We are getting married! Hooooray!!!
Many would say "FINALLY!"
Others "Congrats!"
....and then there are the couple of people that have a problem with it.
Like I say in every blog, if you have a problem with anything I say, stop reading. I write things on here because it's one of the only places I can just type out my frustrations and not worry about the whole world seeing it. Here we go.
Like I said in my title, we are engaged, and we are young. But not stupid, immature, or even not prepared for marriage. I think we are the opposite of the above. Culture and certain people would say that unless you've gone to college for 8 years, and managed to accumulate thousands of dollars in student loans, you aren't ready for marriage. Well, I beg to differ. I don't think readiness for marriage should be determined on your education whatsoever. No. I'll even go as far as to say that no one should have a say as to when two people are "ready" or "not ready" for marriage. There is no rule book. And I think that's what many people don't get.
Why am I writing this? Because in the past week and a half, I've had people that know me, but not intimately, and don't know my relationship with Nathan, or what God has done with us in the past few years, that have had the NERVE to say that I am too young, and too un-educated for marriage. I've even heard someone go as far as to say that my relationship (and the time I waited for Nathan, which was 2 years by the way) with Nathan was obsessive, and that our marriage would be me just obsessing over him. .....really? Last time I checked, that was called love. And waiting for Nathan for two years was called being obedient, and waiting for the Lord's timing, and trusting that His purpose, and the promise He has made to me, would become a reality. It wasn't some obsessive fairy tale. It was trust. Trust in God, and in what He had for me. And look where we are. I don't want to brag, but we have one of the craziest, and most awesome love stories. We now know how to love each other deeply and truly because we WAITED on God's timing, and it was worth it.
I look forward to being married to my best friend. I look forward to going to bed every night knowing that I get to wake up by his side. I look forward to having children with him, and raising them up to love the Lord, and I look forward to proving alllll these people wrong that think you have to be 37 to get married.
That is my vent.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Friday, December 30, 2011
"When Darkness Falls"
Look out the window of our world. What do you see? I can only draw one unmistakable conclusion... It is very dark. My heart has been so so heavy today. Why? Because our world is slowly falling apart, and it seems like either no one cares, or no one really wants to take the time to take a stand and make a difference. It's almost like we've become too scared to speak out against all of the taboos in our society because people will look at us like the odd balls, or our social circles will think we're being too legalistic and maybe too conservative, or we simply just don't see anything wrong with whats going on around us. We ourselves are contributing to it. Scary? Very much. Is it possible that we all do it at one point in our lives? Absolutely.
How did we get here? Our entire society is saturated in sex. I'll take it a step further. Our society has become submerged in it for so long, that suffocation and drowning doesn't seem too out of the question. Movies, music, TV, social networking, search engines, billboards, radio, magazines, public places...not one aspect of life has not been seductively darkened by carnality. Let's face the facts. The media will not get any better, so the only other option is for us to.
How do we "get better" as a society? How do we stop being okay with the sexual strangle-hold that has enveloped our world? Like I said before, our earth is very very dark, and as we all know, we are called to illuminate the darkness. The problem is that our light source is too weak. We have allowed so much compromise and influence into our sub-conscience, that our once radiant light has now dwindled into a mere flicker. Now, can we really be shocked when our weak little flame is blown out by the gusting wind of public perversion? We can't control the wind, but we can control how strong our light is. Sin will continue to be present all around us as long as people have the freedom to choose it.
Our standards must be higher and our sacrifices must be greater. Period. Some may say that extreme Christian standards are a form of going over board, but what I say to that is, I would rather go over board than stay on a sinking ship. And trust me, our society is rapidly sinking into sexual compromise. There is no quick fix or get out of jail free card, the only solution to this is simply Jesus Christ. Read your bible, pray, guard your hearts and minds, raise your standards in every aspect of life, and live a pure and blameless life. Accountability is key. Surround yourself with people whose standards daily challenge your own, and you will see growth in your own life. And at all costs, deny yourself every single day.
A wise man once said, "99% obedience is 100% disobedience."
Live all of life in purity, even when society promotes otherwise.
Remember, when darkness falls...you don't have to.
