Thursday, May 29, 2014

New Obsession

    I was drawn to the book section at Walmart the other day. I don't usually shop for books at Walmart of all places, but books + me = unavoidable meeting. Anyway, I was just browsing the very slim selection of books that Walmart so generously offers, and BAM! a special book catches my eye.
     A black paperback book that's just nestled between all of the other "Teen" books. It looked so frighteningly out of place with it's simple cover and it's bold title. 
     Wreck This Journal
     If you don't think dreams come true, then this will change your beliefs completely(or maybe not, but whatever). I snatched the book from the shelf, quickly leafed through it, and I was in love.  I had a bit of extra cash with me, and the book was on sale anyway, so, yea, meant to be.
      I've hoped that I would be able to obtain a Wreck This Journal someday, but I never gave it too much thought. Then it was there, and it was suddenly mine.
    Here I am a few days later and I just can't stop flipping through and filling out page after page. If you do not have a Wreck This Journal, you need one. I mean, this thing has blown my mind. I am so freaking obsessed with it! I want to savor it, but I just can't! I want to do all of the pages now!
    So, yea, this is my new obsession, and it should be yours too. I mean seriously, you need one, I know you do. This is like The Book Thief level of mind blown-ness. This is epic at its most epic.



Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Accept Your Worth

     I think that everyone just needs to realize how important they really are to the people around them. I mean, you're loved, so get out there and feel the love.

     I am not a good example of someone who accepts that I am as appreciated as I am. This is a struggle I have faced quite recently. For me, it's hard to be okay with the idea that people really go through a lot of trouble to do all of these things for me, and it's hard to realize that I'm worth that. Like, seriously, guys, this is a  real problem of mine.
  
     I think that my biggest issue in this situation is that I'm afraid that if I give into the idea that I am really worth that much, I'll develop a really big ego. 
     Developing a big ego is a fear of mine. I never want to think of myself as better than others because everyone is equal on this earth, and it's not my job to look down on people.

     Do I keep denying my worth or do I accept my worth?

     I am loved. I am enjoyed. I am important to people. I am worthy. 
Yet, I still ask myself what I can do to deserve the love and appreciation I am given from the people around me. The answer?

      Nothing.

    They love me for who I am. Even if I think I'm pretty worthless and stupid at times. I may not be worthless, but I'm pretty stupid for not realizing how worthy I am. Everyone is worthy. Even if all humans have abandoned them, God will not abandon them. 


     The way to stay humble, I think, is to realize that you're worthy of the love you're given, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to improve who you are(and I don't mean physically). When I say "improve who you are", I mean you improve who you are. Don't go asking people what's wrong with you because the ones who love you won't see your faults, and all the others will exaggerate your faults. Of course, your favorite people are always there for love and support. Improvement happens slowly, so be patient. Nobody's perfect, so don't strive for perfection, it isn't worth it. If you like who you are, then stay that way. If you feel like you need to change, then change.

     It's kind of funny that this type of thing has happened to me because it is a situation I have tried to avoid. I have always taught myself that I am enough, but I apparently never listened because here I am. Maybe I'm enough to others, but not enough to myself. That's it. That's the problem.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Monday Sunrise: Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson

Fictional Character(s) of the week: Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson
Sherlock(Benedict Cumberbatch) and Watson(Martin Freeman) on BBC's Sherlock

Where they're found: The classic Sherlock Holmes books and stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as well as many film and TV adaptions(Most notably the British-American films[pictured below], and the BBC drama [pictured above]).

Why I love them: First and foremost, I love the relationship that Holmes and Watson share. Their relationship is one of the most unique aspects of the characters, and it always warms my heart. Secondly, Sherlock's excellent deductions skills mixed with doctor Watson's no-nonsense attitude is quite captivating. 

Watson(Jude Law) and Sherlock(Robert Downey Jr) in the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes
 Other Notes: I personally love both the films and the BBC show. There are obviously a lot of adaptions, but I have only seen and loved those two. I saw a trailer for Elementary on CBS, but the idea of Watson as a girl just makes me cringe.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Tidbits

     So, my head has been full of a lot of nonsense, so here they are: the thoughts that wander about my head. Literally, this post has no organization. I just kind of threw it together...

