A Christmas Sermon?

Well, I guess I'll start off by saying Merry Christmas y'all. Now I want to ask something:  What makes Christmas for you? Many things come to my mind when I think of Christmas. I think of decorating the Christmas tree with  my family and reliving memories through our decorations, the tradition of making Christmas explode around our tree like my grandfather Honey would like it, cooking with my Mom in Christmas aprons, laughing my head off with my cousins, Christmas lights, the multiple church services I've gone to, the Christmas plays I have been in and helped with, the Christmas movies, and even the deaths of certain family members that have happened around Christmas time sadly. Now do these things make Christmas? Well, I suppose they could. These things are Christmas, but they do not MAKE Christmas. 

So what makes Christmas? Think of the stable scene that we all know. It is actually quite dirty, I mean it was a place for animals. Mary is having her first born child, baby Jesus, and Joshua is about to be a father. (I have not gone through this clearly but I imagine that it is a very long and stressful night for both of them.) Animals surround the young couple watching as the Savior is born. The night didn't have a tree, it didn't lights, it didn't have a planned party with planned gifts or food. It was a silent night, a holy night (two favorite songs of mine), with a few screams from Mary I am sure and crying from baby Jesus, who just left Heaven for the real world. The night contained family and hope. Jesus, our savior, came to Earth to basically save us all in a few years. Without His birth, Easter would not happen and we would not be here, nor would you be here reading this post that is trying to express the love of Jesus. It seems like something we all know, Jesus is the reason for the season. But I do not think we fully realize how important Jesus's birth really is...Jesus came into this world with His Light and we carry that Light with us each and everyday. Jesus is the Light of the world. And we are meant to carry that Light to others, not just on Christmas, but always. 

So there is my "sermon" for you. Please keep this in mind while you celebrate with your family over this break. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day & Merry Christmas! 

-Hannah 

Classic Live Your Life Post

Do you ever think about how wonderful it is to live?  Life can be screwed up and awful, yes.  Sometimes your life can just down right suck.  You are over in your corner hating life while others love their life.  But think about it, really think about how amazing it is to live.  How amazing that you even exist at all.  Everything exists for at least a second, sometimes not even a second.  Yet we, as humans, are here longer than a second.  We are here for years!  But remember how easily those years can be taken away from you.  Its so easy to forget that one day, you could say goodbye to your little sister and she not come home because someone shot her at her school.  Your grandmother could never come home to see your new artwork because she had a heart attack.  Maybe it seems crazy and insane to even think about the possibility of death, but it is real.  So does that change how you think about your life?  Do you realize how many days we waste by worrying over the littlest things, crying over things that don't matter, or just being unhappy?  Um, let me tell you, that is A LOT of days.  Maybe not for you, but I know I have done it.  I know this is such a classic "live your life to fullest every single day" but I would really like my readers to hear me out.  I don't just mean you should live your life to the fullest, which you totally should, but you should also be grateful for it.  So many people never get that chance of being here.  Too many people die young whether it be because of health or tragic accident or a planned early death...but I want you to think about just how amazing your body is too!

Think about your heart.  Have you ever been in a classroom and all of sudden you just can't breath?  Your heart just won't stop beating, yeah its a little scary & troublesome but still, your heart is beating.  Its alive.  Which is so much more than others have sometimes.  The sound of that guitar that plays way too loud in your ear-buds, the embrace of a hug from a protective friend, the smell of cookies, the laughter of your parents, and so much more are just wonderful examples of life.  You are here on this Earth right now this very minute with good and bad moments where you will cry your eyes out, turn as red as a rose from embarrassment, you pee your pants from laughing too much, have the awful feeling of the flu, and live your life most importantly.  So let your heart beat crazy after a run, let your tears come out from joy or sadness, scream when your favorite TV actors kiss, throw something when your favorite book characters die, laugh until you feel the pain in your stomach, and LIVE.  Because although you can live for years, it can be taken easily because life can be pretty screwed up...but it doesn't have to be if you don't make it.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Hannah
 

Ephesians 2:10

I want you to think about who you are. Things such as who your parents are, where you live, your likes, your dislikes, even your pet. Many of those things make you who you are, well maybe my cat doesn't make me who I am but you get the picture. Change one of those factors, say you didn't live where you live now. Example, you live in a small town in the southern part of Georgia instead you live in the big city of New York. That would make you very different wouldn't it? Now change something even bigger, say your Mom married another man. You might not even be here on this Earth right now. If you were, you would most likely be with another family entirely.

