Everybody Does It...Even Beyonce

Have you ever had those moments in your life where you have so much to do and so little time to do it? (I hope the answer is yes; I think that everyone should have this problem at least once or twice in their lives. It's a thrill. Just kidding. But really.)

And in those moments, have you been so focused on completing all you have to do that you feel like you're wearing a pair of those awkward blinders horses wear at the Kentucky Derby?

BECAUSE I HAVE.

That's the reason I haven't been able to write in two weeks.

It is also what prompted me to write about today's topic.

And guys, I'm gonna be straight with you: It's a little heavy.

Today I want to talk about sin.

It's a three-letter word that, in my personal opinion, brings physical discomfort when spoken. Or typed. When I wrote it just up there, I shuttered just a bit. I'm not even lying.  

Sin. It's a thing that nobody can avoid. We all do it. Every year. Every week. Every day. Heck, even every hour. It's one thing that everyone on this earth has in common. We are sinners. We break God's commandments and fall into traps the devil sets for us.  I'm a sinner. You're a sinner. We are ALL sinners. We are all people, and no matter what we do in our life, we have to face the fact that we all fall short to the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Sinning, whether it's done by the Queen of England, Beyonce, or your pal down the street, is the same all across the board. 

I am full of sin.  I say things I shouldn't, do things I shouldn't, and think things I shouldn't. And sometimes, I put my blinders on and do not take the time to notice that my sins are making me stumble and fall on my walk with God. I have been so busy thinking of earthly things that I have not made enough time to reflect on how well I am living a Christ-centered life. I've tripped and need God to pick me up and dust me off.

Perhaps you feel the same way as me, or at least felt this way at some point in your life. It's especially hard in college, a place where your faith is tested in the classroom, with your friends, and in your activities. It's understandable that we sometimes trip and fall on our path. What's important is that we are willing to let God pick us back up and accept what He has to offer.

And guys, it's a really great offer. 

Every day, God lays out forgiveness for us to accept. With that forgiveness comes an indescribable comfort of mind, body and spirit; cleansing of our mind and soul; and the promise of eternal life and love that no one but God can give. All that we have to do to accept this amazing gift is give up our sins to God, as we are told in 1 John 1:9, "But if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." We have to want to be forgiven. We have to meet God halfway.

And if we are willing to meet Him, we will have a happiness that can only be found in Jesus Christ our Lord. We are so lucky to receive the gift of forgiveness and eternal life, and all we had to do was ask for it! Jesus Christ paid with his life and blood on the cross so that we may feel the warmth of His love and cleansing of forgiveness. Because of God's grace and forgiveness, we can take our blinders off and bask in what it feels like to have God holding our reins. Because of God's grace and forgiveness, we can find comfort in knowing that it's not about where we've been, but where we're going.

All we have to do is take off our blinders to see that we are sinful and need Christ's forgiveness. 

After we do that, we'll be able to really enjoy the beautiful view.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

Take your blinders off and enjoy, guys. :)

Ben + Des = Love 4Eva

Guys, it's five days until Valentine's Day.

If you're secretly in love with me, now is the time to let me know.

If you're not secretly in love with me, then...alright.

Then I guess all you can do is fall in love with this guy and his sweet tunes.

Just like I have!

Ben Rector is one of my most favorite musicians, and his loving and Christian songs are the perfect things to listen to as you get ready for the day of love (or any day, really!).

Enjoy falling in love with this guy as much as I have, and have a beautiful week full of chocolate and flowers!

And feel free to send them to yourself. I am.

Ordinary Love is a classic. And it's my top jam.

And this just makes your heart melt from happiness.

And then when you realize this is about a wedding, your heart turns to fireworks.

Dear Soulmate...

If there's anything this world needs more of, it's handwritten paper mail.

Handwritten paper mail and love letters. Or in a perfect world, a combination of the two.

Hearts abounding,
Valentine's Day is near!

