lovely

i just had to post one of jenifer's senior pictures. (i got permission to.) she's gorgeous and i'm really proud of the woman she's becoming. hopefully she's seen and learned from my mistakes to skip all that nonsense and continue blooming.

still here

i do fall off the blog planet every now and then. i need to catch up with my proverbs posts, which i will do over time. this month has been a little hectic and there hasn't been much time to sit down and write.

this semester is close to being over, which means i'll be a little MIA, but once it's officially over, i'll have enough time to breathe.

a few things that have been going on:
          • i visited my family about a week ago and took my sister's senior pictures. i'm still in the processing of editing them, but she's gorgeous.
          • during this visit, i attended levi's best friend's (dylan) wedding.
          • the past week i've been going to school at 9, finishing class at 5, going straight to work, and coming home at 11. let's just say i'm exhausted and suffocated with homework.
          • last night i was told that my gramps passed away. i broke down pretty bad, but he was suffering for a long time with multiple things and i know it's much better for him now that he's with Jesus. i love my gramps and i'll miss him, but he's happier now.
          • i'm going to be a kid wrangler/kid swing for edmond summerstock's production of peter pan and i'm pretty excited. i'll be learning all the tracks for the kids and i can't wait.
          • i auditioned for edmond's upstage theatre's forever after parties a few weeks ago. forever after parties provides disney princes and princesses for hire to appear at children's birthday parties. i was called back for rapunzel, anna, tinker bell, wendy, and alice. the audition went really well and i'll hear back from them at the beginning of may. fingers crossed.
          • my sister is in costa rica right now for her senior trip/missions trip. so proud of her. send prayers for my sister and her team as they show and share God's love.
          • for anyone who knows me, you'll be surprised that i am enrolled for a second year at UCO....i know, it's weird. two years at one school? who does that... me now, i guess! i'll still be striving towards my music theatre degree and i'm hoping to graduate the fall of 2016.

i think that's all the updates i have for right now. i'll be posting proverbs posts every now and then so be on a lookout for those. thanks to everyone who reads these. i know it's mainly my mom and her friends, but that's cool. i appreciate you guys.


jrw

proverbs six

on april sixth i read proverbs chapter six.

short and sweet on this one.

16-19

there are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:

haughty eyes,

a lying tongue,

hands that shed innocent blood,

a heart the devises wicked schemes,

feet that are quick to rush into evil,

a false witness who pours out lies

and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

jrw

proverbs five

on april fifth i read proverbs chapter five.

now, solomon is speaking of the dangers of adultery. while everything he says is true, this doesn't quite speak to me in that way. i'm not trying to take things completely out of context, but i chose a few verses to point out.

11-14

at the end of your life you will groan,

when your flesh and body are spent.

you will say,

"how i hated discipline! how my heart spurned correction!

i would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors.

i have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly."

23

he [man] will die for his lack of discipline,

led astray by his own great folly.

life is scary. there is a whole lot of responsibility staring us right in the face every day. God gave us authority here on earth and He desires for us to obey that authority. that's being teachers, instructors, coaches, parents, elders, lawmakers, the president, etc. we have all these people that we are meant to listen to and obey. yes, we don't all share the same morals and beliefs...that's fine. we are still responsible for acknowledging that, although we are all equal humans, these people are above us in authority. it's hard for me to write this because i don't agree with the majority of what obama is doing while he is in office, but he is the president of the united states and i'm required by my Father to submit to my authority. that doesn't mean i have to agree with everything obama says or is, but it's my responsibility to acknowledge obama as my authority and submit to the laws of the land. it's still hard for me to write this.

none of us want to be destroyed by our own stupidity in life. that's what verse 23 is talking about. being led astray by our own folly. folly: lack of good sense, foolishness. in other words: being dumb. there is no time for us to rebel our authority here on earth. there is no time to follow the prince of this world into the crooked paths of evil and ruin. we are here for a short time and we don't want to be before God and see our lives being crumpled by our own stupidity. it's simple, but it's hard. i don't like or agree with all of my teachers (okay just one...) but that person is still my teacher and i still have to accept them as my authority. seriously, guys....this whole post is hard for me to accept and type! life is hard. God never intended for life to be a breeze. you now why? so we could see that we need Him. it's as simple as that.

i don't know what more i can say about this. dish in with your comments. this is a hard topic for everyone.

jrw 

proverbs four

on april fourth i read proverbs chapter four.

king solomon continues to speak of the amazing importance of wisdom in this chapter and for good reason. we need it! i can't even stress that enough. i fall off the path every so often and i forget to hold wisdom near my heart, but that isn't any excuse for someone else to follow my ways. follow the ways of the wise, follow the ways of our Savior.

