be the change.

BE COOL WITH EVERYONE.

“Bullying’s not cool. And I’ll tell you, in the 2nd grade I tried to fit in with so many people that I was probably the biggest bully in the whole school. But once I got into 3rd, I started to realize what a jerk I was being to kids and what it could do. And then in the 4th, I really started realizing it was gonna hurt someone, so I decided to BE COOL WITH EVERYONE.” - Trey, Age 11

That’s a quote from the documentary, Bully. This documentary has some language and disturbing parts, but the most disturbing part is that it’s REAL LIFE. It shows how some people ACTUALLY get treated and it’s not right. I highly recommend this movie. Even if you’re someone who isn’t a bully, this movie brings verbal and physical abuse into the light so that we can see how some people have to live and what they have to put up with. And even more importantly that just UNDERSTANDING how people are treated, we can begin to be COMPASSIONATE towards ALL people. Everyone has a story and everyone has a struggle.

This young boy who I quoted lost his best friend to suicide after he was bullied repeatedly at school. Why can’t it be this easy for all of us? Trey puts it in the simplest way possible, he just DECIDED to be COOL with everyone. Even if you’re not a bully, chances are there are people you’re not “cool” with. But why? Who are WE to decide who is “deserving” of love and who “deserves” to be treated right?! That’s CRAP! If Jesus only died for the people who “deserved” it… we’d all be HOPELESS! We’re not going to AGREE with EVERYONE ALL the time, but we can ALL agree to put our OPINIONS to the side and simply LOVE others and TREAT them how we want to be treated, even in the middle of our disagreements!

Let’s all make an effort to just… be COOL with EVERYONE! :)

I didn’t write this, but I wanted to share it. So beautiful

Twas’ 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven’s gate.
their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.
they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
they were filled with such joy, they didn’t know what to say.
they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
“where are we?” asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
“this is heaven.” declared a small boy. “we’re spending Christmas at God’s house.”
when what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
then He opened His arms and He called them by name.
and in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
those children all flew into the arms of their King
and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
one small girl turned and looked at Jesus’ face.
and as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, “I’ll take care of mom and dad.”
then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe
then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
“Let My power and presence re-enter this land!”
“may this country be delivered from the hands of fools”
“I’m taking back my nation. I’m taking back my schools!”
then He and the children stood up without a sound.
“come now my children, let me show you around.”
excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
and i heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
“in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT.”

Growing up.

I have been wanting to blog about this topic for quite some time but I think I needed some time to calm down, because I was a little too upset about it. Let me start by saying, I have always had some sort of fascination with Christian celebrities. Why? I am a Christian, I love Jesus with my whole heart and I live my life for Him alone. I have also wanted to be an actress for most of my life, not for the fame or the money, but for the joy of doing what I love, acting. I think that fame is a burden that comes with having a job in the entertainment industry, but when people are able to use their fame to GLORIFY GOD and give HIM the credit, I LOVE it! That would explain why I love to hear about Christian celebrities, because I have always dreamt of being one. Not of being a “celebrity” because that doesn’t matter to me in the slightest, but of being an actress and being able to use the position that people in entertainment industry have not to please myself but to CHANGE THE WORLD, to promote LOVE and to have Jesus’ LIGHT SHINE so brightly through me that the only explanation there could possibly be for it, would be a higher power, the God and Savior of the universe, living IN ME!

When I find out someone, anyone, is a Christian and actually lives a life that is pleasing to God and aims to act according to Biblical principles, I am so excited! Especially when it’s a celebrity. Not because they’re “cooler” or “prettier” or “popular” but because they are looked up to by the world. Unfortunately, in our culture we look to the entertainment industry for what to do, how to act, who to be and what the believe! I would love for that to NOT be an unfortunate thing, which is why I love when there is a LIGHT in that industry, a light that is saying “Don’t look at how good I am, look at how GREAT Jesus is!”

