True Love after Valentine's Day =]

    A lot of people battle with Valentine's Day. It's easy to measure your self worth by the amount of roses, chocolates or fb pokes that you get. Or the lack of said tokens of affection. 

I remember in grade 10, I had just started at a new school when Valentine's came up. You could send all kinds of valentine's to each other with little heart shaped notes attached and on the morning of Feb 14th they were delivered to each class. I was sitting there as they were reading notes and handing out heart shaped chocolates and pink teddy bears and I knew for a fact that at least some people in my grade knew I existed. But did anyone care enough to send me something? 


The last rose was handed out. It wasn't for me.  
One of the girls turned around and looked at the empty desk space in front of me and said;
"Shame; The new girl didn't get anything!" 
She said it loud enough to make the whole of purple house grade 10 tutor stop admiring their gifts for a moment and shift their focus on the new girl without a Valentine. Me. 

Although I did end up getting a rose from a friend later on in the day, I never forgot that horrible feeling from that moment in the morning. "No one cares about me." No one even cares enough to send me a card; let alone a chocolate or a rose.

I'm not sure when exactly I figured this out, but at some point it suddenly hit me:

Love isn't measured by the amount of roses you get from high school crushes.

This kind of love is fickle. Basing your identity in this leaves you empty because it doesn't last. We hope it does. We do all we can and live in a pretense that it is real. But we are human, we fail and let each other down. And we get our hearts crushed because we try to base our self image into these things. "If I just get this many roses then I'll be loved. Then I will be worth something." But the girl or guy who gave you that sweet poem and chocolates on the 14th and made you finally feel alive and fulfilled stops replying to your chats before the week is out. Human love fails.

But God's Love doesn't.
In fact, his love is so perfect and all-encompassing that if you took all the love in the world and concentrated it onto one person, even that would just be a mere fraction of God's love for  every. single. person. 
Crazy right?

Imagine someone you really love. So much you 'could die for them'. Would you? Maybe. But imagine that person hated you and didn't want to be anywhere near you, ever. Would you still take a bullet for that person? 

In the Bible, Romans 5.8 says that while we were still sinners, so while we were still going against God, hating him and wanting nothing to do with him, he loved us so much that he sent Jesus, God in human form, to die instead of us. For our sins. 

God's love never fails. 
I am convinced that neither death nor life, angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God.  (Romans 8.38-39)

When I started understanding God's deep love for me, the need for human recognition started to fade. I could base my identity in God, because He wont change. I can look to God's love for me and find my self worth in Him. He loves ME! And there's nothing I can do about it, nothing to make Him love me any more or any less!

And God is so much greater than anyone could be on Valentine's Day

A girl can organize you a candle lit dinner; but God gave you the stars

A guy can buy you a rose; but God crafted the flowers for you

A girl can sing a pretty song for you; but God has the birds chirp for you, the wind whistle for you, and the oceans roar out His greatness.

A guy can paint you a painting; but God gives you the unique sunset every day.


And God doesn't only stick around for Valentine's Day. He loves you more than you can imagine for all of eternity.
:)

It's pretty crazy isn't it?

I Got Glasses! Again :P

I got new glasses! B) 

I've had glasses on and off since I was 6. My first ones were round purple ones rimmed with spectacle wearing stars/starfish?.  I got my second pair of glasses (plain blue ones) when I was 10 and a few years later upgraded to the suave half rimmed glasses which were 'so expensive that you have to keep them until you are 18'. Ooh. Death Sentence. I always put them on in exams to feel smart ;D But the years went by and now I got these new ones ^_^ (Still 79 days till I turn 18, not that I'm counting!) 

I've gone through fazes of not wanting to wear my glasses. Especially since only one of my eyes has astigmatism so I don't really notice a major difference whether I'm wearing the glasses or not. My left eye takes over for the other one not seeing properly. Now when I went for the eye check up the optometrist told me that, I should be wearing my glasses as much as possible, especially if I am using 'visual concentration'. I just sat there the me part of me thinking, 'Ooh visual concentration. Sounds cool! :P' and then the rebellious teenager part of me thinking ' Seriously? They don't really make a difference.' Anyways, I got a prescription for new glasses, and went to fetch them today. And they do make a difference! But you only notice once you actually put the glasses on. 

Like my friend Saphie who also just got new glasses said; 'Everything's like HD!' and I agree with her; not only HD, also like 3D! Its really cool! And you appreciate the beauty of stuff a lot more when you can see it clearly...  

