Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover

You've probably heard the saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover," but have you ever thought about how that can apply to people? There are millions of people out there - each one different from the last. How do you know what each person is like if you don't know them? The simple answer is: you don't.

There are so many times when I've seen someone maybe across the room or even sitting near me in class and I automatically make a judgement about them. It may be a great judgement or observation, such as noticing their style of dressing or how nice their hair looks. But there have certainly been times when I look at someone and think, "I bet they don't work very hard on their homework" or "they don't seem very friendly." Yet in both of these examples, the person could easily just not understand the teacher and so they look confused all the time, but they spend hours and hours trying to understand the material. And in the second example, the person might just be shy.

Here is a great quote from Mother Teresa:

Rather than automatically judging people and making assumptions about them, we should love them and get to know them first before assuming anything. Maybe try smiling at those people who are shy - you might just get a new friend!

Words Have Power

Words have power. Have you ever thought about that? What you say, what you read, what you hear - all these things have an influence on your life. Sometimes for good and sometimes for bad.

Musical Notes

Music. There are soo many songs out there and different genres of music to listen to. Christian, pop, rap, hip-hop, country, etc. You can find just about any radio station suited to your taste. How many times have you heard a song but never realized what the words are in it? If you take time to really listen and find out what the lyrics are, you may be surprised by what you hear. And often in pop songs, those fun songs can have a tendency to be implying something bad. Not always, but often. Is there better music we can choose to listen to?

Movies!

How about movies? Movies are one of my favorite things to watch in my free time. I LOVE movies! There's so much creativity and great filming and wonderful characters. But just because I love movies doesn't mean I'll watch just anything. Unfortunately, there are countless movies filled with crude sexual humor and foul language. We need to take time to reevaluate what we're watching and decide if it's uplifting us or bringing us down. Is our speech improving or becoming more degrading? Don't get me wrong, sometimes language is in a movie because of historical reasons or to show a character's change/improvement, but these sort of movies should be watched with discretion and in a limited way. The words you hear over and over again can easily become engrained in your mind and just as easily come out of your mouth when you least expect it.

What are you listening to?

What we listen to impacts us more than we realize. So the next time you're listening to a song, pay attention to the lyrics and meaning of the song - and when you go to see the newest movie, double check what you'll be putting into your mind. As Christians, we want to listen to/hear things that will uplift and encourage us. We want to be pure of mind and heart (and speech!).

Our Deepest Fear

What are you afraid of? Spiders? Monsters? Horror Films? Meeting new people? We all have fears of some kind, which can be understandable, but what if our greatest fear was actually about how brilliant, talented, and fabulous we are? This quote from Marianne Williamson is one of the most powerful ones I have ever read - and probably one of my new favorites:

(In case you found the text difficult to read, here it is again)
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Are these things you're afraid of? Being talented and gorgeous because God made you that way? Rather than shrink back in fear, we must stop believing the lies out there that tell we're not great. We are great! And we have the power to change and influence the world for the better - so believe in yourself and believe that God made you great (because he did) and go out and let the light of Christ shine through you. :)