Green & Labels

I recently gave away a few of my clothes. I realized that the labels that I was wearing did not reflect who I am. After all this time of blogging about "becoming who you truly are" and "to stop hiding under your armor" I realized that I myself was not doing anything about it. I felt like I was hiding behind my clothes. So after being convicted for some time, fighting with my feelings, and talking about it with my mom, I decided to give them away.

So the new vision of my wardrobe will reflect who I truly am. I started searching around the internet for non-sweatshop and eco-friendly clothing. I searched and searched and came across a couple of places that I deemed suitable for my requirements. Currently, I have not ordered anything due to the fact that I am not in need of new clothes. Interesting how that works out.

It seems to me that giving away some clothes seemed to be no sacrifice at all. I contemplated for so long about only giving away a fraction of my clothes that I was convicted about. After time, I realized that it was pretty useless to give away only some of my stuff. I was urged to go for the "all or nothing" approach.

I urge you to think about how you are labeled and how you label other people. It reminds me of a children's book titled "You Are Special" by Max Lucado. The only thing that matters is the opinion of your maker and He thinks you are special. A great quote in the movie Transformers is what Optimus Prime says about humankind:

"There is more to them that meets the eye." 

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."

Luke 6:37

It's Not About What I Want

There are times that I feel God and I are in debate. I want a certain something, and He is showing me something else. I argue, telling Him that I could do everything He wants me to do with what I want. He rebuttals, telling me to go in a different direction. I get angry, He stays calm. I lose sleep, He gives me energy. I get depressed, He brings me joy. Even though I wish upon many stars I forget that I am wishing against the thing that made the stars. As much as I wish I could have everything I want. I know that what I want and what He wants are different. I know that I cannot win, I know that He'll get His way.

So here I am, send me!

It's not about me, it's about You.
It's not about my will, it's Your will be done.
It's not about my priorities, it's about Yours.
It's not about my comforts, it's about You comforting me.
It's not about the easy way out, it's about the right way.
It's not about the people, it's about Your people.
It's not about my education, it's about educating others about You.
It's not about my hurt, it's about the hurt You already went through.
It's not about my failures, it's about Your successes.
It's not about what I want, it's about what You want.

My clenched hands do not want to give myself up, but I know it is no use to try. So arms open wide I dedicate myself. I trust in You, to send me through fire and flame and back again. For You are God and You declare,

"For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

The Kingdom Not Of Ballerinas...

Today at chapel we were entertained by a group of ballerinas that did not dance, but did another form of worship that looked a lot like dancing. I would describe the performance as beautiful in some respects, yet lame in a very obvious way.

So now imagine this. The stage is dark, the lights dim, and a voice comes on saying a pray for the people in the audience who haven't accepted Jesus as their Savior and then mix it with a bunch of stuff about blessing the United States. The prayer consisted of saying "Jesus" or some version of that every ten seconds and was said emotionally, yet not passionately. After the "prayer," the lights go up and a rendition of "God Bless America" blasts through the speakers while a waving flag projects onto the screen. Past Presidents and the Statue of Liberty even pop up on the screen as the ballerinas dance and move around. They pop up some words onto the screen that go with the words of the song. The words "God Bless America" comes up and added onto that was "we pray." So it seemed to me this was some kind of Ballerina Kingdom.

After that song they did "Hail to the King" which I deemed as rather frustrating. I sat in my chair, both hands on my face as it was shaking. They do some rant with American Patriotism and then sing a song to the King. Last time I checked you cannot serve two masters.

I was planning on showing the below video all by itself with maybe a few words to explain it, but the Lord works in many ways so I combined YouTube and Ballerinas into a blog. I like what the video says about the true Kingdom.