Why Spiritual Experiences Can Ruin You

Spiritual experiences can confuse us greatly. No, spiritual experiences are not a bad thing. Heck, they're really, really, REALLY frikkin' awesome. It is a HUGE blessing and has an addicting effect on souls, and can change any life forever. Soooo then... why is it we go on retreats, start speaking in tongues, prophesying, gettin' drunk in the Spirit, then we go home and life isn't very exciting anymore? Where have the spiritual fireworks gone? Why does our spiritual life feel so... boring again?

Perhaps because we rely too much on our senses than we think.


When we feel God's presence, it's super easy to believe in Him, right? When we have the proof right in front of us, God feels so much more real to us. That's human nature. However, to really prove that you're serious about following God, He wants you to prove it by going beyond your natural human borders and discover the deeper side of love, despite the fact that you might not "sense" Him there all the time.


I heard this true story once of a formerly Catholic woman telling someone about her leaving the church because she felt like she wasn't getting anything out of it. The man then responds by saying, "Let me get this straight... You're saying that you've been consuming the literal body and blood of Christ, listening to the entire Bible plus teachings of it for years, and receiving absolution, and you haven't been getting anything out of it?"

This lady is a prime example of how the human heart can become obsessed with the stimuli of the senses. If all we really need is a spiritual experience, we can go to a Buddhist temple and be totally satisfied after that. Our reliance on experiences is what's caused all those "wars"and is why the body of Christ keeps splitting up, it is certainly not because of religion itself. It's just like our general idea of love, how gooshy feelings, soulmates, and making out and "woohooing" our weekends means romance. Or  even more commonly how in movies we know that two characters are in love because of that big kiss scene.

This is why divorce rates are so high, especially among Christians, because we worship our feelings, not the actual God Himself, which is love. Love isn't an emotion, it's an action that we choose. Love is when we choose not to yell foul words or accusations at someone, even though they've wronged us. Love is forgiving and forgetting. Love is cleaning up after the other person even when you're worn out from work. Love is laying down your life for your friends. Again, love is NOT based on feelings!!! In fact, oftentimes, true acts of love are done when the other person doesn't even want to do it.  

That is what makes the Eucharist so wonderful. It looks like a wafer, it tastes like a wafer, but we know in our hearts and minds that it is the body of Christ. There's more "magic" and power in that than any sort of feeling we may find, because we are denying ourselves and letting Jesus in physically. We may not fall to the ground crying from it, but despite that we just know that it's really truly Him. This is what faith is all about. 

Now let me say this again, spiritual highs are really sweet, and this isn't to say you won't or that you're not supposed to get "high" from taking communion, I'm just saying that love and faith is beyond us. And there is no doubt in that at all. 

In Defense of Christian Music

Man I've been wanting to say this for a LONG time, and there hasn't come a perfect time to unleash my fury than now.... It's been itching, screaming, and clawing it's way out of my heart. A lot of people don't know this, but when I hear this I may look totally normal on the outside, but inside I am all

You guys have no idea

The topic is Christian music. Ah, yes, the musically formulated "Christian" cheese whiz for your ears. The rip-offs of famous hits with "Jesus is Lord" sprinkled throughout. The kind of music that ALWAYS gets played at the emotional parts of movies or TV shows. The thing that Christians and atheists alike love to criticize. Yeah, I'm not too crazy about it myself.

This isn't everyone's favorite topic to pick apart, but tonight I am going to whole-heartedly defend it's cause! A bit of a shocker, considering that I seem to be the type who wouldn't do that. But what I'm about to write about is something I am quite hardcore about. *Lawlz I used the word 'about' three times in that sentence*

Let's start by addressing a very problematic article on the internets:

I know darn well how Marc Barnes (AKA the Bad Catholic) pushes the envelope when blogging... Heck, that's his specialty, if he got paid for doing that he'd be a millionaire. Usually his articles are well-written and, being as brilliant as he is, he generally constructs very solid, well-grounded points throughout. Sometimes I disagree with him, but..... asdfghjklqeixzzcmnbx..... ARGH. I mean, sure he was right about a few things, but the whole core of the article was screwed up and I don't think I've ever disagreed with him 100% before. I'm talking about one of his more recent articles titled, 5 Reasons to Kill Christian Music. *Yeah, you can see where this is going already...*

His #1 reason was "Writing a “Christian” song reduces Christianity to a modifying adjective".

