Faith is not a feeling

Love is not a feeling. I've heard that said many times; at youth group, in marriage books (ok I've only read one marriage book, but still), in deep blog posts, and by people with lots of wisdom and insight. It's true. Love is not simply the feeling of passion, bursting, admiration and affection. It is more; it goes further than the simple thrill. It isn't an illusion; it is SOMETHING with deeper base and grounded foundation. It can't just shift depending on characteristic moods and sleep deprivation. It is commitment, sacrifice and all that Jesus embodied.

So. I was thinking about faith. Isn't it the same with faith? Our faith in God is more than a feeling. It is not just the personal conviction we feel when we hear, read and feel the presence of the Lord. It is (or should; cus yes, we're fallable human beings with tonsa flaws) - it is THERE. Believing, trusting, hoping; despite doubts, jostles or whatever may toss about the feeling of yes I believe.

This past month I have really learnt that. Like NO, I don't always get you God. And I don't always feel you. But I have faith in you because I remember your faithfulness, I remember how you have shown yourself to me and other people around me. I have faith even though I sometimes feel the "This Is Why I Believe" list I sometimes have so clearly and boldly in my head sagging loose. We can't let our faith be dimmed by our mood; our tiredness; our situation; our mental state of mind and clarity. That's not how faith or love work. They are more than feelings; they are almost a holy ground of basis and continuity and commitment. (If that makes any sense, lol :-P)

It is human to have feelings. And I do think it's important to work on them and give them credit. (*Hears Mr Collins say "your feelings do you credit my dear cousin"* *Tells brain to not let Mr Collins interrupt a serious blog post. ugh. creep.*) Like, yes feelings are so important and we got them for a reason. We are creatures who feel and think and connect emotionally. HOWEVER also so so so important to know that there is more to love, faith, forgiveness, peace than what we feel. I mean, think about Jesus, when he was sweating drops of blood as He prayed to His Father intensely anxious on His knees. I'm sure He felt no gooey sense of love; no overwhelming fuzzy presence of God... yet He embarked on what He was called for; the greatest act of all time.

One of the saddest things for me is seeing teens doubt their obvious faith in God because they feel like they can't say they have faith because they haven't had this 'experience' yet. I get that but I find it so sad. Like, God is just as much your God when you are trembling, overwhelmed with the Holy Spirit and crying than He is when you feel numb and sweaty after a long day of placid schoolwork. You don't have to wait for overwhelming 'faith-feelings' in order to proclaim that you have faith. Faith is more than feeling. It is knowing and doing and believing what you stand for; no matter what. Faith is.

Don't let trouble overwhelm your soul

Don't let trouble overwhelm your soul. Our souls are not meant to grow weak; to flicker; to grey. Our souls are meant to live eternally. Our mind, yes; our body, yes - they will grow weak, they may die, they will cry, sweat. Blood will drip from your skin and tears will stream from your eyes. Feet will ache, hearts will weep. Fingers will grow stiff from age; from work. Friends will leave and family will fall down sick. Mental confusion will happen and desperate questions with spring out of the thin hair, attacking you in your face. It will rain. It will storm. But then there is your soul. Rejoicing. Holding a constant party. Because it's destined for the opposite of what our bodies are going through on this earth. Because Jesus saved it. Our joy is our hope. Our joy is our peace. Cling to JOY. Don't let trouble overwhelm your soul.

Biblical themes in The Greatest Showman songs?

The title may make you cringe. I promise I'm not one of those over-analyzing-everything-people (k, maybe sometimes), but it's just that this past week I've been listening to songs of 'The Greatest Showman' (let's be real, when am I not) and, well, I couldn't help but think 'wow, change a few words and this could totally be a song about me and God.' Like, I was sitting in the train. The sun was pouring inside from the windows on my face. I was listening to 'From Now On' and as I was listening to the words suddenly my heart was worshiping my Creator. Because I was listening to those songs from another place than the songwriters wrote it from.

