Day 3: My View on Drugs and Alochol

I feel this topic has been wildly over-blogged about, but I shall faithfully do it anyway.

I don't really have a lot to say about drugs that doesn't sound preachy. The Bible doesn't specifically say anything about drugs specifically, but it does say lots about authority and submitting to it. As Christians we are supposed to submit to the authority because all authority is given by God. God has placed rulers above us for a reason (Yes, even the horrid rulers - How many times did God use Nebuchadnezzar to punish the Israelites?), and submitting to His authority brings blessing. Also, submitting to government authority means you can sleep at night with a clear conscious, with out having to worry about whether or not you are going to get arrested tomorrow. All that being said, drugs are illegal in the U.S. As such, we shouldn't use them.

Even if you don't think submitting to authority is a good enough reason not to do drugs, the Bible also says that our body is a temple that the very Spirit of God lives in. Drugs do horrid things to people's bodies, which is in turn destroying something that God values highly. Therefore, doing drugs makes God sad.

Alcohol, on the other hand, is not a bad thing when used in moderation. When you drink so much that you are dog drunk and have lost all sense of yourself and what is right or wrong and are killing brain cells by the second, that is taking something good and blowing it so much out of proportion that it becomes a bad thing. People who are that drunk kill innocent people. People who are that drunk destroy property. People who are that drunk have sex with random people (which they wouldn't have done otherwise). People who are that drunk say things they regret in the morning - if they even remember it. Drinking out of moderation is flat out wrong (and stupid to boot).

Does that mean that it's wrong to have a margarita with your dinner? Or to have a glass of champagne at a wedding? No. Jesus himself drank wine - he even turned water into wine. Clearly, if wine were wrong, Jesus wouldn't have condoned it so frequently. He even mentioned how he was going to drink wine with God the Father once he ascended back into Heaven. That's a pretty clear statement that wine in moderation is okay.

So here's the skinny: Don't do drugs, it's dumb. Drink some wine with your Italian dinner, just don't get drunk.

Day 2: Where You'd Like to Be in 10 Years

Ten years from now...Honestly, I have no clue where I want to be, if the "where" is referring to a specific physical location. If the "where" refers to more of an idea, things I want to have accomplished, then I know a little more of that.

Ten years from now I want:

• To be happily married
• To (hopefully) have some kids
• To be teaching English in a Texas high school
• To be engaged in ministry at church, in whatever capacity He so desires me to be in
• To be living in a house (as opposed to an apartment)
• To have a dog (preferably a black lab)

That's all the plans I really have, for now. I am trying to let life just happen as it happens, go with the flow and follow His direction.

Day 1: My Current Relationship

Where to begin talking about my wonderful relationship? Perhaps at the beginning...Yes, the beginning is good.

New Year's Eve 2009. My best friend, Justin Chapman, and his family invited me over to bring in the new year with them, instead of me sitting home alone like I planned on doing. After hours of family game time, we watched the ball drop in New York and "WOOHOO"ed our way into 2010. Even the moon celebrated the new beginning by shedding her usual silvery light and trading it for blue.

Par family tradition, we had communion to start the year off focused on the One Who Makes All Things New. During the personal prayer time after communion, Justin and I both simultaneously felt Him speak to us, telling us we would marry each other. This hit us out of nowhere - neither of us had even contemplated the idea of dating each other, let alone getting married! We stayed up until 5 A.M. discussing the idea of a relationship and all the ramifications of it. Our decision was that we would not make any hasty decisions, but spend time discussing it and praying about it. One week later we started dating, and we have been together ever since.

Some things only happen once in a blue moon, and she was definitely blue that night.

Over the past year Justin and I have continued to work on our relationship, growing closer to each other and to God. We've had our ups and downs, but we're stronger than ever and can't wait to see our future together.

This New Year's we celebrated one year together. It was the most beautiful night of my life.

30 Day Challenge

Today while skimming through my friends' Facebook posts, I received a challenge: To write a blog every day for 30 days on a predetermined topic. A year ago I would have shrunk from this challenge faster than a lion pounces on a deer. Now, however, I believe I can handle the challenge - more than that, be able to grow as a writer from it. So here goes. For the next 30 days I shall blog daily.