You have to wear the right glasses though, if you wear the wrong ones they will probably make your eyesight even worse. It reminded me of Sunday School in Finland ( I wasn't even wearing glasses yet so it must've been aaages ago) they brought like 20 different pairs of glasses and we got to try them all on. Some had big fat lenses that made everything, well, big and fat and out of proportion. Others had cracked lenses which distorted everything etc. All the lenses give a different view, right? But then they sent around the 'God's Love Glasses'. They had no lens.  Everything looks just how it is. God sees us just how we are but he still loves us all the same. 

 It's quite a relief once you realize that you don't have to be something you're not 'just for show'. When you are a child of God that means he has adopted you into his family. He sees every flaw and failure in you but he still loves you enough to send himself down in human form and die for you sins. When we understand the magnitude of his love despite ourselves, other people's views become kind of irrelevant don't they? I mean, who cares what the rude person on the other hockey team shouts at you when you know what the Ultimate King thinks of you? 

Are you having trouble seeing the beauty around you clearly? Or in other people and yourself? These lenses might help; Get to know God and his love for you through reading the bible and talking to Him in prayer. These help you base your identity in God rather than on man. 'For man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart'. When we wear His 'glasses of love' we get to see true beauty :) Try it out!

xx


ps. here are my glasses! Yes, they're purple and orange.. ^_^ (i'm impressed by my phone's camera!)

Ahahaha and here are my old ones ^^,

A date under the stars...:)

 

Shooting stars are quite over-rated, I think. It's one of those stereotypical scenes from movies where they are lying in a park having a DMC ('deep meaningful conversation' for those of you that don't care for shortening this kind of everyday phrases;) and then they have that moment-

Guy 'Aren't the stars beautiful tonight?'

 Girl '( Happy sigh) Yes...'

*moment of silence*

Girl ' Wow did you see that shooting star?'

Guy ' Yes I did!  Quick, make a wish!'

Girl 'Ok.' *makes a wish* 'Wow, what an amazing and special moment share with you.' aww :)

Riiight I'll give you a moment to get over that mushiness.

As I was saying, people's perspective on shooting stars is all wrong. Yes they are cool when they do manage to make an appearance, but when it comes right down to it, most of us are unlucky in our movie recreation moments, and so, you will probably end up sitting there for hours freezing your butts off without seeing a single one (unless youre really clever and checked to make sure you're stargazing during a meteorshower;). Additionally their appearance is usually limited to 1-5 seconds so there is a huge chance that you and your date aren't staring at the same spot in the massive night sky at the exact same time. That awkward moment when a shooting star spurts across the sky, and your date sees it, and you don't.

Now what I learnt when I was holiday with my neighbors in Zeekogat (see it doesn't have to be on a date. Ive never done this on a date. Come to think of it i haven't been on many dates... that's besides the point.) Is to look for Satellites. THAT my friends, is the best fun ever. There are about 3000 satellites orbiting earth out of roughly 8000 man made objects in total. (ie junk that's been left in space) and they range in size from the International Space Station to microsats that can be 10cm in diameter. Those are on average visible for so much longer, as their shine comes from reflecting sunlight while orbiting around us, instead of from catching fire and then disintegrating moments later in the atmosphere. Satellites crossing the sky are enjoyable for all and can be shared without the fear of missing out, especially if you have one of those really powerful green lazers, 'cause then you can use it to point them out to those less observant than you.

The Bible says we are the light of the world. We reflect God's power and light through our lives. Shooting stars look pretty, and that flash of light is very memorable for the moment, and then its gone. Satellites stick around for longer and can be shared. We meet so many people every day! Driving to work or studies, at school, in the mall. Never underestimate your impact on another persons life. You may only make a short shooting star appearance, or you may stay beside them for most of their life. But each person you meet sees your light. And what is that light telling them about you, your beliefs, and your God?

 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." Matthew 5.14-16

ps. Another interesting insight from this satellites vs. shooting stars story; shooting stars are illuminated by burning themselves up, and they last only a few seconds. However satellites are illuminated across the sky. Through what? They don't create any light themselves. They are reflecting the sun's light. Don't try keep yourself alight, let God's love and joy fill you as you trust in him. That light lasts a lot longer. :)

the Hot Rooms of Life

It. Is. June. Oh my gosh! And I am getting quite confused as to what I should write and where, as Sudden Insight is supposed to be all like devotional and stuff, but lately I haven't felt too devotional... My other blog, mypenwrotedown.blogspot.com is for like short stories and poems, which leaves me with no place for ranting, which is what most people use their blogs for! I feel like I am missing out on something important. Heh. 



Something interesting my mom and I talked about the other day, and I shall share that with you. (Yoda phrasing there I did. Purposely not but Star Wars just the other day I watched. Stop I shall now.)