I know these songs weren't made to worship God (in other words they aren't 'Christian songs') buuut you know, there are some themes that just scream 'Gospel' and 'Jesus' and 'New Life' to me. Just, when I listen to the lyrics and think about how I interpret some of the lyrics in a spiritual way, my goosebumps come. Wow. These songs are AMAZING. 

Anyway, this post is kind of pointless and maybe might sound weird but yeah I wanted to share the lyrics that can be interpreted in Christian-y ways. :-P Cause I think it's cool.

Tightrope

Mountains and valleys, and all that will come in between 

Desert and ocean 

You pulled me in and together we're lost in a dream 

Always in motion 

So I risk it all just to be with you 

And I risk it all for this life we choose

I LOVE the song Tightrope. And yes I generally listen to it as the beautiful love romance song it is. But this part reminds me of the certain 'risk' we have in our lives as Christ followers. It is God that pulled me into this life and I risk it all for this life I choose. (You see?)

This is Me

I am brave, I am bruised 

I am who I'm meant to be, this is me. 

I won't let them break me down to dust 

I know that there's a place for us 

For we are glorious

I'm not scared to be seen 

I make no apologies, this is me

Yessssss. THIS IS HOW CONFIDENT WE SHOULD BE IN OUR FAITH. We are more than Conquerors in Christ. We are bruised BUT we are made clean. We are who we are meant to be. We are glorious in Him. There is a place for us. We should never make any apologies for being followers of Jesus. This is who we are!

Never Enough

All the shine of a thousand spotlights 

All the stars we steal from the night sky 

Will never be enough 

Never be enough 

Towers of gold are still too little 

These hands could hold the world but it'll 

Never be enough 

Never be enough

Nothing this world offers us will ever be enough. Never never never. Towers of gold will never satisfy. Even the beauty of the stars in the night-sky. Or the shine of a thousand spotlights. Or the whole wide world. If we don't have God, we will never be satisfied. It will never be enough without Him.

Come Alive

I see it in your eyes 

You believe that lie 

That you need to hide your face 

Afraid to step outside 

So you lock the door 

But don't you stay that way 

No more living in those shadows 

You and me, we know how that goes' 

Cause once you see it, oh you'll never, never be the same 

We will be the light that's turning 

Bottle up but keep on shining 

You can prove there's more to you 

You cannot be afraid

To anyone who's bursting with a dream

Come one!Come all!You hearThe call

To anyone who's searching for a way to break free

Break free! Break free! 

When the world becomes a fantasy 

And you're more than you could ever be' 

Cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open 

And we know we can't be go back again 

To the world that we were living in' 

Cause we're dreaming with our eyes wide open

Come Alive is amazing ahh. And these lyrics. I mean, need I say more as to why I think it screams out 'NEW LIFE'?!?  'Cause once you see it, oh you'll never, never be the same' and 'We'll be the light that's shining' and 'Believing the lie that you need to lock the door and hide your face.' Accepting Jesus into your life is all about breaking free and hearing the call and never going back again to the world that we were living in. JUST YES YES THE IMAGERY I FIND. :-D

From Now On

Wait for this one, this one is my favourite.

For years and years 

I chased their cheers 

The crazy speed of always needing more 

But when I stop 

And see you here 

I remember who all this was for

THAT. The crazy speed of always needing more. STOPPING. and seeing God. And remembering who we're living for. That's what I hear when I listen to that.

It starts tonight 

And let this promise in me start 

Like an anthem in my heart 

From now on 

From now on 

From now on

Also that.

And we will come back home 

And we will come back home 

Home again! 

And we will come back home 

And we will come back home 

Home, again!

We will come back home. (The way they sing it man. When they start singing in acapella and it becomes all Gospel-choir-y. AHHHHH.) (Also when it's just piano and the guitar-y instrument in the beginning, it sounds like a Rend Collective song, don't you think?)

Random Naomi thoughts have ended. What do you say? What are your thoughts?

