(Six Important Things I've Learned from High School}

{808 words detailing the most important things I've learned in my last four
years of high school, as told by my senior pictures}

One. Take lots and lots of pictures.
Don't live solely through your phone's camera lens, but do make memories worth taking pictures of, and worth remembering. Looking through an old high school yearbook could be fun, but reminiscing about your own, individual adventures is going to be even more enjoyable. Graduation will most likely be the last day you see a good percentage of your graduating class, and maybe even some of your friends. So capture what you can with what time you have left, because they may not always be there two or four years from now.

Two. Sometimes you just have to laugh about things.
In high school, things may not always go as planned. Actually, they won't. You have to be flexible. That class that you signed up for but didn't get? The Chemistry labs that never quite worked like they're supposed to? The 3 huge term projects/papers that are due a few weeks before graduation? Just roll with it. "Go with the flow," as my friend says." And if you're really good, just laugh about it. Because the fact that it's due date is coming sooner means that you're just one step closer to being done.



Three. Sometimes you just have to get away from people and hug a dog.
High school friends are great, and they're there most of the time when you need them. But sometimes, after a really long day of school, it's better to just be around a dog. They don't lie, they don't talk back to you, and best of all, they're super fluffy. They're loyal, lovable, and lick a lot. So if you're having a bad day or need a super cool friend, get a dog. They're "man's best friend" after all.


Four. You have to learn to get along with people, no matter how they act, and no matter your temperament.
Someone once told me, "You meet the same people in every stage of life; they're just encased in different bodies." This is not wrong. This couldn't be more true. This is going to be really stereotypical, so don't hit me, please. But there will always be a partier, "cool" jocks, quiet, sweet, nerdy, intelligent, insensitive, or haughty guys. And there will always be super preppy, school-spirited, shy, extraverted, intuitive, chill, or unconcerned girls. We won't always get along with all of them, in fact, we won't get along with most of them. But we can't shut them out like they don't walk the same hallways or parking lots as us. So, we need to learn to be patient and understanding, and embrace each person that comes our way. Because there will always be someone smarter, prettier, and richer than you. But there will also be those who aren't as gifted, handsome, or affluent as you too. Just remember that we are all part of a complex dynamic, perfectly created by God to complement each other, not to crush.


Five. Staying in God's Word keeps you from wasting a lot of your time and life.
The time to live for Christ is not after high school is over, not after college is finished, and not when you settle down with a family. The time is now. In doing this, you'll be ready for whatever high school may throw your way, whether it be in your home, church, or school. If you stay immersed in God's teachings, you will be more likely to stay in a state of grace, maturity, and humility.
Also important, when the daunting task of choosing what to do after high school comes around, you will be prepared. Once you arm yourself with the firm mindset of "Lord, take me and use me exactly how You want, and wherever You want," you will truly be able to see God work, and the pieces will fall into place.
You won't have to worry about which college to go to, anxiety about which job to take, or fear about what the next four years will look like. This is one of the most exciting decisions of your life, so don't waste it on trying to take and control the wheel. Let Him take it.


Six. Don't miss "it" while waiting for the "next thing."
Change. Some people like it, some people don't. Either way, most seem to always be waiting anxiously for the next, new things to happen. To be an upperclassmen, to be a Senior, to be in college, to get a job, to start a family. But if you are constantly looking forward at what is to come, you will miss what is happening in the now. So don't let life pass you by while you're looking for your next landmark. Be content in the stage of life you are in, who God has made you to be, and what He has given you.

{Spiritual Streaks and Faith-Filled Fires}

{537 words of reflection regarding the day and age in which we live—whether strategically or subtly}

Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter. Everyone thinks that they need more points, likes, comments, and retweets to gain approval from others, and society in general. But what does it even mean?

For people today, it seems like a visual is helpful and motivating.  Well, if two people send a candid selfie or photo to each other, everyday, for a long period of time, they will slowly get to know each other better and better. They often strive for the "fire" emoji with a high and powerful number next to it, or the impressive "100" image. Next to these little treasures resides a name of someone very special, or at least important enough to daily carve out time for.

If we spend that much time maintaining contact with a friend, how much more should we strive for constant communication with God?

