Mirrored Reflections

Grandpa John McCart and Me
*Notice: I am being ME

Today was not a normal day.  [But of course, normal for me is rather abnormal, but still i think you understand my point].  Alarm [Skillet's "I Need a Hero"].  Turn over.  8:40 a.m.  Too early.  Brain dead.  Want a shower.  Must get towels.  Informed that the hot water heater is broken.  Cue panic.  [Those of you who know me, would know that I am not one to rough it or go without showers...see males can have that whole rugged look, "I'm too manly to bathe attitude" and get away with it, but girls have to be clean and smell nice..this is quite an injustice].  So my mother gave me two options: take a cold shower or drive half an hour to my grandparents' house.  I chose the latter [I am notorious for taking looooong, hot showers].  When we arrived, Hannah (my sister) got to go first so I sat down with my Grandpa and ate my breakfast [yes, I braved McDonald's drive-thru line in my pj's].  We get along very well because we are very similar in personality and appearance [my laugh, skin tone, and sharp nose are directly inherited ;)].  When I was little, I loved my Grandfather and spending time with him, but I didn't realize how wonderful he was to talk to.  Now that I am an adult, I feel very comfortable sharing funny stories, talking about the Bible, or  bringing up controversial and political issues.  After laughing over various things, he said, "Michaela I want to tell you something..you are totally and completely Michaela.  God gave you that personality.  You don't want to change your personality ever.  If anything needs to be changed it's a person's character.  Your character should conform to God's character."  He has told me that in so many words before, but today it really stuck out.  God is such an amazing God.  He made each and every one of us unique individuals with our own awesome personality.  No one is exactly like you and that's the way it should be.  "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Gen. 1:27)  Because God created us in His image that means that we are beings designed to be imitators of Him and His character.  But you can also look at the numerous people in the Bible and see the various personalities that emerge.  You have the humble and gentle Mary, Moses who was too shy to speak, Deborah--who was one wise woman, [she's one of my heroes..so cool that "she used to sit under the palm of Deborah..and the people of Israel came up up to her for judgment" Judges 4:5] and Paul, an energetic and persevering man.  All these very different people conformed to God's standards and honored him, but each had a unique personality and various ways of doing things.  So if you ever wonder who you even are, know that you are God's child and that He made you just the way you are supposed to be.  I struggled with that many times, especially these past months.  I wanted so badly to be just what people wanted to see.  In several instances I became a mirror that reflected exactly what they wanted to see.  But you know what?  I'm tired of that, exhausted from lugging that full length mirror around.  What would happen if it slipped, if someone glimpsed the real me?  So I severed ties and let go.  I had to be Michaela.  No one else.  And being Michaela happens to be AWESOME, but I wouldn't wish it on you.  Being [Insert your name here] is awesome for [Insert appropriate pronoun here]. But the most wonderful part is that whoever you are, you have God for a Father, and He created you to be completely and totally YOU! :) 
P.S Just discovered the font color changer-thingy...ooo la la

my rather complicated thought process...

So I have a confession guys, I've had a really hard time of thinking of something to blog about.  [Don't act like you've never had blog-block].  This is my fourth draft that I've started, and they are all about completely different things.  [My brain is processing a whole lot of nothing at the moment].  Let's see...I'm thinking about two books and one movie that I recently read/watched that seemed to leap from the pages/screen just to tell me what an idiot I've been, but of course, there are happy endings after all.  I'm thinking about how I go back to college in 4 weeks, how I can't remember half the classes I signed up for, and how I will fit all my stuff in that tiny dorm room again.  Word of advice, NEVER overestimate the size of a dorm room, think of it as a pocket-sized prison cell and then you won't be disappointed [although I don't know why you would have a prison in your pocket, but let's hope you understood the thesaurus.com adaptation of small ;)]. I'm also wondering if I should continue to read a book I just started...the main character's name is Millicent. And all I can imagine is Maleficent from Disney's Sleeping Beauty.  [For those of you who are quite certain I am rambling at the moment, I invite you to look up to the title of my blog for a moment and well, it's definitely your fault for not expecting the randomness].  One thing that has been on my mind lately, is the mention of reason and persuasion in the book of Acts.  Often people forget the importance of an intelligent argument.  Christians should be intelligent people who know how to reason with others and make their case known.  Everyone of us should be an apologist at heart.  If Paul used reason and persuasion in the Bible then why shouldn't we Christians follow suit and try it ourselves?  [Christians look dumb..ALOT. And frankly that is just SAD.  We are beings created in the image of God, carrying within us the Truth of the gospel, and we let our unintelligent minds weigh down the knowledge of the Holy Spirit.] Acts 17 says that Paul "reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there." (vs. 17) Paul also had to know his audience; he reasoned with both the synagogue attending Jews and then just the average person.  "Philosophers also conversed with him." (vs. 18)  Some acknowledged "you bring some strange things to our ears.  We wish therefore to know what these things mean." (vs. 20) And then the author says, "Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new." (vs. 21)  This is also interesting because it shows that reasoning with one another takes time.  Later in Ephesus, Paul "entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God." (Acts 19:8)  Paul even used reason and persuasion when standing before King Agrippa, whose own response was, "In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?" (Acts 26:28)  These examples all point to the authority of reason when it comes to sharing the gospel.  Of course, reason needs to be paired with love and humility.  Arrogance can be the demise of an argument.  I know I started out rather random, but it seems that God always directs my heart to His purposes by the end of every blog. Well, I suppose I've given you enough to mull over until I write again.