💓 LOVE 💓

You know there are some Bible verses everyone knows about? Like 1 Corinthians 13 and Psalm 23 and the last verses of Romans 8 and the "God so loved the world" verse in John. And they are amazing. Buuuut there are SO many hidden gems it's literally insane. Don't you have that sometimes, when you're reading and suddenly you come across this verse that makes you like WOAHhhhhhH how have I never seen this one on Pinterest before??!?! 😍

I had that moment when I 'found' the one I put on my header. And I had such a moment just then.

This is what I found:

Ephesians 3:17-19And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Kabammmm GOD. Woww. You are stunning.

Love so wide and long

And high and deep

It surpasses knowledge

K I don't know about you but yes I want this love and I want power to grasp it.

Tiny Bible study

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. (John 11:5-6)

I'll rephrase:

Now Jesus loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus.
So, because He loved them He stayed two days longer in the place where He was.

I'll rephrase again:

Martha and Mary were begging Jesus to come to them because their brother was dying. Now Jesus loved them SO he stayed two days longer in the place where He was and didn't come.
Jesus 'ignored' their plea for two days because He loved them.

When we feel like God is not answering our prayer that is because He loves us. I am sure that for Martha and Mary those two days when Jesus didn't come were the two longest days of their lives. When Lazarus died they were probably overwhelmed with sorrow, questions and doubts. Why hadn't Jesus come? Why didn't He come to heal Lazarus before it was too late?

Because it wasn't too late. And that is what Jesus wanted to show.

“This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” - Jesus

So when you feel like you are waiting, waiting, waiting, without any answer from God... know that He knows and that He is waiting with you. Know that He does this just because of His love. It is for the glory of God.

(And here ends my little Bible study for the day.)

A small story with a Moral.

Enjoy this short story if you wish to enjoy it. This is the introduction of this post. I put it in pink to make it look like I put a lot of effort into it. Actually this introduction only took like 15 seconds to write. Now you can read the short story. Go.

Once there was a young man who thought his life was important.

"It is," said he to his girlfriend Darrell, "Life is important."

"Yes and no but more no," his girlfriend said, after swallowing down her bite of apple. (Of course. Darrell was a sophisticated girl who never had second thoughts about speaking while having nutrition located in her mouth.)

"Why on earth no?!" the boy said. "Life is nothing but important."

She thought for a moment."Well... it is only important because it's not."

"Why am I dating you?" The boy rolled his eyes. "You speak such gibberish sometimes that I sometimes find myself talking gibberish to the people around me. Last night I had a dream about a four-headed-giraffe. Probably your fancies rubbing off on me." But he smiled, because Darrell was his favourite.

"I stand my case," Darrell said.

For a moment it was quiet. Only the bluebirds, the wind and the dry leaves created sound waves that unconcsiously penetrated the eardrums of the young, budding philosophers.

"I am quite serious," Darrell repeated.

"I know. I can hear from the tone of your voice. You meant what you said. Which is why I am quiet. I cannot make it out."

"Yes," Darrell said. She popped the core of her apple into her mouth. She did not believe in wasting food.

"You say that life is only important because it's not. And that makes sense?" The boy looked at his girlfriend with a confused look on his face.

"Absolutely," she insisted. "Because a life is only a life. It is a vapour in the wind and a wave in an ocean; it is completely useless really."

"So... life is useless. Great. Way to cheer me up."

Darrell laughed. "You are the one that says you like it when people speak their mind. It's true, isn't it? Why, I am working my socks off to become a teacher so I can work my socks off even more once I get a job. That's absolutely absurd, isn't it? What's the bally point? Why, people go through lengths and lengths of drama to finally get a boyfriend or a girlfriend only to break it off after a few weeks. Quite comical. And why, one day we weep, the other day we laugh, and then we moan, and then we smile, and then we complain. We are the most hilarious creatures in existence. How pathetic!"

"No, I don't like this," The boy said sadly. "Life... life isn't... that."