Opinionated, much? The word "Christian" is an adjective... And that'sssssssssssss...... bad? 

That point was lame to begin with. Anyway, moving on.

My mother made an excellent point when she reacted to this page, notably over Marc's second reason to "kill" Christian music. She said that there's always gonna be that woman or man (and you know who I'm talking about) who has a house full of made-in-China Jesus statues everywhere, or cliched inspirational posters, or "Jesus Rox" shirts, etc, and they're living all out for God, but why put that person down? Marc's point is basically the same thing as saying it is better to have a pornographic image on your wall than a cheap plastic Jesus statue because it's "real art", and God made "real art". Again, another lamazoid and surprisingly not-well-thought-out conclusion.  

I remember a friend of mine poking fun at the over-joyous-and-fake-laughs-over-every-caller's-comments DJ on KLove, how annoying it was that they were pushing the whole "positivity and smiles all around" message. Well, what if, just imagine with me for a minute, that that message actually means something to someone? And *big shocker* it DOES. Lemme tell you something:

Once there was a little girl whose family was experiencing a nasty divorce. Because of this, the family wasn't going to church at the time. She got made fun of at school. The girl felt so much pain, confusion, and sadness that it was indescribable. Who could she turn to? What was the only encouraging thing she had in her time of suffering? Christian radio. That was the closest thing to church she could get. She would listen to that, listen to the messages, and pray with it...

While I have friends who roll their eyes when that Casting Crowns song comes on the radio, I have other friends who sing it worshipfully, remembering and thanking God for the moment He spoke to them through the music. Ok, maybe I am more likely to listen to a "secular" radio station over a "Christian" one, but I can't help think of what good it has done to people. I have had a friend who was very close to my heart whose life was turned around just because she decided to listen to Christian music one day. Her views had changed, everything had, and she was became serious about her faith. All because she had tuned into Spirit. God spoke that day, and it was in a way that she could hear and understand.

The Catholic church also teaches that even if the motives are wrong, the pith, the core, is valid even so. For example, if a priest was secretly living a totally messed up life, that doesn't mean that the root of the mass he is leading was dug up. The Eucharist, the sacraments, the blessings, were all still holy. The same can be said about Christian music. 

Besides that, everyone's walk with Christ is completely different from each other. Different things matter to different people. For guys like Marc Barnes, Christian music simply isn't going to cut it, but for others, like my good friend, Christian music is vital. And that is perfectly alright whether you agree with it or not. It'd be equally wrong if a Christian music fan said that people like Marc Barnes should "kill" their Mumford and Sons because it isn't explicitly Christian. See? 

Still aren't convinced? Here's SCRIPTURE for you that makes the EXACT SAME POINT...

Philippians 1:18:

New International Version (©2011)

But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice...

In yo FACE, suckahs.

If Christ is being preached, that's all that matters, in every way. 

YES Christian music is cheesy! YES a lot of Christian artists are simply in it for the money! I completely agree with that, BUT THE GOSPEL MESSAGES AND PRAISES ARE STILL VALID. Before you make fun of the fakey-ness of it and use it as the scapegoat, or rather, the excuse, to listen to Ozzy, stop and think for a second. Look at the whole picture, not just your opinionated one. Those are real people, telling real messages, whether they're actually in it for the message or not. There is a fine line between pointing something out and being flat out judgmental. Sometimes our own opinions can seem like the strongest truth in us, but no matter how you slice it, truth is... truth! Thus let's not say we "should stop making Christian music", and let's certainly not kill it. OK? Game over. 

STILL don't agree? 

Fine then.

Pinkie?

God bless you all.

PS: All the stories about those people that I talked about are 100% real. I just didn't include all their names so that I may respect their privacy. 

I don't even

There are many things that everyone doesn't have to agree on. 

Take Christian music for example, I grew up listening to the Christian music station and I oftentimes find it encouraging and the lightweight beats are catchy and fun. I have a friend who strongly dislikes music from this genre, even though she is a Christian herself. She thinks the music is cheesy and that the encouragement is fake. I disagree with her, yet I can see why she might think that. 