How did we get here? Our entire society is saturated in sex. I'll take it a step further. Our society has become submerged in it for so long, that suffocation and drowning doesn't seem too out of the question. Movies, music, TV, social networking, search engines, billboards, radio, magazines, public places...not one aspect of life has not been seductively darkened by carnality. Let's face the facts. The media will not get any better, so the only other option is for us to.
How do we "get better" as a society? How do we stop being okay with the sexual strangle-hold that has enveloped our world? Like I said before, our earth is very very dark, and as we all know, we are called to illuminate the darkness. The problem is that our light source is too weak. We have allowed so much compromise and influence into our sub-conscience, that our once radiant light has now dwindled into a mere flicker. Now, can we really be shocked when our weak little flame is blown out by the gusting wind of public perversion? We can't control the wind, but we can control how strong our light is. Sin will continue to be present all around us as long as people have the freedom to choose it.
Our standards must be higher and our sacrifices must be greater. Period. Some may say that extreme Christian standards are a form of going over board, but what I say to that is, I would rather go over board than stay on a sinking ship. And trust me, our society is rapidly sinking into sexual compromise. There is no quick fix or get out of jail free card, the only solution to this is simply Jesus Christ. Read your bible, pray, guard your hearts and minds, raise your standards in every aspect of life, and live a pure and blameless life. Accountability is key. Surround yourself with people whose standards daily challenge your own, and you will see growth in your own life. And at all costs, deny yourself every single day.
A wise man once said, "99% obedience is 100% disobedience."
Live all of life in purity, even when society promotes otherwise.
Remember, when darkness falls...you don't have to.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Toe-Stepper.
This entry will be exactly about what it sounds like its gonna be about. I am not judging the lifestyle that any one person chooses to live, I am simply stating what I observe and the opinion I have. I am going to vent, so if I hurt your feelings, just stop reading it. I won't really be sorry, because this is my blog, and I need to be honest. You are more than welcome to click the big red X at the top of your screen at any moment.
Our world is so ridiculously backwards it's not even funny. I was having a conversation with Nathan about this the other night. What we used to think was acceptable and right a few years ago, has completely changed today. The same thing goes for what we thought was absolutely repulsive and unimaginable...it is now our reality. I believe we have allowed the "world" to influence the way we think, speak, dress, and even carry ourselves and that is just not ok.
We have become content and okay with sin, and it being around us. Not saying that we can't love the people that are sinning (Which is all of us) but we have almost come to the point where we condone it. We feel like if we speak out, we might hurt someone's feelings, or come off too judgmental. Oh no, God forbid we speak the truth into people's lives. We are hurting them more by being okay with their sinful lifestyle; by not letting them know that they are living their lives completely outside of God's will and God's blessing. I would so much rather someone come up to me and tell me I'm being an idiot, than just let me keep being one because they "love" me, and then never truly live out my life to its fullest potential. By no means I am saying to just tell everyone off that we meet, but come on, lets be a light where it seriously matters. We say all the time at church and we hear in sermons "Be the light in the darkness" and "God wants to use you to be a light" but what good is a bunch of light in the same place? What good is being "Godly" in front of all your church friends because you have to? What good is a bunch of light bulbs on at the same time? Eventually, you don't even know what light is coming from which bulb, it all just becomes one big blob of light. Why not use the light that we have inside of us where there is none. Why not shine it to those that are in utter darkness, and really be useful with it. Otherwise, all we are doing is shining when it's "the right thing to do." That, my friends, is not what we are here to do.
