Where Money Ranks

Money ranks society, we base the rich high class people off the billions and millions of dollars that they have, the middle class is where most of us fall and then there are the people who hardly have any money at all and they are low class. But is money what we should rank ourselves with?
Because I believe money is not the most important thing in this world, and the day you start thinking that is the day you are wrong. Money might be the the thing that gets you things that you want like a car or a house or even that dream vacation. It might put the more expensive food on your table, let you get the top shelf liquor when you are out as opposed to just the well drinks, it might get you the designer jeans and the high dollar purses and all those things are great, and who wouldn't love to be able to have all those things? Not have to stress a day in their life for money and just be able to spend it and do whatever your heart desires, but really where does that get you? Whats a fancy car to drive when you are too worried to take it out of the garage incase you might wreck it? What is the reason to own the big house without a family to put inside of it? What is that dream vacation if you don't have someone to share it with? What makes the expensive food better for you? Why only buy top shelf liquor if you are spending it on girls or guys you'll only spend one night with and leave in the morning? What really does the brand of your purse or jeans have to do with? I guess what I'm trying to say is what does all of that stuff mean without people surrounding you? And not just people, family who loves and cares about you and would be by your side no matter if you only had a penny in your name, or a significant other who thinks your jokes are funny and lights up when you walk in the room and wants to spend every day with you, even the bad ones. The friends who have stuck by your side in the worst of times and the best of times who have become close like family. The relationship that you hold with God and the closeness that you share with Him. Aren't these the things that actually matter? I'm pretty sure no amount of money can buy relationships, not real ones anyway. You can make a whole bunch of money and have fake friends who join your band wagon just because you are rich, but they are just in it for the fame and the luxury. Significant others cannot be bought, there are gold diggers out there, but once again, that isn't real love, thats greed. Money does buy a lot. But I'd take my relationships with my family over making millions any day. Call me crazy but aren't the relationships that I hold the things that really matter? Money comes and goes and the things that you buy while you are on this Earth are only temporary but the relationships that you hold with God, Family and Friends those last forever. Maybe its just Thanksgiving making me think like this because I'm so thankful for all of my family and friends and God especially, but its something to think about, next time you feel money hungry remember, there are more important things in life. Would you rather be rich with all the money you could ever want that you can burn through or sit on, or would you rather be rich with relationships that won't fade with the people who truly love you for you?

Love Is.

Love.

It is the thing that God created for us to give away and to receive. There are many forms of love, first love of God, and your family, friends, neighbors and even your enemies. God tells you to love everyone. But the verse I know we've all heard even if it was just in movies is...

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
 ⁸ Love never fails

This is the verse you hear at weddings, this is the verse that inspires me. I want to be in a love like that with a man. I want the people I love around me to find their soul mates who love them like that.

A love that is patient, even when it is hard and your significant other is on your last nerve, someone who has that patience in their heart for you.

A love that is kind, a person who will drop everything and expect nothing in return even though they would know I would do the same for them. Someone who holds doors open, who blesses someone when they sneeze, someone who calls their mom to check in to see how she is doing.

A love that does not envy. Such a love that will be proud of the accomplishments that the other person achieves, who is supportive and wants nothing but the best for me.

A love that does not boast, not to be one of those showy couples who have to proclaim their love to each other 24/7 in front of everyone, I want a love that people can see, a relationship that is so apparent that we are in love that there is no need to boast.

A love that is not proud. It ties in with the boasting, I want a love that speaks for itself.

A love that does not dishonor others. Someone who respects your family and your friends, who respects your background and even not just the people you hold close, but everyone...I want a love that doesn't dishonor others.

A love that is not self-seeking...I'm not looking to be fixed and I don't want someone else to come to me to fix them. I want someone who is not just looking out for number one, someone who considers me and turns to me and above all is a man who turns to God.

A love that is not easily angered. Being in a relationship when the person you are with gets angry easily is something that is very fearful, and it isn't love. I am not saying that I think love is happiness and smiles all the time and there won't be disagreements but when those disagreements arise I don't want the person to get so angry at me so quickly.

A love that keeps a record of no wrongs. Confession, something God allows us to do, He wipes our sin away and cleans the slate when we confess we've done wrong. God loves us, and when the person you love apologizes and feels remorseful and you forgive them, it is then over with, it is not to be stored away to bring up in a fight to prove your point, once forgiven the slate is wiped clean.

A love that does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. I don't want someone who will lie to me, and I would expect them to want the same from me, the truth is the best policy. Feeling good about lying or doing wrong is sickening, feeling good about telling the truth is freeing.

A love that always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Someone who will stand beside me, who will keep me safe from harm. Someone who I don't have to question when they leave to hang out with the guys for a night, someone who I can trust. Someone who keeps me hoping and we hope together someone that lasts.

I want a love that never fails.

