Is there really a God?

Have you ever taken a moment to just look at all the things around you? The sky, the mountains, the grass, the oceans, the animals. Everything that makes up this earth goes together and works together for the survival of all living things.
Science is something that people use often to "prove" that there is no higher power, no master creator, no God -- But for me, science is the complete opposite of that. It is everything that proves that there IS a higher power, a master creator, a GOD.

I have spent much of my life asking questions, especially that include the word "Why?"

"Why do innocent people die, if there is a God?"
"Why do bad things happen to good people, if there is a God?"
"Why do I feel so much pain and suffering in my life, if there is a God?"

The "why"s of life are never ending. Something that I have learned from asking these "why"s is that it is not what we ask, but how we ask it. There have been times in my life when I asked these questions out of anger or resentment. Those times I have not really received much of an answer, leading me to believe that if those questions aren't answered, there's no way God exists. He can't even answer me when I'm asking about his existence, so he must not be real, right? WRONG.

At other times in my life, I have asked these same questions, but with pure intent and with purpose. It wasn't out of anger, but out of real curiosity and with the faith that I would receive an answer. So let me tell you what happened and try to answer those "why" questions that I'm sure we've all asked at some point in our lives:

Why do innocent people die, if there is a God? The first time I asked this was my 8th grade year of high school. That year was the hardest of my teenage years. Three different people my age, that I was either friends with or close with their families, died. Why, if there is a God, did these 3 innocent young people have to die? I asked that in anger because I was suffering from the grief I felt. I didn't receive an answer. I was angry.

Several years later, another death occurred that was extremely tragic and made me ask the same question. This time, I asked it to know the answer, knowing that if I had faith in God, I would get one. Although I still had that grief, I wasn't angry, but more confused. Sometimes in life, things happen and we don't really understand why. We may even ask, and still receive an unclear answer that leaves us even more confused. The best answer I can give to this question is this: Innocent people die, good things happen to bad people, and I feel pain and suffering because it's all a part of God's plan. When we take a step back and look at an eternal perspective, we see that death is part of the cycle of life. An earthly life doesn't have a timeline. We don't know when our time on this earth is up, but does it matter? If we are doing the right things, we should rejoice knowing that when we die, we are going to be in the holiest of places, the highest glory, among the most high God.

Something else that I'd like to point out is this: Pain is essential to our time here on earth. But why? Why do we have to hurt? Why, if God loves us so much, does he want us to hurt?
Let me ask you this: If you had never experienced cold, would you understand heat? Heat wouldn't be heat if there were no opposite. Heat would just be a temperature, not good or bad, but just it. But because we know cold, we also know hot. When summer time rolls around and we can't bear the 105 degrees outside, we talk about how we can't wait for the Winter time to experience that coldness that comes along with it. But would we appreciate that coldness if we hadn't first felt the discomfort of the heat? Same goes for coldness and feeling the warmth that comes in Spring and
Summer. We love that warmth when we haven't felt it for several months.
The same principle applies to the feeling of pain. If we didn't experience pain, grief, sadness, heartache…we wouldn't appreciate the feelings of being happy. We wouldn't know what happy was. For fun, I asked a group of kids what Happiness was to them. Here were there responses:

Haley (age 5) "I feel happy when I get ice cream after I've finished all my dinner."
Jake (age 8) "I feel happy when I go outside with my dad and toss the football."
Karly (age 7) "I feel happy when my brother gets in trouble…he's a stinker!" (This was one of my favorite responses)

I then asked the same kids the same question, but switched "what makes you HAPPY" to "what makes you SAD"

Haley (age 5) "I get sad when my ice cream melts all over my hands and they get all sticky."
Jake (age 8) "I get sad when I don't do what my mom asks me and she gets mad at me."
Karly (age 7) "I feel sad when…well, I don't really know. I guess when my friends are sad."

What simple answers. What profound meanings. These kids have such simple things that make them sad or happy, but what they all had in common was this: They knew the feelings well and they loved being able to feel happy.

Now, back to the existence of God… of course he exists. If you don't believe me, do your own research. Pray, even if you don't know who you're talking to. Ask God yourself if he is real. I promise that as long as you know the feeling of joy, sadness, happiness, grief, you will be able to feel the happiness that the fulness of God brings. What do you have to lose?

"There is no God." What an easy way out. What an easy excuse for everything. How can you explain that? "There is no God." That's the end of the discussion.


If you have bee struggling with the knowledge of God and his existence, I invite you to watch this video about a man named Todd Sylvester.

