She said yes.

My headphones died today.

I got into the car and was going to call a friend.. And I couldn't hear the other person. Phail.

Thinking that maybe my phone was having  a temperamental moment, I plugged it into my iPod.

Still a no-go.

So.. I made an impromptu stop at the Apple Store at South Coast Plaza to get a new pair. I was ready to buy them, when a handy, dandy, Apple specialist mentioned that they'd be under warranty for a year. My quick thinking calculated that my dead pair is less than a year old.. So voila! Free, new pair!

But, this just went from a purchase.. To the need for a Genius Bar appointment.. And I suddenly had 45 minutes to kill.

Thankfully, one of my favorite places is about 100 feet from the Apple Store.. Borders!

And since I have a car ride up to Big Bear, some free time, and a ride home from Big Bear coming up, I decided that a book or two would be a good purchase!

I wandered all through the store, trying to find the perfect book.

I find myself drawn to the biography section every time I go into Border's or B&N. I love biographies. I think it's so interesting to see the walks that other people go through in their life.

I looked through the Biography and Memoir section a few times, and nothing popped out at me. I went upstairs to look at the Young Adults section (maybe Sarah Dessen has a new book!?!), and was disturbed by the amount of vampire books there are now! Holy crimony!

Anyways, on my walk back downstairs, I realized what book I wanted to buy.

She Said Yes, by Misty Bernall.

This is the second time I'm buying this book. My first copy has been read, written in, loved, and abused so many times that the spine is broken and pages are falling out. It was time for a new one.

What's so special about this book?

It's the story of someone that I want to be like.

Misty Bernall wrote the book in honor of her daughter, Cassie. It's the story of Cassie's life. She was a daddy's girl who grew up in a loving, Christian family. Then, as many people do, she entered her teenage years and got involved in some really bad stuff. She walked away from her faith and met some horrible friends that were horrible influences on her. But her parents never stopped loving her. They made tough decisions to show her some tough love.. And it paid off. She found her way back to Christ, and fell more in love with Him than ever before.

The book isn't just about a good girl gone bad then back to good. Cassie died on April 20, 1999. She was only 17. She died at the Columbine High School shooting.

It's not just the fact that Misty's daughter died at 17 that motivated her to write about Cassie's story. But it was Cassie's final word.

"Yes."

That was the last word she spoke.

And that word was an answer to a question.

"Do you believe in God?"

"Yes."

She answered "yes". She answered "yes" with a gun pointed to her forehead. And she died for it.

I remember reading that for the first time (as a 6th grader) and getting goosebumps. And wondering if I would have the courage and faith to do that if I had to. Correction: if I had the opportunity to do that.

Imagine if her answer had been "no". She still might have died. But man, what a different ending to the story.

Have you ever been asked "how do you want to die?"? I used to always respond "when I'm old, in my sleep". Granted, that would be nice (insert adorable death scene from The Notebook here).. But man, that's the number 2 way I want to die. To die for Christ? To have my final words and breath be proclaiming Christ's love? Holy cow. I'd rather die talking about Christ than dying, silent, in my sleep.

Lord, I pray that my faith is that strong.

Posted via email from redheadedblonde's posterous

Let Us Pray..

Prayer.

It's such a basic part of Christianity - and other religions, too.

Even people that aren't religious randomly pray. Now, who do they think they're praying to? I have no idea.

But... I know who I'm praying to. The God, my God, the God that created the universe, is omniscient, is loving, is in total control, sent His Son to die for ME so that I can go to Heaven when I die. The One that I strive to live for every second of every day. The One who never ceases to amaze me with how much He loves me, and how He forgives me every time I screw up. How He's always with me and always will be..

Anyways, I could go on for years describing God. But I'm not going to - today, at least.

As I said earlier, prayer is a basic part of my faith. It's basic, but so important. And something that I don't know where I'd be without.

As a (really bad) analogy... Think of it like addition. 1 + 1 = 2. We all know this, we were taught this in elementary school. And at the time, it was cool, but after we realized that 2 + 2 = 4, and 5 + 6 = 11, it kinda got boring. We understood it, what more to it is there? And then you learned multiplication! 3 x 4 = 12! Which, when you dissect it, is really just 3 + 3 + 3 + 3! So, it went back to addition! And then you get into algebra, geometry, calculus, and all those other math classes.. And you started being able to apply it in all aspects of your life (I'm going on vacation for 7 days, so I need seven outfits: 7 pants + 7 shirts + 7 pairs of underwear = 21 items in my suitcase).. And science, medicine, accountants.. They'd be lost without the addition!

And we forget about how important that simple math action is because it comes so naturally. And if we hadn't learned it way back when, we would be totally lost today.

That's how prayer is - or should. So natural, so basic.. But so, so, soooo important!

In Sunday School, we always prayed to start and end the lesson. "Close your eyes and bow your head. Let's pray." We'd pray for sick kids that were missing, and pray for a good week. Before meals, my family would always pray "Thank You for this day, thank You for this food, and thank You for Daddy getting home safely. Please bless this food to our body's use." Not because it was our "scripted" prayer, but it was where we felt comfortable. Then as we got older, we'd add more to it, and personalize it. (Which, honestly, I think is how our relationship with Christ is for most people. You start wherever you start, and you develop your own relationship with Him over time)

But now, as an almost 22 year old, prayer is something that I hold so near, and so dear to my heart. And I think it's silly that it took me so long to get here.

The first verse that I think of when it comes to praying is simple, but important: 1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray without ceasing".

I used to think that that concept was really hard to comprehend - how do you carry on a conversation with Someone that.. Well, to be honest, can be a little on the quiet side sometimes?

Yes, He may be quiet.. But boy, when He does talk.. Does He talk!

And people tend to forget.. It's not that He's not talking.. It's that we're not listening.

I do that a lot.

A while ago, I was having a night when I desperately needed to talk to the person who tends to know me the most - Craig. I called him, said hello, and started into my saga over whatever I needed advice on. I talked, talked, talked.. And when I finally stopped, he laughed, and told me that I had literally, literally, talked for 15 minutes straight. Without a single word from him.

And, believe it or not (gasp!) this is not the first time this has happened.

I don't feel guilty when I do that to Craig (he's used to it), but doing it to God? He's probably used to it (not just from me!), but boy, does He not deserve it!

I want to really focus on praying without ceasing. But, I also really want to focus on listening to Him.

Let Us Pray - Steven Curtis Chapman

Let us pray, let us pray, everywhere in every way 
Every moment of the day, it is the right time 
For the Father above, He is listening with love 
And He wants to answer us, so let us pray

Posted via email from redheadedblonde's posterous