Marine Mindset

Well 'sup. I'm not Ariel or Courtney. I'm Ariel's younger brother Travis. I'm not really into the whole flashy, photo implementing, all over the place style like she is, so yeah. So, God kinda threw it in me to write this, and to write it about exactly what it's going to be about, and for you. And by you, I mean YOU! As in specifically, 100% you. Not the person I saw today while walking outside, or who I went to work with. It applies to them, but this is for YOU. Whether or not I know you. One of my favorite musicians, Aaron Weiss of mewithoutyou, told a story. “A farmer once had a horse. One day it ran away and when he told the neighbor, the neighbor retorted with 'Oh, that's terrible!' But the farmer said 'Who knows what's good and what's bad?' and remained content. The next day, the horse returned with a herd of horses. The neighbor said 'That's fantastic!' Again, the farmer responded with 'Who knows what's good and what's bad?' The next day the farmer’s son was out riding a horse and broke his leg. Again, the neighbor was sad over the misfortune, however the farmer, still, said 'Who knows what's good and what's bad?' and remained content. The next day, the military came with a draft, however due to the boys broken leg, they were unable to enlist him. As always, the farmer remained content.”

Everybody's had struggles in life. Every single stinkin person. Some worse than others, but never make the assumption that what you're going through has never happened before, that no one else has had it as bad as you, or that you're going through it alone. If you're anything like me, at some point every single one of those thoughts has passed through your mind. There are plenty of instances in the Bible where God places his disciples and other people in some of the hardest and most trying struggles imaginable, and He helped them every step of the way and even gave plenty of them GREAT rewards afterward. The best instance that comes to mind is Joseph. His brothers tried to kill him, he was thrown in jail even though he did nothing wrong, and after staying completely faithful to God, became the ruler of Egypt. Huh. Kinda did a 180 there.

 <<(Me saying goodbye to Ariel before I leave to for SOI in California)

“Joseph's master took him and put him in prison...But...the LORD was with him...and gave him success in whatever he did.”

Genesis 39:20-21,23 October 12(the date this was preached on in my devotional)

A few months ago I went through the toughest 2 months I have ever endured in my entire life: School of Infantry for the Marines. Beyond the hikes, the training, and the sleep deprivation, people didn't exactly answer my faith and Christian lifestyle with open minds. That last part was easily, and surprisingly the hardest part. Though they said they were Christians (who am I to judge, though) they made jokes about it that affected me more than they thought, and didn't exactly make my faith feel welcome. At one point, they even told me they hated me for wanting to go to church, throwing in a couple more cuss words, as well as telling me to perform some not so possible or favorable acts to myself. It just so happens, however, that immediately before I went to SOI (School of Infantry) my wonderful sister, Ariel, gave me one of the greatest gifts I have ever received: a Devotional with a passage for every day of the year that goes in depth on each. Through it, God has spoken to me more than I ever thought possible. I can't help but feel like that book was made for me. Without it, I would never have made it through SOI. I read it every single night, and almost every night's passage was about God helping us through turmoil. God was telling me every single day, as I was dying physically and losing all motivation, that He was with me, that He loved me, that He knew what I was going through, and that I would grow in faith from it. Always, always, always telling me, “Travis, keep your head high, show your faith with pride, and know that I am carrying you every step of the way, and with Me in your heart you will NEVER fall, and never experience more than you can endure.” 

“He guarded him...like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on it pinions. The LORD alone led him; no foreign god was with him.” Deuteronomy 32:10-12 September 30.

I was constantly called a bible-thumping Christian, and at first I thought “heck, no!!” and took it as an insult. Turns out, the heck it is?! I WANT to have a resounding faith, and to be known as “that God obsessed Christian” in the group, because I am!! He carried me through SOI, meeting me halfway so that I'd have to work, and test my faith, and every day He reminded me that He's doing this for reasons unknown. On top of the fact that, in the end, my faith will become that much stronger (which it has) and I'll want to pursue Him that much more. So of course I love Him, and I want people to know that! I can't imagine what SOI would've been like without that devotional. I did my best to keep God in my heart, and my faith is twice what it was before I left.