The Deadliest Disease: Depression

I close my eyes and just for a moment I am free. I imagine myself on top of the highest mountain in the world. I overlook everything and for a moment, I feel peace. I'm away from anyone or anything that could hurt me. All I see is the beauty of God's creation that we call Earth. I see tree's and mountains. I see the sun and feel the warmth of it on my pale skin. I can hear nothing but the small whistle of the wind and the trees as they sway to the movement of Earth's natural songs. And then I open my eyes.

Darkness, scared, alone, anxious, pathetic, selfish….depressed. 



This topic is one that is hard for me, or for anyone really, to talk about. It's extremely difficult when the whole outside world thinks that you've got it all together. You're always happy and you seem like everything is going your way. Why is someone that seems like their life is near perfect, depressed? 

If you've ever had to experience the feeling of depression, then you will understand the following situation: We'll call these two people Jan and Sally. 

Jan: "It's all in your head. You're making it way worse than it actually is. You can control your emotions. Just get over it. Move on." 

Sally: *thinks to herself*"Is it really just in my head? Can I control this?" 

Let me tell you the first thing I learned about depression: NO. You cannot control it. It literally has the ability to hit you out of nowhere. We all have those people in our lives that have never truly experienced the mental illness of depression. It is not something that we can turn on and off like a light switch. 

Depression is a very tricky thing. Some people that suffer from depression have what you would call a trigger. A trigger is something that sets off the imbalance in our brains that causes depression mode to kick in. It's never just one event that causes depression. That's probably the most misunderstood part about depression to the people who don't know what it's like. They often think that one certain event happened and caused us to sink into our depression. That's why they often make comments like Jan and think that we can just "get over it" and "move on". 

Let me explain something to those of you who have not suffered from depression: 

Imagine breaking 5 different bones in your body at once. Your natural morphine starts to kick in but you're still in so much pain. It hurts so badly that you get to a point that you'll do whatever it takes to just stop the pain. You are rushed to the hospital and they give you pain medication, but that only helps so much…I mean, you've just broken 5 bones for heaven's sake!! 

This is what depression feels like. It actually gets so mentally painful that you start to feel physical pain. When you get to that point, you want to just get your mind off of it completely. This is what causes people to hurt themselves. They would rather have their minds on physical pain than on the mental pain that they are feeling. The thoughts of suicide start to circle in their heads. 'But how can I be having these thoughts? My life is so great. I have no reason to be thinking like this. I have no reason to be in this much pain.' 

Trust me, we know. We know that we are blessed. We know that we have no reason to feel this way. But that's why depression is so tricky. People don't get depressed because they have a sucky life. People don't get depressed because they're lonely. People don't get depressed because they are poor. Sure, these could all be factors of depression, but depression, like I stated before, isn't because of any one thing. It is a mental illness. It is a mental imbalance. It's like catching the flu. We don't know when it's going to happen. We don't know how long it will last. We don't know how bad it's going to get. But what we do know is that, like the flu, we will get better. 

So what can you do to help your loved ones that suffer from depression? The answer to this is simple. We don't need someone to check on us every second of everyday. We don't need someone who walks on eggshells around us. We don't need someone to treat us like we're 5 years old. What we need is genuine friendship and love. What we need is a reminder of our purpose in life. We know that it will get better, so don't remind us every time we talk. Instead, remind us that you love us. Remind us that we have a purpose here. Remind us that there is no way in the world that anyone that matters in our lives would be better off without us. 

Here is a short video to kind of put everything I've said into perspective. I hope that after reading this post, you either 1. Know that you're not alone in your fight against depression or 2. Better understand the seriousness and how to handle your loved ones who suffer from this illness. 

Stop trying to be "Beautiful"

All of these women are what the world would consider beautiful, sexy, and everything that a guy would want. They have the perfect bodies, the perfect smile with pearl white teeth, the most amazing golden skin-tone, and hair that stays perfectly in place no matter what they do. These women are our idols. These are the women that we work our tails off to mirror. 

All three of these perfect women have something in common: photoshop and plastic surgery. 

So why then, do we work so hard to achieve something that is literally impossible? Why do we spend hours beating ourselves up because we don't look like these women? They aren't real. This picture that we paint in our minds of how we're supposed to be is what messes us up so much. Our generation's self-esteem is ruined because of these expectations. Now, while this blog seems to be targeting the unrealistic expectations of how women are supposed to look, this also goes for the men of our generation. Women expect a man that looks like Channing Tatum or Chris Hemsworth...Ladies, they're fake, too. If you set you're expectations on these people who are not real, then they will never be achieved. Don't get this confused with lowing your standards. I'm simply saying that maybe both men and women should re-check their expectations to meet reality. But reality is not bad people...That's our problem. We think that reality is horrible. Reality is exactly what we make it. We make our own reality. So if you think that reality is terrible, then maybe you should look in the mirror instead of looking around you. You have the power to at any moment to decide that your story is going to change. If you don't like something that is in your life, or if you're unhappy, then you have the power to change or eliminate those things. It's your story. You are the author of your life. 