Darrell sighed. "It is the single most pathetic thing there is."

Once again it was silent for a moment. Darrell broke it. "But then I didn't say life wasn't important."

The boy lifted an eyebrow. "I don't like not understanding things my girlfriend says."

"The thing is this. What if we didn't sugarcoat life but what if we found life beyond this one? Because honestly, I'm giving up on trying to make this one sound that good. It's mostly miserable."

"How can you say that?" The boy asked. "I have never seen you this negative. You are literally the most life-loving person I know. It stuns me to see you this way."

"Yet I have never been this joyful," Darrell was quick to say. "I did not say I hated this life; I do love it. But I don't love this life because of this life. This life isn't that great. End of story. It sucks. So I went on a mission to find another life. And that's the one I'm living for and that's why I love this life that would otherwise suck. The more I live this life the more I am intent on not living for it. Yet the more I am intent on not living for it the more I find myself living this life." 

"So..." said the boy, "Paradox is the key to life?"

"Not living for this life makes you live and love this life. Yes."

The boy frowned and then suddenly smiled. "Oh, I think I know what you're talking about."

"It was about time," said Darrell.

"Jesus," said the boy softly. "You're talking about Jesus."

"Yes. How did you guess?"

"Because He's the guy that said that whoever wants to save his life will lose it. And whoever loses his life will find it."

"Correct," Darrell said, her eyes shining with deep love for her Maker; such love that no poet nor artist could ever put into words, shape or picture. "He is correct."

_________________________________________

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it." 

(-- God aka your biggest fan; He loves you crazy much. Do this.)

Jesus wants you.

Hey reader. Here's a 100£ bill.

You'd take it, right?

You'd take it if I licked it. It's still worth 100£.

You'd take it if I crumpled it up. It's still worth 100£.

You'd take it if I tore it a little here and there. It's still worth 100£.

You'd take it if it was dusty. Still worth 100£.

You'd take it if it was smeared with mud. Still 100£.

You'd take it, right?

Jesus died for you.

God'll take us if we're ugly. He still died for you.

God'll take us if we're messed up. He still died for you.

God'll take us if we have a past filled with sin. He still died for you.

God'll take us if we sinned five minutes ago. He still died for you.

God'll take us if we sin five minutes later. He still died for you.

God'll take us if we lie, cheat, kill. He still died for you.

God'll take us if we work for his enemy, the devil. He still died for you.

God'll take us if we hate Him. He still died for you.

God'll take us if we kill Him. Which is what we did, because of our sins. 

But He still gladly died. For you.

Jesus wants you.

He'll clean you.

He'll fix your tares.

He'll dry your tears.

He'll dust you off.

He'll smooth out your creases.

He'll help you and change your life.

He'll take you.

Jesus wants you. Every day, again and again, He wants the whole of you.

Jesus loves you.

Let me tell you a true story of a miracle.

(inspired by this video but honestly he just stole my thoughts.)

You were once in your mother. Think about that. Just because everyone was once in their mother doesn't mean that it isn't special. IT'S FREAKING MINDBLOWING. You, the adulting-teenager-what-ever-you-are, you, were once inside your mum for nine months, in water.

And now you are almost taller than your mother. Or you are. Or you are almost as tall. (IDK.) Your cells have developed and your bones have grown and your brain has gained information. That's insane. Baby you and you now don't look alike. Baby you and toddler you don't look alike. Toddler you and kid you don't look alike. Kid you and teenager you don't look alike. HOW DO YOU CHANGE SO FAST?

You can think about anything you want to think about. Your brain can decide what you do and your brain can make decisions for you. You rely on that amazing machine in your head to guide your entire life and SOMEHOW IT WORKS. HOW.

You have your own unique fingerprint and eye pattern and face features. Even if you don't like them, they're YOURS and no-one else has them. Even your twin doesn't look like you, even if everyone says you two look alike. You have these unique THINGS and man alive, there's billions of people on this planet and you've got countless things that are LITERALLY ONLY YOU?! Lucky.

