God Gives You Strength...does that mean I can bench 400 lbs?? ..Uh..probably not.

"He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 1:8) (NIV)
 

Well GOOD MORNING my fellow Oddballers,

Today is going to be about God giving you strength (if you haven't noticed it from the title). I'm sure I've touched on this on an earlier blog post, but honestly, repetition is good. It's important to know that the more something is repeated to you, the more you believe it's true. That statement was quoted by Chris, one of my Terra Firma leaders. If you don't know what that it, don't worry about it.

So here's the deal guys, I have been going through tremendous amounts of guilt. Just because of my past and it's a long story, but I am finially starting to heal from it. The more people I talk to about it, the more I understand the reasoning behind all of the things that never made sense. Let me try to explain what I mean. I was angry with God for a really long time, and everytime I did something to purposely to make him mad and push me away, the plan always failed, so I got even angrier to the point where I severely tried to hurst myself enough that I wouldn't be on Earth for Christmas one year...but again, he stopped it from happening. AGAIN. For a long time I never really understood why he wouldn't let me hate him when I seriously Loathed him..I don't think you guys really get Hating God since you all loved him so much. But to turn from God is honestly a dangerous place.

When I recommitted myself around June, I was confused, and I felt unowrthy to praise God and worship when I hated him. I also had nightmares for a long time that the devil was going to take me from God because he was angry that I came to God. The dreams still haunt me today. So my struggles are reminded of everyday. So Oddballers, that is my major struggle in my faith. It's trusting God to give me strength and worry that the "most evil guy on the planet" will take me from him. SCARY STUFF GUYS.

SO i encourage you all to really really REALLY READ the verse today and thnk about what times in your life God has given you strength. I think you all will be so surprised that you won't know what to do with yourself. Maybe your thought isn't as exciting as mine, but it doesn't matter, because like you who were solid in your faith I look up to strongly. So basically, every story, every thought, every word is important because it is all a part of God's plan. So don't think you are less than me...because honestly, I don't even know why I have friends. LOL I'm that wierd and unpredictable.

Have a Thought Provoking Day.

Oddball 

Feeling Guilty about God Today...My thoughts on That.

^"In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence" (Ephesians 3:12) (NIV)
 

Good Morning Oddballers,

I wanna touch on something a bit more personal for me this morning. I'm not really here to interpret Bible verses this morning but rather explain one of my major struggles as a child of God. 

Alright so many of you may or may not know that for about 3 years in high school I was angry at God for making me ugly. Sound ridiculous right??? Especially if any of you knew me!! But I was. I had a major crush on this guy freshman year and he just ripped my heart out. So I got mad at God for it. I was distant, depressed, suicidal, and I had some eating disorders (anorexia and exercise bulimia). I was a mess. Usually I put a mask up for my friends at school thinking everything was fine and "dandy". But they kind of caught on junior year when I stopped going to events with them and chose to stay home and read books instead. My friends kind of left me...I was alone most of senior year. Except for one or two close friends, and things were starting to get worse for me. Family problems, my sister Loathing me over a tough situation (which I will not explain), people hating me for telling the truth, etc.

So going on to how I know Christ now, I recommitted myself after doing my first Bible study and youth group at my church. This teen leader basically saved my life. He noticed me and invited me along with his group of friends the moment he met me..and I learned that people do care about me and know that I exist. SO I recommitted myself around June-ish.

Now, back to the whole guilt thing. The problem is, I feel terribly guilty for hating God. Like really bad. It makes me cry at chapels in my college because I love God and feel so hypocritical that I spent all this time hating him and now I like him..It's a terrible feeling.

But what I want all of you to know this morning, is that it is important to not dwell on the land of "before you knew Christ" because I"m sure everyone was messed up and sinning very badly at that time. So really, what helps me is to think to myself, "Hey, that was in the past, lets move on with your faith." My advice to those who are expiriencing spiritual guilt is to drop the past, and focus on God now, and God future. It really does help the healing process.

Just like the verse says this morning "In Him and through FAITH in Him." Have a little faith in the Savior. Seriously. Trust him, I know it's hard. Open yourself up to God, Make yourself Vulnerable. Pray your struggles to him..Forget about your past. so that we as people "will approach him with freedom and confidence." What's Better than that.