Finland is famous for numerous things, and one of the major ones is the SAUNA :) If you have never heard of it before, check it out here quickly before you carry on : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauna. An interesting though irrelevant fact about saunas which I found from a survey I did for biology last year, is that 29 out of 30 people after having a sauna feel more happy and content with life, relaxed and stress free. (the one out of 30 who didn't think this was my sister and she doesn't really count as she hasn't been exposed to saunas due to living abroad so much, so we'll excuse her.)  


If you've ever been in a sauna you will know that it gets quite hot in there. I've been in +110¤. Doesn't it sound crazy? Why would someone do that to themselves, right? That's the interesting thing. You bear it, because you know you will get out. Same as once you do get out you enjoy rolling in the snow (this guy shares his experience) or swimming in the freeeeeezing cold lake/pool/swamp whatever, because you know you can and will get out and back into the sauna to warm up. 


This one time my mom locked the sauna from the outside, forgetting that I was still inside. Until then I was very chilled in there, but as soon as I realized i couldn't get out if I wanted to I started freaking out. Claustrophobia set in and suddenly it was uncomfortably hot. I was about to very melodramatically faint onto the floor when she came back and opened the door. So of course once she came inside I went out and did the same to her. Jokes! 

My point is, though, that this is quite similar to our lives as Christians. Often we are persecuted for our beliefs,  but why do we persevere? Because we know what is at the end of it. Even though it might feel uncomfortable at present, we stick to God because he is worth it and we have our eyes on the goal, not the situation at the moment. One of my favorite verses at the moment is 2 Corinthians 4.18




 So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Persevere through the Sauna of life and reap the rewards of the brilliant cooling and relaxation effect of the lake of eternal life. Hey, but this doesn't mean that you shouldn't enjoy the sauna as well!


Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will later reveal to us. Romans 8.18 






now i feel like jumping into the pool....


xXx

It's Not Mine Afterall

Good Morning-ish :)

Morning Flowers

I take a lot of stuff for granted in life... I wake up, eat breakfast, surf the internet on my laptop and chat to friends on facebook. This is my holiday mode by the way, yes I finished grade 11 and am currently enjoying family over from Finland for a few weeks, and sorting through christmas presents =) During the school year I wake up (I'm not a morning person at all so for everyones safety and well being, I usually advise people not to try start a conversation with me before 8am, even then I sometimes tend to be in zombie mode. Super attractive yeah right...) and go to school.

'Sudden Insight Moment' - - Why do I get to do all of this? Why should I get all of this? Ok, I have a good relationship with my parents, so it makes sense that they would give me food, and I studied hard so I should pass the year. You could justify me waking up by me having a healthy lifestyle (I am positive that chocolate is good for you in some ways at least.) and going to sleep at a decent time.

But if you think about it, in the end all those justifications are just excuses. When it comes right down to it, there is no reason that we should have anything we have through what we have done. We have no right to Life.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from youselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.'' Ephesians 2.8

 

Jesus died for our sins, so that we could be forgiven and we wouldn't die but instead we would have eternal life in heaven. There is no way we could earn our way to heaven, but we were saved through grace- we got something that we did not deserve. Same as with eternal life, our life here and now is also a gift. We didn't do anything to deserve it, we can't earn it, but God gives it to us for free.

Last week an amazing lady from my church named Diane died. She got cancer, and her body deteriorated rapidly. Imagine, especially in those last weeks, how her husband Nathan praised God for every morning that he woke up and he was still allowed to spend time with her. How precious every moment must have been. 

A New Day

You might not be lying on your death bed, but I think it should still be a moment for celebration every time you wake up to a new day, because God has given you a chance yet again. He gives you a new day and a new mission for that day.

'This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it' psalm 118.24 

Thank him for the chance to keep on living. Thank him for all the little things that you take for granted. Be open to his guidance, ask him to show you what he wants you to do with this day. And Rejoice!

Who is the Life of Your Party?

Hey Everyone!

I am officially Seventeen! Most people don't believe me, but it's all cool. But I think the older you get, the more insignificant the change is. I was at my neighbors birthday party and we calculated that as he turned 3, his age just increased by 50 percent. My age increased by about 6.3 percent. By the time you turn 100 (if you do) your age would be increasing by a mere 1 percent! Of course it is good that it works this way and not vice versa, imagine if when you turned 30 your age would increase by 50 percent, you would actually turn 45! Confusing and a bummer hey.. :)

Now that we are over that mathematical fun fact about birthdays, I can get to the major theme that everyone looks forward to at the special time of year, at least I do. I get overly excited, actually. The Birthday PARTY. Obviously. My mom has long ago handed over the organising of family parties to me, she makes the food, and I plan the rest. And I love it! I think it was at my 11th party that I made the first official treasure hunt on my own. Half of the clues had blown away by the time we were starting so I stationed my siblings in the places where the clues had disappeared from and made them repeat the clues like parrots. Big families are useful for this kind of things, although it may have worked better if they would have remembered the clues! 

