My first college writing assignment was to write an art critique of a painting or photograph of my choice. I chose to write about Norman Rockwell's Shuffleton's Barbershop (shown below). I really enjoyed writing this, especially because it reminds me of my Pappaw's barbershop, who I miss dearly. Anyway, on to the essay!

In less than an hour, I will be leaving to take my first college classes. When people ask me if I'm nervous or excited, I don't know what to tell them. Of course I'm nervous! I've never been to school before, much less college. It would be just like me to mess up, and go to the wrong classroom. Or drop my backpack down the stairs. But then there are other times when I'm excited to try something new. Inevitably, though, the voice in my head comes back. Who do you think you are, Katie? What if you're not smart enough. What if you fail? Remember the time you tried to pay for ice cream with your library card? You're such a klutz. At this point in the one-way conversation, I usually scowl and tell the voice to shut up. But it doesn't work. I have to replace those self-centered, worrying thoughts with trust in the goodness and love of God. One of my favorite verses is Jeremiah 29:11, which says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Maybe it's God's plan for me to drop my backpack down the stairs. Maybe failing is the only thing that will crush my pride to the point where I realize that I can't pull myself up by my shoelaces. God controls the future, and I'm sure glad I don't! 

Freedom. The notion of being unrestained has always appealed to humans. It is the motivation behind many decisions, such as learning to drive, skydiving, or paying off debts. Many good things are driven by the desire for freedom. But like most things, the desire for freedom can be misguided. 

Satan loves to lie to us, telling us that freedom only exists when we reject God's authority. This is the same lie that ruined perfection. Eve believed freedom and joy were found apart from God. And with that, the whole universe was cursed. Obviously, God takes this very seriously. And why shouldn't he? Seeking freedom apart from God is the same as telling Him, "You're not good enough. I can do better on my own."

It is so easy to fall for Satan's lies, because we were made to desire freedom. A part of us is still longing for Eden, where God and man lived in perfect harmony. The real danger is when we search for freedom on our own terms. This leads to sin, as we the sheep try to run away from the Good Shepherd. Jesus died and rose again to set us free. Romans 8:2 says, "For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."

Today is Good Friday. Today is when we remember the incredible sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. Jesus suffered unimaginable torture, the wrath of God, and the scorn of those He created. All to save dirty broken sinners who were actively fighting against Him. Every sin is a decision to put ourselves on the throne of our hearts, instead of God. 

Romans 5:10 says, "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life."

Before being born again, we were enemies of God - we hated God. (Matthew 6:24) I know hate is a strong word, but it's true. Those who are not born again are not morally neutral. Colossians 1:13-14 confirms this by saying, "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." 

In light of our previous rejection of God, let us now look at Christ's sacrifice with even more awe. Knowing that we were once his enemies should cause us to give Him glory and rejoice in the new life we have been given. 
Praise be to God, our Lord and Redeemer!

If you have not surrendered your life to God, please humble yourself to accept Christ's payment for your sins. True freedom is only found in Christ. 

Like many other Christian teenagers, I often wonder how I should live in light of the gospel. Are there certain aspects of Christianity that only apply to adults? How should the gospel shape who I am, or what I love?

In this gem of a book, Jaquelle Crowe gives meaningful insight on how to follow Christ during the teen years. This Changes Everything is a wonderful balance between practical application and visionary thinking. Jaquelle discusses many topics that are rare to find in books written for teens. She illustrates how the gospel affects our role in the church, how we should spend our time, and much more.

It has been a long time since I have anticipated reading a non-fiction book so eagerly. I was not disappointed. Jaquelle writes with such clarity and purpose that I can't help being excited about the transforming work of Christ. This Changes Everything is an amazing book. I will definitely be rereading it soon, and I highly recommend it to all Christian teens.

I received a free copy of this book from Crossway in exchange for my honest opinion.

A few days ago, I was reading 1 Corinthians 13. We are familiar with this part, "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude." After all that, this verse starts hitting a little too close to home. "It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful." Yikes. (Insert convicted look here.) I insist on my own way too much. This verse makes me see how I need to give in to what others would like to do, even when I think my way is better. 

As if that weren't enough, Paul goes on to say that love "is not irritable or resentful." I have been pretty irritable lately. I might see it in the moment, but there's always an excuse for it. That's the thing with irritability - it's always justifiable in our own minds and sometimes even in the minds of others. According to this passage though, irritability is a sin. Jesus suffered and died on the cross to atone for my irritability. In that light, irritability is not excusable.

In case you haven't noticed, it's Valentines Day. And what is Valentine's Day about? Love. (Good job. You're acing this quiz!) Love for others is a nice vague idea when we're cutting out paper hearts or chatting with a friend. But what should we do when we just want to curl up and tell everyone to go away?  What about when we really want to say something 'helpful' to another person, even though we know it would hurt them? Why should we keep loving?  Well, because God is love.

We love God because He first loved us. Because He loves us, we have the freedom of knowing that our value is found in Christ. When we rest in this assurance, we are free to love others without the fear of rejection.
​If you want to know God, then love. Love when it hurts. Love when no one else thinks you have to. Love when it's inconvenient. Love even when no one notices. And above all, love because God loves. 

There have been several things I've come across this week on the inter-webs that I wanted to share with you all. And... here they are!

TheRebelution.com has been posting several videos on writing, especially for teens who want to become authors. These videos will be available free of charge until Saturday. Each one is around fifteen minutes long. A good place to start is the WriterScore assessment. Here's a link to the first video. 

I also just read a really good article by Tim Challies on reading out of love for others. If you can only check out one of these links, make it this one.

And just because we can, here's a cute armadillo video. Whenever Wesley and I watch this one, we both end up giggling ourselves silly. 

Well, I think that wraps up my randomness for the night!