Doing stuff - you can do stuff. No, you can change things. The fact that you are breathing oxygen and eating food and sleeping means that your human self can impact things on this globe. How did we get that opportunity... just by being? That is a responsibility and it's an HONOUR. Why are we not excited about this?!

You can love people - you can love things. You can feel loved. You can get excited and feel passionate about things; you can hug and feel overwhelmed with emotions; you are a bundle of confusing feelings and incomprehensible sensations that you can choose how to deal with, with that amazing machine under your skull. ALL THIS IS MIND-BOGGLING.

YOUR EYEBALLS. Can we just appreciate your eyeballs? THEY ARE READING THIS. And your brain is understanding all these squiggly black things; your brain is absorbing and munching on an idea that popped into my brain because of something that popped into somebody else's brain and OUR BRAINS TALK TO EACH OTHER. 

Why are we surprised when things go wrong? Miracles are not normal. You are not normal. You are a miracle.

Is Jesus cool? (A lil' rant.)

Is Jesus cool?

My first instinct it to say duh YEAH. But then the official definition of cool is "fashionably attractive" and when I look at society I don't think that per their definition of fashionably attractive, Jesus is in that department.

I have the feeling that a lot of Christians (and Churches) nowadays, they try so hard to make Jesus look cool. 

And that gets my goat sometimes. No, I'm not saying that Christianity is this old-people-shh-be-quiet thing. Yes, we should burst into songs of joy; yes we should dance with love for God; yes we should tell people about Jesus and yes, we should rejoice in the Lord always (and again I say rejoice.) (Message clear: Rejoice.) Again, I'm not saying pastors with ripped jeans and leather jackets aren't good people, I'm not saying Hillsong worship sessions are un-Christian and I'm not saying that Churches with loads of drums and colourful lights and really cool kids programs aren't good Churches.

But sometimes you do wonder... how many people come because of the cool-factor; how many people come for Jesus? How many people would come if the electricity turned off and if the pastor was an old man with a suit and a tie? If there was no Church website and no good parking lot? How many people would come if there were no kids programs or after-Church pastries?

Because that's not what Christianity is about; and that's not who Jesus is. Jesus is our God. He is our Saviour, and He died on the cross to save us and to give us eternal life and that is why we go to Church. That is enough. That is why hundreds of Christians come together in underground churches in China; they are being persecuted but they come because it's Jesus.

Let's see... the definition of the word cool is "fashionably attractive or impressive." So yeah, you might say: "Oh, but God has to be impressive and He has to be in fashion and therefore He should be fashionably attractive and fashionably impressive!" 

4 Main Points: 

1. People have to come to Jesus because of Jesus. And not because He's presented in a #relatable #trendy way. That's just not the point.

2. We have to submit ourselves to Him and it's sooo easy to take 'cool-Christianity' casual and to then put Jesus almost as our equal. Jesus is not a human celebrity; He is God and He is way, way, way more than us.

3. Of course God is impressive, we shouldn't need to wear ripped jeans to prove that. 

4. God is not 'fashionable' in the world. And it's not the point of Christianity - we are on the narrow path. So... should we be desperately trying to be as 'cool' as possible to the world? Or when the world thinks we're cool and relatable, does that mean that maybe we're doing something wrong?

Thoughts?

Vat do you say?

(And by the way: I am not criticising anyone or any Church is particular. But I just want Jesus to be 100% honoured. He's not a casual-comfortable-all-da-feels-thing and I do think people take Him that way sometimes, which is sad.)

You are beautiful in a non-cliché way.

Confession time: I roll my eyes at stuff like, "YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL." And "BE YOU." And even the plausible "YOU ARE UNIQUE."

When I was fourteen, I used to hang these kinds of words up on my wall. I was all about the positive-Pinterest-y-Naomi's-da-bomb-because-she-says-she-is-phase. I was like 'boo yeah I'm Me' and honestly, I was getting excited about nothing. I was doing it in selfish la-di-da-feelsies and I needed those words to make me feel good. I needed constant convincing.