Now let me touch on what is really beautiful: 

This little girl was diagnosed with cancer about three years ago. She lost all of her hair, her energy, and her childhood, but yet, she still smiles. She loves her story. She has a family that loves her, friends that love her, but most importantly, she has a God that loves her. If she can smile, so can you. 

These two children are victims of starvation in Ghana, Africa. They were able to receive help from the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund and are now in good health. They spent most of their childhood with minimal clothing, food to keep them barely alive, and wonder if they'd see tomorrow. If they can smile, so can you. 

You are beautiful. You are exactly what God intended for you to be. If there is anyone in your life that makes you think otherwise, then it's time to change your story. Change your story so there are no evil people. Easier said than done, right? WRONG. It's as easy or as hard as YOU make it. We tend to forget that things are the way that we make them. People are only in our lives as long as we let them be. Whatever is taking away your smile, eliminate it. 

Some of the best advice that has ever been given to me was this: Try to find a companion that is so focused on God that he (or she) has to look to Him, to see you. Only then have you found a man (or woman). The rest are only boys (or girls). 

The most important thing I want you readers to take from this blog is simply that you are the author of your life. At any moment, you have the ability to change anything. Stop comparing yourselves to those women that are photoshopped and have more plastic than a Barbie doll. Don't make that your story. Don't waste your story on unrealistic expectations. You only get to write one book. Make it worth reading. 

Who Controls You?

God has a plan for your life. The enemy has a plan for your life as well. Be ready for both. Just be wise enough to know which one to battle and which one to embrace. 

I feel the need to bring to your attention what the voices of each of these people will bring to you, so that when the time comes, you will recognize good from evil. Lets start off with a little chart: 

God's Voice: 

Calms

Conforts

Convicts

Encourages

Enlightens

Leads

Reassures 

Stills

Satan's Voice:

Obsesses 

Worries

Condemns

Discourages

Confuses

Pushes

Frightens

Rushes

Remember those things. Think of that situation that is eating you up right now. Who has control of it? God or Satan? It's up to you. 

We tend to let the opinions of other people control who controls us. The goal of this blog is to get us all to this midset: "I don't care what other people think. I care about what God thinks and what God wants for my life." 

This mindset is something that I've been working on for about the past month or so. It isn't easy. It takes practice and hard work. 

I was talking with a good friend about a week ago, and he told me something that I'll never forget. He said, "How do you expect other people to accept who you are when you don't even know who you are?" 

Now, this kind of caught me off guard a little bit, because I felt like I knew who I was. I'm a pretty confident person for the most part and I don't act like someone that I'm not. As he explained his comment further, I came to understand what he meant a little more. It's not that I wasn't confident or that I was being fake. It was more that I was too worried about things that were out of my control. I was letting Satan's voice control my life. I was worried and confused and frightened. Not a piece of me was calm or still. 

So, how do we get to that point where we don't worry about things that are completely out of our control? Well, it's easier said than done. First of all, you have to recognize those situations where the control is out of your hands. Ask yourself this question: What can I do to change the situation? 

If the answer to that question isn't direct to you, then it is out of your control. If the answer isn't something that you can change within yourself, then it isn't in your hands. If the situation is out of your control, then move on. The thing about people is, you can only help as much as the other person allows you to. Don't waste your time or effort trying to help someone who doesn't want your help. I've been down that road and I promise you, it isn't worth it. You end up drowning while you're trying to be someone else's anchor. 

The thing that screws us up the most in our lives is that unrealistic picture in our heads of how things are "supposed to be"... REALITY CHECK: NO ONE IS PERFECT. That family you see at church every week that has it all together...guess what? They don't really have it all together. That mom you see at the gym that brings her three perfectly behaved kids with her and is in tip top shape? Guess what...she's not perfect either. Once you realize that that picture in your head is Satan's voice, you'll be in a much better place. Satan is tricky. One of my favorite things I've ever heard is this: "Satan doesn't come dressed in a red cape and thorns; He comes dressed as everything you've ever wanted." 

It's so true. That picture is Satan. Stop thinking that your life is supposed to be perfect. Even when you get to the point of hearing God's voice instead of Satan's, your life still won't be perfect. It's all about your perspective and how you handle things. Your life is a result of your choices. If you don't like your life, then its time to start making better choices. 

In the end, it doesn't matter how many likes you get on your Facebook post. It doesn't matter what Suzy or John think of you. It doesn't matter how much money you have or what kind of car you drive. What matters is how you see things. Do you see a weed or do you see a wish? 