Now to the part that is upsetting me. Many people who start out as Christians in the industry, somehow fade out of it. I understand, I do, the atmosphere in Hollywood and in the industry in general will eat you alive. If you don’t EXACTLY who you are and what you stand for before you get into that world, you will lose your morals very quickly. However, somehow I still have so much hope and faith in these Christian celebrities, because I want them to influence the world in the best way possible! In the past couple months I have been learning about these young Christians in the industry, who no longer where their purity rings. Is it necessary to wear a purity ring? Absolutely not! Is it a sin to take it off? I don’t think so, no. The reason this is upsetting is because of the replies they have given when ASKED about those rings. I don’t want to say exactly WHO said this, because I think it’s unnecessary, but I will tell you the quotes that I found from them directly, I even watched a video of one of them, flat out saying these words.

When asked, “Why do you not where you’re purity ring anymore?”
Someone replied “When I was 13 my mom spoke to me about purity and waiting for marriage… At the time I was like ‘Sure, that’s great’ but I can’t say what’s gonna happen a couple months from now. PEOPLE GROW.”

I admire the honesty in the previous quote, I do. EVERYONE makes mistakes, we’re ALL sinners, we all have sinned and will continue to sin. But my problem with this, is that it doesn’t look they this person things no longer staying pure would be a mistake. They apparently think it’s a part of “growing up”… which is really ridiculous to me!

Here’s another quote.

When asked “Do you still wear your purity ring?”
They answered “You know, everyone’s kinda growing up now. It was a decision made a long time ago, I’m a different person now.”

This next one doesn’t have to do with “purity” but is still a proclaimed young Christian celebrity girl.

She was asked “You’re getting older! What is your favorite part of growing up?”
She answered “I guess I would have to say dressing sexier!”

This whole “growing up” thing is driving me crazy! What the heck?! I’m honestly confused. Since when did adult= promiscuous? I didn’t realize the Bible said “P.S. Once you GROW UP, you don’t have to follow what I’ve commanded of you. You’re a grown up, therefore it’s okay if you lose all sense of morals.” Sorry if that’s harsh, but come on! I do NOT judge ANYONE who has sex before marriage. It is a very hard thing to follow through with… it’s not about them not being PURE, it’s about them saying “I grew up” instead of “I made a mistake, thank God for GRACE!” And yes, I understand that’s not a topic you want to talk about anyway in front of the public, but to use GROWING UP as an EXCUSE for LACK of SELF CONTROL, is pathetic. I would admire honesty so much more! I’m not upset that that they broke the promise to themselves, that’s none of my business, it’s that they DECIDED the promise was silly and no longer relevant. It’s not saying “I messed up, I’ll try to learn from this.” It’s saying “I know longer think THIS PART of the Bible is worth following.

I honestly don’t care that people mess up and go back on their word. I sin daily! I am continually working on things in my life. Always! I understand the making mistakes part! I need forgiveness everyday of my life! But if growing up means you completely give into every fleshly desire and no longer have any regard for the spirit, if it means you abandon all understanding and beliefs in morality, if it means going back on your promises to God with no intention of asking forgiveness, if it means that trying to live according to the Bible is childish… I pray I NEVER GROW UP!

**I want everyone to know that I do not claim to know everything about these people who said these quotes. I don’t know their intentions, I don’t even know if they were just misunderstood, I don’t know their heart, all I know is what they said… I am not angry at these people personally, I am just so sad that it is nearly impossible to find genuine Christian role models in the industry. And like I said, of course even the Christians in the industry will make mistakes, because we ALL do, but like I said, the thing that upsets me is that they don’t seem to believe they made a mistake, they believe they simply… grew up.

own your differences.

When i was younger, and when i say younger i mean junior high AND high school, i use to lie to fit in. That’s right. I lied. Looking back at it now, I feel like a FOOL. I spent so many years trying to fit into this mold that i saw my friends fitting into, trying to be this person that i thought EVERYONE wanted me to be, trying to become more like SOCIETY to feel ACCEPTED. I still had the same personality i have now, because that’s me and i can’t and won’t change that, i was still the same person i am now, i just would lie occassionally thinking that i would appear to be better or more important than the person i really was.

