In Between the Shadow & the Soul…

Here comes the subject that most young people today don’t want others controlling or even influencing in their lives…

            dating in high school…

I’m not here to push on you my beliefs, but I am here to set a standard, and to shake you up by placing the truth in front of you. Whether or not you want to meet the standard, and live a life of truth, is completely up to you.

Just like every other girl, growing up I couldn’t wait to have a boyfriend. To hold his hand, go on dates and to dances, etc. etc. My parents had established the “No dating until after you’re married” policy, but soon gave into my pleading and set the age to 17.

I was still a little bit upset because at the age of 12, 17 seemed ages away, but accepted the little grace my parents had given me.

Then one day I just felt God telling me to put a little more thought into dating and research about it in the Bible. So I did.

Well, I made up my mind.  I was going to run after God with ALL of my heart.  I was going to give him all of me and not split my heart between Love himself and a beloved.  I would give God all of my heart and in return I knew I could trust Him to give me the love of my life.

I mean think about it.  Don’t you think that the God who created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1), sent His Son to die just for me (John 3:16), and created me, could set up an encounter with my future husband without me having to even flinch?  God said himself, “For I know the plans I have for you.  Plans to prosper you, and NOT to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

If you really want to set a standard, and make a difference in your high school, you have to be able to completely devote yourself to that (Mark 12:30).  School already takes up a vast majority of your life, and if you go to church and are involved, that can be time consuming too, and then there’s work.  How much more time do you have left for a relationship?  And then try to put God into that schedule.  You don’t.  It’s incredibly hard to balance all of that, and the first thing that is eliminated usually happens to be your God-time.

You want God to use you on your campus?  Give ALL you are to Him.  It’s hard, I know.  There is always someone that you could see yourself dating, but it comes to the point where we have to stop and ask ourselves, “Do I want to let God shape me, or let this relationship shape me?”  I know that personally, I’m nowhere near where God wants me to be, and everything that happens around me, shapes me.  The situations and atmosphere I place myself in will determine who I become, and I’m going to make sure that I’m walking in the path God’s laid out for me.  I want His perfect will…nothing less.

“But seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

As God’s chosen generation, royal priesthood, and holy nation (1 Peter 2:9) we are called to set an example for others in speech, life, LOVE, faith, and in PURITY (1 Timothy 4:12).  How are we supposed to set examples of striving for all of God if we’re caught up in silly high school relationships?

So yes,  I’m not dating, and it gets harder and harder as you get older, because more and more people are doing it. Everyday I have to surrender my desires and wants to God, knowing that He’s going to meet every need and desire that’s in accordance with His plan, and that’s so much more than I could ever ask for.  

“Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, with ALL your mind,  and with ALL your strength.” (Mark 12:30)

Cindy Sherman Photography is definitely the one and only place to get your senior pictures done! I absolutely love Cindy.  She is so energetic and fun, plus she’ll do just about anything to make sure you get exactly what you want.  I had such a blast doing my senior pictures with her, hopefully I’ll be able to put some up on here later.  Well here’s one…this wasn’t my absolute favorite but I love it nonetheless

I’m planning on attending NNU in the fall, so I’ve been applying for scholarships and whatnot because $27,000 a year is a lot to dish out.  The biggest scholarship I had applied for was the President’s Scholarship and it was worth $11,000.  I wrote one of the best essays I’ve ever written, got some outstanding recommendations and finally annointed and prayed over the envelope.  I had so much faith that God would give me favor and I would be one of the ten incoming freshman that would recieve this award.  It came close to the time of announcement, when my friend Kaylee told me that our admissions counselor had called her and told her she was one of the recipients.  After a few days and no call for me, I started to get a little nervous but was sure that God would pull through.

Well, a week went by and I came to the conclusion that I didn’t get the scholarship.  I was so bummed because that was so much money!  And then I remembered that I knew this was where God wanted me, and if he wanted me there that badly, he would provide the funds.  A day or two later my letter from the school came saying that I had been a semi finalist, but I didn’t end up getting chosen.  My mom was stressed and upset because she knew there was no way I could go to NNU unless I got some massive scholarships.  The Sunday before, Stan Flemming preached a message that really challenged my faith.  He specifically told a story that went a little something like this…

There was this rich man who lived in a country that was at war.  One day his beautiful mare ran across the border into enemy territory.  All his neighbors came over the next day and told the man how sorry they were upon hearing the bad news.  However the man simply smiled and said, “How do you know it’s bad news? It could be good news.”  The next week, the man’s horse came back and with it a beautiful stallion.  His neighbors came over and said, “What great news!”  At which the man replied, “How do you know it’s good news?  It could be bad news.”  The next day, the man’s son decided to ride the horse, but because it was untamed, the horse bucked the young man off, breaking his leg.  His neighbors came over saying, “What horrible news!”  But the man merely replied, “How do you know it’s bad news, it could be good news.”  The following week the army came through the town recruiting all the healthy young men.  Because the man’s son had a broken leg, he could not be drafted and his life was spared.

Remembering this, I told my mom not to worry because she didn’t know if it was really bad news, it could be good news.  She asked me how it could possibly be good news, and I told her I had no idea but I knew that this was where God wanted me so he was going to provide.

A week later I got my financial aide packet from NNU, and discovered that I had to pay $12,000 a year out-of-pocket.  That pretty much means I have to pay a house payment every month!  But I kept my faith up.  The next day I talked with my friend that recieved the scholarship and found out that if you got the scholarship, you weren’t eligible for any other assistance from the school.  This got me thinking, so I went home and added up all the money I had gotten from NNU.  I found out that all in all I had gotten $11,000 even, and the very same day I got an email from the school saying I was eligible for 2 more scholarships worth $6,000 combined.  If (or I should say when) I get these scholarships my grand total financial assistance from the school will come to $17,000 which is much greater than what I would’ve gotten if I won the President’s Scholarship.

Isn’t God so good?  And the best part is, if I get all the scholarships I’m applying for, my out-of-pocket expense will be virtually nothing, meaning that I will graduate debt free.  So no matter what you’re going through, remember: how do you know it’s bad news? It could be good news!

Haha, yes that was an allusion to an awesome Disney movie, but on a more serious note, blogging literally is a completely different ball game.  Unlike myspace/facebook, you actually have to stay up to date with this thing, and at the moment I’m not exactly sure if that’s possible…but I will definitely try! Well i have to go pick up my sister from track practice because I’m pretty sure she’s done chucking shot put balls (actually i think she finished 15 minutes ago, oops!) haha so until my hectic schedule slows down- peace out!