Comparisons

I know that I just recently entered a blog, but I had a little inspiration from my friend, in an unexpected form. in frustration, she told me to stop comparing myself to her. which made me think (oh no, here I go again... thinking. not usually a good thing.).

why do we always compare ourselves to others? "she is so much prettier than I am" "why can't I have her sense of style" "he is a way better football player than I'll ever be" "he can get all the girls, and I can't even get one" "she always knows what to say" and so many more things flood our minds and control how we think and feel, at least on occasion. personally it happens to me all of the time.

while this might seem "normal" to people, it shouldn't be. we shouldn't be comparing ourselves to our fellow man, who are obviously not perfect, but rather to Jesus. after all, he was the only perfect person to ever live.

so how do we do that, if he's not even alive today? well he may not be visible, but we can still talk to him. he's always listening and willing to help us out. digging into God's Word is pretty much the best way, I think. reading up on all the things that Jesus did, and trying to apply them to our lives. again, I'll make reference to Philippians 2, verses 5-11 about.

so instead of thinking of all the people around you and trying to morph into what they appear to be, focus on who Jesus was. be like Jesus, not like man.

Rain and Forgiveness

so today we got a some rain! it wasn't raining very hard, but I just leaped at the opportunity to do some dancing in the rain- a rare event here, where we seem to get surprisingly little rain. so I ran outside, plopped a towel by the door, picked up an umbrella (that would only get used sparingly, of course) and the fun began.

I had just finished watching Mamma Mia so I was singing (well more whispering) the lyrics to (what else?) the song Mamma Mia, as much as I could remember, and making up choreography to go with it. Using the umbrella, which came in quite handy. I had a grand old time, and finished my "musical number" off with some puddle jumping.

And I couldn't help but think about the rain. I know, I know, I think way too much.
Rain is so refreshing... and it made me think of how Jesus' blood washes away the sin in our lives (metaphorically) just as the rain washed and cleansed me (at least a little). how undeserving we all are of his love and mercy, but yet he offered it up so willingly... without putting up a fuss in the least... because he loved us that much. Wow.

and it all fit in perfectly with what I had been thinking about earlier today, during church. In sunday school we had read Philippians chapter 2 (I'd encourage anyone reading this to check it out) and then during church I had been thinking about some stuff... so I'd like to bring you with me on the thought train that I rode this morning.

okay, here we go. First, picture the worst death you could imagine going through. Whatever that may be. you would never want to have to go through that, now would you? if you would want to, you must not have picked the worst death you could think of. so keep thinking.

so, now think of this. think of the person you love the most in the entire world. for some of you, that might be a mom or dad, a sister or brother... for others of you who don't have a family (or aren't close to them, such as the case with me) think of a friend. if you're a loner, think of a pet, anything. you get the point I think.

now, would you love that person (or animal... don't want to be exclusive here! haha) enough to die that death you had thought of before? if someone came up to you and said you had to die that death or they would kill that person (or animal) the same way, what would you pick?

most of us would pick living. but Jesus didn't. and that is a truly amazing thing to me.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xO9MngQqa4