It's February now, and with it comes endless pink and red, candy hearts that taste like chalk, and all of the hopelessly adorable and over-the-top romantic gestures we love (or for some, love to hate). Ah yes, the beloved kiss of Valentine's Day is upon us, and some will welcome it with open arms and happy hearts, and others will look at it as another day they are reminded of not having a special someone in their life.

For those people who fall under the latter category, I have two things to say to you. Two things that I hope and pray you really take to heart:

1.) One day, you will have that special someone. It may not be for a while, but the wait will be worth it. Trust me.
2.) Until that day comes, remember that you have someone else who not only wants to fill your heart and your life, but who also wants to save your heart and your life. God wants to be your forever Valentine! God wants to be your true love. Take to heart what is said in 1 John 4:7-12:

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us."

Every person who knows love knows God. God is love! Even when we don't feel love toward a special someone, we know love in so many other ways. We know God in so many other ways.

I love love. I wait anxiously for the day when I can look into the eyes of a man I know is my soulmate and say, with no uncertainty in my heart and soul, "I love you." And though I do not know who this man is yet, I have some things I want to say to him...

Dear Soulmate,

Hi. I can't be sure that you're even reading this right now, but in the off chance that you are, I want to begin by saying that I can't wait to meet you. I can't wait to look at you and know that you are the missing piece of my heart God has led me to. I can't wait to start a happy and Christ-filled life with you by my side, supporting my dreams and aspirations just as I do yours. I can't wait to become one flesh with you.

At this point in time, I do not know your name. I do not know how tall you are, what your favorite song is, or whether you dunk or twist your Oreos. There is a lot that I don't know about you. In fact, the things I don't know about you probably outweigh the things I do know about you. But the things that I do know are the things that will tell me that you are the one meant to have my heart.

I know that you are a man whose heart belongs to God and Christ my savior. I know that you strive to live each day according to His word. I know that even when you stumble and fall and don't get things right, you remain strong in your faith and knowledge of the forgiveness Christ won for us on the cross.

I know that you are kind. You are a man whose first instinct is to show love and compassion, not anger and frustration. I know that you are patient, understanding, and supportive. I know that you will always be there to give me comfort and advice on my bad days, and support and encouragement on my good days. You will love me because I am a strong, intelligent, and independent woman, not in spite of it. And when the time comes, all of the love, support, and kindness that you give to me and all others will be given to our children.

I know that you are intelligent. You have a desire to never stop learning, never stop reading, never stop wanting to know. You will be open-minded and accepting to others' opinions that differ from your own, but you will never compromise your morals. I know that you will be open to new experiences and opportunities, no matter what they may entail.

I know that you are fun. You know when to have fun and when to take yourself seriously, a skill that some people may never master. You accept my quirky sense of humor and love me for it, just as I do yours. You know how to laugh. You know how to let go. You know how to appreciate and revel in the small things in life (and you remind me to do the same).

I know that you are not perfect. Sometimes, you'll do things that make me sad or upset. Sometimes, I'll do the same to you. We will fight, we will yell, we will want to spend time away from one another. But at the end of the day, I know you will always welcome me back into your arms. And I will do the same. Being together will be hard at times, but it will be worth it. I know that you value communication and see it as a vital part of our relationship. I know that you understand that our marriage is about being equal: equal partners, equal parents, equal lovers. I know that you will respect me, even when you do not agree with me. I know that even when we fight, you will be secure in knowing that we are meant to be together.

I know the kind of man you are, Soulmate. I just don't know which man you are. I may meet you tomorrow. I may meet you fifty years from now. But I want you to know that no matter when the time comes for us to meet, I waited. I waited to call your heart my heart's home. I waited to commit to you fully in every aspect of love. I waited to place my heart in your hands. I waited for YOU.

But until you come, I am going to keep falling in love with my earthly and heavenly soulmate. I am going to keep building my relationship with my good and gracious God so that one day, when you walk into my life, all of my relationships will be strong and rooted and ready for you. I'm falling in love with God, my family, my friends, and myself so that one day, I can fall truly and deeply in love with you.

