Latest Happenings

Hello friends

It's been awhile. I know the cardinal rule of blogging is that you are never never supposed to apologize for not blogging, so I won't. Bust just saying, it has been awhile. I've been busy. School, dance, Jesus, traveling. Blogging hasn't been a priority. It doesn't have to be. I'm okay with that, and I hope you are too. But, I want to do something. So, I began to think about what I could write about. Blank. Then, I realized that I could write about what I love talking about: missions! So, over the next 4-6 posts, I'll share the most memorable things I've experienced on past mission trips, and I hope you enjoy them. After that, I hope to get a comprehensive list together of all of the spiritually-relating books I've read, along with a mini review of each, so you can enjoy them too, since books have been a huge part of my spiritual journey. Stay tuned to hear about my adventures, from random dance parties to blunders in Spanish!

-Emily

Following God ~ a young person's guide

       One thing I have been discovering these past few months is that there are teens and young adults out there who want to know God and who want consistency, but can't seem to get the hang of it, so to speak. I'm not saying I know everything, but I have a relationship with God and I have consistency, and it doesn't seem right to keep my tips and tricks to myself, so, I'm going to be sharing some resources and ideas on the blog over the next couple weeks/months. First up: wanting it.


      You have to want a relationship with God. You have to be awe-inspired by your Creator in order to pursue a relationship with Him. I don't feel my words are eloquent enough and reading books that relate to God by famous pastors and speakers has helped me grow tremendously, so I'm going to recommend two: Crazy Love and He Loves Me. Read a chapter or two a day, journal about it, and digest it. They're amazing.

Why I said no to Africa///an update

       The nice thing about being a ghost writer (surprise! I'm not really Emily Luken) is that I can share a lot without worrying too much about what others will think of me. Cause you don't really know me... whether or not this is a good thing I don't know, but let's move on. Sometime around last Friday, I was having some desperation. I told God that I wanted Him to tell me to do something. I'm young, yes, but that's no excuse. Well, on Sunday, between services at church, I was talking to my friend and her mom. The comment of "you need to save up your money and go to Rwanda with us this November!" was made, and it stuck. I love to go. But I hate coming back. I thought about it, a little. Maybe.... Fast forward to Monday, yesterday, at Target. I was telling my mom about a cute notebook I saw that said, "I just want to explore." My sister, in all her innocence, asked, "you just want to explore Target?" I, of course, explained to her that no, I wanted to explore the world. Then, my mom said it. "Well, then go to Rwanda." To quote what I wrote in my journal, "really, mom, really?" Yeah. So that afternoon I did even more thinking about it. Financially, I decided, it was possible. Maybe... Then I checked the dates for the trip. November 14-26. Nope, that won't work, that's during the Mexico mission trip. At this point in my life, I feel more of a pull toward Mexico than Africa, because I can go to Mexico multiple times a year and build relationships. So that was that. And then this morning during my quiet time, I felt God saying, "If you're not going to go to Africa with the Jones" (the last name has been changed) "then you're going to help them get there." So, this is all preliminary, but it looks like I might become knee-deep in fundraising for a mission trip I'm not going on. That's what's going on in my life. A little odd, maybe, but I'm following God's call, so whether or not it's odd doesn't really matter to me.

-Emily

A Beautiful Mess

     If you know me, you know that I LOVE to journal. I do it every day, and it helps me to grow leaps and bounds in my spiritual walk. Every once in awhile I write something "blog worthy" meaning it is poetic and not too personal. I thought I would share one of those times when I did:

     I am sitting in my room. My room is a mess. My life is a mess. But it is a beautiful mess. It seems so weird to say that my life is a mess because I love my life and it seems so perfect right now. But it is not. I sin. It stinks, but it is true and I can not stop it. So why try to sin less? You would try to at least slow down the train that is about to hit you, even if you knew that you could not stop it, would you not? I do not know if that is the right illustration, but it can work. At the end of our lives we will all have different sized train wrecks and we will all be judged on them by God. How big our train wrecks are and what they look like will not determine our place in eternity- a person who does not know Jesus with a small train wreck will still go to hell and a person who knows Jesus and has a big train wreck will go to heaven. What is based on our train wrecks is our crowns we are given- the ones we will give back to God. I want to work hard to get those crowns so I can give them back to God. 