1 Chronicles 16:11 says, "Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually." You see, God isn't that old friend who moved to Colorado. We aren't meant to check up on Him occasionally, shout a "Happy birthday" once a year, and see how he's doing when things get rough at home. Not only is He our Friend, but our Creator, Provider, and Sustainer. And because of this, He deserves so much more.

If we want Him to do big things in our life, we must treat Him like the big God that He is; to know is simply just not enough. It's like a trip. How can you get really, really excited about something that you know nothing about? How can you get excited about God if you really don't know Him or spend time with Him? But once you get that itinerary (I get unnecessarily happy about precise itineraries), packing list, and information, you can get really pumped about what is about to happen. With God, if we're in the Word, in prayer, and submersed in Him, we can get ecstatic regarding Him. We can be excited about what He is doing, what He has already done, and what He will do in the future! 

Matthew 7:11 reads, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" He wants us to know Him, He wants to bless us, and He wants to redeem us. But we must let Him! We must be pliable clay in the hands of an Almighty and Everlasting God; not sifting sand, blown and tossed by the wind.

In closing, if you've never felt a spark for Jesus, let this be your match. Let God start something in you that no man can squander, that no thing can prevent. And if you have ignited a fire within for Jesus Christ, don't let it go out, don't waver. But even if you haven't felt something like this in a long time, just know that you are never too far gone to reignite that spark, to make a new "streak," a new start, and a new day. 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

"....You only need a spark to start a whole blaze, It only takes a little faith...."

{If life's a soda fountain, I'll drink the water}

{690 words of personal reflection that have less to do with the picture of absolutely delicious sweet tea to the left, and way, way more to do with Jesus Christ, Lord of the Heavens and Earth | Matthew 11:25}

I'm sure you've heard of "If life's a beach, then I'm playing in the sand." Well here's a new one for you: If life's a soda fountain, then I'm drinking water.

I think that some could agree that getting a fountain-drink at a fast-food place or restaurant could easily be one of the biggest wastes of money, causing it to also be an easy way to save some money here and there. In the moment, it may be fulfilling to indulge in an ice-cold Coke, but it can add up to hundreds of dollars to your yearly spending. You must ask yourself, is it a worthy investment?

I'm really not here to make you feel guilty about that weekly sweet tea or Arnold-Palmer, because I do love my sweet tea in copious amounts, and that would be hypocritical. However, there are evident parallels between the process of buying a costly drink, and the presence of sin in a Christian's life. A "Big Gulp" or "Polar Pop" may sound great at the time, but your wallet may begin to disagree, and after a few minutes, it's gone. Those "dollars well-spent" are never coming back, but was it worth it? Likewise, the desires of the world can and will be costly. But is it a worthy investment?

Some people look at the world like it is one big, personal fountain-machine, and they go through life with a white styrofoam cup in hand. They seek everything and anything that the world has to offer, including desires to taste everything they can fit into that one cup. They act as if buying one cup entitles them to keep refilling over and over again, day after day, with no repercussions. This is because the world tells us, "do what you want," "do it whenever you want," and "do it however you want." These can easily amount to the infamously sinful desires of this world.

Galatians 5:19-21 says, "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, or which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Because we know, as Christians, that this is wrong, we have traded in our cups. Now we hold in our hands the "water cup," lucidly visible and on display for all to see. We've said, "Take this world, and give me Jesus."

But now we have attained an accountability that those with a Styrofoam cup are not responsible for, and quite honestly, some are just waiting for us to mess up. To say the wrong things. To do the wrong things. We mess up daily, but we are never too far gone to right ourselves, our testimonies, and our walks with God. Don't be the person who gets a free water cup and then puts Coke in it. That ruins our reliability. Likewise, we ruin our testimony when we claim to have that "white cup," but choose to fill it with impure filth.

Though Romans 12:2 is one of my favorites, a less common verse is 2 Corinthians 6:17. It proclaims, "Therefore, 'Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.'" Though Paul's words in Romans are powerful, seeing them written in red causes them to take on a whole new level of meaning and authority.

Jesus is the ice to your drink. If he isn't in "the mix," then we will be warm, or rather lukewarm. And who likes a warm soda? Revelation 3:16: "So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. With him, not only are we refreshed, but also the ones around us as they 'feed' off of our energy."

You could attempt complete satisfaction within the confines of soda, pop, the world, desires of the flesh, or whatever, but in the highest of ways, Jesus Christ is the only way to attain COMPLETE and utter satiation and nutrition.