Then I realised that wow, God, I need to humble myself; I am a sinner; and I should not be who I am by human nature because without you, I am nothing. I still agree with all of this, of course, but I had a phase where I swung a little too far in the opposite direction. I was like, nah, we shouldn't be ourselves because what if you're selfish by nature? We should strive to be who God wants us to be.

THAT IS ALSO TRUE. We all naturally have sin and the 'BE YOU' phrase should not mean 'be who you aaaaarrree and get druuunk and steaaal and sleep arouuund because that's who you aaarrreee.' In a sense, we should, therefore, not be who we are as humans in a world of sin. We should strive to be as non-human-like as possible.

But I took this idea too far for a while, I think. We are creations of God and to disregard the 'you are perfeeect' message is saying that God does not create people perfectly. I mean, God made us unique, right? So now I'm sort of re-learning the non-cliché-ness of the cliché message: "You are beautiful just the way you are. You are unique. Be yourself."

Yes, I still roll my eyes at that. Because let's be real, it is overdone and it's pretty stupid when you forget about the Maker. It is stupid when you leave out the Very Reason Why we are beautiful and unique and the Reason why we can achieve amazing things and why we should be confident in our own quirks and our personal dreams and talents. If you're just like, drumming it in yourself: I am epic. I am cool. I am hashtag queen.... then I'm like, "OKAY. WHY."

And the reason why is God. And theeen it all makes sense. Then self-love becomes a beautiful, important thing rather than this selfish cliché thing for 'positive vibes's sake. Yes, socially, some are prettier than others. I'm not going to deny that. Some are more talented. Some are in better condition. 

But isn't everyone worth the same sacrifice of Jesus?

If you're think you're not unique and special and beautiful, then you're saying God's not a good artist. AND HE MADE THIS:

(random picture from pinterest duh)

I want to quickly change the subject and talk about mountains. I love love love mountains. There are literally no ugly mountains in the world. Each one is different and each one is wretchedly perfectly gorgeous. Why... WHY are they so beautiful? "Just because they... are." No, no, not satisfied with that answer. WHY ARE THEY SO RIDICULOUSLY GORGEOUS. Why did my heart fill with this swell when I stood on one last year at the Alps in France; looking down on clouds and sunshine and rocks and white tops and trees. WHY. Why is rock and tree so beautiful? WHY. Why. 

I'll tell ya why. God. It's a snippet of God's glory.

And us then? Aren't we snippets of God's glory? Aren't we? Aren't we the one creation made in God's image? 

WHAT IS WRONG WITH US. Why do we not think we are beautiful?! Unique? Each and every one of us individually and specially designed with a different purpose?!

Today I wrote a kids book. It's only 16 pages and 500-something words; with tons of blank spaces for pictures I haven't drawn yet (and will probably not be that pretty.) It's written in rhyme (bringing out my inner Dr Suess here ya know) and it's about this 'perfect' mountain who tells all the other mountains that they're not good-looking with their weird shapes and rocks sticking out in odd places, and then a girl comes along and she can't believe that these mountains believe that they're not beautiful. 

Have you ever seen an ugly mountain? Well, God has never seen an ugly person. 

That's the little moral of the story. Anyway. I made it on a whim because it is an important message, and I'm kinda proud with the way it turned out, so I'll show you the last two verses.

No matter how spotty, different, dirty and sooty 

Listen to God because He should know about beauty 

He made those mountains, and He also made zillions of stars, 

He made little lambs, colourful flowers and huge planets like Mars 

 

And the One that made all these gorgeous things, 

The lions, the colours, the rainbows, the birds’ tiny wings – 

He also decided to make you; I know, it’s kinda bizarre, 

But that means that you are beautiful just the way you are.

