Christ, Coffee, and Cornfields

  Being engaged is one of the most amazing stages of life, but it's also one of the most exasperating! You've found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, and you love them with everything you are....well, almost. There's this little "issue" with practicing chastity. Couples who aren't married yet choose to not share their bodies.   This isn't restricted just to engaged couples, either! Jordan and I definitely felt the frustration during our dating period, as well. We have discerned that God wants us to marry each other, so we're moving toward the sacrament. Jordan and I are constantly learning new things about each other, which strengthens and deepens the love we share. The closer we get in a nonphysical way, the more our bodies want to catch up.   The human body is a complex network on multiple planes, and everything is connected. Our minds and souls are connected to our bodies, although the two former aspects of a person are co...

  I know it's not New Year's yet, but I've been reflecting quite a bit over 2016 lately. Sometimes I think people get a little OD'd on all of the posts that come around January 1, and occasionally all of the resolution and reflection can get overwhelming. With finals week upon me, learning to split holidays between my family and Jordan's, wedding planning, the election ruckus that keeps coming up on my news feed, and the tragedy that just struck Sioux Falls fresh in my head, my mind has been racing in all sorts of directions.   You know, worry and depression are best friends. I swear they go together better than peanut butter and jelly. It's an unfortunate thing that negatives come in pairs, and Satan loves to unleash them together, especially around the holidays. His other favorites are tragedy and despair, along with failure and unforgiveness (especially of one's self). Sometimes the devil's pets travel in packs, seeking to prey on the vulnerable. On...

  Jordan is always telling me to not worry about "what ifs." I tend to overthink things (I know, shocker), so his constant reminding me to live in today and not tomorrow is needed. Sometimes I get into a rut of negative thinking that is made up of "what if" scenarios that are silly to be concerned about because we can't magically reach into tomorrow and change anything, if it's even there to be changed to begin with.   What if we don't find a photographer for our wedding?   What if I'm not smart enough to be a nurse?   What if we can't have children?   What if Jordan or my family dies in a car crash?   What if our house starts on fire?   What if I accidentally filled in the wrong bubble on my ballot when I voted?!   My excuse for these thoughts is that, technically speaking, all of these situations are feasible. These things could happen. We live in an absolutely broken world, which isn't how the Lord wanted it, but he...

  Life is a fascinating thing. I think what makes it so is the unpredictability, the moments and times that throw us for a loop or catch us off guard. It's especially interesting to reflect on times of trial. My life over the last few months has certainly been tumultuous. Lots of things have been going on and taking place that haven't been very good. However, as I'm sitting in this difficult period and thinking and praying about it all, I have noticed two key things.   1) The good things in life are made better when they come during times of struggle. Think about this: do we appreciate the beauty of a single flower more when it's in a blooming garden or when it's surrounded by weeds and thorns? A single rose is far more alluring when it is the only one on a thorn bush than when it's in a bouquet.   The program I'm in required that I take a class which I wasn't very happy about taking. It met 8 hours a week and easily had another 5 in outside work to...

  Jordan and I recently finished a month long social media detox. This did not include Pinterest (one does not simply give up Pinterest!), but focused mainly on Facebook because that tends to be the site that we wasted the most time on. We both felt that we spent an unhealthy amount of time on Facebook, and we certainly did. I remember having this pull to check my feed every 10 or 15 minutes even though there would be nothing new. It's safe to say I had an addiction.   I knew I was addicted to it, and it was a tremendous burden on me. That's so silly, isn't it?!?! Facebook is an awesome way to stay in touch with friends and family. In some cases, that's the main mode in which I communicated with people, especially in regards to retreats and such. I get my news, weather, and Steelers updates from Facebook or Twitter. Why is it a burden? Because I made it one.   It's sooo easy for us, especially women, to gauge our self worth by w...

