Meet the Family...

Over the Easter half-term, I realised how important it is to spend time with your family. Now, I'm personally guilty of wanting to be on Facebook or texting my friends instead of sitting down with my family, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised that I was just wasting my time when I could be having a great laugh with the people I love most.
So, after I thought about all this, I figured I'd write a blog about my family, and the different relationships I have with them.

Jessica

My sister Jessica is two years older than me. Ever since we were younger I wanted to be just like her. I'd copy everything she did, buy everything she had, and say I liked all the same things as her. Even now, at 13 and 15, we still do a lot of things together.
 People have always said that Jessica and I look the same, as if we were twins and not sisters. But as we've got older, we've become very different.
 Jessica loves the idea of magic, whereas I like the science behind things. She loves art and drawing, and I love music and singing. She reads about pixies and fairies, and I read about Vampires and mysteries. She loves fashion and planning out outfits, and I will do whatever it takes to avoid going shopping.

But despite our differences, we still get along so well- we talk about everything and anything, and when we hang out in our room, we have such a great time together.
When Jess went on holiday to Spain last week, I didn't really think I'd miss her too much. Not in a horrible way, but I just thought I'd get on with it and she'd be back before I knew it.

It was the complete opposite.

I didn't realise how much time we spend together! I really missed Jess when she went away, and I'd tell anyone who would listen about all the things I couldn't do without her.

Truth is, we're always going to argue about silly things, but I really do love my sister, and I honestly don't know what I'd do without her. She's one of my best friends.

Keren (Mum)

I honestly don't know how I'm going to write everything I think about my Mum. I don't think there are enough words to describe how great she is!
She does absolutely everything for us, and she always wants whats best for us. She drives us to places, lets us have people round, cooks for us, tidies our room, she does the washing and the ironing, shes gets our clothes ready for school- and she does all of this on her own!
Jess and I help her sometimes (mostly Jess, I'll admit that) but of course, we're teenagers, and we don't help as often as we should. And everything still manages to get done!
Recently, my Mum had an accident and she was in bed for a couple of days unable to do anything- this really showed me how much she really does for us. It was like everything had slowed down without her. And then, she was back on her feet doing everything for us again!
My Mum really is amazing, and even I don't act grateful at the time, I'm never going to be able to thank her enough for what she does for me and my sister.

Andy (Dad)

Wow. What can I say? My Dad is awesome. He's always supported everything I've done. When I wanted to play football, he came to all my training sessions. When I wanted to learn guitar, he taught me my first song and bought me my first guitar. When I wanted to play Cornet, he came to all my cornet concerts, even when it was pouring down with rain.
He takes us on holiday, and every time we see him we have such a great time, he does everything to make us happy.
Of course, having two teenage girls probably isn't easy for him- but he never shows it if we give him a hard time! He puts up with our complaining, and our laziness when he asks us to do things, which we're very grateful for. Love you Daddy!

Kate (Step-mum)

I genuinely don't know where to start! There are so many great things I could say about Kate, so many great times we've had. I guess I should start by thanking her for always getting up ridiculously early on holiday to put the towels out- so thanks Kate!;)
I remember when Jess and I first met Kate, we went to a theme park and I held her hand on the scary rides. And since then, we've had so many hilarious times and days out, I've lost count.
We have little 'evil-stepmother' jokes, and we're always looking for opportunities to throw in sarcastic comments and insults at each other, like we're friends not Step-mother and Step-daughter!
Kate is so lovely- she does so much for us, she cooks for us, she washes up for us, she buys us awesome desserts...what more could we ask for?! I know that she's always there for me and Jess when we need her, and I can't imagine not having her in my life!

Of course, there are so many more amazing people in my family- I'd be here for days if I had to list through all of them! But I hope that this reminds all of my family how much I love all of them, and that I really appreciate everything they do for me.

Spending time with our families is so important; even though you think that your conversation with someone on Facebook is far more important, I really believe that sitting down with your family will make you feel so much better. 

Relationships

Since I'm an extraordinarily opinionated person, I thought I'd share my views on relationships- now, I know what you're thinking. I'm 13, how could I possibly have anything to say about relationships? But this isn't based on experience, this is what I think are the right and wrong aspects of relationships.
I'm going to start by saying that I think relationships at my age are totally and utterly pointless. You may not like it, but that's my honest opinion. We barely know ourselves at this age, there's so much to discover and so much to learn, and being in a relationship would hold you back from a lot of opportunities- why would you want to be involved in something that will only hold you back from doing what you are called to do?
I've seen people in my year at school, in a relationship with a different person almost every week. How pointless is that? Going out with someone for the sake of being able to say that you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend? I can honestly say that there are much more important things in life than that.

Secondly, after being with someone for a few days, or a few weeks, is it real when you say you love them? I read the words, 'I love you' online so often, when the next day it's over and they're 'in love' with someone else. Love doesn't come and go in a day! It's like the words have lost their real meaning to some people.

Also, I've noticed so many unproductive relationships- people who are together because they don't want to break up, even though they don't feel the same way that they used to. People who are in relationships for the sake of it. And people who are in relationships, not because they want to be, but because they feel pressured by the fact that all their friends have a relationship and they don't.

Something that really inspired me to write this blog is the Relationship Drama at LIFE a while ago. It showed how relationships are these days, and how people can feel pressured into being in a relationship when they don't feel comfortable about it. If you haven't seen it, I really suggest you watch it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUgEE5KdXGY&feature=channel_video_title

One of the best descriptions of love I've ever heard comes from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Real, true love will always bring out the best in you. It'll make you feel good about yourself, and it will always protect you. Love is forgiving of all things, and it doesn't give up through the hard times.

If you're in a relationship, think about whether you really love the person you're with. Does this verse speak directly to your relationship? Or are you in that relationship because you feel you have to be?

I can honestly say that right now, the best relationship you could possibly have is with God. God will love you no matter what; He has forgiven you of everything, and you can trust him with absolutely anything.

So, what I'm really trying to get across here is that, right now, there are so many more important things to focus on than human relationships- find out who you really want to be, what you really want to do, and develop a relationship with God. It's far more rewarding than a relationship that you know in your heart wont last.

Realising what's important to you...

Recently someone in school asked me the question, "Why are you a Christian?"
This really surprised me, and I was pretty disappointed in myself when I couldn't think of an answer. I know why I'm a Christian, but it was so hard to put it in a way that someone who wasn't could understand.
When I got home that day, I sat and thought about it for a while, and it wasn't until I came across this verse that I found my answer:

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4 9:10

When I read this, I realised that I'm a Christian because I know how much God loves me, and I want to spend my life loving him back and living the way He wants us to. I think that once you experience and come to know God's love for us, it's really hard to turn away from it. I mean, God gave his absolute best to die for us, out of pure love! How amazing is that? It just makes so much sense to live for God, because he gives us a purpose in life!
       I told the person my answer the next day, and I'm really glad I was asked that question because it made me realise how important God is in my life, and how much my life has changed, even in the smallest ways, because of Him. I really recommend sitting down and thinking about why you're a Christian, because it's helped my passion for Jesus grow even more!