Wednesday, April 21, 2010

It's a Masquerade

I don't know if you have ever read Chesterton's "The Man Who Was Thursday" (also known as The Nightmare), but one of the biggest themes in it, was a portrayal of how nothing is as it seems. It was quite the intriguing read, I'll give it that much. Ok, I'll admit it. It was good. It's one of those books you can read a billion times, catch another theme you didn't notice the first time around; and still not fully understand it. I really like his writing though, he's a poetic type of guy. I don't know how else to describe his writing other then: It's not a head-on type of philosophical poetic type of writing. He comes at it from an angle. He's so incredibly heady it's almost as if he's laughing at you, like a fat man laughs at a skinny man because he can't eat as much, as he watches you scratch your head in confuzzlement. [A note to the readers: Confuzzled is my new favorite word. Put puzzled and Confused together and get, confuzzled. It is now going to be used frequently in blog posts-just warning you.] To Chesterton, we probably look like monkeys-not the evolved ones that is. ;P

Sometimes I felt like he was rambling on and on, philosophy his game, poetry his language in it's highest form of nonsenses and circular reasoning. But if I had just 1/4 of his brain, I'd probably see that it ISN'T circular reasoning and nonsense; but a very high form of symbolism, in it's thickest allegoric accent.

I did have a point though..:D I just got distracted..:P

It's the same issue that I have always wrestled with. I have really good friends and then all of a sudden something goes wrong, and those friends change. I'm talking about a slight change at first in their character. And then the change speeds up, and it's just to the point where my eyes are open, and I'm left gasping at the fact that they weren't who they had *posed* to be. It's like a masquerade. You know all the people in the ballroom, but everyone is dressed up, and wearing masks, you are left to guess who is who. It's like thinking someone is one person, and then they pull off the mask..and you're left disappointed because you SHOULD HAVE KNOWN who they really were.

Life seems like a masquerade, in this way, in more ways then one but specifically this way for me right now. I don't know why but at some point we're good friends, able to talk not only on the shallow "crazy" conversations, but we are able to be open with each other about our spiritual walk.

It's like if you picture two people walking on the same path, until a fork comes in the road. Your friend leaves you. You are left to continue walking down the same path you have been. It really hurts at first. But, knowing that you are always going to be the same, always running to Christ, always trying to uphold God's standards even if the world thinks you're stupid, then you'll be OK.

This has been a struggle, a reoccurring issue for me. The first couple of times it happened I was pretty broken. You have to put yourself in my shoes: Best friends for a LONG time, and then all at once they let you down, they leave you hanging, they no longer care about running towards Christ with you.

The other few times I have been FRUSTRATED. Why? How can I go from brokenness to frustration? Why the change in reaction?

THIS is where my frustration lies: I am so sick and tired of having people say they are for something let's just say: MODESTY. And they tell you FROM THE START of your friendship WHAT their standards on modesty are. And for a while you're like wow, they do a great job of sticking with that standard. They reflect Christ when doing this. You admire them for it. Somehow, all of a sudden you notice a slight change in their attitude, in their presentation of dressing, it seems like they no longer are following this conviction they had of modesty....what the he**?

My frustration in these friendship let downs, isn't that they let ME down-not any more. I have learned that friends will come and go. I have learned that no matter what my sister, my family altogether, my parents, God, will be my bff's. Anyways the frustration then, is aimed that the HYPOCRISY.

WHY DO WE AS CHRISTIANS, WHO SAY WE ARE FOR THIS, WE HAVE A CONVICTION TO REPRESENT CHRIST IN THIS SUCH WAY, AND THEN!!! AND THEN WE DO NOT FOLLOW THROUGH WITH IT! Or we do, but then we get tired of it, so instead of HANGING ON AND CONTINUING TO WRESTLE WITH GOD (like we talked about in my post: On rambling) WE GIVE UP.

You aren't a Christian, you are NOT in the disciple category (if you're intrigued because you haven't read my: On rambling post, then do so. Click "Here" to read it.). A Christian doesn't GIVE UP because THEY'RE TIRED. OBVIOUSLY we are going to sin, and sometimes we tend to wallow in it before coming back to Christ. Ah! There's the key! The key is we know that this is going to happen. That isn't "giving up" that's called hey everyone is born under the curse of Adam...I'm a wretched sinner who isn't perfect, but thank God that Christ already lived the perfect life! As long as you continue to cling to Christ through you pain, through your confuzzled meant, through your doubts, through the temptations the world brings, through your FATIGUE, through your WEARINESS, through your SIN, through your SORROW, through your joy, through your TRIALS, through your LIFE then you know that you ARE truly a Christian.

