About Me

What can I say about myself? After all, this blog has to do with my thoughts, so it might be nice to know something about me, right? For instance, why have I chosen to name this blog, in general, "Purity 4 Jesus Christ"? Well, I believe that in order to have a happy and successful life (Christian success is different than worldly success), you must live in purity before God. This isn't just sexual purity. This is purity of the mind, body, and spirit.

Think about it. At first it sounds prudish. Purity is not a popular thing these days. But God's love demands it. And God is not someone just living in the past. He is very much alive and well today. What does this mean for purity? It means that it is a current topic with God. So why is it so unpopular and hard to stay pure in this day and age? The world wants us to throw off the "chains" of purity. The world thinks it is binding and constraining. But the truth is, when you live an impure life, you become a slave to your sin. So I chose to seek freedom in Christ and live in purity, as much as is possible in this frail human form. Besides, my name, Crystal, means "Brilliantly Pure", or at least that's what a bookmark said the definition of Crystal is. I just want to live up to my name!

Also, I do not want this blog to be a pedestal for me to sound preachy. I hope to alternate between talking about spiritual things, and just things going on in my life and my thoughts on them. If it ever does sound too preachy to you, please tell me. Its almost as though I can't help it though. God and the spiritual life is so prevalent in my mind that its just something I talk about naturally. Its a way of life to me, not something I just do once a week.

What else can I tell you? I am 32 and I am still a student. I won't be graduating nearly as soon as I hoped to (in May) due to some setbacks, but I am very persistant and I will achieve this goal, no matter how long it takes, and with the help of God, of course.

I love animals. My favorite animal is the fox. I find it to be a very beautiful creature, and the fact that it is often referred to as being sly is intriguing to me. I have had many pets over the years, and maybe sometime, I will share that story.

My dreams for the future include, but are not limited to, owning my own coffee shop some day. I don't know if this is God's will for me, but it is something I hold out there as a goal. And every day, I try to take steps to achieve that goal. Right now, that means school. And eventually I will start working again.

Another dream of mine is to achieve balance in my life. You could sort of say this is my "motto". I believe there is a time and place for everything. But if we live in excess, or place priority for things in our lives in places they don't belong, we will lose balance, and disaster will strike. Of course, this is not to say that if you do have disaster hit your life, you are not living in balance. But I do believe that balance will help you deal with the disaster better than if the focus of your life is skewed in any one direction. Ex: power, pleasure, money, beauty, etc....

To put things into perspective, let me say my life has not always been motivated by wanting balance. I got there through a very painful journey called "Mental Illness". Particularily, my diagnosis is "Bipolar Disorder". Now I know when I say this, that all kinds of thoughts go through your mind. You may already have put me in a box, and said, "Oh this means she is like this...". I know this, and yet I will stand up and tell that I have this stuggle because I believe it is important for you, the reader, to know that mental illness is not a definition for someone. It is possible to recover. I see it every day with others who struggle from mental illness. They do the hard work to improve their lives, and that is precisely what I am doing. If you have any questions about this, please feel free to ask, and I will gladly answer them.

This brings me to something that I feel is a huge opportunity for me. I will be attending a training for an organization called "In Our Own Voice" this coming weekend. What I will be learning, from what I understand, is how to share my story to small or large groups of people in a way that is comprehensive and also concise. I hope to improve my own life through this and to grow. But I also hope to reach others and to give hope to those who need it. Wish me luck, or pray for me, whatever it is that you do, that I would have the courage to take this step of faith. And with that, I will end this particular blog, hoping that you have not judged me.

Crystal

All things

Romans 8:28 - "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose"


You may have read this scripture before, but I think it is worthy of deeper consideration then just a passing glance. This is true of all Scripture, but this morning, I would like to focus on this verse. When God says all things, that is exactly what He means.

I know we can see Him working in the pleasant, happy times, the joyous times, the times when all seems "right" with the world. But what about the harsh times, when someone has wronged you, or when you are in physical or emotional, or even mental pain? What about when someone you love doesn't love you, or they did love you, but they pass on?

Well, God said "all" things, and I have to believe He meant all things. What does this mean? It means that IF you love God (and yes, this is a requirement. See the verse above) all things are working for your good, and you have a purpose in life. I could talk about what purpose means to a person's life, but I won't deviate from the topic at hand at this point.

God can take that which appears to be ugly in your life, and turn it into something so beautiful, you couldn't have dreamed it up. He will use it to make your own life beautiful, but then I believe He also uses our pain to make the lives of others beautiful. When God's love is overflowing your life, it can't help but spill onto those around you, and they will take notice. But we must open our hands to Him and receive whatever He has for us. Just a thought from the mind of Crystal =)


Crystal