Or, as another example, social networking. I personally like using Twitter and Facebook even though almost all my closest friends do not have either one of them. I think having a Facebook increases your connectivity with important people like your boss, your classmates, or your parents (call them for once, you fool). Plus for all my long distance friends, it's a convenient way to stay in touch since I never get to see them. There are my many friends who wish to stay old-fashioned and not join with the new forms of communication out of fear or dislike. Others find it pointless and a waste of time when you could be communicating in real life. Again, I see where there are coming from, and though I disagree, I still understand. 

Morally speaking, however, people will try to influence, sway, or impose things on you that you simply shouldn't believe in. 

Take the coexist groupies, they are a not-for-profit organization that wants to "promote, encourage and support engagement between Jews, Christians and Muslims both individually and through their respective communities through dialogue, education and research." Getting along would be nice now, wouldn't it? And sure, improving the relationships between different religions in this way seems like a good idea, but the problem is that most of these dudes think that there could be more than one right answer in life, or rather, multiples paths, to finding truth. Another way of saying this is that no one can really know what is true, thus the possibility that we could all somehow be right may indeed be a fact! 

Um, the deal with that logic is that that would mean, well, a lot of things that don't make any sense. 

For example; the atheists are right about God being inside our heads and that the church is just a system set up to trap as many people as possible, yet Christians are right because there really is a God and we aren't "trapped", we are set free. Wait, how can we BOTH be right...? 

But the vast majority of coexisters have the thought that we can believe what we wanna believe and we should leave each other alone and not fight over it. A lot of Christians lately have been saying that, too. Well, as a Christian myself, here's my scoop on that opinion:


The Bible says that God has granted us free will. That means He will not force us to make the decision to follow Him, we are fully free and able to make that choice for ourselves. Why does God do this? Because He doesn't want the people of the world acting like robots - pre-programmed bags of bolts with no mind of their own. Yet we are His children (that He loves so dearly), so why would a loving God not make us love Him? How could He allow His children to go astray? 

Because that wouldn't be the loving God we're always talking about; that would be a selfish god!!!

When it comes to things we are free enough to decide what we think is hot or not. But when it comes to truth, we really can't decide that. No matter what we say, teach, do, think, or believe, we cannot change what is true. 

So if Jesus really does offer eternal salvation (Luke 13:3) that rescues us from the tortures of a fiery Hell, then believers should have the duty to tell others about Christ! If this is true, we should be actively and urgently telling others that our God isn't dead, He's alive, and He doesn't want them to suffer for an eternity!! 

We are not here to pick fights with others who believe things differently than we do. We are also not here to sit back, do nothing, and be ignorant. There will be persecution! There will be people who are upset with the good news! There will be people who want to fight! But we are here to love, and if we want to be like Christ we are to love others, spread truth, and not force it upon them.   

So to all o' my coexist peeps, I do want to get along with Jews, Muslims, and other Christians. But that's not going to stop me from accepting Jesus' mission: to help lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy. 

Year Recap: Lessons Learnt

So as everyone else in America knows, last Monday
 was the first day of school for many.
Yesterday was mine - I started
American Sign Language 2,
English Comp 2, and Astronomy.


Warning, posts may be sparse, and possibly even scarce, from now on. 

But I will update when I can, and this is my first year of college, and you know what they say; the first year is the hardest.

I must make this brief. But it is an important post.




What I have learned over the past school year: 

~ Do not say you are going to do something but then you don't do it (This is a very, very recent one)

~ A friend in need is a friend indeed

~ Life is never a "pass" or a "fail"

~ God doesn't yell at you. He gets angry sometimes, YES, but yell? No.

~ Life happens. You may as well be optimistic.

~ When it comes to doing/learning/trying new things, NO ONE GETS IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. It takes repetition, dedication, and of course, practice to get it "right".

~ Don't let your gifts and talents sit on the shelf and collect dust. Use them, because you are the only one who can.

~ If at first you don't succeed, try try again.

~ Attitude is everything. You are not going to have a good time if your attitude sucks.

~ Enjoy the little things and try to notice what always goes unnoticed

~ I am beautiful, despite what might fly through my head or what others say, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. There will never be another me so I may as well be the me I am supposed to be.

~ Your smile and words really can affect a person's day

~ God's word is for everyone

~ If you have something to say, say it already!

~ I will be learning and growing every step of the way, I can't "get" everything now, even if I think I'm ready.