So what I want, is for you to take that last sentence from the paragraph before last, the one where God spoke to me, and replace my name with yours. Because what He did with me, He WILL do with YOU! He's just that amazing, and loves you that much. Awesome, isn't it? Don't ever think for a second that He's not working with you, or that what you're going through is too much. I can tell you from first hand experience, NO. No. No. No. No. Whether you need this now or later, everyone needs to know this. I'll probably have to come back and read this at some point to remind myself.

God will test you, and He will put you through trials, and you will wonder where He is. Tell “lucy”(you know who that is) to “SHUT THE FRICK UP!!” and know that God is your Father, teaching you to ride a bike. You'll fall and get bruises and all that good stuff, but as long as you know God's with you, He'll pick you up, smile with pride as fathers do, and you'll become one of the best bike riders in the neighborhood. God loves you, and will absolutely, 100%, positively, no matter what, forsake you. Please, don't ever forget that.

Travis

“It was good for me to be afflicted.”

Psalm 119:71 October 1

“Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of His servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”

Isaiah 50:10 October 7

“...dying, and yet we live on.
2 Corinthians 6:9 October 11

 

“Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave.”
1 Kings 8:56 October 23

 

    Yeah, just a couple of the AWESOME things from this book!!!

     And one of my favorite quotes from it...

 

“Said the Robin to the Sparrow
'I should really like to know

Why these anxious human beings

Rush about and worry so.'
Said the Sparrow to the Robin
'Friend, I think that it must be

That they have no Heavenly Father

Such as cares for you and me.”

When God Puts Me In Check

  As noted in our "about" section, I work for the elderly.

    You should know that I love it.

  So I take one of my clients to church on Sundays. We go to the church he's gone to for the 10 years that he's lived here. It is an incredibly traditional church, which I am no longer accustomed to. Growing up my parents loved them, but I personally haven't gone to one in over 10 years. Just tend to gravitate to the more contemporary style. Nothing wrong with either preference.
   You should know, however, that I tend to be incredibly arrogant and somewhat pompous. Here were my thoughts upon first entering this less than 100 member church that doesn't use musical instruments when worshiping and singing hymns:

• These people must be legalistic and pious
• This church will not teach me anything or help me grow in my faith
• I'm going to hate this

   And this is how I imagine God reacted to my over-sized head:

"Ima put that girl in CHECK"

   Here's the thing: when I worship, I dance and hop and shout and (guaranteed every time) cry. This church is not the place for any of that (well, minus the crying). So the Lord pulled down this giant projector screen in my me-filled brain and displayed in bright lights and giant letters,

"You REALLY mean to tell me that you can't worship me without guitars and drums and hopping all over the place Ariel? You mean to tell me you can't worship me solely with the voice IIII gave you?"

So, I piped down, took a seat, and said, "Sorrrryyyyyy", to which God of course said,

"It's ok baby. Happens all the time."

"So God, you obviously know better than anyone, seeing as how you made me and all, how to teach me things. Will you teach me how to worship you here? Will you help me look past the prejudices I hold, and feel your presence here?" And, of course, God replied,

"Shyooooot girl. I thought you'd never ask! Buckle yo seatbelt!!"

(God talks to me like this sometimes)

So now, I would like to make for you some new bullet points of what I found out about this church. I realized these bullet points quite literally upon my first day there with my client, and they have only been reinforced more and more every day I've gone since:

• The people at this church are more the example of what a Christian family, community, and church should be than any other I have ever seen
• I have learned and grown from this church IMMENSELY 
• I. Love. Going there.

The people there are so entirely consumed with love for one another and for Christ. They ALL welcome me by name, check constantly on my client to make sure he's doing well, pray for one another, support one another, and strive to live for Christ. These people are some of the most beautiful people I have ever met.