Another completely backwards thing I have noticed around me in the past few months (Especially in the summer, my goodness) is that so many young ladies are completely compromising their purity for the sake of fashion. What is that? When did looking cute become wearing the shortest shorts you can find, and the tightest blouse, and the highest heels? I know plenty of women, beautiful beautiful Godly women, that have an incredible sense of style, but do it with modesty. Why look like everyone else out there? Seriously? Shouldn't our standards be higher? Why don't we look any different than the world does? What sets us apart? The way you dress says so much about you. It can give someone that knows nothing about you, an outlook into who you are, just by one glance. What message do we want to portray? I'm going to be honest. I am not okay with the way some women dress, especially to church, where men shouldn't even have to worry about being tempted. And many people would say "Oh, well maybe they just need to watch where they look, and not focus on that but focus on Jesus" or maybe you should watch what you wear and how you wear it, especially if it becomes a distraction for the opposite sex. Seriously. The saddest part is that some people do dress like that to church and do carry themselves in that way, and then have a problem when people speak up, and say something. I asked myself this question the other night before going to bed...."Are my standards too high, or something?" Why am I not okay with showing everything off? There are certain parts of me that I only want my husband to see one day. Why would I go around flaunting it for everyone to see? Our bodies are sacred treasures, so beautiful and different, and it just saddens me to see that the standard has dropped, that people are suddenly okay with it, and I am not. We need to be more mindful and respectful not only to our own selves and our own bodies, but to the people we come in contact with every day.
I leave you with this challenge, let's look and think differently than the world. The term "What Would Jesus Do" is so cliche, but why don't we put ourselves aside for one second and try and live by it?
Our world is so ridiculously backwards it's not even funny. I was having a conversation with Nathan about this the other night. What we used to think was acceptable and right a few years ago, has completely changed today. The same thing goes for what we thought was absolutely repulsive and unimaginable...it is now our reality. I believe we have allowed the "world" to influence the way we think, speak, dress, and even carry ourselves and that is just not ok.
We have become content and okay with sin, and it being around us. Not saying that we can't love the people that are sinning (Which is all of us) but we have almost come to the point where we condone it. We feel like if we speak out, we might hurt someone's feelings, or come off too judgmental. Oh no, God forbid we speak the truth into people's lives. We are hurting them more by being okay with their sinful lifestyle; by not letting them know that they are living their lives completely outside of God's will and God's blessing. I would so much rather someone come up to me and tell me I'm being an idiot, than just let me keep being one because they "love" me, and then never truly live out my life to its fullest potential. By no means I am saying to just tell everyone off that we meet, but come on, lets be a light where it seriously matters. We say all the time at church and we hear in sermons "Be the light in the darkness" and "God wants to use you to be a light" but what good is a bunch of light in the same place? What good is being "Godly" in front of all your church friends because you have to? What good is a bunch of light bulbs on at the same time? Eventually, you don't even know what light is coming from which bulb, it all just becomes one big blob of light. Why not use the light that we have inside of us where there is none. Why not shine it to those that are in utter darkness, and really be useful with it. Otherwise, all we are doing is shining when it's "the right thing to do." That, my friends, is not what we are here to do.
Another completely backwards thing I have noticed around me in the past few months (Especially in the summer, my goodness) is that so many young ladies are completely compromising their purity for the sake of fashion. What is that? When did looking cute become wearing the shortest shorts you can find, and the tightest blouse, and the highest heels? I know plenty of women, beautiful beautiful Godly women, that have an incredible sense of style, but do it with modesty. Why look like everyone else out there? Seriously? Shouldn't our standards be higher? Why don't we look any different than the world does? What sets us apart? The way you dress says so much about you. It can give someone that knows nothing about you, an outlook into who you are, just by one glance. What message do we want to portray? I'm going to be honest. I am not okay with the way some women dress, especially to church, where men shouldn't even have to worry about being tempted. And many people would say "Oh, well maybe they just need to watch where they look, and not focus on that but focus on Jesus" or maybe you should watch what you wear and how you wear it, especially if it becomes a distraction for the opposite sex. Seriously. The saddest part is that some people do dress like that to church and do carry themselves in that way, and then have a problem when people speak up, and say something. I asked myself this question the other night before going to bed...."Are my standards too high, or something?" Why am I not okay with showing everything off? There are certain parts of me that I only want my husband to see one day. Why would I go around flaunting it for everyone to see? Our bodies are sacred treasures, so beautiful and different, and it just saddens me to see that the standard has dropped, that people are suddenly okay with it, and I am not. We need to be more mindful and respectful not only to our own selves and our own bodies, but to the people we come in contact with every day.
I leave you with this challenge, let's look and think differently than the world. The term "What Would Jesus Do" is so cliche, but why don't we put ourselves aside for one second and try and live by it?
