"Boring" Testimonies

 For me, I dislike the concept of "if you've been a Christian your whole life, you have a boring testimony". Just because I accepted Jesus into my heart when I was a little girl just doesn't mean that life has been smooth. It doesn't mean that Jesus hasn't had to save me. Just because you've known Jesus your whole life and you were raised in a Christian home your whole life, does not equal a boring testimony. Jesus doesn't do anything that can be rendered down to "boring". If your testimony has been, "I've known Jesus my whole life", THAT IS NOT BORING. JESUS IS NOT BORING. HE IS RADICAL LOVE.  

Adultery in Idolatry

One thing I've noticed in Jeremiah so far (just finished chapter 3) is how much the word prostitute and adultery is mentioned when speaking about the people of Israel.
In the Old Testament, God makes his view on adultery very clear (Leviticus, Duetormoy, etc) and it's not (NOT) him being a controlling or strict God. God is very loving. And because he loves, he wants his chosen people. He desires them in the most beautiful way possible.
That's why I find the terminology used in the third chapter of Jeremiah interesting. God is a jealous God- because of how great his love is. It's the kind of love that says, "I want you for myself because you matter to me and I love you greatly". So when the people of Israel worship and defy themselves with other gods, of course that would be equivalent to adultery (because of God's love).

Unconditional

 We were talking about how God's love is unconditional- how you don't have to do anything to earn it. And I thought that was boring. How boring. Because I can't do anything. It's just there. 

And actually, that's what makes it so beautiful and pure. How beautiful is it that there is a love that does not depend on action. There is a love that does not flatter or distance itself. It's just there. It's there to be received. It's an invitation. And that's the opposite of boring. ❤️‍🩹   

Childlike Joy

 Something I love most is when I get so full of joy that I feel like my childlike self. When I'm wearing the sweater I love. When I'm happy to be alive. Even though I am seventeen, I have this urge to just run around or jump up and down because I have to release my joy and happiness. And when I do that, it makes me even happier because of course I'm acting childlike- I'm God's child! Of course I'm going to jump up and down and get happy about things that make me happy. Why would I not?

Thoughts on the Old Testament

 I've been reading the old testament these past few months. If I had to describe the old testament, I'd use the word Rich. There's the Law (the Torah), there's God's people (the Jews), there's the psalms, Ruth, Deborah, miracles, waters being parted, celebrations of the Passover, Moses, David, kings who fail God's law and future kings who honor it. The angel of the Lord appears and the Holy Spirit moves. There are prophecies for the future. The Old Testament makes up two thirds of the Bible. But one of the most important things- the biggest thing that moves me- is that God's love for the Jews is revealed. He wins battles; he calls them back to himself constantly. God moves for them. There's so much richness and value in the Old Testament. There's hope.