     As I pulled weeds at work today, I took some time to decide whether I am a leader or a follower in life. I mused over this question for a quick moment before I decided that I am neither. 
     I am not a leader.
     I am not a follower. 
     I do not lead people while I'm with them, I don't have the mental mindset to lead people. I don't really follow what others around me do either, I'll follow if it's practical, but I'll leave if it's impractical. I am independent of being a leader or a follower.
    I guess I could potentially be both, or more of a follower, but truth be told that's the easy way out. For now, I'm neither.
Something somewhat inspiring
      I think it's silly that some women want to be like men so badly. You're a woman, and by trying so hard to do the things men do, you're unconsciously making your own sex seem degrading and useless. You're basically making it look like being a women isn't even admirable.
     Uh, sorry, not true! 
     You aren't giving women more power, you're not making them equal to men, you're making them look like the only way they can be anything is to be like men. Women can't be men because they're women. You can do what a man does, I don't care, but don't do it to be a message to other women, do it because it's something you like to do. It works the other way around too. Don't let people tell you that doing something like being a make-up artist is too girly. That's ridiculous. You do what you enjoy, don't let other people decide for you.


A random picture I like
      Being independent when forming an opinion is important. When I was younger, I used to hate when other peoples' opinions got in the way of letting me make my own opinion. Ever since then, I have tried to form my own opinions through mental rebellion. I reject the opinion of others until I am able to form my own. At least, that's how I try to work. Sometimes it doesn't work. 






Monday, May 19, 2014

Monday Sunrise: Elizabeth and Darcy

Fictional Character(s) of the week: Elizabeth Bennet and Mr.(Fitzwilliam)Darcy


Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy(1995)

Where they're found: The classic Pride & Prejudice novel by Jane Austen, and there are also several different adaptions.

Why I love them: Well, honestly, I love them because they start out blind about each other. Obviously, in the end the end up together, but there is so much drama, so much depth, so much story. There's actually a lot more to the book than just Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, but they're my two favorite characters. Elizabeth is so different form other heroines of her time, and really she's a breed all her own. Her personality is so realistic, I think that's what I love about her the most. Even way back when, Jane Austen wrote a real character. Darcy starts out as a bit of a jerk, but he gets his stuff right...eventually. 
The Lizzie Bennet Diary's Lizzie(Ashley Clements) and Darcy (Daniel Vincent Gordh) 
Other Notes: I haven't seen the newer film, so I cannot give my full opinion on it, but I've heard that it's not as good as the older one. People will like what they like, however, and if they like the less accurate version, then so be it.





Sunday, May 18, 2014

Audience of One

You're on stage. 
So many eyes watching your every step. 
You're trying your best, but you keep messing up. 
There's taunting giggles from somewhere in the back. They said they were your friends, but there they are laughing instead of holding their breaths. 
Your parents are somewhere out there too, or maybe they're not, you're not entirely sure if they were able to make it tonight. 
You try again. You just want to get it right.
This time you get it right, but nobody seems to care.

The play goes on, and on, and you keep messing up. 
People start walking out.
The audience dwindles down to a select few.
You notice your parents still watching you with encouraging eyes. 
There's another noticeable face. In the center of the audience, there's a man. You can't explain him or how he's different from everyone else. He just watches you perform with proud and encouraging eyes. 
Does he know me? You wonder, but you have no idea who he is or where he came from. 
Thinking back, he was there before anyone else, he was always watching, always encouraging, always caring. Yet, you only notice him now. 
You realize that he's the one you've been performing for this whole time, and you were worried about everyone else. 
You mess up again. 
This is going a lot worse than you had ever imagined it could have.
How could you have been so blind? How could you not understand that that man is the only one that's worth it all? How could you miss seeing him walk in?
For a moment, you wish that he'd leave. 
You're crying now. You can't help it.
You're doing awful, it's hard to believe that your parents have stayed this long. They know you're doing awful, why haven't they left yet? And what about the man in the center? Why is he still here?

The play drags on, and on, and on...years and years. 
Your parents fade away, and there's only the man in the center still watching intently. 
You have learned to live for him. His opinion somehow becomes everything to you.
You start messing up less and less, and pretty soon more people start appearing in the audience with him. They're all smiles, all cheers. 
Still, you live for the man in the center of all them. You keep your eyes fixed on him, and he seems to help you through it all. 
You cannot wait to meet him when you get off this stage.

