Oy vey

Raise your hand if you've read WAY too many articles on being a single, Christian, young adult lately.

You can't see me, but I'm raising my hand as high as I possibly can.

In my opinion, these articles are SO annoying. So is it hypocritical that I'm posting a blog aka article on this very subject? Maybe. But this is my blog and I do what I want. 

It seems like everytime I get on Facebook or Twitter, someone else has posted an "amazing" article about Christian dating for young adults. Usually, the articles posted are aimed at single young adults that love Jesus. They tell us to have faith that God will bring that special person into our life when we're ready. When we have a solid relationship with Him, then we can have a boyfriend. *sidenote: this thought process always made me mad. I have no doubt that I have a solid relationship with God. That is not dictated by whether or not I currently have a boyfriend.* 

I'm not really sure where I'm going with this. Maybe I'm just frustrated at seeing all of these articles. Maybe I'm tired of people telling me that "Oh sweetie! You will meet your husband eventually! Don't you worry!" or asking me "do you want me to set you up with my best friend's sister's cousin? He loves Jesus, yall would be perfect!" or "how have you not been snatched up yet?!" 

My favorite conversation went a little something like this: 

He who shall not be named: So you're planning on doing non-profit work? That won't make any money!!

Me: Nope, it won't! But I've accepted the fact that I'm not gonna be rich so that's okay! I'm not in it for the money anyways. 

He who shall not be named: Well do you have a significant other that's gonna be make all the money?

Me: Nope! Not at the moment!

He who shall not be named: Well you're gonna need to find one of those! 

Well thank you. That was a very encouraging talk I just had with you, kind sir. I'm glad that according to you,  my success is measure in whether or not I have a rich husband. 

Oy Vey. 

 

 People. Stop worrying about my dating life. I'm not worried about it. I'm still in college and I still have 4 years of post-graduate education to complete. Lets all just calm down.  Obviously I want to be married  at some point. I don't know when it will happen, but I do know these things:

1. My relationship with Jesus Chris comes before my relationship with ANY human being. I could be head over heels in love with someone and that relationship would come second to my relationship with Christ. 

2. I have things I want to do in my life. Things that I know I'm called to do with my life. Now, I'm not saying a significant other will be a hindrance. I actually mean the opposite. My future spouse will be my ministry partner. But until, and even after, that person comes along, I'm gonna be doing things for the Kingdom and not just hanging around waiting on my life to start.

3. Just because a boy and girl roughly the same age love Jesus, doesn't mean they're going to fall in love. This is a subtle hint at me begging you to stop setting me up with people. I'm sure the guy you have in mind is a great guy. But just because we are both 21 and love Jesus, that doesn't mean that we will love each other. But thank you for the kind thoughts. 

4. I know exactly what I want in a relationship and I will not settle for anything else. I literally have a written out list of things I'm looking for in a spouse. These aren't things like "must have blue eyes" or "must (not so) secretly love TLC like I do." No, these are things like, "must live out his faith in Jesus Christ every single day." My list is a list of things that I will not budge on in a relationship no matter what. I pray over this list and I pray for the person will one day fulfill everything on my list. I have no doubt that they're out there.

5. Lastly, I know that there is a huge difference between a guy that believes in God and a guy that is a solid man of God. These are two very different types of people and I've seen firsthand how each guy acts.

At times, it's incredibly frustrating to see other people around me that are married or in serious relationships. Especially here in the Bible Belt where "Ring by Spring" is not just a silly saying but a way of life for some people. However, I know that my relationship status sure as heck doesn't define me.

This was all very rambly and all over the place, so as a reward for making it to the end, you get to watch this video! 
 

Cheesy pick up lines are my absolute favorite! I think they're so funny! 

Hold Fire

I had a wonderful weekend spent with two of my friends in Waco. We did lots of "Wacoan" activities including tortilla tossing, eating at Georges, and going to the zoo. While we did have a ridiculous amount of fun, we also had a lot of really good conversation. Don't you just love those friends that you can have a blast with but also have deep conversations about life with? I know I do.

One of the conversations we had was about politics. **Don't stop reading just because I mentioned the word "politics!"** Everyone knows people that are borderline obsessed with the current people sitting in office here in the good ol US of A. You know who I'm talking about. The one's that are constantly posting political ads on Facebook usually slamming whoever is currently in charge of our country.  The one's that no matter what the topic of conversation actually is, they bring it back to how much *insert politician here* sucks. And unfortunately, those are sometimes the ones that say comments such as "lets hope for an assassination" or "they need to burn in hell." If you're saying that about ANYONE, then I don't think you fully understand what Hell actually entails.  This goes for both sides of the spectrum. Someone can be incredibly right-winged or incredibly left-winged and they can both have these extreme emotions. Now, I'm not saying that you can't be passionate about something such as politics. However, I am saying that it's very easy to let that passion and interest morph itself into downright fear.

