You Saved Me

From Justin Kintzel
Liberty University

"You saved me, and from the start, you overwhelmed my heart."

What a blessing to have godly Christian musicians!
So often we are bombarded on every side by secular music that has the common theme of hooking up and getting wasted, but it is so beautiful to be able to tune out the worlds of the world and hone in on God's eternal love and awesome work that He is doing in our lives.

I love Liberty.

Operation Cupcake.

My friend and I decided it was time to celebrate life in general.

It was convenient timing, as it just so happened to be the birthday of a friend of ours, so we got barefoot and in the kitchen and whipped up a nice little batch of sweetness that would have made Martha proud.

I found a delightful recipe of rich chocolate cupcakes and thought sharing it with you would be kind.

Here it is:

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
• Chocolate Ganache Frosting
• Chocolate Curls, for decorating (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-
   quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
4. To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting. Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature and garnish with chocolate curls just before serving.   
   The result is delightful. Although you may not want to use as much butter as the recipe calls for, or so I've heard.
   Happy (maybe not your) Birthday!

When I'm down and low.

So today, I'm feeling not too happy with myself.

I am being an immature little girl, and since I can recognize it, I'm getting even more annoyed.

Being annoyed at myself is quite disconcerting. Makes me feel rather... schizophrenic?

In order that I might be pushed out of my own funk, I am going to begin to name the good things I have going on in my life that are wonderful.

1. Today is a day that My Lord has made.
2. I am at a wonderful school that is focused on God and godly principles.
3. I am currently sitting in a fluffy, comfortable chair in a peaceful and relatively quiet place.
4. Tonight I am going to hang out with people that I love and laugh a lot.
5. My mom got very exciting and potentially life-changing news today.
6. I am sitting across from a really cool painting, thinking about what I would do if I had my own paints and canvas with me.
7. I got to drink really good coffee several times today.
8. Spring is on its way here.
9. Tomorrow I get to sleep in, and then laze around with friends while doing homework. And drink coffee.
10. God loves me regardless of how I feel or what is going on in my mind or world. He is worthy!

We live in a world that allows itself to get bogged down and upset with the difficult or upsetting things in life, and don't take time to open our eyes to the bigger picture and see how wonderful our lives really are. What a shame.

So we do not focus on what is seen, but what is unseen; for that which is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Beautiful For Me

Nicole Nordeman shares an amazing truth in this song.

It is so wonderful that there are Christian artists who are working to support young kids (and "big" kids) in telling all that YOU are beautiful in God's eyes.
He created you, and made you just the way you are.
I love the line that says, "You should have seen me smile the day that I made you."
We each have our own purpose that He made us for, and when we fulfill that, He is honored and glorified.

The cartoon clips in this video are from Veggie Tale's Sweet pea Beauty, their semi-equivalent to Disney's Snow White, but with a Biblical twist of truth in the underlying plot.

"Has anybody told you, you're beautiful?"

Cinderella

You know those moments when you feel insignificant as a dust speck?
I'm instantly reminded of the Calvin and Hobbes comic by Bill Waterson.
One of my favorite strips is this one:

Calvin here is portraying his own personal feelings of being unimportant and inconsequential to the universe. His second comment shows how even this young, spunky, trouble-maker of a child is able to see how small he is in comparison to everything else.

We often struggle with these same ideas: believing that we make no difference on our planet, that the world would be the same- better even without our presence.

Though our size in comparison with the world is like an ant to a giant, God says that we matter to Him.

David says in Psalm 139, "It was You who created my inner parts; You knit me together in my mothers womb. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and that my soul knows right well." God has created us for a purpose, and we are important to Him.

He has taken us, when we were like deaf and dumb sheep, and made us His. 

He changed our facade, and has made us Kings and Priests. I am now royalty in His eyes, because He has done a good work in me. He no longer views me as a mindless drone, wandering about the desert, straying farther away from the source of water that I need. 

I am a beloved Princess, the apple of His eye.

Truth and Beauty

Make-up.
Clothing designs.
Big house.
Shoes.
Sports paraphernalia.
Hair products.
Diets.
Contacts.
Jewelry.
Nice cars.

Thick wallets.

Since when did any of these define a person?

