How do we measure success?

I have been challenged recently with the question "How do you measure success?". Do you measure your success by your grades or your GPA? Do you measure your success by how much you are known by other people? Do you measure your success by how many clubs and teams you are involved in?

Its something I still haven't come to any sort of conclusion on. But its been interesting while I have been considering it. I have definitely come across some truths which I want to live by.

A) I dont have anyone else to please but God
              I am a typical people pleaser and honestly I can stress out about it so much. I just want to make everyone happy, but you know what? It never works. You cannot do it. You cannot make everyone happy. It got to the point where I felt under so much stress to make sure I didn't disappoint anyone. It was showing a physical strain on me. But then I realized that I am not called to make everyone happy. I never was. I am just called to please God and to follow Him. That was a major stress taken off my shoulders right there and I can honestly say it makes my days so much easier.

B) Stop comparing yourself to everyone else, instead just try to be a better person than you were             yesterday
            It's way too easy to compare ourselves to other people. Wondering why we aren't as smart as some people, as attractive as some people, as well known as some people, it can really get us down. We wonder how come we dont have it altogether as some people do. Some people just seem to have it set dont they? The perfect husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend, all the friends, the picture perfect life, but in my experience the people who we think have it altogether, really dont. We can never compare people. We are just all too different. We start out in different places, with different people, different influences and different circumstances. We all end up in different places for different reasons. Instead I want to compare myself to two people and only two. I want to live a life which reflects Jesus and who He is and I never want to stray from that example. I'll never make it to His level, fact, but you know what? that doesn't mean I don't try. The second person? Myself. I just want to wake up every morning and be a better person than I was the day before.

This last year I can honestly tell you I have learned a lot. I have learned alot about God, about people and about myself. I've made mistakes, more than I can count but I would never take any of them back because I can type this with the knowledge which those mistakes brought me. How do I measure success? By the amount of times I get up after I fall and the knowledge I gain from it. Success for me is not a destination, its most definitely a constant journey, a journey of improvement, of trial and error and constant learning. I have no idea where my life is headed by I know I will consider myself successful when i can look back on my life, and b able to say that I seized every opportunity, that I made the most of every moment, chased every dream, followed the God I love and never lost sight of who I am.

But again I ask, How do you measure success in your life?

I woud like to get some other insights, honestly, shoot us an email vikki.smyth@ccuniversity.edu

One Thing Remains

I'm getting ready to turn 19 in less than two weeks, that in itself is huge for me. I'm suddenly entering my last year as a teenager and am now considered somewhat of an adult. With this age comes the worries of growing up, something which is extremely exciting and terrifying all at the same time. It is a time when I am beginning to feel the insecurities of adulthood. What if I don't get a job? What if I run out of money and can't complete school? What if I don't find that special someone and I never settle down with the picture perfect family I have dreamed of for a lot of my life? These insecurities can drive us up walls and the older I get the more unstable I view life on this planet. I could wake up to a totally different world tomorrow. I often wonder if I lost everything  would I still be able to lift my hands and say "God you are good and always are good". We can lose things as quickly as we gain them; possessions, money, even people.

"Don't let your happiness depend on something you may lose" - C. S. Lewis

Life is, at best, an uncertain game. We never know what we could be dealt and this is both the fun and torture of the game. But I am so thankful for a consistent God in among this chaotic mess. I have been promised that even though this world changes, people are fickle and I could lose everything in a heartbeat that my God will never leave nor forsake me, that his love never changes and that as long as I delight in Him He will always take care of me. 

Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourselves in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart"

Coming up to 19 years and the biggest lesson I have learned is that God is the only consistent in my life. I know that when I wake up He will love me just the same as He did today. I know He will always love me and be in love with me each and everyday, that I could curse at Him tonight and although extremely wounded it wouldn't affect how He feels towards me at all. This pure, selfless and sacrificial love which we look for in so many people, we already have and we will never find a love like this anywhere or in any person. I would rather devote myself to Him than to any other notion, person or possession. This life is so uncertain, and I am not saying that following God is a smooth ride and that I will live comfortably for the rest of my life. Never did I dream that I would end up 4000 miles from home for 4 years, and the fact I have no idea where the next stop is after this one, but you know what? I'm more than okay with that, because I know and believe that I have a God who wants nothing but the best for me, that His love for me is the only thing I can trust and that it will never fail me. 

"What Makes You Beautiful"

So we have all heard it, Once Direction hit the scene with "What Makes You Beautiful", this song hit the music charts like none other. Actually, I would say it is just as successful as "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars. These songs are blasted my girls (and some guys) in rooms, showers, cars, parties, you name it and if there is a crowd of girls there, they are probably playing these songs.