Friday, September 9, 2011
"And As I Wait For You, Maybe I'm Made More Faithful."
(This is going to be more of a journal entry than anything, so bare with me.)
The past few weeks have been...interesting. I recently moved out of my parent's house into Nathan's grandparents' and it's been quite a change. First off, there is no internet. If you know me at all, you know how absolutely horrifying that is for me. I haven't been able to blog (Which has been killing me), and the only way I can really keep up with any form of social networking is on my iPhone screen. I have had to learn to pretty much fend for myself. I have to buy groceries if I want to eat, do my own dishes (by hand, no dishwasher), and pretty much every thing you wish your mom would do for you, but isn't there to. I haven't found a solid job, therefore I've been living off of random babysitting jobs and things that come up, and that alone can get stressful.
Where am I going with all of this? God is still good, even if this season of my life isn't the best. I have learned from past experiences, that there is no such thing as a comfortable season with God. If I even start thinking that my life is perfect in every aspect, He is quick to get me back to reality. Now, God isn't a cruel monster that just wants you to suffer. And I think so many times we see it in this way, because we don't understand where our hardships come from. We say "God, I serve you wholeheartedly, I have given you my life, and still you choose to give me problems to deal with? I thought you loved me." And you are correct. He does. He gives you hardships and hard seasons in life because He DOES love you. Think of it this way....A parent that just lets their child do whatever they want, without consequences or rules or spankings (yes, kids these days still need them) would probably end up with a wild child; doing whatever they want, whenever they want, with no fear of authority. Not that they would stop loving their parents any less, but there wouldn't be a trust that the parent has everything under control. It would almost not give the parent a chance to "show off" their love, even if at first it comes off harsh. The same thing would happen if God just allowed us to do what we wanted. Our love for Him would probably not change, we would still think He was a good guy, but there would be no opportunity for him to show off how merciful, wonderful, faithful He is. I am taking the season that I am now with that perspective. Yes, things are hard, money is tight, and I don't understand why things are the way they are, but I know He does it all because He loves me and wants me to continue to grab a hold of how faithful He truly is. He wants me to trust Him for everything, and never ever think that things will just come because I make them happen. He wants me on my face, praying the mess out of my situation, and trusting Him even when the door seems slammed shut, because then, He gets to show up in my situation, completely rock my life, open a crazy awesome door, and do it in a way that I could've never done it. That is the God that I serve.
Waiting for Him to show up can be tough, but it makes me trust Him and have even more faith that He will. :)
The past few weeks have been...interesting. I recently moved out of my parent's house into Nathan's grandparents' and it's been quite a change. First off, there is no internet. If you know me at all, you know how absolutely horrifying that is for me. I haven't been able to blog (Which has been killing me), and the only way I can really keep up with any form of social networking is on my iPhone screen. I have had to learn to pretty much fend for myself. I have to buy groceries if I want to eat, do my own dishes (by hand, no dishwasher), and pretty much every thing you wish your mom would do for you, but isn't there to. I haven't found a solid job, therefore I've been living off of random babysitting jobs and things that come up, and that alone can get stressful.
Where am I going with all of this? God is still good, even if this season of my life isn't the best. I have learned from past experiences, that there is no such thing as a comfortable season with God. If I even start thinking that my life is perfect in every aspect, He is quick to get me back to reality. Now, God isn't a cruel monster that just wants you to suffer. And I think so many times we see it in this way, because we don't understand where our hardships come from. We say "God, I serve you wholeheartedly, I have given you my life, and still you choose to give me problems to deal with? I thought you loved me." And you are correct. He does. He gives you hardships and hard seasons in life because He DOES love you. Think of it this way....A parent that just lets their child do whatever they want, without consequences or rules or spankings (yes, kids these days still need them) would probably end up with a wild child; doing whatever they want, whenever they want, with no fear of authority. Not that they would stop loving their parents any less, but there wouldn't be a trust that the parent has everything under control. It would almost not give the parent a chance to "show off" their love, even if at first it comes off harsh. The same thing would happen if God just allowed us to do what we wanted. Our love for Him would probably not change, we would still think He was a good guy, but there would be no opportunity for him to show off how merciful, wonderful, faithful He is. I am taking the season that I am now with that perspective. Yes, things are hard, money is tight, and I don't understand why things are the way they are, but I know He does it all because He loves me and wants me to continue to grab a hold of how faithful He truly is. He wants me to trust Him for everything, and never ever think that things will just come because I make them happen. He wants me on my face, praying the mess out of my situation, and trusting Him even when the door seems slammed shut, because then, He gets to show up in my situation, completely rock my life, open a crazy awesome door, and do it in a way that I could've never done it. That is the God that I serve.