This might be naive and/or ignorant of me, but I honestly do not care about who is in charge right now. The reason I say this is because no matter who is in office, I DO NOT ANSWER TO THEM. I do not base my actions, beliefs, and lifestyle on politicians. My Christian witness trumps any and all political beliefs. Period.

Apostle Peter in 1st Peter 2:13, 14 and 17 talks about this is detail. “13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and praise those who do good…17 Honor everyone. Love the Brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the Emperor.”
This is also talked about in Romans 13 when it says, " Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God."

We are to treat them with respect. We can still disagree with politicians but that doesn't mean that we start hating them. Disagree with the law, but honor and respect the person sitting in authority. Shouldn't we be praying for these people instead of damning them to hell? When it comes down to it, we don't answer to people in office.  I live my life to answer to Christ and only Christ. I put all of my trust in Him. He is the only one that holds my future and it is a waste of time to even try and put that trust in the hands of any human being.


Disclaimer: You can disagree with me. I'm expecting some people to disagree. However, if you want to share your opinion (which is welcome!), please do so in a respectable manner :)

Uncomfortable

How is it already July?! I feel like I haven't been home that long but then I feel like I've been in Rockport for months. I go back to Waco on Monday to start Spanish 4 and as much as I love Waco, I'm not so pumped about going back. I love having the opportunity to take a random trip to the beach or have a spontaneous movie night with my friends. I love seeing people I know and love in HEB during the day. I love seeing my family all around town (cause lets be honest, I'm related to everyone). However, this time at home has been kind of weird. Maybe weird isn't the right word. Uncomfortable, maybe?

I've heard that when you're uncomfortable, God is doing the most work in your life. He wants us out of our comfort zone. This month and a half that I've been home has been full of God molding my heart. And I am not comfortable with it. I'm doing it and I'm trusting Him to the best of my ability, but I am sure as heck not comfortable with it. During my time in Rockport, I've been hurt by a few different people. People I never expected to hurt me. I've been hurt personally by some people and I've been hurt by the actions and words of some people that were directed at people I dearly love. I go back and forth between heartbroken and frustrated. I try my best not to be bitter towards them. I try to trust in God and His plan. But that's hard. It's uncomfortable.

However, as painful as it's been, it's also been amazing to see the things that God has taught me throughout everything. Mainly, He's taught that no matter how many times people fail me, hurt me, or betray me, He will never fail me. Every single person in my life will disappoint me at some point. They'll fall short. But God won't. Deuteronomy 31:8 tells us, "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." This sounds like such a simple thought. However,  we all know that people are what fuel me. I love being around people, helping them, and learning from them. I take what they tell me to heart. I love hard but that also means I hurt hard. It's been a painful process learning that He is the only one in whom I can put all of my faith. But it's been a necessary one. It's a lesson that I'm glad I'm learning early on in my life. I'm thankful for the people that are around me to encourage me and speak truth into my when I need to be reminded of who exactly holds my heart.

So, that's been my journey this summer so far. I've conquered two summer courses and I'm about to start my third. I've grown incredibly close to some amazing friends. I've gotten pretty stinkin tan without burning (except once)! I've been reminded of how much I love my hometown and the people in it. 

Now, I have a new challenge for myself and I'm gonna try to stick with it. I absolutely LOVE getting mail and I also love writing letters. I think there's something so exciting about getting a handwritten letter in the mail. I also think that a lot of things  and feelings get left unsaid between people. So all of that mixed with my love language being "Words of Affirmation," I've decided to start sending people letters. I have no idea who I'll send them to or what they'll say but I do know that a lot of people have poured into my life and influenced it more than I can ever comprehend and I think that those people need to know how much they mean to me. 

I also have a ton of cute stationary that needs to be put to use! I'm excited about letting people know how much they're loved and appreciated. 

Thanks for sticking with me through this rambly and long post. Maybe I'll get this all figured out one day. Just maybe.

Backtracking

I posted this article about a month ago on my Facebook page. After it was up for about 2 days, I was asked by someone to take it down. It seems that some people that I'm friends with on Facebook thought I was posting it so they would read it. Being the peacemaker and people pleaser that I am, I removed the article from my page. However, I really regret doing that. When I originally posted the article, I knew a few things:

1. it was a dang good article that had some amazing points in it.
2. it was theologically sound.
3. I wasn't posting it hoping that specific people would read it.
4. I needed to read the article as much as anyone else.