These two songs have pretty similar themes. They value girls. Girls far better prefer to be called "beautiful" than thy do "hot". These songs make girls feel great about themselves (and put Bruno Mars and One Direction in a pretttty good spot with the ladies) but when I'm getting at here is that it makes a girls day when she is complimented for being just who she is. Self-esteem is something which effects every girl and there are very few, if not any, who can say they are totally happy with who they are. As Christian girls we are constantly told to look after our male brothers by dressing modestly and making sure thy develop in their Christian walk. But fellas, your major pitfall may be lust but most girls' weaknesses is their self-confidence and how they view themselves. Help out your Christian sisters and stop talking about how "hot" other girls are (were constantly comparing ourselves to the celebrities, the pretty girls, the skinny girls, the smart girls). If a girl looks good, tell her but with respect and with words which glorify God.

How you see a girl and how that girl sees herself is totally different. We can all think of girls who do crazy things to get attention but the thing is its because they don't think they can get that without having to do something crazy. They don't think enough of themselves that they should be able to attract the right guy in the right time and even if they get him, they'll worry a lot of the time that he'll go with someone else. This is the girls pitfall, their "stumbling block". But we have to assist our sisters in Christ, we have to do everything in our means to build them up, help them see they are worth so so much and deserve the best in their lives. We see girls stuck in abusive relationships, yet they think they wouldn't be able to do any better. And as crazy as this sounds, its songs like "what makes you beautiful" and "just the way you are" which brings so much joy to womens hearts. But its sad that this is where girls should find this sense of empowerment. I highly doubt that One Direction or Bruno Mars knows us ladies that well. Tell the ladies in your life how much they mean to you, how beautiful they are and how they should never ever settle for less than they deserve. This is something which is increasingly being pressed on my heart. I'm so scared that I see a whole generation of women who feel they need a man in order to feel better about themselves, but often this motive gets them the wrong guy completely or they find themselves in a terrible position because they are consistently in the pursuit of finding a guy. Encourage the ladies in your life to wait patiently for the prince they have been dreaming of their whole lives, tell them that he is out there but they just need to be patient and to wait.

When I talk to people who are stressed out because they aren't in a relationship I often tell them that the right person is out there but God isn't done with them yet and they aren't ready to meet yet. If you haven't found that person its because God is still molding you into the person He wants you to be, and He is still molding the person that He has set aside for you, truth is if you met them now it probably wouldn't work but when you are both ready, it will, and the wait will be totally worth it.

I am so utterly in love with this worship song. It describes the power of Gods love but honestly it barely touches the surface of how utterly powerful His love is, give it a listen

Discipline

Its so hard to be disciplined during the summer. We manage to convince ourselves that we have so much to do when in reality we have very little compared to during the semester. I was feeling so apathetic today, spiritually not right, but instead of doing anything I continued to mope around and just pretend like nothing was wrong, give myself time to just go through the motions. This was so incredibly stupid of me. How should I ever expect to be spiritually thriving if I am doing nothing to chase after God. You see we cant just expect to be on a "spiritual high" all the time by doing nothing. We have to be boldly and consistently chasing after God, constantly hungry for His Word and for time with Him. We are told constantly through scripture that should we draw close to God, He will draw close to us. If we seek Him, we will find Him. Our God has made Himself so readily available to us, that we only need ask Him to draw close and He will.

But this requires effort on our part. We get so caught up in life, that we forget the reason for it. We think we have no time, and forget about the creator of it. We convince ourselves that there are countless things we should be doing, but yet we forget about the person who made the ultimate sacrifice for us, and apparently we have "better things to do". You see, we need to jump, chase and run after God with everything in us. When I suddenly realized how stupid I was being, I muted the tv, set my phone to silent, and picked up a book my friend had recommended I read. The book is all about living for God without having your emotions rule your life, about committing to always doing the right thing regardless of how it feels. We so often let our emotions get the better of us consume us, we convince ourselves in and out of things all the time.

I will never waste my time when I invest it into my relationship with God. My emotions will come and go, people in my life will come and go but you see my God has promised me that He will never leave me nor will He forsake me. This is the relationship which I want to pour myself into daily. I want to fall in love with God every single day that I'm alive. But like every relationship, both parties have to work, God doesn't want a one-sided relationship with me. He wants me to initiate time with Him, and every time I choose to spend time with Him, He welcomes me in with open arms and His presence is so there. Taking that time out today was brilliant, I felt comfort, I felt that I was being refueled. And I was being hungry for more. You see, my life is my ministry. I want people to see God in me. For some people you may be the only Christ they see and the only Bible they read. And how do you want to represent those? Everything in our lives has the potential to fail us; family, friends, finance, education, health, the list goes on. But God? He will remain and no matter where we find ourselves He is only but a breath away, a professor once told me here that the distance between you and the Almighty God is zero, He is everywhere at every time. The distance between you and God right now is zero, but will you care to acknowledge that?

