Day 01 → Something you hate about yourself.
Day 02 → Something you love about yourself.
Day 03 → Something you have to forgive yourself for.
Day 04 → Something you have to forgive someone for.
Day 05 → Something you hope to do in your life.
Day 06 → Something you hope you never have to do.
Day 07 → Someone who has made your life worth living for.
Day 08 → Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like ****.
Day 09 → Someone you didn’t want to let go, but just drifted.
Day 10 → Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn’t know.
Day 11 → Something people seem to compliment you the most on.
Day 12 → Something you never get compliments on.
Day 13 → A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough *** days. (write a letter.)
Day 14 → A hero that has let you down. (letter)
Day 15 → Something or someone you couldn’t live without, because you’ve tried living without it.
Day 16 → Someone or something you definitely could live without.
Day 17 → A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.
Day 18 → Your views on gay marriage.
Day 19 → What do you think of religion? Or what do you think of politics?
Day 20 → Your views on drugs and alcohol.
Day 21 → (scenario) Your best friend is in a car accident and you two got into a fight an hour before. What do you do?
Day 22 → Something you wish you hadn’t done in your life.
Day 23 → Something you wish you had done in your life.
Day 24 → Make a playlist to someone, and explain why you chose all the songs. (Just post the titles and artists and letter)
Day 25 → The reason you believe you’re still alive today.
Day 26 → Have you ever thought about giving up on life? If so, when and why?
Day 27 → What’s the best thing going for you right now?
Day 28 → What if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant, what would you do?
Day 29 → Something you hope to change about yourself. And why.
Day 30 → A letter to yourself, tell yourself EVERYTHING you love about yourself.
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I honestly can’t think of anyone like this at the moment… At least not anybody I feel like writingn a letter to over their disappointing me.
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BAPTISM!
I found this idea through Leigh’s blog post, who got it from Giving Up On Perfect.
I think it’s a wonderful idea, and although I’ve shared about the fact I was baptized, I didn’t go into that much detail.
Plus, there was another baptism that impacted me.
So, here we go.
(And this comes at an interesting time, because our pastor did a sermon on baptism last month, in addition to one on fasting and another on communion.)
I was dedicated as an infant, not baptized.
My parents made a promise to God that they would raise me in the Christian faith, etc.
They wanted me (and my sister) to make the decision to be baptized personally.
They didn’t want to make the decision for us, to force it on us, if you will. They wanted it to be something that we wanted to do.
We believe that baptism (alone) does not save a person, but that it’s a public declaration of faith.
I’d seen a lot of baptisms, of both infants and adults, before I decided to do it for myself.
What was different about my baptism was that our youth pastor (at the time; he’s in Chicago now) interviewed me and my sister (and two of my best friends). Since I like to write, he suggested I write something. So I did. I wrote a poem about baptism. I still have it; one copy is in my senior portfolio.
Anyway.
I was baptized when I was about 17, before my senior year of high school.
Part of it was that I wanted the youth pastor to be the one to baptize me before he left, because I had such a bond with him, I guess…? (A little selfish, I know.)
But the other part was that I felt I was ready for it. Ready to make the decision for myself. Ready to publicly announce that yeah, I believe in Jesus and I want to live for Him.
So I was baptized one Sunday morning along with my sister, two best friends, two younger boys, and an adult guy from the church.
And it did change me.
For a while.
And then I did the cycle thing, where I started falling away a little.
That’s changing now.
Especially after last night.
But that’s a topic for later.
The point is, I was dedicated, grew up in the church, went through Confirmation, decided to be baptized, and it’s been changing my life ever since.
The other baptism I mentioned before was M’s.
She got it. She lived it. She loved it.
And that affected me.
One of the questions that impacted me after having nagged at M for so long to come to church with me was Who’s going to be in Heaven because of you?
That got me.
I’d been nagging M to come with me to church for…well, at least a year, I suppose, before she finally decided to get her mom to let her come. And they’ve been here ever since.
Something that sticks out for me during M’s Confirmation testimony (she got Confirmed the year after I did, in 9th grade, because she started the class our 8th grade year instead of our 7th) was the fact that she called me her guardian angel.
Now she’s mine.
M was baptized I think our 10 grade year, the year before I was. I think. I don’t remember the exact date for certain, but I’m pretty sure it was before I got baptized.
It was in a lake, behind the home of a couple from church.
M and at least one other person were baptized that day.
I remember that it impacted me, but I don’t think it was quite as big an impact as her calling me a guardian angel. Not to mention her mother got up in front of church one Sunday and thanked my parents for me, and I think she quoted one of the kids who’d gotten Confirmed with M, “Thanks for not letting us go to Hell.” Something like that. 😛
So. I don’t remember where I was going with this, but it ended up being basically that M had a huge impact on me. She loved Jesus with all her heart, and she lived out that faith.
And I want to be like she was.
Last night at a “concert” with a bunch of kids from the youth group and a few “random” people, I responded.
It was an amazing set list:
Take It All
No One Like You God
Marvelous Light
How He Loves
It Is Well (With My Soul) — Do you know the story behind this song? It’s incredible. It’s included a bit in the video, too.
Be Thou My Vision
What Do I Know Of Holy? (BG just shared this; we didn’t sing it. But I tried singing along.)(
In Christ Alone
Hosanna
Mighty To Save
From the Inside Out
The Stand
By the end, I was quite unhindered. I was closing my eyes, raising my arms (most of the way), silently praying for God to fill me with His light, His love, His…whatever He wanted me to have. Mostly the light idea. I was praying so.hard that He would help me be His light. Like M was.
And now that this post is over 1200 words long, and it’s nearly 10 pm, and I no longer know how to connect my points, I think I need to quit.
And go read Matthew 9 & 10. Which I meant to read earlier…
Good night!