This is an entirely different take on blogging for me, but I felt like the only way I could convey what I wanted to was to tell it like a story. In case you don't understand, the man in the center is God, and the stage is your life. The main idea of this post is to remind you that the most important audience in life is the audience of one. 

1 Corinthians 6:19: For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. (KJV)

Mark 12:30: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. (KJV)

Friday, May 16, 2014

Life is Built on Originality

     So, I decided to just write whenever I want without just being Wednesdays or Saturdays. I will, however, still have Mondays for fictional characters of my fancy. This may also mean that I'll post more often because sometimes I have stuff written a week ahead of time, and that's why I'm changing it up! (Also, I'm a lot busier as of late, so I don't know when I will and will not have time to write stuff up...so...yea.)

   When you do what you love, there really is no wrong way to do it. You can write any way you want to write, you can set up your blog any way you want to set it up, you can sing anyway you prefer to sing, you can paint anything you desire to paint, et cetera, et cetera. 
As a writer who doesn't really plan on pursuing my writing career, I still want to have an identity as a writer. I still want to branch out and do what I want(Maybe this comes from the idea that I'll never be a writer professionally, maybe that's what drives me to branch out: the knowledge that nobody will ever know about what sort of ways I "branch/ed out"). Despite my notions to be different, the rules say otherwise.
Well, the rules of writing are just plain silly. The fact is, aside from the grammar nonsense, there aren't any rules to writing. I mean, if your book has a plot, then cool. If your book doesn't have a plot, then cool. I mean, a book is a book, so it's going to have a plot. Even if it seems like a silly plot to you, it's a plot.

   Plot (As defined by Dictionary.com): The main events of a play, novel, movie, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence.

   It's all about having a plot, isn't it? Not just any plot, an original plot.


   Originality (As defined by Dictionary.com): The ability to think independently and creatively and/or the quality of being novel or unusual.

   Well, my attitude about originality is actually quite simple: If you made it, then it's original to you. It doesn't even matter that other people have done "the same thing", your piece of work is original to you. You created it, then it's original. It's *insert your name here* original. 

   Life is built on originality. If you do what everyone else is doing, then, yea, you're not gonna get anywhere. Don't let that bring you down, don't let people tell you that your work isn't original enough. If there's enough you in it, then it's original. No work of any kind is unoriginal if you let it display who you are.
(These words inspired this post, actually)
   The ideas that people put into your head about having to write a certain way, or paint a certain way, or sing a certain way, or whatever--you can break those rules. It's been done before, and it will be done again and again.

   One of the most notable people to break away from traditional writing was Emily Dickinson. She wrote poetry that broke the rules of poetry. And guess what? That's just her being original. If that's her original...what's yours?

   What's your original?

   Maybe you think that your original isn't original at all. It's too cliche, It's been done before...You might think to yourself. Blah. Blah. Blah.
Uh, helllllooooo! Who cares? I mean, if it's *insert your name here* original, then it's original. Deal. With. It.

   You can't not be original. 

   I know, I know, I have blamed many a things in my life for being unoriginal. I'll admit to that. But that's just my personal opinion about certain works of literature and such. My opinion is stupid, ignore it. 

This post is Sunshyne original

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Wednesday's Ray: Hard Work & Lessons

   It's weird how such simple things can help you understand the lessons you've been taught in life. As you may know, I started my first job--as in first ever in all of time and space--at a golf course. It's hard work. I do mostly outside things, so, you know, that's me trimming trees, or filling in the divots with sand at the tees, or picking range, or doing some other thing that doesn't pertain to you because you have no idea what half of these things mean. 
   I have found that every time I am trained on how to do something, then I'm left to do it by myself...I freak out. 
   Oh my gosh, am I doing this right? 
   Oh my gosh, I'm so going to get fired! 
   Oh my gosh, I cannot believe my boss trusts me to do this alone! 
   Then--I kid you not--when my boss comes to see how I'm doing...he says that I'm doing great. 
Cue the not-so-quiet sigh of relief.