Forget getting to know me, just look at my outside and decide whether or not you find be acceptable.
The words of my mouth don't do the talking any more, watch my feet for the Jimmy Choo's to do the talking and the walking.
My mind needs nothing to fill it, I'll marry rich and won't have to worry about anything else ever again.

No.

Not me.

How did Belle put it... "I want so much more than this provincial life."

My spirit is what will be beautiful. I am defined by "Not the color of my skin, but the strength of my character." Revolutionary inside, changing the whole world, just by changing me. The world cannot be the same, for even when the smallest grain of sand in the Sahara is moved but a milimeter the universe is now different. I will not remain in society's sand box of depression, I am BEAUTIFUL in the eyes of the only one whose opinion matters- the Creator of the universe.

I'm embarking on an unbeaten trail- try to keep up won't you?

Forsythia Bushes

Today, as I was walking along the sidewalk, and suddenly I recognized there was more than just me wearing a bright color.

My favorite signs of spring are coming out of hiding.

The first one I saw was actually my favorite- the forsythia bushes are blooming.
For those of you who did not grow up with a mother who loved botany, forsythia bushes are those plants that bloom with tiny yellow flowers all over the entire plant before and after they grow leaves.
They cover our area with their glowing unconventional light, brightening up even the cloudy days.

While on the way to church today, I saw my second favorite sign of spring: lovely daffodils with their green leaves starkly contrasting the dark, damp earth supporting them. When we lived up in the northern parts of the country, the daffodils were always the first things to pop out of the ground, claiming victory over the death of winter.

The symbol of Spring has so many beautiful connotations to its being.

The re-birth of all living creatures shows a beautiful depiction of how man can be regenerated from a old, dead character into a beautiful, fresh and clean soul.
I have been made new, a creation that is a bold statement of who made me and what He can do with just a little bit of dust, a wisp of God's Breath, and His Living Water.

Vivaldi - Spring

I love Vivaldi.

Listen all the way through while looking at God's Creation.
My favorite moment is starting at 9 minutes until the end.
Makes me want to cry and loose bladder control all at the same time.

How awesome is it that even though we can create, "Nothing new under the sun," that there are still sparks of genius with originality and perception. God created us to be like Him: a people who desire to have truth and beauty surrounding our existence.

This is my real Spring theme song.
-Awakened from sleep.

Spring Love

~Sophie Zelmani~

A melancholy song of spring gives a reminder to us all that we have to last through the winter (hard times) in our lives in order to know ourselves better and to discover if our love- whether it be a friendship or a relationship- will last the test of time.

Spring is an awakening of the senses, whereas Winter is the deadening of all.
If you can last through the deaths, you will be able to last until the end of time.

tolerance.

 Today's society says that truth is relative, objective, personal: what is true for me does not have to be true for me, and I have to "tolerate" your opinion.

As an English major, I am here to give you the definition of that word, tolerance.

Webster's dictionary gives us several different options to choose from:
1. An objective, permissible attitude toward those whose opinions, religion, race, etc differ from one's own.
2. Interest or concern for ideas, opinions, etc that are foreign
3. The act or capacity of enduring

Some synonyms we can properly use are:
patience, sufferance, liberality; agree in allowing the right of something that one does not approve; tolerance implies the sufferance of conduct with which one is not in accord.

Now, I understand that the etymology and dictionary definitions of words can be a bit mundane, so let me re-sum all this up for those of you who saw the word "definition" and skipped all of the above.

Tolerance: putting up with people who you disagree with.

The true definition is very different from today's wishful idea.
Daily, individuals are told that they need to be "tolerant" to other religions, but this "tolerance" is in reality turning a blind eye to everything else in the world, and resigning one's self to apathy.

If I disagree with anything someone else says, I am frowned upon and called a bigot or some other nasty name. America was founded on principles that celebrated freedom, whether that be for religion, race, etc. I am considered intolerant if I make any kind of statement in negation of someone else's beliefs, when in reality, this is one of the freedoms guaranteed to me by the American Constitution.

Some words can't change definition- it redefines values of a society. I'm praying for a remembrance of true meanings of words to be put into place, so our freedoms remain all they have been created to sustain.

Defying Gravity

Real live country song on my blog!