NO challenge for today, just dwell on my "rant" this morning, Feel free to comment on this post. I really want to hear what your thoughts are on Spiritual Guilt. It's a very complicated topic.

have a thought provoking day,

Oddball.

Be confident in your Faith

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” (Hebrews 10:35-36) (NIV)
 

Good Morning Oddballers,

Today I just want to chill out. That sounds kind of odd, but it's true. So I don't want to be too demanding or technical...I want to go broad-ish this morning. I know it may be early reading this, so I respect you for getting up and reading this post. So here we go.

Confidence is a strange topic because so many people say they have confidence when really most people do not have this trait. Confident people tend to break social norms when they feel the need to regardless of other's opinions and also they tend to burst out leadership skills.

But today, I'm not going to talk about the benefits of being confident so that all of you lovely people can go home and change the world. That's great!!! I'm so happy and proud for you, but I just want to focus on the people that have confidence allready and the importance of keeping it.

The verse pretty much explains it all. I don't want to go into huge detail because it is very bluntly stated. But let me put it this way to ya: Don't let your confidence go for the will of God, you will be rewarded in the end. So have the gutts to stand up for your faith if it is part of God's will. Have the confidence to say what you have always wanted to say to the person who is broken and in need of Christ's forgiveness. Have the confidence to say "yes, I'm a Christian" even when you might be persecuted.

Confidence is sooooo important. So treasure it, Don't let it go, and follow the will of God.

I encourgage all of you as you go about your day to embrace your inner dork. Love God with all your heart and don't let go.. because:

CONFIDENCE IN YOUR FAITH = FREAKIN' AWESOMESOX

I know, not awesomeness this time, but you get the drill..

Have a lovely morning,

Oddball

Need A Moment??? Don't grab a Twix, Be Patient

"We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised." (Hebrews 6:12) (NIV)

Good Morning Oddballs,

Today is going to be an interesting Blog post. Most likely I will make it short and sweet considering weekends calls for busy lives. However, I want to point out the fact that I Do Not Have a Chocolate Craving..I just thought of a Twix commercial. So yeah...nice try readers!! :P

I knew thing I learned about myself. One, I am not a fan of loud music. Two, my guyfriends could potentially be borderline crazy (I said potentially!), and Lastly, I am not a fan of milkshakes but I do like fries (to a degree). so yeah. good times last night.

But that isn't the focus. The focus is on patience. Which I have a hard time with.I believe I have touched on this before, but this time, I'm taking a different direction with biblical patience. And that is, "There is a difference between laziness and patience." You're probably thinking, "Of course there is!!" But trust me, I think we all fall short of this.

For example, you want to get a job, but instead of going to get applications, you pray to God saying "I need a job." and then you are patient for God to give you a job or an answer. Honestly, I don't think that is how it works. We, as people, need to also take initiative. Not saying "Defy God" or Do whatever you want and don't come to God about it. I'm saying "Be realistic. God doesn't give handouts." Okay well sometimes, but NOT ALL THE TIME.

So in that situation, instead of sitting on your computer reading my blog, why don't ya pray to God about your problem, and go hunting for some jobs. God will lead you in the right direction (where have I turn that before lol ).

So I CHALLENGE YOU; to watch this youtube video. It's a Twix commercial from 2010. Enjoy!!

Oddball

God Can Be So FREAKIN unpredictable...Geeze my Life is Confusing

G'day Oddballers,

No verse today, because honestly, I realy just feel like going on a rant about some recent happenings in my life. WHY??? Well, for those you who do not know allready, I am a dork. Secondly, my life is sooooo full of drama its unbelievable.

Anyway, I had a revelation the last couple days, and that is this; No one should expect what will happen in the future. Why?? Because I expected something but then ended up extremely dissapointed. But the thing about that kind of stuff is this; closure is always worth it. Even if it isn't what you were hoping for, it's always good to know the truth. The truth sets you free!! How amazing. I was really hoping for something to happen, and to know that it most likely will never happen just made me realize that I shouldn't even be so concerned about what I want to happen in the first place. I should just trust in God to give me closure and tell me the truth, so then I can be set free from my anxiety and confusion. What's better than that??? Most likely nothing.