A nice reminder

   When I'm determined to get something done, I try to work extra hard, and do the work as fast as I possibly can. I guess I just want to get the job done, and not just in good time, I also want to do the job right. 
No matter how many times I'm trained on something new, I go out and do it, and I still doubt that I'm doing it right. That's my problem, but it's a bit of a gift as well.
   Yes, I do doubt myself, and, yes, I should really work on that. On the other hand, when I doubt myself, I end up doing my work ever so much better. I don't think it's so much doubt as it is the fear of getting in trouble. Oh my goodness, of all the people on the planet, I'm probably in the top ten when it comes to the fear of getting in trouble. The idea of not getting in trouble is what motivates me in life.  I want to please the people in charge, I want them to be satisfied with my work. I don't want them to praise me endlessly, I just want to know that I did the job right. As long as they're happy, I'm happy.
    I have relearned so many simple lessons just by having this job. I have relearned that confidence in what you do is important, but that you shouldn't become too confident. I have relearned that hard work is the best work. I have relearned that making mistakes is okay, and that you really do learn from them. Most of all though, I have learned something new altogether, I have learned that sometimes our weaknesses are not weaknesses at all. They are strengths.
   So, yea, that's what's new in my life, what's new in yours?


Monday, May 12, 2014

Monday Sunrise: The Pevensies

    Fictional Character(s) of the week: The Pevensies


The Pevensies L-R: Lucy(Georgie Henley), Susan(Anna Popplewell), Peter(William Mosely), and Edmund(Skander Keynes)
  
  Where they're found: The Chronicles of Narnia (The classic book series by C.S. Lewis, and the films by Disney/20th Century Fox)

  Why I love them: I love the Pevensies because they're just like you and I. They're kids/teenagers, there's nothing all that special about them, but they become extraordinary to anyone who knows them. 
Peter and Susan being awesome

My Favorite Pevensie(s): My personal favorites are Edmund and Lucy. I relate to them more than the older Pevensies because I'm one of the youngest in my family, and they're the youngest in theirs. I do, however, love all of them, and the adventures they go on to Narnia.

    
My favorite Pevensies

Other Notes: I actually read the books after I watched the films, and I enjoyed the entire series wholeheartedly. My favorite book was probably The Last Battle, but all of them are worth the read. The first film is faithful to the book, but the second and third kind of wander off track a bit. I do, however, enjoy the films a lot as well. Also, while I only included the Pevensies, there are so many other memorable characters from The Chronicles of Narnia that I know and love...perhaps, I'll do a post on them sometime. :-)

Friday, May 9, 2014

Special Award Thing

Welllllll, I was nominated for The Liebster Blog Award by my dear blogger friend, Isabella/Caitlyn. Thanks, Isabella/Caitlyn, I really feel quite honored.

There's special rules and terms and such that have to be followed when one is nominated for such an award. So, here they are!

#1 Thank and link back to the person who nominated you (check)

#2 List 11 facts about yourself

#3 Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you

#4 Nominate 9 bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers (You can't nominate the person who nominated you)

#5 Ask them 11 questions

#6 Let them know about the nomination



Fact 1: I have suddenly forgotten everything about myself.

Fact 2: I reference Doctor Who in very unhealthy amounts each day. I just can't help myself, Bowties are cool...

Fact 3: I'm the second youngest in my family, and my older brother, my younger brother, and myself are known as "The Three Little Ones" by our other family members. My older brother has always despised the nickname, but my younger brother and myself quite enjoy it. 

Fact 4: I work at a golf course. I do mostly outside work, and I really like it. I mean, it's hard, but it's rewarding! 

Fact 5: My real name isn't Sunshyne. (Dun, dun, dunnn)

Fact 6: I have a weird obsession with owls. Seriously, I'm obsessed.

Fact 7: I sing all of the time, and I like to think I have a pretty good voice.

Fact 8: I drink my coffee black. Sometimes I have a latte or something, but I prefer it black. 

Fact 9: My addiction to Pinterest is very unhealthy...

Fact 10: I simply cannot wait for the school year to be over!

Fact 11: I'm sorry, but I am not Batman. The truth is...I am Iron man--Wait what?!


