Tuesday Special #1

Since I didn’t post yesterday, and rather than waiting a whole other week, I’ve decided to give you a surprise! Happy Tuesday everybody! On these said Tuesday Specials (See subject line), instead of writing one of my long, and rather deep (Don’t argue. They are deep), posts, these Tuesday ones will be my rant about the things in life that make me happy- like pink mountains, with blue grass, and green and purple zebras. Tuesday Specials will give you a little glimpse into my head.  Here we go!!!

Episode 1- Bible Studies and Starbucks Baristas

Going to my Bible Study always makes me happy. Of course we probably do all the things that other girls do in Bible Studies, but I’m not sure that all those bible studies has a very special girl who gives you a belated birthday present that contains German gummy bears and jelly beans. What can get better than eating German gummy bears and jelly beans in Bible Study with some of your favorite people?! Not much can top that, my friends. Not much. Also, after Bible Study, I always feel really good driving home. What wrong with blasting Colton Dixon’s beautiful music in your car and singing at the top of your lungs? Who cares if people give you funny looks…and the police pull you over asking you to say the abc’s backwards? I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I didn’t get pulled over. I did get some very odd looks from the people who were sharing the road with me…but I didn’t care, because I was on a Jesus high and nothing could get me low.  And that’s what I have to say for Bible Study nights. Moving on!

Have you ever noticed how nice Starbucks baristas are? I don’t go to Starbucks very often, maybe 3 or 4 times a month, but every time I go there the baristas just smile whole-heartedly while I take a very long look at the menu, then order what I get every time (take note: I always get a caramel macchiato-creature of habit here). I appreciate them. Thank you Starbucks baristas for making my day that much better! I was at Starbucks this afternoon, sitting outside, people watching, alone...when suddenly I remembered that it wasn’t just the baristas at Starbucks that make me happy, it’s the music too! Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nat King Cole! The kind of music that makes you feel like you’ve stepped back in time, or snuggle in a blanket during a thunderstorm. That type of music is my type of music.  =) And that’s all I have to say for Starbucks. If ever you’re there, thank a barista for being so terrific.

Until next time!

Be Bold, Be Blessed, Be Bodacious

~Ana

What Would You Take?

Sarah Young says in her book, "Jesus Today", that if the world were perfect, we would never recieve God's all embracing comfort. I think a lot of us here in Colorado witnessed the truth to that this past week. Almost 500 families lost thier homes to the Black Forest fire. My stomach was twisted and I felt sick for the first three days as the evacuation line drew dangerously close to our neighborhood. I even went in to panic-mode one night and packed all of my most cherished things (selfish, I know, I know). When I was packing, I felt like God hit me in the head with a baseball bat and I thought, if the fire really did come to engulf my house, and I could only take one thing...what would I take? And I sat back to look at my room, and God gave me his eyes (just for a second), and he showed me that all the things in my room...were just things. They were replacable. Heck, even a Bible can be replaced. God let me see that all the things, ever, in the history of the world, in the history of the whole universe, added together, could never ever compare to his love for every person in the world. you. me. and especially those aching with loss.
So, back to what Sarah Young says. If the world were perfect, which it is most definitly not, we would not recieve any of God's comforts. Let's see...Learning Experience #2!

Recently, I've been having some bad days. I've been applying to jobs for three weeks...and I havn't heard anything from any of them. It's quite a tedious task. I finished applications #11,12, and 13 today. Anyway. Back to the subject. I'm at a point where I'm getting upset because things aren't going the way I want them to. Lukily for me, I'm still reading "Life Without Limits" by Nick Vujicic, and he has a whole chapter dedicated to different types of attitudes to take on in different types of scenarios. (An attitude of gratitude, even when you feel like you have nothing going for you. An attitude of action, when you feel like you absolutly cannot move on.) Even though it may not seem like it, these have been a blessing to me. One of God's comforts is showing us that everything will turn out, so long as we don't sit back and do nothing. In a perfect world, we wouldn't have that knowledge. We'd be stuck in our fantacy lifestyles. I still have to overcome the frustrations of not getting a job when I really, really want one....I'm trying to have an attitude of gratitude, because I know that God will give me what I need. And, an attitude of action, because God knows exactly when He's going to give me a job, even if I beg him to give it to me sooner ;)