So today, I want to try and attempt to keep my rand quite short, because I don't really want to bother all of your wonderfully busy weekends. :D So I'm going to wrap this up with some advice for Christian life, and that is TRUST GOD TO LEAD YOU IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. Don't expect to date some guy just because the idea of him is awesome. Don't expect to achieve the highest award when really one should be more concerned with doing their best. Just don't try to run your own life having unrealistic expectations that you cannot control.

That's all my friends.

Have a Great Day,


Oddball

Can Someone Say...Exhaustion!! Good Job :D

     Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) (ESV)
 

Good Morning Oddballers,

Today is a day where finally, I'll explain how my day went. Geeze it's been awhile! So yes, I am very tired this week. NOT because I didn't get enough sleep, but because I have been running around all the time. I'm exhausted because there is so much to do and about ZIP time to actually do it. Just kidding. I have plenty of time cuz I time manage. Tip for life people: Time Management is Key to Success.

So today, I felt inspired to write about Exhaustion becaue I'm sure many of my college-classmates can relate to this and I'm very sure my 7:00 a.m. PHS students back in Green Bay, WI can definitely relate to this. A lot of work makes us tired. Hard work makes us tired. But what does the Bible actually say about being tired after a lot of hard work?? Well, if you actually read the verse above, you would have an aswer to that question. If you did not read the verse. Shame on You. LOL

If you get anything out of today's blog post, know this...GOD WILL GIVE YOU REST. How amazing! In a literal sense, I understand this as well. When I am very very tired from a ton of reading, I usually sit and meditate for awhile. It relaxes me and energizes me for the rest of my day. It's crazy how spending some time with God can really shape the way we feel fatigue-wise. So if you have some 15 minutes in your day to sit and meditate. I highly suggest it.

However, today's post isn't on mediatioin, it's on God. He literally said in this verse "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest in your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

I say to to about EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY FRIENDS THAT I KNOW VERY PERSONALLY...."God will NEVER give you something you can't handle OR work you harder than your limit." His burden is light, don't sit and carry all the weights in your backpack. Like exhaustion, sadness, anger, revenge, envy, arrogancy, pride, etc. Take those weights, chiuck them out of your backpack and spend some freakin time with the Lord!!!

TIME WITH THE LORD = FREAKIN AWESOMENESS

So let us all be awesome together. IF one is feeling tired and can't focus, Pray about it. Maybe he will help you wake up and get through your day. Trust in him. He isn't that bad of a guy.


So I CHALLENGE you: To listen to this video. Well, because there is no video in it. It's just a slide show. However, this is very relaxing music. Maybe you could meditate with God or relax while listening to this. ENJOY

 Have a Good Day,

Oddballers

Hope

 

"You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety." (Job 11:18) (NIV)

 

Good Morning Oddballers,

 

I usually start out with talking about my day, but I'm not going to do that. I want to just dive right into hope this morning, because I feel like it is super important. Yeah, I know, super importance is not a very good reason to be writing, but I feel a strong urge to just talk about it, so hear me out.

Hope is a very interesting subject to talk about because there are SO MANY directions I can go with this. So for the record, if the direction I take isn't what you were expecting, my apologies, I didn't mean to look over your credible opinion.

In my opinion, I think Hope is a sense of security. It gives the person a reason to keep going when things get difficult. For example, I dealt with depression. The ways I stayed on top of things was to have hope that things would improve and I will be happy again. As hard as that was sometimes, if I didn't have hope, then I probably wouldn't be at the place I am now in regards to happiness, and I would not even be close to the level of strength I have in my Christian faith. Its a funny thing how one little "speck of light at the end of the tunnel" can really determine if one gives up on something or not.

Fascinating.

Hope also has differen't meanings to me as well. It not only gives me security, it gives me strength. I know many families that have to deal with family members with cancer and the most common thing they say to me about hope is that "It gives me strength.." Strength is also a fascinating concept if we really just sat down and had a good conversation about what really are the building blocks to strength. I think we all would be surprised.

So what the heck does this have to do with faith and myself. Well, a whole heck of a lot. We have hope because of our Heavenly Father who will never leave and forsake us. For example, if both of my parents were dead, I would still have hope because God is the Father to the Fatherless. Getting it??? I'm not surprised if you aren't.


So I encourage you to think about Hope in more of a spiritual standpoint as we go about our normal routines and days.