Now, to answer Isabella/Caitlyn's questions that were posed to me in a very mysterious manner...Jk! They were posed in a very natural and intelligent form. ;)

1.) What is your favorite kind of pie?
Whoa! There are just SO MANY choices! I would have to say that my favorite is either pecan pie or pumpkin pie.

2.) If you were ruler of the universe, what laws would you make?
I wouldn't actually have a whole lot of laws, and that's probably because I would be a pretty awful ruler in general... I think that one law would probably be that everyone is entitled to their own veiw of life, and it's everyone's job to respect that. (Did this post just get deep?)

3.) What's your favorite joke?

WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THIS? 
Uuuuhhh, I have a new favorite everyday, but one of my favorites is this one:

Person A: Why did the chicken cross the road?
Person B: Seriously? 
-Awkward pause-
Person B: *deep sigh* I don't know, why?
Person A: To get to the house of the most awesome person ever.
Person B: *Confused glare*
-Awkward pause-
Person A: Knock Knock
Person B: *"Are you serious" look* Who's there?
Person A: The chicken.

4.) Donuts or Bagels?
Donuts! They're more fattening, but who cares!?


5.) List your favorite words.
Wow, really, there are so many...can I just say every word ever? That's the truth, I love all words. Words are my favorite!

6.) If you had a theme song (like Darth Vader does) what would it be? (If you can't think of a specific song, what genre would it be?)
"Sunshine On My Shoulders" by John Denver for very obvious reasons. Why yes, it would be kind of slow to walk into the room, but I could just do ballet or something.


7.) Would you rather have a big house or little house? Why?
Well, I would like a little house because it's cute and cozy, but "The Three Little Ones" have always dreamed of having a house big enough for all of them to live in someday. So, I'm really at a crossroads here...


8.) What is something you are proud of?
I'm proud that God loves me even though I'm pretty, well, human.


9.) What is something you are embarrassed about?
Thanks for asking my nightmare question...haha! I'm embarrassed that I spend so much time doing nothing. I live in this beautiful world, and I just spend my day on my electronics. Also, one time I forgot to wear deodorant to church, and I thought my bestfriend forgot because of the smell. So, yea, that was kind of embarrassing. 


10.) Who is your fantasy crush?
All time? Probably Edmund Pevensie or Gilbert Blythe. What's not to love about either of them? 

11.) What is the most bazaar thing that has ever happened to you?

 Gosh, I don't know! There really isn't a whole lot of bazaar things that have happened to me. Seriously, I can't even think of one. I'm pretty boring.  

Everyone that I follow has already been nominated, except for Josie, so I nominate Josie, she's pretty great! 

My questions for Josie:

Do You want to build a snowman?

Do you like the sky?

Favorite animal?

Are you high key or (wait for it) Loki?

What's your favorite season?

If you could be anyone for a day, who would you be?

Who was your first fictional crush?

Would you rather be a unicorn or a centuar?

What's your favorite bible verse?

Where do you go when you're mad?

What's Scotland's national animal?

Thanks again to Isabella/Caitlyn for nominating me! You're really too kind! 




Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Wednesday's Ray: Prom Is Unimportant

     Ah, yes, Prom. 
   Prom seems so important. So desirable
   "You're so worthless if you don't go to prom." 
   "WHAT? YOU'RE NOT GOING TO PROM?!"
   For a long while I thought that everyone wanted to go to Prom, and that somehow that meant that I had to go. You know, because Prom is so important and essential to life. Now, as you probably know, I'm homeschooled, so Prom is especially pointless. Like, what is the point? I really don't get it. Let's break it down.
   If you don't go to Prom, are you going to die?
   No.
   If you don't go to Prom, are your future plans and ambitions going to be stunted?
   No.
   If you don't go to Prom, are you going to die--Oh, wait, sorry, I already asked that one.
   It looks like Prom is quite unimportant. I mean, if you want to party with a bunch of hormonal highschoolers, then, please, be my guest. Personally, I've always felt that society puts a certain emphasis on Prom. Like seriously, going to Prom is not going to change your life. At least, I hope not, because that would just be weird. I mean think of how that would sound.
   "Going to Prom changed my life!"
   "How can you say all these things when you've never even experienced anything like prom?" I hear you asking.
   Well, believe it or not, I have been to a school dance. It was sort of like a semi-formal. I found it to be okay. That's it. But Prom is waaay different than semi-formal, believe me.  Yea, there's more people, and fancier clothing on everyone, and probably better food. Wow, sounds exhilarating. I might need a minute to process this one. 
.
.
.
   Okay, I've processed the information, and Prom still looks unimportant. If you desire to go, then go. I'm not trying to stop you from going, that's not my job. My job, however, is working at a golf course--wait what?! I'm getting of subject here! 
   I'm just trying to help you understand that if you choose/chose not to go to Prom, then so what? If people in your life shoot you down for staying home and reading a book, then those people need to get out of your life. They don't understand how important books are, and nobody can afford to live with such negativity. 
   Okay, I'm done ranting about the unimportance of Prom. You can go back to your life now. 
   (Just a side note: "Prom proposals"? Uh, no. You're not getting married, you're going to go to a dance together. What is this nonsense? Just ask her, you know, by walking up to her and asking her to go with you. Simple.)