But if you're tired of clinging to Christ and you are having thoughts of letting go, you better be asking for a lot of prayer.

What happens when you get OFF FOCUS-EVEN for a short period of time? SIN, sin, sin, sin, sin, sin, sin andddd more sin, sin, sin, sin, sin, sin, sin, ANNNND, morrrrreeeeeeeeeeee sinnnnn! Our consciences become DULL and we become DEF to hearing them, when we are focused on the things of the world.

The world will bring you PLEASURE not joy. The world will bring you "happiness" as they PROMISE, but in the form of shallow, not even scratch-the surface kind of "happiness". The kind of PLEASURE it brings is the kind that they promise if you do what everyone else is doing: Sex beginning at a young age (they teach this stuff to kids in school! I can't believe it!), drugs, drinking to get "buzzed" or even fully drunk, partying all night, and all kinds of form of "pleasure".

It's like this: Sin brings us pleasure, but for the few minutes of doing it, until we realize the consequences for our sin, until we realize what we just did was WRONG, until we realize we have to go back to Christ..and confess, until we are sitting in the presence of the Holy..only then do we realize that we didn't just experience joy. Pleasure lasts for a short moment.

SO to give UP completely is dangerous. Or even starting out slow-you don't understand-this is THE WORLD you'll be facing not even facing you'll be "hanging out with", being around, doing the things it does, and then you have to face your self at the end of the day, and God at the end of the world.

I'm disappointed in this generation of teenagers. I'm SICK of these false convictions, fake presentations of selves, of pretending, of attending this masquerade.

I DON'T understand how someone who comes from a Christian family can look at the world so hungrily. I don't understand how someone who comes from a Christian family can long so earnestly, wait so patiently, for ONE temptation to come their way. One opportunity to getting what they so deeply desire...which is what? A moment of pleasure..?

If that is the case. If you desire ONE moment of pleasure whether it be: Sleeping with someone, having a bf/gf (yes it is a sin because you are STILL defiling marriage which is a HOLY thing set apart from God from the beginning in Genesis when he told Adam and Eve to go out and multiply and how He explained the two shall become ONE flesh. having a bf/gf is defiling that holy thing because you are doing things that only a married couple that are one flesh, do. even if you're only kissing or holding hands..you're in the wrong.), drinking underage, partying and doing all the wicked things at the party, drugs, WHATEVER it is that's a sin that will bring you pleasure...


You're looking for THAT, seeking THAT, then you have NEVER TRULY experienced a SOUL-DEEP JOY FROM CHRIST THAT ONLY HE CAN GIVE YOU. You've never experienced a joy that comes from resting in Him. You've never experienced being utterly BROKEN and then all at once being mended by Him. You've never experienced the joy of suffering in Him as Paul the appostle so greatly did, and all the appostles. (Excepting Judas)

THEN I think I CAN understand you..still only from a very mild aspect because I still don't get why you desire THOSE things. And not the things Christ upholds. I guess that's where the parents would come in, they aren't doing a good job, or a good enough job.

All this to say I'm so freakin frustrated that people just go hay-wire! WE CAN'T give up. God promised it wouldn't be easy! He came to take away your sins, not your pain. He will however NEVER leave you.

Where are the godly teenagers that represent Christ 100%!? I'm not asking you to be perfect! I'm asking you to not let go, to keep wrestling with our God, keep fighting the good fight, keep your chin up so your eyes are ALWAYS on Him!

Us Christians are leaving Christ's mark on this world by how we GLORIFY Him. If you want to know if we are 100% striving to do that, then go ask the people around you, go ask your neighborhood friends/kids, go ask the elders of your church, go ask your parents, go ask our sibilings, go ask EVERYONE you possibly know-and ask them if they think you are glorifying God to the best of your abilities. If not, then ask them where your weaknesses are in this matter. And when you ask the people that are not Christians that see you sometimes, that are in your life, ask them if there's anything different about you compared to everyone else..and give them an example like: an attitude change or something. If they don't notice anything different then you know you REALLY need to talk with your parents, the pastor and elders of your church, ask them to pray for you and ask them how you as a part of the body of Christ, a worker in His kingdom, can better glorify God in ways that the world will notice. In ways that will be encouraging to other peers, and even to the adults!