What is your favorite sin?

You are a sinner. You make mistake after mistake. Sometimes you even make the same mistake over and over again. You have a favorite sin. You know, that one sin that you hate to love and love to hate. That sin that you swear you'll never commit again and then you do it again anyway. Maybe you even have several favorite sins. You commit these favorite sins and then you find yourself begging for forgiveness the next day. This is a routine. Sin, slight pleasure, guilt, denial, realization, begging for forgiveness, and then repeat.
Now, hopefully by now, you have an idea of what your favorite sin is. Something has popped into your head while reading this blog post. And now you're in that stage where you're thinking about how awful you feel for realizing that you have a favorite sin. DON'T. Stop right there. NEWFLASH: It's not just you. Everyone has a favorite sin. Everyone. Your mom, your neighbor, even that one person at church that seems to have it all together and a one way ticket to heaven.
Now read this next sentence VERY slowly and carefully:

YOUR SINS DO NOT DEFINE YOU; What you do about your sins does. 

So what does that mean exactly? Well, too many people let their sins define them. They like to drink, so they're obviously an alcoholic, right? They like to go out and party every now and then, so they're obviously a trouble maker, right? They let the occasional curse word slip, so they must cuss like a sailor, right? WRONG. 

This is where the world gets so screwed up. See, the wonderful thing about sins is they've already been paid for. So does that mean you go out and sin and sin and sin, and it's okay because they've already been paid? NO. That would be like going bankrupt and then spending all the money on your new credit card just because your credit started over. You just don't do that. You learn from it.

Now let's go to the second part of the statement: What you do about your sins does. If you're the kind of person that commits a sin and then decides you're automatically doomed to hell, then you're probably right. Don't be that person, because it's not true. You aren't doomed to hell...
Get up, wipe the dust off and try again to be better. The number of times that you can be forgiven is endless, however, do not confuse this with thinking that you can sin and then turn around and be forgiven. That's not how it works. The problem with us sinners, is that sometimes we forget what repentance really is.

In Webster's Dictionary, the actual definition of repentance is the act of repenting; sincere regret or remorse. KEY WORD: SINCERE.
If you are sincere about your repentance of a sin, then you are committing to a life style change. You are saying that you will make a true effort to not commit that sin anymore.

So what will you decide about your favorite sin? Will it define you? Or will you overcome it and beat the title that comes along with it? Only you can decide. Only you can make your favorite sin become your favorite call to repentance.

Give away your sins. Let them go. Don't let them decide who you are. Defeat them. For if you give away your sins, you will come to know Christ.

He is the ultimate comforter. He is the ultimate friend and brother. He will be by your side when you're giving up on those sins. He will be there to be your cheerleader. He is not going to be only at the finish line. He is not in front of you. He is not behind you. He is beside you, every step of the way. When everyone else is gone, he is there. You need only be still.

How To Be Truly Beautiful

See, the world is cruel. The world is ugly. The world will tell you time and time again that you're not good enough. The world will tell you that in order to be "pretty" or "beautiful" that you have to be a size zero and have flawless skin. The world will tell you that you have to have the perfect body shape, perfect hair that curls or straightens to look like a Pantene commercial. They will tell you that in order to be beautiful, you have to look just like those Victoria Secret models. 

Forget the world for a second and listen to me. The weight on a scale is NOT what makes you beautiful. The $500 pair of designer jeans and that $1200 pair of Jimmy Choo pumps do NOT make you beautiful. 

What makes you beautiful is the way YOU see yourself. What makes you beautiful is when you can look yourself in the mirror and remind yourself that no matter what the world says, YOU ARE good enough. When you see yourself as beautiful, the world around you will see you as beautiful. When you are beautiful on the inside, it shines outward. Internal beauty extends to outward beauty. If you have outward beauty, good for you, but that only goes as far as the eye can see. When people can see into your soul, and they think THAT is beautiful, you have achieved true beauty. So be truly beautiful. Be the kind of beautiful that makes people want to be more like you. Be the kind of beautiful that makes people realize what true beauty is. 

It is so sad when I come across a person who thinks that they are not beautiful because they don't look like the people on the front of a tabloid. NEWSFLASH: Thats not real. Those people are fake. 

So take time and really think about what kind of beautiful you're trying to achieve. 

Here's a little video clip from one of my favorite people on this planet: Hope this makes you smile a little bit. 

His Grace is Sufficient

This talk given by Brad Wilcox changed my life. It helped me to realize just how loving and kind our Savior is. Please take a break from your crazy schedules at some point and listen to Brad Wilcox's words. I promise it will be time well spent.