Memorial Day: A Letter of Thanks

Dear Victorious Soldier,

I would like to take a brief moment of your valuable time to thank you. To thank you for my freedom. The freedom of which includes but is not limited to FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF THE PRESS, FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY, FREEDOM OF PETITION, THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS, THE RIGHT TO EQUAL JUSTICE, THE RIGHT TO OWN PRIVATE PROPERTY, and most importantly the FREEDOM OF RELIGION.  

I hold all of these freedoms very dear to heart, but it is only because of you that I am capable of enjoying these freedoms on a daily basis. While I am at school you are fighting on the battlefield, while I am at a viola lesson you are watching a fellow soldier be carried to safety after getting wounded, while I am enjoying dinner with my family, you are across the ocean from your family longing for the next time you will be able to see them.

Every day the thought of whether it is your last comes to mind because your day is filled with uncertainty of what event will take place next. This is a risk for some reason you are so willing to take for me. The bravery and sacrifices you make are empowering.

This letter hardly shows how thankful I am for you, but it is important to try to give you a short note that on this Memorial Day I am thinking and praying for you and I will continue you this for the next days to come.

Thank you for my freedom,

Callista

The first time I heard this song was on the radio the other day. It caught my attention right away, and not for any specific reason. As I was listening to the words of this song I realized that it is a summary of a lesson I have learned this year. The lesson: what love really is.

In this song Brandon Heath (the artist) is referring to God’s love, but after all we are supposed to mirror the love that God has for us to all who surround us. We live in a day where love has taken on a different kind of meaning than God has intended love to be. All of us are guilty of saying “I love my….”, you fill in the blank; phone, car, school, clothes, etcetera. In reality, love should only be held for God and people.

So after listening to this song I reflected on the lesson on love I had learned this year. Key factors I had learned are love does not run and that love is hope for the loved one when others don’t have hope. The most important key factor; love never fails. Sometime this past year I had the option of running away; not physically but by ending a friendship. It was out of anger and revenge that I felt it was most necessary to run away and keep all emotions inside. It was something I struggled with for a short time, that is before God made it obvious to me that I needed to continue to love that person whether we ever talk again and hope they find the path to Him. I am very thankful I have kept the friendship; it has led me to realize a few things that God plans to use my life for in the future.

As I have become closer to God this year I have realized what real love is; it is literally amazing because it flows right through oneself to other people. The love does not go unnoticed, trust me. My love for all humankind is far more great than it ever had been in the past, and I know this is because of my love for the Savior. I want God to use me to change the lives of others for His glory; and I believe He already has begun to do this.

It is not until you have accepted God’s love for you that you can truly love a spouse to the fullest extent. It is through accepting God’s love that you can mirror that love for your spouse, and thus reach the fullest extent of what true love is. Love is not proud, Love does not boast, Love does not run, Love does not hide, Love does not keep. Love will sustain, Love will provide, Love will not cease, Love will protect, Love always hopes, Love still believes.

True love has become this cliché phrase, but in reality we need to take it much more seriously and disregard what the world tells you love is. Instead, look to God and He will show you what real love is so that you may show that same love to not only your spouse and children, but all that surround you. That is what believers are set out to do in this life; share the love. Are you showing the love of God to all that surround you? This is a deep question that I want you to seriously think about. It is not until those who do not believe in God see true love from us that they will have an interest in knowing who’s love you mirror.

Love never fails you. 

Broken Girl- Matthew West 

Excellent Reminder to All. 

The Sun

I was thinking, it is no wonder why the sun is something many religions focus on. The sun is amazing. Today I was in the sun all day and I loved it. It just gives you this new energy and happiness. It is quite renewing and comforting. Sitting in the sun in a peaceful area is a nice time to have thoughts and reflect, I believe it gives you this positive state of mind and therefore you think more clearly. Just think, the sun is the resource of all living things.

Thank God for something so complex that provides us not only with life, but also with beauty and warmth.

Don’t worship the sun; rather worship its Creator. Just a quick message from me of appreciation for God’s creation of the sun! 

 Dear Fellow Believers…

Jesus was a friend of sinners. As His followers, we need to consider what it means to be involved as friends in the battle for the souls of people. If we want to be friends to those who struggle with homosexuality, we first need to be open to the fact that there are many forms of lustful struggles going on below the surface of life, including homosexuality. 

A friend or family member’s struggle with homosexuality surprises and frightens far too many Christians. Many feel shocked and afraid, and typically withdraw. At best, some recommend counseling or encourage them simply to stop. In either case, they miss the core issues of pain and sin. 