(This is a rare occasion.)

When I let you take control, then I'm defying gravity.
And when I'm bruised and I'm torn, I know you will pull me up, then I'm defying gravity.

God lifts us up out of our mundane lives and seeks to connect with us on a personal level. He comes down to our level, and when we allow Him to, we are lifted up to a level that lets us be near to Him.

His mercy endures forever.
-Amen.

The Rip and Tear

I've heard some powerful prayers in my life.

There have been times when in church an individual would come up to the altar and talk with the pastor, and he would have the church pray as a unit for the person.
Prayers for healing can be hard to get through with dry eyes.
I have gone through buckets of tears when praying for a lost friend or family member.

Although all of these can and have a major impact on my life, I believe the most powerful prayer is truly that of the Rip and Tear.

This kind of prayer is not often prayed, but is applicable to all people, because the question it gives to God is that He will take from your life anything that He deems unacceptable or unnecessary from your life.
If you pray this prayer, you should be forewarned that if you truly want this to happen, and ask God to "rip and tear" these harmful things from your life, He will do it. He created you to be ALL His, and if you surrender to what His desire is for your life, He will use you for His ends.

His ends and means are both justified, so there is no need to worry about either. If you are ready to surrender, pray for God to literally take away both the sinful nature you were born with and the sins that you commit on a regular basis, and He will rescue from these, and you will never be the same.

Just as William Cowper stated, "Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint on his knees."

Food for Thought

Self-Esteem. It's probably the most driving force on the planet. If I believe in myself, I will press on to wherever I want to go: college, over seas, self-employment. Just like Henry Ford said, "Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right." When we look at his own life, he had encounters with rough times. His mother passed away at an inopportune time, and he had to work incredibly hard to get where he is known to have gotten.



Henry Ford did not get his life handed to him. He had to get up off the couch and decide that he was going to accomplish something rather than sit around eating chips and dip watching nothing on t.v. He changed history, developed a tool that today Americans cannot dream of a world without. All this did not come to fruition in a day, nor did it show up on his door step on a silver platter.

Because he had a dream, and believed that he could make it his reality, Henry Ford will be remembered by the world. He tried his best, which is all one can ask, and he was rewarded for his hard work and determination.

Yet we are so stagnant in our thinking and beliefs. We expect to be able to go up stream, but are refusing to paddle. Life is a river with a strong current, and we have to make an intentional resolution to get upstream, or else we will be swiftly removed from the face of the earth.

I want to make an impact on my world; I want Jesus to be pleased with the work I do during the brief time I will be here. My life is but a vapor, so the conquest must being now.

Jesus, Lord Of Heaven

Your love is deeper than any ocean...
Reaches beyond the stars in the sky.

Your love has no bounds.

Jesus is such an amazing friend. He holds my life in His hands, and knows where He wants me to go, and what His will is to do with my life.

I let myself worry about my future, fretting about things that in reality I have no control over. He has a specific plan for my life, and regardless of what my little brain can comprehend, He has it all under His protection. He is working it all out for His good.

Thank God that His thoughts are above mine, that His plans are better and bigger than anything I could ever try to envision.

Snakes

Best Bedtime Story Ever!

I recently heard this story about a little five year old boy.
His parents got him a snake for his past birthday, and he loved the snake so much. After he had the snake for a while, and had proved he could be somewhat responsible for it, he asked his parents if it could sleep in his bed with him. Since it didn't seem like that big of a deal, the parents allowed it.

Soon after, the snake started having difficulty eating. It wouldn't eat any of the food the boy or his parents tried to feed it. After about a week goes by with the snake not eating, they took the snake to the vet. They shared the little they knew with the vet, that the snake had stopped eating. The vet suddenly got really tense and told the parents very seriously, "You have to get rid of this snake right away."

The parents were surprised at the severity of the vet's tone and couldn't help but ask why?

The only response they got was, "The snake is starving itself to make enough room to eat your son."

Parental heart attack?
Probably.

Biblical way to turn this verse into a threat to your enemies:
Jeremiah 8:17
"Indeed, I am about to send snakes among you, poisonous vipers that cannot be charmed. They will bite you. This is the LORD's declaration."

I'll probably make a fortune on this one in the world of Children's Literature...