When Music Rules Our Lives

The music we listen to every day affects us more than we could ever know. While we work out, fold laundry, or hang out in our bedrooms, our brains are feeding nonstop on our iPods, CDs, and radios.

Author Stephanie Meyer wrote the Twilight series while listening to Muse, My Chemical Romance, and Coldplay. Singer Taylor Swift is inspired by Kelly Pickler’s songs. Songwriters all over the world will tell you that you have to listen to good music to make good music. In the movie Josie and the Pussycats, the music bands play secretly send messages to the brains of all the fans. Using music as a tool, the industry is able to sway public opinion, trends, sales, and worldviews.
As weird as it sounds, the music industry actually whispers messages into our heads. Sometimes we don’t notice them – maybe we’re too busy dancing (or maybe that’s just me). But the whispers are there and they aren’t going away. Some music “whispers” good things to you, like in Taylor Swift’s “Change”, Relient K’s “More Than Useless”, or Britt Nicole’s “You”. These songs inspire positive views of life, whereas other songs influence you in negative ways by sending you messages about sex, or by using explicit language. Even negativity, revengeful lyrics, or a sense of “who needs God when I’ve got me” are dangerous to your mental health and wellbeing. Songs like Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” give us false views about love and relationships while Pink’s “So What” evokes a feeling of anger and revenge.
What you listen to really does affect how you see the world around you. Think of it as an IV into your brain. Are you filling your brain with junk or with truth?
I first heard Pink’s “So What” on Dancing with the Stars. I thought it sounded quirky and cool, but I didn’t pay attention to the lyrics. When I put it on my iPod and got past the initial “na na na na na na na” part, I was surprised by the lyrics. Besides dropping the s-word, the singer rants about an unfaithful husband and starting fights while drinking her money away. My reaction was, “Wow. OK. It’s not so bad, though, right? I wouldn’t really do that stuff, and I’m not listening to the words. I just like the beat.” Excuses for what you listen to are lame and they get you into loads of trouble. I’ve chosen to not listen to that song anymore. I don’t want it to influence my choices or attitude in life. My mind and wellbeing is more important than a song.
God knows that music is a big issue in your life. He’s willing to help you sort the good from the bad. His advice to you? “Whatever is pure, whatever is right, whatever is noble, think about such things.”
JUST DO IT:
- Following God’s advice to you, what songs do you need to rid your life of? Go ahead and take them off your iPod or chunk the CD in the garbage so no one else has to listen to it.
- When you’re hanging out with friends, encourage them to listen to positive music. If you guys are listening to a song that doesn’t honor God, ask if you can listen to a different song. If they say no, they aren’t honoring God or you, so they probably aren’t your real friends at all.

Why the World Hates Christians

Why does the world hate Christians so much? It’s hard to understand. Here are the answers to clear things up.

- Christians aren’t controlled by the media. We live by different standards. When the media dominates the world, it can change our political views, our faith (or lack thereof), our fashions, what we believe about sex, and more. Christians are people who choose not to live by the media’s standards but instead by God’s holy standards. Since we don’t have to be controlled by the media, the media doesn’t like us.

"If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is what the world hates you." (John 15:19)

- Christians live for a greater purpose. We as Christians live for God. Our purpose is to glorify Him in everything we do. The world teaches us that we have no greater purpose; that we are here to seize the fleeting joys of money, sin, and sex, trampling on other people to make our way to the top, if only for a second. But is the world’s "top" really where we want to be? Because Heaven is a whole lot higher.

"If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing." –Jesus, from John 8:54

- Christians go to Heaven. This paradise is beyond anything we’ve ever imagined. Nothing is better than living with our Creator and Savior for eternity! There is no sin in Heaven, so it’s perfect. The world tells us that Heaven is just a dream. They teach us that life doesn’t get any better than this – well, Hell – we’re living, so we might as well go with the world’s flow because it’s all we have. But that’s not true! We have something more to look forward to.

