Life isn’t about keeping score.
It’s not about how many friends you have
Or how accepted you are.
Not about if you have plans this weekend or if you’re alone.
It isn’t about who you’re dating, who you used to date, how
many people you’ve dated, or if you haven’t been with anyone at all.
It isn’t about who you have kissed,

IT’S NOT ABOUT SEX.

It isn’t about who your family is or how much money they have
Or what kind of car you drive.
Or where you are sent to school.
It’s not about how beautiful or ugly you are.
Or what clothes you wear, what shoes you have on, or what kind of music you listen to.
It’s not about if your hair is blonde, red, black, or brown
Or if your skin is too light or too dark.
Not about what grades you get, how smart you are, how smart everybody else thinks you are, or how smart standardized tests say you are.
It’s not about what clubs you’re in or how good you are at “your” sport.
It’s not about representing your whole being on a piece of paper and seeing who will “accept the written you.”

LIFE JUST ISN’T.

But, life is about who you love and who you hurt.
It’s about who you make happy or unhappy purposefully.
It’s about keeping or betraying trust.
It’s about friendship, used as a sanctity or a weapon.
It’s about what you say and mean, maybe hurtful, maybe
heartening. About starting rumors and contributing to petty gossip.
It’s about what judgments you pass and why. And who your judgments are spread to.
It’s about who you’ve ignored with full control and intention.
It’s about jealousy, fear, ignorance, and revenge.
It’s about carrying inner hate and love, letting it grow, and spreading it.
But most of all, it’s about using your life to touch or poison other people’s hearts in such a way that could have never occurred alone.
Only you choose the way those hearts are affected, and those choices are what life’s all about.

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Living. Laughing. Learning. Loving.

This made so much sense. While I don’t believe that God “gives” us our problems (I truly believe we all do just fine creating problems for ourselves), I still think this entry holds so much wisdom.

Why God Gives Us Problems?

LIFE IS A SERIES OF PROBLEM-SOLVING OPPORTUNITIES.
1. God uses problems to DIRECT you.
2. God uses problems to INSPECT you.
3. God uses problems to CORRECT you.
4. God uses problems to PROTECT you.
5. God uses problems to PERFECT you.

The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you-depending on
how you respond to them.
Unfortunately most people fail to see how God wants to use problems
for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent
their problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring.

Here are five ways God wants to use the problems in your life:

1. GOD uses problems to DIRECT you.
Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving.
Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change.
Is God trying to get your attention?
“Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways.” Proverbs 20:30

2. GOD uses problems to INSPECT you.
People are like tea bags … if you want to know what’s inside them,
just drop them into hot water! Has God ever tested your faith with a problem?
What do problems reveal about you?
“When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know
that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience.” James 1:2-3

3. GOD uses problems to CORRECT you.
Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure.
It’s likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove.
But you probably learned by being burned.
Sometimes we only learn the value of something … health, money, a relationship…
by losing it. “It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it
taught me to pay attention to your laws.” Psalm 119:71-72

4. GOD uses problems to PROTECT you.
A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you
from being harmed by something more serious.
Last year a friend was fired for refusing to do something unethical that
his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem, but it saved
him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management’s
actions were eventually discovered.
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” Genesis 50:20

5. GOD uses problems to PERFECT you.
Problems, when responded to correctly,are character builders.
God is far more interested in your character than our comfort.
Your relationship to God and your character are the only two
things you’re going to take with you into eternity. “We can rejoice when
we run into problems … they help us learn to be patient. And patience
develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time
we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady.” Romans 5:3-4

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Living. Laughing. Learning. Loving.