Check ya all Later,

Oddball

 

 

God's Promise of Love

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love." (John 15:9) (NIV)
 

Good Morning Oddballers,

I'm going to try and make this blog post a short one today. So if it goes quite long, I am truely sorry about that.

Anyway, some updates on my life. Not much happened really. LOL I spent a lot of time with my friends and did my homework. That is pretty much a typical day for a college student. So that's my unabridged version (really..its unabridged lol).

Now, unto our verse this morning. I did some intense meditation and prayer the last couple days in regards to God's love. For some reason I have a hard time actually understanding what that means. So I have spent roughly 15 minutes a day praying about it. And this is the verse that keeps finding its way to me.

I think it is important to really grasp the fact that God's love is so much bigger than we expect it to be. There is so much that goes into the word "love" that often it is used in the wrong context when a guy/girl says to their significant other, "I love you." My question to them is this, "Do you really?"

It may come off as quite rude to assume that almost all relationships in the U.S. are not "love", but I'm sure that there are more than a handful. That's why I'm bringing it up. Do you remember the first time someone said "I love you," ? Honestly, I can't remember!! Well, other than my parents of course. That's how much that 3 worded phrase really meant to me. from him..Nothing. 

So to end this post today...I just want to say a few things. One, God loves you so much, and it's a real true pure love. Two, I don't think any of the readers will ever hear me say "I love you" unless I'm engaged or something. Because honestly, I want to say it when I mean it, not when it's convenient for the other person.

So I encourage you today, no CHALLENGE because I don't want to do that this morning, to really pray and think about what God's love means to you. I think everyone will be surprised at the kind of things you might hear or find from it.

Have a Great DAy,


Oddball.

Worrywarts...they are Annoying!!!

 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?" Matthew 6:25 (NIV)

Good Day Oddballers,

 I want to touch on worrying this morning because it seems to be relevant in my dorm. But before I begin, I would like to say that I did not post yesterday because I had writers block and I felt the need to take a bit of one on one time with God. There were some stuff that I wanted to be at peace with, and I think that it helped.

I may tell you a few of these things in a bit. But I kinda want to focus on the verse. How many times to people go through drastic things in their lives and seem to overly stress about it??? I know my mom seems to do this sometimes. I, have anxiety about my body. It's a different feeling from when I was sick; it's more of a "what's wrong with me?" than "everything is wrong with me" if that makes any sense to the oddballers. Still, there are days where I just need to sit and talk it out with a close friend or meditate with God.

Anyway, if you get anything out of my blog post today, read the last part of this verse carefullly, "Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?" The answer is yes. So many times have I seen guys and girls cut themselves down because they don't feel like they fit in because they stand out. I say this: Standing out is honestly so much better than fitting in. Embrace the dork. Don't worry about what you have and don't have. Because honestly, in heaven, you aren't going to have it anyway and it's not even going to matter. Love who you are, because God made you perfect.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. Don't let small things affect the overall aura of the day. This can happen. But I say, DON"T let it affect you. Guys are going to like another girl ladies, and it sucks. Trust me, I know that feeling very well. Ladies are going to date the jerks and not you sometimes. It's a fact of life. But I need you all to know that worrying about it is only going to destroy you, and not make you feel any better.

So I CHALLENGE YOU:  to take about 5 minutes of your time. Sit down in the grass at home, school, work, etc. Just sit there, close your eyes, and think about nothing. I try to do this every day before I start my day to just calm down from the drama from the previous night so that I can start my day with a level head. So should you.


I hope you all have a wonderful stress free day ahead.

Oddball

I'm Not Spiderman and Neither is God

Good Morning Oddballers,

I'm not really going to do a verse today, because I may post a video blog later. However, I want to get something very clear: I am not Spiderman!!! Neither is God.

Those of you that are reading this and find this extremely confusing, it's okay because it is a very confusing inside joke. For some reason, a lot of the guys in my dorm find it funny to call me Spiderman because I made a comment on how I don't like spiderman and I'm not spiderman. Confused yet?? Good. So now, whenever they ask me if I'm spiderman I deny it, but they don't believe me. So now I'm frustrated and laughing to myself thinking "oh great...now I"m a superhero" when I"m really just a normal average girl. And the funny thing about this whole thing is this: Neither is God.