I'm not sure about you but I think that is pretty awesome and here is why. You take all these factors into account that make you who you are and its pretty astonishing that you are even here right now reading my blog. One little thing, such as your pet, and you could be a totally different person. A lot of people tell me how much they hate their family or how much they hate their town or how much they hate themselves even. Its really sad to me that a lot of my friends do not like themselves. But here's what I think, you are you for a reason. You have your family for a reason. You live where you live for a reason. I believe every single person on this Earth is here for a reason. As Ephesians 2: 10 says, "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." God has a plan for you and a good plan too, check out Jeremiah 29: 11 if you do not believe me.

I understand not everyone has a great family or lives in a great town. I won't say it sucks and I know how you feel because I really don't. (If you would like to talk about it, I am willing to listen always) But you are put where you are for a reason, for a purpose. I don't know what that purpose is, but you will figure it out at some point. Just realize, you are here for such a bigger purpose than just taking up the Oxygen and letting out Carbon Dioxide for the plants. No, you have a purpose.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Hannah    

Remember the Titans

As I sat back in my chair this evening and watched Remember the Titans, for maybe the thousandth time, I began to think about the meaning behind the movie like I usually do. The first time I saw this movie I just couldn't understand why someone could dislike another for their skin color. I used to really hate the adults in the movie because they were so mean to the African Americans and even their own sons when the boys tried making a difference in the world. But see, I was not brought up that way. I don't believe in disliking someone based off their looks. These people in that day and age were brought up differently and taught different things than I was. The adults in the movie eventually come around, most of them anyway, and if they didn't they could just be upset by themselves while the rest of the world worked at making a difference. Change is a scary thing and it isn't easy, I know because I've had to change my living arrangements 8 times in my life, therefore as I watched this movie again tonight I couldn't hold it against them. Because I know most of them thankfully did change.

The world is not a perfect place though today. Is there still racism? YES. It's almost sad that there still is but I don't believe there will be a day when there isn't racism. As long as one racist human being is still alive, racism will be here on this Earth. (Although, I still pray there will one day not be.)

Anyway, I love this movie. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend it. There are many good movies out there about the Civil Rights Movement. But this movie is one of the better ones, if you ask me. I am not a big fan of football, I grew up having to watch it with my family and slowly learning the rules. I just do not care for the game, the only ones I really get excited for is soccer. If I, a person who didn't understand the rules of the game for the longest time, will cheer for this team then its been done pretty good. It's an emotional movie that is based off a true story that really tugs at your heart. Even though I know the ending, I will not spoil it for anyone who hasn't watched it, I still cry every time. I still cheer and yell and get so excited too.

This is a lot to take in, I am just glad you've read this far, but the biggest thing I want to share tonight is that color doesn't matter. As I said earlier, racism will always be here and I am sure most people would agree with me that there shouldn't be racism because they weren't raised that way. But I want you to know, you can do anything you set your mind to no matter who or where or what color you are. Just as these teen boys, that at first thought the only thing they had in common was football, you can make a difference. Even if its just with one person, you have forever changed some one's life. Which will change another person's life, and that person will change another, and that person will change another, and so forth. Go out into the world and make a difference, leave your footprint right here.

"Nah nah nah. Hey Hey Hey. Goodbye." Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Hannah

First Post?

Hello people I hopefully know reading my blog! I am Hannah. I've actually done this blog thing 3 times before, I like to write, and they've all ended. I know, that's so sad. But, I really want to write and get my feelings out there so I'm going to try the blog thing again. I won't post every week, nor will I post everyday, I am way too busy for that, but I will my try my best at making the few posts I make well worth your time. I hope you enjoy my blog and if you ever agree or disagree or just want to say something, please do, I welcome your comments. I like feedback, but please try to be nice. I do not care for people being just plain rude, you are just a coward if you bully behind a computer face. I think that's really I want to say. Oh my gosh, first blog post complete!  

 Thank you for reading and have a blessed day. 

-Hannah