouldn't want to be the normal image of zombies scrolling their phones, only interested in prom and dates.

Teenagers bring a unique perspective to the world around them. They should be the most vibrant, the ones on fire for the gospel, the ones who want to influence their circles and the church.

Why would we want to hide behind our phones when we have so much learning and growing to do?

Besides, being "normal" is overrated. ;)

Well, that's all from me for now!

Until next time, stay undistracted, and keep an open heart. ♥

Love,

-Mira