7

wisdom is supreme;

therefore get wisdom.

though it cost all that you have,

get understanding.

that last part is what i have the most trouble with. getting understanding... i sometimes forget how important it is to understand others around me. i don't know what they're going through. granted, we as humans aren't perfect and never will be in this body, so we have limits to ourselves, but we always need to strive to understand situations and understand those around us. as hard as that truly, truly is.

20-27

my son,

pay attention to what i say;

listen closely to my words.

do not let them out of your sight,

keep them within your heart;

for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body.

above all else, guard your heart,

for it is the wellspring of life.

put away perversity from your mouth;

keep corrupt talk far from your lips.

let your eyes look straight ahead,

fix your gaze directly before you.

make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.

do not swerve to the right or the left;

keep your foot from evil.

alright, not only do we have the task of keeping wisdom in our hearts/minds and maintaining understanding of others, we have to keep on the path to righteousness. no paths to evil, corruption, temptation, wrong doing. well, we deal with this every single day. we make choices every second of our lives. it's hard to continue on the right path, the path that lives to a Godly life. there is so much to say about what to stay away from, but that's up to the individual person. only they know their temptations and hardships to overcome. so let me throw this thought out there: stay away from unhealthy people. now i don't mean don't ever talk to them or be a shining star for God. heck no, keep doing that! these people may need Him the most. what i'm saying is, for us to continue on our paths to righteousness, we need to guard ourselves, as well. there are some people (we've all had them in our lives) who constantly drag us down or bring us to their level. i am living proof of that. you may be trying to share the gospel with them, but sometimes we aren't quite strong enough to keep ourselves above water. growing up, i was always taught that if you stand on a chair, it is easy for a person below you to pull you down and it's a lot harder to pull that person up onto the chair with you. it happens every day. even if it's as simple as someone's mood being awful, it can rub off on you too and cause your day to be dreadful. God wants us to share Him with every single human being that we can, but He also wants us to remain healthy in Him and sometimes that means detaching yourself from certain others. this person may be your best friend, but if you struggle with remaining in Christ because of what this person does or how they act, you need to distance yourself from them. there are times where we need to look after others and there are times where we need to look after ourselves. keep that in mind. i could ramble about this all day. i transferred a college to get away from unhealthy situations for crying out loud. it's important. take care of others, but take special care of your spiritual life.

jrw

proverbs three

on april third i read proverbs chapter three.

these verses are amazing and very encouraging for this certain point in my life.

3-4

let love and faithfulness never leave you;

bind them around your neck,

write them on the tablet of your heart.

then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

this is simply a great reminder that my faith needs to live with me every second of every day. the same with love. yes, we may not all like everyone, but we are called to love everyone. it's hard at times, but we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. it's important that we remember that.

7-8

do not be wise in your own eyes;

fear the Lord and shun evil.

this will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

i just love this because it's what i was saying in a previous post. even simply reading a few verses a day made me happier. i let the Lord in and shape my heart for His glory. even that can strengthen you and give you nourishment. we can diet, we can cleanse, but nothing can compare to the spiritual health we receive when we are walking with God.

jrw

proverbs two

on april second i read proverbs chapter two.

these verses continue with my last proverbs post.

1-5

my son, 

if you accept my words and store up my commands with you,

turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding,

and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,

and if you look for it as for hidden treasure,

then you will understand the fear of the Lord

and find the knowledge of God.

10-15

for wisdom will enter your heart,

and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

discretion will protect you,

and understanding will guard you.

wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,

from men whose words are perverse,

who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways,

who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,

whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.

21-22

for the upright will live in the land,

and the blameless will remain in it;

but the wicked will be cut off from the land,

and the unfaithful will be torn from it.

wisdom is powerful.

jrw