Life Is War

I am still not sure what to say about the shooting on Friday. It is shocking that a person can look at the faces of 20 children and shoot them. I don't care if he was mental, that's not an excuse to have no value for life, especially one of a small child.

And I am also in shock at the speeches Barack Obama made. I don't know if I should trust it or what to make of it and if he meant it, I don't know if I can trust that he is going to follow through.
Regardless of his good or bad intentions, what he said was true. We have to change. All of us. I cannot express this enough, people have been too lenient for far too long. Our society has gone insane, we embrace sin and indulge in the things we want. We get caught up in our own little worlds, unaware of the bigger story.

That argument you had with your coworker isn't going to matter in eternity. The outfit you wore to that gathering that didn't match? That won't matter either. The mess your kid spilled on the kitchen floor today, the fight you had with your parents yesterday, even the loved one that passed into Heaven last week--none of it matters in an eternal perspective. The man who shot all those people was angry over an argument he'd had the day before, and that's how he decided to deal with it. Sounds like ungratefulness and lack of reality to me.

If we don't change, this will continue. People get violent because they don't think the consequences are that large, and they think that only their feelings matter and no one else's. We all must stop looking at ourselves except to see what needs to change, and the rest of the time? For crying out loud, just love each other! There is no reason for any of this. There is a huge difference in simply disagreeing with someone and/or disliking them, and flat out hating them. That is what leads to these kinds of things happening. Stop hating the person, and start hating what they do! That is what will bring others to the truth, is when we show it to them in a loving way instead of treating them like they should know better, like they are the scum of the earth for not seeing it your way. If they aren't in ignorance, we must still be patient.

Life is not ever going to be easy, Jesus guaranteed that.

Life is war, and we are supposed to fight for our souls and for each others'. We are all called to serve God and each other, no matter what that may require. And when we are down and wounded, we can call on God to help us. Always. And if we refuse to trust God and see that...it's only downhill from here.

We just have to stop. That's all it requires. If we keep doing the same thing, we will keep getting the same result. Nothing changes until we do. Get over yourselves and your problems, we only have a short time on this earth and we have to make the best of it. Life is war, so get up and start fighting. And not each other, our war is with the unseen.

Goodnight everyone.

Lacey Sturm's Ransom Note

Better Days

I hear the popcorn popping. Dad whistling. My mom laughing. My favorite singer on The Voice (Cassadee Pope) singing on the television. I see the lights on our tree, Libby's pretty face, and I think, "Is this real?"

Dad has a new job, and he is like a changed man. You can tell the weight has come off his shoulders. I saw my best friends last night, and I love them to death. Kelsey is even getting into fashion, and she can totally rock the vintage look. My little sissy is growin' up!
And miss Kimberly..precious child. She makes me smile every single time I look at her.

Last year, I posted that all I wanted for Christmas was a chance to find better days. I can say honestly that this has been a very, very tough year. I can't believe we made it. Out of all the pain, the anger, the struggles, depression and even death of loved ones, God has still managed to bring me better days.

Yes, I know, we don't have long till the world "supposedly" ends. Which, by the way, is scheduled before my 16th birthday!! No fair!

Anyway, I thank God for better days. And here is a shoutout to the many people I know who are going through tough things in their lives-

Do not ever give up, my friend. If you are reading this, I know that you doubt you may ever make it, but I am telling you that if you stay patient and push through, you will. God will be there for you every single step of the way. He may not fix it, he is not a genie in a bottle. But he will work everything out for good to those who love him, even the ugliest things. Those things that are glaring in your face and you can't see past them. Addiction, fighting, cancer, strained relationships, financial troubles..whatever it is, let God take it. Just throw it. He is just simple, it is people that complicate it. He will give you truth no matter how hard it is to take and will love you through each and every thing.
I love you. Don't give up.


(Note: sorry this is secular, I couldn't find the Christian version. Lyrics are unchanged, I previewed the video.)