Think about it, I never thought of God as some superhero that comes and saves the day because he never gave me a reason to believe that. Yes, He does mircales, yes, God is good, but he doesn't spin webs and knocks the Green Goblin out, so I"m going to have to say No, he is not Spiderman.
 
Isn't it funny how people tend to try and pick people out as a superhero and then only count on them to save the day in the films. Like this "Batman, come save us!!" Okay, REALLY!!?? Where is God in this whole idea of superhero and villian killing?? I don't know guys.



It tends to frustrate a little bit inside of me on how society picks people to become those "superheroes" in our lives because I strongly believe that the first person anyone should turn to is God. When I'm in a tough situation, I pray about it. When Guys confuse the living tar out of me, I pray for closure, and TRUST ME...I get closure..and not always in the nicest way, but it was the best way for me to get it. When I encounter a "supervillian" in my life, I always try and pray to God on how I can work through my anger and frustration on this person so that I don't take out my anger negatively on people I care about. That's just kinda how this dork rolls. LOL




So today, I don't really want to challenge you because I may challenge you in my video blog. So please, think about turning to God as a sorta-"superhero" in your life. And I'm saying sorta because he isn't technically a superhero, but he saves people. Lastly, I will say this for the last time, I AM NOT SPIDERMAN AND NEITHER IS GOD.

THE END.

Oddball

When One Doesn't Know Where to Go...Seek Direction

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:1-3) (NIV)

Good Morning Oddballers,


I had some inspiration for today's blog. It's on those times when we find ourselves completely confused. With women, this is common. Trust me, I get confused all the time. Mostly involving guy situations but that is a story for another time. Anyway, when I am confused I get so frustrated because I don't really have a clue on what God's plan is for me...so I looked up "Bible Verses on Seeking Direction" and this lovely verse popped up. LOL

So I'm going to talk about it. This is a more difficult verse to really grasp..so I'm not really going to try and annotate and give you a translation. (well, because I don't really trust myself to have the right interpretation of this verse). But I"m going to tell you what I was thinking about as I was reading this.

I thought that when people get it tough situations, it's important to be fully there for God. Meaning we turn to God in those situations with a full, open, and awake heart. It's important that when we are praying to seek direction that we aren't really blinded by the events and the customs outside of us.

How difficult that must be for people?? Oh my gosh. I know when I am in a tough situation its hard for me to really focus on what I need to.So everyone...FOCUS. Focus on what you are praying when you need direction. It's going to be tough, but I know you all can do it.

Just like the vese says, we need to renew our mind..So why don't we all do that this morning.

I CHALLENGE YOU:  to renew your mind..clear your mind. Do some yoga or something to relax yourself..and then focus on God's plan.

You may just feel better.

oh and watch this video. :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZXvyHrad5k

Much Love,

Oddball

When The World Around Seems Hopeless

"But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. ²² For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. ²³ But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. ²⁴ Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶ The last enemy to be destroyed is death. ²⁷ For he “has put everything under his feet.”^[a] Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. ²⁸ When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all." (1 Corninthians 15:20-28) (NIV)



G'day Oddballers,

I decided not to put a picture up this tme because the verse was soooo long. I wanted you all to take the time to read it this morning. Anyway, today I want to talk about what to do when the world around us seems bittersweet. When the world around us is in a stage of darkness and it's hard to find the light in the situation.

I wanted to post this verse up to remind you all that Christ was raised from the dead for a reason. Jesus died for our sins, regardless of our current world affair situation, the end of times will come, the enemies will be "put under his feet". This is an irrevocable claim. I strongly believe that in order to see the light, it is important to remember to turn to God before one starts "Freaking out about it".

Just hear me out a second. Many of us go through hardships. Whether is monetary or not. Many MANY times I run into people that try to fix the problem themselves and end up falling flat on their face. For me, it is even more important that I try not to solve things myself because I get quite the anxiety and since I am a "clutzy" person, I have a 98.5% chance of actually doing a face plant on the cement. 1.5% chance of tripping and falling into the lake on campus. LOL no joke.

So if one gets anything out of this Bible verse. Always remember that God exists, and to turn to him when you are going through something. Even if you AREN'T going through something right now, still DON'T IGNORE GOD. This is absolutely essential.  Please don't fail me Oddballers.