"They admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. Instead, they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one." (Hebrews 11:13,16)

- Christians live for a higher authority. God is the final judge, the final king. What He says goes for us. We are to respect the laws our worldly leaders make for us, but if they contradict the laws God has made for us, we are to use God’s Word as our final authority.

- Christians can do the impossible – with God’s help! God tells us if we have enough faith, we could even move mountains if it would benefit God’s kingdom! There are countless true stories where miracles have been preformed by God’s people – that includes YOU! Jesus did tons of miracles in His life on earth. Check out Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (the Gospels) for 4 different accounts of His miraculous, world-changing, revolutionary life!

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (1 Philippians 4:13)

For what other reasons does the world hate Christians? Do you think it is somehow good for us that the world hates us? Why or why not? Which is more powerful – a sinful kingdom or God’s kingdom? Feel free to post a comment telling me what your ideas are.

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Too Marvelous for Words

You are beautiful beyond description,
Too marvelous for words.
Too wonderful for comprehension,
Like nothing ever seen or heard!

God is so beautiful, we can’t describe it. God is so marvelous, my words fade in His presence. God is so wonderful, we can’t even begin to understand His greatness. He’s like nothing we’ve ever seen or heard! Can you grasp his infinite wisdom? Can you measure the depths of His love? He’s our Majesty enthroned above.
What’s so beautiful is that we – yes, you and me – are made in His image! Sure, when people look at us, their faces don’t shine like the sun. Sure, they aren’t pouring Chanel #5 on our feet; but God made us to be beautiful. Our beauty, in the world’s eyes, may be beyond description because it’s lacking, but when God changes our hearts, it all changes. We are beautiful. (And yes, even you guys are beautiful. Or handsome. Or whatever. Admit it; God created you to be amazing.)
Next time the media makes you feel ugly and worthless, remember your worth and beauty in God’s eyes.

Dear God,
Please help me to be as amazing as you’ve designed me to be. Please help me not feel pressured by my friends, teachers, or the media to do things and think things that I know aren’t good for me. I want people to look at me and just know there’s something different. I want that difference to be You!

Reading isn't Doing

(This is not a post about dieting, that's only the intro.) =]
Kim and Sarah sat on the sidewalk. There seemed to be nothing to talk about or do, even though the whole neighborhood knew they were best friends.
Kim sighed. "I’ve been thinking about this dieting thing," she said finally.
Sarah raised an eyebrow. "What ‘dieting thing’?"
"I’ve been reading all my aunt’s old books about it and have been poring through all my mom’s sugar-free, fat-free, low calorie cookbooks. I’ve done so much reading I’m sure I’ve lost tons of weight by now!"
In Sarah’s opinion, Kim didn’t have any weight to lose. Luckily, however, it didn’t look like she had lost any weight. Sarah was absolutely sure she wouldn’t lose any weight at this rate. "Kim, reading about dieting won’t make you diet!"
I can totally relate to Kim. Not that I want to lose weight, but in a different way. I am a huge reader. My all-time absolute FAVORITE store is Barnes & Noble. I’ve recently gotten into "How To" books – how to make face masks, how to be even more fashionable than I already am (hehe), how to train my not-so-intelligent but oh-so-enthusiastic dog (she’s blonde, can’t you tell?), and my recent favorite: how to get closer to God. I’ve read all the books – Totally God’s by Megan Clinton, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, Don’t Waste your Life by John Piper – everything. I’ve been an enthusiastic Brio magazine reader, soaking up all the spiritual food that’s out there.
But, when it comes down to it all, I’m a horrible procrastinator. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow – that’s my life verse, quite frankly. So I know a lot about being a Christian and getting closer to God, which is why I started this blog. So you’d think I’d be a really strong Christian, or at least know what I’m talking about. The answer is simple: I’m not. I have a relationship with God and I love Him, but that relationship is sometimes put off for Facebook or for my dog (I know I’m so terrible). My relationship with God isn’t perfect – because – you know why? – because of ME. It’s completely my fault. I’ve read all the books, but it doesn’t help unless you actually go out there and do it!
Reading about dieting won’t make you diet or loose 20 pounds. Reading about playing in the NFL won’t get you there. Reading about being fashionable won’t make you an fashion icon. You have to change yourself. You have to go out there and do it to make your learning worthwhile.
I’m thrilled that you read my blog. I’m thrilled that God has given me inspiration in my every day life for this blog. But I would be sad if my writing wasn’t doing anything for you. Don’t get me wrong – learning is GREAT! You know how to do things when you read about them. But reading won’t miraculously change you or your relationship with your Lord.