  This is a post I wish I didn't have a need to write. Unfortunately, due to the fallen nature of being human, death is something we will all have to deal with in our lifetimes. This may be the death of a friend, family member, spouse, acquaintance, or even a well known celebrity or political figure. In some capacity, death will find its way into all of our lives and affect us in ways we never knew possible.   Yesterday, our community was reminded of the fragility of life when a teenage boy who was loved by everyone who knew him was killed in a car accident. It was a shock. As I write this, it's still a shock. It's pain. It's confusion. A sudden, tragic death is not something that we are meant to handle. The Lord does not want this for us at all! Death is not something that is of God. Neither is pain. Humans are created to love and to be happy, serving God in every way possible. How is death part of the picture??   As humans, we are broken. It's not somethin...

  I really get a kick out of looking at Facebook's relationship status options. There's the typical "single," "married," and "divorced," but then you also have "in a domestic partnership," "in an open relationship," and even an "it's complicated" option! Oh, the joys of having lots of choices. It seems like Facebook has all the bases covered....well, except for the one I'm looking for.   I want an "in a courtship" option.   Am I sounding medieval yet? Hold on, let me explain. In the fast paced world we are so fortunate to be living in (and we are, I love indoor plumbing and electricity!!), the process of finding a lifelong mate, AKA a spouse, has become quite the challenge. The way most people go about it is not the way God calls us to. Marriage is a sacrament , and therefore should be approached with the reverence and care that it deserves. It's not a decision to be taken lightly because this...

  Guess what?!? Another love post! Yay!!!!   Okay, so my boyfriend, whose name is Jordan, and I are both super into our faith and very into each other. It's so amazing. We are able to challenge each other to grow in our devotion to the Lord and to become the best versions of ourselves, all the while falling deeper in love with each other. I can't even begin to explain how much of a blessing that is. He and I have decided to create our relationship with Christ at the center, which is something every couple is called to do. Really, a marriage (starting with dating) is a threesome: God, the man, and the woman. That said, Jordan and I came up with the idea to do a sort of mini retreat. We called it "Alignment of Devotion."   This mini retreat is to make certain that we are following God's plan for us as a couple and keeping Him at the center of our relationship and of our lives as individuals. In addition to using our time for intensive prayer, we prayed for the...

  Y'all, get ready for this. I am about to tackle writing about one of my favorite topics: relationships!! I honestly can't put into words how much I love talking about the sacred bond between a man and a woman, how it comes into being, my personal love life, and just how God made dating and marriage to be. This post will likely be one of many, and I don't really know what that looks like yet. Anyway, buckle up!   I am a strong believer in most, if not all, of my convictions. Like, I'm one of those people who is either all in or all out. So, that quality makes itself very apparent in my love life because dating is a major step in a person's vocational journey, and you can't walk that path halfheartedly! Something that I believe really strongly about is dating with a purpose. This concept is generally seen as really strange because we live in a fast paced world that thrives on whatever the next thing is, never staying too long on one thing before bouncing...

  There is this song I really like called "If We Are the Body" by Casting Crowns. It asks what we're doing with our lives if we're the Body of Christ. Maybe it's because I'm going into the medical field that this resonates with me so strongly, but I do think that it brings up a good issue to think about, especially with what is going on lately. The song is really a battle cry, a call to action.    There are a lot of Bible verses that talk about Jesus' followers being His Body. 1st Corinthians Chapter 12 really speaks to this. It's important for us as Christians to be one cohesive unit in the world. One body, as it were. It is really quite beautiful to think about. We are all in this battle together. When one of us is suffering or acting in a way that is detrimental to us as a whole, we are all affected. For example, if I were to break my leg, it would have major effects on the rest of my body. My nerves would be going crazy because of the pain, ...

  I've been thinking about this topic for a very long time, and I really can't be silent any longer because it is my duty to speak the truth, no matter the personal cost.   The topic is public (community) bathrooms.   Okay, so that sounds weird, but that's really the only way I can start off talking about it. More specifically, I need to talk about the issue of creating rules and laws that basically allow for anyone, that's right, anyone , to use whichever bathroom they want, regardless of biological gender. Now, you won't hear it said that way from most people because that isn't politically correct. Here's the thing: transgenderism and gender identity issues are used by sickos as an excuse to commit atrocities. It gives them a cover, and now a way to skirt around the law! It would be comical if it weren't so horrifying.   I don't have an issue with individual gender neutral bathrooms. After all, they've existed for awhile (haven't you ...

