God is not a Sugar Daddy.

An important part of college is living with people who are different than you. Whether it's your roommate, the people in your dorm or the people in your classes, everyone is different than you, yet, somehow we all manage to live together in a community.

I know we usually don't like to be around people with different opinions than us, but I think it is important to be around good people whose views differ from my own. There's a girl in my hallway who has opposite views than me on almost every issue, and I absolutely love it. We sit there and have long discussions about our views. It's amazing because even though we disagree, we are both heard and we respect each other's opinions. We never tell the other person that they're wrong, call each other names, or offend each other; we just have a conversation. It gives us a new perspective that we can each chew on and that might alter our overall view in some way.  Really, that is how society should be.

My friend and I are in the same Bible class, and we often discuss issues that come up because of that class. The thing is, my friend believes in God and that Jesus died so she could go to heaven. Here's the catch: she doesn't believe the Bible. She says she just doesn't trust it because of the potential for human error between what God intended and what the original writers wrote. Because of this and the fact that God gave her free will, she feels that she can do whatever she wants, even things that
I would consider to be a sin.

I disagree. I do not think it is possible to be a Christian without believing in and trying to follow the Bible.

First off, where does the idea of Jesus dying for us come from? The Bible. If you believe that, you already believe some of the Bible. She herself always tells me she hates it when people pick and choose from the Bible; she says either don't believe it or believe it. The problem is, by picking only the part about Jesus dying for her sins, she is picking and choosing. Our societies basic morals are in the Bible. If she believes in justice, fairness, love, responsibility, peace, and self-sacrifice in terms of charity, she believes in the Bible.

Secondly, after God chose people to write it, it was passed down through centuries of people, copied by hand and translated, all of which explain minor inconsistencies. Yes, there is a little human error, but it doesn't matter because of all the things that are constant. For a book written over centuries with several different authors from several different time periods, it is incredibly consistent. In several parts of the Bible, it is constant in its depiction of salvation by God's grace through faith in Christ.

Thirdly, is it that she really doesn't believe the Bible? Or is it that she doesn't WANT to believe the Bible? She is a very independent person, and I respect that. However, she wants to be able to do whatever she wants. She hates rules and being told what to do. Maybe she just doesn't like the idea of having rules or of being told a certain way she should be living, so she chooses not to follow the Bible.

Okay, moving on..

I have a few strange uncles on my mom's side. One, Uncle George, has schizophrenia. The other, Uncle Warren, is just.. well.. odd. I kid you not, he looks almost exactly like Si from Duck Dynasty: Beard, glasses, hat and all.

Si Robertson from Duck Dynasty. Actually, this could be Uncle Warren. I'm not really sure.

While he's odd, he's also very religious. He goes on "God rants" at family dinners, and, honestly, I usually zone out. However, sometimes he has some interesting words of wisdom. At Thanksgiving this year, he said something that stuck with me because I was surprised by a term he used: "Sugar Daddy." I don't know how he even knows what that is; I guess he must be more cultured than I thought. And even weirder was the sentence he used:

"God is not a Sugar Daddy." 

Of course not! How could God even be compared to one?

For those of you who are somehow less in-the-know than my uncle, a sugar daddy is a rich old man who lavishes gifts on a young woman in return for her company.

Think about it: How many people, like my friend, just hang out with God once in awhile, yanno, pray a few times just to let him know that they believe in him, and then just expect to be lavished with all of his gifts?

That isn't how it works.

Salvation is an undeserved gift from God. It isn't defined by our actions. However, when you are saved and when you are God-fearing, you have to go the extra step and try to live your life for him. He requires us to follow his commandments. God did give us free will, but with that he gave us a responsibility to his own.

Being saved doesn't end with the initial act. The act of being saved should inspire a change in your heart, which should change your life from living out actions of the flesh to producing fruits of the spirit. In other words, we need to stop doing bad things and instead, do good things because of what Christ has done for us. When you are truly saved, living sinfully just isn't an option because you convert to a new nature of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Not sin.

