go big or go home.

i can do this.
it may very well be all on my own.

but i can do it.
and i will.

so there.

texty texterson

EHEM.

this has gone on long enough. i can't handle it any more. life is full of rules, and this instance is no exception. 
but like many other problems one could face on a day to day basis, this problem is not taken as seriously as it should be. 
let's fix that. now.

TEXTING ETIQUETTE.  

rule 1.
never. ever. never ever. ever. never. never. ever. EVER. send a text complied of a single "K" or "LOL". this is unacceptable. how in the world is someone supposed to reply to that?
if you were sitting on a couch talking to someone and all they did was "LOL" and then stop and stare at you...would that be acceptable? certainly not. so why in text?

rule 2.
replies are appreciated. simple concept really - you get a text. you send a text. you get a text. you send a text. you DON'T get a text....and put your phone away and move on. ESPECIALLY when it's a question needing an answer.
back to the couch situation. if you were having a conversation with someone and they asked, "how has your day been?"... would you just get up and walk away? (i certainly hope not, if so, we have other things to cover) you would REPLY!!!
it doesn't take long and is usually a fairly pain-free task.

rule 3.
just because two people in a group have cell phones does not give good reason for them to text each other while inside the group.
this needs no explanation. it's rude and dumb. don't do it.

rule 4.
sending pictures is great. sending pictures with absolutely no explanation is not so great.
"oh hey, thanks so much for that picture of your lunch...but why??"
take the picture. type a message. THEN send.
very very simple process.

now, i know this might be a lot to take in in one setting. so i'll give you some time to process it all. 
if these rules are not followed, more forceful steps will be taken.
thank you.

one of the same.

[i know i write about love...pretty much all the time. so if you want to just disregard this post, it's allowed.]

a few years ago, one of the most influential people in my life told me that i didn't understand the idea of Christlike love. and honestly, at the time, i didn't.
he told me to read 1 Corinthians 13.
of course he did. that's the chapter EVERYONE references when talking about love. way to be original. gee whiz.
but it doesn't stop there with just reading it.
then you apply it.

take the word "love" out.
put your name in it's place.

[Jamie is patient, Jamie is kind. It(she) does not envy, it (she) does not boast, it (she) is not proud. It (she) does not dishonor others, it (she) is not self-seeking, it (she) is not easily angered, it (she) keeps no record of wrongs. Jamie does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It (she) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

  Jamie never fails.]

woah. woah. woah.

that blows my mind EVERY SINGLE time i try it.

i mean, the first sentence is just crazy. jamie is patient??!?!?! what?!? do you know me?!?!

does not envy?

is not easily angered?

always trusts, always hopes?

NEVER FAILS?!?!

yeah. impossible. 

on my own.

the point is this.

duh, we aren't this way. we can't be without Him letting us be and helping us get there.

i can't do any of this because jamie wants to be a better person.

but i can do it when i ask him and let him do it His way, and in his time.

so, until that whole paragraph is true...i'm gonna keep praying for it.

and keep blowing up my blog with entries about love. 

Christ love.

get used to it.

i feel like my life is an introduction at an AA meeting.

i feel the need to admit all my flaws and failures to every person i meet.
like a "precursor " of sorts.

but then, when i really think about it...

i should't have to.
you love me. or you don't. there's not much explaining that will change that.

so i guess, the thing is...
i am jamie king. i am the very jamie king He has created me to be.
He loves my loud laugh. He smiles when my big, bug eyes smile in unison with my heart. He loves to hear me sing, even when it's loud and off key. He is "enthralled by my beauty" (Ps.45:11).
and if he can find it in his all knowing, all powerful, all merciful heart to love me without having to know all my bad habits and embarrassing actions first..
so. can. you.

in case you have ever wondered

wow. wow. wow.

yes.

on Christ the Sold Rock they stand

as i sit here and  try to type out what i'm feeling at the moment i am completely and totally...
speechless.
there are so many thoughts flying around in my head right now, i don't even know where to try to begin.

i went to this thing tonight.
it was meant to let us see what it's really like for our brothers and sisters in Christ who suffer persecution for their beliefs. it was to show us what it's like to be in a secret "home church".
we don't know what that's like.
and as i went through the events of the night....
it hit me.

we, as american Christians have
NO CLUE.
we are totally and completely ignorant.

we complain when we have to be at church early, when the preacher talks past 12, when the song leader doesn't sing the song we like, or when someone takes our seat in the sanctuary.
they risk their lives when they walk into their place of worship, and they walk in gladly.
we all own at least 3 bibles....and read one maybe once a day.
they don't have bibles at all. they hear and memorize...and wait months to hear the next verse.
we are so caught up in this "tolerant" mindset we are scared to say anything that might offend someone.
they tell people that they serve a living God and that His way is the only way...knowing they could die before their next breath.

in the time it has taken me to type this simple blog, hundreds, maybe even thousands of believers have been killed for the beliefs i know i take for granted every day.

i am in awe of our ability to be so apathetic. 

James 1:22 - But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 


what will i do about it?
i must do something. because this...this easy, apathetic Christian life i'm leading it wont cut it any more. it can't. 
we are called to so much more.

1 Corinthians 4:16 - Therefore I urge you to imitate me.

can you imagine telling someone to imitate the way you serve the Lord? the way you live your life for Him?
that blows my mind.
but if i had their faith. their passion. their peace.
if i had what they have, and what i should have...i would be able to say that.

so this is me, making my greatest effort to be there.
to be like them.
to imitate them.
i want to be like Asia Bebe. she's in prison now awaiting her death. she stood up against a large group of Muslim women in her community in Pakistan and told them of her Lord and Savior.
i'm scared to be made fun of or unaccepted. 
she didn't fear for her life.
i will imitate that.

image for a minute what this world would be like if we were all imitators of these wonderful people, and in so, being imitators of our Lord.
we would be unstoppable.
join me.