Guarantee you that their mouths will drop...:D


~Elisabeth Darcy

Ps. Pray for me that I will glorify Christ in ways that my surroundings will notice CHRIST in me--not me, I, or myself. :D

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Job applications!

SO I filled out my very first ever JOB APPLICATION! We have 2 starbucks here in nampa. I filled out an app for one because the other is affiliated through Target. So it'd be different. Yeah. Anyways it's like 5 mins away from us! (or less!!)

Even if I don't get the job, it's awesome that I have filled out my first application, EVER!

Wish me luck guys!

I wanted to get a job at this BOMB coffee house "The Flying M" but the environment there is a little bit different. Like yeah..modern in the sense of "new age" type of modern. OK..get it? Emoish..typeish..of ppl there. And I dunno I just think it being my first job as it is, and being inexperienced, I'm already nervous as it is. And so to be put into that type of enviornment first time--I don't know..kind of makes me nervous and anxious.

Yeah so I went with Starbucks since it's the SECOND best coffee out there!!


:) :) :) :D :D :D

Don't worry, I didn't say nuffin bad about their coffee in the app ;PPP


Yeah I can't wait! To get a job! Saving for a car!!

Driver's ed is covered by birthday money..which I'm thankful for because I can't believe I made it to $300 so quick!


:) :)


The end

~L D

On Friendship

By far, people are, my favorite subject to write about, ponder on, be intrigued by. The anatomy of the human body doesn't even scratch the surface if you wanted to 'start somewhere' in your pondering's.

Where do you start then? For me it is always the eyes. The eyes can say a lot about a person. Some bloody genius once said..(and I don't recall who, or if I've ever known..if you do know, PLEASE comment and tell me!!) that the eyes are like the windows into one's soul. I think it's true. I start with the eyes, and then perhaps I will smile at the person and watch them to see if they smile back, always looking into their eyes.

Next, I'd move on to their personality. I take extra notes on their characteristics. I don't mean the shallow 'like and dislike' routine. That will come in time, though. I mean I look for their strengths and weaknesses, their sin struggles, and those things that they possess with ease, in which perhaps I don't. Or vice versa. Or maybe we both struggle with the same thing. Personality-wise I make note if they are shy or outgoing, quiet or talkative, funny or serious, witty or slow, smart or above and beyond *mind blowing*, modest or cocky, mature or immature, possessing leadership skills or a follower, etc. You get the point.

The best for last is to ponder up on the soul. You know you are friends at last, when you are able to openly expose the great suffering, endless toiling, open wounds, sore bruises, un-dealt with pain, brokenness that your soul has *or is* going through. When you begin to exchange dreams, goals, triumphs against evil, explicit joy you've experienced, the sweet scent of peace God has given you, satisfyingly delicious rest in Christ, with one another. You know you share a friendship when your friend needs to be loved more then ever, and you can give them that love. But, to do so makes you feel like you're going to fall apart, like you're shattering into tiny pieces. YET you show them the love of Christ, ANYWAYS.

Only then can you know, that you're friendship is indeed, a friendship. To rejoice with the other's soul, to wear a sackcloth with your friend's soul, to open and expose each other's weaknesses is friendship in it's second highest form. Second highest form, because the highest form of friendship given, shown, and demonstrated to us, is when God came down in the form as a man, and died for an unloving, ungrateful, unfaithful group of people.

He exposed Himself to us all, and promised us new life. He exposes us everyday, everyday ripping out the weeds that are growing in our soul, everyday making us more and more like Him. He never forgets about us, though the afids come, though the weeds never stop growing, though the droughts come, though the thorns grow and form around our soul! He comes, each morning, waters us, shines down on us, and clears away all the weeds, all thorns, all nasty little bugs that promise nothing but mischief to His garden *people*.