Yes, you are beautiful. Yes, you should accept yourself and embrace your quirks.  Yes, you are more beautiful in God's eyes than mountains are to your eyes. Yes, you are a sinner and probably not that beautiful on the inside. But you're covered by a huge love; your worth is tons and you are crazy beautiful as a result.

But please remember who to give the credit to. 

The Reliable Hope

Yes, there are tears. Tears of heart-break and stress. Tears that completely wear out every bone in a body; sobs that heave a being up and down in complete sadness.

But there are also tears of joy. Like when the war heroes returned from home alive; like when the girl took off her make-up and realised she was beautiful just like that; like when an audience heaps onto each other with tears of laughter because that comedian has a whole lot of funny bones.

Yes, there are blind people; people with legs chopped off, people with just three fingers, people who can't hear simple things like eggs sizzling in oil on the stove, and there are people with shocking disabilities that get shocked stares.

But there are beautiful eyelashes, smiles filled with gratitude and beauty, strong handshakes with friendly grips; people with vocal chords big enough to blow off arena roofs; people with those amazing bear-hugs.There are millions of people breathing God-made oxygen; able to do amazing things with the air and energy they take for granted.

Yes, people are dying - people who haven't said sorry and don't know Jesus. People that are very much loved and that will be missed so, so much.

But there is sunshine - golden and glorious, keeping this earth-ball spinning and preventing you from freezing to death. There is love; love and passion and people trying it out; failing; trying again. There is beautiful music - a soothing violin practising for a concert in the basement, gospel choirs screaming with joy. There are babies being born; new life with new possibilities. There are talented genes and quirky winks. There is laughter - that booming, hearty, excellent noise that means happiness.

Yes, people die in wars. People get hurt in more ways than physical, with blood and scars.  Yes, people are lonely. People are tortured; beaten; abused.

But there's God. Always.

There's Jesus, who died for you. Jesus, who is the God who made the mountains and the oceans and the starry constellations, who came to save you in the humble form of a man, unrecognisable with blood and pain on the cross. Jesus, who will one day take you into a world where the hope we need with our tears and pain will be 100% fulfilled. Jesus, who turned all the sadness upside down.  

There's hope, and it's real.

Let's replace...

small talk with Jesus talk
bucket lists with to-do lists
Henry Talbot with Matthew Crawley (:-P)
emails with letters
mirrors with windows
people with God
me with Him
my future with His Plan
smartphone screens with the word of God
instagram with photo albums
handshakes with hugs
worries with hope
self-consciousness with self-confidence
watching Youtube videos with praying
awkward silence with random jokes
timidity with strength
pride with humility
humming with singing
challenge with purpose + excitement
electricity light with sunlight
looking at the ground with looking at the stars
dreams with plans
ideas with realities
questions like 'how are you doing' with deeper questions
confusion with peace
giving up on the world with joy in God
Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Bennet with Jennifer Ehle's Elizabeth Bennet (haha okay, this one is subjective)
'meh I don't think I can' with 'well let's give it a go'
singing worship songs with worshipping by singing
negativity with positivity
hate with Love
living in the world with changing the world

Let's do this.

Prayer

I love spontaneously praying to my God - thanking Him for the room I'm in; for the word of the Bible; for my siblings' smiles; for my parents' love; for good friends; for Him dying and for answer of prayer and for angels and all the amazing God-present stories I constantly hear.

I love kneeling down in dark rooms for intimate moments, asking the Holy Spirit to make people passionate; asking Him who made constellations and dimple and seashores to calm down worried people and to bring joy + peace + energy + perspective into people's lives.

I love telling God how bad I am at expressing the depth of His power. I love just thinking about it, unwrapping the different layers of deeper awe and amazement. I love God. I love how discoverable He is. I love Love; He who is Love.

I love going through plans with Him; I love the peace I get from talking to Him - I love the joy and the daily purpose I find in Him. I love that I feel new + different after spending quiet time with God. I love that prayer has made me doubt less; that it excites me more than it used to.