Now I'm going to make a shout out to some of my friends in college and back in Green Bay, WI that are still in high school. Stresses will come up, things will get tough, men and women will be confusing, papers will be done last minute, the dvd player will stop working, the wifi will hardly work, and you will eventually get ill. It's a fact of life. But what I want to say about it is this: BE STRONG.  God doesn't give you something you cannot handle. So don't forget about him. Pray about it everyday if you can. Even if nothing happened that day, pray about it.


No challenge for today because I really just don't want to challenge my readers today. Consider this a day off. LOL
Much Love and God Bless,

Oddball

Enjoy the World We live in Cuz God Created It

Morning Oddballers,

No verse today. I want to focus on something that I am very passionate about. It's the concept of "stop to smell the roses." I'm sure you have heard of this saying before, but sometimes, I think we forget what exactly what it's saying.

Every night and every morning, I stop on a bench or sit on the grass and I watch the sunrise, the sunset, and the stars. Not only is it a great relaxation tool, it gets me to think about how my day went. Also, whenver I lead a small group for Operation Snowball (join a retreat if it's in your area, highly recommended for personal growth) I would take my group out my the lakeside and we would sit down and just look at the sunrise and think about how beautiful the Earth really looks when we try not to think about the technology.

Today, the post will be short, because I want to be blunt about this topic. Enjoy the beauty of Earth. It has amazing features that only can be seen by stopping and really looking. So today, I CHALLENGE you to stop tonight and just stare at the stars for about 10 minutes. I think you will see something that you haven't seen before.

God created an amazing Earth, and I want you to see it too.

Much Love Oddballers,

Oddball

Don't Hate on People...Really, the Bible Says So

"If someone says, "I love God," but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don't love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?" (1 John 4:20) (NLT)
 

 Good Morning Oddballers,


Today is another day to rejoyce!! REALLY!! From where I live, the sun is shining, the birds are out and singing. It is fabulous. Anyway to catch up my readers on my life today I participated in my first Zumba class yesterday...and I had a blast!! If any of you do not know what Zumba is...it is a dance workout. I loved it. I sweat at least a gallon. LOL No probably not but I definitely broke a sweat.. So yeah everyone, if you like dancing and want to workout at the same time, Zumba is for you.


Nomatter, it is time for the verse. So I was thinking this morning on how so many people I have met so far tened to really hate people. I mean HATE people. There were times where I have seen others purposely sabotage lives of those they dislike; honestly, it sickens me. So today I want to give those of you who tend to "hate on people" a nice little "wake up call" (lol if you read yesterday's post).

The worst thing ever for a Christian is to say "I love God" and then hate on someone across the room. I've seen that happen. I've felt that before too. I love God but then there is this mean girl across the room. My heart is screaming, "She is so mean I don't like her," but I turn around to my friend and say, "God is great!" How hypocritical don'tcha think??

Most of us are guilty of this...so what do we do?? Well, in order to really love God and have a strong relationship with him, we have to understand how to love people in the flesh. The more we work on loving others, the more we tend to love God. It's a crazy concept to think about really. It's almost as if it is reversed. But doing it this way will also help you love others easier as well. It's awesome. I have been trying to work on this for the past year and the results I have gotten from it is fabulous. If I am annoyed with a person or they really hurt my feelings, I treat them as if they were my family. (technically they are) So I forgive them and stay nice to them regardless of my opinion. Honestly, my opinion doesn't matter.

So today..I encourgage you to CHALLENGE yourself to walk up to someone you don't necessarily like and give them a compliment. you'd be suprised.

Have a wonderful day,

Oddball

Turn Around...No..Really!! Turn Around!!!

Matthew 7:13 "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereth."
 

Morning Oddballers,

A more serious blog post today guys. But first, I want to touch on the concept of WAKE UP CALLS. Especially in regards to women. Why? Well, I'm a girl. So I know the women drama better than the guy drama (not being sexist u manly men lol). Anyway, usually when a girl refers to a wake up call, it's usually because the girl is blinded by infatuation towards a guy who treats her like crap. Blindness is how the girl ends up staying with them for two years. NO joke. This has happened to me who knows how many times, but the point is, I got a serious wake up call when my friends were metaphorically slapping me upside the head. It hurt, but I appreciated it in the future.

