Technology.

Congratulations!

Today I am giving you a break from my personal ramblings, and sending you somewhere else. 

I recently came across an article about the impact that social media can have on relationships.

This doesn't necessarily mean just romantic relationships.

Social media impacts your relationships with your family, your friends, your coworkers, and really anyone else you connect with on a daily basis. 

So, take some time out of your day to read this article, and then come back next week for a…

BRAND NEW BLOG SERIES. 

That's right, get excited. 

Sticky.

I am sitting here typing this with very sticky fingers due to an unfortunate french toast syrup incident. 

If there's one thing I hate more than wet socks, it's sticky fingers. 

I swear, no matter how many times you wash your hands, it's impossible to get the stickiness off.

And then, when you touch other things, those things get sticky too. 

I remember one time picking up a toy after my brother had played with it, and it was covered in syrup. So now he was sticky, the toy was sticky, and I was sticky.

Sin is sticky. 

It presents itself as something enticing and sweet, and then when you're in the thick of it, it starts to stick. And not only does it stick to you, it starts to stick to everything around you. 

And once it's stuck, it's hard to wash off. 

Obviously I'm not talking about in an eternal sense, because when you become a believer, all your sins are wiped away and covered by the blood of Jesus. 

I'm talking about how sin affects our present, earthly lives in a very real and dangerous way.

You cannot compartmentalize sin. 

Maybe not right away, but eventually, it will permeate every single area of your life. 

The devil does not care if you argue with your best friend. 

The devil cares that the arguing you're doing is causing you to think less about Jesus and more about your problems and situation. 

The goal of the enemy is to distract us, as believers, from the work we were put here to do.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Matthew 26:19

When we allow sin to stick in our lives, we are allowing the devil to distract us from spreading the Good News. This is especially detrimental if we are in a place where a lot of our friends are not Christians. If you are partaking in sin in front of nonbelievers, you are hurting your witness for Christ. 

As Christians, we have an obligation to the furthering of the Kingdom to recognize sin in our life, repent of it, and continue seeking Christ. 

Otherwise sin may start in one area of your life, like gossip or slander in a friendship, and then slowly spread to the other areas of your life, killing everything in its path. 

If you are allowing gossip or bitterness in one part of your life, don't be so naive to believe that it won't affect every other part of your life too. 

That is the danger of sin, and why it's so important to recognize it's stickiness before we let it in to our lives. 

So, this week, before you get caught up in the sweetness that sin projects, remember the sticky residue it will leave in your heart and in your life. 

Middle.

It's the middle of the semester.

You're halfway to the halfway point! 

I know right now that summer seems like a long ways away, but I promise you it will be here before you know it. 

The middle of the semester seems to be where lots of people hit a wall. 

You're exhausted, school is actually getting hard, and extra curricular's are in full swing. 

If we're not careful, moans of "how much longer" and "is it December yet" will overtake our lives. 

The problem with this mindset is that we are wishing away the "middle". 

The middle is such a big part of life and the Lord gives us middles for a very important reason: waiting.

Boy oh boy, I do NOT like to wait. 

 We're usually impatient not because we necessarily know or want what's coming next, but because we don't like where we're at currently. 

Currently: In school

Waiting: To get out

Next Chance: Christmas Break

Currently: Single

Waiting: To be in a relationship

Next Chance: Random boy that asks you out

Chances are you really aren't excited about Christmas Break or that random boy, but you want out of your current situation, so you start looking to whatever comes next. 

News flash: that's an awful way to live life.

Because life is not perfect, once you get whatever you were waiting for, it will inevitably disappoint you in some way, and you'll start wishing for the next thing. 

On our tombstones, our birth year and our death year are written and the dash in between represents our life. 

Our "middle" is only 90 years long, if we're lucky.

So instead of wishing the middle away on things that are temporary, let's spend the middle making much of Jesus. Because guess what?

The only thing worth waiting for is the return of Jesus Christ. 

Bottom line. End of story. No questions asked. 

So, instead of wishing it was Christmas Break, wait patiently and look at the mission field around you. 

If you have 8 classes a day, and there are 25 people in each class, you have 200 opportunities to show someone the love of Jesus. 

Instead of wishing you had a boyfriend, recognize the unique freedoms you have as a single person, and use those to serve the Lord. 

Waiting patiently doesn't mean you are stagnate, it means you recognize that something else is coming, but you don't let that thing define you or your actions.

So, this week, when you are sick and tired of school and everything around you, stop and be thankful for the middle that you were given.