Monday, May 5, 2014

Monday Sunrise: Anne With an 'e'

 Fictional character of the week: Anne Shirley
Megan Follows as Anne Shirley

    Where she's found: Most notably Anne of Green Gables (Book by L.M. Montgomery), but there is a whole series and the popular films produced by Sullivan Entertainment.
Anne and her faithful friend, Diana(Schuyler Grant)
    Why I love her: I love Anne because she just takes on the world with a great attitude. Sure, there are ruts and ditches along the way, but that's life. Anne tends to exaggerate and be dramatic about everything which is so much like me it's really quite terrifying.  She also is very stubborn about certain things that seem entirely ridiculous to other people. Which is also frighteningly like myself. Did I mention that she is also a writer? Yep, if I were a fictional character, I'd probably be Anne Shirley. 
Anne being Stubborn toward Gil(Jonathan Crombie)

   Other Notes: In my personal opinion, don't waste your time watching the third Anne film produced by Sullivan Entertainment. It's not worth it. The writers made up a story that was so not Anne-esque that it pains me to even write about. That's just my personal opinion though, and if you're one of the few who actually enjoys the third one, I applaud you.


Friday, May 2, 2014

Saturday Sunshine: Not A Very Good Analogy

        Hey there! I know this is early, buuut I'm waking up early tomorrow, and I have to go out of town for the day...so, I figured I'd post this now. This isn't really, in my opinion, "Saturday Sunday material", but it's my blog and I DO WHAT I WANT! Whoops, sorry, I was just pretending I was Loki for a moment there. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this not-really-all-that-great-of-an analogy. 

     To understand the analogy I'm going to write about, you have to know the family dog, Stewie (Stewart). This is Stewie:

     He's two years old now, but he still acts like a puppy, and--despite being the family dog--he's convinced that I am his master. He's a pretty high maintenance dog, I mean, he's always wanting to play, to be fed, to be let outside or back inside, he always wants to cuddle, or bark at some ridiculous inanimate object that he considers a threat. As you can imagine, it gets kind of annoying at times how attached to me this dog really is, but--even though I get angry at him for being so annoying--I still love him dearly. He really is a great dog.
     Every time I think of how we must look in God's eyes I think of how I look at Stewie. I see Stewie as possibly the dumbest dog I've ever met, but I love him so much. It's really quite embarrassing the amount I love him considering that he can't love me back. I always think that that must be how it is for God sometimes. He loves us so much knowing that some of us will never love him back at all. 
     Up until recently, I always thought that it must be really hard for God to love us, but now I think it must be quite easy for God to love us. To God, we must seem pretty dumb and weak, but he loves us all the more. That's how it is when Stewie does something astronomically stupid, I laugh admiringly at him because he's just so lovable. I'm not saying that God laughs when we mess up because that's obviously not the case, but I am saying that we're really small and simple compared to him.
     Okay, so this might not be the most perfect analogy ever, but it really is how I think. Obviously there are some key differences between the love I show for my dog, and the love God shows us. Obviously. However, it never ceases to awe me that God loves us as much as he does. We're so little, so powerless, so weak, but he loves us still. I mean, if that isn't humbling, I don't know what is.

"7 For scarcely will one die for a righteous man, yet perhaps for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." --Romans 5:7-8