Waiting for Him to show up can be tough, but it makes me trust Him and have even more faith that He will. :)
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Happily Ever After?
On May 22, 2011, Nathaniel David Lueke asked me to be his girlfriend. This post won't be about how adorable we are (even though we are) or how much we care about each other (even though we do.) :)
Relationships, especially in the media, look so magical. The two protagonists meet, have a problem and suddently hate each other, and then something brings them together again, they get married, and live happily ever after. Sounds about right? So many people go into a relationship with that same mentality, and as soon as things start to get too difficult because they don't meet the expectations that they have, they quit. I am a firm believer in courting. Dating just to date is dumb. If you want to get to know someone better, be their friends first, and then if you see marriage potential, court them. If they don't have a job or a car, or let alone a license to drive with, DONT WASTE YOUR TIME. Back to what I was saying, people nowadays quit on relationships for two reasons:
1) The person was not right for them.
2) They were not willing to fight for the other person.
Relationships aren't happily ever afters. They take work. Every day you must wake up in the morning, and remember that you must put someone else's feelings, needs, wants, thoughts, views, ect ahead of your own. I'm not saying you let them walk over you, but if you know for a fact that you love this person, all of this will come naturally. You will WANT to put that person ahead of you. You will want to naturally please them.
What happens when fights and struggles come? What happens when you just can't compromise on something and you're both being stubborn? Do you just call it quits and go find the next person to "try it out with" or "get to know" or do you fight for your relationship? Nathan and I do this thing. Every time we get into a really big argument or disagreement, we ask each other: "Do you want to keep going, or do you want to give up? Every time we choose to continue our relationship, we get stronger. Every time we conquer a hurdle, our love for each other grows. If fighting good? In my opinion, yes. It's the way we handle the outcome of the problem that determines whether it will grow us or defeat us.
If daily, your relationship does not grow you spiritually and emotionally, if your significant other doesn't make you love Jesus more, doesn't make you go after the things of God so you are both equally as passionate, it's probably not right. That's a really bold statement, and I might step on some toes, but I honestly don't care. I'm tired of seeing incredible people that are head over heels in love with Jesus, settle for some joker that can't even pick up a bible, let alone tell you what it says. I'm tired of people's fire dying out because they don't have someone that is challenging them daily, instead, they are constantly forced to stoop down to their level, and most of the time, they just stay there. Settled. That's sad. Women, you don't need little boys. Little boys will treat you like little girls. Men of God will treat you like Women of God, and that is what we deserve.
I leave you with one question to ask yourself: Is your relationship making you a better version of you, and challenging you, or is it doing the complete opposite?
Relationships, especially in the media, look so magical. The two protagonists meet, have a problem and suddently hate each other, and then something brings them together again, they get married, and live happily ever after. Sounds about right? So many people go into a relationship with that same mentality, and as soon as things start to get too difficult because they don't meet the expectations that they have, they quit. I am a firm believer in courting. Dating just to date is dumb. If you want to get to know someone better, be their friends first, and then if you see marriage potential, court them. If they don't have a job or a car, or let alone a license to drive with, DONT WASTE YOUR TIME. Back to what I was saying, people nowadays quit on relationships for two reasons:
1) The person was not right for them.
2) They were not willing to fight for the other person.
Relationships aren't happily ever afters. They take work. Every day you must wake up in the morning, and remember that you must put someone else's feelings, needs, wants, thoughts, views, ect ahead of your own. I'm not saying you let them walk over you, but if you know for a fact that you love this person, all of this will come naturally. You will WANT to put that person ahead of you. You will want to naturally please them.