Now, about the worship. Boooooy has the Lord proved me wrong!!! So this church sings purely hymns and they sing them purely a cappella. When this church sings, it is one of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard. Sometimes I don't even sing just so I can listen to the pure resonance of beauty filling the room.  This past Sunday was pure awe-inspiring. I have no words to explain to you the magic that was cast in that chapel that day. I cried the whole time and was filled to bursting with the Spirit of the Father. And I knew at that moment that God had responded to my prayers. I had known for a while at that point that God was teaching me through that church, that He was with me while I sang to Him, and that my heart was growing for those people, but it was during that morning that I knew I was completely worshiping without instruments, without dancing, without hopping and shouting. I'm not saying those are things we should not use or do when praising. But what I learned is that I can worship and praise and glorify quietly also, with just the strings God tuned so delicately within my throat.

As always, I love you

Ariel

Dating Jesus

Here’s the thing: I’m head over heels in love with Jesus.

There’s a reason why I am....

We dated, and fell in love.

Yup. That’s about it.

A precious friend saw me mention Dating Jesus on this blog a while ago, and asked me to expound, so that’s what I’m going to do. Or at least, I’m going to try. For those of you who’ve experienced it, you know it’s pretty tough to put into words. But what the heck! Here’s tryin!.....

The summer of 2010, as I’ve said, was the greatest summer of my life. My beautiful friend “Sanni” has a mother who, in my eyes, is kind of like a female Paul. She’s lived the majority of her life for herself, but once she came to Christ, she came all the way, and is for me and for many others one of the strongest beacons of Christ’s light. So for this particular summer, the two of them (Sanni and her mom) decided to host a shin dig called “Dating Jesus”. Once a week we went to their house, along with a few other girls and women, read the Word and learned from the other women. For the first (but by faaaar not the last!) time in my life, I felt the touch, the sweet kiss, of our Messiah. I was told for the first time in my life that God wanted to have a personal relationship with me, where He could love me and woo me and spend time with me as my savior as well as my sweetheart.

“For God so loved [YOU] that He gave His only begotten Son, that if [YOU] believe in Him, [YOU] will not perish but have eternal life”
John 3:16

One of the women who helped lead it, we’ll call her “Fanny”, became especially special to me. I know now that God led her to the group to teach me and guide me, and o how she did! She is beautiful and kind and loving and compassionate, and through her beaming personality I learned how it looks to follow Christ as a woman. By the way, this is something I’ve been thinking about lately: Men who seek Christ above all else are sooo handsome, and women who worship and serve Christ above all else have an unexplainable beauty. Wanna know the reason why? It’s very simple math. The closer we get to God, the more He dwells within us, and He IS more beautiful than anything we will ever know. End of tangent.

I won’t go into every detail of the event. If you want me to, feel free to ask and I will, but the details are not what need to be heard from that experience. The fact is, Dating Jesus is exactly what it sounds like. We met once a week, read the Word together, listened to the older women teach us, and learned each of their love stories (with the Father I mean). It was incredibly intimate, and so, so, so sweet. We were taught how to date Jesus, and so I began to. I would go to a coffee shop and bring my Bible and read with Him. One time when I went, I decided on a whim to get a biscotti with my drink. When I handed it to the girl, she broke it and handed it back, saying “Now it’s free!”. He does sweet things like that you know. I’d pop some popcorn and cuddle up to a movie with Him. Sometimes we go out to eat, sometimes we stay in. The point is, we spend time together. He listens to and comforts me, and while I’m still learning how to listen back, it gets better and sweeter every time.

“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her”
Hosea 2:14

At the end of it all, we literally threw a wedding. We wore white and were given veils and rings, and went off to read prophetic words the leaders had gotten for us. To describe my elatedness and joy is literally impossible. On that last day, as we were sitting around, one of the women turned to me and said, “I feel like this has all been for you Ariel. Of course God wanted these other girls here, but this whole event was something He intended for you specifically. I just keep hearing, ‘It’s all for Ariel’”. The other women agreed with her sentiments and felt the same. He gave me so many gifts, spiritual and literal, that summer and ever since. I’m literally in tears as I write this part. Why the heck He saw me worthy of such pursuit I will never know, but I am forever grateful He did, and I’m going to devote my life to Him for it. Because of Him, I’m never alone. I never have to die. I never have to feel the depth of pain I once knew.