So wherever you are, Soulmate, I can't wait to meet you. But I will. I will wait.

All my love,

Desiree

My dear friends, please remember that as the "Day of Love" approaches, you are not alone. You have Christ as your eternally present Valentine, and somewhere on this earth, you have your earthly Valentine waiting for you to walk into their life.

So maybe, to prepare for that day, you may just want to write them a letter.
A love letter.
One day to be sent by paper mail.

"Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7

So much love in this song. So much love.

Superbowl Sunday: I Watch for the Commercials

Another busy week is in the books, as is another "No Post on Sunday!"

But I didn't want to leave you empty-handed, since my posts during the week are lacking due to a busy schedule. So in honor of it being Super Bowl Sunday, I thought it would be fun to post my favorite commercials from the night's festivities.

Because let's admit it, there is no limit to how many times you can watch that Doritos commercial. :)

Enjoy, and have a beautiful week! 

As always, Doritos delivers. Too bad they couldn't deliver physical deliciousness to my door.

A beautiful commercial showing the diversity and culture that America has to offer. 

Well done, Coca-Cola.

Because who doesn't love feminism, especially when it's applied to the STEM fields. Love this!

Be a Blank Page

Wh-where....where am I?

Oh, that's right! I'm on my blog again. It's been so long, I kind of forgot what this blank page in front of me looked like. Hmmm.

...Wow. It's really blank, isn't it? I've never realized how lonely a blank page looks before writing on it. I mean sure, there's something kind of nice about seeing a clean, crisp page with nothing on it. But on the other hand, there's something sad about a blank page. You see all of the potential it has; you wonder what it's going to hold and say; but no one's put their time and love into its story yet. It's missing its soul. 

A blank page is like an empty glass. It's waiting to be filled. A blank page is like person. It's waiting for its story to be written and life to begin.

And as people often do, we get tired of waiting. We get impatient and believe that we can fill our own pages with our plans and stories. When those plans don't turn out the way we wanted, that is when our pages get ripped and our spines fall apart. A book cannot write its own story. It's up to the author.

Recently, I tried to write my own story. I tried to take over the plan for my future and forgot who the author of my story really is: God.

Let me elaborate. Two weeks ago, I wrote about getting through a difficult disappointment with the help of my friends, my family, and my Savior. The week following that disappointment was a very big, very hopeful one for me. I had recently finished a project that I had put hours upon hours of love, passion, and hard work into. It was finally time to display my hard work and vie for the winning prize that would be a huge step into my future career. I was ecstatic, excited, and extremely nervous. I hadn't wanted anything more than this. When the time came for awards, I was honored to receive Second Place (Which is awesome! I'm so happy to have been recognized in any capacity.), but my heart was broken that I had not reached my goal.

And as any young woman does when her heart is broken, whom else did I call but my mom? My rock, my best friend, and one of the best spiritual teachers I have known. I was so confused. I had thought that God gave me one disappointment and would make up for it with a different blessing. I told her, "I thought that God had this planned for me. I don't understand. What does He want me to do?"

And her answer was exactly what I needed to hear: "He wants you to trust in Him, Desiree.

"God has His own bigger, brighter plan for you that you can't even begin to try to figure out. You can't expect God's plan to always line up with yours. We have no idea what God has planned for us in our future. All we can do is trust in Him and know that everything will work out according to the good and gracious will of God." 

Having my mom tell me that gave me so much perspective, and so much hope. It was still a struggle to fully grasp that I can't always be in control and that there's nothing wrong with that, but I'm slowly starting to accept it. After a weekend at home relaxing and praying with my family, I made my way back up to Lincoln yesterday. 

As I was driving, I began to think and get back into a disappointed mindset. But just as I felt myself losing my grip and gasping for an answer, a song came on over KLOVE Radio: "Write Your Story" by Francesca Batistelli. 

