You shall overcome!

Life is not filled with lollipops and candy canes. The rain is not made of lemon drops and gumdrops. (which would hurt so that song doesn’t make sense to me anyway.) But my point is that life isn’t going to be great and wonderful all the time. There will come a point when you experience pain, sorrow and/or resentment. However, that doesn’t mean you should give up on life. You have to find the strength to overcome the problems that appear in your life. If you don’t you will forever be lost in those dark and gloomy feelings. You will never reach the sunny shores of happiness but be stuck in the tempests of despair. In the movie The Mighty Ducks, Gordon Bombay goes through an experience that brought him out of his storm of life. When he was younger, he played for a hockey team called the Hawks. He was chosen to make the penalty shot that could have won them the game. Unfortunately he missed and his team lost. Also, his dad died that same year. The burden these events had on his heart followed him even through his career. The events caused him to use dirty tactics to win any situation. After receiving a ticket for drunk driving, he was made to do community service by coaching another local hockey team. His experience coaching the team and establishing a connection with him helped him realize that the point of life isn’t always about winning. He learned that life is about giving it your all despite the outcome. The lessons he learned helped him overcome the burden of losing the game. Just like Gordon, sometimes it takes years to overcome a problem. But it is not impossible. You don’t have to let experiences of the past affect your future negatively. Also, Philippians 4:13 reminds us that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.

I know exactly what I'm doing! (What am I doing?)

The world is full of substances used to give a person a sense of euphoria. These substances include drugs such as marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine, and also alcohol. All these substances play with the cells in your mind and alter your mentality. You may get a sense of ease or happiness but you lose the ability to think and act for yourself. Your actions and decisions are governed by the feelings created by the substance that you have consumed. This is the state in which we give ourselves over to the powers of evil. When a person’s mind is clouded by drugs it is impossible for them to use good judgment. Satan can use that lack of judgment to his advantage and set that person into situations they would have never gotten into had their mind been clear of the influence of drugs. “The brain is no longer able to distinguish correctly. The enemy has control.” As children of God we ought to keep our minds clear so that if a situation arose we would be able to respond appropriately. Our decisions and actions would be of our own accord and not under the influence of a drug. Just like the Above the Influence puppet commercial says. “If you’re not in control, then who is?”

I "Lust" You!

Every time you turn on the radio you hear some guy or girl singing about being in love with someone. You hear The Dream with “Purple Kisses”, Usher with “There goes my baby”, and Beyonce with “Sweet Dream”. But are those songs really talking about love or lust? They have very appealing rhythms and tunes that talk to your heart and make you think they are talking about true love, but do those songs ever talk about the person’s personality? No, they always talk about how they look physically. True love can’t be based on just looks. Artists always try to give this idealistic view of love. Their songs talk about things that can only satisfy the emotional heart. “Darkness is their element, sensuality their sphere.” Believing in the lyrics of these love songs will only lead into eventual disappointment. It may also lead to separation from God. Living a life that is based on satisfying carnal wants is not a part of God’s plan. Which makes sense because why would God want us to live lives with superficial satisfaction and guaranteed let downs? We as individuals deserve a love that is much deeper than what the songs convey. We deserve love that will stay true no matter what happens. That love comes from knowing a person for who they are not just from seeing how beautiful or handsome they are. Also, true love doesn't just focus on the good but accepts the bad and sometimes weird. True love will lift you up when your're down, forgive you for your faults, praise you for your successes, and support you through tough times. According to 1 Cornthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

Sn:- Isn’t it funny that the same people that make love songs always make break up songs?

Ssn:- quote from E.G. White “Councils to the church”