That my friends, is friendship. It is Christ searching our souls, always reminding us: I came to take away your sin Lissie, not your pain. And that is exactly what I'm going to do. You are not alone. Remember I never promised you a life free of pain, but I promised you an eternal life to come. With this promise, you can risk having to endure suffering, you can risk friendships destroyed, you can risk not going out and doing whatever you darn well please, you can risk your loved ones hurting you, you can risk having people that don't live up to YOUR expectations, you can risk crushed dreams, you can risk being completely and utterly powerless, you can risk rejection, you CAN risk NOT BEING LOVED by people, You can risk enduring unbearable pain, You can risk it all for Me.

If God didn't exist we WOULD NOT be able to risk these things because THIS would be it. You want an example?

Pretend that this line is life: STARTS______________________________THE END.

That's it. End of story. If that's "all" life is, then yes the world has it right, go out and do whatever brings you pleasure.

But since the world is WRONG, you can risk it all my friends. No matter what, you have the greatest friendship that ever existed, Christ's. Follow HIS example, knowing eternal life is promised. Knowing that you are accepted in God's eyes! Knowing that if nobody loves you it doesn't matter, you will be broken yes, but satisfied by the love Christ has to give you.

(If you haven't listened to Derek Webb's song "Nobody love's me, um you should. My family LOVES Derek Webb, Sandra McCraken, and all the Indelible Grace albums, and Caedmon's call albums!)


~Elisabeth Darcy

Monday, April 19, 2010

On Rambling

I gave everyone that goes to NBC (i.e. Nampa Bible Church) their thank you cards for coming to my surprise 16th birthday party and making that day one of the best in my life!!

Yay! Phew, glad I got that over with. I write a lot of letters to friends. Writing thank you cards was no biggie, I really enjoyed it actually. I prefer actually taking time to write something PERSONAL, other than a sad little 'thank you', in the cards. Personally, I had so much fun writing those thank you cards, it was like writing a letter to all these friends! So much fun! :D

I sealed them too with my wax seal from Michaels (wedding section-YO). I had red wax, with black and white thank you cards from Target that pretty much went with the color scheme of my birthday party. Oh, and I had some silver too. For specific *Speshul* people, I mixed waxes. For instance, my pastor's family. I mixed waxes for some other friends too!! And others of course I left it as just a plain 'either-or' (i.e. red or silver) because the plain "red" is my FAVE. Or even the plain SILVER..soooooo awesome. Either way though I like both.

Right now I'm doing a job for my dad. I'm spinning some articles for him. Technically 7 articles but they have to be re-written twice so if you times that by 2 that makes 14 articles. And I'm getting paid like $45 for it! So it's worth it totally.

I have a feeling though this week is just going to be a week of no sleep. I'm 3 weeks behind in anatomy. And we're starting school again, and calorie keeping. YES. Back to normal life. Break was wonderful though.

All the flowers are in bloom, they're so beautiful!! It's no wonder God took the time on Sunday to sit back and say, "This is good. This is really, really good. It reflects me in a way that is going to glorify me, that points to my beauty, that intrigues man to the point where he ponders, 'What is man that you are mindful of him?' "

Today God gave me rest. God quieted my soul, my anxious toiling, my restlessness and I rested in Him and Him alone. It was quite wonderful. You may be wondering how I am "resting" if I am working so hard on articles and playing "catch-up" on homework. It's a good question.

Resting does not mean literally "Go take a nap" or as the pharisees thought it to be "NO WORK ALOUD". It meant that we rest OUR SOULS, that we put complete and total faith and trust in CHRIST, that we ACKNOWLEDGE the fact that our satisfaction is in GOD ALONE.-To put it to you briefly. I could go on. But, it's late so I'm trying to rap this up.