“Turn your eyes on Jesus and the things of this earth will grow strangely dim”

My challenge to you is this: date Him. Let Him woo you. That Dating Jesus event, and Him focusing so much attention on me, was what I needed and He knew that (He did make me after all). He woo’d me according to how Ariel needs to be woo’d. If you’ll but open your heart, surrender yourself, and let Him in, He’ll woo you the way YOU need. Go out with Him. Do the things that bring you joy with Him. Explore, delve into His magic, and give Him a little bit more of your heart than you already have. He. Will. Reciprocate. And it will be truly and utterly magical. Let us know how it goes. Ask us for help or advice. You’re never, ever alone. He loves and adores you.

I love you

Ariel

P.S. I know some people are annoyed by the term "dating" because we, as the Church and Bride, are married to Christ. My reply to that is, does dating end at marriage? Courtney and her husband have "date night" once a week, so I'd say....... not if you're in love it doesn't!

Best Metaphor Yet

I have a very close friend. He likes to explain everything in metaphors and analogies, partly for his listeners sake, but I think also partly for his sake, so he can understand what it is he’s trying to tell. A few days ago, he told me his best one yet...

Imagine there’s this guy who sags his pants, and doesn’t work or do anything. He’s a dead beat, but you’re madly in love with him. So you do everything for him, and constantly sacrifice, in spite of how and who and what he is, because you just love him so much. So finally, one day, he realizes that he’s going to pull his pants up, because he loves you too and wants to show you. Ariel, that’s how we are for Jesus. We need to pull up our pants and clean up our act, because when you’re in love, that’s what you do. You show it.

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth

1 John 3:18

I’ve been thinking about his metaphor ever since, because the fact is, I reeeally need to pull my pants up. The fact is I am doing a lousy job at showing Jesus just how much I love and adore Him. It didn’t quite sink in though. Not really. Then I was listening to a sermon online from my home church, and the pastor was talking about the fact that lucy’s (you remember. That loser whose name we will not capitalize because he is a loser serpent) number one desire is to be worshipped. So I thought, “What do I worship?”. Without a hum of a beat my mind answered: myself. These are the thought’s I’ve been obsessing over lately: I don’t feel pretty. I don’t feel strong in my faith. I don’t know what I’m doing with my life. My heart is broken and I need to figure out how to get over it. I don’t know how to live better for Christ....... That’s a lot of first-person pronouns. Basically, my concern is about Ariel, and how to fit Christ in. YEESH why didn’t I see this before?!
 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 
Galatians 2:20

My revelation: EYES ON HIM ARIEL.

So now, instead of focusing on my broken heart from some guy, or my lack of knowledge on where I’m going in life, or any of that other junk, I’m just going to think about my Sweetheart. I’m going to focus my energy and attention on Him, because I’m in love, and that’s what you do when you’re in love. I’m going to live day by day, knowing that He’s stitching my heart back together and I don’t need to worry about it, and just wonder how I can better serve Him today. Who can I love for you Father? How can I show you my adoration, my obsession, my gnawing desire for you? Forget Ariel. He’ll take care of her in His time. My eyes are set on Someone else, and I tell ya. So far? It’s been a pretty sweet love affair :)


With love and hope and faith in the Man who promises to never tell me He’s lost His passion for me or can’t marry me,
Ariel

“Love is passion, obsession, someone you can’t live without”
Meet Joe Black

God + _____ = Enough

    Huh.

    Dangit.

    Aww maaan.

    Just thought I'd fill ya'll in on what went through my head after I heard this phrase. Hopefully the same ones don't go through yours. Let me start from the beginning...

    Once upon a time (actually about three months ago), I was sitting in a room with a bunch of awesome, God-fearing women. One of them told us all this phrase: God plus blank equals enough. She followed it with "What's ya'lls blank?". Instantly, without a second to spare, my head-voice (you know. The one that's in your head. Not the bad one. Just your head-voice. Ya feel me?) shouted out "HUSBAND!". Quickly after this came the words from above: Huh... Dangit....... Awww maaan!

    There should be nothing there, right?! My blank should BE blank! It should be A blank! But, ever since I can remember, I have dreamt of being married. I am a hopeless romantic, and have massive dreams about what my husband will be like and how we'll live together. Soo.... not being married is literally not anything I have ever considered.

