One sacrifice.

I am reading the old testament, to be specific, right now I am reading Leviticus.  A lot Leviticus is setting up laws and rules for the Israelites now that they are no longer under Egyptian rule and now that they have a covenant with God to go to the promised land.  While reading this, though I find it all very interesting (God thinks of everything!), I also find it exhausting.  There is so much for Moses and the priests to remember! There are sacrifices for almost every sin, and then the sacrifices are done a different way depending on who committed the sin, what the sacrifice is, and then of course how bad the sin was.  It's no wonder they wrote it all down, I mean remembering that all of that would be crazy.  

While I'm reading all of this, thinking how many different ways you can make a sacrifice and how many rituals they had to remember, I realized the amazing truth, that Jesus did all of that for us.  Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice so that we would not have to go out and find the perfect goat or bird or lamb every time we lied (could you even imagine what that would be like today, I mean health code regulators would have a field day).  

He was the perfect lamb of God.  He was the ultimate and perfect sacrifice, so much so that we no longer have to remember what sacrifice goes with what sin, we just have to realize and remember His sacrifice and then ask Him for forgiveness.  That's amazing!  What a loving, wise and wonderful Father, that He would provide one perfect way for us to be completely forgiven. 

John 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Hebrews 10:1-10
10 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. ² For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. ³ But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. ⁴ For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

⁵ Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
⁶ In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’”

⁸ Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), ⁹ then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.”  He takes away the first that He may establish the second. ¹⁰ By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Singles have feelings too...

Some day's are just good days.  You feel good, you feel confident, you don't think about being single, you are focused and ready to conquer whatever life throws at you.  And then BAM!  Someone comes up to you, asks you if you have someone special in your life, then when you say no, they say something like, "Oh...  Well someone will come along soon, it'll happen when least expect it."  Well thank you married person, I probably would be able to not except it so much if people would just stop asking me about it!

Ok, so that's not really a good response to the comment, but lets be honest, that is what you would like to say (well that's at least what I would like to say...).  

Though many people mean the best when they are making comments like that, as singles it doesn't always feel like it.  I know for me, one of the most dreaded questions is, "are you seeing anyone?" (unless an attractive single guy is asking that, then it's a great question...)  I have literally told some of my friends that if the answer to that question changes, I promise I will let you know, but until then, please don't ask. 

An article on this subject was recently published in my favorite online/print magazines, Relevant Magazine.  The article was titled, "What Not to Say to Singles."  The list of three comments sounded very familiar, and honestly there could have been 30 more comments to talk about, but nobody has time for that.  It was a great article and it was nice to read that I am not alone, and almost 6,000 other people seemed to agree.  Below is one of my favorite quotes from the author, Debra Fileta, that really encouraged me, and will hopefully touch a cord on people that view singleness as an unfortunate event.

"Rather than try to make singles forget about their singleness, we need to challenge them to keep it in mind, yet not allow it to cause them to lose sight of all else. Embracing singleness has nothing to do with forgetting the destination toward marriage and everything to do with enjoying the ride."

Fileta recognized how needed information like this is and went ahead and wrote a fantastic article on "How to Love on Singles" on her website, truelovedates.com.  I would really like to encourage singles and non-singles alike to read it.  It helps us all recognize that there are other ways to encourage, and that we really are all in this together, single or not.

Thank God for brilliant friends!

Happy July 5th!

What can I say, sometimes we just need to keep the excitement going even though the holiday is over (especially if it's a work day).

Well if you follow this blog, then you noticed that it has been a little while since I last posted.  Ok you got me, a long while.  With the combination of me having writers block, not being able to focus easily, and this being probably the busiest year of my life, I have not been able to sit down and think of something legible to post.  I have had little thoughts here and there though, thoughts about my faith, my life, singleness and whatever else pops into my head (don't worry I won't bore you with half of it).  Most of it I have either kept to myself or shared on Facebook. 

One of my brilliant friends had a suggestion though; to start posting my thoughts and opinions here on the Such a time as this blog.  I say she is brilliant because of two things: 1.  She is and 2.  I hadn't thought of that and I think it's a great idea!

So thank you friend(s) for giving me ideas, inspirations, and motivation.  I am going to start working on posting more and just sharing my thoughts/things I learn from life and God.  They will not be very long, but since almost everyone is A.D.D., that's preferred anyways.  ; )

There is more to come with Such a time as this.  One of those things is a Twitter account.  I will let you know when I come up with the name, but it will be something along the lines of the blog name and then "single" worked in there somehow.  It will mainly be quotes, articles, Bible references, and then of course my own touch of sarcasm that relates to being single.

Thank you again for your continued support and please be praying for me as I continually try to be obedient to God's will for my life.  Thanks!