I rested today in the fact that I don't have to "fix" myself. I don't have to "tarry til I'm better". (Something I struggle with) Being a disciple of Christ has nothing to do with (i.e. A Christian..for those of you who didn't know and should've..) how much you read your Bible, and pray every second of the day. The Christian faith is not based off of WORKS. It does, however, have EVERYTHING to do with whether you are putting your trust in Christ, whether you have repented from your sins, and ARE repenting from the new sin struggles that you are faced with. Repentance plays a big part in Christianity. Obviously we aren't going to be perfect. But you cannot abuse God's grace by having an attitude/mind set of "OK. I trust you Jesus." End of story, there's no desire to do God's will because "I'm a sinner, I'm not going to be perfect". Do you understand the point I'm trying to make? Romans 6:1 sums this up in one short sentence. Being a Christian is like one big wrestling match with God. "Fight the good fight of faith". Being a Christian means you won't back down no matter how tired, how tough, how confuzzled (confused and puzzled put together), how emotionally disraught, how broken, no matter HOW dry you are, how every smithering of joy is sucked out of you due to hardships, now matter WHAT you will NOT let go! You will NOT run out of the wrestling ring, and give up, you will not recant. You will continue to wrestle with God, and let Him expose your sin struggles, your weaknesses, and you will let Him search your heart, you will let Him mold you into a brick for His church. He will continue to shave off the rough edges until you feel like you can't take it anymore, but He knows how much you can handle and how much it will take for you to get to the point where He wants you to be. He will take His hand and use it like sand paper to soften the rough spots, so that you FIT PERFECTLY in His church, in His kingdom.

There are 2 groups. Only you and God know in which group you belong in. Group A- A disciple of Christ. Group B- One of the crowd that was attracted to Jesus.

Group A is self explanatory.

Group B "One of the crowd that was attracted to Jesus", I'll explain. The crowd that would gather around Jesus treated Jesus like a lucky charm. They wanted Jesus to radically change their lives just like the disciples did but, they don't want the changes Christ is offering them. You see Christ offers Himself. He tells them over and over and over again that He came to "take away the sins of the world". But they don't want their sin taken away. They want Jesus to take away their pain. They want to rub Him like a genie bottle, and get what they want from Him. They want their pain to be taken away. And Jesus basically is telling them: Look if you let me, I can change your life. I can radically change your life so that you see the world through my eyes. I'll take away your sins, but not your pain.

The difference between (the biggest difference) group a and b is that if you are in group a, you are allowing Christ to change your life. He has forgiven you of your sins, and you have put your trust in Him. All of that has happen. Right now Christ is exposing you, shaping you, forming you into who you were created to be in the first place-had Adam and Eve never sinned. That's what Christ does to you if you are in group A. He's molding you in a way that is going to better reflect Him. The molding hurts. It's not like putting a band-aid over a scraped knee. It's like getting run over by a car, and then having to have surgery all over your body in order to "sew you up". It's not even like that. It's exactly like dying, and being resurrected by Christ, in Christ, and being made new.

We (even as Christians) tend to toil, and fumble around blindly for something to bring us satisfaction, to bring us rest. When in reality, we are only restlessly searching, searching, working, working, working, to find something to fill our emptiness. Finding rest in other things will bring you joy for a short period of time. Which cannot be counted as joy. It's the kind of worldly surface(y) joy that lasts for 5 minutes. It's the kind of joy little kids have when they get a new toy (or anyone for that matter), it lasts for a short period of time, until the next "toy" comes around.

I've been toiling restlessly lately. I got out of my daily routine of reading by Bible daily, and praying daily. Instead, I have just been existing, living, breathing short shallow breaths rather then RESTING, TRUSTING, ENJOYING, AND TAKING DEEP BREATHS in Christ!

I struggle with waiting until I have "fixed" myself before going to God and confessing. What goes on in my head when I do this is, "Well I'm not good enough to go to God right now. I'm hideous, horrible, I'm ashamed and broken.." The stupid thing is, I'm NEVER good enough because I'm a sinner. So no matter how I "fix" myself I'm never going to do any amount of fixing that will make me presentable before God.

The hymn Come Ye sinners is one of my favorites. My favorite line from there is, "If you terry til your better you will never come at all" because it's TRUE. I always remind myself of this. And of course Romans 4:5-8 says (to make it brief, simple, and sum it up) that we don't have to fix ourselves. We CAN'T fix ourselves, we don't have to WORRY about fixing ourselves because we are ACCEPTED in Christ because of what CHRIST has done, NOT WHAT YOU AND I HAVE DONE. We don't live in old testament times where we have to constantly make a sacrafice in order to be able to go to God. Back then, that was how they "fixed" themselves. The way how a sacrafice works is this: Instead of killing yourself, because justice must be done, a lamb would take your place. When God would accept your sacrafice, that meant He accepted YOU. That has already been taken care of. Christ sacraficed HIMSELF for US. God accepted His one and only, PERFECT Son, THE perfect sacrafice. Now God can look down at US and He no LONGER sees our sins, but CHRIST'S PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS! HE ACCEPTS US.