 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols
1John 5:21 (You best believe a husband has been one of my idols for a loong time)  


    The night my friend told me about this phrase, I was dating someone. Well..... dating is a light term here. I was with who I thought to be my soulmate. He and I talked very often about marriage, and even had plans for it. After I considered what my blank was, I became terrified about losing him because I knew I shouldn't need a man to be content. Sure enough, a week later he broke up with me. Shattered my heart is really a better way to put it.

  Please don't misunderstand me. I don't believe that God separated us because he wanted to teach me a lesson. I think the guy was just an idiotic moron. Just kidding.... Really.

  Moving on......

 I've been pondering and praying about this phrase ever since. Is it wrong that I want a husband? Of course not. It is a God-given desire, and is absolutely justifiable and right. Wanting, nay, needing, a husband in order to feel fulfilled in life is what is unjustifiable. My contentment, as I have learned, is fully in the Lord. I believe that the Lord has given me desires and dreams for a reason and that He is faithful and will honor them. BUT, if I live the rest of my life single, I will forever remain joyful, sustained, and content.

For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances 
Philippians 4:11 (I should note that this was written by the guy who sat in prison for his beliefs and was beaten to a pulp countless times.... and he was single while he did all of it)
Be joyful always
1Thessalonians 5:16
But godliness with contentment is great gain
2Timothy 6:6 

    Thing is, I am not the only person to have a word in that blank. Words that I've seen in it are "money", "a big house", "a nice car", "a successful job"...... most of it revolves around materialism, obviously. We are in America, and this is a blog about Christians in America, after all. Actually it's about Americans who are Christian, but more on that later. My point is, our focus is on the wrong point. Our eyes should be on Christ and His Kingdom, but too often they are on things (inanimate things, mind you) on this earth. Pursuing money, marriage, success.... all of it will fade away. God never changes, never leaves, never forsakes. That boy I dated let me down and broke all the promises he made to me. God, in His mind-blowingly beautiful faithfulness and kindness, has kept every single promise He's made to me. He is with me every day, He loves me unconditionally, He fights for me (literally to the death!), and He never changes His mind! God is so. Good. Of COURSE I can find my contentment in Him! God + ____ really DOES = Enough!!!
God has said "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you"
Hebrews 13:5
If we are faithless, He will remain faithful
2Timothy 2:13
     What's your blank? Do you disagree and think it's ok to have a blank? All opinions are welcome :) So long as they are presented in kindness, maturity, and love!

      Thanks for reading about my blank. I love you!

Ariel

    

Random Post After A Long Drive Home

So I drove to my parents home yesterday for Christmas. It’s only a four hour drive, but quite a lot can happen on these drives I’ve found. Allow me to share with you the thoughts that went on in my mind (brace yourself. You’ve been warned). I should note that for the majority of it, I was praying about what to write about for this post...


My drive began with a cd I made (I don’t want to toot my own horn but, toot toot, I make awesome mix cd’s). So, I started my drive by singing so loud and so much that my voice hurt. Let’s be honest. You simply cannot listen to Jesus Culture without shout-singing. So, that was fun.

Humility.

Listening to Dance With Me by Jesus Culture (one of my absolute favorites) I daydreamed about dancing with Jesus. O I’m sorry. You didn’t already know I’m a weirdo? You’re going to start to find that out if you keep reading this blog. Courtney’s very normal though, so you can find comfort in that





Humility.

What music would I get if I had an itunes card that never ran out of money? I couldn’t really comprehend the vast amount of music I would get but, needless to say, I’d be buying music every day for a loooong time.

I hope my husband (someday... if he exists) sings to me like a mixture of Newton Faulkner, Joe Purdy, and John Mayer. And I hope he sings to me alll the time. With his guitar. 

This prompted me to daydream about being married some day, and what I hope my husband is like. I really hope I’m not the only girl who does this.... Anyway, he’ll have a nice thick beard, and dreadlocks, and glasses, maybe a bit of a pudgy tummy, and he’ll wear button down shirts with his sleeves rolled to his elbows, and he’ll sing and play guitar and the harmonica, and he’ll be so sold out to God that I can always look to him and find Christ, and he’ll think I’m the greatest lady to ever live. That last one’s a bit of a stretch, but that’s ok because it’s a dream.

