Giving it up to God

     Last week my friend and I tried something called "The Daniel Diet" or "The Daniel Fast". If you haven't heard of it before, it originates from the book of Daniel in the Bible. Daniel, in this Bible story, is living in Babylon as a slave where there is an abundance of exquisite food straight from he king. Students in the program were directed to eat as much as they wanted.  However' Daniel decided that he wanted to be both physically and spiritually fit. Therefore, he rejected all of the fancy unnecessary food and decided to stick to only eating only vegetables and drinking only water. So for 10 days he ate only that and gave the rest up to God. The people he did work for realized what he was doing, and told him that by the end of his diet, he had to be strong and able, or he would be sentenced to death or put to work as a slave. At the end of his 10 days, with God's help, he ended up being the strongest of all of the men, and was not executed.
     Following the story in the book of Daniel, my friend and I decided to take on this fast, in order to stay healthy, and grow closer to God. For the entire week, which is a very short period for this diet, we ate only natural fruits, vegetables and nuts. When I went into this fasting period, I honestly didn't think it would be too difficult. I started by going shopping for all kinds of fresh foods. Strawberries, bananas, peaches, grapes, squash, tomato, peppers, and peanut butter were just some of the items I bought. Then after I bought tons of ingredients, I spent time planning out various meals such as vegetable stir fry and fruit smoothies.
     During the diet, I found it got a lot harder. There are so many temptations! Although I had crazy cravings for unnatural, unhealthy foods, eating all then natural food really had a big impact on me. It helped me to detox my body and feel much healthier, leaner, and slimmer. I now also realize how much better I feel when I force myself to eat better. Therefore, I now feel like I will be more likely to grab an apple for an after school snack as opposed to something that is deep fried or contains loads of artificial sugar. Also through this diet I was definitely able to grow closer to God. I spent a lot more time in prayer, and a lot more time thinking of Him during my day. I'm so blessed to have so much in my life, but most of it i don't really need! I was really able to experience Daniel's view on life by seeing how much food we have that we don't really need in order to stay full and happy. True happiness cannot be found in any worldly goods. True joy can only be found in the Lord.

A Life In Balence

 

     Between school, work, church, family, friends, sports and all the other crazy errands I have to run during the day, it's hard not to be overwhelmed! Life can be stressful, especially when nothing seems to go right and balance in activities is crucial. Believe me when I say I know this from experience because, I'm the type of person who is very easily stressed out. If your reading this, and know you are stressed and don't know where to turn, worry no more! Fortunately, I have the cure for stress and keeping your life in perfect harmony.

     I've found especially over the past year, that making God the center of all you do is a step that must be taken immediately. In fact, I wish I could have done it sooner! If all you do is centered around the one who created you and loves you more than anything else, then everything will fall into place. God will never give you more than you can handle on your own.

     There is a song that plays on the radio a lot now called "He Said" by Group One Crew. In this song, one of the lines is "I won't give you more, more than you can take. And I might let you bend, but I won't let you break." This is so true! Sometimes we may not see why a particular thing is put into our lives, especially when we are stressed and looking for a balance. We just have to trust in God's will and know that He will never abandon us, and He is there to help us whenever we need Him.

     I have found that when you take just a little bit of time out of your day to focus on God, even when it seems like your schedule is down to the wire, He will always make a way for everything to fit into place. You just have to let go, and let God! :)

YOLO God's Way

     You Only Live Once, or YOLO  is the new saying that teens and adults alike have begun to use in everyday conversation. This saying came from Drake and Lil Wayne's song "The Motto"  which came off of Drake's newest album titled Take Care. Who knew that after this song hit the charts in November of 2011, the phrase YOLO would become a part of everyday conversation? I don't  even think that Drake was expecting this phrase to catch on and be used by people who aren't even fans of his music.
     The phrase can be interpreted in many different ways. Yet, the majority of the world has taken it and blown it sky high. People use this term to justify for their stupid, careless actions. For example, getting drunk and partying all night, having sex before marriage, putting your life into harms way, committing a crime or anything else that would be out of your ordinary comfort zone. Sadly, this rule that says you can do whatever you want to and get away with it because "you only live once" is what people are deciding to live by.
     I think it's extremely careless and irresponsible to live a life that way. Life is so precious! God designed each and everyone of us with a specific purpose and plan in mind. We are put on earth for a reason, to do great wonderful things and to worship our God. We have to strive to search for our lives vocation and live in accordance to God's will for us.
     Also, the statement you only live once, isn't necessarily true. Now don't think I'm not saying I believe in some crazy after life or anything, because I don't. But our life here is temporary, there is so much more in store for us. Our goal here on earth is to please and serve God, so that we can get to heaven and therefore live with Him for eternal life. So, when we pass away and move on from our life on earth, we get the privilege to live eternal life with our creator God! How amazing is that! He loves us all so much that He allows each and everyone of us to spend the rest of time together with Him in heaven. Not to mention living with the most amazing being in a  perfect place that is unbelievably beautiful  and beyond our wildest dreams!
      However, since our life here is temporary, and we all have to die at some point, we should still make the most of our lives here. Yet, we should try to think of this saying in a different perspective. Instead of using it as an excuse to potentially harm ourselves and others, we should look at it as a great opportunity. An opportunity to serve our Lord most completely. We should strive each and everyday to make the most of the time we have here on earth, because we will never know if we will get to have a tomorrow. Every person we come into contact with should be treated with respect, and we should work toward all of our actions being centered around God. If we do this, then we will truly be living our lives the way we are supposed to, all for the Lord.
     In other words, YOLO can be a good thing. I'm not saying I'm completely against the saying, but you need to make sure you think through your actions. YOLO shouldn't be a stupid excuse for you to go take away the precious life God has given you. It should be used as a way to live your life responsibly, the way God wants you to live it.  That way you can look forward to the eternal life waiting for you in heaven because hey, You Only Live Once on earth.