"I'm an empty page, I'm an open book, write your story on my heart. Come on and make your mark. Author of my hope, maker of the stars, let me be your work of art. Won't you write your story on my heart?...My life, I know it's never really been mine. So do with it whatever you like; I don't know what your plan is, but I know it's good."

God sent me a powerful message in that song. HE is the author of our story, not us. We are his blank page and His work of art. We may not know what he has in store for us, but it is always good. God tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:1, "To everything there is a season, a time and purpose under heaven." God has our life written out! He has the exposition, the adventure, the romance, and the plot twists already planned. We have to trust that His plan is GOOD, because it is! 

We may think that we are the writers of our own story, but really, we're just the blank pages. God is the author, and you are his next best-seller. Let go and open your pages, because you've got one beautiful story ahead. You just don't know it yet.

"To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1

Listen, love, then listen again.

Because I Owe You One. Or Two...

Aaaaand after a week of station identification, we're back!

Hello, I'm Desiree Bartels, and welcome to MAMB at 1:00 pm. You're listening to the smooth sounds of contemporary praise music all day, every day. (Not really every day. Usually just Sundays. But since the past week and half has been crazy busy, I'm making an exception. Monday it is!)

So this week, I'm gifting you the sensational vocals of Miss Britt Nicole. I've had a pretty bumpy past couple of weeks (more on that later), and her songs have sent me the beautiful message of how many wonderful things there are in life that God has blessed us with!

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the lovely music of Britt Nicole.

Happy Monday, all. <3

Stay Golden!

Keep going and take a stand. You got this!

Everybody has those days, but God is with us every step of the way!

I Get By With a Little Help from My Friends

Let me be the first to say that sometimes, life utterly and completely stinks. Actually, in the words of Ben Rector, "here's the truth: life sucks sometimes." And he's so right! It's inevitable: sometimes, we just have terrible moments, terrible days, maybe even terrible weeks. It's rough.

Trust me, I know.
It's happened to me quite recently.

Long story short: my past week has been full of stress, anxious waiting, disappointment, and an immense desire for something good to come around the corner (with the corner seeming never to be in sight). Everybody has those times. The only thing worse than feeling down is feeling down and alone.
We've all been there. Don't even try to get around it. I can feel you fighting the acceptance of this fact. Stahp it. Accept it! We all get lonely.

But when we feel our loneliest and in the deepest of dumps, we can remember what is written in 1 John 3:1, "See what kind of love the Father has given to us; that we may be called the children of God. And so we are." We are never alone because we always belong to God our Father! God is our constant companion and confidant. In our terrible moments, God puts His comforting hand on us so we don't feel alone.

And what's more, God blesses us with SO many people in our lives to be with us in our lonely times! I have been given so many beautiful and loving family members, friends, classmates, and especially this evening, floormates.

Like any regular college kid, I was in a bit of a slump after the kind of week I had. All I wanted to do was sit in my dorm, eat ramen, and watch romantic comedies by myself whilst wallowing in a rapidly depleting supply of Goober jelly. It's delicious, guys. Don't judge. But alas, the beautiful women of Raymond Three came to my aid and after a few overly sappy movies, hilariously entertaining Buzzfeeds, having the Jimmy John's delivery boy call me Sunshine, and many MANY snacks (including the comfort staple of chocolate), I was back on my feet and looking forward to the doors God will open for me in the semester that lies ahead.

1 Thessalonians 5:11: "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as you are doing."

I'm so lucky to have family and friends who encourage me and build me up, especially when I feel like life sucks and I'm alone. I'm going to sound extremely cliche (and I really don't care at all), but it really is true that you don't realize how many good things (and people) you have around you until you need them to be there.

So yeah, life sucks sometimes.

But with an everlasting God, great family and friends, and the occasional Girls Night In, life starts to keep moving on.

And I'll tell ya, it's pretty great.

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" 1 John 3:1

HEY. FOLLOW THIS LINK:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARJQTVL8Iuw

This post dedicated to my lovely Mama Vicki and the wondrous ladies of Raymond Three.