But since that party I dare say my game choices have been adapted to the windy climate of the observatory and the quality of the activities has improved. I went on to have an Amazing race party one year, a survivor slash pool party and even this 'mixed up dinner party' where people ordered numbers off the menu and had no idea what food they would get! 

 Every year the guest list get longer, the happenings get more elaborate, and expectations became higher for both me and my friends. These all bring me to this year. Suddenly I didn't feel that amped 'it is party planning time' feeling that usually comes as soon as one party is finished. I was daunted by the fact that I was supposed to come up with yet another get together. What if people wouldn't enjoy it? I was severely stressed out about what used to be the highlight of my year. (of course some of you don't appreciate this kind of stressing over planning and prefer to just take it as it comes, but I plan my parties okay? and the planning usually helps!)

Enter my mom. I think moms are seriously under rated these days, lets stop and think about this for a second before I carry on. All that stuff she goes through for you, cooks, cleans, drives, stays up late waiting for you to come home, then listens to your problems even when she has a million of her own. Impressive! This generation has some big shoes to fill... :) Anyways, so my mom comes into the picture. Basically I was busy venting out all my 'my party is going to fail, no one's coming everything is going wrong' teenage whining thing to her and she just turns around and says ' Rebekka, who is the one who will make this party succeed; you or God? God is going to bring the people he wants to bring to your party, and he will make it work. Leave it to Him.'  

  

I found Deuteronomy 8.17-18 -->

 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth.

Wow. Reality check. 

I was looking at my party like meMEmeMEmeMEmeME. But Christ is in me. I was made alive in Him. It is intriguing how something so seemingly secular as a birthday party, can have God's hand in it, and be used to glorify Him! I had not thought about my party in that light, at all. But now that I did, I could feel all the stress and pressure lift off me. And everytime something made me start feeling anxious, I could stop and say ' God, you take this from me, I trust you.' 

I stopped worrying about the party, and guess what? It was the best seventeenth party I have ever been at. There was enough food, enough games, enough chilling, enough friends... it was perfect. The 'vibe' was amazing, when my mom blessed the braai meat before we ate there was this unity in spirit, its hard to explain.. But I couldn't stop smiling and I felt so happy. I think everyone enjoyed it immensely, at least that is what i gathered from the feedback I got! People were blessed by the party, and the conversations and games impacted everyone. A birthday party! God is interested in the most peculiar things, because we are interested in them.

When the last person left past midnight I sat down in my room and thought about the evening. This joyous feeling came over me, and I just knew- 'That was all God.'

He is awesome.

*I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.*  galatians 2:20

:)

Im not THAT wrinkly...Or am I?

Good Night!
( Why is this automatically assumed a farewell? I mean, don't you meet people in the middle of the night as well? ... Just a thought... ;)

It was the most curious thing, I absent mindedly traced all the creases in the palm of my right hand with a pen while my diary lay splayed open before me on my bed.(Yup, I have a diary, a nice big fat one I might add:) As I looked down at my hand, all these creases and wrinkles now so evident made my hand look quite old and, frankly, weird. Now these wrinkles were the only thing that I noticed on my hand!

This may often happen in life as well. It is very easy to focus on one small problem in life and made to seem like it is the biggest problem ever presented to mankind. The flawless beauty of the rest of ones life has no meaning when this one 'major' issue can't be solved.

Especially teenagers! We often have a strange relationship with negative emotions, as if we were proud of being in the depths of despair (often for the most random and insignificant reasons) and having mood swings which can be conveniently blamed on teenage hormones. I admit, I get that way too sometimes, and that's when my mom's immediate and practical advice comes in, 'Go to bed and the problem will not be as big in the morning.' The world usually doesn't seem so bad a place in the light of a new day :)

It is also healthy to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Get a new perspective, and get other peoples perspective as well. What may seem catastrophic to you can be as simple as the difference between an apple and an orange to someone else.

Focus on the good things in life, the things you are grateful for. I don't mean that you should totally ignore the things that are going badly, of course those need attention and care as well, but don't dwell on those depressing thoughts continuously. Balance is key.

'Finally, brothers (which includes, sisters of course), whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.' Philippians 4.8

My left hand, is the perfect picture of what a nearly 17 year old hand is supposed to look like, as far as I know. Yes, the creases are there too, quite visible, but not the main feature. These creases aren't accentuated out of proportion with a blue pen. ;)

And remember that God is bigger than ANY problem! Give your worries to him :)