Looking to that verse for what love is helps. I've been doing a lot of searching lately in myself and wondered about myself and why the relationships I had didn't work out. I scared myself thinking that the one is still out there and my true love hasn't been met yet. I sat and thought about what would mean a lot to me and what love should be.

I thought that with all the of the verse and everything that states, but I also thought of some more things. I want someone who knows what he has when he has me, and I know what I have when I have him. I want someone who loves me like I love them and I'm not the only one rowing the boat in the relationship alone. I want someone who makes me feel beautiful everyday and thinks that I'm the only one out there and that I am good enough. I want a guy to remain faithful and not have to go to other girls for whatever reason he may see fit. I want a guy who doesn't pry about my past and I don't want to pry into his, I want a guy to accept me for who I am. A guy who loves my imperfections and understands that I'm not perfect. I want a guy who is a hard worker and isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. I want a guy who loves his family and treats his mother with respect. I want a man who values women and doesn't treat them like they are inferior. I want to be loved like my dad loves my mom, and my grandpas have loved my grandmas and my brother in laws love my sisters. And yes this list seems very long of all these things that I want but truly I would want a guy to expect all of these things from me.

I'm not rushing into love, or even looking for love, but the idea of actually feeling and being loved like that gives me hope for the future. It scares the crap out of me at the same time...giving myself to someone completely and having them do the same and both being fully invested. When you've been burned one time too many its hard to put yourself in that place to accept that you will love again.

I know I've been all over saying what I want, but honestly, I want this love for each and every one of you. A love that is not perfect, but a love that is true and pure and something worth holding on to.

The Middle.

"Take each day and make it last, cause you turn around and the future is the past, here and now its all we have, the beginning and the end means so little what matters most is whats in the middle."-Lauren Alania

Lauren Alania's song "The Middle" has really inspired me. Just the first few lyrics I wrote up there to share with you is just a bit of the song that is inspiring. It is so true, take each day and make it last.

Why do we allow our lives to get in lulls? Why do we just go through the motions?

Can we actually follow the advice in the song, can we really take each day and make it last?

I've been inspired because I'm guilty of lulls and going through the motions. I want to live the life that she sings about in the song, the kind of person who makes people smile when they look back they say things about you like, "The simple things were golden you found beauty in every moment"


"The day your born is just a start, your last breath is a question mark the story of your life is in the in between."

Just look at the people you love that you go to be there waiting in the waiting room (or giving labor to them) and think about how happy you were when they were born and you just thought this baby is going to have such a great life I'm going to love them and care for them and teach them.

And think about the people who have impacted your life who God decided He needed more. The people that leave us, either suddenly or we were able to prepare the best we can. We are sad because those people left our lives and we can't hug them or see them, but those people who impacted your life inspired you, they showed you things in life that you want to be, I just look back at the blessings I've had with the great grandparents and grandparents I've had the honor of knowing seeing the way they lived their lives and the life that they built and the families they built were so inspiring. The people that die "too soon" that we love, they tend to be the ones full of life too, the ones who make the most of life and are always so happy and loving, when you look back on their life you smile because they made the most of it.

Really the beginning and the end does mean so little, yes we as a culture find it important to base things on dates and I love birthdays to celebrate and I always think about my loved ones when the anniversaries of their deaths come up, but really the in between is what matters. Birthdays are just numbers in reality, the numbers that don't define us, what define us are the people we are and what we do with our lives. The way we live out the middle.

Take some time (more than you have so graciously have by reading this) and really listen to this song, I bought it on iTunes and I listen to it at least 10 times a day. Its so inspiring.

"The beginning and then end mean so little, what matters most is what's in the middle"

Stay Shining!

Don't ever let anyone have the power to turn off the bright light you have inside of you.

Unfortunately there are people out there who are terribly unhappy with there lives, and these people have a way of trying to bring a happy person down.

I've said before, "hating someone gives them too much credit." What I''ve meant by that is letting an emotion as strong as hate come over you toward another person is allowing that person too close to your life. A person that could drive you to actually hate them is not someone you need to be focusing on at all. Don't let them have the control over you to make you want to hate them. Because hating them is still letting you feel an emotion toward them when the only thing you should feel toward them is nothingness.

 I get sad when I witness someones light getting burned out by a careless person who is taking their anger out and whatever else drives them to be how they are.

What makes people so unhappy, so hurtful and so ungrateful?

Why do we let those people dictate our emotions and allow them to let us dim our lights that have the potential of shining brightly?

I think we should stop giving those people the credit. We shouldn't allow them to turn our lights even slightly dim.

You have a bright light inside of you which shines for the life that you lead, a life full of love and happiness surrounded by many good people. Shine your light for yourself and especially shine it for God. He will take care of the bad guys out there trying to bring people down.