It is this passage in Romans that I always reflect back to when I am "terrying until I am better". Lately I have. I was waiting, waiting until I get back into the habit of reading my Bible, and praying daily. I was reminded about the line in the hymn Come Ye Sinners, and about how I am accepted in Christ when I was in Church this last Sunday. Only God knows how thankful I am for Sharad and his sermon, and getting up there even though he probably felt really crappy (he's been sick) and probably was really weary bodily, emotionally, maybe even spiritually and yet-he preached a fantastic uncomfortable to sit in sermon that was like a slap in my face, a wake up call, that my soul very VERY much needed. It was like cool water to someone who just had a heat stroke, and died, and then who's corpse never got burried and therefore rotted in the sun, and then after many days it finally rained, and the water burried the corpse. (..that means that it was dang refreshing to my soul-in case you didn't figure that out yet). A better way of putting it is my soul was starved, my tongue thirsty for God's word, and I was feasted, and I drank, after many days of starvation and dehydration. God knows I needed it.

I reflected back to that passage in Romans because a friend was having the same problem..and so I looked up the verse again and was able to encourage her, especially because I was going through the same thing.

THAT my dear readers, is how I rested this Sunday...

I rested in the fact that I am accepted in Christ for what He has done, and that I no longer have to keep toiling restlessly for satisfaction in temporary things that only bring me temporary joy and rest. I no longer have to fix myself. I am completely and utterly accepted by God Almighty because Christ said you know what? I'm going to die for Elisabeth Darcy..

I was weary, beat down, tired, restless, anxious, insecure, doubtful as to whether I was a disciple, yet I stayed in the wrestling ring, and God quieted my soul. He quieted all doubts as to whether I was His, and said, "Come, rest in me, my weary child". (..seriously I'm gonna cry right now..trying not to because it will look really weird to my Dad sitting across from me writing articles) He said be still, and I was still.

Terry no longer my friends, search no more for satisfaction, do not be insecure anymore for you are accepted in Him, come and rest in the One who breathed life into you,

~Elisabeth Darcy~

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Empty Tank

Emotionally: Um emotionally I'm ok. :) I'm not stressed, I'm not depressed, I'm not over joyed..or extremely happy. I am examining, examining...I'm MEH. Or not even Meh..cuz that means indecisive. No, I'm just fine. Which is good..:D

Physically: I have to pee. Other then that I aint hungry and or anything. OH and I should be in BED. Too.

Spiritually: I don't have an empty tank.. or a completely empty tank. The meter is like almost on "E", I've gone too long of just LIVING. I need to dive into the word, dive into prayer and feed myself spiritually.

I had a really good self examination. I took this test. It's called: The Inventory of Emotional/Spiritual Maturity test.

My pastor is reading this book called: The Emotionally Healthy Church. In this book there's this test. [the test above that I told you about] He and his wife took it. My Mom wanted to take it. But Dad called her on the phone saying he was on his way home and they just got into a big long conversation. (They always do, which just means they love each other..and that they're talkative people..) She (Mum) had left the link open, to the test. So I took it.

[Blogger's Note: I'll give you the link to the quiz in a minute]

Below are my test results. It will make sense to you if you take the quiz yourself. Be HONEST in your answers, about yourself, TO yourself.

Part A General Formation and Discipleship: Emotional Child

Part B Emotional Components of Discipleship: Emotional Adolescent

Principle 2 Break the Power of the Past: Emotional Adult

Principle 3 Live in brokenness and vulnerability: Emotional Child

Principle 4 Receive the gift of limits: Emotional Adolescent

Principle 5 Embrace grieving and loss: Emotional Infant

Principle 6 Make Incarnation your model for living well: Emotional Infant

Principle 7 Slow down to live with integrity: Emotional Adolescent

This test was very rough. The questions really require you to self examine your self. I know myself pretty well: My weaknesses, my desires, my goals and dreams, my sins, my specific sins I struggle with, my gifts God has given to me, etc. But there were some questions that I had to really think about before answering, I had to really search my heart. There was some things I learned about myself as well, that I didn't realize.