     I hope you enjoyed having a peek inside my journal. The writing is raw and not always grammatically correct, but it is what is in my heart and I hope I conveyed the overall message to you.

     

Believing that You ARE Beautiful

        The subject of beauty is one that is very close to my heart. I have never struggled with self-worth, self-confidence, or hating my body, so when I see a young woman believing lies about herself, it breaks my heart. Why haven't I ever struggled with what is so common among my generation (and all generations)? I don't know. It's a way God has protected me, I suppose. First of all, God has given me a beautiful body, as He has everyone on this earth. From a young age, it was drilled into me (that probably sounds bad, but it's good) that I AM a child of God. I'm His daughter, and He made me perfect. I've rarely been criticized for my looks. I do, however, remember one time when I was at a sleepover, around age 9 that shaped what I believed, and even what I believe now. What happened that day was both encouraging and discouraging. We were piling into my friend's suburban to go to church, and I was wearing what I deemed cute: a cream and purple plaid skirt, with a matching shirt. It was one of my favorite outfits. Then from the backseat, I heard, "Why doesn't Emily....." (the last part was inaudible) and another replied, "It's because she knows what's important- your insides and not your clothes." I was, of course, offended at first, because this was my favorite outfit at the time and I thought it was very in-style. However, after a few silent minutes, I was proud. My efforts, years if you can say that, of dressing modest and trying to be cute at the same time, were noticed, and I was, in a way, praised for it. I knew what was important. How I longed to hear that! I look back and wonder, "Am I the same person today? Do I still know what's important, or have I succumbed to this world?" That's what I strive for.
        So why do I share all of this? Well, it's a story that goes along with my point. Personal stories are powerful, or that's what they say. Today I want to talk about beauty, and how all women are beautiful. So first, why is this idea rejected? I think we all know why- the world tells us that in order to be attractive, have friends, or be successful, we need to wear make up, show our skin, or change our bodies. Everyone just wants to be loved and accepted, so in hopes of achieving such things, we do what the world tells us to. That's mistake #1. In today's world we pretty much need to do the exact opposite of what it is telling us to do. People don't get attention by going with the flow, but by standing out, like me sitting in that suburban, wearing what was *apparently* not cute (I still believe it was).
       Let me go off on a little rabbit trail for a minute: make up. It is so controversial, whether or not Christian girls should wear it. Perhaps the heat has died down a bit, but it is still a popular topic of conversation (along with boy friends and *sigh* yoga pants) For the purpose of this post, I googled, "Should Christian girls wear makeup?" The first result talked about how it's really what's on the inside that matters, but the outside still matters too. Basically, make inner beauty your top priority. The second result taught about makeup in moderation. Sounds good to me, because I just wear concealer and mascara (it has something to do with the fact that I'm pretty much the opposite of a make up artist). The third result (the last one that I'll share with y'all) was from Lies Young Women Believe, the website. Ooh! I like that book! (really, y'all, go check it out) The post was thoughts from boys about make up. The jist of it was that boys are okay with it, but not too much. So that's what the internet says about Christian girls wearing make up. I agree with it. I love what the Duggar girls say in their book, or rather what their pastor says about makeup- any old barn looks better with some paint on it! Cracks. Me. Up. I personally like make up that enhances my beauty: mascara to lengthen my eye lashes, or some concealer to restore the skin I had at birth. So that's my little tidbit about make up... It's great in moderation.
        So moving right along, why do we need to believe that we are beautiful? Good question. Why not just learn to live with the fact that we're ugly? Two reasons: 1) It affects the way you see God and 2) Why not just learn to live with the fact that you're beautiful? So first, how does it affect the way we see God? When we see that we're ugly and that's how God created us, we start believing that He makes mistakes, He doesn't make everything beautiful, and even that He's ugly. We were, after all, made in His image, and is His image ugly? Nope. Although we may not realize it, what we believe about ourselves does affect our lives, how we see God, and how we see the world. That just happens whether we like it or not. And secondly, why not just learn to live with the fact that we're beautiful? I think some women are afraid to believe this, fearing that we might be seen as vain. Let me tell you girl, that if you believe that you are beautiful for the right reasons, you won't come off as vain, nor will you care what others think about you. It's a win-win!
      What does the Bible say about your beauty? Psalm 139:14- I praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Song of Solomon 4:7- You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.
      To wrap this up, how do we believe that we are beautiful? It's a process. First, it helps to focus on the inner, not the outer. Also, write out verses about beauty (like the ones listed above) on index cards and place them where you'll see them, on your desk, mirror, or kitchen sink. Daily encouragement of verses spoken by MY Creator helps me to combat the lies of this world.