I'm not saying it will be an easy task, some people are very skilled at making somebody else angry or flustered but just try it. Take a deep breath in those situations, smile and try to not let them affect you. Leave it in Gods hands remember He says for us not to "repay evil with evil but to repay evil with good."

Who will be there?

Without hesitation, without reservation you should be there for someone you care about anytime, day or night.

Family, Friends, Significant Other.

I think we get so lost in our priorties we forget about the important things in life, which aren't things at all, they are people. The people in our life that matter, the ones that are there for us.

Think about your last week who called, texted, took time out of their day to see you, Facebooked, Tweeted, got in touch with you. What did you talk about? Did you laugh? Did you cry? Did you share secrets or just talk about the contents of your day??

Now think about the people who contacted you and reached out to you when something bad happened in your life. Is your list bigger or smaller?

Normally we try to rise to an occasion when something bad happens to someone we love, if they lost a loved one, got broken up with, got laid off, or was diagnosed with an illness. We send flowers, write cards, communicate thoughout the week and let them know how much we care by feeding them, hugging them, listening to them, crying with them. But then after the time settles down we tend to let go of the constant communication, we get wrapped up in our own lives and forget to call to check in or ignore the text messages we get.

I have been though what I've considered as tragedies in my life, I've lost grandparents, family members and close friends and I suffered from a broken heart and during those times people I loved stepped up, and I was so grateful, but the times I feel the most grateful are the times when I get randomly texted when everything seems back to normal, or the days I get called or skyped or sent something in the mail. The people who still care when things are going mediocre in my life,when nothing is too exciting or too sad.

Why do we slack when it comes to every day relationships? Why do we leave the ones we love out of our everyday lives? How hard is it to pick up a phone and take five minutes out of your day to call someone once a week or every two weeks? Why do we get so wrapped up in ourselves that we can't make time for the ones who are there for us when we need them most on just an average day?

Take the time today to tell someone you love them, your thankful for them, or just to catch up.

And if someone you know is going through a hard time, be there for them in whatever way you can, and continue to do so after the rain even stops pouring on them.

The only thing we leave behind with the ones we love when we go are the memories we have with them. Would you rather only have memories during the highest of highs and lowest of lows or memories thoughout life, bad, good, and normal.

Just think about it.

Where Anger Leads Me.

Bless those who persecute you, bless and not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you live peaceablly with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves but rather give place to wrath, for it is written "Vengenace is Mine, I will repay" says the Lord. Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in doing so you will heap coals of fire on his head" Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good. -Romans 12:14-21

This is the Bible verse I turn to in my times of anger, when I feel like the bad people I know of keep getting away with doing bad things, that everyone sees them as a nice person, and maybe I'm the crazy one who sees otherwise. This verse reminds me, God knows what my enemy is really like, God is telling me that I need to not overcome the evil with evil, but overcome it with good. Man is it hard, you know, to actually take the high road, to turn the other cheek. That we need to pray for those who do us harm, cause us pain and make us hurt, and not wish bad things upon them. We need to be excited for when others are excited and we need to feel for others pain when they are down and crying. We shouldn't think that we are above one another, but we need to be humble in our lives. We need to treat everyone with respect, because we are all human and we should be living peaceably with each other.

Trust and Faith are the two words that come to mind when I think of this verse. We have to trust and have faith in God that He will repay the evil, and He will take care of us. He's our protector, He knows what is best for us. We need to honor him by being kind, compassionate and humble.

So when you are having a heart that is filling up fast with anger and you are writing angry letters, or wanting to punch them square in the jaw, turn to this verse, read it and let it calm you down. Let the verse work in your life, and remember, God has your back:)

Compliments :)

"I love that shirt"

"Your hair looks so good today"

"You look so cute"

"You are really pretty"

Have you told anybody something like this today?

Have you been told something like this by anybody today?

Compliments.

I think that compliments are key to a happy day. If you are the giver or the reciever and even better when you are both!

My goal that I've been trying really hard at is telling at least one person at school and wherever I may be something nice about them, about their hair, make-up, clothes, smile, whatever! Just something positive and something uplifting that makes someone else smile.

Think about when someone tells you something nice to you, it changes your whole day, shifts it toward the positive when it was headed negatively. Sometimes it can be extremely hard to take a compliment, but I learned a smile and a thank you is a great way to take one.

I think we get caught going to fast to forget about our neighbors, we all are in the same boat, am I pretty enough? Does this shirt look good? My hair look okay? We pick ourselves apart and we are our own biggest critics, and by being critics we turn negative toward other people, and that is a shame.

I think we should encourage one another, we should tell someone something little like we like their jeans. A girl in my class told me last week she liked my boots and I was so flattered, and they are just boots! But I smiled and felt good inside. I feel like that when I give other people compliments as well.

And don't just compliment people you know, although I'm sure they'd love that, but compliment people you don't know!

Go out and compliment! :)