The hardest part was looking at my sinful, ugly self dead on in the face. You really have to be extremely honest to yourself and to God when answering these questions. So it was a really good self-examination. I highly recommend taking the quiz. Also, the questions asked are definitely Scripture based. They give you (I guess I should say "IT" gives you..) references to verses after asking the question it's based on.

The test definitely brought up some good conversation between my Mom and I. Here is the link CLICK HERE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THE TEST I'VE BEEN RAMBLING ABOUT.

I also think that depending on where you are presently, in your walk with God, the quiz results can and will change for you as time goes on. Because it all depends on how you're doing spiritually, and WHERE you're at emotional/spiritual maturity.

Take the test! And you don't have to tell me the results, but I would like to know whether you took it or not. If anything, take it for the heck of it and you'll for sure get a good self examination out of it! I know I did.

Hence the title. I know my emotional, physical, and spiritual capacities, when I need a break, when I'm hungry or tired or need to pee, and when I need some down time with God.

This tank needs to be filled, does yours?

~Lissie Darcy

Friday, April 16, 2010

Blessed and Surrounded

I had a surprise birthday party for my 16th birthday, last Saturday. I'll post a seprate post, telling all about it, complete with pictures and details-later though.

Point being is, I walk into the room and to see all these people I love dearly-loving me, being there for me was amazing. I felt like I was living in a dream.

You see, I wanted to some how have a birthday party to where I could have my crazy, funny, peer friends, as well as my very much loved adult friends/mentors/adopted relatives/adopted into my posse..-friends.

I just didn't know what to do.

So it was really, REALLY a blessing to see it happen.

The whole time I kept thinking, "I'm blessed, I'm blessed! I am blessed to have so many godly people surrounding me. To have all these people who love me, care about me and my character. Care enough to guide me back to the path of righteousness when I need it."

I seriously thought I was in a dream. But, I wasn't. It was real life. I'm blessed to have such a big church family. I have a lot of people I look up to, I admire, etc. I have quite a bit of mentors, that's for sure!!

Which is awesome.

Not only do am I blessed with friends, but I'm also blessed with my family! I have 2 wonderful parents who came from screwed up back grounds, and yet God saved them. And because He saved them, because He had a plan for them, I am living and breathing today, a sixteen year old red head! You see my parents had me when they were 19. And at the time, their families were telling them to abort me. But here I am, not because of THEM but because of GOD. (Them as well too, because we DO have a free choice. But, God predestined this.)

God is a good God. He saved my parents from their sin, and because of that I am growing up in a Christian home. When I think about that it blows my mind away. God did and DOES have a plan for me, and for everyone He's created. [Side note: But that doesn't mean He said His plan for us would be EASY. I thought I should add this because, I do realize I have it really easy in life. But there's great suffering in people around the world. He still, even then amongst chaos, has a plan for you. He never gives us more then we can handle, He created us so He knows EXACTLY how much He can put on your plate. And He also knows that if you think you have more then you can handle, it's for a reason. Sometimes He puts what seems like an over-sized-load on our plate so that we would STOP trusting in our idols, and START trusting in Him-fully. Sometimes in order for that to happen, in order to make us see that or "wake us up", He gives us trials. And if you say, "Well my God doesn't do that! My God is a loving God!" I suggest you go back and read the Gospels. Take specific care to read everything Jesus has to endure for us. He did NOT have it easy! That's the whole calling of Christianity-to die to our SELVES, and live again with HIM, IN HIM. Also ponder on this quote, "Mercy, detached from justice, grows unmerciful"~C. S. Lewis]

I am blessed to be surrounded by God's grace and mercy.


Sleepily (hence it's 1am), [BUT IT'S FRIDAY NIGHT! :D :D]

~Elisabeth Darcy

Saturday, April 3, 2010

A blogging friend, and not to mention a friend in real life! :D

So if you head on over to http://www.ohsweetleeme.blogspot.com/ you can enter a chance to win a pretty necklace. It's cool because I actually know this person in real life-although they live in NC. Anyways! Stop by, not just for the contest but check out her blog, and drop a comment. :)

And here's a link to the actual blog give away

Happy blogging,

~Lissie Darcy