What happens when fights and struggles come? What happens when you just can't compromise on something and you're both being stubborn? Do you just call it quits and go find the next person to "try it out with" or "get to know" or do you fight for your relationship? Nathan and I do this thing. Every time we get into a really big argument or disagreement, we ask each other: "Do you want to keep going, or do you want to give up? Every time we choose to continue our relationship, we get stronger. Every time we conquer a hurdle, our love for each other grows. If fighting good? In my opinion, yes. It's the way we handle the outcome of the problem that determines whether it will grow us or defeat us.
If daily, your relationship does not grow you spiritually and emotionally, if your significant other doesn't make you love Jesus more, doesn't make you go after the things of God so you are both equally as passionate, it's probably not right. That's a really bold statement, and I might step on some toes, but I honestly don't care. I'm tired of seeing incredible people that are head over heels in love with Jesus, settle for some joker that can't even pick up a bible, let alone tell you what it says. I'm tired of people's fire dying out because they don't have someone that is challenging them daily, instead, they are constantly forced to stoop down to their level, and most of the time, they just stay there. Settled. That's sad. Women, you don't need little boys. Little boys will treat you like little girls. Men of God will treat you like Women of God, and that is what we deserve.
I leave you with one question to ask yourself: Is your relationship making you a better version of you, and challenging you, or is it doing the complete opposite?
Just A Glimpse
How many times do we see someone, probably weekly, and we don't even know who they really are? We have no idea what their passions are, what they think about certain things, or even what compels them to be the way that they are? How many times do we say "Oh yeah, so and so is my friend" but we don't ever sit down and really take the time to sit down, have a chat, and go from being just acquaintances, to friends? We all have extremely busy lives, and that's one reason I wanted to start this. I'm not doing this because it's the cool new hip thing to do. I want to provide a "window" into who Daniela Velez really is. I don't want to blog about trendy things, or something cool that I don't really believe in, but I want to provide a way for people to know what God is doing in and through me, what my passions are, what I dislike around me, who I really am.
I will probably offend some people with what I write. I'm not going to sugar coat what goes on in MY mind. You are more than welcome to unfollow at any time :)
(Just my disclaimer, I would love it if people actually stuck around.)
Let's start of with a formal introduction.
My name is Daniela Velez. I was born in Medellin, Colombia. And right now, my life is kind of all over the place. It usually doesn't work out this way, but on the inside, I'm very at peace. I am enjoying watching myself grow physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Outside though, life seems chaotic. Some things don't make sense. I feel like a part of my world is slowly falling apart and I can't really help it. I will go into detail about that on a later day, but through all of this, I have one constant. Despite my emotional breakdowns, and spiritual highs, and confusion and tears, and happiness and sadness, there is Jesus. He is my constant. He is the one thing in my life that never changes. He loves me and I know He loves me. If the world around me crumbles one day (God forbid), I know for sure that he will be lifting me out of the rubbish. He is Mine and I am His.
Here we go.
This is me. This is my window, and I look forward to giving you a glimpse.
I will probably offend some people with what I write. I'm not going to sugar coat what goes on in MY mind. You are more than welcome to unfollow at any time :)
(Just my disclaimer, I would love it if people actually stuck around.)
Let's start of with a formal introduction.
My name is Daniela Velez. I was born in Medellin, Colombia. And right now, my life is kind of all over the place. It usually doesn't work out this way, but on the inside, I'm very at peace. I am enjoying watching myself grow physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Outside though, life seems chaotic. Some things don't make sense. I feel like a part of my world is slowly falling apart and I can't really help it. I will go into detail about that on a later day, but through all of this, I have one constant. Despite my emotional breakdowns, and spiritual highs, and confusion and tears, and happiness and sadness, there is Jesus. He is my constant. He is the one thing in my life that never changes. He loves me and I know He loves me. If the world around me crumbles one day (God forbid), I know for sure that he will be lifting me out of the rubbish. He is Mine and I am His.
Here we go.
This is me. This is my window, and I look forward to giving you a glimpse.
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