So, I'm posting it on my blog as I compromise. I hope you read the article and I hope God teaches you something through it. However, you may not agree with me. But believe it or not, not everyone has to agree on things and that is okay! There's this mindset on social media that if you don't agree with something that is posted, then you have to get mad that person. This should not be the case! You can simply disagree with someone and the discussion ends there. I feel like I need to start singing "Why can't we be friends." But seriously, just know your opinion on the issue and move on. 

You can find the article here:

http://perrynoble.com/blog/my-wife-had-a-bad-experience-at-chic-fil-a

Like I said, I hope God speaks to you as you read this article. I would love to hear your opinion on it...but not on Facebook. I have this track record of posting something innocently thinking that it's not gonna be a big deal and then everything ends up blowing up. So, like I said I would love to hear your opinion but maybe send me a message on Facebook or comment on the actual blog :)

Molding and Shaping

Before sitting down to write this, I looked back at my last blog post just to see what thoughts were going through my mind at the time. I mentioned how I had no idea what the year would bring but I did know that I would have Christ leading the way.

It's funny how God uses things we say to test us later on.

About a month after that post, all of my plans got thrown out the window. I was looking at a Master's in Christian Education from Dallas Theological Seminary and I was incredibly excited about it. I loved the idea of going to seminary and I absolutely loved the idea of doing it at DTS. Then, I figured out that this degree would not be the most useful for what I want to do with my life. So I had to start over. I went from having a plan to knowing absolutely nothing. I went from knowing that I would be in seminary to not knowing anything at all. At the same time, I also needed to get summer school figured out and get an internship lined up for the fall semester. All the deadlines were approaching and guess what I knew?

NOTHIN.

Ask anyone close to me and they'll tell you that I was somewhat of a mess during this time. I LOVE having a plan. I love having a very detailed plan of what I am going to do and how I am going to do it. I constantly wanted to know what I was supposed to do. I wanted someone to solve my problem and give me an easy way out. So I started researching. I went to people that were in charge of children's home and I asked them what degree they looked for when hiring. I looked at schools and degree plans. I talked to professors. I prayed. I dove into scripture. I begged God to show me where He wanted me. 

After awhile, my anxiety and worry turned into excitement. God opened some doors and everything and everyone pointed back to one degree. A Masters of Social Work. But then what about the theological part? It was very important to me to get the social work experience and but also get the faith aspect as well. I was SO excited about going to seminary and I still felt like that was an option. 

So now, I'm getting two masters degrees. A Masters of Social Work and a Masters of Divinity. 

A few schools have a dual degree program with these two programs and Baylor is one of them. I'm not totally set on Baylor, but it's definitely on the top of the list. I mean, who could turn down 4 more years of living in Waco and being part of the Baylor community? Not me.

So while my degrees have changed, the end goal is still the same. I want to love people as my career. I want to show them that they are wanted and cherished. People that are broken need to see that someone loves them and that God loves them. I think my graduate degrees will allow me to do that. 

That leads me into my internship that I am sooooo stinkin excited about. Starting in August, I will be an intern at The Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children. After talking with the program director a little bit and telling him what my passions are, he came up with a few things that I will be doing in the fall. Aside from helping in the office as needed, the main thing I will be in charge of is a group of teenage girls. All of the girls in my group will have been abused at some point in their life either physically, sexually, or emotionally. I will be in charge of facilitating the group and leading discussions about coping, feelings associated with it, etc. I am SO excited about this. Adolescent girls hold a special place in my heart and I'm stoked to be doing this. I will also be one of the people on call to answer the crisis hotline that they have. This job is slightly terrifying to me but I'm sure it will be a great experience! 

Looking back to a month ago, I didn't know anything about grad school, didn't have a plan for summer school, and didn't have any leads on my internship. Now, I plan on getting a Masters of Social Work and a Masters of Divinity, doing my internship and the Advocacy Center, and my summer school is all squared away making it to where the first half of my summer will be spent in Rockport. It wasn't a smooth transition and I definitely didn't make it easy on myself. I was stubborn and had many conversations with God that were bratty and probably pathetic. But I survived. And I know for a fact that I'm following that path that God wants me to follow. He molded my heart and my attitude into something more like Him and as frustrating as it was, I'm so so happy about how it turned out. 