So let me try and attempt to give all my readers a wake up call this morning. Do you think you are a Christian because you are a nice person? Well, let us read the verse together..shall we???

"Enter ye in at the strait gate: For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destructioin."

Think about it guys, Broad way to destruction. Hmmm..so does that mean that all the "nice" people are going to go to heaven?? Ummm. probably not. Because there all a lot of nice people. So who gets to go to heaven then?? Well, the people that are Biblical Christians. See children, there is a difference between a social Christian and a Biblical Christian. A social Christian normally just does Christian stuff in order to put a certain image of themselves out to people so that they may feel like they deserve to be in the kingdom of heaven. The Biblical Christians, however, are the ones who study the Bible and try to live out all of Gods commands. Not being perfect, but ya know, they repent of their sins and try not to make that mistake again.

It's how it works people. Hopefully you all will WAKE UP this morning...I know it may be early for a few of you who read my blog as soon as I make my posts live, but hopefully you all understand the seriousness of Jesus's command here in Matthew. This is a serious Christian moment.

SERIOUS CHRISTIAN MOMENT = FREAKIN AWESOMENESS

So all you Oddballers out there...I CHALLENGE YOU: to really think about this verse today and reflect on your own faith. Are there any changes that need to be made??? Hmmm. oh and watch this video if ya have time. lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc1GzV9_rFg

Much Love my Oddballers,

Oddball

Tripping On Everything...What's The Deal???

Psalm 40:2-3 - "and pulled me from a lonely pit full of mud and mire. You let me stand on a rock with my feet firm, and you gave me a new song, a song of praise to you. Many will see this, and they will honor and trust you, the LORD God." (CEV)
 

 G'day My Wonderful Oddballers,

This moring is a little bit interesting for me because I took a power nap yesterday. If you don't know what that is, i'll tell ya right now. A power nap is a short nap just to refresh/recover yourself from a long day or lack of sleep from the previous night. Problem with that yesterday,....well.. I kinda took a 3 hour power nap LOL. I guess I really needed the sleep. So this morning...I wake up at 6:09 a.m. and think to myself..."I will never be able to sleep in ever." LOL. So I thought I would share that liitle tidbit of my life in college for my readers.

Now, for starters, I am a very clutzy person..I am tall, and sometimes my left side of my brain stops working for a second (due to lazy eye when I was younger) so then the right side of my body runs into things because of my left brain. Make any sense??? I don't think so. What you need to know from that scientific explanation that I'm not even sure is the truth btw is that I trip on things all the time, bump into walls, randomly lose my grip on something I'm holding, and randomly spaz. It's true. BUT WHAT IF YOU TRIPPED, BUMPED, SPAZED, OR LOST GRIP ON YOUR FAITH???

Interesting question to think about this morning don'tcha think?? I believe that every Christian on this Earth can relate to this somehow whether or not you may remember the time. I remember the time I tripped in my faith very clearly. I was suicidal senior year of high school believe it or not. My first suicidal thought/almost tried was the day before classes started. Crazy right???. I remember being soooooooooo angry at God for making me ugly. Ugly of all things...(if you haven't read yesterday's post, you won't find the irony in that statement). I wasn't considered attractive from where I lived, so I got frustrated and when my eating disorders the previous year didn't help me, I resorted to harming myself out of serious anger. I don't know if any of you have been that angry with God, but I don't recommend it.

I chose this Bible verse this morning because it describes how I felt when I recommitted my life to Christ the summer before I came to my Christian college. It was my final thought/attempt and I felt this higher power stopping me even though I was crying at the time and seriously considered it. But I dropped whatever I was holding and just gave in to Christ. I now fully trust that I was made beautiful by him due to that event (more explanation for another time). So I understand when the verse is saying "pulled me from the lonely pit of mud of mine". Seriously, I was alone..and I was at a low place filty of sin. perfect description for it

PERFECT DESCRIPTION = FREAKIN AWESOMENESS

So If you read the entire verse. I think one would understand the true power of God in a more intimate way. God has a way of making people feel like they are completely cleaned of everything bad in your life. (If you haven't felt that, I highly recommend picking up a Bible, commiting yourself to Christ, and living out Christianity in your daily lives).He always makes me feel like I am clean from my sin every day when I remember to repent of my sin every night. I know what it's like guys..and that's why the last part of the verse really gets me this morning "Many will see this..and they will honor and trust you."