Therefore, you can not be a Christian and ignore the rest of the Bible.



Shoutout to my friend, Will, and his blog: Halfway to Perfect
You can't just say you're going to be fit and just magically be fit. Living a healthy lifestyle also requires working for it.

Dorms, Degrees and Doubts

That warm August night, I led my dorky little cabin of campers around Camp Carmel for a small scavenger hunt. We were following the "Jesus fish" symbols posted all around the small camp circle. Each station had some encouraging activity and brought our small group of girls together, reminding us of our lessons throughout the week and setting that familiar deep mood in our hearts. The last few fish led us into the woods, over a small bridge and some mud into a clearing we called Vespers Grove. The trees and the dense layer of ferns hid the outside world, so we could only focus on the glowing fire and our thoughts as we walked into the circle and sat on the logs. We silently waited for the rest of our camp family. When the others arrived, the preacher stood and began to pace around the fire, creating a powerful silhouette. After a minute, he began to speak. He spoke of God's love and what he has done for us. He spoke of our failures. He spoke of living a life for Christ. Finally, he asked us to stand if we wanted to do a better job of living for Jesus. Feeling a warm glow in my chest flare up, my legs straightened and I stood without hesitation, alone and vulnerable. I was a counselor, I had already given my life to Christ years ago, and I was supposed to have my life together. Yet, I stood, knowing that as good as I was, I wasn't living the way I should be. I wanted to change and I was not ashamed. After a moments pause, others around me, campers and counselors who were led by their hearts, began to stand, knowing that if I could, they could too.

That was this past summer at our last campfire. I have never felt closer to God than in that moment. I had gone through a horrible senior year of high school, struggling with anxiety, depression, and a load of senioritis. I was sick of many of my friends, so I avoided basically everyone. I felt alone, and I hated it. However, I had God with me, pulling me through that tough time. Even after I finally tossed up my cap and hugged my friends at my graduation ceremony, and even that summer while I was goofing around with children and surrounded by loving people, I still struggled with my anxiety and depression. I prayed to God, thanking him for the great moments he put in my life and asking for help with my struggles. That last campfire, I felt like a load had been taken off my shoulders. It was time to stop being a crybaby and to take on the world wearing God's armor. I was beyond ready for college. I would be attending Eastern University, a beautiful Christian Liberal Arts school across the state, almost 6 hours from everyone I knew (besides my nerdy, cynical brother who also goes there). I was ready for my fresh start, I was ready to meet new people, but most of all, I was ready to start to learning about and growing closer to God than ever.

I'm sure you can imagine my shock when I started attending college and realized the opposite was happening. I'm taking a class called "Faith Reason Justice" (our school motto), and my professor, Dr. Eduardo Ramirez, taught my class to question everything. Doubting your faith often seems to be frowned upon, but Eduardo encouraged it. It is necessary to doubt so that you find answers and ultimately grow stronger. I wasn't really worried though, I had already gone through a doubting phase, and I was pretty sure that by this point I had most of this faith thing figured out.

Then, in my Bible class, we have been reading through the Old Testament. Of course, being a pastor's daughter, I have heard the stories for years, but I am finding that through reading them and analyzing them deeper I was beginning to see them in a completely different light. I am questioning everything I thought I knew. Is the creation story real? Why was my loving and merciful God slaughtering entire groups of people? Why did God let the Israelites be slaves for 400 years before doing something? Is God really omniscient? Does God even exist?

I've been considering majoring in Spanish and Education, but I, like many college students, don't actually know what I'm doing with my life. I'm trying to figure out what my strengths empower me to do, as well as what the heck they are in the first place. This a time where I'm supposed to be asking God, who am I? However, because of my classes, the people around me, the different churches I've been attending, and my constantly changing worldview, I find myself for the first time, asking:

God, who are you?