God bless,
Melissa

p.s.: please don’t forget to comment, rate, follow, and tell your friends!

Get a Life

Imagine you’ve spent years – your whole life, even – collecting seashells. You have a huge collection to show for it – starfish, sand dollars, sea urchins, conch shells, clam shells, everything. You’re pretty impressed with yourself.
The public is pretty impressed with you, too. You’ve broken a world record for biggest collection of seashells. You’ve got fame, money, and lots of dead starfish to look at.
Then, one day, your whole world shatters. Your visions of you living the perfect life are bombarded by one person who tells you, "Dude, get a life."
At first you laugh to yourself. What a dork. Of course you have a life – look at all you have! Everyone knows your name!
When you go home to your penthouse by the beach after a long day of, well, doing nothing but posing for pictures, you plop onto your bed. Your head hurts. You hear that dork’s voice again: "Get a life."
You sit up and look around you. You’re wearing designer clothes. You’ve got a house Oprah would be jealous of. Everyone knows who you are, and you’ve even written a book about, of course, yourself. Because you have a life. Or do you?
You start to wonder about it all. Did you really ever have a life? You had the American Dream. You had what this world sees as the perfect life – fame, fortune, and seashells. Yet as you look back, trying to remember the happiest times in your life, you find that life simply isn’t life without more.
Since the beginning of time, people have been searching for more. More is not something we define; instead, it is simply feeling complete. We were made to worship. That’s why there are so many different religions out there. We long for two kinds of beings: one that we can take care of, and one that can take care of us. If we don’t have that, than do we really have a life?
We need someone to worship. There are so someones out there – Buddha, Allah, God…can you think of any others? The tough part is that there can only be one all-powerful ruler of the universe, and that is God.
Pious Buddhists tend to be very detached from society and other people because they believe that by casting everything of this world away – including their love and emotions – they will reach Nirvana, a sort of Heaven for Buddhists. Nirvana, unlike Heaven, is a place where all feelings, emotions, love, and life are gone; Nirvana is a place of nothingness, of no feeling, which the Buddhists think is a blessing. The god of the early Vikings (before they converted to Christianity) made a sort of heaven where there was feasting every night and beautiful women took care of the men. The Vikings wanted to encourage people to become Viking warriors, so they said that only Viking warriors could go to this heaven. Allah, the Muslim god, may seem at first glance much like God Himself, but that impression does not last long. The Muslim’s holy book does not mention once that "Allah loves you" or anything like that. Allah is not a loving god – he is powerful, Muslims believe, but there is no love.
God is different. God is all-powerful, just like Allah. God made the world with great care, like Allah. God has created a heaven, except, instead of the Buddhist Nirvana, Heaven is a wonderful place where Christians live in cities of gold and where there is no sin but only joy and peace. Instead of the Viking paradise, anyone can go to Heaven, so long as they believe that God made the earth, that they are sinners, and that Jesus died so they could live. The biggest difference is that God loves us. God loves His creation. He finds us beautiful, despite our flaws. God is more.
When people search for "more", they are searching for God. They are searching for peace and joy, comfort and security, love and life. The problem? They don’t know that God is what they’ve been searching for all along!
People throughout history – the early Vikings (before they converted to Christianity) and the ancient Egyptians – had many gods. When a rich man died, a great funeral was held for him. The Vikings would build a huge boat and set it in a pit, and the Egyptians would builds magnificent tombs. The man was placed in the tomb or ship. The man’s servants would be led from the house to be killed and put into the boat or tomb. The man’s prized horse, dog, and all his valuable possessions accompanied him so that he would have everything he needed in the afterlife. What happened to the Egyptian tombs of the richest and greatest kings? They were robbed, stripped of all their gold and wealth.
Someone once said that life is what you can take into Heaven with you. You can’t take gold, money, the latest fashions, the coolest video games, the biggest house, the sports car, to Heaven. You can’t even take your body to Heaven! But you can take your spirit – which is who you really are – to Heaven. The stuff of this world – fame, money, cars, and the best hair in class or the best player on the team – none of it will last. The one thing that will last is your spirit, so obviously you need to take care of it.
In order for you to have life as the world defines it, you must have a beating heart. To have life as God defines it, you must have a loving heart. Life is nothing if you have no one to worship. You wouldn’t be alive if God hadn’t made you. Why not rejoice in that?
YOU, no matter how nerdy or unpopular you are, no matter how many times you’ve run into a door or have done wrong things, YOU have something that everyone on earth wants. Isn’t that amazing? And no, it’s not your hair, your muscles, your wallet, or your grades. YOU have life – the kind that doesn’t fade, the kind of life that lasts forever. You have more; more to live for.
When Jesus comes back to earth to claim His people (that means you!), how will you answer him? What will you say to him? What will you have to show that you have done what He made you to do?
Will you say, "Look, Lord. See my shells?" (Or, maybe for you, it’d be, "Look, Lord. See my money, fame, looks, games, car." Fill in the blank with what material thing you have been living for.)
That, my friends, would be your entire life – wasted.
This next week, thank God that you have a life – a life that lasts forever – and a future home in Heaven. Thank God that he made you, that he is a loving God and an all-powerful God. Try to show someone else that love that He has given you. Show someone else that they can have a true, eternal, meaningful life.