ABSOLUTELY they will!!! I was saved from suicide because of other people's testimonials. It is so awesome to hear where people came from before comming to God, or falling down and recommitting to God. It's Crazy. 

To end my post this morning (Sorry about the length everyone) I going with this challenge.

CHALLENGE: Walk up to someone you feel kind of close to whom is a very close Christian and ask them how they came to Christ. You may be inspired by their story

Have a lovely day Oddballers,

Oddball

You're Beautiful...Duh!!

"You are altogether beautiful, my love, there is no flaw in you." (Song of Solomon 4:7) (ESV)
 

Good Morning Oddballers,

Today I want to touch on what I like to call "What I Don't like about the Media Industry". Of course, I am a film junkie who wants to become a stunt coordinator someday, but that isn't the point I am trying ot make today. What I find frustrating about media is the fact that media really enjoys voicing to the public what one should consider beautiful and attractive. Well, let me tell you all something first. I tried to look like those "photoshop magazine girls". Seriously, I had a picture of a girl and I strived to look like her; only to get severely underweight and sick. What I want everyone to understand about this is the fact that everyone is beautiful.

I know, I know, technically in all of our heads, we judge people by our looks. If you think you don't, then really REALLY think about it. How do you judge which guys you want to stay friends with or possibly date the first time you meet them. Well America, you judge them by their looks. Absolutely true. Everyone does. Because, well, physical attraction. People want to be around others whom they are physically attracted to. Regardless of personality in the begining. I'm not talking about after you get to know the person and realize they are a jerk kinda thing. I'm talking about initial contact. You judge people because of looks, and so do I.

What I want everyone to understand is this verse on beauty. We are all altogether beautiful. I know its a hard concept to grasp. Trust me, it took me two years to really understand beauty after my eating disorder recovery. So I need you all to know that God made each and every one of you perfectly with no flaws. In the eyes of God, you are exactly what he wanted. The most handsom or beautiful person in the world. There is absolutely no reason that one should feel unworthy of being in a relationship or ugly because the media says you are ugly and unworthy. A guy came up to me in high school and said that, "You're ugly and worthless. If you died in a hole, no one would care about you." I cried for two weeks. I get it. I know what it feels like to not think that you are worth being on this Earth because you can't get involved in an intimate relationship.

But, please, understand this: YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL IN EVERY SINGLE WAY. That's what I really want to push on you guys today. Ignore the media industry, they are only trying to sell you a lifestyle. Not a realistic vision of real life. So ignore the ads, focus on yourself, and really see the beauty that lives inside you.

CHALLENGE: Look in the mirror, and instead of looking at your flaws, look at what you like about yourself.

Have a great self-esteem day,

Oddball

Always Be Nice...Litterally.Be Nice People

"Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world." (1 Peter 2:12) (NLT)
 

G'day Oddballers,

Today I want to chat about being honorable and kind to everyone around you. I know, it can be difficult if "that girl on the other side of the room secretly made fun of you" or the "guy slammed you into a locker last week", but we have to be nice. Being kind is probably the most dangerous weapon in regards to people you do not like because they won't expect it. Also, they will see that nommater what they would do to you or say to you, you, as a human being, will allways have the upper hand because you are nice.

Just like the verse of the day says, "Be careful to live properly among unbelieving neighbors." This is super important if you are of the Christian faith. It is absolutely important to be nice to those that don't practice Christianity because, well, it's the right thing to do. It isn't all the time where one can walk down the street and have people come up to you and say "Hey! How was your day this evening? Did you get good sleep last night?" Just be NICE...how hard can that be.


Well, I'm going to be honest, it is a very difficult thing to do. Especially people that may irritate you to the point that you could possibly go bonkers for no apparent reason. That's the thing to be concerned about. Also, if that person whom irratates you does not believe the same thing as you, then OMG, that is the worst. In these moments it is especially important that we take the time to honor God's wishes and present yourself to those people in a positive and respectable manner. Even your body language. Everyone has the potential of reading right through that.

So I CHALLENGE all of you today to be nice to the annoying kid in class and just say "Hi!" to them. Achknowlege their existence...because I know for a fact that they will appreciate the kindness.

Have a great day Oddballers,

Oddball