What is your favorite season? I always have trouble picking mine. There is something I like about each of them plus I think the changing of seasons is so refreshing- it adds variety. I love the colors of the fall, and I always look forward to wearing sweatshirts and jeans again. I think I enjoy fall so much because it always reminds me of the way our family used to go over to gramma and grandpa's and rake big piles of leaves and then spend a good amount of time jumping into them and destroying the piles that the men had just worked to gather. After we were finally exhausted from our play, we'd have warm apple cider and donuts. Mmm...

Winter is definitely not my favorite season but i do love snow. Waking up the morning after the first big snow is just breathtaking. Spring always bring sweet relief from the ridiculously cold temperatures of winter- and flowers begin to bud and everything turns green instead of brown. Then comes summer. I love summer. I love being able to be outside and NOT BE COLD (i think i am cold blooded.. i am always cold). I love how long the days are. There are so many memories of great times in the summer.

As much as I love the warm sunny weather that comes with summer, part of me always dreads it as well. Once the weather begins to warm, girls seem to think that's the cue to begin to wear as little clothing as they can get away with. At least in highschool, there was a dress code. Now, it's a free-for-all competition of who can wear the smallest skirts or lowest shirts. It drives me insane. I think part of the reason I hate it so much though is because of how quickly I get realed into that mind set. I try to dress modestly, but as the people around me dress that way, I begin to feel the pull to look like "everyone" else. I begin to want to dress that way too because I don't want to be left behind in the competition. I don't know why, it doesn't matter, I shouldn't care. I don't know if it's my competitive nature that causes me to want to be the "best" at everything or peer pressure issue or what.

Regardless of the why, the problem is that I compare myself routinely to those around me to see if I'm "keeping up to speed" with them. Even if it means going against certain morals that I have sometimes, I feel pushed to keep up. And I know I am not the only one. But we are called to be different. We are called to a holy lifestyle. 1 Peter 1:14-15 says "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct." From how we dress to how we care about those around us, we are called to follow a higher standard. Because live to glorify One much higher than ourselves.

Whitney