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Esther 4:14

"For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

One Day

Well congratulations!  You have survived Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, and President's Day weekend.  Though the last holiday is not even close to as tough as the other holidays, for someone that is single each holiday is a reminder that you are in fact, single.  You see all of the couples buying gifts for each other, spending special evenings together to celebrate, putting on Facebook pictures of the first (but of course not the last) holiday together, and then usually proclaiming to the world how amazing the other person is.  

And then there is us singles.  We put on our best face to be happy for our friends, admire their new pretty gifts, as we sit at home cursing every new engagement we see on Facebook of people that are usually at least three to four years younger than us.  I even considered this year to send out Christmas cards with a really good picture of just myself, and maybe my dog.  To sum it all up, it's just a difficult time of year for singles.  

I saw a movie recently that was about a couple, a couple that wasn't even a couple until the end part of the movie.  Emma and Dexter were two people that met in college, and over the next 20-30 years they showed us a journey of becoming best friends while almost becoming more than that at least once a year.  Then finally after failed relationships, life changes, career changes, failures and accomplishments, they figure out that they are the only ones for each other.  For most of the movie you end up frustrated at them for the fact that they didn't figure it all out sooner and get their lives together, but that is the exact reason they didn't get together sooner, they had to get their lives together.  Thinking on the movie after it was over, I realized how true it is for real life.  Though movies always dramatize and romanticize the story to make them more enjoyable for us viewers, there are still portions of real life that we see in them.  For this one, it was that timing is everything.

If these two characters would have "finally" gotten together any sooner, the relationship would have been a disaster and it would not have worked.  They had to experience life on their own before they would finally settle down with the one that they were meant to settle down with, their best friend.  I believe and am still learning, that this is just how it is.  Though we may think we are ready, we most likely are not.  Though we think we are mature enough, most likely we're not.  Even that time when we think that we are unselfish enough to handle a relationship, we most definitely are not.  Timing is everything.  

The most difficult part is we can't control it, we really just don't know who, when, or where that certain someone will come along.  What we can do though, is continue to live our life.  Continue to pursue our dreams, our ambitions, make new friends and spend lots of times with our current friends, and keep our focus on where it is meant to be.  If we do that, then one day we just might be ready to meet them, that one person we were meant to be with.

So once again, congrats on making it through the holidays in one piece.  Being single means that you still have a lot more to accomplish on your own, which is always an adventure.  This life adventure is to be enjoyed, so put on a real smile and get ready. 

Because wedding and baby season is just around the corner...

The Best Is Yet To Come

My pastor has been preaching about greater things lately.  It's a subject that really resonates with me because I have always felt a calling on my life to do greater things.  Now figuring out what the greater things are, is the harder part.  But I truly believe that everyone has a great calling on their life, whether it be a great runner, a great assistant, a great mom and wife, or even a composer.  The thing is, is that we get discouraged easily. "Timing isn't right," "I don't have the knowledge," "I have to wait to hear when to move," "this just isn't the time or place," and so on.  We are sitting waiting to make the next move, but really I think God is sitting and waiting for us to make the next move.  He's already given us the tools, because honestly if it's on our hearts to do something then we are ready to go.  That is what makes anything a great move: heart (well wisdom too, but I believe that if we seek guidance and pray, then the wisdom will come).

With the calling on my life, well I know I haven't met it yet.  It will probably take years to achieve just the first part, but I've learned that this time is precious and I just need to keep moving forward. There have been times (and still are) that I get frustrated with God and the whole timing of everything.  I realized today though, that He is a perfect God because He is true and pure perfection and truth.  If He met up with my version of perfect, then He wouldn't be true perfection.  He would be whatever I wanted Him to be and that is just not who He is. He is the alpha and omega.  He created such large objects such as stars as well as the smallest creatures, such as the ant.  He is the definition of what love is, and His greatness will forever reign (whether we like it or not... I'm a big fan though). His timing will work out.  It's definitely possible that I have taken a few wrong turns along the way, but they are what they are, I just have to keep moving forward.  I know there are people that think I have failed because I have not taken that step towards the dreams I once had/still have yet, and let's face it, I am not where I thought I would be by the age of 26.  But this is where I am.  No matter if this is where I was supposed to be, and even with it not being where I always wanted to be, this is where I am.  The great thing about it though, is that God still has greater things for me.  His promise to me will still happen, He still loves me no matter what, and His perfection is better than I could ever dream.  And the great thing about it, is that the same promise is for you as well. 

I'm not done living yet, matter of fact, I'm just beginning. As one of my main men sang, The Best Is Yet To Come.

