Through the Veil of History

It's amazing how simply moving from a house back to your parent's home then to a dorm in the next week can be. I was able to find all of my papers from my last year's journey of Williams and find some pretty neat things. I believe Williams has shaped and molded my life into who I am today and I thank God for that. A few things I wrote about two semesters ago came back up in my life. They are the following:

What is the role of family in faith development in children and youth?
The most important people within faith development would have to be the family; most importantly the guardians that take hold of the children/youth.  The sole supporters of the kids within their faith development holds within the parents' hands in that they are they ones who are constantly in communication and contact with them.  The youth pastor within a church is sometimes looked at to be the sole supporter of youth and kids and sometimes can be thought upon to "fix" their development and create it stronger; however this is not the case. The parents are to bring up their children in the way they should go, and be the sole supporters in faith development.
Within scripture, several instances reflect on the parents teaching the children in the way they should be trained and developed within their faith.  Ephesians 6:4 clearly states that fathers should bring up their children in "the training and instruction of the Lord."  Fathers have a clear role to aid in the development of children to directly give the training in which the Lord commanded.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 heavily advocated the teaching of children through specific instruction to teach "diligently" and in a constant manner. The scripture highly advocates that the idea of development of faith should be around the children everywhere they go within the household so that they will grow in the way they should grow, even advocating to "write them on the doorposts of your house" as a sign of importance and clarity of the seriousness of such a task.
The most influential piece of scripture for parents is within Proverbs which speaks of training a child in the way they should go.  The scripture explains that when brought up within a home that is Christian-based and God-based, that the idea of everything learned will not leave their minds and thoughts, and will be with them throughout their days.  Even if the child, after growing up, changes their thoughts and mind processes, the ideas and values of their parents' training will not depart nor leave their minds, but will always be with them.

Then I also found this gem on the same topic: 

The first place to begin is to reflect how Jesus captured the importance of children within the biblical text. Jesus's mindset was very much toward children in the Bible.  Even so, Jesus proved the disciples wrong in that children have a very unique and developing faith that most do not capture (Lk 18:15-17).  Children are very much a gift from the Lord (Ps 127:3-5).  If we are to live a Christ centered life while we are in existence on this planet, then taking care of a child's basic spiritual needs should be a very essential part of the family's and church's work.
The spiritual journey for children should first and foremost come from the family.  Parents should be able to instill Jesus into their daily walk alongside their children diligently.  The Bible demands a clear understanding for children to be trained and brought through a spiritual development process by the parents (Prv 22:6).  The mothers, fathers, or guardians thereof should be able to show the children that Jesus is walking daily with their family and the child's life every single moment that there is on this earth through the imitation of Christ and pure example (Dt 6:7).  Christ should first be exemplified in the home and taken into close consideration allowing the child to openly share their faith and feelings toward their parents about their Christian walk.  It is often said that the child looks up to the parents and imitates their ways and speech to learn, grow, and develop throughout this life.  If children are going to walk in the ways of the parents, then the parents need to be leading the child towards God.

God's Love Over All

I'm not going to lie when I say that my entire life has entered confusion mode.  God enters specific people into your head to begin praying and do so without ceasing for long periods of time.  This has happened since the last school year and will continue to go on as long as I'm around.  I understand God has a reason for all of the things that enter through, but I'll never know what could come of these things, or what hardships I may face from it.  Something that could be so easily condemnable or so harshly viewed could be the one thing that is the most Christ-centered of all.  All I can do is just press play on this life that I have going for me and to be sure that I don't pause any of the things that should keep going.  I've pushed pause on this life, and nothing came out of it of edifying glory or praise of God.  However, when kept going, I felt much closer to God and He knew my every weakness and I overcame every obstacle much easier than I am now.

God knows my heart and my every weakness. He understands my life and where it shall go.  It's time to remember what is on my inner mind and forget the outside thought.  For God knows the plans He has for me. Ones to prosper me.  I am His. He is mine.  That's all that matters.

These Things I Will Do...

Life has never been more chaotic than it has been over this past semester. This soul has been through stress, chaos, heartbreak, and abundance of joys. This mind has ventured into the places many others would not venture, but also has remained so common to avoid confusion within other's lives around me. I have stood up to the challenges that were before me, overcame, and learned from each experience. Oh, how Williams teaches us more than we ever could realize.
All I can say is I'm grateful and thankful for every person that has ventured into my life since January. As my close friends would know, I was not in the best place and honestly my life still consumes places that need worked on, but in all thankfulness, a select few have stopped their busy schedules to come down and let me vent every part of my life, every facet, and every thought process. God has supplied my every need this semester and I'm thankful that I'm allowed the privilege to grow in Him, while growing in my friendship with others.

Thank God for all He is. Through the trials, the pain, the strife, He still prevails. There's no darkness, only light within the hearts of those who love Him first and foremost. Never lose sight. I lost my way, and He waited for me to find Him again.

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.

Isaiah 42:16

The Perfect Puzzle, The Perfect Painting

Sometimes, I sit back and listen to people try and understand the world. They try to make sense of the things around them and nothing seems to make sense anymore. Life just seems jumbled, what once made sense is completely irrelevant now, and the things of this world does not quite satisfy the way they wish it would. Sometimes it's like losing that last puzzle piece that could create the missing link, or the very last color you need to paint the perfect portrait. However, what we end up finding is finding that puzzle piece that doesn't match at all, or finding out that there isn't an adequate color to finish the portrait you're trying to complete because it's all too sophisticated.

I don't believe life is meant to make all complete sense. If it did, then what would the journey be like? It would be too easy, we would not understand the mistakes we make or the relationships we create with various people. This life would be, in a sense, too bleak and bland. I praise God for the trials, tribulations, and the things I've went through in my life. Although nothing makes sense to me at all, I have the peace to know that He holds what I cannot.

I don't believe I'm suppose to understand everything I've gotten into or even what kind of world this is. Nothing makes sense because my life isn't suppose to be cookie-cutted. I'm always being molded, always shaped, and always becoming closer and closer to whatever I'm intended to be. Whatever comes up in my life, that's what will happen. Whatever doesn't show up, that'll just be another barrier to push myself over or just to walk around altogether and keep trekking forward. Whatever seems complicated, do not try to make sense of it... just sit back and watch it unravel. Expectation is the root of all heart ache. We just have to hop in the car and go, fix the small things, and embrace the picture being painted that our colors do not seem to convey, or put in the puzzle piece that doesn't fit. Who says a mismatched piece in a puzzle isn't beautiful?


Ty

Stay Happy...

Thinking of.. Nothing.

As my thoughts progress and develop, all I can think about is... Nothing. Absolutely nothing. My mind is not functioning along with my heart, even though I know exactly the path I should head in. It's kind of hard  when it's not all up to myself. Life, come at me. I'm seriously not afraid of a single thing anymore. I know what I think, and I know what I believe. If for some reason anything goes against me, let it. There's so many more important things in this world than to worry about anything more than glorifying God regardless of any decisions that comes toward my way.

God, you know exactly where my heart, mind, and life is going. You know exactly what is in the forefront of my mind, and that is mostly you.. and completely You. We all have battles, we all have something that encompasses our lives, but You are sovereign. Thanks for bringing me to Williams and thanks for guiding my life in the way it should go. It's all up to me.. partly. Hello, this new week.

All I can say is, I've never been more "okay" in my life... yet I find peace.

All I ask.

Pick me a path, and somehow convince me to be okay with it. That's all I ask.

- Ty