Respect

That one word, Respect, has so much meaning behind it.

The first thing that some people think of when they think of respect is the 5th commandment in the Bible. Exodus 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which that the Lord your God has given you."

But that verse is another topic for another time. This post is going to be about how we as single or dating men need to respect our women in our lives.

According to a man named, Clifford Pugh, a writer on the Houston Chronicle, he states there are 21 ways to be a true gentleman. I'll provide a few of his "21 ways" , if you'd like to see the rest click here.

1. Keeps to the right, whether he is walking on a sidewalk, down a hallway or on the stairs.

5. Waits until a lady at the table lifts her fork before he takes his first bite.

8.  Always has an umbrella to share.

18. Never wears the same pair of blue jeans two days in a row.

Now I don't know about you, but I don't own an umbrella. I also walk on the left of my Girlfriend, why? Because she's left handed and I'm right handed, and when we hold hands, it just feels right!

What does I mean to be a gentleman? Well I think the key word is RESPECT. Do you respect women as your equal? Or do you think of them as a lower sex than you and consider them servants in your eyes?

The "21 ways" that Clifford was talking about may help you appear to be more like a gentleman, but it doesn't necessarily show you respect the women in your life.

Single guys, think about this one. If you can't respect the random girls in your life as equals or do kind and nice things for them (holding doors open, talking appropriately, not ignoring them, etc.) than how do you think you'd be able to have a girlfriend, let alone a wife?

At the beginning of my relationship with my girlfriend, I didn't treat her with the amount of respect that I do now. Sure, I would hold the door open for her and stuff, but I treated her like a pet. I would buy her stuff, have fun with her and would expect her to love me and only be around me.

 

However, she has her own life. She is her own person. She has her own soul. She has her own personality. I can't control her. I have to respect her as her, being herself.

And let me tell you...on a personal testimony... After respecting her more, I have come to learn to love her more, I have more fun with her, I trust her more, and I love to be with her more. It's amazing.

So men, respect those women in your life. They deserve it and so do you.

God bless,
Josiah

Mentor on these things...

My whole life I've loved to study or learn about the "weird" stuff in the Bible. 

YES! The Bible does have weird stuff in it!

• Like angels falling from heaven and having sex with the women of the earth. (Gen. 6:2)
• The seven scrolls in the Bible that Jesus opens. (Revelation) 
• When the end times will happen. (Revelation)
• Is there a rapture? 
• How the animals got on Noah's ark. (Genesis)

 I'm a immature Christian. Meaning my faith is NOT as strong as I'd like it to be. I'll admit that. I stumble and fall and have difficulties with temptation. 

I need to focus on the things that matter for my Salvation!

 

 

• Jesus dying for our sins.
• The Resurrection.
• What rules Jesus/God has for us as believers to follow.
• How to evangelize.

The things that matter for me is getting my sinful soul to Heaven with Christ; that's all that truly matters! Once I understand that, then I can move on to how I can evangelize and pray with those who don't have that same relationship with Christ like I do. 

The "weird" things in the Bible can be fun to learn and debate on. But seriously...There are so many different theories out there with some of the more "strange" verses that they might harm your faith or cause you to stop thinking about the salvation part of Christianity, and focus on the history of it. 

When I was struggling with my faith around the age of 16, I was completely focusing on the end of the world. I was worried that I would die/get raptured...I wanted to live in the end times. I wanted to live during the tribulation so that I could have the excitement of trying to survive while evangelizing to others. I was so focused on that part of the Bible and the theories around it, that I lost the real purpose of Christianity and the message of Salvation. 

We need to focus on the things above (meaning, those related to Heaven and Jesus Christ and Salvation) than the things on this earth (like the tribulation, or fallen angels, etc.).

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (Col. 3:2)

This is something that has touched me this week. I'm going to start focusing on Jesus more, and how I am saved an how I can share that same gospel with others. 

What will you focus on?

Blessings~

Josiah

Are we Bad or Good Art?

When an painter, a sculptor, or even a dance performer presents their "work" to people, 

they are called artists. Artists present their work to people,

 hoping to reveal the "good" image that they can create with their talent.

Let me give you an example...

The Sistine Chapel ceiling was painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. It looked beautiful! It was amazing!

It's beautiful, but can you imagine if Michelangelo painted something like this on the ceiling? 

It would present a bad image of Michelangelo with such a horrible painting. Because of the amazing "image" of his painting on the ceiling, we can see how spectacular Michelangelo is as a painter and as an artist. No one views him as being a bad painter, only a really really REALLY good one.

Now, here is a mind blowing realization I had last week.

God, the creator of the Heavens and the Earth, created every single living thing. 

Genesis 1:31 says: "God saw all that He had made, and it was very good..."

He created everything guys. That means He created US.

So wait, if God created us, then that means we are His art. 

Are we portraying a good image for our Creator? Our Artist? 

 If we don't have that image of living for Christ, then are we showing others around a good image of God, let alone Christianity?

If we bully, lie, cheat, sing crude songs, covet, premarital sex, or anything not pleasing to Him...then we aren't portraying a good image of our Artist, therefore, we are Bad Art.

But Wait! There's hope! There is this magical thing called Wite'out! 

Wite'Out has the ability to cover up and remove all mistakes done by a pen, pencil, marker, paint brush, etc.

Jesus is our Wite'out. He covered us not by some white paste-like material, He covered us by His blood. 

He gave us a chance to start displaying a new painting, a new image of ourselves for God. 

*Inserting Mind Exploding Image*

Have an amazing week everyone! 

Blessings~

Josiah

Who am I?

Hello!

My name is Josiah Blanchard~

I would just like to take this first post and explain who I am and what I enjoy doing.

 

I am 18 years old and I live in Florida.

I go to college at Southeastern University in Lakeland Florida.

I am from Minnesota, where it's freezing cold!

I am the oldest of 7 children, who have all been homeschooled.

I am working on finishing my Business Management Major.

I have been dating my first girlfriend for over 8 months.

My relationship with the Lord is growing stronger everyday.

I love to work in Restaurant-style atmospheres.

My goal is to own a restaurant after college.

 

Fun Facts:

 

I have moved 17 times in my life.

 

I owned a 1989 Firebird as my first car.

 

I smashed my finger with a 300 pound rock.

 

My happy place is driving alone in a car with the windows open and the music blazing loudly.

 

I love to learn about business.

 

I love country music.

 

I love everything to do with knives, football, food, and even farming!

 

 

 

The goal for the blog is for both my wonderful girlfriend and I to share our life journey with family, friends, and whomever else would like to see what's going on.
 

We want to help other teenagers see what struggles and difficulties that we have gone through that they can avoid when  in a relationship with someone.
 

We want to share our testimonies and our journey with our Savior, Jesus Christ.

 

I'm excited to see how the Lord will use this blog, and I'm even more excited to see how much closer I can become with my girl, by both sharing something we can work on together.

 

Blessings~

Josiah