That's all I have for now- Joshua 1:9: Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid nor be dismayed. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Be Bold.
Be Blessed.
Be Bodacious.
~Ana

Just the Beginning

This is it! I finally graduated from High School! Whew. there's something about the fact that I'm done makes me even more aware of how much more life I have to live. The end of High School signifies, in my book, the beginning of a whole new adventure! And that's why I've decided to make this blog. To record all my adventures, learning experiences, stressful choices, and perfectly thrilling Jesus stories.

I was doing my devotions a couple of mornings ago (I'm reading this book called "Life Without Limits" by Nick Vujicic), and I came across this passage, "You want to keep striving, keep growing, keep giving all you have to give so that, in the end, you can look back and say, I gave it my best shot." That really opened my mind to a whole new realm of possible outcomes for my life. I realized that I can either pray really hard, sit back, and wait for God to do something. Or, I can pray, seek, learn, and discover God's plan was right in front of me the whole time! You know that part from Pirates of the Carribean when one of the Pirates says, "Take what you can, give nothing back"? That saying, for us Christians anyway, should be the exact oppisite of our life purpose. The apostle Paul calls us to give all we can to God, standing firm in our beliefs, and take nothing back (1 Cor. 15:58).

I can't pretend that it's the easiest thing to do-giving all I have to God. It's not easy at all. It's down-right problematical to have to get up and do something instead of doing what I want, lolly gagging, and waiting for God to pop up and say "Hey! Here's my answer to that question that you asked me!" But, I can guarentee that through learning, through prayer, God will show you what you need to do.

Learning Experience #1
I don't like hurting people's feelings. No, no. I hate hurting people's feelings. I like to be on everybody's good side =) I'm a nice person. Sometimes too nice. But there are consequences to being too nice sometimes. A few weeks ago, I got asked out on a date...by someone who I really wasn't interested in. He was a super duper sweet guy, don't get me wrong, but I didn't know him. At all. He asked me over email (where he got my email address, I have no idea), so I had time to think it over. I had a conversation with Jesus, and this is what was said, "Would it really be so bad?","Yes, Ana, yes it would. It would be awkward, and uncomfortable, and you would feel quweezzy (Jesus says 'quweezzy'), and did I mention it would be awkward? I have something better for you.","But I don't want to hurt his feelings!"

Now, I knew that Jesus didn't want me to go, and He wanted me to tell the boy, but I decided about 5 hours after I got the email that I wasn't even going to respond. The boy would get the hint...sooner or later. I felt sick all evening. I talked with my mum about it. Tried my hardest to watch a movie, but that just made matters worse. Exasperated, I called up my best friend for some advice. She said exactly what my mum and, yes, Jesus had been telling me. Just say 'no'. No?.....No? The word "no" is not in my vocabulary! I'd like to go and stick my head in a wall than say "no"!

After a restless night, I took a walk to my local Starbucks (nothing like a cup of good coffee to get my mind racing) to read my bible and talk to Jesus. All the while, I could feel the tension in my heart releasing, and I heard Jesus' gentle voice in the back of my head saying "It's all gonna be okay." I came across this verse that morning, "God is within her, she will not fail; God will help her" (Psalm 46:5). Then everything sorted out. With God, I wrote up a short, precise response to the boy that stated firmly but nicely that I was not interested, I had my brother click the 'send' button, then it was done. The peace I felt after was such a relief. I'm so thankful fo this learning experience. Through it I have learned that it's okay to say 'no' sometimes. Also, I learned that no matter how I try to pull away from something God wants me, and me alone, to do, there's no getting away from it. He'll place reminders and step ladders in my way so that I have no choice but to go up them. And that is really where He'll take you too! God will never leave you in a scenario in which you are degraded. He'll always lift you to Himself.

And, that's all I have for now.
Be bold, be blessed, be bodacious.
~Ana