Uncertain yet faithful

It's been almost 3 months since I last blogged and I feel like it's now gotten to that point where it would almost be impossible to fill you on everything that has happened in the last few months. I'll try my best:

•  I survived finals and ended up making Dean's List for the Fall semester
• I had a great Christmas filled with lots and lots of family time
• I started my last Spring semester by taking 16 hours
• I finished 2013 on a high note and I'm planning on 2014 being a year filled with surprises, uncertainty, and adventures and I'm so excited.
• If you wanna know a play by play of 2013, creep on my facebook or just ask me :)

I was going to tell yall about how I actually kept my New Year Resolution in 2013 until I realized that I was thinking of the resolution from 2012!! Embarrassing. However, at the beginning of 2012, I made this post and decided that I would no longer be a people pleaser but I would be a Christ pleaser. While most of the time, being a Christ pleaser lines up with pleasing those that I love, at times it can be a little difficult.
Now, two years later, I can honestly say that I'm getting better at this and I'm so proud of myself for it.

Now for this year. I feel like 2014 (how weird is that to say?) is going to be a fun, stressful, new, patience-testing, and exciting year. I'm to the point in my life where I have to make some incredibly huge decisions that could alter my whole life. I have only this semester, summer school, and next Fall semester left at Baylor and then I'm forced into the real world. A world full of uncertainty. A world full of opportunities to put to use everything I learned in my classes. A world full of people yearning to know of the love of Christ. But do I know what this world looks like? 

Not in the slightest.

I have no clue where I'll be. Maybe I'll be in Dallas in seminary. Maybe I'll find a job and I'll be working full time. Maybe I'll decide to backpack through Europe. Though if you know me, you know I'm not the backpacking through Europe type. Maybe I'll get married and be the perfect trophy wife. Totally kidding. My point is, I have no clue where I'll be or what I'll be doing. This is the first time in my life that I don't have a plan. A year from now, I have absolutely no clue what will be going on. At this point, the thought of that freaks me smooth out. I like a plan. I like routine. I like KNOWING. However, I love Christ more. That's why I'm trying my best to cling to Christ and trust in His plan for my life. His plan is greater than anything I could ever imagine (see Ephesians 3:20). I'm trying my hardest to put my own fears and uncertainties aside to listen to Him about what to do with my life, where to do it, and who to live that life with.

So who knows what 2014 will bring? All I know is that while I'm figuring things out, I have Christ leading the way so I'm good to go.

My little munchkins

This semester, I'm nannying two of the most adorable little girls I've ever met in my life. If you talk to me on a regular basis, you probably know all about KatyJo and Annabelle. If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably seen a ton of cute pictures of them being silly. On one of the days I watch them, I pick them up from their school and bring them home. Let me tell you, those car rides from the church to the house are usually one of high points of my week. 

I'm usually fairly quiet in the car ride because I just like to the listen to the girls. I listen to them giggle with each other and play games. I listen to KatyJo and Annabelle talk about their day at school. Today, I listened to KatyJo tell Annabelle how excited she was about "Halloween 2" that is happening tomorrow night and how Annabelle was gonna be a unicorn while she was gonna wear a "beeeutiful princess dress." A few weeks back, per KatyJo's request, I turned the music down because she wanted to pray for Daddy to feel better because she didn't like seeing him sad.

As soon as we get into the car, KatyJo always asks for me to put on "Angel Armies" which is actually "Whom Shall I Fear" by Chris Tomlin. Sometimes we listen to it on repeat until we get home and other times KatyJo allows me to pick the song (which often ends up with her telling me she doesn't like the song I picked). Most of the time, I quietly sing to myself while mainly listening to KatyJo sing "Angel Armies." There's something that makes my heart swell when I hear a 3 and a half year sing about God always being near her and always fighting for her. Annabelle "sings" a long too but it's mainly just noises that go along with the song. But I'm convinced she's singin to Jesus just like her big sister is. These girls already know Jesus and they're excited about learning more about Jesus. It makes me SO excited to see their faith grow year after year. If you know these girls at all, you know that they're gonna conquer the world in Jesus' name. They have that spunk.

These girls bring me so much joy and they just exude Jesus. They say things that crack me up, like that Jesus gets messy when he eats spaghetti, and then they say things that bring me back to the basics, like that Jesus is always with me no matter where I am. They show me how to forgive others through their own interactions with each other. And week after week, I watch them grow bigger and bigger; transforming into these children that know more than they did the last time I saw them. Even though I'm here to watch them and help them, they're definitely teaching me more than I could ever teach them.

Aren't they just the cutest?!