I am so thankful that i love me now! My prayer is that everyone LOVES who they were created to be! Peer pressure can destroy someone and make them believe they are suppose to be something they’re not. We all have differences and we all have similarities, don’t change WHO YOU ARE to fit the mold. You’re not MEANT to be the mold! You’re meant to STAND OUT! You’re meant to BE YOU! Don’t be embarrassed of the things that set you apart, of your opinions and the things about you that are different, be PROUD of them! Own them! And never made someone feel less than simply because the way they live and who they are isn’t the same as you, because it’s not meant to be.

LOVE YOURSELF. And LOVE OTHERS just the way they are!

imagination.

Children are easy to please, simple, HOPEFUL, optimistic, FORGIVING, BRAVE and creative and adults are… often the oppposite of all those things I mentioned. What happens to us along the way? Where do we lose our positivity? Our simplicity? When do we stop seeing the BEST IN OTHERS and instead start LOOKING for the worst? When do we stop FORGIVING and start HOLDING GRUDGES? When do we stop being brave and start LIVING IN FEAR? More importantly… Why?

Children love to day dream, to think up impossible scenarios and pretend like its their life! They love to be the princess or the superhero. They love to imagine the most exciting and fascinating things they can think up to imagine. Which makes them into big dreamers! Ask a child what they want to become and they will often say “Firefighter” or “Rockstar” or “Football player” they have big dreams and somewhere along the way, adults make them believe they can’t accomplish those dreams. What’s wrong with having a big imagination and being a FEARLESS DREAMER?! I admire children for their dreams! Adults on the other hand, we still use our imagination but we use it in the worst way. We use it not to wonder what COULD BE, we use it to wonder about the things that probably WILL NEVER BE. What a negative way of thinking and what a sad life to live. We don’t say things like “What if everything works out exactly the way i imagined and i live the life i always wanted?!” We say things like “What if everything goes wrong?” and “What if no one likes me, what if they judge me and laugh at me?” How foolish of us!

We could ALL learn MANY lessons from children! Get back to the basics, be a HOPEFUL DREAMER, forgive others over and over, be EASY TO PLEASE, be SIMPLE, be COURAGEOUS. Most importantly, don’t look at EVERYTHING that COULD go WRONG, look at EVERYTHING that COULD GO RIGHT! :)

Matthew 18:3-4
“And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

My Hero.

Jesus,
You’re the Hero of my story and the rythm in my song
Without You, i wouldn’t have the strength that makes me strong
You’re the voice behind my words and the beating in my heart
In the puzzle of my life, You’re every intricate part
You’re the soul behind my thoughts and the passion in my dreams
You’re the lead character of my life, You’re the star of every scene
You’re the music in my head and the sunshine in my day
You’re the blue in my sky and the path in my way
You’re the friend that never leaves, You’re the courage when i’m brave
When you had to choose Your life or mine, i’m the one You saved
You’re the talent in my art and You’re the rhyme in this poem
You’re the hope that keeps me holding on, You’re my peace, You’re my home

selfless.

I use to be the type of person, who would get upset and hurt if someone that i enjoyed talking to and someone that i cared about didnt care about me in the same way. And by use to, i mean a couple months ago. This is a new thing i’m learning.. and that new thing is, so what if they dont ask me how i’m doing everytime we talk. At first it would hurt me, i didnt understand why they didnt want to know about my life the way i wanted to know about theirs and then i realized how incredibly selfish that is.

Yes, i think you need a few quality people in your life that do care about you and your plans and your days, but with the other people i come in contact with, its okay if they dont want to ask about my day or ask me questions about my past or my likes and dislikes. I dont care anymore! Not in a rude way, in a genuine way, because i’ve realized that i am not here on this earth for myself, i am here for them, i am here for you.

So i will continue to be the person that listens to others and asks people how theyre doing and encourages them when they need it, even if they dont do the same thing for me, because its not about me. I dont need someone to be interested in me for me to be interested in them. I love everyone, therefore i’m interested in everyone even is they dont feel the same about me. Its a hard lesson. Its trying to teach myself selflessness, which is a nearly impossible thing to do in my life. I honestly dont think i will ever be completely selfless because my flesh wants to be selfish and i have to fight that… but i will continue to remind myself that others matter more than me. That i am here for them. And it makes it all okay. :)