Through Thick and Thin

We all have those moments when we scream out about how unfair God can be, and it always seems to boil down to the question "why do bad things happen to good people?". Recently I saw my worship minister and his wife go through losing their baby, these two people are so incredibly godly and are some of the nicest people I have ever encountered. Their relationship and marriage is something to be admired because of their continual focus on God in and through their relationship. When I first heard about this, I was so angry at God, how could He allow this, how could He do this to such loyal followers of Him? Go does not expect us to understand his ways, He even tells us that through scripture but this? How could any good come from this?

But how this couple reacted to this was incredibly and completely noteworthy. They acknowledged that although they did not understand why this happened, they would continue to praise the Lord their God, this my friends is faith, faith at its highest. Although they do not understand, they continue to follow and obey through thick and thin. My worship minister would return to church that very Sunday and would tell the whole congregation of how glorious and wonderful his God is, that He is good and is always good. It inspirational friends. Psalm 103 especially had an impact upon them. I seen pure and true faith in these people, and it is utterly inspiring. To continue to believe that God is good even in this situation is incredible. Having faith that God is in control even in the tough times, it is what we should be aiming to be like.

Summer - Day 1

This morning I finished off a test for Basic Bible Doctrine and the end of this marked the start of Summer 2012. I have some crazy stuff planned this summer.

First of all, I will be working on campus until July 4th. This is going to be a tough time with everyone gone but I just really want to take this time to focus on some cool things which I have been meaning to get around to for a while (you'll be kept posted). I will go home on the 4th, and words cannot explain how awesome it will be to see the people I love in the most beautiful place in the world. I have Fused camp planned at the end of July, where I will work with middle school aged kids for two weeks, and I cannot wait! But the awesome end to my trip at home will mark my wonderful best friend, sister and life long partner in crime, Caroline Brown marrying the love of her life. I can tell you that I am so excited to stand behind her the day she marries her future husband. This girl is incredible and I cannot wait to see her go on this crazy new adventure with her husband. I will cry my eyes out no doubt about it.

But through this all I want my relationship with God to be set afire. I want to be stretched so much. I want to mature and grow spiritually so that I can come back to this school in the Fall totally changed and in love with God. I want to encourage you to go on this crazy journey and make this summer the one that no matter what age you get you will always look back on and remember. Lets make memories which we cannot forget this summer.

The End of Freshman Year

So I did it. I cannot believe how quickly it all went in. I have successfully completed one year of my degree at Cincinnati Christian University. Wow. It is unbelievable how much I have learned in this past year. I have built incredible friendships, learned stuff that has totally changed my spin on things and learned a lot of things about myself along the way.

But the most important thing I have taken from this year is that I have a God who will never ever desert me. I am a sensitive soul (despite the persona I try to give off), I often get hurt by people and sometimes you just get used to it right? Get used to be forgotten about or let down. I am not playing the victim here, I am equally at fault for hurting people myself and not being the best person I can be. We have all been badly hurt by another human being but the total beauty of God is that He will never hurt us. He will teach us things in ways we would rather not learn them but in the end the hurt we may go through in that is totally worth it in the end. I have been there, and I can honestly tell you that the events in my life where I have been seriously hurt are the ones which made me into the girl I am today.

God has been my total rock this past year. Away from everything I have every known has been difficult. 4000 miles from the people I love wasn't easy. But I would never do things any different. God has taught me so much. He has brought so many awesome people into my life; some as blessings and some as life lessons. But even the mistakes I have made in this last year? I would never take them back, because I am so much wiser for them.

The action plan... I want this summer to be crazy awesome and I know that I will be able to have that if I devote this summer to God. I want to take this time to fully throw myself into His Word, trust in Him more than I ever have in the past and fall totally in love with Him all over again. Make summer 2012 the summer you look back on and go "wow, that's when it all changed, that was the summer which changed my life"

Dreams

Devote yourself to an idea. Go make it happen. Struggle on it. Overcome your fears. Smile. Don't forget : this is your dream"

I was told by one of my professors here, if you want something to happen you need to do anything and everything to make it happen (obviously within reason). We get so annoyed at ourselves whenever our dreams aren't falling into place but are we really chasing after them? Recently I realized that I had so many plans for my life, things I wanted to accomplish, yet I was doing basically nothing to try and achieve them. I wasn't putting myself totally out there and throwing myself into my dreams. We, as humans, love love love to complain but I have to say, I am sick and tired of being so apathetic about things. I want to ooze with passion in everything I do. The fact is, someday is today. One of the few things I remember about reading the Twilight books, (I had referencing the twilight books but I'm going to roll with this) was when Bella is trying to convince Edward to make her into a vampire and in a total passion she screams at him and tells her she is dying. This startles him and she simply tells him "I am dying, each day I get closer and closer to that point". Wow, very philosophical of you Stephanie Meyer. Its the one good thing I took out of those books. Anyway, the truth is we have the power to go out and make our dreams happen, but it all comes with rejecting apathy and working hard. Getting up time and after time. Never losing hope and never forgetting that this is our dream and we are the only people who can make it happen. But it all starts with one step. The first step.