Thank you so much for reading! What do you do to understand that you're beautiful?
-Emily

Where He's Leading Me

        I've been hinting about this post for awhile. Hopefully all of that suspense will be worth it... Anyways, God is calling me to crazy places. Back story: about a year and a half ago, friends of ours moved to South America to be missionaries. I longed to go visit them sometime, for the adventure, for Jesus. Well, over Christmas they came back announcing a mission trip! I immediately talked to my parents (it wasn't a surprise to them) and they said it was a go. Early February I started fundraising by sending out letters asking for prayers and money. Fifty three of them, to be precise. I was overwhelmed! Not only did that alone cover the cost of the trip, it covered more than that! So, yes, I even had to turn away a few donations. That was the first confirmation from God that this was where He wanted me to be. Now, that all probably sounds sunshine and rainbows, but it hasn't been. More than a few people doubted that it would work. I had one person tell me that they would wait to give until closer to the deadline, in case it didn't work out. They ended up forgetting the deadline, so by the time they sent a donation in, the trip was fully funded. Luckily (well, not luck but God's work), they wrote it in my name (not my churches' name) so I'm using it for extra expenses. But other people have questioned me, and I have just been reminding myself of 1 Timothy 4:12.  And also, a big thing for me is that it's a twelve hour plan ride to where I'm going. I haven't flown since I was a baby. And to fly with just two other people from my church, neither of which are my parents, I'm almost scared. But not really. It's just crazy. I'm not sure if it's hit me yet. It might not until I board the plan. Nonetheless, I am so excited (as I wrote in my journal, "estoy muy muy muy muy muy muy entusiasmada) to see God work. This summer is going to be great, because along with going to South America, God has provided for me to go to not one but two overnight church camps- one as a student and one a as junior counselor. Last summer I did very little- VBS, leading a day camp, and some ballet. This summer? A mission trip and two summer camps! (Along with day camp and ballet, but unfortunately not VBS because it's during my South America trip) My friends, sacrifice is worth it.

-Emily

Is it Okay to Question God?

          I normally go on mission trips to Mexico twice a year, but because I went three times last year, I wasn't able to go on two this year, and so I didn't go this month. The trip is over, it went on without me, and I'm still sorting out my feelings. I questioned God a bit, asking "Why? Why don't you want me as a part of this?" Good question, Emily. The thing about Christianity is that the harvest is many, but the workers are few. (Matthew 9:37) So when something (time, money, resources) keeps us from serving abroad, what are we supposed to do? First of all, when it comes to questioning God, you have to trust. Trust that He knows, because He does. He has His reasons. Try to see it from all views, not just the selfish human one we are so prone to. Ask friends to pray for you and study the Bible harder than ever. But, back to the original question, "Is it okay to question God?" Short answer, yes. Rick Warren talks about it in his book The Purpose Driven Life.  (I really like that book if you can't tell) Warren explains that God likes it when we doubt, question, or argue with Him. Crazy right? He likes it because it requires communication, drawing us nearer to Him. After every exchange with God, I feel closer to Him and filled, even if I'm asking Him "Why?" In conclusion, questioning God is simply a part of being a Christian, and God even created it so that when we do, it draws us closer to Him. The best thing is to remember that no communication will not help or draw you closer to Him, so communication is key. Push through in the hard times. You have to go down in order to go up.

-Emily