Edward Cullen's Hair

So I'm at my friend Rachel's house and she is totally obsessed with Twilight...I knew it would happen someday. She is now calling me mean. Shut up, Rachel! Stop laughing at me! Shut up! (She told me to spell shuishuishui...?)
Anyway, I wanted to know what you guys thought about Twilight...the movie, the books, Edward's hair....everything.
Are you allowed to see the movie/read the books? Why or why not? Do you think it is um...anti-Christian or whatever to read them?

God's Joy: Get it Now!

I’m sitting here, typing while a TV advertisement drones on and on about some “Pancake Puff” thing. Another commercial pops up, encouraging people to brush their teeth: “Happiness is a healthy mouth.”

What? Did someone actually say that? Happiness – the thing everyone on earth is searching for – can be found if you have nice teeth?

I’m sure these dentists meant well. I’m sure they were just trying to get people to buy their product or something. But really, they’re lying. Sure, it’s nice to be able to flash a smile when a friend walks by, but is that what makes us happy? What about Pancake Puffs, or room décor from Target? What about a credit card, Neutrogena shampoo, or a widescreen TV? Sure, you might be glad you have those things, but they don’t make you happy.

Ok, wait a minute. I define “happiness” as a simple, good feeling. Like when you get that TV for your birthday. It makes you happy – but only for a short moment. Happiness from stuff is fleeting – it doesn’t last.

God gives us joy that really lasts. He is the only thing we need to have happiness that stays with us forever. It doesn’t go away like an outdated TV. It grows, even. The joy that God gives us is perfect, and it grows bigger and bigger until people start noticing: “Dude, that person’s always happy! Why?” Well, the answer? Because we have God. And, get this: you don’t have to pay for God’s joy. Nope. It’s free. No tax, no shipping or handling costs. Nothing. It’s perfect. Go get God's joy today!