Humility.

What the heck am I going to write about?

Humility.

Exclaims “CARROOOTS!!!! YES!!!”. I packed snacks for the ride, including grapes, carrots, triscuits, and fruit snacks. I had eaten everything else, so I went for the fruit snacks when my hand felt something else... carrots! Clever little me had only eaten half and then put the rest back in the bag so I could save the good stuff for later. I was a very happy camper at this point.

Humility.


Munches on my carrots, and ponders the fact that I love crunchy foods. Carrots, snap peas, celery, bell peppers, crackers.... you name it. What does this say about me? Can you tell something about a person’s personality by the texture of food they like? I don’t really like mushy food. Why is this?

This prompted me to think about my oral fixation, as Freud would call it. Something about how often I was or liked to be fed as an infant. I haven’t left that stage, so now I’m orally fixated. I love to munch on things, drink things, chew gum, suck on lollypops, kiss (sorry. That’s awkward), smoke cigars.... What does this say about me? I’m such a weirdo.....

HUMILITY!!!

THE HECK?! This dang word had been popping into my head all stinkin day, but nothing ever came along with it! The fact of the matter is, I am entirely not humble. I’m arrogant, greedy, and self-centered. So humility is something I very much desire in my life. I think about it allll the time. How can I be more humble? How can I get rid of Ariel, and replace her with Christ? Here’s why I’m having a hard time with that: I’m so dang arrogant that I don’t want to get rid of Ariel. It’s incredibly frustrating!! But how on earth is HE going to shine through, when I’m so busy thinking about making myself shine?? Here’s what I need to do: BE. PATIENT. Another something that I’m just not good at, although I’m getting better. Why? Because of GOD. He’s the only reason I have any good qualities to begin with. He is helping me to be more patient, less bitter (specifically towards men, who as of late I’ve basically hated save for Daddy and my brothers), less angry (something I’ve always struggled with), and, especially recently, less proud. So maybe what I need to do to work toward a more humble character is simply to acknowledge God in not only my accomplishments but in all of my endeavors. Yes, I was able to pay for gas to get home when I didn’t think I’d be able to. That’s because our Provider provided for me, just like He promises He will. Yes I painted that for you. The only reason it looks nice is because God moved my hand, because I have zero artistic talent. And maybe the biggest thing I need to do is stop listening to myself, who might, in fact, not actually be me. Maybe it’s some loser named lucy (remember, we’re not capitalizing his name) who tries to tell me that everything I do is wrong. That I’m a selfish fool who is still being arrogant even when I give it all back to God. Maybe I just need to proclaim His promise over me, and listen only to Him. Or maybe, most certainly, I should have stopped thinking about myself and thinking about foolish things on the drive home and just prayed. Without ceasing. Maybe when I want to talk about me (which is too often) I should talk about Him and to Him. Maybe that’s what He was trying to tell me during that whole drive....

This is one of my greatest struggles: being humble. Is it this hard for you? How do you deal with it? Do you have other struggles you face? Tell us about them. It’s always nice to not feel alone in these things :) Thanks for reading my crazy rant! I love you!
Ariel




Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Philippians 2:3

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

Romans 12:3

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Colossians 3:12

P.S. Here’s the soundtrack to my drive:
You Are by Colton Dixon
Long Way Home by Steven Curtis Chapman
Dance With Me by Jesus Culture
Let It Rain by Jesus Culture
You Won’t Relent by Jesus Culture
Where You Go I Go by Jesus Culture
Old Pine by Ben Howard
Tenuousness by Andrew Bird
I Need Something by Newton Faulkner
Teardrop by Newton Faulkner
I Would Die For You by Matt Walters
On Top Of The World by Imagine Dragons
Radioactive by Imagine Dragons
Isn’t Love by Joe Purdy
I Love The Rain The Most by Joe Purdy
Losing You by John Butler
Ocean by John Butler