Judging

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My good friend Bianca posted on her blog about judging people and it really got me thinking.
How many things in our life are based off of judgements, or wrong judgements at that? Would we still be fighting wars, experiencing racism or unfair treatment or even religious prosecution? What would the world be like if no one judged another and instead we took the time to actually get to know one another rather than basing our opinions on someone's clothes, their lifestyle, their friends? As a Christian, our actions should be based on what God would want us to do, and I definitely don't think that God wants us to judge others. After all, Jesus didn't choose to spend His time with the rich and powerful; He came to serve those who were the opposite. He came for the poor, the weak, the dirty, the diseased, the broken. And He definitely was judged by people for doing that but He ignored their insults and continued to love and show compassion. That is how I want to live.

Independence

Someday, I am going to take my little camper and travel the country. Just me and my pug (and my besties, of course) and we're going to eat whatever we want, wear what we think is cute and comfy, and stop whenever we see an awesome picture moment. It is going to be awesome.
I have been thinking a lot (more like dreaming) lately about the day when I am on my own and really have control of my life. I cannot wait until I can have my own little apartment and buy all of my food at Trader Joe's and probably spend way too much time and money sitting at Starbucks. It's not like I don't love my parents and can't wait to get out of the house (I do love them and like my house); its more like I just want that feeling of full independence.
A speaker in one of my classes today said that she wished she had appreciated and taken full advantage of her years as a teen. It got me thinking...am I really appreciating the amazing life I have going for me, the awesome friends and parents I have, the delicious breakfast my mom makes...or am I simply spending all of my time wishing I was on my own?
Soon I will be out on my own and I hope I can look back on my years at home and know that I didn't just waste them away.

That camper is just soo cute...sigh.

Photography Goals

(photo from weheartit)

Photography has really become a passion of mine and so I decided to make myself a few goals.

1. Don't be discouraged by other people's *amazing* photos. Sigh.

2. Take photos every day!

3. Learn more about my camera...there are so many settings I could be taking advantage of but I'm too lazy to pick up the daunting User Manual.

4. Figure out how to use Photoshop Elements...yikes.

5. Update my Flickr account on a regular basis, not just once a year. (whoops)

Who knows...maybe I'll really be on top of things and post some pictures on here! Wouldn't that be lovely.

I Laughed Way Too Hard

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Love it.

Resolution #1 Being Content

(photo from: weheartit)

Well it looks like my goal to start blogging more is off to a good start…

Anyways, I thought I would share a few of my New Years Resolutions over the next couple of days. I’ll start with one of them: to be more content.

Now being content has always been an issue I’ve struggled with my whole life and often I find myself saying “Now I would just be happy if I had that (insert item here)” way too often: just ask my parents.

“I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.”  -Philippians 4:11-12 (The Message)

I honestly wish I could say that, but I don’t feel like I am at the place where I could give up everything and say, “God you are truly all I need.” It’s kind of pathetic how much emphasis I’ve put on materialistic things when I haven’t ever put that much emphasis on how much God means to me.

One reason that I find myself chasing the latest thing is because I am on the computer so much that I can’t help but run into tons of cool things that I immediately start obsessing over. Ever since I was younger, I would even look through all of the ads in the Sunday paper and rip out all of the things that I thought were neat. Needless to say, that pile grew bigger all the time and before long I had built up quite a habit of being discontent.

As I was typing this blog, this song came on the radio and wrapped up all I’ve been trying to say in about five lines. Funny how that works.

“All the things I thought would fill me up inside left me empty here - and now I know why..

All of my castles in the sand - washed away again and I’m left back where I began tonight
The only thing that can ever fill me up has been right in front of me all the time
All along I was looking for something else, You’re something else
All along I was looking for something more,You’re so much more
I finally found what I could never see before
You’ve always been the one that I was looking for." (All Along, By Remedy Drive)


True that.