Presume for a moment that we had eyes to see the core issues of pain and sin in the human heart. Knowing the agony in our own hearts, knowing the different streaks of lust and independence that we wrestle with, an individual’s battle with homosexuality would not take us off guard or immobilize us with fear. Consequently, we’d be better friends.

Many of us are equally guilty of approaching homosexuality from a self-righteous attitude. We act as if this sin is greater than our own, emitting a language of hostility, mockery, and disgust, which sadly taints the appeal of the gospel. Self-righteousness is a large reason why we are not Christlike friends to those who struggle with homosexuality.

We need to have more of the attitude Jesus spoke of when He said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?…You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Luke 6:41-42). 

Jesus’ words remind us that if we see others’ sin without seeing our own more deeply, then we have negated our right and privilege to invite them to a different kind of life. Therefore, we must base our efforts to be a better Christlike friend to those struggling with homosexuality on the confession and growing demise of our own self-righteousness. 

If we open our eyes to see the pain and potential for lust in all of us, we can reach out with true compassion and create a context where individuals will feel open to reveal their homosexual struggles, hear truth, and find hope. 

Those moments when God just…

Do you ever have those moments when God just shoves you over or gives you a wink to reassure you that He is there or remind you He never left? I know it has been over a week since I have written, but I have been quite busy and I have good news.

God showed His lovely existence to me last week and that He knows exactly what is going on in my life. It all began on Saturday when I was talking to a woman from my church who I hardly know. She asked me what I was doing in my life. I told her about all the ag and music related events I have been taking part in, and then I told her my college plans for the future at Penn State. Coincidently, after I told her my plans she told me that she is a professor at PSU, and then she gave me some tips and told me that she is going to talk to PSU Berks Campus about some things I told her because it gave her ideas. Then Wednesday night at my youth group our leader completely went off the topic of the lesson he originally planned. I think he was quite shaken because words kept coming out his mouth that had nothing to do with the lesson we were supposed to learn that night. I on the other hand just smiled to myself because everything he was talking about were questions that I have been pondering for the past few weeks.  After youth group that same night a youth leader approached me. She began telling me about this leadership camp that a couple from the church will pay for a youth to go to a week during the summer. It is primarily a Christian leadership camp. She continued to tell me that she and her husband both prayed about who should go to this camp and they both said “Callista”.  I am so excited to go to this camp because I will be learning subject matter that can all relate to my life and the growing process I have gone through this past year. It was quite a “coincident” if you want to call it that because I have been telling my parents how I want to be a volunteer in a Christian outreach when I am older with a specific group of people, and this camp teaches how to approach people and how to understand where they come from.  Lastly, yesterday my viola teacher told me that she was going to give my name to the Reading Pops Orchestra because they are going to need players soon. Usually this orchestra only hires adults, but she said she thinks I am capable of playing the music. This was wonderful news to me because I have been praying that God would provide me with more playing opportunities, and now I get the opportunity and I will get paid!

Those are my most recent coincidences, winks, shoves, whatever you want to call them in my life. I am so blessed to have a God who loves me so much and has provided me with such wonderful people and opportunities in my life, amongst many other things.

The Gift of Music

This past Friday was a rather anxiety-ridden day for me. I had a huge math test that I had to do very well on. I was quite worried because math is the subject I am worst at. I enjoy math, I am just very bad at it. My paranoia was quite obvious to my mom as she saw me stressing out over my studying the night before, she than said to me “ Pray to God and He will do the rest”. I usually silently pray before every test I take, but when it comes to math tests I have doubt when I pray. James 1:6-7 says, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.” My mom also told me to think about the lyrics from the song I am singing in our church choir. Some of the lyrics go like this; Be still and know that I am God. Be still and know that I am with you. Be still and know that I will comfort you in your hour of need. Be still and know that I am God.

Before my math test I sang those words in my head and they provided absolute comfort to me because I know that they are true. Afterwards I was thinking about how music is such a blessing. Not just the ability to hear it, but most definitely the ability or talent to make it. Making music is an entirely different dimension from just be capable of hearing it. I find it amazing what simple or complex notes can evoke from one’s soul. I think God blesses some the ability to have more of an understanding and passion for music than others. I believe I have been blessed with this gift. Whenever I make music my spirits are lifted and it completely changes my mood and overall my day and  I am not the only one who enjoys the music I make. I feel like the closest connection I ever have with God is when I worship Him with song. I thank God that there is something as complex to the music maker, and yet simplistic to the listener, as music.