Day 26: Z is for Zeal

   Finally! I've made it! Welcome to my last post of the A-Z Challenge, where I'll be talking about zeal.

   You've probably realized by now that I really love life. I think it's important for everyone to love their lives, and to live them to the fullest, because that's what zeal really is. Zeal is taking life's reigns, handing them over to God, and saying, "Here You go. You know what's best for me. Help me to live it out."

   To be fully Alive, you must embrace the Beauty that makes you you. You must be Courageous. You must Delight in the little things. You must strive for Elegance. You must be a Firework. You must learn to be Grateful for everything, even your crosses. You must be Humble. You must learn to use your Imagination. You must learn to be Joyful and Kind at all times. You must think Lovely thoughts. You must learn to recognize the Magic around you. You must go deeper than simply being a "Nice" Christian. You must fall in love with your Originality. You must acknowledge your Passions, and use them. You must become a Quantrelle, the woman God made you to be. You must strive for true Romance. You must be the Sunshine in someone's cloudy day. You must find your Team. You must accept the beauty of Uniqueness. You must understand your Value. You must be like a Wildflower, and grow where you are planted. You must stand up for what you believe in, like Malcolm X says. You mustn't let anyone tell you you're too Young to be important to the world. Only then will you live a truly Zealous life.

Day 25: Y is for Youth

◄  1 Timothy 4:12: "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity."
   Today's youth has a lot of problems. Some of us don't care enough about school. Some of us drink and do drugs. Some of us think all there is to life is being rich and having as much fun as possible. We've been called the worst generation yet. We've been told we're stupid. People have said that the world is doomed, because what will happen when we start to run the world? Many adults have lost faith in humanity because of us. They look down on us, and treat us like babies. And they're right: there are some teenagers who skip school and drink and do drugs and party every night. But I want to tell those adults that there are other, different teens out there. There are still some who care. There are smart ones. There are some who strive to make a difference. There are some who only want to love. Have a little bit of hope.
   Don't ever let anyone look down on you because you're young; don't ever let anyone tell you your dreams and goals will never be reality. Let's set an example in our speech, our conduct, and our love. Let's prove them wrong, and be the generation that changes the world for the better.
  

Day 24: X is for Malcolm

   Yeah, you heard that right. "X" is for Malcolm. Malcolm X, that is.

   Today while I was scrolling through Pinterest (I do that quite a lot), I found this Malcolm X quote: "A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything." How relevant is this for modern day Christianity? I've seen it a thousand times: a Christian who vows to be quiet about their beliefs because they don't want to "shove it down anyone's throats," so they pretend they don't really have the morals that they do. Then when anyone wants to do something that goes against that person's beliefs, they just go along with it, because they don't want to be called "weird" or labelled as a "Jesus freak." Not only have I seen this happen, but I've been this person.
   Jesus told us to love one another, and by staying quiet, I thought that was what I was doing. But the truth is, love isn't just making people happy. Love is willing the greatest good for someone, and the "greatest good" is heaven. So if you go along letting people commit any sins they want, that's not loving them. Sure, we're not supposed to be haughty and pushy and "holier than thou," but we're also not supposed to be passive.
   Christians are supposed to be Jesus' warriors here on earth; we are supposed to be fighting evil, not standing by and letting it happen.
   Instead of falling for sin, let's pray to God and ask Him to grant us the strength to stand for goodness, purity, and real love.

Day 23: W is for Wildflowers

"Let her be a wildflower. Let her grow up through the messy earth that she's not supposed to grow through. Let her turn her face up to the sun and let her petals shine. Let her dance in the rain and sway in the wind, for it will make her stronger. Let her grow. Let her be. When the time is right, when her petals are wilting, cut her free and hold her and place her beauty somewhere it will be seen. But for now, let her grow wild." -me (I call it my hippie poem)

Day 22: V is for Value

(So sorry for posting two days late! I had a crazy weekend full of babysitting, dance, a 5k, and dodgeball. Now I'm finally back to celebrate the last week of the A-Z Challenge!)

   Today I was watching a Jason Evert talk on YouTube, because that's what Catholic girls really do when they're supposed to be doing school, and something he said really hit me. He said that women were the crescendo of God's Creation. Think about it: God created light and land and the seas and giraffes and fish and elephants and bears and all kinds of crazy animals; then he created man, and finally the woman. We were the climax, the final touch.
   Jason continued talking about how women are God's most beautiful creation. After all, guys don't get addicted to looking at pictures of rainbows and sunsets on the internet. It's the beauty of a woman that (sadly) can get addicting.
   Satan will try to whisper in our ears and feed us terrible lies, saying that we're "irrelevant" or "unimportant" or "worthless", but quite frankly, that's total BS. God Himself has proven that every woman has incredible beauty and value.
   Remember: your value doesn't decrease based on someone's inability to see your worth. God always sees it, and He wants you to see it too.

Day 21: U is for Unique

   For as long as I can remember, human beings have fascinated me. We're all unique, and yet completely the same; so similar, yet absolutely different. There is something so beautiful about the different personalities and skin colors and languages and cultures of the human beings of this world, and I want to share that beauty with you.
   I know this is a blog for writing, but sometimes pictures really are worth a thousand words.

"Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else." -Margaret Mead

Day 20: T is for Teamwork

   When it comes to Christianity and deepening their relationship with Jesus, many people feel like they need to do it alone. They think, Well if I can just get over this sin, if I can just do better at this, maybe talking to Jesus will be easier; maybe I'll finally have a relationship with Him. But I'm going to be honest with you: you can't do it alone.
   We are the Church. We are the body of Christ. We are a family, and we're in this together. So why do we think we need to do it alone, when there are so many people willing to help us?
   St. Thomas Aquinas once said, "There is nothing on earth more prized than true friendship," and I know this to be true. You see, for a friendship to be true, it must have love. And if love is not just a feeling, but is also willing the greatest good for someone, then we should be working to bring our friends to heaven. After all, heaven is the greatest good there will ever be.
   This is why we must choose our friendships carefully. We might be having so much fun with someone that we don't realize they're taking us down a path we never meant to go down. If we're truly to be good friends, we must fight for one another's souls.
   I've been extremely blessed in having amazing friends. I even have two small groups of girlfriends that get together and study the bible or a Christian book, and I can't tell you how much they've helped me. Having people joyfully carry their crosses right along side you will make it so much easier.
   Tonight I challenge you to take a good long look at all of your friendships. If there is anyone who has pressured you into sinning in any way, it's time to let them go. In the end, the amount of fun you had won't make up for the sadness you'll feel when you can't be with God. And make sure you cherish the friendships that are bringing you closer to Jesus, because they will help you reach the eternal happiness that we're all searching for.