I love that it is possible for me to talk to this Powerful Love - this Supernatural, Eternal, Awesome Reality. I hate that that doesn't blow my mind every day - that I take the immense honour of this possibility for granted.

Crazy huge deal.

Here's something exciting I've been chewing on lately.

God could have easily made a big house, right? Like the stars; with gold and diamonds and white light shining beams from it. He could easily make it huge and visible and have a huge sign on it: "I live here", in letters that shine in the night and shout it out in the day. He could have easily made a high house in the sky, so that parents could point up and tell their kids that "God lives there!" and that we could tell our atheist friend to "just look up; there's His house."

... But he didn't.

You might think that if He did, t'would have made life much simpler for us. A huge proof of God's presence in the sky!

But He did something instead. He looked at you (yes, you; literally anyone on earth) as if you're the only one on earth (this is how God looks at people) and He said, "I want to live in you." He said, Rae, I want to live in you. Emma, I want you to be my house. Lissy, I want to live in you. Hannah, I want you to be my embassy and I'll come and inhabit it. Miss March, I want to live in you. Evie, God says, I want to live in you. Just replace your name with the ones I wrote and think about that for a while.

This is amazing.

This is honestly amazing. Like, it's crazy. It's a crazy huge deal. He could have made a huge big house and He chooses us to be lived in by Him? What a privilege! What an honour! What a love. We don't deserve it and yet He wants to; more than anything. Whenever one of us excepts, He rejoices.

When you hear it this way, it seems ridiculous that we don't want Him living inside us. Still; we're like, 'ugh no thanks,' so freaking often, without fully realising it, maybe. I recently read Forgotten God by Francis Chan and it was all about how we so easily just ignore the Holy Spirit; the God in us. We should not ignore it - it is a huge gift and a beautiful one. Of course, accepting God to live in us, to be a part of our lives, means something. It would have to make a difference or else there'd be no point to it - We have a duty to fulfil. If you want God to live in you; that means you should represent His love, and that is our duty.

I heard this simple message in a talk at Youth Group several weeks ago; and then I read Forgotten God, and then my brother got confirmed and there was a sermon on the Holy Spirit at the service, so I've been thinking about this deal a lot. It makes me so excited. I wake up, feeling challenged. I'm like, "Naomi old girl; today I'm going to try to show people that God is living right inside my body." (Okay, of course, I never feel like I succeed - but I'll keep on trying.)

I challenge you to do that same, dear people of the internet. (Would it sound medieval of me to finish this post with a 'go forthwith'?) ;-)

Here's something crazy.

I once heard that if the galaxy were the size of the USA, you and me and this whole huge world we live in would fit in a small coffee cup. That baffled me. I heard that there was this star that it was so big that if the world were the size of a soccer ball, that star would be the size of the Mount Everest, that mountain so tall that people die climbing it. And that's just one star out of uncountably many. That mindboggled me. 

I feel like I'm not precise enough. Let me guide you to this post on this subject. You don't have to read all of it; just scroll down the post and look at the pictures. Then just think about the tiny specks we are. (Seriously, go and do it. It won't take long. Then come back.)

Wow. I am tiny.

And what mindboggles me more is that GOD CAME TO THIS TINY EARTH. In this huge beautiful dazzling galaxy which we can only sort of partly see through expensive microscopes and which we can only sort of admire on a clear starry evening, He came to the earth. That tiny soccer ball. That tiny ball that fits in a metaphorical coffee cup. That tiny ball that, if it were a mere inch closer to the sun, it would mean we would all die of the heat, and if it were a mere inch further away from the sun, it would mean we would all die of the freezingness. That tiny ball He put in the exact right place. That tiny ball He put me in.

Man, I am tiny.

Seesh, God is huge. Mindbogglingly insanely huge. And He came to this tiny world and walked on it in a tiny, human stature. As God. As Man. For us, tiny wretched beings, that huge and awesome God, did that. I mean... what even. Thank you Jesus.