Yeah, but a lotta those things are pretty cliche

Yeah sure, I heard this from my Astronomy teacher during orientation: "Just because it's cliche doesn't mean it has become less true."

So true. Life is meant for living. And getting to bed on time. G'night. 

My Annoying Little Brother is Awesome

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in like, what, a whole week? Ah well. Here's a post for you guys. *begins writing*

I remember when I was 14 years old and I started the my first year of high school at a very small school in Elgin, Texas. The presidential elections were coming up and one day my principal was talking about how great it would be if Barack Obama were in office.  My little brother who, at the time, was only 8 years old stands up and interjects, "But Barack Obama supports abortion!" You can only imagine the shock on Ms. Principal's face. Needless to say, our mom was going to be hearing about this.

Long before that my older brother Davis was being teased and made fun of by another kid his size at a swimming pool. Davis has autism, so it sadly made him an easy target for bullies. Five year old Sam on the other hand, realizes his brother is in trouble and rushes in front of him and yells, "LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE" while thrashing his arms around in the water. The kid backed off. Who wins in a fight? Shorty does.

He didn't hesitate to witness to an atheist kid at library club despite that he knew there was probably going to be criticism or mocking.

He won't listen to the hot new pop song because he knows lyrically it's really gross.

During the Olympics this year my brother pointed out how women do not necessarily need to be wearing bikinis while playing beach volleyball. Yes ladies, bikinis sure feel liberating, but they don't "liberate" a male creature's mind. He also hates the unavoidable fact that several women on tv have their boobs bulging out of their shirts (OK, he didn't say it like that, but that's literally how it is).

He also hates it, and I mean HATES it, when guys take advantage of girls, and he has reminded me several times not to let any fool do that to me. He's done that way more than my dad, actually.

What can I say? This kid tells it like it is. 

Right now he is only 13 years old, and he's got a hard head. But he's also got a really good head on his shoulders.

Aaaaand sometimes that drives me to insanity.

Sometimes I feel like this guy:

But sometimes I am jealous. I know when I was younger I had problems with standing up for what was right because well, I let my fear get in the way. Sometimes I didn't tell it like it was, I just kind of slurred what I had to say or blended it with something relevant in order that it may not come across so black-and-white, just because I didn't want people to do anything to hurt me. Sometimes I just didn't know right from wrong. Yeah yeah, I know this is like, what, EVERYONE'S story?? But alas, tis true. So when I see Sam use his natural talents and knowledge for God's greater glory??? Mentally I'm all:

Perhaps I need to tell him this stuff out loud more often, no? After all the older kids certainly do shape and influence the younger folks. But lately I've been learning that it is also the other way around.

Look, my little brother drives me crazy. He really does, but what little brother doesn't? Whenever he'd get on my nerves I'd just wanna yell at him to grow up and mature. It does amazes me however just how strong and mature he really is for his age. That's something this generation needs, someone with just a little more, who says what is right even when others will wrong him for it. Who knew that the young ones would be the dudes to look up to? Certainly not I, 'till I got to understand Sam a little better. Seems like I was the one who needed to do some maturing, and perhaps take to heart that Bible verses about faith like a child and not looking down upon people cuz they are young. Well, I'm still young, but he's younger.

OK Sam is not evil nor is he trying to kill everyone including me, just fyi. 

If there's one good thing that being all nerdy about superhero or action flicks has taught me it's show me a thing or two about being a good big sister. Take Thor, a not only incredibly handsome guy but a true hero. In both movies The Avengers and Thor, for example, Thor's younger brother Loki betrays him, his family, and his country by killing hundreds of people and trying to take over the world using his powers for evil. Thor probably had every right to hate his brother and want to put an end to his destructive life. Instead, Thor chooses to love his brother and continually invite him back home to start all over again. 

 Even though Loki almost killed Thor twice, Thor didn't change how he loves his brother. That's kind of like how Jesus sacrificed his life to save ALL of his brothers and sisters, despite the fact that we DID indeed kill him. Only Jesus is obviously way more awesomer than Thor, because he came back from the dead, promised us eternal life, loved us as we were, and offered us forgiveness of all our sins. So what do we do? Follow his example. No, more than that, be like him.  I want to be the best big sister ever, and I know the only way to do that is to be like Jesus. 

Perhaps my little brother's character is a reflection of me? Who knows! :)