what's on my mind

so something's really been bothering me lately. why are so many things that we do in life based on age? people are constantly categorizing what they expect your accomplishments to be at each stage of your life. why? shouldn't your accomplishments be based on what you're capable of? why are people so afraid of really going for things and following their dreams, no matter how old they are? i know i get frustrated when people underestimate me because i'm young. i feel like i'm constantly proving people wrong. like, God forbid i start college when i'm 15! what about starting college when you're 60? does that really make a difference? you're still at a completely different level than the average college student. maybe you're more mature than them, but academically, who expects you to do better than the fresh young minds of 18 year olds? take my friend janet, for example. she's 60 (give or take) and she's decided to come back to college to finish her degree. she's struggled a lot, but i admire her all the more for doing something out of the ordinary. shouldn't we encourage people to be different? why do we have these invisible life schedules that everyone is expected to follow? why should 16 year olds still be in high school if they're capable of more? why should 60 year olds stay in retirement when they still have unfulfilled dreams? people need to open their minds and stop expecting everyone to fit into their little cookie cutter. cause like it or not, there's always gonna be someone who breaks the mold.

It's time to tell it like it is...

I've been told I'm brutally honest, so instead of hiding from it I'm going to take advantage of it. Someone needs to tell the truth without being afraid, and that person might as well be me. So let's jump right in...

I had an interesting conversation with my sister today about some things some so-called Christians have been doing lately. Now mind you, I know it's not my place to judge whether or not a person's a follower of Christ, but I don't have to because their actions judge them for me. Am I right? If we're really Christians then we should be making every effort to live like Him. The world should be seeing us as people who are held to a higher standard of morality, not people who are just like them. As I told Aimee, "You can say we're human and we're just like everyone else, but the truth is we're not like everyone else. The world does not have the very essence of holiness living inside of them. Why don't we use that to our advantage?". God told us to be like Him, so clearly He gave us the power to do it.

On another note, but still the same song, why do we always leave the example setting to our pastor? It's time some real leaders stepped up to the plate. I'm not just talking about youth leaders, children's pastors, worship teams. I'm talking about people who lead for the sake of leading. Ordinary members of the congregation who will take it upon themselves to uplift and encourage the church. People who will go out of their way to make sure not one goes astray. People who will hold themselves to the standards God designed for us, and help others to do the same.

So I leave you with this: Where are our Christians? Who are our Leaders?