a little respect.

i think this blog has been a long time coming.
i guess, oh.. over the past couple years or so, i've noticed how much this generation seems to be changing. and, kinda like this year, it's happening so fast. people- us- we- are changing so quickly. it's been hard to put into words, but today it all came to the surface and i have a few things to say about it.

it's sunday, so of course we went to church. i don't skip church. my parents raised me and my sisters to believe that unless you are in a hospital bed about to die, you go to church. my father, who is a pastor, also set a certain "standard" for us growing up- that you bring God your best. he calls it excellence- whatever you might say for it- in a nutshell, it means respecting Jesus.

this morning i went to church with my older sister. her and her husband are members of a church with a pretty young crowd. we sat in front of a row of teenagers. for the most part, teenagers can be a little unpredictable. but i expected them to be at least on semi-good behavior considering we were at church. however... i was wrong.

now, i'm not 87 years old. and i don't think that just because you're in God's house you need to be boring and lifeless. i can get past the occasional whispering to each other, and it doesn't even bother me when people pass notes. however- today- something took the cake. one of the young girls behind me (who was probably 14 or 15) decided she was going to take off her shoes and prop her bare feet up in the chair next to me during the sermon.

of course... you can imagine the millions of things i wanted to say to her. she was sitting between two teenage boys. and i don't know if she thought it would impress them to do this, or if she was just trying to get a laugh... ugh. i don't even know her, and she disappointed me.

this blog is about that girl. it's really about any girl like her. and it's about us. you and me. it's about mothers that haven't raised their daughters right. it's about youth pastors that don't teach kids how to act in church. it's about adults in church not leading by example. (!) it's about everyone, collectively, thinking that because God love us in spite of our sin, that He is perfectly o.k. with us presenting our second best to Him.

for the record:

1. no matter how a building is decorated or designed, no matter how impressive the lights/sounds/effects are, no matter how many people show up - if it's a place designated to worship God, then it should be considered pretty special. way back in the Old Testament, the word used would be "holy" which means set apart. so church isn't like your living room. church isn't your back yard.

you don't throw trash on the floor, you don't stick gum under the seat, you don't show up looking like you just rolled out of bed, and you don't prop your feet up and sit back like you're about to watch a re-run of 'sweet home alabama' on tbs.

2. i vividly remember that up until you are about 22 or 23, you are on a day-by-day journey figuring out who you are as a person. so i know that being a teenager can be tough, because one of the things that you really want SO badly is just to feel accepted and loved. you want your friends to like having you around.

but something that you will always need, and something that will make people genuinely like you, is respecting yourself. the word respect is so powerful. it is an honor to have someone respect you for who you are. to be true to yourself. no one... no one... is ever going to respect you until you respect yourself.

so ask yourself, what am i projecting to others around me on a daily basis? if i don't care what i say, or how i phrase things. if i don't care how i dress. if i don't care that someone finds it distracting if i put my feet up during church. if i don't care enough to pay attention to what God is doing. if i don't care enough to give him 2 hours of my entire week on sunday. do i come across as someone who has self respect?

3. the grace message is a beautiful message. the story of God's mercy will never get old. the verses on how often Jesus was moved by compassion for others are endless. we should never forget how much He loves us. He made each one of us completely unique from each other. He took the time to design us in all of our billions of different ways. He is loving, He is kind, He is generous and gentle.

but we know this about Him. and we take advantage of it. who do we think we are? taking advantage of the one true God. the only one, who, in spite of all of our screw-ups... is passionately in love with us.

we give Him our leftovers.. we are tired from a long week of work, so we doze off during a 45 minute church service. we just got dressed up last night for a date, so we're just going to wear torn-up jeans to church so we can be comfortable. we lost our voice screaming for our favorite team at the football game this weekend, so we don't feel like singing during the worship service. we have too much to do at home, so we can't bring the kids to church. or, we just drop them off. but we've never been to church with them so they don't know how to act.

i'll stop with my rant. you get the point.
2 timothy 2:15, romans 12:1-2, matthew 22:37, malachi 1:8

summer sweet.

i really enjoy being a girl.

hard-pressed to find inspiration lately.

cut more of my hair off, finally painted my bedroom with the most calming color ever, finally spent time in the sunshine. really starving to move into a new chapter, with some changes and fresh faces in my life.

learned some things, still haven't learned enough.

this blog is boring.

but.. hopefully.. one day, i'll write a book.. on something-or-other, and you'll see it in a window of a barnes & noble. and you'll stop and say, "hey, that's the girl who writes that boring blog."