As followers of Christ, one of the most difficult things we are called to do is to follow Him when the world is pulling us away from Him. As I have gotten older, Satan has been trying even harder to tear me away from my Savior and Lord. It is a constant struggle, one that I fail to overcome on my own. I am currently battling it out with the Devil, even as I write this. He has been trying his darndest to get me to fall. He has been trying to get me to sink to the level of the world, when I am striving for the standard that the Lord has for me and all who follow Him. This battle will not be won by me. It will be won-- no, it has ALREADY BEEN won-- by Jesus! I am so very weak, but in 2nd Corinthians 12:9, the Lord says that "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Isn't that a beautiful promise?! The best part is that when God tells us something, He means it. He will always follow through. God makes His path for us known in His timing...

  God is the single thing that keeps me sane. He is what allows me to get up in the morning, sleep at night, and keep my head up in times of trouble and in normalcy.   Life has been throwing quite a few curveballs lately, with work, school, and my personal life. It is EXHAUSTING! Seriously. Some days I want to just stay in bed. But then I remember that life keeps going whether I want it to or not, so I get my butt up and about. And no matter what happens in my day, good or bad, God uses those hours to show me how blessed I am by His Graces. The Lord has blessed me by the fact that I am alive!   I never regret living. Never .   I've been thinking about this a lot lately, mostly because I feel like my life is a small disaster (in fact, it is not; I realize that lots of people have it worse than I do.) You see, I have fallen victim, like so many people, to the feeling of wallowing in self-pity and thinking that my issues are the most important thing in m...

  Lots of people use “YOLO” as an excuse to party, get drunk, and hook up. Those aren’t good reasons to use YOLO. Think about it; we do only live once, but after that you will get judged by our Creator on how we lived. We got put on this earth to glorify God, being made in His image. God doesn’t get drunk, lie, steal, cheat, backstab, or hook up. So why does our culture say it’s okay? Fact is, that stuff isn’t okay. If you died today, where would you go? 2 choices—Heaven or Hell. You choose your destination. Don’t believe me? Read the Bible. Say you’re a hung over 17 year old who gets shot and killed. When you go to talk to the Big Man Upstairs, what’re you going to say to Him? “Come on, God. I was just having some fun. YOLO?” And give Him your best smile and wink. Not gonna fly.   Just because you accept Him as your Savior doesn’t mean you can screw off and not be a good person for the rest of your life. You gotta live for Him. Everything you do, say, and thi...

  It was recently International Women's Day. What even is that?! I think it's kind of silly to have all these days celebrating random things (I saw where there is also a National Give a Girl Your Sweatshirt Day. What?), but at the same time, I also think that it is very important to celebrate womanhood. Turns out that IWD is actually meant to celebrate women and how much we have accomplished, especially in the socioeconomic spheres. That's great, but personally, I want to celebrate it differently. So I did!   I celebrate being a woman as God created me, as He created all women.   I celebrate the fact that God created women distinctly different from men every day! The Lord chose the woman to be His last creation, the crown jewel on Earth. That is so legit. It's also an honor. Upholding the honor of being God's highest earthly creation is a great responsibility. As, women, we are created specifically for things that only we can do (sorry guys)! We have t...

  Serving others is what every Christian is called to in some way or another. Some people are called into the mission fields of third-world countries. Others are called to be domestic servants, helping those in their own community. And all of us are called to be servants in our families. As parents. As siblings. As friends.   Christians have the example of Jesus Christ to show us how to be servants. He defined the word by how He lived. Jesus constantly desired the well-being of others. He was always putting others' needs before His own. And He lived a very full and prosperous life as a human being. His followers saw the life Jesus lived and how it not only bettered the lives of those He served, but it also was very beneficial to His own. They then strived to live a life like His. Did it tire them? Sure it did. Were they worn out because they served so many? Of course! But it had to be done, and in serving others, the followers of Chris...