Setting Standards

I don't want a boyfriend.
I don't want to date anyone.
I don't want to hold hands, make-out, or have sex.

I am not friend-zoning.
I am setting standards.

What I do want is a Mr. Knightly. (Go look him up if you don't know who that is.) I want to have a man that I can go to about anything, not as in a romantic relationship, but as a best friend. I want to have my best friend be the one who stays by me, even when he doesn't agree with the way I'm going. I want him to tell me when I'm wrong and reprimand me with firmness and love. I want to be completely at ease with him at all times, unless we are quarreling. And when we do have a disagreement, I want him to make up quickly, be the man and make the first move to apologize.

I want to be able to say that if I put myself in situations and relationships that all end in heartbreak, that I always have someone there to comfort me. I want someone who is willing to prove himself to be a true friend, not because I ask him to, but because he wants to.

I am not friend-zoning.
I am setting standards.

I want to be able to be best friends and live out God's separate plans for our lives until He brings us together as more than friends. I want to be able to hang out together without worry of awkwardness or stiffness.

I am not friend-zoning.
I am setting standards.

I want to be able to tell my children one day, "before your father was my husband, he was my best friend." I want him to know me better than he even knows himself before we're even engaged. I don't want to have any romantic physical relationship until after we are engaged, because there isn't any reason for it any earlier. And even then, holding hands is about as far as it will go. Maybe a hug or two along the way...maybe.

I am not friend-zoning.
I am setting standards.

Emily E.

Back to the Basics

"Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the Pope or in the councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retreat anything, since it is neither safe not right to go against conscience. I cannot do other wise; here I stand, may God help me. Amen."

This was the declaration of one of the bravest men in church history. Having entered an Augustinian monastery at the age of 22, he blindly followed the Catholic church's way, trying to obtain salvation, through the good works he did. It was not until after he was a respected monk, professor, and pastor that he broke from the church and read the Bible on his own. While studying the Good Book, he experienced his "spiritual awakening", fully understanding that no amount of church-sold sacraments would get anyone to heaven.

On October 31, 1517 (which was not any significant day at the time; Halloween was not an established holiday yet), this man started a storm that swept across Europe. For three years he debated with church officials of the true authority of the church, the true head, and brought to light the corruption of the papal-ship.  On April 28, 1521, he stood before the German King and the bishops of the Holy Roman Empire, and stated the jarring declaration above. Afterward, he was declared an outlaw and a heretic, living in hiding and under imperial charge for 25 years until he died of natural causes.

This man was not trying to change the world, he was simply doing something about the corruption he saw around him. He was trying to get back to the basics. God was disgusted by the church of the Renaissance, and He used this man to bring people back to the Scriptures.

Have you ever wondered where that phrase "back to the basics" comes from? Or why it even exists? I personally believe we have left the basics of everyday life. The way things used to be, before fancy computers and cars and phones and such things that try to capture our attention. There used to be a time when all people cared about was making an honest living that provided for the needs of others and themselves and the Good Lord Jesus. There was a time even before then when all preachers and Popes cared about was spreading the Truth -The Gospel- to the people around them. But they grew prideful and sinful and eventually got the state in which we find our hero above. They had gotten away from the basics of the Scriptures. And God called them back using a man of simple origins with a sincere desire to be used by God.

Today, the church has gotten away from the basics of Scripture. It has become so caught up in fancy buildings and happiness and self-gratification that we have forgotten what we're preaching about. We need to get back to the basics. Jesus. God's Love. Loving God. Loving and serving others. Telling people about Jesus.

When will we get back to the basics? When will the Christians wake up and see what they are missing? Are we so disgustingly comfortable to let our church leaders and those around us live in gross sin and corruption as they did centuries ago, that we just sit back and flippantly comment and shoo the problems away?

Young people, teens, you and I are the next generation. God has called us to be an example. Are we to just sit around and goof off until we're thirty and then settle into a working lifestyle where we become too busy to care? We need to be shining so brightly with the Light of the world that lives inside us that others are blinded. We need to find our way back to the basics. This generation will be a generation of change.

We will be the next Reformation, the next Great Awakening.

Live on in us, Martin Luther. May the world never forget what God accomplished through you.

Emily Elissabeth

Update

As of Friday, January 17, I have officially completed my file and application process to Current Canada. In about two weeks, I will get an email telling me where I will be placed. In the mean time, I need to start looking into the passport application, as well as scholarship opportunities. Also, I passed the driver's test on Thursday, so I can drive myself now without having my mom be with me. I don't say that because I have that freedom, but because my mom had to plan her schedule around me and my class times. So now both of us have a more open schedule. I'm really excited to see what God is going to do next.

Watching God Work,
Emily E.

Waves

Waves are powerful things. Like, the physical waves that crest onto the shore of beaches and rocks, those waves. Waves hold so much power, so much energy. They have the strength to pull you down and pull you under the water in a fraction of a second. So quickly, you can get caught by it if you let your guard down. Or the waves can take something from you, like your sunglasses or your swimsuit. That is never fun. Of course, the only time you have to worry about that is when you're not ready for the waves. When they catch you from behind, or you underestimate the size. That's when you get knocked over.

But when you're ready, when you face them head on, waves are fun. Jumping and splashing and surfing are a lot of fun, but only as long as you know what's going to happen next.

Sin is a lot like waves. It can be fun and exciting when you know what is happening. When you think nothing could hurt or surprise you.

The problem is when you turn to leave. If you know what's good for you, eventually you have to get out of the water, or sin. Because if you stay in the water too long, you lose all your energy and your body starts to wear down, making it easier for the water, sin, to knock you down, to drag you under. And that's when you find yourself in danger.

But God is a lot like waves, too. He is so powerful and so mighty, that, like the ocean and its waves, we can only see a fraction of Him. And when we, as Christians, turn our backs from Him, He overpowers us and pulls us back under His love and protection. When we spend time with Him, near Him, in fellowship with God, we have joy, we have peace, like when you are under the water. And when we spend a lot of time with Him, it starts to show. It is clearly visible to everyone if you spend a lot of time at the beach, or when you just got out of the water.  It is the same when we interact with others, they can clearly see God's impact in our lives.

It is our choice. Are your waves going to be representative of your sin, or of your God?

Emily E.