Devotions

So I realize this post title is very similar to the one below it. I promise it's not because I'm unoriginal or boring, but because GOD IS AWESOME and taught me a great lesson yesterday about trying to get out of the holes you're put in, and it just so happened to correlate with the title from a previous post, so out of curiosity I just happened to read the post, and it was exactly the message I needed to hear as I'm sitting here in this hole. (Disclaimer: not actually sitting in a hole. It's a metaphor, people.) Do you sometimes just hate going through crappy stuff? Like really despise it. Like you've been sobbing all day about something and it even made you break down in a Goodwill changing room sad. For example. I hate being sad because I look up to heaven through mascara-filled tears and mutter "God, why? Why are you letting this happen?" Then I feel dramatic and silly because scripture talks a lot about hardships, and how they're all for o...

Have you ever just people watched for a while? Maybe at the mall or the beach or waiting for your friend to come out of the bathroom... we all do it. My favorite place to do it is at the mall, because everyone shops. You have the old people that go to the department stores, and the young people that just want to play on the "playground" thing in the middle, and then you have people in between. The teens, young adults, and old adults. The middle rangers. I'm not going to lie, it's super easy to judge these type of people. Because at least with the kids you can say "Oh, they're just babies. They don't know any better." Or with the old people, you can call them senile and dismiss every time they do something silly. But the normal people in between... we have no excuses. We are easy to judge because for the most part, we're supposed to be responsible for our own actions. And when I see the easiest people to judge at the mall, the teens that find...

Sooooo it's been over a year since I have last blogged. Oops. What happened, you ask? Life. Life happened. I remember being a little freshman at the high school, four years ago, hearing the words of my senior mentors, "This year will be over before you know it. High school will be over before you know it, and you'll be graduating in the blink of an eye." I never believed them, because at that age I unsurprisingly thought that I knew everything, but here I sit. Months away from walking the stage, speaking to my class, and going off to college for another four years. What the heck. The worst part is that I feel... empty, I guess? I'm not sure if that's the word I'm looking for, but we'll go for it. I just feel unfulfilled, like four years have passed, and here I sit. Months away from graduation. What do I have to show for it? Good grades? A Scholarship? A few new friends? I just feel like a little furry hamster, running on this wheel becaus...

Getting out of hand. So I realize not everyone can relate to this blog post. Some because they just can't, some because they have other lifestyles, and some because I'm just so weird of a kid that very few people actually relate to my struggles. But anyway, here's my dilemma. I looked into a mirror at work the other day, but for once I actually LOOKED into it. I didn't glace at myself in passing like I normally do when I'm in a hurry or when I'm having a bad hair day. No, I was tired, and quite frankly wanted a break-- even if it was a brief one-- so I got a little closer to the glass and looked at my face. My pores were really big, as expected after a long, sweaty shift. My hair was frizzy for similar reasons. But what really startled me, and what really "inspired" me, I guess, were my eyebrows. Please don't quit reading now even though this blog seems to have no meaning-- I promise there is a purpose to my random ranting about my face. ...

Worms on a sidewalk. So I'm just going to start out by saying I get joy in the seriously weirdest things ever. Like, seriously. I love when songs are remade into Spanish. I love when couples have the same hair color. I love seeing old people in love. I love seeing movie stars act like normal human beings. And for some reason, when I was walking into school the other day, I got such a sense of profound hope when I saw all the worms crowding the sidewalk to escape the flooded grass. It's weird, but I was so engrossed in why they were there, how they got up onto the sidewalk, and whether or not they'd make it with all the busy students trudging through the puddles. I got inspired, let's just say that. So when I started thinking about the little creatures, I began to realize what a marvel it is that they were able to even find the sidewalk! Aren't worms blind or something? They can't see clearly, and they move like a foot an hour... and somehow, when it starte...

Waiting for the light to turn green. I oftentimes find myself at traffic lights. Maybe because that's how my town is set up, a couple long streets with a ton of lights every few blocks. Maybe I think there are a lot because I'm impatient. But either way, I find myself at them quite often, and when I do, naturally an over-thinker like myself tends to put a metaphor behind it. I do that a lot. I think I will have a few more posts about that kind I thing-- finding deeper reason and meanings behind seemingly insignificant endeavors. Things we overlook. We never really look for how God can teach us things through each and every day because we get too caught up in the motions. The schedules. The routine. The "being on time" and the penalties of showing up late. Maybe I sound like a hopeless philosopher, but for some reason when I was sitting at a stoplight, waiting for the light to turn green, I got inspired. Call it Divine, call it a girl with an incredibly small attenti...

FAITH RANTS This is the section of Devotions by Carly where I simply rant about things going on in the world and somehow relate it to God's view instead of the one forced upon us all. I really don't like selfish people. The worst part is, if I could change one aspect of my faith and work to better myself in one area, it'd be in my selfishness. I get so self-consumed, and so incredibly obsessed about making myself look good-- doing what benefits me-- making sure people see me, love me, approve of me......... It's exhausting. What really kills me is how much the Bible talks about humility and submitting yourself to the work of the Spirit. And here I go, making my own selfish choices and decisions that somehow seem to only benefit me, me me. Some days, I wake up with a "Go spread God's message, not yours!" attitude, and that quickly fades as I'm racing past others cars in a 35 speed limit zone, checking my hair in the reflection of my mini-van. ...