"No one really cares"

I read an article yesterday on NBCNews.com that really frustrated me.  It is on the war in Afghanistan and the title is "No one really cares': US deaths in Afghanistan hit 2,000 in 'forgotten' war."

The article was on the main page's slideshow for about half a day, along with a slide that talked about celebrities in bikini's.  Actually the bikini story is still on the main page, just a different section, where the article on the war is no where to be seen.

What is going on with today's media (really I could say, what the heck is going on with today's society??!! but that is an bigger problem, so I'll stay small for now...)?  There are so many things wrong with this picture, I don't even know where to begin.  How about where the NBC news staff begins...

"KABUL, Afghanistan -- It was once President Barack Obama's "war of necessity." Now, it's America's forgotten war.
The Afghan conflict generates barely a whisper on the U.S. presidential campaign trail. It's not a hot topic at the office water cooler or in the halls of Congress — even though more than 80,000 American troops are still fighting here and dying at a rate of one a day.
Americans show more interest in the economy and taxes than the latest suicide bombings in a different, distant land. They're more tuned in to the political ad war playing out on television than the deadly fight still raging against the Taliban. Earlier this month, protesters at the Iowa State Fair chanted "Stop the war!" They were referring to one purportedly being waged against the middle class."

That's a sad statement, but it's a true one.  No one knows anything about this war.  They don't know that men and women are still dieing everyday.  They don't know that last week, two men were gunned down and killed by an Afghan officer they were training.  They don't know, that the men and women over there are getting shot at everyday, that everyday they still have to look out for IEDs, that they are losing friends, that some soldiers and marines are losing arms and legs from explosions, that helicopters are being shot down.  And what is really sad, is that they don't know that these troops are coming home with physical wounds and mental (such as PSTD).  Which means people don't know how to relate to them, which in our culture usually means that they just don't deal with them.

This really just made me mad, sad and disappointed.  Truthfully, I am biased due to the fact that I have friends that were and are fighting over there.  There is a quote from a soldier that is a depiction of how the troops feel.

"We all laugh about how no one really cares," he said. "All the 'support the troops' stuff is bumper sticker deep."

I even talked about this with one of my best friends that is stationed in Afghanistan and he said the same thing.  "We know the only time you all hear anything is if someone dies."  In my book, that's too late.

I am glad that most of the troops are coming home this fall (to be blunt...it's about freakin time).  I know they are proud to fight for their country and I thank them for that, even though their government and media do not properly show the gratitude they deserve, they keep fighting and are happy to.  That is a sign of true patriotism. 

If you are still reading, thank you.  I know it is a bit of a rant, but I believe it is important to remind people that it is not politics that are keeping us safe, but men and women that are away from their families who are putting themselves in danger everyday.  So please remember the troops.  And media...do your job and inform the people about their people.

My dog taught me a bit about God's love.... go figure.

This weekend was not one of the best weekends I've ever had.  I was hanging out at home Friday night (I know I am so cool...) and noticed that my dog kept biting at her side.  Finally I took a look at her to see what was bothering her and I noticed that she had bitten at her skin so much, all of the hair was gone from that spot and she was bleeding.  So to keep her from biting at it more, I locked her in my room at night so I could know when she was biting and I could stop her, so in other words, I did not get a lot of sleep.  Saturday, I took care of it as much as I could and tried to watch her like a hawk.  I cleaned it, wrapped it up, put ointment on it and kept her away from it because every time she tried to take care of it herself, she just opened up the wound again and it would start bleeding. 

Long story short, I took care of my dog all weekend and I just did not get much sleep because I was trying to keep her from making her wound worse. She was snapping at me most of the weekend because there were times that I was trying to help her but it hurt, so she would bite at me.  She must of gotten tired of me messing with her because she was starting to not be as warm towards me and would give me these looks of death (I don't know about other dogs, but my dog definitely makes faces...).  I was so tired Monday night that I finally got fed up from my dog seeming to not like me anymore, not letting me help her anymore and just ignoring me.  I was just upset and didn't want to bother with her, so I closed my door (which she hates) and went to bed.  While lying in bed I realized this was a great example of how God is with us.  We (or the devil) create our own problems and wounds.  God loves us so he tries to help us and show us love, but we just ignore Him or even get mad at Him for trying to help us, ultimately ignoring Him due to our anger.  But He still loves us and opens doors for us and gives us grace.  It's amazing.  

After a few minutes of lying in bed, I opened my door so she could get in my room, and when I woke up in the morning, there she was on my floor in her usual spot.  Love is a crazy thing, and this is love for my dog.  I can not even imagine what God goes through when we turn our back on Him, the God that created us and sent His only Son, to not just live for us, but to die a horrible death for us.  The two don't even compare to my story, but it's nice to know that God loves me so much, that He would just give me a little tiny insight.