Dal suo amore

By his love...I really like how that sounds. I also like how it looks on my ankle...;) Yes, I draw tattoos on my ankle. I sort of want one, but it only if it actually means something. I hate people with meaningless tattoos. Seriously, a ladybug? What could that possibly mean? I also hate completely blatant ones too. A head with a crown of thorns on it and ink blood dripping down your leg. I mean, I know Jesus died for our sins and all but that's a little much.

No, I like those subtle tattoos in different languages that make you ask the question, I wonder what that says? If I ever get a tattoo, I want people to ask me what it means and use it as an opportunity to share my faith. I like the idea of a bible verse, and I immediately thought of that verse the other night that Todd used..."The world will know you by your love." I looked up some different translations and the one I liked the most was Italian. Translated it says "Dal suo amore". It looks super cool in cursive!

Now I just have to convince my parents...;)

till the ink is dry,
lindsey

By your love

Great. Another tough message to listen to at our church. You know what? I've decided that I really hate it when God gives me a kick in the pants. I think I'm doing just fine and then BOOSH.

Kick in the pants.

One of our youth pastors was talking about how to love. Wow, right? And that wasn't even what really caught my attention. Sure, I know how to love. I love people everyday! I love my friends, family... No. Not that loving all those people doesn't count, but by showing the love that I have to just my friends and family... is that really imitating God's love for us? Did God just love on his disciples? Of course not! God loves every single human being on this planet unconditionally. Now can I do that? Obviously not. But, I can show love to all those kids I normally ignore at swim practice, or the poor guy that has to bag my tampons at Kroger!

What I really remember from Todd's message was a verse from John:

"Our love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."

Basically what this says is that by loving people we are showing the whole world that we are followers of Christ! No pressure or anything! It is by his love that we are alive and breathing today, why not shout it from the roof tops are share it with the rest of the world?

by his love,

lindsey

It's here!

2011 is here! And it seems I've had a change in character since it has arrived. Yep, I guess you could say that my whole outlook on tackling the future has changed.

Today at church, I was reminded that a true Christian lives out their faith based on what is written in the Bible. That's what it was written for-- for us to have a base of knowledge that is applicable to every day life.

In Deuteronomy 31:6 (the message) it says,

"Be strong. Take courage. Don't be intimidated. Don't give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He's right there with you. He won't let you down; he won't leave you."

Why should I live my life in fear of the future when God specifically says not to? I find myself ignoring the Bible's advice more and more simply because I don't believe it applies to my life at all times. HA! That is exactly like turning my back on God because I don't think he understands what I'm going through. But that's exactly why he sent his son Jesus to live a normal, human life. So he could say that he knows exactly what we're going through. God, himself, has felt physical and mental pain. He knows what I'm feeling and that's why he wrote the bible, so he could tell us that!

Although it's hard to process and embrace right away, I am trying my best to live a life without fear or worry. Because God goes before me, I have nothing to fear. It's as simple as that.

The whole college process seems very intimidating and stressful to me right now, but I know that God has a future and a plan for me. To quote the Big Guy himself, "...plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and hope."

till the words are lived out,

lindsey

every task seems to be harder for me simply cuz my name is lindsey...

It's come; the time for me to apply to colleges. Scary, I know. Just thinking about the fact that I'll actually BE in college by this time next year is so freaky! But by then, this whole ordeal with applications, auditions and all the PREPARATION involved will be over. And the only thing i'll have to worry about is how cute my dorm room will look. ;)

But, unfortunately I'm not there yet. I still have LOTS of work to do (good thing I have good teachers to kick my butt and keep my going!) As a Senior looking to audition for Musical Theater, there are many aspects of applying. Not only do I have write up multiple "creative" essays, but I also have monologue auditions, dance auditions, singing auditions, piano auditions, head shots, resumes, AND interviews that I have to prepare for and look forward too! And because I am applying to so many schools, all of them have different audition requirements, which in turn, makes more work for me.

I seriously, don't know how i'm going to get it all done in time! Along with all these fun, interesting tasks comes (believe it or not) my everyday life! I still have a job, work, piano lessons, voice lessons, swim team, and any shows that I will foolishly audition for and become over-committed with. :)

Yesterday, I was feeling a little overwhelmed. (no surprise there.) I was researching schools and then it hit me, I've got a LOT of work to do, and I have absolutely NO idea how I'm going to find the time to get it all done! I was thinking, I'm going to put all this work into my application, and I really have a slim-to-no chance of even getting in to most of these schools...but guess which verse I came across last night in my Bible?

JEREMIAH 29:11

"'For I know the plans I have for you.' says the Lord. 'Plans for a future and not for disaster.'"

THANK. GOD.

Cuz you know what? I couldn't do it without him. I know as tough as it's gonna get, God is gonna be right by my side and leading my the whole way! I KNOW that this is where God has gifted me, and by golly, I know if this is what he wants for me he's gonna make it happen!!

I just wish he would make filling out applications a little easier...

till the application deadline,

lindsey.